Let's face it. Politics is a brutal game that takes every ounce of the energy for a Presidential wannabe, with incoming political missiles and the threat of sudden political death present at all moments. Throughout American political history, politicians under pressure have cried. Today it was Newt Gingrich's turn. Early reports suggest women voters in the room were highly … [Read more...] about Newt Gingrich’s Tears
NBC Poll Shows Drama in Iowa: Romney, Paul Near Tie First, Gingrich Drops to Fifth
A new NBC Poll shows the growing political drama shaping up in Iowa in the race for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Rep. Ron Paul are in a near tie -- and once-politically-hot former House Newt Gingrich is dropping so fast that you could swear he had been talking about a "nahn nahn nahn" plan. Former Massachusetts Gov. … [Read more...] about NBC Poll Shows Drama in Iowa: Romney, Paul Near Tie First, Gingrich Drops to Fifth
The Santorum Joke
If Mitt Romney wins in Iowa next week, he could find nipping at his heels still another challenger. Two weeks ago, in post-debate stupor, I woozily compared the GOP race to an action movie: “If the Great Screenwriter in the Sky is following the...plotlines, after all the car chases, explosions and reversals, the eventual nominee is clear: Rick Santorum. He’s been a bit … [Read more...] about The Santorum Joke
Poll: Romney Headed for Big Win in New Hampshire and Gaining Steam Elsewhere
A new poll shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is headed for a big win in New Hampshire -- as other polls show in surging in Iowa and nationally. Unless there is yet another abrupt reversal in trending in the battle for the 2012 Republican nomination, it may turn out that the original belief of Romney's "inevitability" will prove true. Mitt Romney holds a … [Read more...] about Poll: Romney Headed for Big Win in New Hampshire and Gaining Steam Elsewhere
Lawrence v. Texas: Another Perry Oops Moment.
When Texas Governor Rick Perry couldn’t remember the third government agency he would eliminate should he become president, one could chalk that up to “well, everybody has a mental freeze once-in-a-while.” When Perry couldn’t remember the name of a Supreme Court Justice or made a mistake in the number of judges on that Court, one could say "well, we all make mistakes." But … [Read more...] about Lawrence v. Texas: Another Perry Oops Moment.
New Year’s Resolution
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If I Were a Republican in 2012
If I were a Republican this coming election year … I would vote for Rick Santorum because of his views on gays and lesbians and gay marriage, his promise to reinstate "don't ask, don't tell” and his stance on singling out Muslims for extra screening at airports. I would vote for Ron Paul for wanting to eliminate almost all of government, income taxes, the IRS and for … [Read more...] about If I Were a Republican in 2012
Making Afghanistan Safe For China
Is US blood and treasure making Afghanistan safe for Chinese exploitation? It certainly looks like it. In December, 2007, China's state-owned China Metallurgical Group Corp. (MCC) signed a $2.9 billion agreement with the Kabul government to extract copper from the Aynak deposit, one of the world's largest unexploited copper deposits with an estimated 240 million … [Read more...] about Making Afghanistan Safe For China
The Jon Swift Memorial Roundup For 2011
Jon Swift was a satirist without peer in the blogosphere before his untimely death in 2009. Every year's end since then, blogger Bottachio has carried on Jon's tradition of posting a round-up of bloggers' best self-selected work for the year. Click here for the 2011 edition. … [Read more...] about The Jon Swift Memorial Roundup For 2011
Gingrich, Mel Gibson Divorce News
Breaking up is hard to do, but much more expensive in today’s Hollywood than rural Georgia of three decades ago. Mel Gibson is finally divorced from his wife of more than 30 years and mother of seven children after turning over an estimated half of his $850 million in movie earnings. At the same time, the nation’s other Lethal Mouth seems to have been lying about his … [Read more...] about Gingrich, Mel Gibson Divorce News
Republican Extreme Views Do Not Represent Mainstream America
I've spent most of my adult life (unlike many of my generation, I could both drink and vote at age 18) being wary of single-issue politics. However, as the parties have become increasingly indistinguishable from one another once they get into power, making a decision based on a single issue may not be as much of a cop-out as I used to think. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has … [Read more...] about Republican Extreme Views Do Not Represent Mainstream America
Two Iowa Pastors See Politics As Chess Game
According to two "evangelical" Iowa pastors, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum are being pressured to collaborate: one should bow out and endorse the other. "Otherwise, like-minded people will be divided and water down their impact," said Rev. Cary Gordon, a Sioux City minister. He said he asked Santorum several weeks ago to consider exiting the race but has since … [Read more...] about Two Iowa Pastors See Politics As Chess Game
Hypocrisy 101: Obama TelePrompter Critic Bachmann Uses an iPad
Greetings, students. I hope you all have a copy of your syllabus. Yes, you are in the correct classroom. This is Hypocrisy 101 at Political University. Last year we dealt with the TelePrompter issue and how Sarah Palin was blasting President Barack Obama for using a TelePrompter and many conservative talk show hosts did, too. But then she wrote notes on her hand and she and the … [Read more...] about Hypocrisy 101: Obama TelePrompter Critic Bachmann Uses an iPad
Book Review: “Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi”
If you want to understand Pakistan and a good deal about South Asia buy "Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi." South Asia has always been of huge interest to me, from the time I was a student at Colgate University, to my internship on "The Hindustan Times" in New Delhi in the early 1970s, to a couple of years I spent in that city after graduating the Medill School of … [Read more...] about Book Review: “Instant City: Life and Death in Karachi”
Romney and the Art of Unpredictable Predictability
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- No matter what happens in Iowa, Mitt Romney has a safety net in New Hampshire. And that could rank as the year's most perilous sentence. Why shouldn't Romney be surprised in the state that temporarily derailed Barack Obama's supposedly rapid march toward nomination four years ago? Hillary Clinton humbled many a pundit here in 2008, reason enough to … [Read more...] about Romney and the Art of Unpredictable Predictability
Barack Obama: ‘Milking’ the Iraq War for All it’s Worth (Azzaman, Iraq)
How sorry is the present state of Iraq - and how bitter do some Iraqis feel about the consequences of the U.S. invasion and withdrawal? For Iraq's Azzaman, columnist Fateh Abdulsalam accuses President Obama of brazenly using the Iraq withdrawal to his political advantage and leaving the country 'with a government reveling in the joys of its own corruption and the opportunistic … [Read more...] about Barack Obama: ‘Milking’ the Iraq War for All it’s Worth (Azzaman, Iraq)
‘How Much Is That Purple Heart In The Window?’
I don’t know what caught my attention while browsing the web today. Perhaps it was the similarity to the title of that famous song, “How much is that doggie in the window?” Perhaps it was the similarity to the title I chose for one of my military aviation stories, “How much is that F-35 in the window?” But more likely it was the incongruence in the words in the title … [Read more...] about ‘How Much Is That Purple Heart In The Window?’
New CNN Iowa Poll: Romney Now Leading, Paul Second, Gingrich Nosediving & Santorum
The seesaw verdicts of the polls continue in Iowa. The latest CNN poll in Iowa fits in with the new tone coming from the camp of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: a seeming sense of relief plus a belief that their candidate will prevail in Iowa -- and in the end. The new poll puts Romney in the lead, former House Speaker Gingrich fading faster then the impression a … [Read more...] about New CNN Iowa Poll: Romney Now Leading, Paul Second, Gingrich Nosediving & Santorum
New Year Hope
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The Best, Worst and Most of 2011
Here’s our modest annual list looking at 2011 — a list that might help guide us in 2012. Best New National Scene Republican: Former Utah Gov. Jon Hunstman. Some GOPers never forgave him for having served as President Barack Obama’s Ambassador to China, but he offered the kind of thoughtful conservative Republicanism that could have roped in independents. He would have had a … [Read more...] about The Best, Worst and Most of 2011