Ron Paul

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has surged to a devastating lead in Arizona, far outdistancing John McCain and all other challengers, just three weeks before the state’s presidential preference election, according to a straw poll of GOP yuppies conducted in a Scottsdale bar during happy Thursday night.

Seasoned political analysts associated with the Republican Professional Club noted their straw poll was something less than perfectly scientific – and only partly because they sold the 515 ballots used in the poll for $5 each.

Nonetheless, here are the, ahem, official results:

– Ron Paul, 80 percent.

– John McCain, 12 percent.

– Mitt Romney, 3 percent.

– Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson and blank ballots, 1 percent each.

– Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter and two people whose driver’s licences reveal them to be Charles Jensen and John Galt, 0.5 percent each. 

The only definitive aspect of the pay-per-skew poll is that it raised $2,575 for the club. 

John McCain (right) and a few of his friends

A Republican insider suggested a new drinking game involving televised presidential debates. OK, the rules are still evolving, but here’s the working model so far…

You and your friends settle down in front of the tube to watch the next Republican debate. Everyone picks a candidate.

If your candidate is John McCain, every time he says “my friends,” you gulp some beer.

If your candidate is Mitt Romney, every time he mentions “Olympics,” you take a slug.

If your candidate is Rudy Giuliani, every time he utters “9/11,” drink away.

The Republican insider hasn’t yet determined the drinking cues for Mike Huckabee, Fred Thompson or Ron Paul yet. Give him time…

On the Democratic side…

If your candidate is Hillary Clinton, when she says “experience,” you gulp.

If your candidate is Barack Obama, when he says some version of “make history,” you make your beer history.

The cues for John Edwards, and well, whoever else is still left on the Dem side, haven’t been finalized.

Any viewer who hasn’t passed out before the end of the program declares himself or herself the winner. Congratulations.

Initially, the Republican insider who brainstormed this idea suggested Obama’s cue ought to be the word “change,” but I had to veto that idea on the basis that it would cause alcoholism.

Fred Thompson

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson had some fun Thursday when reporters in
Phoenix asked him about the strategy behind a TV commercial that was broadcast during the CNN/YouTube debate on Wednesday.

“Oh, it’s a very secret strategy. I can’t let you in on it,” he said during a brief press conference after speaking at two fundraisers.

All the candidates who participated in the debate were permitted to submit YouTube-style videos to be broadcast during the program. All but Thompson submitted videos that focused on their own achievements and qualifications.

Thompson’s spot instead showed old clips of Mitt Romney defending abortion rights and Mike Huckabee saying tax increases were fine with him. Alas, now Romney is opposed to abortion, and Huckabee is against tax raises.

Thompson said his ad took a legitimate look at his rivals’ evolving position on important issues. “The question is: Do you look at their record for several years or do you look at what they’re saying now, in order to determine what they’re going to do in the future?” Thompson said.

The answer was not provided during the press conference. On another topic, a reporter also asked Thompson if he expected to win Arizona’s GOP presidential preference election on Feb. 5.

“Ah, yes,” he replied without elaborating.

Pulling that off will require plenty of secret strategy work. A poll released by Behavior Research Center earlier this month had Thompson running in fourth place among the GOP presidential candidates in Arizona. The survey had Rudy Giuliani first with 20 percent support among self-identified Republican heads of households. Arizona Sen. John McCain was second at 18 percent, while Romney was third at 11 percent. Thompson was next at 10 percent.

My full story on Thompson’s first campaign visit to Arizona is available here: Posted in Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giulani, Surveys, polls and guesses, VIPs in AZ | 1 Comment »