The Aftermath of Florida

John McCain is the projected winner of the GOP Florida Primary. He beat out Mitt Romney in a very tight race. It has become a bit of a heated rivalry between the Arizona senator and the former Massachusetts governor. Both are battling it out to win the favor of GOP voters. When it was all said and done McCain was able to gain the edge over Romney There is a big veteran population in Florida, so that really helped him out yesterday. It was the closes primary race we have seen so far this year.

Rudy Giuliani has to be very disappointed in how he did in Florida. The former New York City mayor was counting on the state to propel him into Super Tuesday. It was his hope that he would be able to use momentum from Florida to do well on February 5th. Now, Giuliani is expected to drop out of the race, which he probably should have done back in New Hampshire. It became clear after his poor performances in both the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire Primary that Giuliani was not going to get the nomination. Rudy was holding on to false hope. Now, Giuliani is expected to announce that he is dropping out of the race on the same day John Edwards is expected to make his announcement. Again, you would think that these candidates would take the hint (unless your Ron Paul, because then you have the money to carry on regardless) and drop out. It does not take long to realize that this is just not your year. There was too much attention surrounding Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards was left out in the cold. He should have dropped out after he lost his own state of South Carolina.

It is time to keep the field narrow. When you have Republican debates there should just be Mitt Romney, John McCain, and maybe Mike Huckabee. Ron Paul has the money to stay in the race, but it is time that we focus on serious contenders that are still in the race for the nomination. There is no clear front-runner for the Republican Party still despite what Fox News may tell you. McCain may have a lead in the national polls, but so did Giuliani for a long time and look at him. We will not be able to even make a solid prediction as to who may come out as the nominee until after Super Tuesday.

Giuliani is expected to drop out. Mike Huckabee is still holding on in hope that he can gain some ground before Super Tuesday, but realistically this has become a two-man race just like the Democratic race is a two-candidate race. The Republican Party needs to start thinking about what they can do to beat Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama is no where near from being out of this race, but you have to look at this realistically. Do Democrats really want a president that has only one term of experience in the Senate, and not even a full term? He has the endorsements of the Kennedys, and Ted talks about returning to having a president with a vision of change like the late John F. Kennedy. Do Democrats really want a president like JFK? He is one of the most overrated presidents in the history of the United States. He did absolutely nothing during his time as president. Kennedy makes a compelling Inaugural Address, and now is considered one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States. It is a tragedy that he was killed in office, but to use this as the basis of vindication for naming him one of the greatest presidents in the our nation’s history is absurd. A president has to be made up of more than words. He has to be willing to act. There has to be some substance behind your message. Obama throws the word “change” around, which can attract the undecided, independent voters, but that message has no foundation, no validity. This is the very reason that, at this point, either of the two leading Republicans would be a whole lot better than either Democratic candidate. Although conservatives are better off voting for Mitt Romney over John McCain. Remember McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy, and McCain-Liberman before you make your decision, and ask yourself if you really want a Republican president who is going to help expand the federal government even more beyond its limits. We need a president who will promote limited government and practice fiscal responsibility. McCain doesn’t appear to be the candidate to do that.