Dreaming of an '08 Victory

With the entrance of Fred Thompson into the Republican race of nominees, a strong GOP ticket has finally made itself apparent.

The current murky waters of the Republican field makes this statement a little difficult to understand at first, but let me explain.

On the right, you have Mr. Thompson who invigorates the GOP base every time he speaks. In a recent Rasmussen poll, he has 25% of likely primary voters in his pocket right now. The conservative wing couldn’t be happier on the former senator’s entry. Mitt Romney who has 13% of possible voters does the same with the base, but he has less clout and his religious belief does not fall in line with main-stream America.

While Thompson shores up the hard right, Giuliani with 23% leaning his way is a magnet for the middle. His moderate views on social issues but hard stance on foreign policy separates him from anyone else in the Republican field. Plus, his infamous label of “America’s Mayor” will always be a boon for his candidacy, and his cross party appeal will draw from independents and Dems alike. The Republican middle has proven to be a broad and growing voice in the Republican Party. All though it doesn’t have as large a voice as the far right, the GOP’s middle will play a significant roll in the primary and general elections come next year. McCain with 10% of the vote pulls from this block of voters as well, but campaign exhaustion and lack of enthusiasm has run its course in the McCain camp.

Considering Romney and McCain’s imminent exit (likely after Super Tuesday results on February 5^th if not before) and not even taking into account the lower half of the Republican field, Thompson and Giuliani will likely fight it out until the primaries in March. Either way, there is no question that Thompson or Giuliani will take the nomination.

Who ever wins, it will be in the best interest of Thompson or Giuliani to pick either as their VP on the November ticket. Thompson will cleanup Romney’s leftovers and Giuliani will mop up McCain’s giving birth to a ticket that encompasses the whole of the Republican Party by making the moderates and conservatives enthusiastic and energized for a November victory.

Let this be fair warning to the Donkey camp - A Giuliani-Thompson 2008 ticket might just clean house come November.