Fred Thompson

Following the post South Carolina departure of Sen. Fred Thompson from the presidential race, former Assemblyman Guy Gregg, state director of the Thompson campaign in New Jersey, announced today he would throw his support behind Mitt Romney.

"We need a businessman and someone with a fresher perspective outside of Washington," said Gregg, who will recommend to others in the Thompson camp that they back Romney.

A new poll of 380 past Republican voters likely to vote in the Feb. 5th New Jersey primary shows Sen. John McCain leading former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani by 31-26% with 18% for former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney.

Conducted for a private client on Sunday through Tuesday by Neighborhood Research of Franklin, the survey has a theoretical margin of error of +/- 5.0% in 95% of cases.

A poll released today by Rasmussen Reports confirms what a Monmouth University/Gannett poll showed earlier this week: that John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are in a dead heat in New Jersey.

Thompson would be his first choice, but the Wall Street guy and Rush Limbaugh fan acknowledges Romney has more money and better organization.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul continues to exceed expectations in the early presidential contests, holding his own with Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson in Iowa and New Hampshire.  Paul has an organization in New Jersey, albeit a small one, led by Assemblyman Michael Doherty, former gubernatorial candidate (and possible '08 U.S. Senate candidate) Murray Sabrin, and '04 congressional candidate George Ajjan.  This is the Libertarian wing of the New Jersey GOP, and insiders have always viewed that as a significant, though largely unorganized, block of voters.

Republican presidential hopeful and New Jersey frontrunner Rudy Giuliani couldn’t catch a break today in Monmouth County.

First, the former New York mayor had to personally withdraw from a fund-raiser in Colts Neck because of flu-like symptoms that put him in the hospital.

The he came in at the bottom of the heap in Clerk Claire French’s ballot drawing ths afternoon for placement on the Feb. 5th primary ballot.

As recently as the American boyhoods of John Kerry, John McCain and George W. Bush, it was nearly impossible to think of becoming president without going through the ritual of combat.

World War II vets threw down a gauntlet that members of the succeeding generation couldn't hope to wield unless they donned uniforms and picked up rifles. But the motif of warrior as leader goes back most vividly and foundationally to Washington.

The general on horseback myth worked so well and the country's early talent pool tested in war went so deep, few men thereafter could assume the chair of presidential power without showing battle stripes. From the country's founding all the way up to 1908, only the elections of 1800 (Adams v. Jefferson), 1844 (Polk v. Clay) and 1861 (Lincoln v. Douglas) failed to feature war hero candidacies.

Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani continue to hold substantial leads in New Jersey’s February 5, 2008 presidential primary, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.

Among Democrats, Clinton leads Barack Obama by a 46%-20% margin, with 9% to John Edwards. On the Republican side, Giuliani leads Fred Thompson by 36 percentage points – 48%-12%, with 9% for John McCain and 7% for Mitt Romney.

In a general election matchup, Clinton and Giuliani are in a statistical dead-heat, with each candidate at 44%.

It used to be that some had aspirations that a 24-7 media would lead to a general uplift in the culture, arts, and political understandings of the people. Such a promise seemed to fulfill Thomas Jefferson’s admonition that a people could not be both ignorant and free.  But what is happening is disappointing.  First, the major non-cable networks have moved their resources out of nightly news.  If one examines, for example, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric one will see a 30-minute show that gives us 22 minutes of news, but a good part is soft news which is entertainment not enlightenment.  Then CBS and the other two networks wonder why the number of people watching their news has significantly dropped over the years.

Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani continue to hold substantial leads in New Jersey's February 5, 2008 presidential primaries, according to a new Strategic Vision poll released today. Clinton leads Barack Obama by a 52%-21% margin among Democrats (John Edwards is at 7% and Bill Richardson at 5%), while Republicans give Giuliani a 53%-11% advantage over Fred Thompson. John McCain and Mitt Romney each have 7%.

In New Jersey, President George W. Bush has an upside-down overall job approval rating of 18%-71%. Seven out of ten voters disapprove of his handling of the economy, 69% disapprove of his handling of the war in Iraq, and 57% want a U.S. troops withdrawn from Iraq within six mohths. But New Jersey voters, by a 49%-41% margin, approve of Bush's handling of the war on terrorism.