Unifying Message Likely to Produce GOP's Standout

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 17, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C., Jan. 16 -- The three Republicans who have won early-state contests have succeeded in an atmosphere of hyperlocal politics, using personal charisma and energetic retail campaigning to appeal to narrow constituencies.

But the race turns national after Saturday's primary here, and none of the GOP candidates is showing signs of success in finding broader themes to unite the party ahead of the fall campaign against Democrats.

"Republican candidates have been giving stump speeches, and they need to move to the vision speech," said Alex Vogel, a Republican consultant not affiliated with any presidential campaign. "There is a real concern that all the GOP candidates are speaking to too narrow a slice" of the electorate.

Former Republican Party chairman Ken Mehlman said the party's past successes came when candidates found ways to apply a "core set of principles" to the changing problems of a new generation. "Ronald Reagan and others thought about things like . . . how to apply conservative principles to solve gas lines, Soviet advancement, stagflation," Mehlman said in an interview Wednesday.

He expressed confidence that the wide-open Republican primary is prompting discussion about how conservative ideas can be adapted to solve access to health care, dependence on foreign oil and terrorism concerns. But he acknowledged that, for now, all the thinking appears to be tactical.

"The candidates in both parties have to be concerned about making sure they have a message and a rationale that is broad-based," he said. "The effect of the political process, I hope, will be to encourage that kind of thinking."

So far, it is the Democratic candidates who have campaigned nationally, articulating their differences in broad strokes designed to appeal beyond the borders of any given state. Campaigning in every state with a contest, Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) talks about the need for change in Washington, whereas Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) emphasizes her experience making change happen.

By contrast, each of the Republicans in the crowded GOP field has struggled to appeal beyond his comfort zone.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee rallied fellow evangelicals in Iowa. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) out-hustled his rivals with 100 town hall meetings in New Hampshire. And Tuesday, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney offered a native son's sympathy to capture Michigan's economically struggling population.

On Wednesday, McCain and Huckabee campaigned in South Carolina, where they sought to show they can reach beyond those limits.

McCain's campaign organized a news conference with social conservatives to show that he can win more than independents and moderates. Huckabee appeared in front of a lake with Ray Scott, a fishing enthusiast and founder of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society, and then showed up for a rally in McCain country, at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.

"Voters are looking for the whole package," said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who is backing McCain.

In recent weeks, Huckabee has tried to expand his base beyond conservative Christians, at times emphasizing his anti-establishment credentials, other times discussing his proposal to create a consumption tax that would replace federal taxes. But none of those moves has broadened his base.

Huckabee aides thought his message of economic populism might sell in Michigan and help him vault to second place. But he finished far behind Romney and McCain. His advisers say he will sharpen his critique of "Washington insiders" and create an us-against-them narrative that they hope will appeal to voters in the South, sounding the same themes of change as Edwards, Obama and Romney.

"It's the establishment attacking our values," said Bob Wickers, a Huckabee adviser.

Romney tried to capitalize yesterday on his Michigan win by saying that his themes of easing residents' economic anxieties and frustrations with Washington resonate across the country. In an event at the Sun City Hilton Head retirement community in Bluffton, S.C., he told the crowd he is committed to fighting for all American jobs, not just those in the auto industry. While working as a consultant, he said, he created jobs by spotting opportunities in the marketplace.

"You know, we fought every time, trying to take advantage of change and opportunity," he said. "I'm running for president to lift up our eyes again."

In a news conference after the event, Romney said he believed voters were responding to this sunny, broader message. "People want to think of the future as being bright," he said. "My campaign will be optimistic, uplifting."

Romney all but conceded South Carolina to his rivals Wednesday, saying he will campaign for the next two days in Nevada, which has a caucus Saturday. He said the Nevada contest -- where no GOP candidates have campaigned -- will choose more delegates for the party's convention than South Carolina.

"I'm planning to get the nomination. I'm not looking for gold stars on my forehead like I'm in first grade," he said. "I'm looking to rack up the delegates I need to win the nomination."

McCain, who traditionally appeals to national security conservatives within the GOP, has stuck to a national message rather than tailoring it to one state. But it remains unclear whether he can use that message to win over economic or social conservatives, the two other wings of the party.

Mark Salter, a top McCain aide, said Wednesday that the senator's "straight talk" on the war in Iraq, energy independence and taxes is not designed for any particular state and will help him win the election if he becomes the nominee.

"Straight talk has gotten him quite far," Salter said.

GOP pollster Whit Ayres, who is unaffiliated in the race, said it is understandable that Republicans have relied on niche appeals, given the crowded slate. "As long as there are multiple candidates running for the nomination, they're each going to play to their specific strengths," he said.

And several Republican analysts said the coming two weeks might resolve the matter because primary results in South Carolina and Florida could winnow the field.

"The one-two punch of South Carolina and Florida will combine to produce the strongest Republican candidate for the fall," said Scott Reed, a GOP consultant. "The fact that we've had three different primary winners in a row just puts the added pressure on someone to win two in a row."

Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr. in South Carolina contributed to this report.