Because of Pataki, they haven’t mentioned that the key endorsement was Palin.
The Pataki endorsement is late but it comes on the last weekend AND he is a NY governer. This is going to make a ton of difference, but remember no matter what the Telegraph says:
Perhaps the most significant intervention has been by Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a mainstream Republican who many party insiders believe has the most plausible claim to the party’s 2012 presidential nomination for a contest in which President Barack Obama could well be vulnerable.
it is the Palin endorsement that made everyone else move, they do conceede that she was first.
Sarah Palin, another possible 2012 candidate and a darling of the Right, had already announced on Facebook that she was backing Mr Hoffman. “Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense and a commitment to individual liberty,” she wrote.
This is an English paper so it can be excused to some degree meanwhile on the Pataki endorsement:
Mr. Pataki announced his support for Mr. Hoffman at a Conservative Party fundraiser at the New York Athletic Club. Mr. Pataki said he has a farm in the 23rd congressional district and I know that district inside and out.
John Bolton, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also backed Mr. Hoffman at the event.
While Huckabee is being quiet:
While former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has also declined to endorse Hoffman in the race, on Wednesday he said, “I have chosen not to endorse the Republican in the 23rd.”
“Now we need to ask about Romney, why won’t Huckabee endorse, etc.,” Erick Erickson, the editor and founder of the influential RedState blog, wrote earlier this week.
“I’m willing to give till Wednesday for candidates to get on,” he wrote. “After Wednesday morning, it’s just for show.”
RedState speculated that ongoing tensions with former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, a former Huckabee GOP primary foe who has endorsed Hoffman, have kept Huckabee from weighing in. Huckabee is widely thought to be at odds with Thompson over the senator’s refusal to drop out of the 2008 contest until well after he was a viable candidate.
This is going to be the story of the year no matter how it ends.
Update: The Other McCain is there for the kill, and Morning Joe seems to have steered away from it. There is a Mass for my father this morning so I’ll only be watching for a few more minutes so I don’t know if they will go back to it. They didn’t make a lot of fuss about Palin but I suspect they will make some noise about Pataki.
But just remember that if you listened to Charles Johnson (peace be upon him) you would think there was nothing going on. McCain has owned this story and if you follow him so do you. Professional reporters, don’t leave home without em.
Oh forgot to say: Vote Hoffman!
