Our political Quote of the Day comes from Romney supporter and surrogate New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, talking to Republicans in Des Moines, Iowa. And it’s a quote that I suspect will be used for many many years: “If you’re looking for a candidate who agrees with you on everything, buy a mirror,” Christie said. This is advice that members of both parties might seriously ponder.

The choice in 2012 is not only the path American voters wish to choose but the path Republicans as a party wish to choose. And this choice is presented aptly by the Washington Post’s conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin who reports on the differences in the style and content of the current frontrunner for the 2012 Republican nomination former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the widely-longed-for candidate...

WASHINGTON – What Pres. Obama has done through this directive is historic. Having Secy. Clinton to deliver the message makes it resound. The United States will begin using American foreign aid to promote gay rights abroad, Obama administration officials said on Tuesday. President Obama issued a memorandum directing American agencies to look for ways to combat efforts by foreign governments to criminalize...

Word just in that former Illinois Governor Soprano will spend 14 years in prison. He is likely to appeal but that is not expected to impact when he reports to prison. I would guess he will report after the holidays as they are usually more flexible with these types of convictions.

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and US entry into the Second World War. Sadly we are quickly approaching the time where we no longer have living survivors and Pearl Harbor may gradually become an abstract historical event rather than a true harsh experience. Whenever I think of the attack I am reminded of one of the more impressive stories of the day. At the time the attack began...

Take a Peek at a new site: the Anti Drudge Report. Over the years there have been various attempts at using the Drudge format by others who wanted to see a version of it that is not done from a conservative Republican standpoint. Some of them are excellent (and we have linked to them and given a h/T when we remember to do that too quickly vanishing courtesy source acknowledgement) but it has never been easy...

In “The Iraqi Phoenix Rises Again,” I described how the once proud and powerful Iraqi Air Force(IqAF) — at one time the sixth largest air force in the world — was decimated as a result of both the 1991 “Persian Gulf War” (Operation Desert Storm) and Saddam Hussein’s desperate concealing, disassembling and “stashing abroad” of its remaining aircraft before the 2003 U.S. invasion of...

Paul Krugman writes that to win the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, “there are only two ways to make the cut: to be totally cynical or to be totally clueless.” Mitt Romney is the cynical candidate: Romney embodies the first option. He’s not a stupid man; he knows perfectly well, to take a not incidental example, that the Obama health reform is identical in all important respects...

Republicans used to be thought of as the pro-business party. These days, however, any benefits that might accrue to businesses from federal legislation seem to take a back seat for Republicans to saving this country’s very rich from paying a bit more in taxes. Consider the Payroll Tax debate now going on in congress. The newest proposal from Democrats aimed at extending lower payroll taxes, would only...

WASHINGTON – So let me get this straight. Flim flam artist, convenient conservative, serial philanderer and cheater, a man who ditches wives when they’re sick with cancer or MS, who’s a Freddie Mac sponge, K-Street addressee businessman with a loybbist’s touch, has won the hearts of enough Iowa evangelical Christians to now have the momentum in that state. These people also actually...

The day after Phil Gerbyshak linked to this article, I missed an appointment because I forgot to write it down. I should have read have read the article more carefully. [I blog here.]

Jack Goldstone presents the case here that China, under current trends, cannot become the economic behemoth many expect it to be. And Russia’s growth has stagnated. But, he does see growth in the economies of Turkey, Indonesia, and Mexico, as well as Brazil and India, the B and I of the BRIC formulation. He’s absolutely right, I think, that innovation doesn’t blossom in repressive environments....

The criticism expressed by the pundits of the slate of Republican presidential wannabes has been quite fierce — from the Left and from the Right. Judging from the muted, lethargic responses by Republicans — sometimes even agreement — including here at TMV, one would think that the GOP, this time, has decided to “Send in the Clueless” — or at least the “cynics” — to, first,...

Early exit polling from Russian parliamentary elections suggests that Russian President to Be Putin and his United Russia political party will win far fewer seats than they have in previous elections. In previous votes United Russia had routinely won a 2/3rds supermajority which allowed Putin to basically govern by decree. The returns this time suggest that United Russian may not even win a simple majority in...

Staunch Conservative George Will has not been a shrinking violet when it comes to showing his disdain for pizza-king-turned-presidential-pretender Herman Cain. But this morning, on ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, he held nothing back. After comparing Santorum favorably to Cain, Will launched right into the GOP presidential campaign process and specifically into Cain’s “disrespectful approach...

Word coming out this morning that Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) will offer a compromise proposal to extend the payroll tax cut. Details have not been released but it is likely the compromise would be a mix of the two failed proposals from last week. Now whether the GOP will accept the compromise or not remains to be seen though in the end neither party wants to be seen as preventing a tax cut extension. Like many...

I agree with those who say that, in the end, Herman Cain has helped his brand: he’ll probably sell more books, get higher speaking fees and most likely wind up with a national radio talk show or a big fat contract at Fox News, perhaps if Roger Ailes finally boots out the political star who disappointed and frustrated him, Sarah Palin, when her contract is up: Rob Frankel, author of “Revenge of Brand...

Every year the Marine Corps celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the Marines with a birthday ball. This was the first year that gay Marines could bring their loved ones. Here is a truly special story about one Marine’s experience.

It looks like the Republican nominating contest has narrowed down to two finalists whose monikers sound like characters in a Wodehouse novel. Mitt and Newt. All that’s needed now to round out this protracted and embarrassing clownfest is for Ron, Michelle and Rick to drop away, and be replaced by Bingo, Bertie and Piggy. The fact that many of Wodehouse’s male characters are also members of the Drones...

Watching the speeches being given by the warm up speakers it seems hard to believe that Cain is going to drop out. Herman Cain is scheduled to announce at any time whether he will remain in the race or drop out. To the degree that tea leaves can be read it is looking like he will drop out. Reports from CNN indicate that a number of top Cain supporters have been in touch with key figures in other campaigns, the...

Here is yet another sign of how our politics have fallen in terms of allowing the free exchange of ideas that don’t fit into a perceived, informally required or existing cookie cutter pattern: Next week, the Republican Jewish Coalition is planning a forum to be attended by all of the Republican candidates… with the notable exception of Ron Paul. Mais why? Well, RJC executive director Matt Brooks told...

The US Senate tonight put on another kabuki show as they ‘rejected’ two plans to extend the payroll tax cut. The Democratic plan, which would have paid for the cut with a surtax on millionaires, got a 51-49 majority but failed to get the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. A proposal by Senator Heller (R-NV) which would have paid for the cut by cutting spending failed by a much larger margin, with...

In these per’lous times, it’s good to see that at least one major political party still has a sense of humor. I refer, of course, to the Republicans. Their latest beau jeste, in he form of a proposal to keep funded the Payroll Tax reduction for all working Americans, had me rolling with laughter when I read it over. The Democrats want to fund this lower Payroll Tax rate with a surtax of 3 1/2 percent...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from conservative blogger Betsy Newmark, who we have linked to often over the years. She has begun to fear that the GOP could be on the verge of blowing a historic political opportunity. She notes that Barack Obama is seriously on the political ropes and notes a few things that could improve for him. Then she writes: Or, and this is his best hope, the GOP could nominate someone...

BE NICE, OKAY?