Whitman's Committee to Re-Elect

Does Christine Todd Whitman hope to get Barack Obama re-elected?  I think the answer to that could be, yes.

Former New Jersey Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, who is leading a group to draft a third-party presidential candidate, is encouraging Jon Huntsman to make an independent bid for the White House.

“I would hope he would do it, frankly. He’s someone that I would support,” Whitman said Friday in an interview with POLITICO.

Whitman serves on the board of directors of an outfit called Americans Elect which seeks to bypass the political parties and put the presidential nominating power directly in the hands of the people.  It sounds great in theory, but the practical effect of a third party bid by Jon Huntsman would be to syphon votes from the eventual Republican nominee. Barack Obama would be the one to benfit most.

Not to mention that Hunstman is still in the hunt for the Republican nod, though his chances don't look all that good.  Whitman agrees.

Whitman, a Republican, said a third-party effort by Huntsman is the way to go because she believes it’s unlikely he has much of shot at the GOP nomination. “I don’t see that kind of traction unless he can pull off a surprise in New Hampshire, where independents are allowed to vote,” she said.

Could Whitman have so little regard for Huntsman that she believes his third party candidacy would have no impact on the general election, and that Obama will be defeated anyway?   Who knows.  In any case this is not the year for a serious third party bid.

Comments

[CaptDMO]

Um, maybe it's just me but..."the (illusion of)presidential nominating/electing power (has been) directly in the hands of (We)the people..." since I first registered to vote. (Electoral college excepted, of course)
It's usually at the bottom. It says WRITE IN HERE, there's even a box to check off just like the ones for "official party" designates.
Of course, while not entirely necessary, it helps to be literate, and savvy to the wily ways of "new and improved, for your convenience..." voting logistics folk. A history of experience examining, and voting, on EVERY issue/election is probably better "education" in this matter than self-proclaimed "community" voter education "activists" with bumper stickers, buttons, or other "miscellaneous" hand-outs.
Granted, this common sense approach MAY just be a NH thing, I could be wrong.

[Tom Bowler]

Democrats have believed in the Madison Avenue approach to politics for decades. The one who most successfully inundate the voters with his message wins. The message most often repeated sinks in but then is quickly forgotten after the election. It doesn't matter what the message is, the key is the inundation, and that takes money. Hence, the emphasis on campaign finance reform.

Have you noticed how lefties wonder from time to time, "Why aren't the people getting our message?" Well, we do actually, and therein lies their problem. Now matter how often they repeat it, the message still sucks.

This election is the first one in a long time in which money may not carry the day. Newt is in the lead, and he may have the least amount of money of all of them. It's been the debates that have gotten candidates the exposure that they would otherwise have needed money to gain. It will be an interesting election year.