www.race42008.com has an interesting post up wondering if Guiliani is really going to run. When you look at the polls, it looks highly likely. When you consider the self doubters in his campaign and the small infrastructure it flips to questionable.

Its a good read, check it out.

www.race42008.com is a fantastic site with wonderful commentary on the current presidential race.

Don't let the title fool you. No one is raising any funds tonight. Rather, this is the fattening of the calf before they let loose the dogs tomorrow.

Without slaughtering any more mixed metaphors let me just say… Hold onto your horses. This if going to be interesting.

Justin.
Sent via BlackBerry from Cingular Wireless

Deseret News reports on John Huntsman Sr.’s (Utah Governor John Huntsman Jr’s Dad) work for Romney.

“I don’t want to get involved in situations that would bring the LDS Church into play,” Huntsman told the Deseret Morning News in a telephone interview. “The letters I’m sending out to raise funds all have a disclaimer: This is not because of my church affiliation…”

“I feel it’s important to say that because I don’t want it perceived as a religious campaign of any kind. For me, it’s about the best person who can lead our country at this pivotal point in time,” Huntsman said during a break from touring Huntsman Corp. plants in the Southeast.

For those of you who don’t know who Huntsman is, he is the founder of Huntsman Corporation, a large international chemical company. He is also a finance co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s presidential exploratory committee, as covered in a past post.

Many outside of Utah, may not know that Huntsman Jr. is the Governor of Utah and was an early sign on to McCain’s campaign, along with Utah Atty. General Shurtleff. Many at the time (and still today) wonder why in the world McCain would go to great lengths to sign on the A.G. from such a place as Mormon Utah? The answer? McCain knows Mormon Romney is the real challenger, and likely winner. Has Romney been busy courting people from AZ? Probably not.

The article goes on to say:

Huntsman said he has hosted two events to introduce Romney to potential contributors, in Houston and Philadelphia, and is planning another in New York City. He said he won’t, however, host any events in Utah.
“There are a lot of other folks in Utah who’ll cover those bases. I don’t intend to be one of them,” Huntsman said. “I don’t want to be caught up in anything that’s regarded as church-state.”

Interesting.

But these comments say it all:

“It isn’t like there’s a great split in the family or anything,” Huntsman said. In 2000, for example, he said he supported Elizabeth Dole while his son backed George Bush for the GOP nomination.
Bush won, of course, and the governor expects the same result this time around.

“The governor loves and respects his dad too much to provide an opposing sound bite, but he believes their respective choices in candidates will likely end much like they did in 2000, with the governor riding the winning horse,” his spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelley, said.

What is it about the hubris in the McCain Camp? If you read the article Huntsman Sr. is as kind as could be to his son, yet the Huntsman Jr. can’t avoid the swipe. All I have to say is that McCain stench tends to rub off!

Romney, knowing the fiscal prudence of low taxes, has enlisted the help of several key people from Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, Novak reported today:

During his family vacation in Park City, Utah, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney met with former Bush administration officials who comprise his economic policy team to discuss a tax reform for Romney’s presidential campaign.

The meeting included Glenn Hubbard, former chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) who is co-chairman of Romney’s economic policy council. Also on hand were former Bush economic policy officials Brian Reardon and Cesar Conda. Gregory Mankiw, another former CEA chairman, is Romney’s economic co-chairman but could not attend the Utah meeting because of a knee injury.

Romney, seeking to contrast himself with Republican presidential front-runner John McCain on taxes, has surrounded himself with architects of Bush’s tax plan. Vice President Dick Cheney had to cast a tie-breaking vote on the 2003 tax cuts because Sen. McCain had voted against them.

We can expect a strong fiscal performance from Romney.

Justin Hart, our Web Designer extraordinaire, will be live blogging from the Romney Kick-off Monday in Boston for MyManMitt. Be sure to tune in!

From Mitt's Site

Key Appearances:

• Now Playing: What Republicans are About
• Now Playing: The Most Critical Period in American History

In the News:

• Now Playing: 03 Jan 07 "Situation Room"; Schechner
• Now Playing: 02 Jan 07 MSNBC "Hardball": Gergen, Mitchell
• Now Playing: 02 Jan 07 Fox News "The Big Story": Vandehei
• Now Playing: 31 Dec 06 NBC "Meet The Press": Kate O'Beirne
• Now Playing: 14 Nov 06 Fox News "The Big Story": Nina Easton
• Now Playing: 14 Nov 06 Fox News "Special Report": Panel

Fun

• Now Playing: Imus takes on Mitt…or vice versa!
• Now Playing: The Wisdom of Aunt Connie and Aunt Ruth
• Now Playing: Good humor…or good sport?

Google Video

• Charlie Rose - Gov. Mitt Romney

Reasons to agree

1. Former Senate staffer
2. Former Senator Smith
3. Few people like Mccain in the Senate .
4. Former Rep John Leboutillier
5. Pat Murphy
6. Paul Johnson
7. Judy Leiby
8. Jim Abbott, the supervisor of the Coronado National Forest
9. Marty Russo
10. Robin Silver and Bob Witzeman

Reasons to disagree

1. Anyone who has been in the Senate for as long as McCain has made a lot of enemies.

Reasons to agree

1. When asked about his temper, McCain has portrayed himself as angry about issues. "Do I feel passionately about issues? Absolutely," McCain has said. "Do I get angry when I see pork barreling and wasteful spending? Absolutely." But McCain's outbursts have not been directed at policy issues or waste. Instead, even if they are longtime friends, he explodes at people who disagree with him or who tell him they cannot support him.
2. McCain's aides say that McCain himself was the last to recognize that he had a reputation as a hothead, and used to rail at them in private every time a public commentator suggested he had a problem, shouting, "I do not have a temper. I just care passionately."

Reasons to agree"

1. When McCain ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2000, only four Republican senators endorsed him.
2. "I have witnessed incidents where he has used profanity at colleagues and exploded at colleagues. He would disagree about something and then explode. It was incidents of irrational behavior. We've all had incidents where we have gotten angry, but I've never seen anyone act like that." – Former Senator Bob Smith, a New Hampshire Republican who served with McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee and on Republican policy committees.
3. "He had very few friends in the Senate. He has a lot of support around the country, but I don't think he has a lot of support from people who know him well." – Former Senator Smith, who dealt with McCain almost daily.
4. Another former senator who requested anonymity recalled an exchange at a Republican policy lunch. McCain turned on another senator who disagreed with him. "McCain used the f-word," the former senator said. "McCain called the guy a ‘sh–head.' The senator demanded an apology. McCain stood up and said, ‘I apologize, but you're still a sh–head.' That was in front of 40 to 50 Republican senators. That sort of thing happened frequently."