In an amusing post (possibly not intentionally) at the Globe’s Political Intelligence blog, the following is reported:
Poll: Romney looking good in NH
Governor Mitt Romney, who’s eyeing a presidential bid in 2008, is faring well in the critical primary state of New Hampshire, according to a new poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
UNH asked 199 likely Republican primary voters over the past two weeks who they would vote for. Twelve percent said Romney, putting him behind Arizona Senator John McCain at 26 percent, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani at 18 percent, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at 14 percent. No other prospective candidate was above 3 percent.
But Survey Center director Andrew E. Smith says Romney, who has gradually gained support in the UNH poll since early 2005, should be happy with 12 percent, because he’s gained it himself, instead of trading on name recognition from the 2000 presidential race (McCain) or the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks (Giuliani).
WTF?? Come on, Mr. Smith – Romney has a vacation home in New Hampshire, at which he spends a good deal of time, and he is the Governor of the state next door, so his smiling mug is constantly showing up on TV screens that pick up Boston stations (especially these days in light of the CA/Tastrophe). In what possible world is that any different from “trading on name recognition” based on a 2000 presidential run, or Giuliani’s post-9/11 performance, or Rice’s current position as Secretary of State? If anything, I’d think Romney would be pretty bummed to be behind someone (Rice) who has actually said she “has no intention of running.”
No doubt everyone remembers Joe Lieberman’s hilarious performance in the 2004 presidential primary race, in which he declared that the excellent “Joementum” that his campaign was picking up would propel him to victory in NH – and then he landed in an alleged “three-way tie for third place” – which was actually fifth place, as sabutai points out in the comments. Interestingly, when Lieberman made his “Joementum” comment, he was polling at 12% – exactly what Romney’s got now. Romney’s fourth-place, 12% spot in the state next door looks a lot more to me like Joementum than it does like “looking good.”
The most ironic thing, is that Joe said he was in a “three-way tie for third place” he was lying through his teeth. Of course, Kerry and Dean had locked up first and second, then it became a muddle.
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As a matter of fact, Liberman finished fifth
behind Edwards and Clark, and even at that point it was clear Lieberman would be lucky to break double digits.
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So he says his throwaway, line , everyone laughs. I’m not saying this applies to you, David, but today tons of people think Joe finished third because he had the gall to lie through his teeth during his speech.
I’ve updated accordingly. Thanks.
Just the sticking power of a good line. Was it Goebbels who said “tell a big enough lie often enough loudly enough and people will believe it’s the truth”? Or something like that…look at the number of people for think there were WMDs in Iraq..