30
Jan
Rudy Giuliani wins the coveted Phil Gramm award; I give up
Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm has long held the record for spending the most money to the least effect in a presidential primary campaign. Gramm raised and spent about $20 million in 1995 and early 1996, more than all but eventual GOP nominee Bob Dole, but dropped out of the race before the New Hampshire primary after finishing fifth in Iowa with 9% of the vote, barely edging out Alan Keyes.
Rudy Giuliani is set to shatter Gramm’s record. When all the bills are tallied, Giuliani will have spent about $50 million on his doomed effort. To his credit, though, he did top Keyes by a considerably wider margin.
I have to acknowledge that my analysis of the GOP contest has been fundamentally flawed. Looking back, I can see that at the heart of my befuddlement lay the belief that none of the Republicans could possibly win their party’s nomination because they all suffer from one or more disqualifying liabilities. Too crazy, too moderate, too unpleasant, too phony, too religious, too irreligious, too dumb, too arrogant, look too good in a dress.
I seriously underestimated the ability of party stalwarts to control their gag reflex come crunch time.
I knew that my early favorite, Tom Tancredo, didn’t have a chance. And I knew that Fred Thompson would likely not agree to abandon his alleged campaign for the top slot to run as Duncan Hunter’s vice presidential candidate, so my fallback Hunter-Thompson ticket never really had a chance either. Now Mike Huckabee, my current endorsee for the GOP nomination, says he’s in it for the long haul but that increasingly looks to mean the next seven days.
I thought it was more likely that Republicans would exhume Dick Nixon and run him again than that John McCain would resurface at the head of the pack. I thought Mitt Romney’s transparent pandering on Republican red meat issues would earn him the Gramm honors, with his Mormonism giving him the edge over the equally panderific Giuliani’s libertine ways.
I don’t know what I’m going to do when Huckabee craps out. Rudy’s endorsement probably won’t damage McCain enough to make him worth supporting. I guess there’s always Ron Paul.
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Google]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.btcnews.com/btcnews/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
http://knowbeforeyouvote.com/
January 30th, 2008 at 10:37 amI really wonder how John Connelly would stack up in current dollars. And don’t forget Steve Forbes and even Willard (the governor not the rat) who has few delegates to show for beaucoup bucks made on the backs of laid off manufacturing workers. In fact, given what Obama raised in January $32 Mill., nearly 200 overall), if he loses to Hill, he may set the record for futility the dems.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:01 amThis Just in NPR says BTC correct!! Even adjusted for inflation, most expensive delegate ever, Someone needs to find and interview the 50million dollar delegate.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:25 am