CPAC

Some highlights from the CPAC:

Expression on attendees face watching Mitt Romney: "How on Earth did we end up with John McCain as a nominee after we had this guy? It makes me sick to my stomach."

Scott Brown's surprise appearance: "Yes, I arrived in my truck."

Dick Cheney's surprise appearance: "A welcome like that is almost enough to make me want to run for office again," said Dick Cheney. "But I'm not gonna do it."

Former Florida House Speaker and Florida Republican Senate candidate, Marco Rubio addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010.

Free TV : Ustream

The 2012 GOP Presidential Race Has Begun

During this week leading up to America’s 233rd Birthday Weekend, two Republican candidates appear to have dropped their gauntlets into the ring… however indirectly. The 2012 Race has begun~

Publicly Mitt Romney has been saying he’s not considering another presidential campaign, even as recently as last Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But many of his loyal followers expect one. Mitt did admit that he would consider using some of his own money to partially fund his campaign again, if he had to, should he decided to enter the race. In the opinion of many, Mitt may be the right man for the race and the job in 2012 with his strong economic background and successes as Governor of Massachusetts and savior ot the Salt Lake Olympics.

Then later this week Romney said in a Fox News interview that he ‘had the fire to run for president again’ he just had to see if the people would be warmed by it. And although he has not officially opened his campaign his Team and followers are ready and waiting for the announcement. Many of Mitt Romney's loyalists have expected another presidential bid and have remained at the ready for 2012, since the day Obama was elected.

Then today Sarah Palin shocked everyone by announcing that she was not running for a 2nd term as Governor of Alaska and rather than staying on as a lame duck and finishing her term, she was handing over the reigns to her Lieutenant Governor.

Of course the immediate speculation after the surprise Palin announcement has been that Governor Palin has quit to focus on a bid for the 2012 Republican nomination for president. Others have speculated that she might have decided to put her political career on hold to spend some time with her family or even to turn her back on politics altogether. Still others are speculating that Palin will be starting a think tank, expanding Sarah Pac, or working directly with the GOP to further her beliefs and improve her resume for a run in the future... after 2012.

There are of course many others who will toss their hats into the ring as the race gets closer and as Obama and his policies continue to drop in popularity.

In recent polls Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney occupy the top spots for possible 2012 GOP candidates… other possibles include Tim Pawlenty, Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and who knows who else; even Jeb Bush has been mentioned. But we should remember, whoever thought of Barack Obama as a presidential candidate for 2008 back in July of 2005, let alone of Sarah Palin for VP?

As for the field of GOP candidates, it narrowed again just last week. News of Senator John Ensign's affair broke and Governor Sanford admitted to an affair with a woman in Argentina, taking them both out of the race.

The GOP troubles seem to have left two prominent 2012 prospects, for now, 2008 presidential hopeful and former Governor Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, unscathed, however it is early. And if anyone can make an unconventional comeback, against the conventional rules and odds, it would be Sarah Palin. There had already been speculation of the possibility of an eventual Romney-Palin ticket. Whatever the future holds for the GOP… it will be interesting!

Sarah ended her announcement about her "personal climate change", as she put it, by saying that on her parent's refrigerator is a magnet on which it says:

Don't explain...

Your Friends Don't Need It!

And Your Enemies Won't Believe It Anyway~

That is probably the exact place that Sarah Palin now finds herself in, again, but she chose to explain anyway for her loyal supporters, the people of Alaska and the people of America.

By Marion Algier/Ask Marion

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Related Posts:

• Palin Quits as Alaska Governor
• Stunner: A Palin Announcement – Resigning in Weeks
• Sarah Palin Will Resign Governorship of Alaska
• Coulter to Palin: Take Your Time
• Opinionated Prejean,Ireland, Hasselbeck and Palin… Shatter Myth

Romney Blames Obama for Iran Mess: 'Apology Tour Isn't Working'

Romney Blasts Obama: '180 Degree' Flip on Iran Nukes

June 14, 2009 11:48 AM

During my exclusive "This Week" interview with former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., he blasted President Barack Obama's handling of U.S. foreign relations, accusing him of "apologizing for America" and arguing that Obama flipped "180 degree" on Iran's nuclear program.

Here's our exchange:

STEPHANOPOULOS: "What do you think of the administration's response to the [Iranian] election so far and how would you respond?

ROMNEY: Well, first of all, the comments by the president last week that there was a robust debate going on in Iran was obviously entirely wrong-headed. What has occurred is that the election is a fraud, the results are inaccurate, and you're seeing a brutal repression of the people as they protest.

The president ought to come out and state exactly those words, indicate that this has been a terribly managed decision by the autocratic regime in Iran.

It's very clear that the president's policies of going around the world and apologizing for America aren't working. North Korea is not just saber rattling. They've taken the saber out of the sheath. Iran is moving headlong towards nuclearization. Russia is on the same course they were on. And all of the apologies that he provided to the Europeans have not led any of the European nations to provide additional support for us in Afghanistan.Look, just sweet talk and criticizing America is not going to enhance freedom in the world.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Others have argued, Governor, that the president's speech and the president's outreach is one of the things that led to Hezbollah being defeated in the Lebanese elections last week. And one of the things that led to such an outpouring in the streets in
opposition in Iran. Do you dispute that?

ROMNEY: You know, I can't tell you what led to the people running into the streets in Iran. I hope, in fact, that they're very anxious to see new leadership in that country. But I can tell you that the results are what I'm interested in. Is Iran still pursuing nuclear weaponry?

And there's no question about at.

And one aspect of what the president said may have been well received in Iran, but I think it was poorly received in Israel and around the world. And that's when -- well, actually, he made a 180-degree flip from what he had said during the campaign. During the campaign, when he spoke to AIPAC, he said he would do everything in his power to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. And then he went to Cairo and said that no single nation should have the ability to deny another nation the right to have a nuclear weapon. That is an 180-degree flip of a dangerous nature. I'm sure it was welcome in many streets in the Arab world and in the world that's most -- include the Persian world, Iran as well. But that's not right for America. That's not right for world security.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I believe the administration has said that they believe that Iran could have the right to nuclear power with appropriate safeguards, but not a nuclear weapon. But what would you do now then? If you were president -- you know, it's not just President Ahmadinejad in Iran who said that he believes Iran should have a right to nuclear power. It's the supreme leader. It was -- every candidate in the race said that Iran should have a right to pursue nuclear power.

ROMNEY: We don't have any question about nuclear power, and that was not the statement that the president made that was most offensive. It was his statement that no single nation should have the ability to deny another nation the right to nuclear weaponry.

Now, of course with regards to nuclear power, we have no problem under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty for nations to pursue nuclear power. And in the case of Iran, it's pretty clear that's not what they're doing. When you sit on a lake of oil, you're not looking for a new source of energy. They're obviously developing this technology for military purposes. And offers were made, including by Russia, to provide the necessary nuclear material for nuclear power, and the Iranians turned that down. So let's not pretend or give into the Iranian way of thinking, that somehow this is about nuclear power. It's very clearly about nuclear weaponry. And you also see, of course, the same kind of outrage coming from North Korea."

Read my full interview with Romney HERE, including his thoughts on who speaks for the Republican Party.

--George Stephanopoulos

Source: Fox Nation

Posted: Daily Thought Pad

Coulter to Palin: Take Your Time… Let Mitt In First… We Will Wait for You! Or How About Teaming Up?

(GOP12) Ann Coulter expressed reluctance regarding Sarah Palin's readiness to run for President on Sean Hannity's show last night, and instead offered Mitt Romney, Jeff Sessions, and Mark Sanford as alternatives, Coulter said Palin should "take a little time" before she runs, even while suggesting liberals are "manifestly terrified of her". "I mean, I wasn't that particularly wedded to Sarah Palin's being our next Presidential candidate. But, I love her.

If I were in her shoes, I think I'd take a little time to be governor of Alaska, and think about running in 8 or 12 years, so you talk to Republicans, people talk about Mitt Romney or Jeff Sessions or Governor Sanford, you hear a lot of names out there, but then you keep coming back to Palin because liberals are manifestly terrified of her, and so just when you think she's moving on, you say 'gosh, there must be something to her.'

"They [the media] see that Republicans have gold in Sarah Palin. If I were Sarah Palin’s adviser I would strongly advise her to not run in 2012. She’s very young.

Raise your children so none of them turn out like Ron Reagan Junior, and be a good governor, and then I think she could be another Ronald Reagan… She has everything you can’t get from books, you can’t get from experience. She has heart and soul and absolute integrity, and charisma, and holds the crowd rapt.

Now she needs the wisdom and the experience, and I think she could be another Ronald Reagan.”

A great ticket would be Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin and then Sarah run in the number one spot after that!!