This is the same Karen Handel that was Sonny’s handpicked choice for Secretary of State. She wouldn’t be where she is without Sonny treating her like a good ole boy.

Just cause you wear heels and have a vagina doesn’t make you different Karen. You’re still a good ole boy and you’re still part of the same gaggle of morons that have turned this state backwards

I am not expecting either Johnson or OX to endorse either candidate. OX is probably on a suicide watch and Johnson says he doesn’t plan to return to politics so why should he waste his time getting dragged into a runoff battle? I know for a fact he’s enjoying his time at home after campaigning 24/7 for the last 18 months. Lastly, if he was going to support a candidate it will NEVER be Handel. Her cheap shots at him and her liberal positions are something EJ can not ignore or endorse…..you can take that to the bank.

For a bonus question, please answer the following: Since the oil spill started, President Obama has spent how many days on vacations, fund raisers, campaign trips, and golf trips?

“I won’t rest until this problem is solved,” paraphrased.

It is obvious that Handel is the strongest candidate, the one that Democrats fear most. She is conservative enough to mollify the GOP base, and can get plenty of moderate, independent and Democratic votes because she is a woman and because of her representing Fulton County. She is the one candidate in this race that can make her relationship with Fulton County a positive thing. For Barnes it is a negative, and for Deal, the only thing that he can do is the Newt Gingrich-Mitch Skandalakis race-baiting.

Since none of the candidates are good on the pro-life issue, I don’t have a dog in this hunt. But Handel is clearly the most compelling candidate. And I must admit … it would be fun to saddle the anti-affirmative action GOP with a standard-bearer that doesn’t have a college degree. I would personally start calling the Neal Boortz show and the other local right wing radio race baiters whenever he starts bashing “colored folks and their quota jobs” were that to happen.

Sorry, it isn’t going to work. Black voters know that it is the GOP – including Deal – who all of a sudden declares that the FEC rules for determining who was born in this country and who wasn’t aren’t good enough. The GOP never asked for the “long form vault birth certificate” from anyone else, but now all of a sudden it’s a requirement. And black voters also know that the GOP legislature refused to issue a statement honoring Obama, something that they have done for every single president before now, including George W. Bush a few weeks after the Hurricane Katrina mess.

And black voters also know the other side. Black voters know that Bill Clinton came nowhere near the state when Barnes first ran in 1998. They also know that Bill Clinton wasn’t even allowed to campaign for Al Gore in most states in 2000. Even before the Lewinksy scandal, Clinton generally didn’t campaign for candidates in the south and midwest.

Black voters also know that the same applied for George W. Bush. GOP candidates in the northeast and far west did as much as they could to distance themselves from Bush as possible. Many of them tried to associate themselves with McCain, and had him come and campaign for them instead despite the fact that McCain LOST the 2000 nomination big time. Or they would get other RINOs like Rudy Giuliani to come campaign for them. And in the 2008 presidential race, Bush was a forgotten figure who was mostly unmentioned. Even in conservative states, no one stated “we are going to finish what Bush started and finish implementing his vision and agenda!” Bush wasn’t even asked to raise money except in private fundraisers among party loyalists that were closed to the media and kept as secret as possible.

Finally, Obama and Barnes don’t much like each other. Who knows why. It does seem to be personal. But Obama knows that he is going to need a big win in the Georgia governor’s race to offset the bad news elsewhere … losing the House and possibly the Senate. And Barnes knows that he needs Obama’s supporters – who by the way aren’t all black. Blacks are only 25% of the state’s voting population. So whatever it is they have against each other, they are going to ignore it for the sake of mutual expediency. Besides, it isn’t as if Obama doesn’t have plenty of things to keep himself busy to justify staying as far away from Georgia as he can between now and November. There is the oil spill, illegal immigration, the economy, the Iran mess … Obama needs to spend his time in the midwest where his presence isn’t viewed as toxic, and also where people won’t make his comings and goings a race issue because there are so few black voters.

What universe are you living in? Georgia generally votes for GOP candidates for president by like 60% of the vote. Most of the congressional delegation is Republican, so are both senators, and so are most of the midlevel executive offices. You guys keep wanting to pretend that this state is New York or California but it isn’t. Republicans do not have to “run back to the center” to win statewide office. The “moderates” and “independents” in Georgia would be considered far right in Massaschusetts and Oregon.

People associating Palin with Handel is a good thing. It is going to get a lot of women who see Palin as a trailblazer and want the first female governor to come in and clean up the corruption and mess that the good ole boys club left behind – as Palin did – a second look. It gives Norwood the “family values” image that she currently lacks by association. And plus, in an election where no one knows – or likes – the candidates, endorsements matter. What national Democratic figure is going to give Barnes an endorsement that he actually wants, that makes him appear moderate? None, because there aren’t any Democrats – not even Harry Reid – that is viewed as moderate and are national figures. Maybe Zell Miller and Sam Nunn will endorse Barnes, but that’s it.

Both (Handel & Barnes) will not touch teacher salaries? Will Deal?

RoyB has an A+ rating from the NRA and Handel is a lifetime member? I strongly suspect Deal has the same A+ rating and that A+ rating for Barnes will go a long way on his current trek through south Georgia.

I recognize what is meant to be implied, Deal is the most conservative. However, I read 3 interesting article’s this morning. One from Dalton and 2 from the AJC. Two article’s about the Deal/Handel debate in Dalton, and one about Barnes stumping in south Georgia. The two article’s about the debate mention little if anything beyond the differences in social positions and of course the Palin vs. Newt endorsements.

Meanwhile Barnes is in the counties he lost to Perdue talking up jobs, growth, education etc and I find the comparison of the Handel/Barnes positions interesting but in a different manner. May I point out the real meaning while disregarding the political hype? As I write, Barnes is running a right of center campaign in south Georgia.

This question is for Handel & Deal, what’s the old saying about fiddling while Rome is burning?

I wonder if either will offer an endorsement?

Mr. Oxendine would be most likely to make an endorsement, unless the private sector appeals to him. Ox controlled So. Georgia. D’ya see the Ox supporting Karen? I do not. And Ox might get a tasty JOB on Nathan’s team for his efforts.

Moderates in those areas, if they switch over to Team Roy, may make this cycle truly a nail-biter.

As predicted, one of the more interesting election cycles.

Barnes has already shored up a wide-base of Party support, as evidenced by his ability to breeze through the Democratic primary. The ticket is well balanced for success in the fall. Carol Porter is from Dublin (an area in which Roy feels he can make some in roads) and Michael Thurmond is from Athens (a place that can provide him some high Democratic turnout). Thurmond is also African-American. If the prospect of electing Georgia’s first African-American Senator is not enough to turn out black voters… I don’t know what is.

Roy isn’t going to have to worry about holding down the fort in Atlanta. Kasim Reed, John Lewis, Andrew Young and Co. will ensure that there is ample turnout among Atlanta voters. Athens will be another strong spot… especially with local Thurmond on the ballot.

Barnes is doing the smart thing and trying to get new voters. He knows he can’t win with the current Democratic strongholds. That means he’s hitting South GA, an area where he has some fence mending to tend to. It’s also an area where his message of job creation and sensible leadership just might resonate. Folks in Omega aren’t going to care about whether he’s shaking hands with Obama, they’re going to care about how he’s going to help bring jobs to Georgia.

Frankly, I’d be more concerned about party loyalty on the other side of the ballot. A knock-down, drag-out primary followed by what is going to be a bloodbath of a run-off is going to have some (who knows just how many) Handel or Deal supporters sitting on the sidelines out of protest when November rolls around. McBerry’s Kool-Aid drinkers are 100% likely to stay home. Who knows what will become of those die-hard Ox supporters, who probably feel really pissed at both Handel and Deal right now for defeating the chosen one.

Now I don’t think that those jilted Republicans are going to sway the balance in favor of Roy Barnes. But, the runoff is going to cause both Deal and Handel to veer even more right. Now you and I both know that elections are won in the middle… even in a red-state like Georgia. Whoever wins three weeks from now is going to have to work to scramble back towards the middle in order to appeal to the moderate voters that are going to swing this election.

Those moderates lean more right than left, so it won’t be entirely difficult to get on board. Unless Deal changes his campaign focus from gay witch hunts to issues Georgian’s care about, I think he’ll have the toughest time. However, Handel returning to the center after abandoning it earlier in the campaign isn’t going to look too sincere. We all saw what happened to John McCain when he ditched the center to get the nomination then tried to run back to the middle for the general election.

On one side you’ve got a Democratic ticket that could be exciting as these campaigns start to pick up. On the other side, you’ve got a Republican ticket that a lot of GOP voters aren’t to impressed with. I’d worry about Republicans staying home more so than Democrats.

The endorsement has already been front-page news… from here on out, moderates are going to associate Karen Handel with Sarah Palin, whether she likes it or not.

Don’t count on Handel swaying large chunks of the moderate vote. The fact that Roy is cruising South Georgia looking to convert some of those swing votes is proof that he’s pretty positive Handel will have a tough road to hoe with the “moderates”

I’m sure Republicans would employ a quota if they could attract more people than stuffy old white people in Master’s polos.