CONTAINING LINKS TO 1280 STORIES FROM THE NETWORKS' NIGHTLY NEWSCASTS
     COMMENTS: Nods for McC & HRC

Endorsements were the theme of the day on the campaign trail. Terry Moran (no link), anchor of ABC's Nightline kicked off with Republican John McCain in New Hampshire, where he received the Boston Globe's nod and the backing of one-time Democrat, now independent Connecticut senator, Joseph Lieberman. "Do you think they bring votes?" Moran inquired. "I think they bring credibility. I do not know if they bring votes." Moran mused that the Republican race "is shaping up more and more as culture clash" with Mike Huckabee's opponents competing for the non-born-again vote: "fiscal conservatives, pro-war voters still up for grabs." New Hampshire is all or nothing for McCain. Moran called him "honest about it. He says if he does not do well here, very well, he will not be able to keep going and try to unite a party that is looking more and more deeply fractured."

In Iowa, the Des Moines Register sided with Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic race. ABC's Kate Snow called it "a little bit of good news" for the former First Lady while NBC's Lee Cowan saw the nod as reinvigorating, restoring "a swagger in her step." Warned Cowan: "The clock is ticking. With Christmas next week most campaigning will come to a temporary halt." With that in mind Republican Huckabee took out on Iowa TV ad in the holiday spirit: "What really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ." Facing attacks from Mitt Romney on his record on immigration, law enforcement and taxes, ABC's George Stephanopoulos called Huckabee's Xmas spot "just ingenious." Not only does it "remind evangelical Christians that Huckabee is one of them; it also suggests that anyone who is doing a normal attack ad is being Scroogelike at Christmastime. I think it is very effective."

Meanwhile Republican Ron Paul raised $6m in a single day's funds drive. No networks assigned a correspondent to that feat.


     READER COMMENTS BELOW:




You must be logged in to this website to leave a comment. Please click here to log in so you can participate in the discussion.