GOP Meeting Is Light On 2008 Hopefuls
By CBSNews.com Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs
As party activists and leaders gathered in Washington this week for the winter meeting of the Republican National Committee, most of the attention was focused on the reception Florida Sen. Mel Martinez would receive as President Bush's pick to become general chair of the committee. Discontent within some parts of the party over Martinez due to his support for immigration reform that would provide a chance at citizenship for some illegal immigrants threatened an otherwise peaceful leadership change.
The drama never materialized: Martinez was elected to the newly-created position overwhelmingly, with just a handful of committee members voting against him. The Cuban-born Martinez will be the public face of the RNC for the next two years, but those looking to be the party's presidential standard-bearer in 2008 were almost invisible at the gathering. Out of nearly a dozen potential Republican presidential candidates, just three had a real presence at the meeting.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was in town for the event, as were some of the top advisers to his exploratory campaign. Romney hosted a reception for committee members at a Washington restaurant in addition to meeting with Republican members of Congress. Sen. John McCain also feted members at a reception and ran a hospitality suite in the hotel where the meetings took place.
None of the prospective candidates spoke or was even seen during the meeting's regular business but former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee did apply a personal touch to the effort. Unable to attend due to a current tour to promote his new book, "From Hope To Higher Ground," Huckabee sent his daughter, Sarah, to personally deliver copies of the tome to RNC members.
The book included a letter from Huckabee explaining his absence and offering a message about his book. "'Hope to Higher Ground' lays out a vision of what I feel are 12 'stops' America must take to continue to be that 'shining city on a hill,'" Huckabee wrote. "I believe our greatest days are still to come — that we are in the sunrise era of our history, not the sunset." Huckabee also sponsored a breakfast for members, even though he has yet to make a decision about the presidential election.
The low-key event will look far different that what Democrats are expected to offer when Democratic National Committee members gather in Washington two weeks from now. There, Democratic presidential hopefuls are expected to address the convention, looking for the kind of spark now-DNC chair Howard Dean found at the party's gathering in 2003.
Wooing members of the national committees can provide candidates with an opportunity to make a statement about their organization and gain entry to well-connected activists and their fund-raising networks. Asked whether efforts like those put forward by Romney, McCain and Huckabee helped their cause, several GOP operatives in attendance said the same thing — "it doesn't hurt." Still, no one appeared all that surprised at the absence of high-profile candidates like former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the Republican gathering.