2012 Presidential Election
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Rumsfeld Equally Proud Of All His Wars
Rumsfeld Equally Proud Of All His Wars: WASHINGTON, DC—Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced Monday that he shows no favoritism to the Iraq war and, in fact, loves all his wars equally. "Afghanistan, my first Gulf War, and all my covert operations in Central America—I may not say it often enough, but I'm as proud of them as I am of Iraqi Freedom," a beaming Rumsfeld said. "Sure, I may be giving Iraq more of my time now, but that's because it's so newly liberated. When those other wars had just started, I was just as involved with them." Rumsfeld added that he expects "a little jealousy" when mounting tensions in Syria begin to demand the Defense Department's attention.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Explaining Obama's Approval Rating Bounce
Explaining Obama's Approval Rating Bounce: One popular theory is that the president is benefiting from the battle over the payroll tax cut with Congress, but it seems more likely that an improving economy is making Americans less pessimistic.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Gingrich Compares Himself To Four Legendary Presidents As He Plans To Bust Courts
Gingrich Compares Himself To Four Legendary Presidents As He Plans To Bust Courts:
2012 GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said during a Fox News debate in Iowa tonight that he wants to call judges whose rulings he doesn’t agree with before Congress to testify. He then compared himself to four presidents — Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, and FDR — in saying that he would take on the courts. Watch it:
As ThinkProgress Justice Editor Ian Millhiser has noted, Gingrich’s court busting schemes are unconstitutional.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Democrats hold fire on Bain
Democrats hold fire on Bain: Benjy Sarlin says there's a reason you've heard more about Mitt Romney's $10K bet than his time at Bain Capital.Democrats are waiting to pounce on Romney’s business record. Perhaps the biggest sign of how much oomph Democratic strategists ascribe to the Bain Capital angle, is that they’ve barely used it at all.Even while the DNC and Obama campaign frequently bring up Romney’s wealth (see: bet,
Iowa Still Wide Open
Iowa Still Wide Open: Nate Silver takes a first crack at forecasting the winner of the Iowa caucuses and conclude although Newt Gingrich "still has the lead, Iowa looks to be fairly wide open with as many as five plausible winners."
"Right now, Mr. Gingrich's win probability is just under 50 percent, but Mr. Paul has gained ground and now has a 28 percent chance of winning. Mr. Romney, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Michele Bachmann are all between about 5 and 10 percent, while Rick Santorum has about a 2 percent chance of winning based on the current surveys."
"Right now, Mr. Gingrich's win probability is just under 50 percent, but Mr. Paul has gained ground and now has a 28 percent chance of winning. Mr. Romney, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Michele Bachmann are all between about 5 and 10 percent, while Rick Santorum has about a 2 percent chance of winning based on the current surveys."
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Oh my: Ron Paul within one point of Gingrich in Iowa? (Allahpundit/Hot Air)
Oh my: Ron Paul within one point of Gingrich in Iowa? (Allahpundit/Hot Air):
Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Oh my: Ron Paul within one point of Gingrich in Iowa? — Hey now. I was writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts before writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts was cool. … Simple question: What's Paul's ceiling in Iowa? A friend on Twitter was arguing earlier …
Gaming Iowa Expectations
Gaming Iowa Expectations: John Ellis says that Newt Gingrich will ultimately under-perform expectations in Iowa "because he does not have a substantial statewide organization" and "he doesn't have any money to buy telemarketing services."
However, Ron Paul "has a substantial field organization and so is likely to somewhat over-perform in the actual balloting."
The key for Mitt Romney "is for Paul to out-perform and for Gingrich to under-perform. This sets up a press narrative of the Gingrich souffle. The Newtster rose and then he fell. The normal laws of political gravity apply. Unstated conclusion: Gingrich is doomed. This is exactly the narrative that Romney needs going into New Hampshire."
However, Ron Paul "has a substantial field organization and so is likely to somewhat over-perform in the actual balloting."
The key for Mitt Romney "is for Paul to out-perform and for Gingrich to under-perform. This sets up a press narrative of the Gingrich souffle. The Newtster rose and then he fell. The normal laws of political gravity apply. Unstated conclusion: Gingrich is doomed. This is exactly the narrative that Romney needs going into New Hampshire."
Axelrod on Newt: "the higher a monkey climbs...the more you can see his butt." (Lynn Sweet)
Axelrod on Newt: "the higher a monkey climbs...the more you can see his butt." (Lynn Sweet): 
Lynn Sweet:
Axelrod on Newt: “the higher a monkey climbs...the more you can see his butt.” — Obama 2012 Press Secretary Ben LaBolt, Strategist David Axelrod, Campaign Manager Jim Messina, Deputy Manager Stephanie Cutter at Tuesday press briefing at the DNC. (photo by Lynn Sweet)
Radio host offers Gingrich $1 million to drop out of GOP race (Jonathan Easley/The Hill)
Radio host offers Gingrich $1 million to drop out of GOP race (Jonathan Easley/The Hill):
Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
Radio host offers Gingrich $1 million to drop out of GOP race — Conservative radio host Michael Savage is offering Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich $1 million if he drops out of the GOP race within the next 72 hours, according to a message on his website. — “Newt Gingrich is unelectable.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Don't Get Carried Away with This Newt Thing
Don't Get Carried Away with This Newt Thing:
The Times story eight years ago Sunday:
President Bush's political advisers are now all but certain that Howard Dean will be the Democratic presidential nominee and they are planning a campaign that takes account of what they see as Dr. Dean's strengths and weaknesses, Republicans with ties to the White House said.
''We're ready to go,'' said a senior Republican official involved in the Bush campaign. ''The broad thematics and the whole approach to him, those things have been well thought out. As for the tactical stuff, it's still out there. The timing is a big decision.''
Sunday, December 11, 2011
$10k fallout, continued
$10k fallout, continued:
The Huntsman campaign is getting ready to send around the above video, slamming Romney for last night's wager.
$10k fallout
$10k fallout:
Mitt Romney's attempt to make a $10,000 bet with Rick Perry was far and away the most controversial moment from Saturday night's GOP debate. The DNC went on the offensive almost immediately, “He’s going to own that $10,000 bet line,” DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse tweeted. “Nothing else he has said in this debate matters.”
In fact, the $10k bet went viral so fast that #What10kbuys, a hashtag put out by Woodhouse and the DNC, started trending worldwide.
How much damage this actually does to Romney depends on what the media decides to do with it. If the fallout on Twitter is any indication, it could hit very hard. But at least one commentator -- John Harwood of the New York Times and CNBC took a minority view: "Here's doubting Mitt's alleged $10K-bet "gaffe" tonight matters much in campaign," he wrote. "Newt's strong performance -- that matters."
.
"It matters a ton: 1. Campaign will have to focus on it rather than message, 2. Reinforces preexisting narrative," Judd Legum, communications VP at Think Progress, countered. "Also to the media who will be playing it on loop. Most people don't watch debates. But
they'll see that moment."
Fallout is always hard to predict, but as Legum pointed out, wealth is a hot-button issue for voters. "I've seen similar things along these lines ($300 haircut) have big impact," he wrote, referring to John Edwards' expensive haircuts.
On Saturday, the Romney camp insisted that their candidate was simply trying to stress how inaccurate Perry's comments were. But given that Romney's net worth is an estimated $200 million, the media is likely to follow a less forgiving story line -- and one that could have very negative results for Romney in Iowa and beyond: Josh McElveen, the political director at WMUR radio in New Hampshire, wrote that "there are ten thousand reasons" why New Hampshire could now be a "dogfight."
"Populism, not elitism, now rules GOP," CNN's Alex Castellanos wrote to Harwood on Twitter.
"True," Harwood replied. "But enough high school kids say 'i'll bet you a million dollars' that few normal people would consider it literally, IMO."
Mitt's $10,000 Blunder
Last night's debate was fascinating, and clearly Newt Gingrich's rise has him flustered.
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/after-10000-offer-some-bet-against-romney/
Newsflash Mitt: $10,000 is more than most Americans make in three months...
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/after-10000-offer-some-bet-against-romney/
Newsflash Mitt: $10,000 is more than most Americans make in three months...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
Don’t mess with Bill O’Reilly’s umbrella
Don’t mess with Bill O’Reilly’s umbrella: The Fox News host gets upset when a man with a camera approaches him on the street.
Gingrich Needs Two Bathrooms While Traveling
Gingrich Needs Two Bathrooms While Traveling: The Smoking Gun obtained a rider from a 2010 speaking engagement contract for Newt Gingrich which states he requires, in addition to other amenities, a one bedroom hotel room with two bathrooms.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Obama: ‘Ask Osama Bin Laden If I Engage In Appeasement’
Obama: ‘Ask Osama Bin Laden If I Engage In Appeasement’:
Yesterday at the Republican Jewish Coalition GOP presidential candidates forum, claiming President Obama is appeasing America’s enemies was the attack du jour. “Internationally, President Obama has adopted an appeasement strategy,” Mitt Romney said. Newt Gingrich accused the Obama State Department of “appeasing our opponents.” A reporter asked the President about the GOP attack line today during a White House press conference. “Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 other out of 30 top al Qaeda leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement, or, whoever is left out there.” Watch it:
The Video That May Have Ended Mitt Romney's Presidential Campaign
Produced by the Democratic National Committee. Devastating...
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Gore Is ‘Sorry’ About Newt’s Climate Betrayal, Says He’s Been ‘Bludgeoned’ By Special Interests
Gore Is ‘Sorry’ About Newt’s Climate Betrayal, Says He’s Been ‘Bludgeoned’ By Special Interests:
Vice President Al Gore is disappointed that Newt Gingrich has turned his back on climate action after having appeared in one of his global warming ads, but doesn’t take it personally. Campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination this year, Gingrich has said the ad he did with Nancy Pelosi in 2007 was the “dumbest single thing I’ve done.” Gore told the Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur that he thinks the Republican candidates are being “bludgeoned” by special interests to “toe the line”:
I appreciated him agreeing to my request that he did it, and I don’t want to be ungracious now. I’m grateful that he did it, and I’m sorry that he’s changed his position. But what it says is more about the condition of the political system today, particularly in the Republican Party, but really across the board. The special interests have so much power, they’re really able to bludgeon the candidates to toe the line.
Watch it:
“Mitt Romney used to have a different position,” Gore noted when asked about Jon Huntsman’s recent climate reversal. “Several of them did.”
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
First Negative Ad Against Gingrich
First Negative Ad Against Gingrich: Ron Paul is the first candidate to launch a negative ad in Iowa against Newt Gingrich.
Politico calls it "a 60-second version of a blistering, and roughly two-minute, web video he did painting the former House Speaker as the portrait of 'serial hypocrisy.'"
Politico calls it "a 60-second version of a blistering, and roughly two-minute, web video he did painting the former House Speaker as the portrait of 'serial hypocrisy.'"
Sunday, December 04, 2011
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