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    Is there a more inspiring movie than Rocky?  Everyone knows and loves the story of the underdog boxer seizing his once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight for the world heavyweight championship.  This year’s Democrat presidential primary is turning out just like the first bout between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed.  It’s a grueling match in which neither fighter gives an inch, nor can he can knock the other out.  Remember, Rocky lost that match, yet went on to become a great champion in sequels, while Apollo kept his belt but never won another fight. 

    The question conservatives should be asking is this: will the Democrats’ grueling, 15-round presidential primary produce a washed up champion or a colossus?  Many conservatives are giddy about the bloodletting now between Senators Obama and Clinton, excited about poll numbers giving John McCain a fighting chance to beat them in November.  The conventional wisdom is that this long, drawn-out fight will weaken the eventual nominee.  I’m not so sure.  It seems to me that as much fun as we’re all having watching Clinton and Obama gut-shoot each other across the country all spring, there are more important things to do.  Two, to be specific.

    First of all, conservatives need to remember everything Clinton and Obama have said since their grudge match turned ugly about three months ago.  When the dust settles and one of them emerges as the Democrat nominee, we cannot allow them a honeymoon period to sweep all the ugliness of primary season under the rug.  Barack Obama’s minister is an anti-American bigot, and Obama refused to condemn the man’s ministry of hate or apologize for generously funding it.  Hillary Clinton is an unrepentant liar – the Bosnian sniper scandal only the latest example – whose inability to manage her campaign, her staff, and her sociopath husband should give pause to anyone who thinks there’s no difference between the choices this November. 

    Opinion sites like this one, as well as other conservative blogs, the Republican National Committee, and even Democrat researchers are going to be valuable resources for cataloguing all the misinformation and media spin that will follow the Democrats’ nominating convention.  When the general election campaign begins in earnest and Clinton or Obama try to reframe their image for the American people, conservatives need to be armed with – and motivated by – the ugly truth.   

    Second, conservatives need to rally around the most conservative candidate remaining in the presidential contest, John McCain.  My differences with Senator McCain are many and well known, but the fact of the matter is that he cannot defeat Clinton or Obama with conservatives grumbling on the sidelines.  We cannot sit back and hope or expect Democrats to lose this election – we have to go out and win it.

    We cannot know whether the Democrats’ slug-fest will leave their nominee bloodied and bruised, or if he’ll have a knock-out punch with John McCain’s name on it, but we do know this – whoever the nominee is, he’s going to have one helluva tough jaw.

"Decisive Lead Amongst Conservatives!"

According to the newest Rasmussen numbers Mitt Romney now leads the GOP race for the nomination - NATIONALLY, and is up 15 points amongst "conservatives." McCain leads amongst moderates - but most of the primary races here on out are closed races which will diminish moderate/independent turnout for the GOP race.

Mitt's strategy, though it hit a sizable speed bumps in Iowa AND New Hampshire, is on the verge of complete fruition. The singularly important task ahead of him being - to win Florida.

If McCain loses Florida, though he will be around to make more noise, he will be all but finished. It Mitt wins, he must still compete heavily on Tsunami Tuesday, but he will be in position to raise additional money to complete his war chest.

Huckabee's loss in South Carolina appears to have been his ultimate undoing, which in all reality could be blamed easily enough on Thompson given the similarity in the exit poll responses from Thompson and Huckabee's supporters. Had Thompson not been in the race, Huckabee would have easily defeated McCain by a wide margin (perhaps 10%).

Now that McCain, who traditionally only wins "open" primaries, is faced with convincing the conservative base of the GOP primary voters that he isn't the wild, undisciplined, arrogant, half-crazed, tempest in a teapot he has been for the last eight years. But the track record is long.

And when you associate your name with more legislation (McCain/Feingold, McCain/Kennedy, McCain/Lieberman) with your opponent's co-signature's than from your own party's there's bound to be backlash. Even in this election cycle it appears that while McCain says ONE THING about border security, the staffing of his campaign advisers tells a VERY different story.

A good boxing of the ears in Florida and Senator Cranky can finally put the "running for president" demons to rest, and just focus on enjoying the remainder of his time in the Senate and with his wife and family...

"Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord should be the first."

-- Bill Richardson, Des Moines Register, 9/4

'Look, that was an off-the-cuff comment where I said Iowa and New Hampshire should be first,'' he told reporters after a campaign stop in south-central Iowa. When pressed further, he said Iowa should launch the primary calendar because ''it's a tradition in American politics that has worked.''
 
''Iowa scrutinizes candidates through a grassroots state. They are very good at winnowing down candidates,'' he said. ''They don't listen to national polls. Iowa voters are very independent and issue-oriented.''