Calling him “the man who should be president,” Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted threw his support behind underdog Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday.

Husted, a Dayton area Republican, said he has spent the past six months giving all the candidates for the GOP nomination a shot, but eventually came back to the judgment that McCain is best positioned to both win Ohio and to lead the country.

Read more about this development, click here.

In Iowa, Huckabee’s large lead has disappeared while McCain made the biggest positive move…

Huckabee 28 (-9 vs. last poll, Dec. 10)
Romney 27 (+4)
McCain 14 (+8)   
Giuliani 8 (even)
Thompson 8 (even)
Paul 6 (+1)

In New Hampshire Romney’s lead over McCain has dwindled…

Romney 31 (-2 vs. last poll, Dec. 11)
McCain 27 (+9)   
Giuliani 13 (-2)
Huckabee 11 (-3)
Paul 7 (-1)
Thompson 3 (+1)

A pair of polls released today show Senator McCain starting to tick back up in the polls, both in Iowa and Florida.

In Iowa, McCain is running fourth with 9% in a virtual tie with Fred Thompson who is at 10%.   A third place showing in Iowa would be a huge coup as most observers were expecting him to finish at least 4th or 5th.

In Florida, Senator McCain has bounced up to third place with 15% of the vote.  He’s behind Huckabee at 21% and Giuliani is at 25%…. however Rudy’s support has been dropping fast and furious! 

A new poll out of New Hampshire shows that Senator McCain is now a solid second place and moving up on Mitt Romney fast.  Meanwhile, Rudy Giuliani has fallen to third and Fred Thompson has completely vanished… 

Romney 34%
McCain 22%
Giuliani 16%
Huckabee 10%
Paul 5%
Thompson 1%

Video from this morning’s joint appearance with John McCain and Joe Lieberman on Fox and Friends…

The Portsmouth Herald, one of the largest newspapers in New Hampshire, has jumped onto the McCain bandwagon and made their endorsement public…

John McCain has been leading the country from his seat in the U.S. Senate for 20 years. He is a man of integrity and honor who would help the Republicans rid themselves of the stench of Jack Abramoff and other lobbyists and allow the GOP to reclaim its status as the party of fiscal restraint. He is a strong military man prepared from day one to defend our nation against its enemies. Of all the Republicans running, he is by far the best qualified to lead our country.

We hope voters in the Republican primary will support John McCain.

Additionally, Senator Joe Lieberman is now planning to endorse McCain on Monday in New Hampshire.   Lieberman is a popular independent who was the Democratic nominee for Vice-President in 2000 and has since largely broken with his party, being re-elected to his seat in 2006 on the “Connecticut for Lieberman” line over a Democratic challenger.

In addition to today’s endorsements from the Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe, the New Hampshire Union Leader ran a piece last week on why Senator McCain would make a great President.

I thought this quote was a particularly on-point quote so I decided to share it here:

Of all the candidates for President, it was John McCain and only John McCain who not only opposed Donald Rumsfeld’s Iraq strategy from the start but offered a viable alternative for winning that ill-fated war. When the Democrats cried “Retreat!” and other Republicans shouted “Stay the course!” McCain listened to the commanders on the ground.

He discerned the path to victory early, and only after the President finally did what McCain had urged for years did the tide begin to turn in our favor.

That is the kind of judgment America needs in the oval office.

Read the whole endorsement from the Union Leader.

The endorsement from the Des Moines Register.

The endorsement from the Boston Globe.

It looks as if both the Des Moines Register and the Boston Globe have decided to endorse Senator McCain!

Bob Beckel nails it right on the head here. A McCain ticket with Huckabee on as VP would be practically unbeatable in a general election…

New polling numbers from Michigan show that we now have a lead in this important early primary state.  Keep in mind that Mitt Romney’s father was governor of Michigan for years and he was expected to win there easily.

The momentum continues to build.  If Huckabee beats Romney in Iowa that will kill Romney’s campaign.   Opening up New Hampshire for a McCain surprise.  That momentum will carry us to a win in Michigan which will just snowball with South Carolina, Florida, and eventually Super Tuesday!

If you’re not excited… you’re not paying attention!