Lee Atwater's Influence on 2008 Presidential GOP Candidates

Lee Atwater (born Harvey Leroy Atwater) was a United States Republican political consultant. He was a well-known strategist whose skills at attack politics brought him and his supported candidates to great success. Atwater was a trusted advisor of a few United States' Presidents like Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. While he was still alive (Atwater died of Brain Tumor on March 29, 1992), he had been called several names like, "the happy hatchet man" and "the Darth Vader of GOP". Basically, he was perceived to be a person who went 'negative for the sheer joy of it.'

Atwater was the genius behind the turnaround on George H.W. Bush campaign towards the US Presidential Seat. He organized an aggressive media program which included a television advertisement regarding the case of Willie Horton. The guy was a convicted murderer who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole and who was a subject of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program that was supported by then Democratic nominee and Massachusetts Governor, Michael Dukakis. William Horton committed armed robbery and rape while in the program. Atwater clearly saw this as a great opportunity to push Bush appeal and overcome Dukakis' 17% lead on public opinion polls.

Years after Atwater's death, the United States is again to have another Presidential Election. The Republican Party has several members eyeing the post - Rudy Giuliani (Lawyer & ex-New York City Mayor), Mike Huckabee (Businessman & ex-Arkansas Governor), Duncan Hunter (Lawyer & California Representative), Alan Keyes (Author & Diplomat), John McCain (Arizona Senator), Ron Paul (Medical Doctor & Texas Representative), Mitt Romney (Businessman & ex-Massachusetts Governor), Tom Tancredo (Teacher & Colorado Representative), and Fred Thompson (Actor & ex-US Senator).