Saturday, December 31, 2011

Play A Loud Tune On A Paper Horn

Scatter confetti over the floor and sweep the old year out the door.

I am packing up the car and leaving to visit an out-of-town friend who is recuperating after back surgery. 

I won’t be posting anything while I’m away.  I’ll just be enjoying the company of my friend and recounting old times.

So, here’s wishing my readers more happiness than all my words can tell you.  May 2012 be a happy new year free from want and filled with blessings from God.


UPDATE:  January 1, 2012 at 5:22AM—I became quite ill just after posting my wish for everyone to enjoy their New Year's Eve celebrations and phoned my friend to say I was sick and thought it wiser to stay home and not spread my cooties.


I went to an urgent care facility, not an emergency room, because it was Saturday and no doctors in private practice operate on the weekend.  After having spent nearly three hours waiting to be seen, the doctor informed me that I have a sinus infection and bronchitis.


I was given a prescription for Levaquin (antibiotic) and Tussionex Suspension (cough medicine with codeine).  Over the past year, I've had two bouts of pneumonia; once in April and again in September.   Before you ask, yes, I've had my annual flu shot and because I have diabetes, I've also had my pneumonia vaccination.


I'm looking forward to feeling better and would really like it if I wouldn't get sick again any time soon.

Monday, December 26, 2011

We Made It


When I was much, much younger I avoided watching the retrospectives on television of the year just passed.  I remember not the year but the emotion such broadcasts evoked and I gave up watching them.  Being young I chose to attend New Year’s Eve parties where everyone waited with baited breath for the ball to drop in New York City—the iconic symbol of the year ending and the hope for the New Year beginning.
 
Everyone would join hands and unite in singing Auld Lang Syne, but do we really know its meaning?  Should those we knew and loved be forgotten and never thought of again?  Should old times be forgotten?  The lyrics say we shouldn’t.  We’ll remember those times and those people.  We’ll raise a toast to them.  We’ll keep them close and we’ll remember those who won’t be entering the New Year with us.

In the YouTube® video I created, which is embedded below, I chose pictures that captured the soul of a moment in time; happiness or sadness, celebration or sympathy.

From the horrifying earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan to the Tucson shootings that shocked our nation, from the tornadoes that cut a swath of destruction and death in Alabama and Missouri to the love story of Will and Kate, from the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya to the shocking deaths at the Indiana State Fair, from the launch of NASA’s last space shuttle to the solemnity of the 10th anniversary of September 11th, it represents a reflection of the passing year.

Interspersed throughout the video are photos of notable persons who left their mark on the world.  I chose pictures that were flattering because that’s the way I wanted to remember them.  I’ve also included photos of jubilant military servicemen returning home from war.  We owe them so much.  And we should pause to remember those not coming home.

So, we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for Auld Lang Syne.

Happy New Year everyone.  Happy New Year and thank you for your readership.


Linked at Pirate's Cove and Sentry Journal.  Many thanks to you both.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Santa Still Flying High Says New Poll

I don’t remember how old I was when the magic of Santa was almost destroyed. My father took me to a shopping mall to visit the jolly old elf.  I remember sitting on his lap and seeing a shiny piece of scotch tape stretched across his white mustache.

On the way home in the car, Dad asked if I had told Santa what I wanted for Christmas.  I told him I hadn’t which prompted him to ask me why.

“Dad,” I said, “That wasn’t the real Santa.”

“What makes you say that honey?” he asked.

Pointing to the fact that Santa had scotch tape on his mustache brought an awful silence from the man who only wanted me to believe in the childhood joy of Christmas.

In the days following my visit to this “fake” Santa, neither one of us broached the subject.

Weeks later it was finally Christmas Eve and, like all parents, mine urged me to hit the silks so Santa would come and bring my presents.  I obeyed, but I knew Santa was a grown-up hoax.

My bedroom door opened into the hallway.  There was an opening in the ceiling to the attic just a few feet from my door. 

When I awoke on Christmas morning, there, in front of my door was a chair (one of those that have a set of steps that can be lowered and raised) that Dad had carefully placed underneath the opening.  

I looked up to see that the cover to the opening had been moved to one side.  As I looked down at the chair, it became clear that Santa had come through the attic (we didn’t have a fireplace). 

There on the seat of the chair, Dad had carefully arranged a dusting of dirt that outlined where a large boot had been.

In that instant, I knew that Santa was real and the guy in the suit at the shopping mall never entered my mind again.  The magic of St. Nick was real again.  It has been so ever since.

My father has been gone since 2006.  I will never forget what my father did that Christmas.  Because of him I still believe.

From the Associated Press comes this heartening news:  Year after year, Santa Claus survives the scoffers and the Scrooges and the 6-year-old playground skeptics. He endures belittling commercials that portray him shopping at Target or taking directions from an iPhone. He shrugs off scolds who say his bagful of toys overshadows the reason for the season.

Two-thirds of parents with kids under eighteen say Santa's an important part of their celebrations this year. Moms, especially, have a soft spot for the man in red—71 percent of them say he's important, and that's a big jump from 58 percent just five years ago.

His overall popularity is up slightly from an AP-AOL poll in 2006, before the recession hit. In these bleaker times of homes lost to foreclosure and parents sweating out their next paychecks, the poll shows Santa riding high with families both wealthy and poor.

In the poll, the median age when adults said they outgrew Santa was 8. But Santa needn't worry. They'll come back someday…when they're parents.

Dad, thanks for the beautiful memory.
Linked at The Pirate's Cove.  Thank you, "Admiral."




Thursday, December 22, 2011

The 2011 Nightmare Before Christmas


In what can only be described as a “nightmare before Christmas,” Speaker of the House John Boehner conceded to Senate Democrats over the expiring payroll tax cut.

Friday, after the bill passes, Captain Humility will sign the bill and board Air Force One with Bo, the family dog (undoubtedly flown back to Washington at taxpayer expense for a showdown photo-op) to join the First Family in Hawaii.

All the back-biting over the past week or so means that the payroll tax cut which is worth an astonishing $40 on the average paycheck will continue through February 2012.  Jobless benefits will also continue and the “doc fix” which prevents a proposed 27.4% pay cut for physicians serving Medicare patients will not take effect on January 1, 2012.

Democrats are pissing their pants with glee over having won the battle, but a two-month band-aid will only create more uncertainty for families and businesses that create jobs and shackle economic growth.

During his news conference, when asked if House Republicans “caved”, Boehner said, “Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing.  It may not have politically been the smartest thing in the world, but I’m gonna tell you what, our members waged a good fight.”

This was no good fight.  They decided to play politics with the XL Keystone Pipeline as a strategy to win favor with Americans.   Their calculus was flawed and now they’ve damaged the Republican brand.  How badly?  Only time will tell.

So enjoy your forty bucks.
 
Incidentally, the Democrat-controlled Senate has not passed a budget in 1,346 days; something they are required by law to do each and every April 15thThrow Them All Out.


Linked by The Other McCain.  Thanks so much.



One Special President Asks Us To Remember One Special Child

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

BREAKING: Bombshell News on DOJ Perjury Imminent

Christian Adams, reporting at PJ Tatler, has heard “that PJ Media will run a story in the next 36 hours revealing bombshell instances of lying under penalty of perjury at the Justice Department.  I hear it involves criminal acts, and also, strangely, implicates congressional redistricting among other matters.  Stay turned to PJ Media for details.”


UPDATE I:  December 22, 2011
The Justice Department Condones Perjury…Again
Hans A. von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and former commissioner on the Federal Election Commission reports that throughout 2005-2007, numerous attorney-client privileged documents, confidential personnel information, and other sensitive legal materials were leaked from inside the Voting Section to the Washington Post and various left-wing blogs.
Stephanie Celandine Gyamfi, a career employee in the Voting Section of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has confessed to committing perjury on three occasions, sources say.  Despite the admission, she has not been fired for criminal malfeasance; in fact, she has not been disciplined in any meaningful way.
Ms. Gyamfi is one of the most extreme partisans in the Civil Rights Division, no small distinction considering the competition among her Division colleagues. (Readers of Christian Adams’ recent book, Injustice, may recall seeing photos of Ms. Gyamfi’s Voting Section office walls filled with campaign signage supporting the election of Barack Obama.)

Read the whole thing here.


UPDATE II:  December 22, 2011
Culture of Lies Inside Obama Justice Department
Christian Adams has more on the culture of lies inside the Obama Justice Department.  He connects Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich to false statements given to Congress on both the Fast and Furious and the New Black Panther scandals.

One thing is clear, the Judiciary and Oversight committees in both chambers of Congress need to immediately get to the bottom of this.


Keeping “Mitt” In Mittmas

Do you suck at wrapping Christmas gifts?  Did you forget to buy gift tags for those Secret Santa gifts?  Is there someone in your family you just love to annoy?

Look no further than the “Romney for President” gift tags.  Mitt’s crackerjack campaign strategy for the Yuletide Season is to have you personalize your gifts and show your support with Romney holiday gift tags.

Just download the templates, cut and fold, add some ribbon, don’t forget to personalize it, tie it onto the gift and voila, you’ve got a gift that will speak volumes about your political savvy.  See example pictured above.

C’mon man.  You. Cannot. Be. Serious.



Who Ordered The Lobotomy For These Kids?

In an ad titled "Home for the Holidays: Share Why You're Working to Re-elect President Obama," the campaign provides ideas on how to spread the good news of Captain Humility.

These children of the corn tout The Won as a politician of “my generation”.  Each one shows a series of family photos and rattle off “accomplishments” of their favorite community organizer while suggesting that you look on YouTube™ and Facebook.  “He just made a great speech in Kansas,” one says.  “Maybe they’ll see what you’re doing and want to follow.”

I’m not going to link that garbage on my blog, but if you want to see the creepy video, it’s here.


The Fine-Toothed Comb That’s Missing A Few Teeth


Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) released his annual “Wastebook” detailing $6.5 billion in ludicrous government spending including $765,000 to subsidize “pancakes for yuppies” in the nation’s capital.

Would you like a smoke and a pancake? You know, flapjack and a cigarette? No? All right. Cigar and a waffle? No? Pipe and a crepe? No? Bong and a blintz? No? Oh, well, then there is no pleasing you.

The items on Coburn's list include $10 million for a remake of "Sesame Street" for Pakistan and $764,825 to examine how college students use mobile devices for social networking.

The "Wastebook" also claims $550,000 was spent for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union as well as $48,700 for a festival promoting Hawaii's chocolate industry.

Coburn said, “This is not a Christmas wish list, these are just some of the ways the federal government spent your tax dollars.”

"Instead of cutting wasteful spending, nearly $2.5 billion was added each day in 2011 to our national debt, which now exceeds $15 trillion," Coburn said adding, "perhaps there was no bigger waste of the taxpayer's money in 2011 than Congress itself."

Maybe those subsidized yuppies in D.C. can invite the shrimp on the treadmill over to IHOP for a bong and blintz.  Just sayin’…

Photo Of The Day


“Happiness is a warm puppy.”—Charles M. Schulz


Looks Like Those Lies About Throwing Granny Over The Cliff Backfired


The Democratic attack about "ending Medicare" was a pervasive line in 2011 that preyed on seniors' worries about whether they could afford health care.


They ignored the fact that the Ryan plan would not affect people currently in Medicare—or even the people 55 to 65 who would join the program in the next 10 years.

They used harsh terms such as "end" and "kill" when the program would still exist, although in a privatized system.

They used pictures and video of elderly people who clearly were too old to be affected by the Ryan plan. The DCCC video that aired four days after the vote featured an elderly man who had to take a job as a stripper to pay his medical bills.

"Both parties use entitlements as political weapons," Ryan said in an interview with PolitiFact. "Republicans do it to Democrats; Democrats do it to Republicans. So I knew that this would be a political weapon that the other side would use against us."

Liberal bloggers and columnists contend it's accurate to say Republicans voted to end Medicare. Left-leaning websites such as Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, and The New Republic said PolitiFact's analysis was wrong, as did New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.

"According to (PolitiFact's) logic, if the FBI were replaced with a voucher program wherein citizens would receive subsidies for hiring private investigators to look into criminal activity, but the agency running the voucher program were still called the FBI, it would be unfair to say that the FBI had been ended," wrote Jed Lewison for Daily Kos. "I guess it's their right to make that argument, but it's transparently absurd."

In a blog post, the DCCC stood by its claim, saying the ad accurately stated Ryan's plan would “abolish” Medicare. 

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

(VIDEO) It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like One Term





Video hijacked from Randy’s Roundtable.
Linked by And So It Goes In Shreveport.

Calling Myself The Best President Ever Would Have Sounded A Little Arrogant

Many conservative blogs have seized on the recent 60 Minutes interview of President Obama by CBS’s Steve Kroft.  The focus of the interview was not the televised version—rather the comment that, as it turned out, was an outtake at the end of the recorded interview.

"As you yourself said, Steve, I would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president—with the possible exceptions of Johnson, FDR and Lincoln. You know, just in terms of what we've gotten done in modern history," Obama said, according to the aforementioned clip that never made it to broadcast.

I get the fact that this megalomaniacal, narcissistic sociopath believes he saved us from a great depression.  I get that this is all part of The Won’s legendary humility, but really…the fourth best president evah?

I am reminded of the 1992 Republican National Convention at which former President Ronald Reagan said, “Well, let me tell you something; I knew Thomas Jefferson. He was a friend of mine and, Governor…You're no Thomas Jefferson!”

Charles Krauthammer offered some sage advice for Captain Humility:  “When a Roman conquering general returned and had a triumphal procession in Rome, with the crowds cheering and calling him all kinds of godly names, there was a courtier in the back of the chariot who whispered in his ear, ‘Remember thou art but a mortal.’  Obama ought to hire that guy.  He’s old, but I think he’s still around.”



Barney Frank’s Wardrobe Malfunction


Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) stood on the floor of the House to deliver a speech on bank failures wearing an ensemble that displayed his bodacious rack of man-boobs.

He really should splurge and buy himself a manzier.  

Monday, December 19, 2011

Who Should Tucker Carlson Bring To Dinner With Bill Ayers?

Daily Caller editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson will have a very special dinner date before the end of 2012—with Bill Ayers. Yes, that Bill Ayers.

Carlson donated $2,500 to the Illinois Humanities Council for the honor of supping on a home-cooked meal at the Illinois home of Ayers and his wife, Bernadine Dohrn—both unrepentant leaders of the terrorist [group] Weather Underground.

“I bought the auction dinner because I support the important work of the Illinois Humanities Council,” Carlson emailed The Chicago Tribune. “Anything I can do to help.”

Conservatives slammed Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race for his association with Ayers. Arizona Sen. John McCain’s running mate, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, famously knocked Obama on the stump for “palling around with terrorists.” While she didn’t mention Ayers by name, it was widely understood that is who she was referring to.

Carlson’s winning dinner bid entitles him to bring up to six people. The dinner must be arranged at a mutually agreed-upon date before October 2012.

Drag Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, Matt Boyle and Ann Coulter along.  Somebody should set up bleachers to view the fireworks.


Can 75 Members Of Congress Be Wrong?

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), questions US Attorney General Eric Holder as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, December 8, 2011. Holder faced a congressional hearing over a scandal which allowed US weapons to find their way into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

A New York Times piece, A Lightning Rod Is Undeterred, begins:  “For nearly three years, Republicans have attacked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on national security and civil rights issues. For months, they have criticized him over a gun-trafficking investigation gone awry, with dozens of leaders calling for his resignation. Last week, more than 75 members of Congress co-sponsored a House resolution expressing “no confidence” in his leadership.”

The nation’s chief law enforcement officer contends that many of his critics are playing “Washington gotcha games”.

Mr. Holder believes the strong opposition is merely political fodder.  “This is a way to get at the president because of the way I can be identified with him, both due to the nature of our relationship and, you know, the fact that we’re both African-American,” he said.

It couldn’t be because they both have a penchant for blaming others for their colossal failures.  Nah.  That couldn’t be it.

Impoverished Hermit State Mourns Loss Of Comic Buffoon

Kim Jong Il, the jumpsuit and platform shoe-wearing tyrant died of a heart attack while on a train trip according to state television—that’s the apparatchik to you and me.

Reportedly a diabetic, the little man with a towering ego, amassed a wine cellar with more than 10,000 bottles and greedily scoffed down prodigious amounts of lobster and expensive cognac.

Lobster ranks as one of the most decadent items on a menu and is also known to be high in cholesterolWhat condiment usually accompanies lobster? Butter. Butter is also high in cholesterol, with about 35 mg of cholesterol per tablespoon.  One in four people with diabetes will suffer a heart attack or stroke.

If you drink cognac regularly (around 15 ml a day), it is said to protect you against heart disease.  Perhaps after suffering a stroke in 2008, Il who is now no longer ill, thought his excessive consumption of the stuff would allay another stroke.  Looks like his plan was flawed.

On a serious note, South Koreans are naturally extremely nervous since, despite there being 26,500 US troops in the country; North Korea has thousands of artillery rockets aimed at Seoul which is only 70 miles from the internal border. North Korea is also nuclear armed, the main reason why everyone treats this nightmare of a state so gingerly. The Japanese government will be monitoring the situation closely.  Indeed they will.

The Smartest Woman In America

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, center, greet each other after unveiling the new statue of late US President Ronald Reagan, during a centennial commemoration in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, June 29, 2011. The bronze statue honors Reagan at the Freedom Square in central Budapest to mark his efforts to free the people of Hungary from the yoke of communism.

On November 1, 2011 Norah O’Donnell, CBS Chief White House Correspondent, interviewed Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her thoughts on becoming vice president.

During the interview Rice emphatically stated, “I love being a university professor.  I’m not interested in being vice president.  I’m a policy person not a politician.”

On Sunday, December 18, 2011, Joseph Curl offered his conjecture that Rice is reportedly getting “antsy” to get back into the political game.

Curl writes, “…her selection would be a giant chess move to counter the expected replacement of Vice President Joseph R. Biden with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Sure, the White House denies and denies, but that should really make any political watcher more suspicious. One White House insider even told me that the position swap was the only reason Mrs. Clinton joined the administration in the first place.”

[SNIP]

“Clearly, the 2012 election is shaping up to be all about the U.S. economy. Everything Mr. Obama has tried has failed, so American voters are looking for someone who can actually fix the problems. But what the Republican presidential hopefuls lack is foreign policy experience.”

“Cue Miss Rice. With Vladimir Putin set to reascend to the Russian presidency, the Soviet scholar is perfectly suited for what’s coming next.”

 [SNIP]

“There are a few other women available as down-ticket choices: Rep. Michele Bachmann will certainly be considered, as will Nikki Haley, the South Carolina governor who last week endorsed Mitt Romney. But nearly no one on the Republican side—man or woman—can deliver what Miss Rice can. And while you haven’t yet heard her name when the political pundits tick off the top tier of vice-presidential players, you’re about to. Starting today.”

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Photoshop™ Of The Day: Santa’s Got His Own List

Linked by the good folks at The Looking Spoon.  Thank you.

Tebowing: If You Believe

From the Denver Post’s First and Orange blog, we learn that the Denver Broncos are preparing for a media horde at Sports Authority Field at Mile High as the Broncos host the New England Patriots.  Game coverage begins at 4:15PM ET on CBS.

The team has issued some 1,300 media credentials—double the number of a typical regular season home game.

If, if the Broncos can contain Tom Brady and the Patriots, the craze of “tebowing” is certain to reach a higher echelon.

Tim Tebow’s public acknowledgment of his faith has garnered strong opinions pro and con about him within and outside the world of sports.

The last four wins, two of which were in overtime, came after they trailed in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.

After their win over Chicago last week, Tebow said, "If you believe, then unbelievable things can sometimes be possible."

I’m rooting for the Broncos.  I hope Tebow will continue to declare his Christian faith.  It’s what sports in America needs and kids should have a genuine role model to emulate.


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Naughty And Nice Links For December 17, 2011

What if Ron Paul wins the GOP nomination?
Trust me on this one.
Random thoughts and some trash talk.
From a flow to a trickle.
Oh dear.  Tweety’s brudda is a liar.
Can you hear the cuckoo clock?  I can.
Endlessly repeating damned lies.
Unhinged?  Perhaps just a syphilitic brain.
The Won is afraid of him.
It’s like watching a one-legged woman tripping the light “hacktastique”.
The CALM Act?  Jeez.
Obama won’t lift a finger, except to acknowledge the applause.


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Obama-Corzine Were Wrong

Full Video Of Huntsman-Gingrich Debate From New Hampshire


The Lincoln-Douglas style debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH was serene—tranquil in fact.  The “debate” centered on foreign policy issues.

Viewers were struck by the vast knowledge both candidates possess on foreign affairs.  Their approaches were levelheaded—a far cry from those of Bachmann and Perry.

When the topic of Iran was raised, Gingrich and Huntsman both agreed that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran poses the most serious threat to the US in the next decade.

Gingrich warned, “I want all of you to think about how serious this is.  A movement which recruits its own children to learn how to be suicide bombers…to blow themselves up in order to kill you is a movement that, with nuclear weapons, would use them in a heartbeat because there’s no effective deterrent.  If you’re determined that they not have nuclear weapons, I believe you have to be ultimately for regime change, because there’s no practical scenario in which you can take out their weapons systems without them rebuilding them.”

The former Speaker of the House made the dire prediction that if Iran does acquire nuclear weapons that a second Holocaust would, almost certainly, be visited upon the people of Israel.



Sunday, December 11, 2011

Rev. Sharptongue: Resist Taxes We Much

The New York Post’s Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein have reported that Rev. Al Sharptongue is “deep in the red” according to documents obtained by The Post.

The mush-mouthed, Ă¼ber liberal activist, legend-in-his-own-mind owes tons of money. Sharpton’s National Action Network and two for-profit companies owe $880,000 in unpaid federal payroll taxes, interest and penalties.  NAN also paid more than $100,000 to settle two lawsuits due to the unpaid bills.  In all, his empire is $5.3 million in the red according to public records and it still owed $202,252 in loans for Bo-Spanky Consulting Inc. and Sharpton Media LLC.
The reverend was paid $241,732 in salary and perks that included first-class or charter air travel, yet he owes the Internal Revenue Service $2.6 million in federal income tax and nearly $900,000 in state tax.
Way to go there, Al.  With that kind of financial prowess you could easily take over as Secretary of the Treasury from “Turbo Tax Timmy” Geithner.
Via a thread from Memeorandum.


Naughty And Nice Links For December 11, 2011


Simply Delightful

The Speed Of Light VS The Lightbringer (NSFW)

Graphic liberated from Liberty International

The “Newt Romney” Zingerfest

As I mentioned in a previous post, Saturday night’s GOP presidential debate was the first one I’ve been able to watch live because I wasn’t working.

ABC, the network that is finally canning hermaphrodite Christiane Amanpour, trotted out Diane Sawyer and little Georgie Stephanopoulos to be the moderators. 

"Who is the most conservative of you all?" asks little Georgie.  Mitt answers, "Speaker Gingrich and I have a lot of places where we disagree..."  “Why don't you name them?” asked Stephanopoulos.  "Er..." Romney said and then proffered Gingrich’s idea about building bases on the moon.

That set up one of the zingers of the night. Gingrich looked askance at Mittens and said, “Let's be candid, the only reason you didn't become a career politician is you lost to Teddy Kennedy in 1994.”

The wise thing for Mittens to have done would have been to let that one-two punch go, but he didn’t.  “With regards to the idea that I had beaten Ted Kennedy I’d have been a career politician, that’s probably true.”  Can you say tailor-made line for a “not Romney ad”?

I was impressed with Michele Bachmann’s brilliant creation of the moniker “Newt Romney” implying that Newt backed the individual mandate in healthcare as far back as 1993. Romney tried to shut down that image by quickly adding, “I know Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is a friend. He and I are not clones. This Newt Romney thing we've got to get it out of our minds.”

Besides the two zingers I’ve mentioned here, the part of the debate that will resonate for a long while was when Rick Perry throttled Mitt by saying, "I read your first book, and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country ... I'm just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend."

Romney brazenly erred when he shot back at Perry saying, “You’ve raised that before, Rick, and you’re simply wrong.  Rick, I’ll tell you what:  10,000 bucks?  $10,000 bet?”  That was the “oops” moment of the night.  That one’s gonna leave a mark.

There was a mini-debate about Gingrich’s comment that the Palestinians are an “invented” people which was Romney’s strongest exchange of the evening.

Larry Sabato tweeted, “So it’s obvious:  Newt wasn’t jostled from frontrunner’s perch tonight.  Only negative TV ads or Newt himself can reverse his course.”

That bit of news is sure to make some pundits apoplectic.




Saturday, December 10, 2011

Electability And Temperament: The ABC/Des Moines Register GOP Presidential Debate

Tonight’s debate from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa will be the first debate I will be able to watch live.  The previous debates were held at a time when I was at work and unable to watch them.

Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum will be on the stage sans Herman Cain and Jon Huntsman.

The chattering class is labeling this debate as a showdown between frontrunners Gingrich and Romney.

For all intents and purposes Bachman is no longer viable as the GOP nominee.  Rick Perry seems unable, even after extensive debate training, to quell doubts that he is presidential material and Ron Paul, well, for me is discounted because of his untenable positions on Iran, the gold standard and pork for his state.

Conservatives will have tonight’s debate to take a closer look at Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

Will Newt lose his cool if the shots from his opponents get lethal?  Will Ron Paul continue to make quirky comments in which he blames America for the attacks of September 11th?  Will Michele Bachmann pursue the role of ankle biter by being negative?  Will Santorum get the air time he needs to convey his message?  Will Romney try to goad the “new Newt” into some kind of gaffe, and more importantly, will he be able to defend himself against his reversals and controversial positions especially since he is perceived as “the father” of the Massachusetts model for Obamacare?

You can join a live chat during the debate here.


Linked by Conservative Hideout 2.0