You're watching...
Watch the ‘FOX News Sunday' panel, Bret Baier, A.B. Stoddard, NH Gubernatorial Candidate Ovide Lamontagne, and Neil Levesque of the New Hampshire In...
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
And welcome to FOX News Sunday panel plus with Bret -- AB Stoddard folded long long -- it.
I got that right finally -- nailed of that thing.
So let's talk about New Hampshire primaries because I mean -- -- they've really about it a great role in American politics my favorite New Hampshire primaries there was 1988.
Dole had won Iowa I was staying at the same hotel that he was staying at and he had Dick Wirthlin -- Romney brother Reagan's pollster.
With them and he kept on whispering in -- quiz here that he was gonna win New Hampshire and and he was running against George H.
W.
Bush he was gonna beat.
The sitting vice president in two primaries and it was -- -- be over and then if you remember.
Bush came up with this this.
Rock at a series of that in the last week and a Bob.
Bush traveling a rather run -- struggling on the taxes and he went down again.
Dole lost acted like he had lost the presidency which in fact they haven't famous like I was not working and NBC at the time.
Tom -- body -- bush on and he was talking Brittany said.
Is there anything -- -- moment that you'd like to say to the vice president is a -- -- to stop lying about my record I think that was something nice to see this guy having breakfast with us every morning.
Thinking he was gonna be the next president and -- was.
Right that was my first presidential primary experience actually 1988 -- -- foot soldier for George H.
W.
Bush and everyone in my law firm was -- Bob Dole.
And our senior partner and yelled at me the next day for having.
But you know broken Bob Dole's ability to win in New Hampshire that's that's nothing to do -- that but the but there was a lot of grassroots momentum from George Bush heading into that the other thing that was different.
Bush do a secret.
And by and and just put all those money and that -- struck Dole's traveling tax cuts at the at the last minute and when dole tried to fire back he didn't there was no incident.
It was too late exactly about a -- this advertising time but.
I have to say a lot of it was a grassroots we have going at the time they have a great field organization and 88 and well and not in front of the Washington consultants say they were the ones who of course.
-- -- not -- this stuff.
-- Rick Santorum finally got momentum.
Had money he was getting money and then had no where to buy ads.
They were all taken off.
And so ad time is a premium here going in even though this race doesn't appear to be.
That much of a race for the top spot it is there will be drama fort.
Second and third and don't under sell the drama -- as -- because it.
There may very well -- not I won't be a drama eight beyond me the last time.
Hillary Clinton -- a man and she looked like she was in real trouble and and Obama was having these huge rally as thousands of people unprecedented.
And remember -- spoken -- that was Portsmouth.
And she should teared up.
I don't think it's gonna work for Newt Gingrich could.
Okay so what did he did you let but I think that at that -- -- they obviously.
It it it really brought her back from from.
From the brink but as we saw later in that campaign she had knocked on the work.
That the Barack Obama campaign had done had not organized.
In the right places and they really found themselves.
An -- that would cost about just like these candidates who have not organized.
Well it was pitching I spoke -- a Romney person this weekend.
About you know kind of the push for momentum when to push it you don't want to seem like a coronation how to make sure you secure South Carolina and the argument they're making -- Rick Santorum -- his just his run out of time that they know that you did this campaign we saw John McCain.
In picking -- It -- His campaign imploded four years ago when he came back but he would run before we came back anyone New Hampshire it was rebirth.
Yet still he didn't have enough money for the long haul and asking we're going up against as well -- comment was incredible campaign are.
This is our chance to win are we gonna blow it with us with a candidate who doesn't have a campaign.
And that's the argument the -- people are making behind closed -- is -- his campaign is on unstoppable.
They -- the -- they've organized the money in the people on the ground there on every ballot you just can't -- them.
Yeah and and the Romney makes this speech that general election.
Pitch during the debate and then finishes and says I will support whoever the nominee it just.
-- -- -- -- -- -- You know dale and I've we have during our endless hours of coverage what seven hours on Tuesday night Joseph Trippi I think he -- 2 in the morning so I suspect most of you did not hear it.
But he was telling the story he worked with -- with Richard Gephardt in 88.
Who spent over a year in Iowa and had his whole family -- they all live there and he won big victory.
And he gets on the -- and they're headed here to New Hampshire and he opens up -- -- to the United States.
And he suddenly realizes this is a big country and I can't replicate this -- state campaign for a year across the country I mean that that that happens candidates come here certainly.
And candidates who just have one or two state strategies you know when you look at the fifty states you've got to look at that in 1968.
George Romney lost.
And I think Mitt Romney has studied that election.
And he diffuse if you compare any election now it's the 1968.
Nixon had a fifty state strategy he didn't really appease the base too much he just -- read along.
A big state governor with a lot of charisma who -- he's the -- comes into the race late Reagan.
Lot of similarities with -- And faded out but Nixon went straight on through and I think Romney's doing a similar so that's what.
That you're you're saying that Mitt Romney is the new Nixon I'm sure he doesn't want to hear that I had -- -- for well -- -- in terms of the head of winning that would be a bad way to god.
Thank you all so much and you know it.
The thing about elections -- -- -- great -- they surprises so maybe they'll be some surprises on Tuesday night we certainly hope so and yes the coverage will be very dramatic right there will be leading -- fantastic.
But it's not getting what about cost throughout the week let us know what you think about the race here in New Hampshire and going forward in the South Carolina and Florida.
You -- front us right here at Fox News -- dot com we'll see you back here.
Next on.
