I kept wondering why we call these political battles, races. I mean, it isn’t about speed. But then Barak Obama confused me.

COLUMBUS, Miss. – In a fiery speech, Obama pushed back hard against charges by Hillary Clinton and her campaign that he is not suited to be Commander-In-Chief, and expressed disbelief at the Clintons’ suggestions that he be vice president.

“Now first of all, with all due respect, with all due respect,” Obama began, “I have won twice as many states as Sen. Clinton. I have won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton. So I don’t know how somebody who is in second place, is offering the vice presidency to the person who is in first place.

“I mean, I am just wondering, because if I was in second place I could understand it. But I am in first place right now. So that’s point number one.”

He went on to point out how Clinton could consider him as his VP when she and the campaign have been saying that he is not ready to be Commander-In-Chief.

“But there’s a second point,” he said. “This is an interesting point. I want you guys to follow me on this. President Bill Clinton, back in 1992 when he was being asked about his selection for Vice President, he said that the only criteria, the most important criteria for a Vice President, is that that person is ready, if I fell out, in the first week, that he or she will be ready to be the Commander-In-Chief.

So, it is called a race still - but maybe it should be called a marathon. You win this primary race by your endurance to Hillary’s crap. Maybe?

Romney’s exit from the race for nomination signals the end of the primaries, as the different facets of the party coalesce behind the Republican nominee. The conservatives are left out in the cold, but many of them will see it as their duty to support the Republican nominee as a part of party politics.

Romney’s exit also signals my return to furthering the debate about the issues in the context of liberal vs. conservative beliefs.

We have a great deal of work ahead of us on issues, such as abortion, the economy, illegal immigration and immigration policy reform, tort reform, energy, education, and preserving our right to bear arms (and returning our gun rights).  Those battles will have to be fought regardless of who ends up in the White House.

The work of the electorate is never done, so please continue to read and participate. Please continue to listen to our weekly talk show. Hopefully, we are touching political passion points for you, and not just shouting into a dark room.

John McCain is not likely to win his own state. Take a look at a recent straw poll conducted at a recent Maricopa County Republican Committee meeting.

Hat tip: Don Goldwater

Maricopa Republicans Presidential Straw Poll Vote Results

Maricopa County Republicans conducted a Presidential Straw Poll during the Jan. 19 Maricopa County Republican Committee meeting in Tempe.  In the first category the delegates were able to vote for only their first choice for president.

Those results were as follows.  Presidential Straw Poll with 721 ballots cast:

188            Mitt Romney            26%

121            Fred Thompson      17%

115            Ron Paul                 16%

93              Duncan Hunter        13%

80              John McCain           11%

33               Rudy Giuliani            9%

32               Mike Huckabee        9%

In the second voting category, the delegates were able to vote for more than one candidate as unacceptable.    In the Unacceptable Category 427 out of 721 (59%) of the delegates declared McCain as one of their unacceptable candidates. The tallies were:

427        McCain

396        Paul

357        Giuliani

340        Huckabee

156        Hunter

152        Thompson

121        Romney

In the third category, the delegates were able to vote for more than one candidate as acceptable.  

Those results were as follows:

370        Thompson

358        Hunter

356        Romney

235        Giuliani

207        Huckabee

135        McCain

120        Paul

These issues were rated by the delegates as the most important for the presidential candidates to address:

643        STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

552        WIN WAR AGAINST TERROR

518        REDUCE GOV’T SPENDING

406        LOWER TAXES

390        SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENTS

271        PRO-LIFE

226        CITIZEN’S GUN RIGHTS

196        DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION

106        CHOICE OF PRIVATE SS ACCOUNTS

Listening to the local shows and talking with Republicans in the area, the sentiment is the same all over. These results, are of course, anecdotal. However, it will be interesting to see how this plays out when Arizona Republicans (no independents vote in our primaries) have some 30-odd candidates to choose from on February 5th.