This speech by Dan Bartlett, who was formerly a key Bush adviser, is well worth watching. Most of it is devoted to ranking the Republican contenders to succeed his old boss–of which more in a second, but before that he talks about Vladimir Putin for a few minutes. Although the tone is light-hearted as he tells tales about how Putin used to mock Bush’s dog, you sense the real concern that many of those close to the White House have about Putin and what he might try and pull. The news that Putin intends to step down as president only to become prime minister is unlikely to assuage these concerns.
Bartlett’s analysis of the Republican field is far franker than what you’d usually get on camera from a political insider. His key point is that 2008 is “going to be the season of the pragmatic Republican voter” as Republicans know that they’re in very bad shape politically. He’s dismissive of the late entrant to the race Fred Thompson, the star of Law and Order and Hunt for Red October, saying that he’s a ‘dud’ and that his best moment came before he entered the race. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, is going to have huge problems in the South because of his Mormonism. He rates Rudy Giuliani as the candidate with the best message, thanks to the former New York Mayor’s ability to use every question to pivot back to talking about how he can beat Hillary Clinton. While he speculates that John McCain could once again win the first in the nation primary in New Hampshire and then find himself without the money to capitalize.
Surprisingly, Bartlett rates the little known former Arkansas governor Mick Huckabee as the ‘best candidate’, although not the one most likely to win if only because America isn’t ready for a president with a surname, as well, folksy as Huckabee. It is, though, well worth keeping an eye on Huckabee who first came to national prominence for losing 110 pounds after been told by his doctor that if he stayed at his current weight he’d de dead within 10 years. He is well positioned to score an upset in the opening contest in Iowa and is the current Washington favourite for the second slot on the GOP ticket.
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