It appears that Ron Paul is as popular as fresh lobster in Maine.  The Republican presidential candidate said Monday he is hoping for “a grand showing” in Maine’s Republican caucuses Friday through Sunday.  He visited the State House in Augusta and made remarks to a crowd of nearly 200.

Paul is the invisible candidate nationally despite his success in campaign fundraising and general popularity.  However, state Republican Party Executive Director Julie O’Brien says his supporters may have been the most active in Maine. 

According to Natalie Schultz of the Nolan Chart, Paul has a good chance of taking 21 delegates during the state competition because his campaign fits right into the politics of the area:

“Because outside of the political elite urbanites who control the state, the majority of real Mainers are very anti-government gun-lovers. Huckabee is gaining a Christian following, but truthfully, most Mainers are old-school Christians, not Evangelicals.”

Paul winning Maine has the potential to throw the Republican presidential bid race into complete chaos.  If John McCain loses to Mitt Romney in Florida on Jan. 29 there will still be no clear front-runner.  With 9/11 poster boy and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the verge of bowing out if he does not grab Florida, which he probably won’t, there will be no one left in the Republican race whom the media can use to hide Paul behind.  

Like it or not, Paul is getting harder to ignore.  Time for mainstream media and the Republican Party to put their heads together and figure out another way to hide Paul in plain sight.

Our favorite cranky uncle is back campaigning to students.  This time former Sen. Mike Gravel of Alaska is targeting Florida’s youth in his race for the Democratic presidential bid.   And he brought a motivating message to Florida Atlantic University today.

Gravel told students not to count on him to bring change in Washington.  In fact, he told the 25 to 50 students that drifted in and out of the 20-minute diatribe to abandon hope that any candidate can help the U.S.

“I don’t want to disabuse anybody, but there is no hope for change by anybody running for president today, including myself,” the Alaskan said.

If you want something done at all, do it yourself, is what Gravel touted as he discussed his plan for a national initiative process that would let citizens propose federal laws through a referendum.  He said:

“If you want to get control of your lives, if you want to get control of your government, you have to become lawmakers. It’s that simple.”

This “ask not what your government can do for you–really,” anti-hope, speech mirrors one he gave Stetson University Saturday.  In that informal speech his cynicism somehow managed to liken current election antics in to Russia:

“If Russia ran elections like we do in the U.S., we’d be criticizing Russia,” he told the crowd. “If you saw how bad these caucuses were, as far as how undemocratic, . . . it’s an abomination.”

Despite America’s communist leanings, the resident hanger-on of the Democratic race told Florida’s DeLand-Deltona Beacon he plans to stay with this “abomination” of an election until the August Democratic National Convention.  Gravel als said he will keep his candidacy alive until the Nov. 3 General Election as an Independent–that is if he does not get the Democratic party nomination.

Abandon hope?  Cynicism?  Communist Russia?  Gravel should stick to the college campus circuit.  At least he can join the depressed co-eds in some hot-boxing after his speeches to take the edge off.

Former Cleveland mayor Dennis Kucinich may have abandoned his White House bid on Friday, but he is not ready to stop campaigning.

The long-shot presidential candidate during a press conference said, “I’m directing my energies to being re-elected to the Congress of the United States.”

The Ohio congressman has now spent two of his past three congressional terms running for president, so he might feel heat from critics who feel he has not effectively served his constituency while chasing the Oval Office.

Kucinich has declined to rule out or confirm any future runs for president, but I know I will miss his under-supported campaign and his being ignored by the media and Democratic party.

In memorandum, here is a YouTube video that compares Kucinich’s efforts to those of aliens running for president in a season eight Halloween episode of “The Simpsons.”  Goodbye, Kucinich.  Your whirling without strings will be sorely missed.

Paul’s luck from Nevada must have followed him into this week.  The underdog GOP candidate collected $1.85 million on Monday.  Most of the money came in the form of small donations (anything under $50) which means his popularity may be on the rise.  This brings Paul’s 2008 fund-raising total to more than $2.6 million, most of it from the Internet, heading into the Florida primary and Super Tuesday.  He and I need to take a trip to Vegas and hit the craps tables.

It should be noted that Paul beat the top two Republican contenders.  A Tuesday NYC fundraiser by Sen. John McCain, gathered about $1 million, and former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s Sunday trip to Chuck Norris’s ranch, which Campaign Manager Chip Saltsman says brought in about $330,000. 

And while the money keeps pouring in people are stepping up to endorse Paul.  Monday the former Republican governor of New Mexico said,“I am endorsing Ron Paul for the Republican nomination for president because of his commitment to less government, greater liberty, and lasting prosperity for America….Ron Paul has my support, respect, and vote.”

And Tuesday, on the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, Norma McCorvey–a.k.a. “Jane Roe”–gave Paul her official endorsement: “I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v. Wade. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it.”

But, like the late Notorious B.I.G said, “Mo’ money, mo’ problems.”  At the same time Paul is celebrating his boost in contributions and endorsements, he is being criticized for disparaging comments made in a newsletter bearing his name, about slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the national holiday that honors him.

A New Republic article earlier this month outed a 1990 newsletter called the Ron Paul Political Report in which either Paul or ghost writers called King an adulterer and seducer of young children.  The article also questioned honoring him with a national holiday.

“We are supposed to honor this ‘Christian minister’ and lying socialist satyr with a holiday that puts him on a par with George Washington?” 

Paul refuted allegations that he wrote or believes the messages in the article.  He said in a statement issued by his campaign that “several writers contributed to the project” and has taken “moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name.”

Actor and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson dropped out of the Republican presidential contest Tuesday afternoon.  Duh.

The inevitable withdrawal comes after a late entrance into the crowded Republican presidential field.  Some considered his September jump into the ring too late. 

Still, Thompson continued his uphill struggle until a disappointing third place finish in the South Carolina primary on Saturday.  Since then, it has been a matter of when, not if, Thompson would announce his withdrawal.

Thompson chose to bow out quietly.  There were no media conferences or formal releases to the press.  Instead, the “Law & Order” alum opted to post a statement on his website:

“Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.”

Arthur Branch fans might be mourning his early exit, but Mike Huckabee probably hasn’t been this happy since he lost all that weight.  Huckabee said “he expects Thompson’s withdrawal will boost his support among conservatives.”  Thompson and the former governor of Arkansas both competed for the same conservative voters. 

“Mr. Huckabee said Tuesday that he might have come in second in South Carolina precisely because Mr. Thompson had siphoned off much of his support, permitting Senator John McCain of Arizona to win.”

With more elbow room in the Republican presidential field Huckabee can afford to have a slice of pie before his next jog.

R.I.P. Thompson campaign:  September 2007-January 2008

               +         =    

While most Democratic hopefuls have cleared the path to the White House for the three titans, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards, the blue party has yet to shake the last couple of stragglers.  Most notably former U.S. Alaskan Senator Mike Gravel is still kicking, but fading fast. 

No one has heard much from Gravel in the last couple weeks.  Though he was the first known candidate of either party to enter the 2008 presidential race 2 1/2 years before Election Day, Gravel has since fallen off the map. 

Democrats are not inviting him to debate events anymore.  The most recent comment from Gravel was about how fellow Democratic competitor Dennis Kucinich is hypocritical for complaining that candidates John Edwards and Hillary Clinton failed to mention his exclusion from MSNBC’s Jan. 15 debate when Kucinich failed to mention Gravel’s exclusion during MSNBC’s Philadelphia debate in October.

While Gravel definitely is not making head-weigh in campaigning–he’s dead last in the Democratic race–at least he is making headlines.  On January 6, he told a group of students to choose marijuana over alcohol during a visit to Phillips Exeter Academy.  Gravel said, “I’m sure a lot of you have tripped out on alcohol. It’s a lot safer to do it on marijuana.” Later he told the students, “If you’ve got a problem with coke, go to a doctor, get a prescription and get it filled at a drug store.”

Gravel has not been shy about his support for the decriminalization of marijuana, but perhaps his most recent controversial words are the reason he has been laying low lately.  Then, again, if Gravel can throw out more entertaining nuggets of insight like:

“Go get yourself a fifth of Scotch or a fifth of gin and chug-a-lug it down and you’ll find you lose your senses a lot faster than you would smoking some marijuana.”

I say he is overdue for an appearance.

If New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not planning on running as an independent candidate he sure is sending signals to the contrary by making the rounds to states that have the most electoral votes, setting up private meetings about ballots, holding high-profile news conferences and having his aides polling on his behalf. 

Bloomberg called for a major national investment in public works projects during his latest news conference with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell in South Central Los Angeles on Saturday.  The visit is the third time in the past six months that Bloomberg has traveled to California, which “at 55 has the largest number of electoral votes.”

On Friday, the mayor met privately in Austin, Texas, with noted ballot-access expert Clayton Mulford, who ran Ross Perot’s two independent bids for president, after a public appearance with seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona to discuss health care. Texas, which has some of the toughest rules for getting on the ballot as a third-party candidate, is second only to California with 34 electoral votes.

Bloomberg is staying mum so maybe we should consider all his non-preparation mere curiosity about what it takes to get on the ballot in November.  Meanwhile, a source close to the mayor told CNN, “Bloomberg will decide by early March whether he will pursue an independent bid for the White House.” 

The race for president is not official to me without third party candidates buzzing around the chosen Republican and Democratic party candidates once the primaries are over.  They provide a little more color to the campaign trail when red and blue starts getting stale.

Fortunately for everyone–or unfortunately for major party candidates–Ralph Nader might be making another bid for the White House.  The consumer advocate has run in the past four presidential elections.  He is most notoriously known by critics as the man who sucked away enough votes from then Democratic Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 campaign to help George W. Bush win the White House.  Fast forward eight years and we all know how that story ends.

Nader, 73, told a Montreal radio show that he will “decide in about a month” whether he will throw his hat in the ring.  Who is ready for another three-ring circus should enter the race?  I thought so.  I’ll bring the popcorn.   

Do you remember the season finale of “Law & Order” last year when Nicole Bailey, the ex-wife of a prominent former senator is found brutally murdered at home?  The senator cooperates with Detectives Ed Green and Nina Cassady,  but of course they question his innocence after finding the widower in a compromising position with another family member’s dead body.  A media frenzy insues after his indictment for both murders.

In the episode, District Attorney Arthur Branch, played by Fred Dalton Thompson, advises the prosecution in the high profile case.  Wait, is that the same Fred Thompson who is the fourth place Republican candidate in the presidential race?  The one and the same.   Thompson served as the fictional district attorney from 2002-2007.

I have a feeling Thompson may be reevaluating his decision not to renew his contract with the long-running series.  His poor showing at the South Carolina Republican primary Saturday has spurred talk that he might retire   from the race soon.  The former U.S. senator from Tennessee and Law & Order alumnus obtained only 16% of the vote behind John McCain and Mike Huckabee.  Traditionally the winner of South Carolina goes on to win the party’s nomination, but with the GOP not yet having a clear front-runner, Thompson might be sticking around for a couple more contests.  He is expected to say something definitive on Tuesday.

But Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor, said Thompson’s candidacy at this point was only to help McCain.  The two were close allies while they served in the Senate.  Others point to Thompsons defeated sounding speech after South Carolina as an indicator that the primary was the final curtain call for the former actor:

“My friends, we will always be bound by a close bond because we have traveled a very special road together for a very special purpose,” Thompson said.

Case closed?  Pundits are saying look for Thompson to say something more definitive Tuesday.

Ron Paul placed second after former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the Nevada caucuses Saturday.  Paul, the U.S. House member from Texas won 14 percent of the vote from his Republican adversaries. 

“He finished ahead of John McCain, Fred Thompson and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani by gathering 6,084 votes or roughly 14% of the turnout for the Republican Primary.”

In reality the ”win” is hardly a victory.  Paul is currently in fifth place with a total of six delegate pledges from the Republican party after six state caucuses.  That number is laughable compared to the 72 delegates Romney leads the GOP candidates with.  Yet Paul’s six delegates still puts him in a better position than former mayor of New York Rudy Giuliani.  As of Saturday’s South Carolina primary, Giuliani is claiming two delegate pledges.  For now. 

Curiously enough, certain media outlets overlooked Paul’s success.  A writer for the Political Machine blog on AOL news found this video.  Pay attention to the bottom right-hand corner that shows the votes and percentages as they are counted.