Election Night HQ

Here’s what others in the blogosphere are saying about Senator McCain, in the aftermath of the South Carolina debate on Thursday, January 10.

LJ of Race42008.com - “The Real Winner” - here’s an excerpt:

I was talking to one of the best political flaks in SC today, and he sees the scenario laid out perfectly: Fred vs. Huck in SC means that, if Romney stumbles in Michigan, McCain is all but a shoo-in with a plurality win.

IN fact, he openly speculated that Fred is in to keep the conservative vote split so that McCain can avoid the showdown with the Right that he can’t possibly win in SC.

In that case, it’s no surprise that the real winner of the debate was John McCain. Mark Halperin agrees and says that “[McCain’s] tone and demeanor reflected the view of his staff: unless someone stops him pronto, he will be the 2008 nominee of the Republican Party.”

Update: Jon Martin echos my thoughts exactly and concludes:

But with Romney moving to pull out of the primary here and Thompson, Giuliani and Huckabee indicating again Thursday that they’re not comfortable attacking McCain in person, he’s on track to enjoy the precise opposite of what he experienced in the South Carolina in 2000.

It appears as if everything that could have possibly gone right for McCain has.

NJ for McCain - “McCain and Independents” -

Ramesh Ponnuru in Time Magazine highlights Senator McCain’s following in New Hampshire and beyond. Over the years, we’ve seen how independent-minded McCain is, so it’s not surprising that many members of his base are independent voters. As many of his Republican counterparts are not paying attention to this voting bloc, McCain continues to engage independent voters.

A political cartoon contrasting the differing fortunes of McCain and Mitt, in the Granite State, from Blogs4McCain’s Seattle:

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