The latest Rasmussen numbers are out; they’re so hot, I singed my fingers taking them out of the oven. In first place, we have a sliding Rudy Giuliani at 23%. In second at 17%, Fred! happily sits, presumably grinning like a Cheshire cat. Mitt’s in third at 15%; as a supporter of the Romney campaign, allow me to say that this result leaves me grinning like a Cheshire cat, too. The doomed SS McCain resides in 4th place at 14%.
The big winner of the week is obviously Fred. He has entered the race positioned solidly in the top tier, although I still question whether he’s going to be able to pull Iowa and New Hampshire organizations together in time to be competitive in those key states. If he gets drummed in both of those, winning the nomination will be awfully difficult.
I also find it interesting that no one from the Thompson campaign is crowing about how much money they raised during their big kick-off yesterday. Running for president is tough; the other guys have spent years doing the spadework getting to this point. If Fred develops a 20 point lead in the national numbers, he may not need Iowa and New Hampshire. But we’re a long way from that happening.
The biggest non-McCain loser here is Rudy. After spending months with a double digit lead over the second place yet always doomed McCain, he now has two viable and strong contenders in striking distance.
As for Romney, these are encouraging national numbers, and happily supplement the latest batch of Iowa numbers that show him holding a commanding 16 point lead over the second place Thompson. In case you have yet to fully move on and embrace the new reality, that poll has McCain in single digits.
So what’s it all mean? My heart and head are in happy accord. Our two strongest, most able and most appealing candidates, Romney and Thompson, are also the two most likely nominees. The time has come for Fred to take the plunge and make it official. Only seven months to Iowa – time to get it on.
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