Update II: Novak - McCain's Christian Problem
Update: Read Michael Scherer's report in Salon. The religious right's two-day gathering in D.C. demonstrates the enduring political trouble for the top-tier Republicans running for the GOP presidential nomination.
As reported in the New York Times, the politically significant straw poll taken at the "values voters" conference found three of the top four Republican candidates performing dismally, with Fred D. Thompson at 9.8 percent, Rudy Giuliani finishing second to last with less than two percent of the vote, and Senator John McCain finishing dead-last.
Mitt Romney, the only one of the top four Republican candidates who performed well, placed a close second in the straw poll (two online polls produced conflicting numbers), but did nothing to dissipate the deep skepticism toward his candidacy that has been marked by major flip-flops on social issues.
The NYT's Michael Luo reports that Romney received only a "smattering" of applause; and reading between the lines may have engineered the victory as voting was allowed before the conference.
Bottom line: Still no mandate from the religious right that political observers believe must come out in full force for the Republican nominee if he is to have a chance in the general election in 2008; a conclusion to which even organizers of the conference admitted they agreed.
As reported in the New York Times, the politically significant straw poll taken at the "values voters" conference found three of the top four Republican candidates performing dismally, with Fred D. Thompson at 9.8 percent, Rudy Giuliani finishing second to last with less than two percent of the vote, and Senator John McCain finishing dead-last.
Mitt Romney, the only one of the top four Republican candidates who performed well, placed a close second in the straw poll (two online polls produced conflicting numbers), but did nothing to dissipate the deep skepticism toward his candidacy that has been marked by major flip-flops on social issues.
The NYT's Michael Luo reports that Romney received only a "smattering" of applause; and reading between the lines may have engineered the victory as voting was allowed before the conference.
Bottom line: Still no mandate from the religious right that political observers believe must come out in full force for the Republican nominee if he is to have a chance in the general election in 2008; a conclusion to which even organizers of the conference admitted they agreed.
Straw Poll Results
Mike Huckabee - 51.26%
Mitt Romney - 10.40%
Fred Thompson - 8.09%
Tom Tancredo - 6.83%
Rudy Giuliani - 6.30%
Duncan Hunter - 5.67%
John McCain - 3.15%
Sam Brownback - 2.73%
Ron Paul - 2.63%
Undecided - 1.16%
Not Voting - 0.74%
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