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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review January 31, 2008 / 24 Shevat 5768

Out of Florida: The front-runner

By Dick Morris & Eileen Mc Gann


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | After the Florida primary, John McCain is the clear front-runner in the Republican primaries, the first we've had since Rudy Giuliani vacated the role.


Underscoring his victory is a fascinating fact newly evident, now that we have had a Republican primary in a state which did not permit Independents to participate: The GOP primary electorate isn't very conservative.


Asked how they'd characterize their own ideology, only 27 percent of Florida GOP voters said they were "very conservative." They backed Mitt Romney by 44 percent to 20 percent. Another 34 percent said they were "somewhat conservative," and they broke even between Romney and McCain 33-32.


A further 38 percent said they were "moderate" or "liberal" - and they backed McCain by 44-22.


So it is not so much that McCain converted conservatives, but that Romney ran out of them — there weren't enough of them to give him the Florida delegation.


Being the front-runner in the Republican primary is no small matter. The GOP believes in following the leader. The absence of a designated heir-apparent has been evident throughout the party's 2008 contest. Now that McCain is the front-runner, the legitimist voters in the primary will likely move toward him. Giuliani's expected endorsement of McCain will only exemplify this trend and hasten it along.


McCain comes out of Florida as the putative nominee in the eyes of Republicans — and it is up to Romney to take it away from him.


On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton's 50-33 victory over Barack Obama is not as much of an indication of momentum as it would seem. Exit polls suggest that, among those who decided whom to support in the final three days, Obama tied Hillary, 35-35. Those who decided in the preceding month backed Hillary by 59-29, giving her a seemingly decisive win. But the trend is clearly in Obama's favor.


Florida is also the time to write the political obituary for Rudy Giuliani. A triumphant career and a mass of great potential has been obliterated by political malpractice on the part of his motley crew of advisers. If there were such a thing as a product-liability suit against political consultants, Rudy would have a hell of a case.


As McCain and Romney square off on Super Tuesday, the national-security issue about which McCain speaks with eloquence will battle the economy, which Romney claims as his expertise, for preeminence.


But look for a McCain surprise. If his campaign people are on their toes, they'll examine Romney's record in the companies he "turned around" for how many layoffs resulted. If his efforts seemed to cost people their jobs, the economy issue could backfire on Mitt.


The general-election polls show Romney 12 points behind Hillary Clinton and McCain tied with her. If she's the Democratic nominee, McCain has two big advantages: He can get Hispanic voters (thanks to his sponsorship of immigration reform) and he can attract Democrats and Independents who backed Obama and are turned off to Hillary as a candidate.


Romney, without any appeal to Latinos and not much to moderates or Independents, would be a far easier opponent for the Clintons to take on.

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JWR contributor Dick Morris is author, most recently, of "Outrage: How Illegal Immigration, the United Nations, Congressional Ripoffs, Student Loan Overcharges, Tobacco Companies, Trade Protection, and Drug Companies Are Ripping Us Off . . . And". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.) Comment by clicking here.



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