LEE RODGERSMITT NEEDS RIGHT VEEP CHOICE ...
CAUCUS CHAOS ...
THE ABSENT PRESIDENT
CAUCUS CHAOS ...
THE ABSENT PRESIDENT
With (very) rare exceptions -- Dick Cheney being one -- vice presidents historically have been inconsequential if they have not succeeded to the Oval Office upon the death of a president. The position is valued by politicians because, in recent times, it has often been a springboard to the next nomination.
In the short term the vice-presidential choice has been a campaign tool; "balancing" the ticket, as if it were possible to balance a powerful presidency with an office that has only whatever influence the president chooses to give it. Usually that isn't much, as the anonymity of FDR's choices would indicate. Most Americans had never heard of Harry Truman until his boss died in office.
Given the reluctance of many Republicans to embrace Mitt Romney, his choice of a running mate may be more important than usual, at least symbolically. Paul Ryan is one possibility who would enhance his credibility.
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If the Republican Party wants to convince voters it is capable of running the country, it needs first to demonstrate greater organizational ability in it's candidate-choosing process. It took them two weeks to pick a winner in the Iowa caucuses, and we still don't know for sure that they got it right.
I just heard from a friend who attended one of the caucus gatherings in Missouri; he tells me it was a chaotic mess. In some caucuses (or cauci?) police had to be called in as some participants behaved like barroom brawlers. Some obstreperous Ron Paul supporters had to be forcibly ejected.
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We should probably be grateful that Obama is spending most of his time these days milking contributors on the fund-raising circuit. The less time he spends on what's supposed to be his "real" job, the less mischief he causes. And better he be entertaining silly college kids and liberal ignorami in Hollywood than cooking up more crises with his illiterate economic proposals and his (choose one: naive, or wilfully destructive) foreign policy disasters.
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The (liberal) Washington Post reports that documents found when Osama bin Laden was whacked show the Al Qaeda honcho wanted Obama assassinated so the "totally unprepared" Joe Biden would replace him.
Which suggests Osama, himself, foolishly believed that Obama WAS prepared for the job of president.
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What kind of childish mentality has been allowed to develop in this country that suggests that their fellow Americans owe people, male or female, "free" birth control? The mere idea is beyond absurdity.
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Assuming there are still people so stupid and naive that they actually believed Obama would do anything serious about the flood of illegal aliens ...
Be advised that Obama's proposed budget for next year makes cuts in provisions for catching, detaining and deporting illegals. And yes, Americans workers, some of those illegals WILL be competing for your job. Or competing for government freebies and programs.
Or all of the above.
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Charles Krauthammer (does anyone call him "Chuck"?) in the Washington Post unloads on Obama's ludicrous energy "policy" ...
"An oil crisis looms, prices are spiking — and our president is extolling algae. After Solyndra, Keystone, and promises of seaweed in their gas tanks, Americans sense a president so ideologically antipathetic to fossil fuels — which we possess in staggering abundance — that he is utterly unserious about the real world of oil in which the rest of us live.
"High gasoline prices are a major political problem for Obama. They are not just a pain at the pump, however. They are a constant reminder of three years of a rigid, fatuous, fantasy-driven energy policy that has rendered us scandalously dependent and excessively vulnerable."
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... and Prof. Victor Davis Hanson (NRO) adds ...
"Obama’s energy policy mirror-images his other pipe dream of 2008 about the War on Terror, when his long-accustomed demagogic rhetoric about closing Guantanamo, ending renditions, tribunals, and preventative detention, as well as pruning back elements of the wiretaps and intercepts, met reality in January 2009, and was quietly dropped. It’s also reminiscent of the hundreds of exemptions from Obamacare that have been given to favored businesses.
"Item by item, we are seeing the fantasies of academics and community organizers overtaken by the reality of a quite unforgiving material world — and the reality of wanting to hang onto power by being reelected."
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What's even more frightening than the rampant stupidity among our so-called "leaders" is their own assumption of stupidity on the part of the voters. For example, Nancy Pelosi's observation on Obamacare: "We have to pass the bill so that we can find out what is in it".
Consider that carefully and contemplate the assumption that led her to believe it would be heard as a credible evaluation.
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Perhaps it is time for a refresher course from the dictionary:
"Kakistocracy" -- Government by the worst and least qualified among us.
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James Robbins of the Washington Times presents another example of muddle-headed double-standards ...
"If the pope called for the destruction of all the mosques in Europe, the uproar would be cataclysmic. Pundits would lambaste the church, the White House would rush out a statement of deep concern, and rioters in the Middle East would kill each other in their grief. But when the most influential leader in the Muslim world issues a fatwa to destroy Christian churches, the silence is deafening.
"On March 12, Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is 'necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.'
"This is not a small-time radical imam trying to stir up his followers with fiery hate speech. This was a considered, deliberate and specific ruling from one of the most important leaders in the Muslim world."
Next time he and Obama get together, expect another presidential bow -- as he did before the king of Saudi Arabia.
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Now that Obama's ol' pal, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is a prison inmate, wonder if the prez will send gifts and keep in touch. Belying the usual Obama falsehoods that he barely knew the man, there are many photos showing them together and apparently having a fine old time .
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Who Donates To Whom ...
Some information from the Center for Responsive Politics ... info about which businesses support Democrats with their political
contributions ...
Price Club/Costco donated $225K, 99% went to Democrats
Magla Products (Stanley tools, Mr. Clean)donated $22K, 100% went to Democrats
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia donated $153K, 99% went to Democrats
Estee Lauder donated $448K, 95% went to Democrats
Guess, Inc. donated $145K, 98% went to Democrats
Calvin Klein donated $78K, 100% went to Democrats
Liz Claiborne, Inc. donated $34K, 97% went to Democrats
Levi Straus donated $26K, 97% went to Democrats
Progressive Insurance donated $635K 100% went to Democrats
Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons
(incl. beverage business + considerable media interests) donated $2M+, 67% went to Democrats
Gallo Winery donated $337K, 95% went to Democrats
Ralphs donated $525K. 100% went to Democrats
One more: Heinz donated to Republicans $64,000 Democrats $21,300.
Heinz is Sen. John Kerry's wife's company.
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Michael Barone surveys liberal media dismay in National Review Online ...
"You can almost hear the note of surprise in their voices when you read the Washington Post and New York Times reporters’ stories on their papers’ latest political polls.
"Surprise! Just when they thought that Barack Obama was pulling ahead, with positive job ratings, and just after the mainstream media have been savaging Republicans for two words Rush Limbaugh uttered on his radio program, Obama’s numbers seem to be tanking.
"His media cheerleaders who thought his February numbers meant the election was over were fooling themselves."
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Len, the haiku king, reacts to word that Oprah has cancelled pal Rosie O'Donnell's talk-show on her (Oprah's) cable network, OWN ...
Rosie O'Donnell.
Let go by her boss, Oprah.
Parting of the Weighs.
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Now, a biblical moment ...
It was a quiet day on the Ark and Noah was getting bored, so he told his wife that he was going to relieve the tedium by going off on a fishing expedition.
"That's a good idea," she said. "You could do with a break."
Noah collected his equipment and set off, but thirty minutes later he was back and still complaining that he was bored.
His wife said: "I didn't expect you back so soon. If you're that bored, why did you stop fishing after only half an hour?"
Noah replied: "I only had two worms."
"...and now, if you'll excuse me..."