Watcher’s Council Nominations – Horses And Bayonets Edition

JoshuaPundit on Oct 24 2012

To send President Obama’s snide little comment from last night’s debate right back at him, he needs to find out how our military actually works. He could start by talking to a Marine or a soldier who’s had his or her life saved because he or she knew how to put their bayonet training to use.

Or to the men of the 10th Mountain, some of whom I’m honored to be acquainted with, who participated in an amazing but undereported endeavor known as Operation Mountain Thrust. It involved them landing by helicopter on the side of a mountain to outflank the Taliban, a position the jihadist thought was inaccessible. Horses and donkeys were used to cart supplies in on a daily basis.

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

Council News:

This week, The Grouch and The Pirate’s Cove took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage and earned honorable mention status with some excellent pieces they sent in.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category Then just return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week when it comes out Wednesday AM.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• The Right Planet – Mr. President, Here’s What Offends Me …
• The Noisy Room – A Red and Present Danger
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Austere Challenge 2012
• Joshuapundit - Heart Of Darkness – The Real Benghazi Coverup
• Simply Jews –  “Lomonosov or Zuckerberg?” or unbearable pain of a good priest
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Update to Education Notes Post
• Bookworm Room – Romney, even if he didn’t win the debate, walked out of the debate a winner
• The Independent Sentinel – Romney Ran Out the Clock to Victory During Third Debate
• Gay Patriot – Only people who call gay Republicans “faggots” sit on political left
• The Mellow Jihadi – The Appearance of Competence
• The Glittering Eye -The Endorsements Are Coming In
• VA Right! - From Strategy to Execution: Who Won the 2012 Presidential Debates?
• Rhymes With Right – Zero Tolerance Gone Crazy
• The Political Commentator – “Bar Stool Economics” helps to explain taxes Obama-style!
• The Razor – Rural Justice

Honorable Mentions

• The Grouch – Death Panels are HERE!
• The Pirate’s Cove – Hooray! With Two Weeks Left, Obama Finally Finds An Agenda

Non-Council Submissions

• Emmaus Ministries – Col. Davy Crockett on Government Welfare submitted by The Right Planet
• Sultan Knish – Obama’s Last Stand submitted by The Noisy Room
• Swampland – The Election’’s Real Foreign Policy Issue: War with Iran submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Bing West – First, Aid the Living submitted by Joshuapundit
• BBC Watch – BBC interviewee’s support for Greta Berlin’s antisemitic videos submitted by Simply Jews
• The Guardian UK – Secret cinema gently subverts Saudi Arabia’s puritanism submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• White House Dossier -Romney’’s Brilliant Maneuver submitted by Bookworm Room
• Yid With Yid – Here Comes the Obama Hit Squad! submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Commentary -War of the Late October Gaffes submitted by Gay Patriot
• Right Wing News – Interviewing Stephen Moore On The Truth About Opportunity, Taxes, and Wealth In America submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Glenn Greenwald/Comment Is Free – The remarkable, unfathomable ignorance of Debbie Wasserman Schultz submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Human Events – Obama’s “Horses and Bayonets” Insult Backfires submitted by VA Right!
• Prairie Pundit – Foreign election ‘observers’ warned to abide by Texas law submitted by Rhymes with Right
• The Investigative Project On Terrorism – A Red Carpet for Radicals at the White House submitted by The Watcher
• Seraphic Secret – Debate #3: The Statesman and the Community Agitator submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

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Watcher’s Council Nominations – Post Second Presidential Debate Edition - Was Obama Wearing an Ear Piece?

Did Obama Use an Earpiece for Cues at Debate?

KEEP LISTENING TO/WATCHING THE DEBATE YOU CAN SEE IT SO CLEAR THAT OBAMA PAUSES TO LISTEN FOR EARPIECE NEXT SENTENCE TO SAY.

OBAMA CANNOT SPEAK FOR HIMSELF. HE HAS GONE ON TONS OF VACATONS, TONS OF GOLF, AND TONS OF GAMBLING IN VEGAS.

OBAMA HAS NO CLUE WHAT IS GOING ON.

GET THIS OUT DAILY. AMERICA HAS TO WAKE UP! NOW WE ALL HAVE TO GET ON BOARD AND GET OUR VOTING OUT OF THE HANDS OF GEORGE SOROS OR WE ARE SUNK.

Ask Marion~

Watcher’s Council Nominations – Post Second Presidential Debate Edition

JoshuaPundit on Oct 17 2012

Welcome to the Watcher’s Council, a blogging group consisting of some of the most incisive blogs in the ‘sphere, and the longest running group of its kind in existence. Every week, the members nominate two posts each, one written by themselves and one written by someone from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council.Then we vote on the best two posts, with the results appearing on Friday.

This week’s contest is dedicated to Mitt Romney, for grace under pressure and for coming out on top in a two on one.

Council News:

This week, Right Truth , Maggie’s Notebook and The Pirate’s Cove took advantage of my generous offer of link whorage and earned honorable mention status.

You can, too! Want to see your work appear on the Watcher’s Council homepage in our weekly contest listing? Didn’t get nominated by a Council member? No worries.

Simply head over to Joshuapundit and post the title a link to the piece you want considered along with an e-mail address ( which won’t be published) in the comments section no later than Monday 6PM PST in order to be considered for our honorable mention category, and return the favor by creating a post on your site linking to the Watcher’s Council contest for the week.

It’s a great way of exposing your best work to Watcher’s Council readers and Council members. while grabbing the increased traffic and notoriety. And how good is that, eh?

So, let’s see what we have this week….

Council Submissions

• Joshuapundit - What The Reaction To The VP Debate Proves About The Left
• The Noisy Room – Cyber Smoke Screen
• The Independent Sentinel – False Benghazi Narrative Exposed, Bizarre Finger Pointing, a Leaderless White House
• The Razor – You Can’t End Racism by Being Racist
• The Political Commentator – What type of airline would Obama Air be?
• Simply Jews – Gideon Levy and the ugly act of not-rape
• GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD – Will Girl Power Save Pakistan?
• The Colossus of Rhodey – Hillary Clinton has more balls than Boss Obama
• The Right Planet – Fed Up with ‘Middle Class’
• VA Right! - Voters Find ‘Mitt the Monster’ a Complete Fabrication by the Left
• Gay Patriot – No, Mrs. Clinton didn’t fall on her sword over Benghazi
• The Glittering Eye - Why Unemployment Stays High, Simply Explained
• Rhymes With Right – Is Joe Biden Calling Catholic Bishops Liars?
• The Mellow Jihadi – Major Andrew Olmsted: Blogger, American Hero
• Bookworm Room – Found it on Facebook — Planned Parenthood’s attack on Paul Ryan

Honorable Mentions

• Right Truth – Accusations Fly In Continued In Benghazi-gate Scandal
• Maggie’s Notebook – Holder Seeks to Dismiss Fast And Furious Lawsuit
• The Pirate’s Cove – Oops: Another Obama Supported Green Energy Company Goes Belly Up

Non-Council Submissions

• Lara Logan – ‘We’re Being Lied to’ submitted by Joshuapundit
• Sultan Knish – The Odd Couple of Barack and Joe submitted by The Noisy Room
• Yid With Lid – Newsbusted: Pennsylvania Dems Holding Voter Registration Drives at Cemeteries submitted by The Independent Sentinel
• Huffington Post – Black People For Obama: African-American Support For Obama Called Prejudice, Blind Loyalty submitted by The Razor
• Israel Hayom - Alone, among neo-Nazis submitted by The Political Commentator
• The Commentator – The banal realities of Israel’s self-defence submitted by Simply Jews
• LSE – Germany and Israel: Is It Friendship? submitted by GrEaT sAtAn”S gIrLfRiEnD
• Camile Paglia/WSj – How Capitalism Can Save Art submitted by The Colossus of Rhodey
• Allen West – Field Of Dreams submitted by The Right Planet
• Shark Tank – Wasserman Schultz’s ‘Mile-High’ Campaign Dilemma submitted by VA Right!
• The Corner/David Gelernter - Re: Biden Won on Points submitted by Gay Patriot
• Joshua Gans/Digitopoly – A Nobel Prize for Market Design submitted by The Glittering Eye
• Big Lizards – Obama’s October (yawn) Surprise? submitted by Rhymes with Right
• Amil Imani – Criminalizing The Defamation of Islam submitted by The Mellow Jihadi
• Gates And Vienna – Faceless In The Park submitted by The Watcher
• Dennis Prager – Joe Biden’s True Religion submitted by The Watcher

Enjoy! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us Twitter..’cause we’re cool like that!

Related:

Media: Obama 'wins debate before it even starts'

Election 2012 Debates: Debate 1– Romney Won… Debate 2–Ryan Won… Debate 3 – Romney Closer But Romney Won… Especially When You Check the Facts!

Insider Jobs and Taxes Update…

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For Any That Missed This: ABC News scrambles to downplay Obama’s attendance at VP debate moderator’s wedding… Ethical? Fair?

The Daily Caller:

President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

After TheDC made preliminary inquiries Monday to confirm Obama’s attendance at the wedding, ABC leaked a pre-emptive statement to news outlets including Politico and The Daily Beast Tuesday, revealing what may have been internal network pressure felt just days before Raddatz was scheduled to moderate the one and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night.

Both Politico and The Daily Beast jumped to ABC and Raddatz’s defense. The Huffington Post, a liberal news outlet, joined them shortly thereafter, while calling “unusual” ABC’s attempt to kill the story before it gained wide circulation.

Genachowski — called “Jay” at the time of his wedding, sources told TheDC — and Raddatz would go on to have a son together before their divorce in 1997. They have both since remarried to other people.

A source who attended the 1991 wedding told TheDC that Obama was also a guest there, and remembered that a man by the name of “Barry Obama” was among the guests dancing at the reception.

In August, The Daily Caller first connected Genachowski, an Obama appointee, to Raddatz following her selection as the vice presidential debate moderator by the left-leaning Commission on Presidential Debates. That debate, between Congressman Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden, will take place Thursday night at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Carol Platt Liebau, a political commentator who was a Harvard Law Review colleague of Genachowski and Obama, wrote that “despite being a year below both men on the Review and not close personal friends with either of them,” she remembered Genachowski and Raddatz’s relationship as “quite public” during those days, and that “Raddatz visited Boston frequently.”

Genachowski’s friendship with Obama would continue through the campaign trail in 2008 and into the White House: He aggressively fundraised for Obama in 2008 as a campaign bundler, and served on the presidential transition team before winning his appointment to chair the FCC.

On Monday evening ABC spokesman David Ford grudgingly confirmed Obama’s attendance at the wedding, after shielding Raddatz in August by declining to comment when The Daily Caller first reported the story.

“This is absurd,” Ford said, in the same statement now circulated by ABC’s media allies on the left.

Obama, Ford wrote, “attended their wedding over two decades ago along with nearly the entire Law Review, many of whom went onto successful careers, including some in the Bush administration,” he said without providing a specific number of Harvard Law Review members to verify the statement.

When pressed further on Tuesday for a specific number of Harvard Law Review members in attendance at the wedding, Ford could offer none, despite circulating the same unverified approximation through sympathetic media outlets earlier that day in order to discredit The Daily Caller’s reporting.

Ford also could not provide The Daily Caller with a specific number of Harvard Law Review members who worked with Obama and Genachowski during that year. A photo taken of the Harvard Law Review during Obama and Genachowski’s final year of law school contains 70 people.

The ABC spokesman’s assertion that “nearly the entire Law Review” attended the wedding cast doubt on the significance of Obama’s attendance. But Ford’s unwillingness to document that claim now suggests that Obama was among a close circle of fewer Harvard classmates who were personal friends of Raddatz and Genachowski.

Instead, Ford maintained his ambiguity in subsequent statements to The Daily Caller, identifying only one other Harvard Law Review classmate of Obama and Genachowski who attended the wedding.

When TheDC asked Ford via email Tuesday night for further specifics on actual numbers, he did not respond with any.

The FCC, the Obama campaign and the Romney campaign also did not respond to The Daily Caller’s request for comment.

David Martosko contributed reporting.

UPDATE: Michael Steel, a spokesman for Paul Ryan, told Fox News’ Joy Lin that he has “no concerns” about Raddatz’s conflict of interest.

Related:

Marital, personal ties link Obama administration to Commission on Presidential Debates

The Media is the Real Enemy

“Going Rogue”: Gov. Palin on Debating Biden

This Week’s Watcher’s Council Nominations – Paul Ryan Edition Oct 10 2012

Will Biden-Ryan Debate be a Catholic Smackdown?

FIRST Presidential Debate in Photos

Watch Salaried Obama Campaign Workers Actively Encourage Voter Fraud

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Flash Poll Immediately After First Presidential Debate Found Romney the Big Winner, Independents Turn on Obama

Video: First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. Romney (Complete HD - Quality Audio)

A Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage Flash Poll conducted immediately after Wednesday's presidential debate finds that Mitt Romney won by a significant margin.

Asked who won the debate, 52 percent of respondents said Romney did, with 45 percent for Obama. Undecided/neither was 3 percent.

Pollster Matt Towery says "the results largely followed party lines, but independents broke in favor of Romney, moving the dial in his favor."

The poll sampled 373 likely voters nationwide, with a margin of error of 5 points.

CNN flash poll:  67% said Romney won, only 27 % said Obama won with 3% not sure.

Looks like they are leaning right… after Wednesday night

Anatomy Of An Ass Kicking

TPN: First things first, I usually only release these guys for electoral victories, but what the hey. Last night's Romney victory was so overwhelming, (and Obama's performance was likewise so underwhelming,) that I believe it is fitting to let fly the Baby Elephants.

I have two clips here for comparison on the analysis of last night's events. The first is from Michelle Malkin, who managed to catch some of the things that I missed in my euphoria last night. Suffice it to say that Willard Romney exceeded even the lofty expectations that came with Chris Christie's confident tossing of the proverbial gauntlet. What Mitt Romney did specifically was to take every single ridiculous canard ever uttered as a lefty talking point over the past three decades and use fact, reason, and plain English to use that canard as a weapon with which to bitch slap President Zero. Had John McCain showed half this amount of fight four years ago, he would be President today, defending himself against Hillary Clinton. How bad was the beat down? At one point during the evening's festivities, Little Barry pleaded with Jim Lehrer to change topics, the debate equivalent to declaring a TKO.

And now for something completely different, and by different I mean watching Chrissy Mathews come completely unglued in his, "objectivity," while describing his take on how the debate went. (I guess he didn't have that thrill going up his leg last night.) I will at this point in time point out that Jim Lehrer gave me an unexpected pleasant surprise with how he handled his moderating duties last night. The debate was not at all about Lehrer being the star, or about how slantingly he could phrase his questions. He merely stated a topic, gave it a gentle nudge to get the juices flowing, and then removed himself from the conversation. That was the first time in my memory watching the two candidates primarily having a substantive discussion on values, beliefs, philosophies, agendas, and policy positions in which they were able to speak to the issues and differences in any sort of a meaningful way. It was truly an argument in the arena of ideas. So how did Chrissy see it all?

When I was in High School, much longer ago than I certainly like to admit, my girlfriend was on the school's debate team. I went to one of her events, and two things immediately struck me. One, She was really quite a lot smarter than I was, and two, the rules of the debate seemed rather odd. Each team was given a week to prepare for the upcoming debate, but rather than assign differing sides to an issue, each team was allowed to choose which side they would take. They had to prepare rebuttals to both sides, not knowing which side the other team would take. I found it amusing that every team at almost every debate chose the same side to argue.

There are many people on the left and right who felt Barack Obama came in woefully under prepared for last night's debate. While that may be true, it is also true that Barack Obama is in the position of having to defend the worst Administration in America's 236 year history. He has no such choice as to which position of this debate he would like to argue. When you take away the smoke and mirrors, the spin, the lap dog media, and his stellar ability to read a speech from a teleprompter, this election, and mostly these debates will be about whether we should award another four years of America's future to Barack Obama.

In his first statement, Barack Obama told us that this election should not be about the past, but about the future. Them's not exactly fighting words, them's hiding words. In a nut shell, President Obama is walking a tightrope here. On the one hand he's happy to have the natural advantage of incumbency on his side in the upcoming election, and on the other hand, he would rather voters really not think too long or hard as to what kind of a job he's done during the previous four years. There's already been a lot of hand wringing on the left about why oh why Barack Obama did not bring up this point or that point, mostly pieces of the aforementioned ridiculousness concerning the supposed 47% gaffe, Bain Capital, war on women, etc. There is a reason for that. President Obama started trotting out the talking points early and often in the first ten minutes of the evening. He got what he thought were his best kill shots fired back at him in a manner that left visible marks on his person and psyche. After 20 minutes of that, five of his best punches having left its indelible mark on his squarely paddled backside, the rest of the evening became about Barack Obama's attempt to run out the clock and put an end to the misery of the left. Barack Obama's speech became noticeably slow, pretty much the same cadence one might find in the local police department drunk tank. He spoke long and slowly, and avoided anything even resembling a point, lest it be rolled up in stone and fired back at him as another candidacy ending salvo.

Mitt Romney on the other hand had another challenge. The Obama campaign has spent Hundreds of Millions of dollars in an effort to portray Mitt Romney as evil to his core, a man we should expect to see entering the debate sporting horns on his head and with a barbed tail protruding from under his suit coat. The only thing Romney needed to do in order to win was to walk out on stage without a red pitch fork and not eat a baby in some sort of ritualistic sacrifice. As no babies died in Denver last night, and Mitt Romney did not have any props which could be mistaken for a red pitchfork, everything else that happened was gravy. There was oh so much gravy. My personal favorite moment of the night was early on when Barack brought up my pet peeve of Democrat canards, those supposed oil subsidies, which as a matter of fact are nothing more than straight line expense deductions any business takes while preparing their income tax returns. (The oil industry happens to be the second most heavily taxed industry in our nation, with Tobacco being number one.) Mitt politely pointed out that in one year, Green Subsidies are 50 times greater than even the fictitious Oil Subsidies, and for a far smaller benefit I might add.

In the end it was nothing more than one small night which signaled that the race is not over yet. Mitt Romney is still in this race, and is probably ahead if looked at honestly. Special note to the Romney team, Barack Obama is not going to take this lying down. In the game of, "is the Republican Stupid, Senile, of Evil," there is only one choice that fits Mitt Romney. Expect the attacks to be stepped up immediately, and expect the next debate performance made by our President to look different. The good news is that the next one of these will be on foreign policy, just at a time when Obama's endeavors in that area have 25% of America's embassies set ablaze. It should be fun.

Cross Posted from Musings of a Mad Conservative.

Technorati Tags: 2012 Election,debates,Election 2012,Independents,Mitt Romney,Mitt Romney in 2012,polls,Romney wins,Romney-Ryan,TKO,undecideds,VOTERS

Critical time for ideological debate

By Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) - 04/24/12 06:03 PM ET  The Hill – h/t to MJ

Much has been made of my recent response to a question from a constituent and my assertion regarding so-called “communists” in the Congressional Progressive Caucus. I am pleased it has inspired so much passionate debate, for that was precisely the point.

When I was studying for my two master’s degrees in political science at Kansas State University and at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Officer College, the very best professors were those who would begin each lecture with a challenging assertion. It engaged discussion and analysis, and was the best way to uncover the essence of the particular subject of the day.

As Americans, we must bring to the fore this fundamental discussion of what we want our country to be. Do we veer from our Founders’ vision of a constitutional republic that preserves and protects the individual sovereignty of its citizens, along with the free market and the rights of the several states, or do we continue to slide down this path of expanding the secular welfare state, nationalizing production and enforcing economic equality?

My colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus have taken umbrage with my equation of their ideals with those of communists. Why? Why shouldn’t we have this discussion? What part of their agenda are they trying to hide?

We must be able to openly discuss how our fundamental freedoms are being slowly chipped away by an over-reaching nanny state that has bit by bit slipped its tentacles into every aspect of our lives, from the types of light bulbs we can use to the size of our toilet tanks.

We must be able to challenge the mandates being handed down by un-elected officials, which threaten our constitutional right to practice religion however we see fit.

We must be able to question tax policies predicated on “fairness” that punish job creators and do virtually nothing to reduce our spiraling debt and deficit.

Specific “party” affiliation is not the point of the discussion — it is rather affiliation with a set of ideals. Conservatives adhere to the ideals of individual responsibility and freedom, limited government, a free market and a strong defense. Those on the liberal left adhere to a collective ideal, directed and controlled by a centralized government to guarantee and enforce social and economic justice.

You can call this what you wish. The esteemed scholar and author Mark Levin calls it “statism.” In our lifetime, the unpalatable and pejorative brands “socialist” and “communist” have been replaced with the more user-friendly “progressive” term.

But this is not a discussion about labels. It is a discussion far more important and grave, for it affects our nation’s future, our security and each and every one of us. The dialogue must be about the future and direction of these United States. It is about the choice between two futures: a constitutional republic or a bureaucratic nanny-state.

As a nation, we must directly confront those issues that are most critical. We must be able to openly and candidly discuss how we will move forward to preserve our nation’s greatness, reduce our debt and deficit, put Americans back to work, take full advantage of our domestic energy resources and ensure our security.

I do not believe we can achieve those goals with larger and larger government, centralized economic planning and redistribution of wealth. Those methods have failed miserably everywhere they are been tried. I will not stand by and watch this nation I love be remade slowly into a government-directed, bureaucratic collective — whether it is termed communist, socialist, progressive or any-other-ist.

I am not a politician by trade. I learned to communicate on the battlefield, where “nuance” is not at all useful and can in fact be dangerous, if not fatal.

These are dangerous and critical times for our country. We must be unafraid to discuss and confront the challenges we face and ensure we keep our focus on the fundamental issues rather than become distracted by semantics. I gladly welcome this debate in the arena of political ideologies of governance.

West serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Video:  Allen West: Obama Has Been "An Abject Failure In Everything That He Has Done"

Related:

Allen West commemorates Black History Month by telling the truth about Republicans and Black history

Final GOP Debate Before Super Tuesday and 3 Other Primaries - Updated

The CNN Arizona Debate is over and so are the GOP debates until after Super Tuesday, after about 14-additional primaries are over.

As with all of the debates, there were winners and losers. Who won, who lost and what’s next?

Debate Video: Republican Presidential Debate (CNN/Arizona Republican Party) - February 22 2012

Video: Highlights From CNN GOP Debate in Arizona

Debate Transcript

First the winners.

Whether Mitt or Newt won depends on who you listen to.

Gingrich was in top form tonight and was able to hold the position he loves to operate from. He was able to swoop in on certain questions and do really well, answering in a sly superior fashion. If Newt had nights like this in every debate, he would be much closer to being the nominee. Newt probably built up his vote share last night with his quips and insight, but every vote he gets back comes from Santorum not from Romney.

Mitt Romney also fell into the winner circle. Romney is not as good a debater as Newt but was prepared. Preparation can overcome a multitude of sins and what ever else you want to say about Romney, he does prepare well for debates, plus he is getting better at it. One of Romney’s advantages is that he comes across as presidential.

Former Clinton political advisor (now a Republican) and author Dick Morris wrote:

In last night's debate, Romney showed how he has grown through this contest and has developed into a presidential figure. By contrast, Santorum's performance was distinctly congressional. I found myself agreeing with Santorum on much of what he said, but willing to follow Romney. In sync with Rick, but trusting

Mitt.Santorum's replies were pedantic, tactical, and detailed. No inspiration there. He was like a lawyer advocating his case or a congressman battling for a bill. But Romney came across as a real leader - charismatic, bold, strong, and, ultimately, inspiring. See his full post HERE.

Ron Paul could have been a winner if he could have stayed away from foreign policy issues. Foreign policy, specifically Iran, is his Achilles heel. Iran is a threat to America. Radical Islam is a threat to America. We are not threatening Iran. Iran is threatening America and Israel; the big and little Satans as they call us. Ron did have some humorous moments last night. And what I do agree with Ron Paul on is that we need to formally declare wars before entering into them!.

CNN is a winner too. CNN did not hit any of the Republicans with any really bad gotcha questions and the really stupid questions, like describe yourself with one word, were kept to a minimum.

The Republican Party, with twenty some debates has also scored big with the Debates. They have been a big draw for the networks that have carried them so have been a good showcase for all of the Republican candidates. A year ago, who would have believed we would have had this many debates?

The losers:

Rick Santorum. Santorum needed a knock out punch today to beat Romney. He did not get it.  He stumbled.  Not only did he not get his knock out punch, he was back on his heels most of the debate. He stumbled and fumbled in dealing with all of the candidates. Santorum did not have the worst debate performance ever. He did not forget which departments he would abolish. But his performance was not one of his best nights.

If Santorum had delivered with some of the strong points he had in previous debates he might have continued doing better going into Michigan and Arizona. This debate could have the same consequences as did the bad debates for Gingrich in Florida.

The Republican Establishment is also a loser of sorts. For years they have allowed the liberal media to call the shots on their debates. The Republican mainstream voters are tired of it. Blogs ranging from the Tea Party Nation to Red State and on have called the GOP establishment on this; even the National Review addressed this today.

Santorum started with momentum tonight, but he needed to have a debate strategy. Romney had  his debate strategy down. He was going to get in someone’s face and push them back on their heels. Gingrich was in his preferred position and he had the strategy of being the Republican wise man, which he pulled off well and relished in.  And Ron Paul was his independent self and really went after Santorum.

Santorum seemed to have no strategy other than to just showing up, and neither he nor Newt came across as presidential

We will know in the next few days how badly this debate hurt Santorum, since the voters have been so fickle this primary season. One thing is certain. Romney can probably breathe a little easier tonight and the polls in Michigan should keep tightening. Donald Trump appeared with Greta on the Record after the debate and Trump said he just saw that Romney have pulled into the lead in Michigan where Santorum had been leading. If Romney wins Michigan and Arizona he has a decided advantage on Super Tuesday.

The outcome of the upcoming primaries may shift the entire ebb and flow of the GOP race again and could end the talk of a brokered convention, one of the ongoing side stories in this roller coaster of a race.  Some feel it could be the best thing that ever happened to the GOP, but most feel it would be a nightmare.  And some still think there could be surprises ahead on both sides.

But if the American people don’t wake up as to the importance of this election… America and everyone in it is the loser. Only 4.5 million people watched last night’s debate, in probably the most important election of all our life times. That is a travesty! And truly if you are not paying attention you are not equipped to vote!

Another side story is the question of whether Ron Paul has been keeping his Mitts off Mitt in order to get his son, Rand, on the ticket?  Ron or Rand Paul will at least get a speaking position and input at the convention if Ron keeps picking up delegates.

Like Father Like Son?  Maybe but smoother around the edges?

Many feel it’s all coming down to this: Ron Paul is staying in this race, no matter what, in order to assist Romney, because he wants his son to be on the Presidential ticket with Mitt Romney.

As he travels around stumping on the basis of his limited government position, he is also fishing to get his son on the ticket with another candidate in this race.  In tonight’s debate on CNN, the elder Paul had every chance to criticize Romney, but he didn’t, and instead spent his time hammering Santorum. Coincidence???

I like many of the things Ron Paul stands for in the domestic arena, but can the younger Paul effect policy changes as part of the Romney team, or will virtually none of Ron Paul’s positions be adopted in the end?  It could be interesting if they can pull it off!  As they say, politics make strange bedfellows and Romney’s presidency would be the antithesis of much of what Ron Paul has advocated.

At the conclusion of the debate on CNN, Anderson Cooper came on as the stage emptied of the candidates, and I watched with interest as Mitt Romney got up and directly went to shake Ron Paul’s hand and exchange a few words with him.

This is definitely season full of surprises!

Related:

BREAKING: Did Sarah Palin Just Announce She Would Accept The GOP Nomination if Drafted?

A Path to a Brokered GOP Convention Emerges…. Bush verses Palin?

Expect Costly Lawsuits With Voter Photo ID Says ACLU of MN

Breitbart to Conservatives: "Unite or Perish!"

Conservative Super Star Sarah Palin: Brought the Red Meat to CPAC and They Loved It… Loved Her!

Audio: Santorum’s Right on Religion - Religious Liberty… ObamaCare’s First Casualty

Rubio’s Mormon Past Revealed - There is a definite question as to Rubio’s eligibility to be president/VP but on this issue… Obama’s father and step-father were Muslims and his mother and grandparents were progressive atheists… Obama himself, questionable and we are worried about Mormons? Really??

“Huckabee Forum 2: South Carolina Undecided” GOP Presidential Forum (FULL VIDEO - January 14th)

Overall all the candidates did well and the toned down rhetoric was good for people to get their questions asked.  No major surprises and probably no major gains for any of the candidates, although Rick Perry probably had his best night.

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 1 – Mitt Romney

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 2 – Jon Huntsman

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 3 – Newt Gingrich

Here is video of Newt Gingrich getting booed by the crowed in South Carolina who attended Mike Huckabee’s Candidate Forum when he tried attacking Mitt Romney by name. One of the rules of the forum was that candidates were not to mention any other candidate by name.

Gingrich was responding to a question from a voter who asked how he could justify his attacks “vilifying” the work of Mitt Romney in a private equity firm like Bain Capital.

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 4 – Rick Santorum

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 5 – Rick Perry

Video: Huck Forum 2 – Part 6 – Wrap-Up

Ron Paul chose not to attend the forum in South Carolina.  He was campaigning in Nevada, but will participate in the FOX/WSJ debate on Monday, January 16th at 9p.m.ET. 

Earlier this week, Mike Huckabee along with a long list of GOP leaders asked the candidates to stop the onslaught of attacks against each other and against the party’s principles.

The South Carolina primary is one week away, 01.21.12.

All Eyes On New Hampshire… Another GOP Debate–Updated

Mitt Romney wins… Rick Santorum second… and Ron Paul third, just like in the Iowa Caucuses. After some initial feistiness, I really didn't see any big attacks on each other that were noteworthy and with those headlines, they came out swinging Sunday morning.

The Spectacle Blog - ABC NH GOP Debate Post-Mortem - By Aaron Goldstein on 1.7.12 @11:59PM

Here are my final thoughts on tonight's New Hampshire GOP debate which aired on ABC.

Jon Huntsman - A typical performance for the former Ambassador to China with more than a touch of snark. Somehow I don't think there's a significant Mandarin speaking community in New Hampshire, and his display of the command of the Mandarin language just made him look uppity.

Ron Paul - He had a couple of testy exchanges with Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich and squeaked at a high enough pitch that he could be heard by dogs residing at the animal shelter nearest to St. Anselm College. But as always he made some good points.

Mitt Romney - He stayed on message, made George Stephanopoulos look ridiculous and got some laughs when he called Ron Paul "our constitutionalist." Nobody challenged him except for Santorum and Romney seemed to get the better of those exchanges. Mitt Romney again kept his eye and focus on the prize… defeating Obama.

Rick Santorum - He had a particularly testy exchange with Paul over his lucrative post-Senatorial activities. Drew jeers when he told Paul he wasn't telling the truth after a bell rang. He did challenge Romney on a couple of occasions but didn't knock him off his game. It wasn't one of his better debates, but overall I’d rate him as coming in 2nd.

Newt Gingrich - Contrary to expectations, Newt did not go nuclear on Romney, other than another swipe at Bain Capital. He generally reserved his toughest language for Ron Paul. Aside from that exchange, Newt stayed positive and drew applause when he challenged Sawyer and Stephanopoulos over their gay marriage questions and energy independence. It got better, but in the beginning Gingrich just came across as an angry curmudgeon.

Rick Perry - He spoke little but earned applause when he spoke about the Obama Administration's "war on religion." When he suggested that New Hampshire adopt a right to work bill, the applause was far more tepid. Perry is clearly gearing up for South Carolina. This debate certainly didn’t move him up in New Hampshire.

The next debate will take place tomorrow morning on NBC at 9 a.m. Since we have to get up bright and early tomorrow for the next GOP faceoff I think the candidates should be required to spend the debate in their pajamas. Admittedly this format would work better if Michele Bachmann were still in the race.

Lead In To Tonight's Presidential Debate In New Hampshire 2012

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate In New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.1

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate In New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.2

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate In New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.3

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate In New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.4

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.5

January 07, 2012 ABC News

2012 Republican Presidential Debate In New Hampshire At Saint Anselm College pt.6

January 07, 2012 ABC News

Post Debate Analysis 2012 New Hampshire Saint Anselm College Republican Presidential Debate

The Winners from the Iowa Caucus… Santorum #2… Romney #1… and Ron Paul #3, but may have won in delegates

(Latest NH polls show Romney at 40.1% Ron Paul at 20%, Rick Santorum at 10.5% and Jon Hunstman, who has virtually in NH for months and skipped the Iowa Caucus at 9.4%)

The attacks expected on Mitt Romney that did not come in last night’s (Saturday’s) debate in Saint Anselm College were waged this morning in Concord… Mitt shrugged them off as expected if you are 20+ points ahead in the polls. And it probably had little effect since few got up to watch a presidential debate at 9a.m ET on a Sunday!!

Meet the Press – January 8th

Verbal attacks by Gingrich served as bookends to the 90-minute morning debate in which Romney strongly defended his standing as front-runner in the Republican campaign to pick an opponent to President Barack Obama. Romney is 20+% ahead in all polls in New Hampshire. He is as much as 44% ahead in some.

The Romney rivals spent most of the debate attacking Romney instead of Obama. Romney again stayed of the weeds focused on the bigger goal and therefore looked more presidential and less petty.

Romney won the Iowa caucuses last Tuesday by eight votes over Santorum. He leads in the polls in New Hampshire, where his rivals have all but conceded he will win.

South Carolina comes next, on Jan. 21, the first Southern state to hold a primary, and Romney pointedly noted that he has been endorsed by that state's popular governor, Nikki Haley.

Right now the averaged polls show Romney as 1st, Santorum as 2nd, Gingrich as 3rd and Paul as 4th. Huntsman and Perry lag far behind there.

The Concord debate began only hours after the one at Saint Anselm college in which Romney's rivals made early attempts to knock the former Massachusetts governor off-stride but then spent more time squabbling among themselves in an attempt to emerge as his chief rival. So this morning they came our swinging… but to questionable positive results.

Unfortunately for Newt Gingrich, he has put himself in the position of being the wounded whiner throwing rocks instead or the statesman with the best lines and debating skills as people saw him a month ago. Today he even repeated a charge from a past debate that Romney had already answered well.

Santorum, took a swipe at Romney, asking why he hadn't sought re-election as governor after one term, but in the end he didn’t appear to help or hurt himself in this debate appearance.

A small group of Santorum supporters stood outside the morning debate in Concord

Rick Perry drew laughter as well as applause when he said that federal bureaucrats would experience pain as a result of his plans to cut spending, especially those in the departments of education, commerce and energy. That was a reference to his gaffe in an earlier debate when he couldn't recall the name of the third of the Cabinet-level agencies he has proposed eliminating.

Jon Huntsman, who was President Barack Obama's ambassador to China before quitting to run for the White House, returned to a comment Romney had made the night before. Romney said then that the rest of the GOP hopefuls had been trying to oppose the administration's policies while Huntsman was advancing them.

"And I just want to remind the people here in New Hampshire and throughout the United States, he criticized me while he was out raising money for serving my country in China, yes, under a Democrat, like my two sons are doing in the United States Navy. They're not asking what political affiliation the president is. "

Ron Paul who is polling 2nd in New Hampshire, but losing a little momentum, was a little bit more subdued this morning than in last nights debate. The recent attacks on his newsletters plus his stand on foreign policy are taking its toll.

Generally, the morning-after debate followed the same trend as the one the night before leaving Romney fairly untouched after a lot of ineffective petty jabs.

Several of the candidates went directly to other events from the Concord debate.

Concord New Hampshire 2012 Republican Presidential Debate pt.1

January 08, 2012 NBC News

Concord New Hampshire 2012 Republican Presidential Debate pt.2

January 08, 2012 NBC News

Concord New Hampshire 2012 Republican Presidential Debate pt.3

January 08, 2012 NBC News

Concord New Hampshire 2012 Republican Presidential Debate pt.4

January 08, 2012 NBC News

Concord New Hampshire 2012 Republican Presidential Debate pt.5

January 08, 2012 NBC News

Mike Huckabee: “Will I support any of the candidates if they are chosen as the GOP nominee… Absolutely, because the mirror on my wall says compared to Obama, they are conservatives one and all!!”

GOP Candidates Looking to 'Close the Deal' in Last-Chance Iowa Debate

Don’t Miss the last GOP Debate of 2011 and  before voting begins in the January 3, 2012 Iowa Caucuses, tonight at 9p.m. ET hosted by Fox Cable News.

FOX NEWS – Chris Stirewalt: It’s been 32 weeks since the first Republican presidential debate, (the last) Iowa debate and Straw Poll.. Since then, a changing cast of contenders has faced off a dozen times across the country with millions watching at home.

Of the original combatants from that May 5 meeting in Greenville, S.C., only two, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, remain. There have been four lead changes in national polls, two candidates dropped out, four candidates joined the field and billions of pixels poured out by reporters and pundits trying to make sense of it all.

Tonight, that all culminates here on the western edge of Iowa with the 13th showdown — the last chance for candidates to make their cases before voters start the process of picking a presidential nominee. Even in a cycle that has been shaped by televised debates like no other, the stakes for the candidates this evening are enormous.

Here’s what’s on the line for the six men and one woman vying for the chance to confront Barack Obama. . . . . Read More

GOP Candidates Looking to 'Close the Deal' in Last-Chance Iowa Debate

The Republican presidential candidates will have one last chance on the national stage Thursday night to make their case to voters before the frantic season of caucuses and primaries gets underway. At the Fox News debate in Sioux City, Iowa, everybody but front-runner Newt Gingrich is looking to shake up the race in a big way.

In a primary campaign replete with gaffes and other "oops" moments, the candidates are under pressure to give a steady performance -- they don't want another public misstep hanging in the cold Iowa air for the three remaining weeks before the caucuses. For the middle-of-the-pack candidates, the debate is a chance to demonstrate why caucus-goers should give them a second look. For Gingrich and Mitt Romney, it's a chance to lock down notoriously fickle and straying support.

"This is a clean-up debate," said Steffen Schmidt, political science professor at Iowa State University. "It's sort of the county fair right before the state fair ... where they want to see whether that pony is lame or not."

And minds are not quite made up. "They really are waiting for somebody to close the deal. And nobody has," Schmidt said.

After months of tumult, the polls over the past three weeks have bared a few themes. Gingrich is the unrivaled front-runner. Romney, in second position, can't seem to break through the low 20s. Nobody else is close. But in poll after poll, Romney fares better against President Obama in a general election than Gingrich.

As Romney tries to claw his way back to the top, analysts say the former Massachusetts governor would be wise to stress the electability argument Thursday.

Republican pollster Adam Geller said primary voters are more concerned than usual about whether the GOP nominee can actually beat Obama in November.

"There is an unbelievable reservoir of anger and fear and frustration, and electability does become a very, very important factor in a year like this," he said. "This is one of the reasons why Rick Perry hasn't done well."

He said Gingrich and Romney, with their "grasp of the issues" have done well because they've shown an ability to be competitive against the current occupant of the White House.

To that end, Geller said Gingrich needs to keep his cool Thursday. Though the former House speaker is sure to face attacks from all sides, Gingrich must be "gracious" to his opponents and "have that self-editor fired up," Geller said.

It's a tricky task. Gingrich has pledged to run a "positive" campaign, but Romney is sharpening his attacks. This week, his campaign released a web video that mocked Gingrich for once cutting an ad on climate change with House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "With friends like Newt, who needs the left?" the ad said.

Romney, who has tried to pigeonhole Gingrich as a Washington insider with little practical economic experience, told Fox News that "people are coming to the conclusion increasingly that I'm the person with the experience and the temperament and the capacity to actually lead America and to defeat President Obama."

Schmidt said Gingrich, while staying positive to the extent he can Thursday night, will have to defend himself. Gingrich's past contract work for Freddie Mac, his one-time support of an individual health care mandate in the early '90s and his proposal to let some illegal immigrants stay in the country have all attracted scrutiny.

But Schmidt said Romney has a tightrope to walk. In dreary times, Romney can't be a downer.

"Mitt Romney has to take on his Republican opponents with a sharper blade and at the same time make people feel that the future is positive," he said.

The other candidates still have a chance to break through. While the national polls show Gingrich and Romney at the top, the Iowa polls have Texas Rep. Ron Paul right up there on the leader board.

In an interview with Fox News, Paul said his loyal supporters could help pull out a victory in the Jan. 3 caucuses.

"We've been working to that end and we've been organizing," Paul said. "We're giving a lot of answers to the questions that so many people across the country are asking."

Schmidt said Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, who won the Iowa Ames Straw Poll over the summer before Perry entered the race and stole her thunder, remains the "sleeper" candidate in the race.

Bachmann, stressing her Iowa roots and advertising an upcoming 99-county Iowa tour, told Fox News that Iowans will realize she's "the one true constitutional conservative" in the race.

"Iowans are going to come back home," she told Fox News.

Perry, too, is trying to regain the confidence of voters. On a bus tour through Iowa, Perry stopped in Council Bluffs Wednesday where he depicted himself as the outsider candidate, and Romney and Gingrich as insiders who are not going to "change a thing."

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who has poured his campaign resources into Iowa and was the only candidate to receive a standing ovation at a social issues debate forum in Iowa hosted by Mike Huckabee on Wednesday will attend, as well as former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.

Watch Fox News and FoxNews.com for the Republican presidential primary debate on Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET.

Source: Fox News

Related:

The Media Obsession With and Abuse of Polls 

Video: Limbaugh Surveys the GOP Contenders

The DNC’s Christmas Gift to Newt Gingrich as Savage Offer’s Him $1M to Drop Out of the Race

On the Road to the White House 2012… Time for the GOP to Step Up

Video:  A Voter’s Guide to Republicans

On the Road to the White House 2012… Time for the GOP to Step Up

I watched Governor Mike Huckabee’s forum on Fox News this past weekend, as I have watched all the GOP debates so far. If you did not see it, here are a couple of good recaps by Jazz Shaw at Hot Air and Doug Mataconis at Outside The Beltway

Huck’s Forum was a positive event and perhaps the first time we have had to really see and hear, in some depth, what a few of the remaining candidates had to say… and say on an equal playing field. Each candidate took questions from 3-GOP State Attorneys General (Pam Bondi, Ken Cuccinelli and Scott Pruitt who are all part of the ObamaCare suit) with Governor Huckabee as the moderator. Each candidate received exactly the same amount of time and they were also each interviewed one at a time so the viewer saw each from the same perspective.

My focus here is primarily on the current state of the Republican primary race to examine the political strengths and weaknesses of the GOP field and what has to happen for the GOP to have the greatest chance to defeat President Obama. And Obama’s defeat is and must be the number one goal of all conservatives, independents and patriotic non-progressive Americans. (I also touch on the effects of the Presidential race on down-ticket campaigning that will be important for the GOP to solidify their control of the House and possibly gain control of the Senate.) I am not focusing on issues or the individual political beliefs of the candidates… on my preference(s).

This is now a two-man/person race and barring a miracle will remain a 2-man race. Wish all you want but Huntsman, Perry and Santorum are not going to win. Bachmann has a slight chance to catch on and Ron Paul, although second or third in many polls and even a possible winner in the Iowa Caucuses probably has also reached his saturation point because of some of his Libertarian views in certain areas, especially foreign policy and how it affects his approach to situations like Iran.

Posted: December 02, 2011 on WND

by Joseph Farah "Between the Lines"

Pray for a Michele Miracle

I like a lot of what Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have to say. I also have some problems with both of them. But if either of them got the nomination, I would support them enthusiastically. But neither one is going to get the nomination.

That leaves one other candidate – Michele Bachmann.

She's the real deal, folks. She's 100 percent. She's gaffe-proof. She's smarter than Newt, but doesn't brag about it (He’s already choosing his cabinet) half as much. She's honest. She's sincere. And she really believes in what she says.

What we need to pray for prior to the Iowa primary is a Michele Miracle.

Pray fervently for the future of this country – that it should be worthy of the blessings God has bestowed upon it for 235 years.

And ask God for a little miracle this year.

Ask Him to give us Michele.

To be honest… Bachmann and Santorum are the true consistent Conservative candidates and if evangelicals, constitutionalists and tea party members thought that was the highest priority, both their poll numbers would be a lot higher! So it will take prayer and a miracle to move Michele (or Rick) up in the polls.

But for our purposes here since the race is now between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, the focus needs to be on their strengths and weaknesses and what should be done by each of their campaigns immediately.

What I saw in the Huck Forum was both enlightening and a bit frightening at the same time. The panel asked some excellent even probing questions. And they pressed the candidates when appropriate for clarifications, as with Governor Perry when they tried to lead him away from his stand on repealing ObamaCare using Executive Order(s), that just wouldn’t be possible. (Something that Michelle Bachmann is very aware of and vocal about and has been ignored every time she has brought it up during the debate series.) The format overall turned out to be a winner giving viewers a good chance to learn more about each candidate.

However, given the reasonable ease for each campaign to anticipate the general areas of the questions that would be focused on, including the obvious questions that would probably be asked, it was disappointing to watch Romney fumble his way through a couple of his answers. And while Gingrich handled himself better he too could have been more on message and less bloated in his answers. I’ve heard some say that Newt’s performance outdistanced Mitt’s by a fair amount and others say they were pretty even, just a matter of style.

My thoughts then turned to the current state of each campaign’s organization and fund-raising performance. Here is where Romney has it all over Gingrich, and when it comes down to pure politicking Romney is still the odds on favorite to get the nomination.

I heard an interesting comment by liberal (and past campaign organizer) Bob Beckel say on Monday on the Five (Fox Cable News’ successful replacement for the former Glenn Beck slot where Beckel is a co-host) that what should happen is that Romney should convince Bachmann to pull out of the race, pay off her campaign debt (much like they did with Pawlenty) and have Bachmann endorse Romney so she can focus on her re-election to Congress campaign. (It would be a terrible shame for Bachmann and conservatives to not only lose for president but then to also lose her seat in the House! With Ron Paul not running for his House seat alongside his presidential run, Conservatives could lose two strong conservative voices in the House (who won’t be President).

Romney already has the organization in place to see his candidacy through the primaries and into the general, plus his campaign is well placed to down-ticket campaign to the betterment of his Presidential run and Congressional GOP candidates. He also is well-funded. The task at hand is that Mitt has to step up and elevate his game right now. He must get better prepped for debates, forums and interviews, and he must stop playing it safe. All candidates have bad weeks over the course of any campaign but the Romney organization has to step it up and insure their candidate does not suffer another debate like this last one, where people have a question who… he or Gingrich, did a better job at debating… but rather know that the only difference is just a matter of style.

The Gingrich campaign organization is weak and disjointed, and is playing catch up right now. They are also are not as well funded. The challenge is to establish a true national-level structure quickly and effectively, for without it Newt will ultimately come up short and lose any chance of getting the nomination, especially because of his old baggage. There are plenty of excellent political operatives out there, some of which may need to be lured from current jobs with lower level candidates. The Gingrich organization has to go on a talent search blitz immediately now that funds are coming in more readily. There’s barely a month until the Iowa caucus with the New Hampshire primary is a week later. Newt must elevate his organizational game considerably by early January 2012.

Considering the reality and gravity of what is at stake in this election, it is time for both Speaker Gingrich and Governor Romney to step up their game. And it is perhaps time for the other candidates, including Michele Bachmann to consider making their exists and especially if they lose in Iowa. What is an absolute is that the GOP candidates and those focused on replacing Obama must stop tearing each other apart and start focusing on the job at hand… beating Obama!

In several recent polls, although the numbers vary a little, there are some consistent votes no matter who is doing them:

Who will bring the most change: Newt Gingrich

Who is most likeable between Mitt and Newt: Mitt Romney

Best Debater : Newt Gingrich

Who is the most intelligent GOP candidate: Newt Gingrich

Who is most acceptable to moderates and independents (who end up deciding elections): Mitt Romney

** Who is most electable in the General Election: Mitt Romney **

Another factor is that the Democrats could not be making it more obvious that they consider Mitt Romney the greater threat and that they would much rather run against Newt Gingrich, even though Newt would probably make mince meat of Obama in the debates.

Both Mitt and Newt have done their share of flip-flopping but Newt Gingrich has a lot more baggage (affairs, 3-marriages and lots of turmoil as former Speaker of the House (which Pelosi has already threatened to expose… (of course that was yesterday) plus a more recent question involving money paid to Newt’s firm for his consulting on Fannie and Freddie) for the Democrats to attack. Mitt has led a pretty scandal free life and is much more the businessman verses the career politician. (The Mormon issue still surfaces now and again (Romney and Huntsman) in discussions about evangelical votes, but many of them are just as wary of Catholics.

Former Clinton advisor and strategist Dick Morris, now turned conservative and Fox News contributor, says that really Mitt’s only flip-flop that needs more explaining other than “facts have changed and I’ve adjusted and re-thought my position based on those new facts” is Mitt’s change on abortion or a woman’s right to choose… because those facts don’t change. But MItt has already said that he has always been pro-life personally and then when he was in office and it came to signing legislation that was pro-choice that he just couldn’t do it and changed his position as did Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Morris thought that explanation is sufficient and believes that RomneyCare was a state rights issue and ObamaCare is not and that Romney will over-turn ObamaCare.

Both men could win the nomination and both would be formidable candidates against Obama. So Gentlemen… “Start Your Engines and Step on the Gas Full Throttle! No More Playing it Safe!!”

The Road to the White House 2012

By Marion Algier

Related:

The interview: Glenn v. Newt

More accurately, it was Newt vs. Newt as Glenn played a series of past Newt quotes on the issues and the current frontrunner had to answer for them. He's known as an intellectual who enjoys a good debate -- did he acquit himself from himself? Take a listen and decide for yourself if Newt is a big government progressive or the right man for the job. WATCH (Transcript)

A Case Against Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy and a Rebuttal

Democrats Ramp Up Anti-Romney Ad Attack

Santorum Says Iowa Is Still Wide Open With One Month to Go

Perry TV Ad: I Can Defend Faith From Obama’s “War on Religion”

Donald Trump’s GOP Debate: Mitt Romney Becomes Third Candidate Who Won’t Participate

Trump-Huntsman Feud Heats-Up

Perry to Launch Massive Iowa Push

Sarah’s Shoes - Could There Be a Palin Reconsideration

Ron Paul, Gary Johnson, Donald Trump, Sarah Palin and Chuck Baldwin have all been mentioned as possible 3rd Party Candidates. Beck even stated lately that he thinks a 3rd Party Candidate Could Win in 2012… Beck is someone I agree with most of the time in most areas, but not on this one… and neither does anyone else that is credible, that I’ve heard. A 3rd party run will split the Republican Party (like with Ross Perot in 1992) and guarantee an Obama re-election and pretty much bring the end of America as we know it. And not voting or writing in candidates will help do the same.

Obama and the Progressives will run a dirty campaign and you can bet that there will be a lot of fraud from their operatives, including the unions. Every single non-Obama vote and every patriot volunteer monitoring what is going is needed.

Ask Marion~