- BitsBlog - https://bitsblog.com -

South Carolina

Michael Graham, National Review [1]:

McCain is a weak candidate by any measure. Only once in his two presidential races has John McCain ever won a majority of the vote, and that was Michigan in 2000. He has yet to crack 40% of the vote this year, and he’s done even worse among self-identified Republicans (as opposed to independents and crossover Democrats).

The Republican field is weak.

Addendum: (Bit)

It was a close vote in South Carolina. So close that they had to wait until there was 82% in before they called it.  This, to my mind, further backs my earlier points about Republican voter dissatisfaction with the front runners.  That McCain and Huckabee made in into the top spots at all can only be said to be a part of the independent vote. Numbers I’ve seen suggest that of Republicans, McCain and Huckabee ran neck and neck at 30% each. Those Republicans made up 79% of the overall. But when it gets this close, that 21% starts looking very influential, indeed… to the point of wondering if they have undue influence on the primary process.  It’s one major reason I’ve always favored a closed primary process.

I said yesterday and earlier this morning that the electorate… even many Democrats, are looking for a Reaganite.  I submit that with an open primary process, that’s exactly what we will not get due to undue influence from outside the Republican party. I submit that the process, while not directly responsible, made the weak the front runners, thereby making the Republican field weak. Close the primary process each to his party, and Thompson or his like screams to the lead, and McCain/Huckabee are not even considered.

So, it’s on to Florida, possibly without Fred Thompson. His Mom is in the hospital there, I hear.  He’s leaving open, I figure, the idea he’ll not be in Florida, but we’ll see. Ending up ahead of Romney as Thompson did, is no small feat, I think, and ideas of dropping out should consider that situation.