The big four, Thompson, Giuliani, McCain, and Romney, made a mistake by not showing up to the Values Voter Debate in Fort Lauderdale. In fact, Giuliani was in town and did not show up.
The big four received much criticism from the likes of Phyliss Schafly, Pastor Rick Scarborough, Buddy Smith from AFA, and the Rabbi who was on the panel called Rudy Giuliani a coward for not showing up while he was in town. Janet Folger of Faith2Action stated she believed that this was a clear sign that Mike Huckabee was the clear choice for President. The rest would not commit to any candidate this early. I think that is a good strategy; keep your powder dry because there is a lot of time left.
Mike Huckabee won the straw poll with 63% of the vote, and the big four all dropped severely, down to almost nothing (Giuliani got zero votes). One pleasant surprise was the very good showing of Alan Keyes (I confess I did not know he was running again).
I’ve been sitting here watching this for the last 3 ½ hours and this was by far the best debate I’ve seen so far.
So the Huckabee phenomenon is still strong.
Hi Dave- I wish I could have seen the debate- I bet it was great! It doesn’t surprise me that Huckabee won this one. I agree with a lot of what he has to say- I really don’t agree with this “tier” system we’ve come to, as so many of the ‘lower tier” candidates have so much more for the people- at least I think so. I heard the other day about Alan Keys running again- I like him too. I have to laugh at the mainstream media always touting Obama as the first black to run, as Alan Keys ran before. I agree there’s still lots of time left, but everyone should have the chance to hear their concerns adressed- which is why I am grateful for the values voter debate- and why I am very concerned and disappointed that the top 4 didn’t even bother to show. Doesn’t make them look any different than the dems who won’t appear before the same kind of debate for the democratic side.
If any of the “lower tier” candidates that decided to show up at this debate were actually 1st tier candidates, they wouldn’t have shown up. Does this surprise anyone? I for one don’t want the Republican candidates to accept every interest group’s desire to host a debate. The Democrats are doing that and they look ridiculous.