The Shot!

Yeah, so when we said that Rudy’s in deep crap, this is what we were talking about:

Giuliani on the Bible: “The reality is I believe it, but I don’t believe it’s necessarily literally true in every respect, I think there are parts of the Bible that are interpretive.”

Was he saying the 7th Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery”, is open for interpretation?   

Maybe he thought it was alright since the taxpayers helped flip the bill for his extramarital encounters.

The State

• Richland 1 controversy | Who will run this troubled district?
• Sunday alcohol bill clears key vote
• City audit in — nearly a year late
• Giuliani, Clinton slip in SC polls
• Jafza logistics hub | Support for project strong, Clyburn says

Greenville News

• Sites for new federal courthouse narrowed down to three
• Sanitation worker dies a ‘hero’ after saving co-worker
• IRS releases ‘08 tax-deductible mileage rates
• ACLU wants Bowden to stop team church trips
• Poll: Presidential primaries will be tough to call
• McCain makes stop at Clemson

SHJ

• Forex moves base east to Spartanburg
• Vigil shines light on plight of homeless
• McCain more compassionate than mass illegal immigrant deportation

Post & Courier

• Funding woes block heritage corridors
• Sanford, in letter to Cabela’s chief, reiterates stand on state incentives
• Mount Pleasant says check cutting was above board
• Lowcountry awarded road funds
• Wife alleges abuse in court documents

More News

• G.O.P. Rivals Exchange Jabs in Testy Debate
• City Said to Have Paid Bills as Giuliani Affair Began
• A Fund-Raising Rainmaker Arises Online
• Republicans Get Own Mixed Bag of Questions, Sans Snowman
• Foes Use Obama’s Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him
• Virginia GOP Gets Strict on Voting

2008 Republicans

• GOP group to slam Romney on abortion
• Mike Huckabee, the Emerging Favorite of Religious Conservatives?
• Adwatch: Thompson Touts Legal Record
• McCain says not all illegal immigrants should be deported
• Giuliani, Romney Square Off in YouTube Debate

 2008 Democrats

• Edwards’s Site Chides Clinton
• Clinton denounces Obama’s healthcare proposal
• Obama Finds His Moment
  

The biggest news of the day isn’t the GOP debate. It’s The Politico’s story on Rudy Giuliani claiming that, as The NY  Sun puts it, “while he was pursuing an extramarital affair in the Hamptons with Judith Nathan, now his third wife, hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent on his police detail were disguised as legitimate expenses.”

This story is a serious blow to the Giuliani camp for numerous reasons. There’s the obvious fiscal issues.  But even more problematic is that this will remind voters over and over again that Rudy cheated on his wife. Oh, and then the fact that he was cheating on his wife on the taxpayer’s dime.  Eew…that’s bad. Real bad.

Politico: “Giuliani billed obscure agencies for trips”

New York Times: “City Said to Have Paid Bills as Giuliani Affair Began”

 New York Sun: “Giuliani Hid Security Costs When Courting”

With the GOP YouTube debate last night, there is a ton of news today.

The biggest story actually broke before the debate when The Politico reported that Rudy Giuliani was practically cheating on his wife on the taxpayer dime.  No, we aren’t making that up. Check out the article here.

As for the YouTube debate, everyone has a different opinion on who won. Here are a few wrap-up articles:

 Time: “Grading the GOP YouTube Debate”

Washington Post: “Republicans Battle in Florida”

Washington Post: “Mr. Nasty Vs. Mr. Nice”

Los Angeles Times: “Public questions inspire combative GOP debate”

ABC News: “Immigration, Iraq Fire Up Republicans in Terse Debate”

Politico: “GOP candidates turn fire on each other”

New York Times: “G.O.P. Rivals Exchange Jabs in Testy Debate”

Washington Post: “In Debate, Romney and Giuliani Clash on Immigration Issues”

Los Angeles Times: “Candidates challenged on gays in military”

One poll now has Huckabee up in Iowa. Click here.

But Romney is leading where its really important…right here in SC.  Rudy is dropping fast. Click here. 

Here’s Hoover’s take on it. Click here. 

Speaking of Romney, some chick from Columbia College thinks he’s modeling himself after Ronald Reagan. Click here. 

John McCain visited Clemson. Click here.

From CBS News’ Scott Conroy, on the trail with the Mitt Romney campaign:

Tom Brady he is not, but Mitt Romney can throw a pretty decent spiral.

The former Massachusetts governor took a break from preparing for tonight’s GOP presidential debate in St. Petersburg, Florida, to play a game of flag football this morning. The teams were composed of Romney’s sons, campaign staffers, political supporters and media (I played on the governor’s team).

This was not the kind of touch football game in which wide receivers casually jog out into the end zone to wait for the quarterback to lob a Hail Mary on every play. No, this was the kind of competitive battle one would expect from a family with five sons, featuring a real referee, freshly painted yard markers and a whole lot of rough and tumble play.

Over the years, the Romney brothers have taken to teasing their father for his lack of athletic prowess, but they showed the old man no mercy on the gridiron today. On one play, Governor Romney seemed to have a clear path to the end zone until his son Matt came from nowhere and yanked off a flag attached to his father’s waist.

Although Romney briefly showed off his passing skills during warm-ups, he did not take any snaps at QB during the game. Instead, he rotated between the center and wide receiver positions on the offensive end.

But the governor proved to be more of a defensive specialist, and he was not afraid to engage in some mind games with the opposing team to get the job done.

“I’m going to rush the passer, but I’m not going to set up like I am,” Romney whispered to his teammates before one play.

Governor Romney substituted himself out of the game before the end of the first half of the low scoring contest, sweat dripping from his face. It was time to hit the showers and run through the playbook for tonight.

And here’s video of it!
Have fun watching the debate at 8 on CNN!

Is Mike Huckabee the leading candidate in Iowa? Thats what a new Rasmussen survey says:

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of the Iowa caucus finds former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 28% of the vote, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with 25% support, and everyone else far behind.

National frontrunner Rudy Giuliani gets just 12% of the vote in Iowa at this time while former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson is the only other candidate in double digits at 11%. Given the margin of error, the challenges of determining the relatively small number of people who will participate in a caucus, and other factors, the race is far too close to call at this point in time. However, the fact that Romney is no longer the clear frontrunner in Iowa reflects a stunning change in the race.

Compared to our prior survey, the trend is unmistakable-Huckabee has gone up and just about everybody else has gone down. Huckabee’s 28% support represents a twelve point increase from a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted earlier in the month. Romney is down four points while Giuliani and Thompson are each down three points from the previous survey. John McCain is down two points and earns just 4% support. Ron Paul picked up a point and is now at the 5% level.

Forty-eight percent of Evangelical Christians support Hucakbee. That’s more than all the other candidates combined. Romney attracts 16% of the Evangelical vote.

THE STATE

• Witherspoon kicks off battle against Graham
• 5 POINTS SOUTH | City set to act on project
• Jafza logistics hub | Support for project strong, Clyburn says
• State GOP goes on attack during Clinton visit

GREENVILLE NEWS

• Clinton wins Upstate ministers’ endorsements
• War victory prospect divides candidates
• McCain says he’s one to return GOP to its roots

SHJ

• Columbia Republican challenges Graham
• Black pastors offer support to Clinton at Spartanburg stop
• New agency takes up fight against AIDS
• Clinton plans to cut dropouts; picks up minister endorsements
• McCain campaigns in Edwards’ hometown, lauds Iraq troop surge

Post & Courier

• More secrecy concerns in Mt. P.
• Noisette cleared for bond boost
• Long Savannah on track
• Sanford wants court to reconsider ruling
• Tiny Ridgeville caught in middle of state spat

More News

• Senate Race That Fizzled Honed Skills for ’08 Stage
• Bill Clinton Flatly Asserts He Opposed War at Start
• In Iowa, Mormon Issue Is Benefiting Huckabee
• Her Heart’s in the Race
• Bush Economic Adviser Stepping Down
• Democrats switch tack, seize on economic woes
• Sen. Kyl has No. 2 slot in the bag, it seems
• Are the Republicans ready for YouTube?

2008 Republicans

• Romney: Giuliani Praised Clinton Plan
• Huckabee Tries to Gloss Over Ark. Record
• Florida Republicans reveal views on issues, candidates
• Flat Tax Fred
• No buildup in support for McCain

2008 Democrats

• Clinton hits Obama on health care
• Obama Insiders Say Exposure Drives Up His Polls
• A Battle-Scarred Edwards, Emerging a Fighter
• Adwatch: Richardson and Education Plan
• Biden Fans Ask: Why Not Take on Rivals ‘Head On’?

Our homie Phil Bailey over at the South Carolina Senate Democratic Caucus may be a pretty politically savvy guy, but he can’t photoshop worth a darn.  So we did him a favor and took care of this for him.

His:

Ours:

Oh, and check out his post over on the Senate Democratic Caucus Blog. 

Yet another poll from South Carolina…

South Carolina Poll: Mitt, Huck Up, Rudy Cratering, Race Super-Volatile  

Greetings from Clemson, South Carolina, where John McCain is scheduled to make an appearance this morning before heading to Florida for the YouTube debate.

But the big news here is a new Palmetto Poll of the presidential race in South Carolina by Clemson University political scientists.  The scholars warn that the numbers are close, and there are a lot of undecideds, but the headline is that Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee have shot upward in the South Carolina standings, while Rudy Giuliani has taken a big dive.

The poll shows Romney in the lead among Republicans with 17 percent – up from his fourth-place, 11 percent finish in the same poll in August.  Fred Thompson is in second place at 15 percent, down from his first-place, 19 percent showing in August.  Mike Huckabee is in third with 13 percent, well up from his fifth-place six percent in August.  John McCain is in fourth place with 11 percent, down from his third-place 15 percent in August.  And Rudy Giuliani – who was virtually tied with Thompson for first place with 18 percent in August – is in fifth place with nine percent in the new poll.  Giuliani’s nine-percentage-point drop is the biggest in the field.  Finally, Ron Paul is in sixth place with six percent – up from one percent in August.

All of those numbers are smaller than the 28 percent who say they are undecided.  The Clemson political scientists found that that number is actually up from August, when 20 percent said they were undecided.  Given that, they stress the volatility of the race.  “As the election itself draws closer, voters are taking their responsibilities more seriously, and respondents are less likely to make casual selection when queried about who they are likely to support in the January vote,” the Clemson scholars write.