If you read my previous post you saw the results of the first ballot in WV:

Romney 41%
Huckabee 33%
McCain 16%
Paul 10%

Well ABC and CNN are reporting that Huckabee has won the West Virginia convention vote. Here are the latest figures:

Huckabee 52%
Romney 47%
McCain 1%
Paul 0%

So we can put 18 delegates in the Huckabee column. I find it interesting, but not surprising, that nearly all of McCain’s supporters switched to Huckabee. It’s been said many places, but the real truth of this will be seen today: A vote for Huckabee is a vote for McCain.

Unless you went to bed before 9 o’clock and then this is the first thing you’ve read, you already know that John McCain won the Florida Republican primary. That puts 57 more delegates in his column on the way to this summer’s convention.

Rudy Giuliani finished a distant third and is rumored to be heading for the exit. Also rumored is the idea that Giuliani will be endorsing John McCain after leaving the race. All of that could be confirmed sometime today.

Mike Huckabee finished another 2% behind Rudy Giuliani. I haven’t heard any talk about him dropping out, but I think that is an acknowledgment that his run is over no matter when he decides to bow out.

Ron Paul is completely out of the running, but will most likely stay in for a while longer. On a side note regarding Paul, I read a quote somewhere this past week where he said that this campaign has “exceeded all his expectations”. I can only conclude that he never expected to win, which begs the question why is he still in this race?

Sooper Oh My Gawd Tuesday will be here faster than Nancy Pelosi blinks. Clearly now a two man race, it will be most interesting to see how the next few days play out. Keep it tuned right here to find out.

Tomorrow is the Florida primary. Before I leave for work I’ll walk across the street and cast my ballot. That means I have about 25 hours to figure out which candidate will get my vote.

I hope that’s enough time.

Part of the decision making is easy. There never has been a chance that I would mark Ron Paul’s name on my ballot. His position on the war is the biggest reason I could never vote for him, but not the only one. And frankly, who would want to be associated with the wacko supporters he has attracted?

Mike Huckabee is out as well. His sound bites sound good, but sound good is about all he has going for him. His record in Arkansas speaks louder than the one-liners from the trail, and that’s not good at all.

That eliminates the two that thankfully won’t be causing me a November dilemma.

Leaving me with a choice of McCain, Giuliani, and Romney.

John McCain has much to recommend him, and much more to eliminate him from my picks. BCRAp is a horrible piece of legislation, but although it bears his name he is hardly alone in foisting this on us. Too many people, from all three branches of government, are responsible for that fiasco.

His leadership and support of the gag (no, that’s not a misspelling) of 14 was a huge mistake, but nothing can top his stance on illegal immigration. It doesn’t matter how many times he says that the position he supports isn’t amnesty. It is. More importantly, he still stands behind that position.

The appointment of Dr. Juan Hernandez as his Hispanic Outreach Director should be all anyone who supports strong border security needs to know. Kim Priestap describes him this way:

[. . .] an open-borders, put Mexico first fanatic. He’s a Texas born dual citizen who also served as Director of the Office for Mexicans Living Abroad in Vicente Fox’s administration.

Bull Dog Pundit sums up my thoughts very well.

Certainly McCain’s failure to disavow Gonzalez’s awful views and allowing him to volunteer for the campaign is a slap in the face of conservatives, and belies his claim that he “learned his lesson” on immigration reform, and raises serious doubts that if elected President he won’t push the same kind of amnesty bill that got defeated last year.

[...]

It just boggles the mind that McCain, who up to now has been able to weather the illegal immigration issue as well as can be expected would have this radioactive clown anywhere near his campaign when he needs every conservative vote he can in the upcoming “closed” primaries.

That leaves only Giuliani and Romney.

Giuliani is only slightly ahead of McCain when it comes to illegal immigration. That’s mostly because his influence on the issue was confined to the “It wasn’t a Sanctuary City” Sanctuary City of New York, not the national stage. Gun Control and social issues play a part in my elimination of Giuliani as well, but eliminate him I must.

So, I’m left with three choices — stay home (although I haven’t missed a chance to vote in years), vote for Fred Thompson (who I strongly wish was still a candidate), or vote for Mitt Romney.

Staying home really isn’t an option. It solves nothing and leaves me without a voice in the outcome. I strongly believe that voting is one of the most important things we do as citizens. It doesn’t matter if it’s a primary, the general elections, amendments, or for the proverbial dog catcher (who I can never remember seeing on a ballot). I won’t be staying home.

Some might say that casting my vote for Fred Thompson after he has dropped out of the race is the same as staying home. Maybe. But it sure would feel good. I still believe that he was the candidate that stood closest to the positions I feel strongly about. His policies, well thought out and articulated, are what I think would be best for America. I hope that he still plays a part in this election.

I won’t have to hold my nose if I decide to vote for Mitt Romney. His strength on economic issues is real and I am impressed with his real world experience in that regard. I don’t hold any animus for his change on the right to life issue. His explanation for his change is both understandable and credible. My one big worry is his stance on health care. If he doesn’t try to port what was done in Mass. to the nation it should be ok.

So, I’m now down to 23 hours to decide. I’ll let you know after I do.

No doubt this will thrill the Iranian leader:

Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, who advocates the removal of U.S. troops from Iraq, said Wednesday he would also lift sanctions on Iran and order the Navy to pull back from its shores.

Yet another reason (as if another reason were needed) that Ron Paul should never be president and CIC.

Would you like to ride in our beautiful balloon
Twoofers all get high in our beautiful balloon
We could make some people think he’s a real candidate
For we can fly, for our guy!
Up, up and away
Our beautiful, our beautiful balloon
I know that it’s a blimp, but I’m still using balloon
This parody works better if I use balloon
We can raise a pile and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly, Ron’s our guy!
Up, up and away
Our beautiful, our beautiful balloon
Suspended under a goldbug canopy
We’ll troll the net for a poll and spam it
If by some chance you’re going to vote for him
“Cut and Run” defines us
We’ll keep moonbats beside us
Ron is waiting there for our beautiful balloon
We don’t have Romney’s hair in my beautiful balloon
If you’ll vote for Paul we’ll chase our dream across the sky
For we can fly, Ron’s our guy!
Up, up and away
Six million and a beautiful balloon
OK, Blimp…
Up, up, and away…..

Linked with today’s open post at Liberty Pundit

The Republican debate in Iowa this past week is being universally awarded the Worst Debate Ever by most, if not all pundits. Jonathan Martin at The Politico wrote on Friday:

Dissatisfied with the debate here Wednesday that drew widespread scorn, Iowa Republicans will discuss on Friday the possibility of holding another forum before the January 3rd caucuses.

The debate this week, sponsored by the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television, was to have been the final gathering of the GOP contenders, but one well-placed Iowa Republican said tonight that they were interested in getting the candidates back together

“We’d prefer if the Register debate did not leave a bad taste,” said this source, who requested anonymity. “Iowa deserves a little better than that.”

The most likely possibility would be the week after Christmas, when many of the contenders are expected back in the state to make a final push before the voting.

I do agree with Allahpundit who wrote, “Do it well or don’t do it.”

The biggest obstacle will be the logistics of the short time left between the Christmas holidays and the Caucuses. Leaving that aside, what would make this debate worth doing?

I have a few suggestions:

• Limit the debate to Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Fred Thompson, and Mitt Romney. While I like both Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo, eliminating them along with Ron Paul and Alan Keyes (why was he included anyhow?) would allow for a much more substantive debate.
• Limit the number of questions. Allow more substance over quantity.
• Related to the above, allow the candidates time to answer, allow rebuttal, and encourage discussion.
• Find a moderator who can control all of the above, and ask relevant follow up questions. I have seen Rush suggested.

Add your suggestions in the comments. How many and what questions should be asked? Who should moderate? Format? Anything else?

The latest and last (before the first caucus) debate of Republican presidential candidates takes place in Iowa at 2pm EST. The stage will be crowded. Participating: Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Alan Keyes, John McCain, Ron Paul, Tom Tancredo, Fred Thompson, and Mitt Romney.

Real Clear Politics includes this in their analysis:

Add it all up and we should expect to see another round of sharp exchanges between candidates, most of which will involve Mitt Romney. We’ll have to see whether today’s debate changes anything, but given the location and the proximity to caucus day, it’s a fairly important day for the top tier candidates to have a good showing and, most importantly, not to make a big mistake.

Captain Ed offers up some thumbnail thoughts about what various candidates need to accomplish. Here are a few snippets.

Mike Huckabee — No mistakes, connect emotionally, and seem reasonably conservative.

Mitt Romney — He has to stay focused and ignore Rudy while gently gunning for Huckabee.

Rudy Giuliani — Rudy needs a good performance, but not a great one, and will do best if he’s not the central focus.

John McCain — An extended dialogue on immigration hurts him here, but again, he’s not all that concerned with Iowa.

Fred Thompson — If he plays analyst instead of candidate, he’s toast.

It is with his thoughts on the rest of the field that I most agree:

As for the rest, at this stage, the Register should have taken a pass. They have not developed into contenders by any measure, and the inclusion of Alan Keyes is a strange joke. The DMR could have given us a chance to hear five realistic candidates with some time to get into detail on the issues, but instead chose to have nine with time for little more than soundbites.

Brian will be liveblogging at Liberty Pundit (if the power stays on). The link is here.

Steveegg (No Runny Eggs) is liveblogging here.

I’m sure by now that you’ve probably seen the series of articles the AP has been doing on the candidate’s “personal” side. Today they take a look at the candidate’s favorite joke. None of them will be appearing on Last Comic Standing next season. Lamest attempt — The Iron[y] Queen:

(smiling): “I’m not going to tell you.”

I think Fred Thompson had the best answer:

Favorite joke is “presidential debates,” campaign says.

There is no joke attributed to Ron Paul. I’ll let you insert your own joke here.

Ron Paul to Appear on The View

If raising $12 million in the fourth quarter won’t do it, surely appealing to soccer moms across the nation will! From ABC News:

It was a big moment for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Tex, and his presidential candidacy when he appeared in late October on the Tonight Show, sandwiched between Tom Cruise and the Sex Pistols.
But Paul will take his libertarian-tinged Republican ethos in another direction Tuesday, when he marches straight into the henhouse.

He’ll appear opposite Whoopi, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and Kate Walsh of Gray’s Anatomy and Private Practice fame, who co hosting in the absence of Elizabeth Hasselbeck on ABC’s woman-oriented chat show ‘The View’ Tuesday.

He and Rosie would have had plenty to chat about.

Overall, the CNN/YouTube debate questions were better than I expected. Prior to the debate I looked at 100+ of the nearly 5000 questions submitted. I was concerned. CNN did a fair (but far from good) job of selecting the ones to use. Still, I think the format is more gimmick than substance.

The candidates:

Mitt Romney did well and didn’t hurt himself. Not hurting yourself is often the best you can expect from these debates. His initial exchange with Rudy Giuliani over immigration seemed to go a little farther than necessary, but no real gaffes. GRADE: C+

Rudy Giuliani may not have hurt himself, but he sure didn’t help himself. At all. He didn’t seem to bring his ‘A’ game, at least not until after the second break. His defense that NY wasn’t a sanctuary city appeared, well, defensive. GRADE: C-

John McCain did much better than he has in past debates. He came across as less angry and more passionate than in past performances. He did well on all topics but still has not convinced me that the Amnesty Bill wasn’t amnesty. He is the one candidate that I’ve liked well in the debates, but can not support because of his past record on McCain/Feingold, amnesty, and the “Gang of 14″, etc. GRADE: B

Fred Thompson has the best answers and is closest to my views across the board. His White Papers and the details he has for his ideas are outstanding. He just doesn’t convey a real spark. If there were more passion I think he would be unbeatable. GRADE: B

Mike Huckabee probably did more to help himself than any of the others. His emergance in the polls may have caused the moderators to give him some additional focus. On a personality level he appeared to be very relaxed and comfortable with all the questions, much more than I’ve seen in past debates. GRADE: B+

Duncan Hunter and Tom Tancredo didn’t help or hurt themselves, but for the most part were non-factors. GRADES: C

Ron Paul was not received well by the members of the live audience other than those who already support Ron Paul. He tried (again) to say that he isn’t an isolationist. Saying it doesn’t make it so. He is wrong on the war and forign policy. He will not be the nominee no matter how much money he raises or how loudly his supporters can shout. GRADE: F

If there weren’t plenty of other reasons why Ron Paul should never be president, this one quote is more than enough for me:

Terrorists are “just hoodlums and convicts, so to speak, but we incite them with our foreign policy,” he said.

That’s not simply naive, it’s dangerous.

I think I’ve just about got this blog traffic thing figured out.

Gabrielle Anwar is hot.

Ron Paul is nuts.

Liv Tyler is hot.

Ron Paul is nuts.

Elisha Cuthbert is hot and nuts.

Ron Paul is nuts.

Now to sit back and wait for the made hits to come rolling in!