State of the Union

Obama recently gave his State of the Union address. A large part of it was focused on the war in Iraq. He discussed reducing the spending on defense and the return of American troops. Obama also gave his usual speech about jobs, the economy, and unemployment. Blah Blah Blah. Heard it all before.

One good thing about his speech was his use of historical references. Instead of making a bunch of general statements, he said things that could be referenced back to previous events and presidencies.

Dramaaaa

In the most extraordinary day of the Republican presidential race, a series of fast-paced and unexpected events shook the candidates and their campaigns Thursday, significantly changing the dynamic of the contest just two days before a crucial primary that many thought might settle the nomination.

It was a day of split-screen viewing and almost hourly recalibration. Iowa Republicans declared former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania the new winner of their Jan. 3 caucuses, erasing Mitt Romney's eight-vote victory.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who had one of the largest donor networks of any candidate, quit the race and endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was gaining momentum but faced new challenges as his ex-wife accused him in interviews of asking for an "open marriage."

Money Money

The four remaining GOP presidential candidates and their supporters will have spent $10.4 million on broadcast television advertising in South Carolina by the time polls close there Saturday, swamping the state with finger-pointing spots.

And that total doesn't include the more than $2 million of combined air time purchased by Rick Perry and Make Us Great Again, a pro-Perry "super PAC," before the Texas governor pulled out of the race Thursday. 

Back in 2008, when five Republicans were vying for the nomination, the television ad war totaled $6.9 million, according to Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. Another $6.6 million was spent on TV ads in the Democratic primary that year.

This year, the biggest spender in South Carolina has been Restore Our Future, a super PAC backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, which bought up nearly $2.4 million worth of TV advertising through Saturday, according to a campaign source familiar with the details of the media buys. The organization plunked down $356,000 just in the last two days.

Winning

Marion County,SC which sits along the site of a proposed interstate highway, has scored few wins. Its population is stagnant in a state that has seen a 67 percent increase in population in 30 years. Without jobs, officials say, it is hard to attract new people and younger residents are anxious to flee. Nikki Haley,the mayor, who has endorsed Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential race, is proud of the growth. "In a nation struggling economically," she said in a recent interview, "South Carolina is winning."

Amid the flurry of campaigning before Saturday's South Carolina Republican presidential primary, not a single candidate has shown up in Marion County, a sleepy rural stretch that represents the bottom of the U.S. economy.

Politically, Marion County has long been a Democratic Party stronghold in a Republican state. It is majority African-American and in 2008 its voters solidly backed Barack Obama. They are poised to back Obama's re-election.

Colbert and Cain

Stephen Colbert, who last week announced that he would explore a “possible candidacy for the president of the United States of South Carolina,” is joining forces with former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain at a rally. Colbert is not on the ballot in South Carolina because he missed the filing deadline by several months, but Cain, who suspended his bid for the White House on December 3, still is, and Colbert is asking supporters to vote for Cain in his stead. South Carolina permits Democrats and Independents to vote in the state’s Republican primary. 

“Herman Cain is my main man,” Colbert said. “He’s my main man with a tax plan so fine, they called it 9-9-9. The Mad Max of the flat tax. Herman Cain has qualities that I admire — he’s a family man, he’s pro business, and he has something I don’t think I’ll ever have: a place on the South Carolina ballot.” 

$ Romney $

In 2008, Mitt Romney tapped into his personal fortune to run for president, pumping nearly $45 million directly into his political campaign. There could not have been a more visible demonstration of the economic distance between Mr. Romney and the middle-class citizens he sought to lead as president.

Despite that, his vast wealth never really became a serious issue in the 2008 campaign. Few people demanded that he release his tax returns or made a big issue out of his role at a private equity firm. When a candidate was mocked for not knowing how many homes he owned, it was Senator John McCain, the eventual nominee, not Romney.

As he battles for the Republican nomination, Romney’s hesitant, uncertain answers about his wealth have provided an opening for two rivals, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, to become the candidate of the middle class, which Mr. Romney had set out to be.

Santorum has always portrayed himself as the grandson of a coal miner. Now, that image contrasts even more sharply with the picture of a Wall Street-connected rich guy whose fortune includes money in offshore accounts.

How Newt Does It

This article describes the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary. As Gingrich campaigned, his popularity grew. His one tactic was implying the greatness of New Hampshire’s budget. He told the citizens that New Hampshire’s budget management is one to be proud off. He states that if he were to be President, he would adopt it for Washington DC and hopefully the whole nation. New Hampshire changed their budget procedure to one that will be more beneficial to the state and people. Now, it sets up a amount of revenue and then conforms its needs to meet the revenue, unlike before when it could not conform to a set spending plan and had to ask the federal government for more money.

In this article, Gingrich is clearly shown kissing up to the people of New Hampshire. He does it effectively and is commending New Hampshire for a job well done. The question was whether this type of behavior would affect his popularity. The results of the New Hampshire caucus show that they haven’t. The author was somewhat bias against Gingrich supporters; I feel he does not take them seriously. In today’s political arena, politicians should be quick to praise their voters but not for menial tasks. Gingrich did it right. Fixing New Hampshire’s budget was a big step that helped New Hampshire’s economy in many ways. 

Poor Romney

Two days ago, Mitt Romney was looking at a clean sweep of the first three contests of the 2012 primary. With polls opening at 7 a.m. EST tomorrow, he's now looking at going one-for-three. First, he lost his technical 8-vote victory in Iowa to Rick Santorum. Now, his once dominate odds of winning South Carolina have dwindled to 35 percent as of this writing, 30 points behind rival Newt Gingrich.


Gingrich is doing exactly what Romney hoped he wouldn't or couldn't: consolidate social conservative voters in South Carolina, previously split between Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Romney has never polled above 50 percent in the state and, even at his highest likelihood to win, was expected to win by a plurality, not a majority.

How Good Is Obama?

Everybody knows what Obama's top priorities were in his first term: enact healthcare reform, beat back the recession, rein in reckless banks better protect consumers. Whether he accomplished those missions is a mixed verdict. Obamacare still faces a key Supreme Court challenge and for the most part won't go into effect until 2014. Obama's stimulus measures helped the economy heal, but fell far short of Obama's own expectations. It's hard to tell if the banks are behaving better, and many consumers feel worse off than they did four years ago, regardless of how much the government has done to protect them. Obama and his re-election team surely know all that, and there's no doubt they'll craft a fresh plan meant to assuage doubters. But Obama has missed the mark before on issues voters care most about, such as jobs, the national debt, fading prosperity, and the future of Medicare and Social Security. Can he fix this in time for reelection?

Newt's Hurt Feelings :(

Newt Gingrich, who has faced an onslaught of negative ads funded Super PACs recently said that he thinks the new form of fundraising should be eliminated. For the past few weeks, Gingrich has been enduring several nasty attacks from super PACs that support Mitt Romney. The super PAC claiming responsibility for this as is Restore Our Future. They allegedly spent $2.85 million on negative ads. One of the websites they support is Newt Facts. This is one of the ads:

The previous limitations on public action committees were as follows:

• at most $5,000 per candidate per election. Elections such as primaries, general elections and special elections are counted separately.
• at most $15,000 per political party per year.
• at most $5,000 per PAC per year.
• PACs are not limited in their ability to spend money independently of a candidate campaign. This may include expenditures on activities in support of (or against) a candidate, as long as they are not coordinated with the candidate.

Last year, in the court case Federal Election Commission v Citizens United, some of these regulations were lessened and removed. PACs are not limited in their ability to spend money independently of a candidate campaign. This may include expenditures on activities in support of (or against) a candidate, as long as they are not coordinated with the candidate. Contribution could be made indirectly such as through a 501(c)(4). Direct contributions are still prohibited. 

Gingrich is quoted as saying "These super PACs have huge amounts of money. They're totally irresponsible, totally secret and I think it's a problem."

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

The Iowa Caucus is over. From one of the closest votes ever emerges a winner. His hair combed neatly to the side and something resembling a smile on his face, Mitt Romney faces the reporters. Romney has just won the caucus by 8 votes. That's 8 out of over 100,000. This is a table that displays the results:

CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT		DELEGATES
Mitt Romney	30,015	24.6%		13
Rick Santorum	30,007	24.5		12
Ron Paul	26,219	21.4		—
Newt Gingrich	16,251	13.3		—
Rick Perry	12,604	10.3		—
Michele Bachmann	6,073	5.0		—
Jon Huntsman	745	0.6		—

These results had triggered several events. First, Michele Bachmann oficially dropped out of the running. Rick Perry also is considering whether to continue or not.


New Hampshire, the next battleground, may turn up different results.

Where Shall It Go

After months of debating their views and policies and defending themselves from other candidates, it all boils down to the Iowa caususe which will be the ribbon-cutter for the race for the Republican nominee for president. The two front runners, Romney and Paul, are neck in neck. In this article the author is factual and unbiased. He states the facts giving recorded data. In today’s political area, many will find out that this year’s republican race was far more fluctuating than that of years before. A key issue arises in the shadow of this article: Will the polls of projected results of the Iowa caucuse have any effect of the other primaries such as the one in New Hampshire or South Carolina. Will a candidate’s win in Iowa mean the same results in the other primary states much to the chagrin of the other candidates? All will be revealed in the coming weeks.       

Bachman: Back Out?

Bachman, a Republican candidate was considered a leading candidate because she was considered a Iowan Native. Many people said that Bachman was a leading candidate considering her offense against Ron Paul on National Security. Many people like a conservative party situated in Iowa have told Bachman to drop out of the race, but Bachman believes she is leading candidate and best against Obama due to her support. According to Bachman, many undecided voters are leaning toward her, and she believes she will win with an upset. Also according to PolitiFact, many statements Bachman said were also true, contradicting allegations proposed by her opposition. This information tells me that the media gives different perspectives of her and the opposition uses the media against her, although her facts were straight. In a political arena today, many voters would consider Bachman as a "real" candidate instead of a person just fooling herself due to the truth in her statements. Many conservative candidates like Perry have to distinguish themselves from each other to get ahead in the race.
Watch Bachman's interview with Ali here on  CNN.

Who's Your (baby) Daddy?

Candidate Rick Perry recently switched sides on abortion. A few weeks ago, Perry was asked how he felt about abortion. He replied that he felt it was morally wrong except in the case of rape and incest. It appears that he has now shifted his views. In a town hall meeting in Iowa, a pastor asked the very same question. This time Perry said it was unacceptable in all situations. Did he do this to please religious conservatives? Maybe. His idea goes against that of his wife, Anita. Anita has been a long time supporter of a pro-choice group in Texas known as TAASA. In one year, Anita has tripled the donations received by TAASA.


Will this vacillation hurt Perry's chances of being nominated by Iowa? We shall see...

♫ The Final Countdown ♫

There are only a few days left before the Iowa caucus and it is still anyone's game. The candidates are so close to each other that it is hard to predict the winner. In a poll conducted a few days ago, it appears that Mitt Romney is in first place and Ron Paul is in a not-so-distant second. This support is found in other states as well. In New Hampshire, Romney is also in first place, leading with 44% of the possible votes. Paul is once again in second.

Underdog Santorum is slowly climbing the ladder. He has recently almost tripled his support group. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about  Newt Gingrich. Following the ads designed to criticize his many marriages and affairs, he has slipped to a distant fourth place. 

They All Suck

It is no secret that the main goal of the Republicans and the GOP is to get Obama out of office. Unfortunately for them, that may not happen. With all of the scandals and slander flying between all of the candidates, many of the Republican voters are finding it hard to decide which candidate to vote for. One voter is quoted as saying "There is something about every one of those candidates that I don't like, but we've got to get rid of what's in there now. I don't care if Mickey Mouse runs, he would be better."

While this isn't great news for Obama, it is better than nothing. If the GOP candidates keep up this constant bashing, Obama might find a free ride to the presidency. His approval rating has even risen from 43% to 47%. This puts him in the lead over second favorite, Mitt Romeny.

In other news, rumor has it that Obama is pursuing this "Mickey Mouse" idea:

Gays Shouldn't Be In The Military....Ugh...Fineeee.....

Recently Rick Perry released his controversial commercial criticizing Obama's "war on religion" and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. In case you missed it, here it is:

Needless to say, this created a big debate among the voters. One of the biggest problems I had with this is that homosexuality and religion are two very different things. While religion can be implied on other people, I don't see homosexuality as having the same effect. Has someone ever said "Hey, you should totally turn gay. All the cool kids are doing it"? Yea, me either.

To combat the public's disapproval, Perry released a statement that he will not discharge gays from the military. Rather, he will tolerate them. Because they are obviously that bad. He said "I think you go back and you have that conversation with civilian and military leaders on how to deal with them." Makes them sound like an infestation, eh?

Perry's attempt to appeal to a relatively small group of voters may just backfire (hopefully it will).

Make It Rain

If there is one thing politicians know, its money. And no one knows money better than Donald Trump. To many peoples' disappointment, the entrepreneur has backed out of the current GOP debate...for now.

Earlier in the year, Trump announced that since Obama released his birth certificate, he will not run for president. This decision was not made lightly. Sources report that Trump was torn between a lucrative Apprentice sponsorship and running as a candidate. This is unfortunate because in May, NBC published a poll that claimed Trump was in second place for winning the GOP, falling behind Romney. This is reflected in Trump's quote "If I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately the general election."

Trump is considering running as an independent after the Apprentice ends. He said that all of the Republican candidates are too afraid to run against him and this is the only way that they would even debate with him. If this happens, this may be the first major victory for a third party in a long time.

Visit Trump's candidacy website here.

Gingrich: America's Ladies Man

Last Saturday was one of the many CBS sponsored debates between the Republican candidates. During the debate, an idea popped into my head: Newt Gingrich and his several wives. It is a well known fact that Gingrich is already on wife #3. But what some of you might not know is that he cheated on both of his previous wives. In 1962, Newt married Jackie Battley. After eighteen years, Jackie was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery. While recovering in the hospital, Newt surprised her not with a balloon or stuffed animal, but with divorce papers. Turns out he started an affair during the hospitalization with Marianne Ginther.

Six months after the divorce, Gingrich married wife #2. Not long after, Ginther developed a disease known as Multiple Sclerosis. During her hospitalization, Gingrich, once again, started an affair (surprise surprise). His new side girl was Callista Bisek. The two of them continued this affair during the Clinton scandal, in which Gingrich became a large player in the investigation. I smell a hypocrite... 

After he divorced Ginther, Gingrich married Callista. Gingrich was even kind enough to give America incentive to vote for him. He is quoted as saying, "I also pledge to uphold the institution of marriage through personal fidelity to my spouse and respect for the marital bonds of others."

This stained past may just end up hurting his chances for nomination.

Democrats Bring Up Reagan and Tax Cuts

We all know that the first caucus will be held in Iowa in the coming weeks. In an attempt to steer voters to the Democratic side, an independent support group know as the Priorities USA will launch an ad regarding payroll tax cuts.


Although both parties agree that it is necessary to make taxes fair, they disagree as to how this should be done. Currently, many of the rich pay little to no taxes while middle class workers are paying upwards of 30%. While the Republicans wish to place a burden on the middle class, the Democrats argue that it is unfair and they cannot afford it. Rather, a plan should be executed similar to that of Ronald Reagan. Reagan argued that we should "close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share." This ad which is supposed to be released in Iowa next Thursday, may change the tide of the GOP.


This is not the first time that a former president has been used as a role model for taxes.  When Obama was considering increasing taxes, a conservative group known as Crossroads GPS released an ad that criticized Obama. This ad asks the question, "is a tax increase necessary to support the government?"