Presidential Power Rankings # 33

August 15, 2007

Democrats:

1. Hillary Clinton (1)
2. Barack Obama (2)
3. John Edwards (3)
4. Bill Richardson (4)
5. Al Gore (5)
6. Chris Dodd (6)
7. Joe Biden (7)
8. Dennis Kucinich (8)
9. Mike Gravel (9)
10. Wesley Clark (10)

No changes this week

Republicans:

1. Mitt Romney (1)
2. Rudy Giuliani (2)
3. Fred Thompson (3)
4. John McCain (4)
5. Mike Huckabee (5)
6. Newt Gingrich (6)
7. Sam Brownback (7)
8. Tom Tancredo (9)
9. Ron Paul (10)
10. Duncan Hunter (new)

Besides the expected exit of Tommy Thompson from the race, (which brings Duncan Hunter back onto the list via default and until Alan Keyes says something crazy at least), there are surprisingly few other changes in the wake of the big Iowa GOP Straw Poll this past Saturday.

Mike Huckabee was a surprise second place finisher. How much of a boost that is to his campaign remains to be seen, but he clearly retains his position over Sam Brownback and in fact the Senator from Kansas may soon be challenged for his spot on the power rankings by Tom Tancredo or Ron Paul.

Otherwise, Mitt Romney placed first in Iowa by a solid margin, as expected, and the boost seems to already be apparent in some national polls. State polls continue to affirm that Romney is the undisputed leader in both Iowa and New Hampshire, and a new one out today from South Carolina show him surging all the way to 17 % in a state that had been frustrating for his campaign, and just five points out of the lead.

Giuliani remains solidly in front of Fred Thompson for number two as more and people are speculating that Fred Thompson’s best chance might have come and gone. Neither F. Thompson, Giuliani, or McCain had any sort of impressive showing in absentia at the straw poll.

At various points in these early stages it looked like we were headed for showdowns between Romney and McCain for the nomination, or McCain and Giuliani or Giuliani and Fred Thompson, but I think we are starting to settle into a Romney vs. Giuliani dynamic that may last a while.