The latest AP poll puts into sharp relief what everyone already knows – the GOP is a grandly opposed party:
White men, conservatives, evangelicals and other pivotal blocs are divided among the Republican Party’s leading contenders for president, leaving the race for the 2008 GOP nomination highly fluid, according to the latest Associated Press-Ipsos poll.
The poll showed the contest remains a virtual tie between Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, at 24 percent and Fred Thompson, the actor and former senator from Tennessee, at 19 percent. Not far behind at 15 percent is Sen. John McCain of Arizona while former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has 7 percent.
The three things that jump out are:
1. Romney is hosed. After all the buzz and all the money and all the effort to recruit evangelicals, Gov. Romney needs to be thinking about his next job because he won’t be president (or VP either – evangelicals are scared of Mormons)
2. McCain isn’t hosed. After all he has been through – campaign implosion comes to mind – Sen. McCain is right there.
3. 22% of Republicans are still undecided.