The NYT/McCain Saga and It's Effects on The Huckabee Campaign

First thoughts. Complete disaster for us Huckabee supporters and our efforts in Texas. We shall see how we weather it. In fact we have no choice to redouble our efforts in getting Huckabee in the news more.

I am sure most people have read the story. It is hard to imagine how this got into print. By the way don't start thinking left wing conspiracy to torpedo McCain. If that was the reason it came out why now and not before the convention or even worse in October.

If you want to get all Machiavelli start thinking how Drudge got the story in Nov and who he is linked too this political year and who really perhaps really benefits from this. The timing indicates it is not the "left" ,nor Clinton, and not Obama.

That being said the real story we are all awaiting is no doubt from the New Republic. They alerted the McCain people they were doing a story on major fights at the NYT over releasing this story. Seeing how shoddy it is from a journalistic standpoint I can see why there were fights. I mean the sources seem to be people that McCain fired last year.

As to Huckabee, he needs really to get over 50 percent in Texas. A tough task on many levels. It has been complicated by Hillary Clinton that is truly having her own Alamo moment and is about to saturate the paid airwaves with ads in the lone star state.

To make it worse she will be getting all the free local media she can get. Which has an effect of sort of taking our media away. At the end of the night there is only so much political news you can fit in before you get the weather and sports.

Now this story will further suck the oxygen from the room. IF this is all the NYT has got McCain will get a lot of vote from people that want to stick it to the liberal MSM and have a genuine of understandable sense of outrage. In fact no doubt the smart people in the McCain camp are seeing an opportunity with this. We (the huckabee folks) are in much need to make news of our own and this does not help.

We shall see how we weather the storm of this. I highly suggest that we concentrate getting our early vote in now especially in Huckabee friendly districts.

I hope it is apparent to all Huckabee supporters we should do nothing to aid this story. If this is all they got then it is indeed a travesty. However there is no need for us not to become engulfed in it. That does not mean it is wrong to defend our fellow Republican with moral support from what appears at this time to be questionable reporting. However one can do that and still support Huckabee.

We need to be targeting Texas voters on the Fair Tax and other things. For instance I shall be trying to target Catholic Texas voters over the next few days. Our internet buzz factor is way now and we need to get that back up

One last note - I thought Team McCain made a mistake with their inital response. A journalist at the Atlantic agrees:
Strong Claim
20 Feb 2008 09:59 pm
Does John McCain's campaign really want to go on record with the idea that he has "never done favors for special interests or lobbyists"? I would, personally, find it shocking if there were truly zero instances in the man's 25 year congressional career in which he did something for a special interest. What about Charles Keating? This seems like an invitation for trouble down the road.

Yeah that seems lie a bad move. It is a bad move because someones's good guys are someone else's special interest. For instance does not Arizona have industries that need to be protected?

No one ,or no group, or no demographic views their special interest as "special interest". They view it as the best thing for the Republic since sliced bread.

So of course you do favors for people that are a part of your supporters base. Many times there is nothing wrong about that . Just like there is nothing wrong when Louisian Senators make sure that Industries that are vital to Louisiana are protected.

However one cannot explain that in a 10 second sound bite when the press starts pointing things that contradict that you "never done favors for special interests or lobbyists".