He is a lost ball in tall grass to begin with. |
He's such an insignificant player on the national stage, a plodding speech praising JFK and discovering tax cuts won't do much to enhance his stature. |
If he's making progress, he's making progress digging out of a hole. But the problem is, he started with such a legacy of overspending and higher taxes. Conservatives welcome converts, but he has a lot to overcome. |
If Pataki can craft a message that builds on this, then he has a story to tell. But the story has to have a happy ending. |
In 1984, the Democrats held a very liberal presidential convention in San Francisco. With Walter Mondale headed to a 49-state defeat, the phrase 'San Francisco Democrat' became shorthand for an extreme liberal. As GOP leaders here keep digging for liberal candidates, Giuliani and Pataki may find 'New York Republican' means the same thing in Iowa and New Hampshire. |
It was a moment on the national stage for Pataki. And he can say that when an out-of-control, liberal union tried to shut down New York, he took a firm line. |
Liberal Republicans in New York are like the corpse in old horror movies that won't stay buried. |
Pataki might think ethanol will win him farm votes in Iowa. But when he's carrying the weight of his liberal views on abortion and gay rights, a boutique tax cut for alternative fuels won't put much in Pataki's tank for a presidential race. |
Rudy is definitely collecting some insider chits. But his problems remain at the grass roots. The rank-and-file Republicans who actually nominate candidates are much more conservative than Giuliani's record. |
Socialized medicine isn't good for patients' health or Hillary's political future. |
There are more jokes about losers than there are books about losers. The most common volumes you see written about them are the bumper stickers during the next administration: Don't blame me; I voted for the loser. |
There is nothing mysterious here. She picked a fight and she's polarizing enough for Republicans to slap back. |
There's conservative money out there to oppose Hillary, but not to duplicate Hillary. |
They transcend the swamp of New York politics. Because of their celebrity, Clinton and Giuliani are able to rise above the mire that soils so many other New York politicians. |
This soap opera has done nothing to erase Hillary Clinton's vulnerabilities. She starts with 30 percent who would vote against her, no matter what. That's a pretty high stepping off point for a challenger. |