Bill’s role
“It took a while — for the duration of the Iowa campaign, to be exact — but the Clintons have figured out the most productive way to use former President Bill Clinton in Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” Fred Barnes writes at www.weeklystandard.com.
“Their division of labor is very simple: he criticizes Barack Obama while she mostly stays positive. It worked in New Hampshire and again in Nevada,” Mr. Barnes said.
“What didn’t work was having Bill campaign with Hillary, speaking before his wife at events and introducing her. That was tried earlier in Iowa and of course she lost the caucuses there in what feels like an eternity ago but was actually only three weeks ago. At joint events, he overshadowed her and spent much of his time talking about himself. This prompted a newspaper cartoon with a tiny Hillary standing on the shoulder of a huge Bill. Now they appear separately.
“And they seem to understand Bill’s unique value in the campaign. As an ex-president he can command extensive media attention. What he says gets widespread coverage. In effect, he has a megaphone as big as his wife’s, maybe bigger.”
Huckabee’s woes
“Mike Huckabee tried his best to expand beyond his evangelical base in South Carolina and appeal to what his campaign called ’Joe Six Pack’ voters,” John Fund writes at www.opinionjournal.com.
“Mr. Huckabee was the only candidate to pander to devotees of the Confederate flag, telling crowds that outsiders should leave the banner flag, now displayed in a corner of the grounds of the state capitol, alone: ’If somebody came to Arkansas and told us what to do with our flag, we’d tell ’em what to do with the pole, that’s what we’d do.’ Contrast that with the comments of Mr. Huckabee’s fellow Southerner Fred Thompson: “For a great many Americans, [the Confederate flag] is a symbol of racism. I’m glad people have made a decision not to display it … in a state capitol.’
“Mr. Huckabee also tried pandering to immigration foes,” Mr. Fund said. “As governor he had opposed measures targeting illegal aliens. Just before the primary, he signed a pledge that he would use law enforcement to send all 12 million illegal aliens home. He vehemently denied any inconsistency in his views. It didn’t work. Among the one-fourth of voters for whom illegal immigration was a top issue, Mr. Huckabee defeated John McCain by only 33 percent to 24 percent — a sign that many voters recognize the issue’s complexities and view it in context once they get inside the voting booth.
“Once again, Mr. Huckabee failed to achieve significant support outside his evangelical base. Only 1 in 7 non-evangelicals voted for him, placing him behind not just Mr. McCain but Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney.”
Going haywire
“For as long as anyone can remember, Republicans have wired their presidential primary process in order to produce strong and unstoppable front-runners at a very early stage in the election calendar. But this year, all that intricate circuitry is going haywire,” Michael Duffy and Rani Molla write at www.time.com.
“Already, of course, the GOP race has given new meaning to the term ’up for grabs.’ After holding primaries and caucuses in six states, no clear front-runner has emerged. Mitt Romney has won three; John McCain has won two; Mike Huckabee has won one. If Rudy Giuliani, who has banked his entire campaign on a late entry in Florida, somehow prevails next week, Round 7 will only add to the confusion,” the writers said.
“And then, at long last, comes the moment in the GOP race — Super Tuesday, or Tsunami Tuesday, as it has been christened this year — which is supposed to winnow the field and bring some clarity.
“But what if it doesn’t? What if, as is suddenly becoming clear, the rules which were designed to produce a sturdy front-runner could conspire to produce the opposite?
“On Feb. 5, primaries and caucuses in 21 states will award more than 1,000 delegates to the Republican National Convention — almost half of the amount needed to secure the nomination.
“But a four-man field, in which each candidate has roughly the same momentum and factional strength (if not the same war chest), raises the distinct possibility that several candidates will split those delegates, postponing further the emergence of a front-runner. And that means the GOP race could go on much longer than anyone imagined. It might even result in no candidate getting a majority of delegates when the primaries are over, a prospect that Republicans are starting to take very seriously.”
Obama’s ad
Democrat Barack Obama’s campaign is airing an ad on national cable meant to introduce the Illinois senator in the more than 20 states that hold presidential nominating contests on Feb. 5.
The ad features three Obama admirers who fit into his story line. Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe, who Obama aides have said was a mentor to Mr. Obama in law school, attests to his academic credentials as well as to his work as a Chicago community organizer. Republican Illinois state Sen. Kirk Dillard, who is supporting John McCain for the GOP nomination, presents Mr. Obama as a bipartisan lawmaker. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, praises Mr. Obama’s work on ethics legislation, an issue he often mentions to illustrate his legislative leadership.
“It was inspiring, absolutely inspiring to see someone as brilliant as Barack Obama take all of the talent and devote it to making people’s lives better,” Mr. Tribe says in the ad.
The television spot is airing on CNN and MSNBC.
McCain’s quip
John McCain had a ready response yesterday for actor Chuck Norris, who said while campaigning for rival Mike Huckabee that the Arizona senator is too old to handle the pressures of being president.
“I’m afraid that I may have to send my 95-year-old mother over to wash Chuck’s mouth out with soap,” Mr. McCain said after feigning anger.
On Sunday, Mr. Norris, at his Navasota, Texas, ranch, said while hosting a fundraiser for Mr. Huckabee: “I didn’t pick John [McCain] to support because I’m just afraid that the vice president would wind up taking over his job in that four-year presidency.”
Mr. Norris, 67, is four years younger than Mr. McCain, who will be 72 in August, the Associated Press reports. Mr. Huckabee will be 52 in August.
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes .com.
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