Our political Quote of the Day comes from Andrew Sullivan, who concludes what I have also concluded: Barack Obama seems to be operating on a different wavelength than many past Presidents so his foes may underestimate him at their peril. I’ve concluded that when history is written Barack Obama won’t be categorized as “another JFK” or like FDR, Harry Truman, or even as his critics suggest like the ever-hapless Jimmy Carter. Rather, he has his own unusual style and the jury...

How hateful has our politics become? This hateful: An email recently sent by Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal (R-Hutchinson) to his Republican colleagues appears to endorse a controversial prayer that some say calls for the untimely death of President Obama. “Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8.” That’s the slogan an email from O’Neal refers to, a phrase that’s become popular in some circles on bumper stickers and other merchandise. The bible passage itself reads, “Let...

It can happen. Miraculous resurrection can sometimes emerge from unspeakable tragedy. On Sept. 11, 2001 Lauren Manning, senior vice president and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment bank which had several floors of offices in the World Trade Center, was on her way to work and getting ready to enter the elevator at the North Tower when the 9/11 terrorist attack punched the building — and a giant, massive fireball originating on the 90th floor engulfed her in the lobby, burning her to...

Manny Francisco, Manila, The Phillippines This new poll out of South Carolina could be subtitled in two ways: #1 Romney Soars in South Carolina #2 Gingrich Self-Destructs in South Carolina The bottom line is that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had been doing well in South Carolina, and then seemed according to one poll within a few points of the presumptive front-runner, former Massachusetts Mitt Romney. But then the controversy over Gingrich’s use of the Bain Capital issue against Romney...

Adam Zyglis, The Buffalo News Is South Carolina a tossup or isn’t it? My betting is: it is NOT and that, in the end, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will win and then win big in Florida — where a recent poll shows him with a whopping lead. On the other hand, the question is the trending on polling. And this poll suggests it is close in South Carolina, indeed: As the GOP races settles into South Carolina, Mitt Romney isn’t enjoying the double-digit lead he held in New Hampshire,...

Seeing the likely nomination of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 150 conservative activists gathered in Texas have decided to give their support to former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in an effort to halt what now seems to be in the political cards: the splitting of social conservatives’ votes among several candidates which would allow Romney to sail his way to victories in South Carolina, Florida and at the convention. The Hill reports: A group of conservative activists decided Saturday...

Our Quote of the Day comes from a troubling piece in The Global Post about the war across the border against “Los Zetas,” Mexico’s drug cartels’ powerful army: MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Residents of the town of Fresnillo in northeast Mexico cowered in their homes as gunfire rattled between federal police and cartel gunmen on the streets outside. When the shooting subsided, those brave enough to peer out their doors saw the corpses of nine gunmen sprawled on the concrete. Police...

You’ve heard of “suicide by cop”? America is now seemingly witnessing political suicide by tea. Tea Party, that is. Only a few months ago Republicans seemed poised to fulfill a dream: if the economy continued to recover slowly or was barely on the mend, and if President Barack Obama continued to appear to be a nice guy who could give a terrific scripted speech but was inept as a leader and problem-solver, Republicans could capture control of the Senate, Congress and White House. They could...

A scandal is now unfolding involving a video that administration officials reportedly believe is indeed authentic — a video showing a small group of Marines urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. Why should that video be such a big deal? Because such an act would violate the traditional norms taught by military commanders about how the U.S. military should behave. And also because the video could become a potent recruiting tool for the Taliban, Al Qaeda or for any group that seeks...

Andrew Sullivan has an intriguing post. He has seen the anti-Romney, Bain Capital film that Newt Gingrich’s camp is touting and says it’s devastating — so much so that he thinks Romney could lose: I just watched the Bain documentary featured below and being broadcast throughout South Carolina by Newt Gingrich’s SuperPac in full. It’s loaded with out-of-context quotes and heavily biased; it focuses on the specific human suffering of the necessary “creative destruction”...

Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com At at time when there are inklings that political opponents of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may be considering bowing to the demands of talk show (and de facto Republican Party strategist) titan Rush Limabaugh and other members of the GOP establishment on trimming criticism of Romney’s role at Bain Capital, the question is arising: is Romney indeed “inevitable” or is it that narrative spin? The answer: he increasingly looks inevitable —...

Is a pullback now beginning on attacks by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and perhaps others on attacks on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for Romney’s role at Bain Capital? It sounds that way. Actually, I figured a pullback would begin once I learned that conservative talker (and Ruler of the GOP in some ways) Rush Limbaugh was blasting it. The Politico reports: Newt Gingrich signaled Wednesday that he believes his criticism of Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital is a mistake...

What’s a risky business to go into? Apparently one of the riskiest is to be a nuclear scientist in Iran – since yet another one has been killed: At a time of growing tension over its nuclear program and mounting belligerence toward the West, Iran reported on Wednesday that an Iranian nuclear scientist died in what was termed a “terrorist bomb blast” in northern Tehran when an unidentified motorcyclist attached a magnetic explosive device to his car. It was the fourth such attack reported...

Is Mitt Romney now unstoppable? Here’s a roundup on this question.

Many TV viewers have no idea what an incredible performer Mandy Patinkin is. Watch him here doing a live performance of “Buddie’s Blues,” one of the songs from the masterpiece score of “Follies.” The character is having a bit of a breakdown: Here’s another great interpretation of this piece, by Danny Burstein:

If former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had lost New Hampshire or barely won it would have been a huge news story. In the end, he won and by a sizeable margin. But does this mean he’s a shoo in now for the nomination? Or can he be derailed? Is he a candidate who can be appealing to moderates, independents and centrists or has he now moved too far into the Talk Radio Political Culture territory and made his case so convincingly that the old Mitt Romney who ran against Teddy Kennedy is gone...

Despite the daily pounding he is getting from other candidates, by some conservative talk show hosts and his many gaffes, in the end former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney has emerged as the only candidate acceptable to GOP conservatives, moderates and liberals, a new Gallup Poll finds: Mitt Romney is now the only candidate that a majority of conservative and moderate/liberal Republicans nationwide see as an “acceptable” GOP nominee for president. Conservative Republicans are more likely...

Some good news for Mitt Romney: a new CBS News poll finds that the former Massachusetts Governor is the only GOPer in the race could beat President Barack Obama.

You’d think someone in politics as long as Mitt Romney (OOPS! He is just a businessman who has dabbled in politics off and on) would know better. But he doesn’t. He made a remark about enjoying firing an insurance company — but it’s the enjoying firing part of it that’s now be jumped on by his opponents. They seem (NOT!) to be forgetting other parts of the statement. This is somewhat akin to the Jimmy Carter “malaise” statement that was used against Carter,...

For years Democrats have complained that in national and even more local elections Republicans would “Swift Boat” Democrats. And even in the most aggressive Republican contests, many GOPers would at least pay lip service to Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment about making nice to other Republicans. No more (and why should that be surprising when many conservatives today reject some of the things Reagan did plus his willingness to reach across the aisle?) To wit: There is an informal...