Walking and Talking Are Hard

Today I thought that I would leave you with a video complied of political (mostly presidential) bloopers going back all the way to Eisenhower.  I am not trying to bring attention to the mistakes of any one person or party but show that even the most powerful people in America make mistakes (and sometimes these mistakes are what they get remembered for).  Enjoy!!

Big Week Ahead

It is a big week for the GOP nominees as three primaries will either take place this week (Florida and Nevada) or begin the primary process (Maine).  This is probably one of the biggest weeks for the Republican party barring no winner has been declared by Super Tuesday (March 6).

It seems that Romney has an advantage in Florida which will give him some breathing room against Gingrich.  Gingrich has picked up the endorsement of former candidate Herman Cain.  I will be updating the results of the primaries later this week with Florida (tomorrow), Nevada (Saturday) and Maine (Saturday).

In other news, the media is trying to make Joe Biden look unpatriotic because he advised against the Bin Laden raid.  This is the headline but when you actually look deeper, Biden actually took a stand (something he rarely does) when no one else did and said the intelligence at the time does not suggest it to be productive.  I’m pretty sure that there are more important headlines in the news, yet leave it to the media to bring up a non-issue and try to sensationalize it.

Dead Heat

Going into the Florida primary on January 31st, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are in a virtually draw.  Whoever can break this deadlock will have a decisive advantage heading up to March 6 (Super Tuesday).  The Florida primary is closed, which means that only individuals who are registered members of the Republican party can vote.  Independents will not have a say during this election.  This would lead one to believe that the issues, press conferences and debates will all be a little more conservative in nature.

Why does having a closed primary help the GOP?  Because in theory during an open primary (South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, etc) any person may vote in the primary including those who are registered Democrats and would it not make sense for Democrats to vote for the weakest possible candidate so during the national election their candidate faces less opposition.  It especially holds true in a reelection year when the other party is not necessarily going through the infighting of a primary battle.

Immigration is going to be a key issue heading into Florida, and how Romney and Gingrich shape their arguments might go a long way in determining the winner.  Romney’s “self-deportation” will be an issue that could make or break him in Florida.  We have five days and counting and barring a Ron Paul victory in Florida, the GOP will have a front-runner in this stretch run leading up until Super Tuesday.

Political Cartoon of the Week (Jan 23 – 29)

Pretty much sums up this and most State of the Union addresses.

The State of the Union Address

If you did not know, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.  This will be President Obama’s chance to hit back at the Republicans candidates who have been criticizing his Presidency and they way he has mismanaged the economy.  In a brief sense, this is Barrack Obama’s reelection address.

There are a number of key issues that President Obama must address to the nation if he wants to continue the advantage he has over a fractured Republican party (at the moment).  No modern president has ever been reelected with an unemployment rating as high as is was during his first four years.  He will have to account for an approval rating that fluctuates between the low-to-mid forties.

He will have to continue to defend Obama-care in light of the attacks by the Republican party and along with this will attempt to sway the middle t0 low-class families with promises of lower taxes, increased opportunities for small business owners, and the housing market which still has not rebounded they way the President would have liked and once promised.

It will be interesting to see the dynamic of the State of the Union with regards to the number of applause breaks the President receives. Last year was NOT an election year and had the added patriotic return of Senator Gabrielle Giffords.  With so many Americans in need of answers and not political rhetoric it will be interesting to see how Congress (especially the Republicans) act towards the President’s speech.

All Squared At One

After the South Carolina primary this weekend each of the candidates has a victory:  Gingrich (South Carolina), Romney (New Hampshire), and Santorum (Iowa).  Leading into Florida and Nevada we have seen/will see the campaigns start to get a little more personal.  After last Thursdays debate question about marriage you can bet that issue will be brought back into the forefront most likely by Santorum.

Gingrich has challenged Romeny to release his tax information which Romney (at this time) is considering doing, while Romeny has openly questioned how Gingrich can run this country while never running a business or a state.  And Ron Paul continues to take votes away from all three candidates.

Somewhere the Democrats are smiling.

S.C. Primary Gets Very Interesting

A few days ago I wrote about Mitt Romney’s chance of taking the South Carolina primary and all but wrap up the GOP nomination.  Well, in the past couple of days we have seen Iowa reverse its decision and a debate between Romney, Gingrich and Santorum.

The Iowa primary has now switched its results from a Romney win to a draw between Santorum and Romney (with Santorum actually leading by a handful).  I believe up to nine districts did not have their votes counted and instead of going through with an official recount Iowa was happy to call it a draw.  This hurts Romney because a large number of the GOP see Santorum as the winner in Iowa now and this could have major repercussions this weekend and on into the future.

The debate on the eve of the South Carolina primary saw Santorum escape with little harm as Gingrich and Romney battled each other over policies and tried their best to stay away from character flaws (i.e. marriage).  If Santorum can take this momentum into the weekend and eke out a victory in Carolina, we might end up with a long drawn out process that will only further diminish the Republicans chances of winning against Obama at the end of the year.

Right now the Democrats are smiling and pulling for a Santorum victory this weekend.

Political Cartoon of the Week (Jan 16-22)

 

Today marked a black day for college students as Wikipedia shut down for a day in protest of the House Bill better known as SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act).  The debate over this bill could get very interesting and have profound effects if passed.

Romney Looks to Lock Up GOP Nomination

With the South Carolina primary coming up this weekend, Mitt Romney looks to lock up the GOP nomination for the presidential election in November.  With Romney taking Iowa and New Hampshire in the past two weeks he hopes to take the South Carolina and all but wrap up the Republican nomination.  For the Republicans this is a very good thing as Romney probably has the best chance of all the candidates to unseat Obama in November.

Every four years we watch at least one of the parties go through the nomination process and every time we see candidates trash their own party members trying to gain a personal edge.  When the dust settles you have one candidate left and a whole list of issues that the opposing party can use against the presidential nominee.  We saw Clinton and Obama tear into each other and then attempt to support one an another during the national election.  Seems a little hypocritical.

I believe that Obama has a very good chance for reelection for a number of reasons (post for another time).  However, if the Republicans want any chance at reclaiming the presidency the best result would be Romney winning handily in South Carolina and trying to push a unified party line without too much mud-slinging and party bickering.  If Romney loses in Carolina it just Santorum, Gingrich and others the chance to continue splitting the party which is what the Democrats are probably hoping for.

Today Is A Good Day to Dream

It is difficult in this world for one person to truly institute change and make decisions that will affect the entire nation.  Our political system is set up to do just the opposite with the principle of checks and balances.  But there have been individuals that have left a footprint on the heart of this country and today we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King Jr. did not force change of this country all by himself, but it will forever be his speech that is looked at as the straw that broke the camels back in terms of pushing racial equality to the forefront of American society.  For those who have never actually watched the entire speech, please sit down and think about the ideals that Dr. King preached nearly 50 years ago.  Enjoy watching a man who was a very good public speaker with an ability to read and react to a crowd that you do not see much of today.

 

Today Martin Luther King is respected icon whose own achievements may actually been overshadowed by his famous speech.  We celebrate his birthday today and despite the immensity of his speech, the most impressive achievement of Dr. King Jr. was instituting change across America.  Maybe one person can make a difference.