2008 Woodie Awards
Races for both parties far from being over
Catherine Morrisey
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: Editorials
Here's what Americans learned from New Hampshire: We've got a dogfight in both parties for the presidential nominations.
Barack Obama is a formidable candidate, but he may not be the juggernaut that some suspected after his stunning victory in Iowa and his subsequent surge in the New Hampshire polls.
And while Iowa stripped Hillary Clinton of her aura of inevitability, her surprise victory on Tuesday shows she clearly has plenty of life left. Far from being rushed to the exits as another mortally wounded front-runner, Clinton is poised to battle toe-to-toe from now through February.
Over on the Republican side, the contest is almost a complete muddle after John McCain's victory Tuesday.
If there is an Energizer Bunny of American politics, it is most certainly the 72-year-old McCain. He keeps going and going - even after almost every pundit and political expert had publicly written off his current quest for the Republican nomination as broke, out of touch, disorganized and hopeless. As they pretty much did in unison last summer.
But living through a lot of history and plenty of primaries, as McCain has, gives a man perspective. The Arizona senator knows how quickly the political tides can turn, how rapidly voters' affections may shift.
So McCain stayed the course and kept saying what he believed, revealing the same tenacity and spirit that has characterized this former war hero all of his life. It is admirable and it paid off again for him Tuesday when he surged to a surprisingly easy victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP pack.
Can McCain use his new momentum as a springboard to victory, say, in Michigan next week, or South Carolina the week after that?
Will former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished third Tuesday after finishing first in Iowa, be able to steal the South Carolina prize, given his Southern roots and evangelical background?
Where will Romney finally seize the gold medal, as he refers to first place, that he needs so badly if his campaign isn't to wither away? Is he through if he takes a silver again in Michigan?
And, is Rudy Giuliani's strategy of waiting until the Florida primary on Jan. 29 to nail a win still a credible option? Or have events conspired to leave him irrelevant by then?
No one really knows, although I'd venture an answer to that last question: Giuliani is in a heap of trouble. McCain's newfound success and appeal to the national security vote cuts into Giuliani's greatest strength.
On the Democratic side, there are basically two candidates left; on the Republican, three, or possibly four, if you include Giuliani. And given the surprises of the past six months in both parties' nominating contests, only the reckless or clairvoyant would dare to declare with confidence who, on either side, will eventually emerge on top.
- Catherine Morrisey is a senior history major and a Mirror columnist.
Barack Obama is a formidable candidate, but he may not be the juggernaut that some suspected after his stunning victory in Iowa and his subsequent surge in the New Hampshire polls.
And while Iowa stripped Hillary Clinton of her aura of inevitability, her surprise victory on Tuesday shows she clearly has plenty of life left. Far from being rushed to the exits as another mortally wounded front-runner, Clinton is poised to battle toe-to-toe from now through February.
Over on the Republican side, the contest is almost a complete muddle after John McCain's victory Tuesday.
If there is an Energizer Bunny of American politics, it is most certainly the 72-year-old McCain. He keeps going and going - even after almost every pundit and political expert had publicly written off his current quest for the Republican nomination as broke, out of touch, disorganized and hopeless. As they pretty much did in unison last summer.
But living through a lot of history and plenty of primaries, as McCain has, gives a man perspective. The Arizona senator knows how quickly the political tides can turn, how rapidly voters' affections may shift.
So McCain stayed the course and kept saying what he believed, revealing the same tenacity and spirit that has characterized this former war hero all of his life. It is admirable and it paid off again for him Tuesday when he surged to a surprisingly easy victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and the rest of the GOP pack.
Can McCain use his new momentum as a springboard to victory, say, in Michigan next week, or South Carolina the week after that?
Will former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who finished third Tuesday after finishing first in Iowa, be able to steal the South Carolina prize, given his Southern roots and evangelical background?
Where will Romney finally seize the gold medal, as he refers to first place, that he needs so badly if his campaign isn't to wither away? Is he through if he takes a silver again in Michigan?
And, is Rudy Giuliani's strategy of waiting until the Florida primary on Jan. 29 to nail a win still a credible option? Or have events conspired to leave him irrelevant by then?
No one really knows, although I'd venture an answer to that last question: Giuliani is in a heap of trouble. McCain's newfound success and appeal to the national security vote cuts into Giuliani's greatest strength.
On the Democratic side, there are basically two candidates left; on the Republican, three, or possibly four, if you include Giuliani. And given the surprises of the past six months in both parties' nominating contests, only the reckless or clairvoyant would dare to declare with confidence who, on either side, will eventually emerge on top.
- Catherine Morrisey is a senior history major and a Mirror columnist.
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