Weekend-In-Review

• There is no question Senator Bill Frist had to most to lose if he did not win the straw poll taken Saturday. He won. There is that unwritten rule in Presidential politics that a candidate should not appear to be too aggressive in seeking the Oval Office too early. Senator Frist straddled that line this weekend, the only candidate actively seeking delegates, and making himself totally available to the press every time we turned around. Still, Senator Frist needed to show he could win in his own state, something the last Presidential candidate from Tennessee (Al Gore) was unable to do in 2000.
• There was no bigger star in the Peabody Hotel lobby than Hardball Host Chris Matthews. One participant said they felt a certain electricity when he was in the room. That might be going a bit far, the electricity came more from the national television cameras that added, it seemed, a certain relevance to the SRLC.
• Nobody created a bigger buzz with their keynote address than the Honorable J.C. Watts, who spoke on the opening night. Are we easier on a speaker if we know they are not trying to jockey for position, in this case, a piece of the 08 elections? Either way, one person commented quite right, there is no limit to what Watts can do in the Republican Party, if he wants it.
• Memphis Democrats took notice of this year’s event. Mayor Herenton was spotted in the corner of the Peabody Hotel with Kevin Kane and Jackson Baker wearing a Frist Is My Leader sticker. Of course, the entire conversation revolved around the unfair treatment the Mayor felt he receives from the Press, with particular ribbings given to Baker and the Memphis Flyer. Also spotted were U.S. Representative Harold Ford Jr., who seems unable to attend any event without his large entourage. And State Senator Steve Cohen, who apparently went incognito, wearing a baseball cap pulled down over his head.
• Perhaps the real story of the SRLC was not who was there, but rather, who was not there. Mayor Giuliani, who had shown himself strong in numerous 08 Presidential polls, was not at the SRLC, continuing his consistent absence from the public eye in recent days. It remains to be seen what such poll numbers will do, however, when Giuliani’s position on the social issues clash with the conservative establishment.
• No one surprised me more than Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, who quietly had the best speech of the weekend. A moderate who keeps inching right, Senator Coleman invoked the spirit of Reagan numerous times during his speech, and to standing ovations, decried the ineptness of the Democratic Party.
• In the Tennessee U.S. Senate race, all three Republican candidates held receptions at the Peabody during the weekend. Bob Corker was joined by Senator Coleman, while Van Hilleary was joined by Presidential hopeful South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Ed Bryant also held a reception Saturday morning, where Kansas Senator Sam Brownback made an unannounced visit.