Do people really not pay attention to what is said anymore? Yesterday, while being interview by John King about possible questions Santorum may face as Commander-In-Chief, Santorum was asked about having women in combat roles. Santorum responded with this answer: “Look, I want to create every opportunity for women to be able to serve this country, and they do so in an amazing and wonderful way. They’re...

Who can beat President Obama in the fall on the Republican side? The question of electability is the main point of concern among Republicans so far in this cycle. To date, a handful of former first-tier candidates have succumbed to the specter of electability including Rick Perry, Tim Pawlenty and yes, even the “perfect candidate” Michelle Bachmann. With only four candidates left in the field,...

FINAL (SURPRISE) UPDATE: Well, the Huckster — as my favorite talk show host refers to him — has endorsed Mitt Romney saying that Romney is ”not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country we all love.” According to Seattlepi.com: Romney said he was honored to receive the endorsement, but hoped even more to win the endorsement of Nevada voters. The state holds presidential...

One year after being injured in an assassination attempt, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) announced that she is resigning to focus on her recovery. Interestingly the announcement was made on Youtube, perhaps the first time such an announcement has been made in that way. In the video she still shows signs of her injury but has made remarkable progress. She calls on members of both parties to work together...

The Arizona Republic: Giffords stepping down from Congress Jan. 22, 2012 11:52 AM The Republic | azcentral.com U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced on YouTube today that she is stepping down from Congress in a two-minute video where she thanked the community for the support as she recovered from the shooting. Giffords said she plans to focus on her recovery. Giffords’ YouTube Post (makes me want to cry...

This absolutely, totally made me cry. This post at BlogHer is also worth reading for a number of the links and information on the news.

Joe Paterno, the longtime Penn State coach who won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that upended his reputation for integrity, died this morning. Paterno, 85, built his program on the credo “Success with Honor” en route to winning 409 games. He took Penn State to 37 bowl games and two national championships, while More than 250 of the...

In a move that is likely to benefit the GOP, the US Supreme Court tossed out a court drawn map in Texas. That map had tossed out one drawn by the Texas legislature. Since the ruling was unanimous it is not possible for the Democrats to argue bias in this case. The ruling stated that the court exceeded its authority in making the changes. Instead it should have only changed district lines where it was likely...

Update 3, 3:20pm Pacific: Last week a British court ruled that a British student can be extradited to the U.S. for running a website with a .com address that linked to sites with pirated TV shows and films. Get used to copyright as the argument for America as a virtual Gitmo. Note: SOPA/PIPA not required for US Customs to treat links to allegedly copyrighted material like murder. Update 2, 3:05 pm Pacific:...

The Washington Post: Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in 1999 asked his second wife for an “open marriage” or a divorce at the same time he was giving speeches around the country on family and religious values, his former wife, Marianne, told The Washington Post on Thursday. Marianne Gingrich said she first heard from the former speaker about the divorce request as she was waiting in the home of her...

UPDATE: Rick Perry has just made it official — and, finally, commonsensical. At an emotional news conference in North Charleston, S.C. Rick Perry announced that he is dropping out of the race (“suspending the campaign”) and is endorsing a “redeemable” Newt Gingrich. === A few days ago, I “postscripted” the announcement that Jon Huntsman intended to drop out of the Republican presidential...

Perry to endorse…Newt Gingrich! The New York Times: Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is poised to end his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, according to two Republicans close to Mr. Perry, a decision that comes two days before the South Carolina primary.

Today is a big day for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, indeed.Will it be a big, bad day? First, today is the big South Carolina CNN debate — a true “make or break” debate since polls now show Gingrich coming on strong against front-runner former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (who is still 10 points ahead in one poll). New and old media punditry have been buzzing with the question: is...

File this in the “here we go again” file. Are we about to see another Drudge Report exclusive that will reconfigure the political horizon? Matt Drudge has a screeching headline on his site with an “exclusive” about a “civil war” raging at ABC over when to air a supposedly explosive interview with Marianne Gingrich, one of the former House Speaker’s wives. Here’s...

AP reports that Jon Huntsman will endorse Mitt Romney for the GOP Presidential nomination sometime Monday in South Carolina. Ironically, the state’s largest newspaper, The State, endorsed Huntsman on Sunday. But the unhealthy demand for ideological purity obscures a hopeful fact about the GOP presidential field: There are actually two sensible, experienced grownups. And while Mr. Romney is far more appealing...

UPDATE: As expected, Former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah formally announced that he is ending his Republican presidential run “with a call for party unity, asking the five candidates he leaves on the field to end their negative ads and chastising President Obama for engaging in ‘class warfare.’” More from the New York Times: “This race has degenerated into an onslaught of negative and personal...

Reports breaking this evening that Jon Huntsman will drop out of the 2012 Presidential race and endorse Mitt Romney for the nomination. I can’t say I am surprised but I am disappointed that such a well qualified candidate could not proceed in the increasingly narrow Republican party.

The New York Times, The Washington Post and most major cable news organizations are projecting that Mitt Romney will win the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary — several say by double digits over number 2, Ron Paul. The New York Times: Mitt Romney has won the New Hampshire Republican primary, projections show, achieving a sweep of the first two critical contests in the 2012 presidential race...

Another Obama Chief-of-Staff bites the dust….. From a New York Times Breaking News Alert: William M. Daley, Obama’s Chief of Staff, Stepping Down, White House Officials Say William M. Daley, President Obama’s chief of staff, is stepping down, White House officials confirmed Monday. The news was first reported by The Los Angeles Times. Mr. Daley, a former commerce secretary and the son and brother of...

Return with us to the thrilling days of yesteryear, where, astride his faithful steed Hedgefund, the fake cowboy/real gazillionaire from Wyoming spurred into the sunset and rode valiantly to Salt Lake City, Utah. The Salt Lake City Tribune takes up the tale [emphasis added]: V.P. talks Iraq, borders in SLC BY ROBERT GEHRKE THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 29, 2007 1:58 AM Vice President Dick Cheney...

Terrorist bombs killed another 72 people in Iraq today, on a day considered holy by the Islamic Shia religion. This is a further sign of bloody sectarian strife boiling over after the withdrawal of US troops last December. It also presages a more significant trend that could make 2012 go down in history as the start of a seismic shift in the political makeup of the wider Islamic Middle East, from Morocco...

In every presidential cycle, there has been a middle of the pack candidate that has emerged as the antithesis of the favorite of the party establishment. In December of 1991, Bill Clinton was not even mentioned as a leading candidate. In 2008, Barack Obama leapfrogged over John Edwards to begin the longest (and most interesting) nomination battle in the last forty years. Yesterday’s tie between Romney...

Vladimir Putin seems to be battening down the hatches instead of showing more flexibility in the face of the massive prodemocracy protests since the rigged December 4 elections. In the latest protests in Moscow and several smaller cities on December 24, an estimated 120,000 middle class Russians braved icy weather carrying anti-corruption banners and chanting “Russia without Putin”. On December 27, Putin...

As I wrote here: One of the most interesting and exciting assignments during my U.S. Air Force career was my tour of duty at the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) complex some 1,400 feet beneath granite Cheyenne Mountain, south of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the height of the Cold War. The assignment was interesting and exciting not only because we were working to “protect North America from a space,...

UPDATE II: In a Capitol Hill news conference, Mr. Boehner announced the “deal.” The New York Times reports: Bowing under intense pressure from members of their own party to end the politically damaging impasse over a payroll tax holiday, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the tax cut, beating a hasty retreat from a showdown that Republicans increasingly saw as a...