Hey guys, I know it’s been a little while since I posted, but I’ve been travelling a lot over the past several weeks, and I’m just now starting to settle back into my normal routine. Still, I’ve been watching unfolding events carefully.
And I freely admit that I’ve also been more than a little taken aback by Rick Santorum’s sudden rise in the polls after Mitt Romney’s emphatic win in Florida last month. I thought the contest was all but over at that point (recently that has often been the case). But this has been hands-down the craziest presidential primary in recent history. Even the 1976 showdown between Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan made more sense than this mess (one was an unelected and unpopular sitting president; the other was a darling of the conservatives long before the voting even began).
Here you have a next-in-line establishment challenger who is likely poised for a strong run this fall…but he he is being contested fiercely by a remarkably persistent Anybody-but-Romney crowd who didn’t want Anything-to-do-with-Santorum as recently as a few weeks ago! Which is precisely why I question the strength of Rick’s Surge. How well do primary voters really know this guy? And are the party faithful really ready to go to the mats for a candidate with such obvious weaknesses? ‘Tis possible…but one still wonders. New polls indicate that Romney is starting to catch up.
That dynamic sets up tonight’s pivotal debate in Arizona — the last one before the Michigan/Arizona contests next week and the “Super Tuesday” contests one week later. CNN’s John King had a memorable moment in his previous hosting gig, as his opening question set up Newt Gingrich’s upstart win in South Carolina. Will we see something that impressive tonight? Romney and Santorum know the stakes; they will unleash everything they’ve got. And perhaps Santorum will prevail…after all, Romney is merely fighting his political opponents, while Rick is fighting the Prince of Darkness himself!
Who would dare impede him in such a righteous endeavor? Perhaps one of the greatest tricks the Devil ever pulled was convincing us that his War with Rick doesn’t really exist?? We must at least consider the possibility, right?
Anyway, when I visited Arizona a few years back, I enjoyed making the trek to Tombstone to see the famous site where the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” went down (if you ever visit, also check out the town tavern and the cemetery with the amusing epitaphs following the names). Tonight’s match-up could be another memorable moment in the state’s history. This is a slug-fest between the Establishment and the Tea Partiers for control of the Republican Party. Which side is ready to take a big step forward before the next big votes?
I’ll check back in on Friday with a recap of the debate and the week’s other interesting news. I hope you all are having a great week!
