We'll see how loudly the Rudy team crows about this
poll
remarkably showing him leading McCain in McCain's home state of
Arizona. (On the subject of McCain I'm with
Bill Kristol and not "Richelieu" on the Iowa question.)
Meanwhile, debate or no debate -- do they have any impact on real
voters? -- Hillary is
slipping in Iowa, making for one big brawl there.Does this
impact the GOP in any way? A bit, I think. The Democrats will be
the huge story either way coming out of Iowa. "Hillary Puts Away
the Rest" or " Inevitable No More" will be the screaming headlines
the next day. Does this suck the oxygen coverage from the GOP race
and some of the momentum out of the GOP winner? Possibly,
especially if the result is not definitive and multiple candidates
are claiming real and "moral" victories. And if Hillary doesn't win
and the Democratic race is still hot and heavy do those NH
Independents jump into the Democratic primary a few days later?
Quite likely, which would not be good news for McCain. And finally
an interesting item in head to head match ups would Hillary tie
Romney in Alabama? According to this
poll, yes.