First Quarter Grades for GOP

For the GOP, in recent national opinion polls, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani averages 35 percent support, an A+. Sen. John McCain's 19 percent gets him a B. At 9 percent each, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are C's. All of the other declared candidates are lower than that. Former Sen. Fred Thompson's poll numbers are running anywhere from 10 percent, a C+, to 17 percent, a solid B. We need a few more polls with Thompson in the mix to get a firmer fix on his score.

In polls limited to Iowa, McCain and Giuliani each get a B+, and Romney earns a C+; in New Hampshire, McCain pulls an A, and Giuliani and Romney both get a B+. Finally, in terms of first-quarter campaign contributions, Romney leads with a B+. Giuliani gets a B, and McCain gets a C+.

Full Story.....http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0507/050807op.htm

Captain Mark