Wednesday, November 23, 2011

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

It's been along time coming ! Mitt Romney announces presidential Run: Obama has Failed America

Mitt Romney formally announced his second campaign for the presidency Thursday with a unvarnished broadside against Barack Obama for having "failed America."

Romney accused Mr. Obama of failing to live up to the promise of economic recovery he made in his 2008 campaign. And he blamed the president for high unemployment, rising gasoline prices, falling home values and a soaring national debt.
“At the time, we didn’t know what sort of a president he would make,Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have more than promises and slogans to go by. Barack Obama has failed America.”
Romney slammed Obama for hurting US ties with Israel.
"He speaks with firmness and clarity, however, when it comes to Israel. He seems firmly and clearly determined to undermine our longtime friend and ally. He’s treating Israel the same way so many European countries have: with suspicion, distrust and an assumption that Israel is at fault".
Romney said Obama has spent his first three years in office apologizing to the world for the United States' greatness, undercutting Israel and borrowing European-style economic policies.
"It breaks my heart to see what's happening in this country,What's [the president's] answer? He says this: 'I'm just getting started.'


,No, Mr. President, you’ve had your chance. We, the people on this farm, and citizens across the country are the ones who are just getting started".
"I'm Mitt Romney and I believe in America. And I'm running for president of the United States," Romney said to cheers on a sunny farm in Southern New Hampshire.
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Analysis/ Republicans get the best chance to regain the American public's Trust

(Jacob Kornbluh).I may sound over reactive but here is my point why the GOP had its best night in last night's election outcome.

First the Republicans didn't lose any seats, we retained FL, and even Gained Senate seats in Obamaland IL, OH and in PA.

Now, with exit polls showing that either party is viewed favorable and trustworthy in the voters mind, the Election results show that Americans rejected Obama/Pelosi's polices and the direction they have taken us in the past 4 years, and therefore gave the Republicans control in the House of Representatives, as a check and balance in Washington power..so it was a vote against Democrats, so the Republicans have now a chance to show the American Public from a stage of power a new appealing message and a connectible platform for the Future , that Americans will start believing in giving the Republicans once again a Mandate in Leading this Country ,not only by opposing Obama's policies, and saying no to his liberal agenda but by getting executive power too, in imposing the People's reasonable demands.

Harry Reid's victory in Nevada and the Democrats still holding control in the Senate, gives Obama the confidence that he expressed today in his press conference and that is by continuing to push their liberal agenda, with the notion that Americans have yet to understand or see the good out of it, Don't expect Obama to change course or turn into a Bill Clinton '94 or a Bush '01, and therefore in my point of view this sets the stage for the Republicans in 2012 to challenge the Presidency and demand a Mandate of executive power in Washington , not only to get the keys but lead America in to it brightest Future.

Now is the time for the Republican leadership, with their fresh new voices to set the tone in Washington, to put forward the right proposals that will not be ignored or not be covered, and give the American people the confidence that not only do we represent and express their anger and frustration at government, but address them and help them achieve the goal, and reach the American Dream
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Monday, November 1, 2010

Special Optimism for America election eve radio show W/ Panel of analysts LIVE 10 PM EST

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Gov. George Pataki endorses Carl Paladino for Governor of NY

Statement from Governor Pataki

"One-party rule has led New York State to the brink of ruin. The ethical and fiscal morass that Democratic control has wrought upon our state government can only end if we reestablish a vigorous two-party system. The best way to achieve this is through competitive statewide candidates.

While I don't agree with my party’s nominee for Governor on any number of issues, we do agree on three essential Republican – Conservative core beliefs: the need to cut taxes, reduce spending and shrink the size of government. It is with these bedrock beliefs in mind that today I endorse Carl Paladino for Governor."

"I am humbled to be endorsed by the last real Governor of New York State," Paladino said. "And I stand strong with Gov. Pataki to lead this revolution to take back our State."

"After Gov. Pataki, we've had nothing but failure in the Governor's mansion; Spitzer and Paterson made a mockery of this once great state. Now the Albany insiders want to elect another of their own, and the taxpayers won't settle for more of the same in Andrew Cuomo," he said. "The man who slayed the first Cuomo says I am the man to beat Mario Jr.," Paladino said. "I'm proud to carry Gov. Pataki's endorsement and our party's standard to victory at the polls tomorrow."

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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Siena poll data: NY Governor race is a Toss up

Siena college released today a poll that shows Cuomo leading over Paladino with 25 points, 58-33, showing Cuomo lose 5% , and Paladino gaining 7% since last weeks poll.

But whats interesting in this poll is, that there are Mixing results in the poll data: 46% of New Yorkers have a unfavorable view on Obama,to 51% that have a favorable opinion of president Obama, 89% of those that view Obama unfavorable say they will vote for Carl Paladino, (that's 41% Of the vote), from those that have a favorable view of Obama 21% intend to vote for Paladino (that's another 10%), adding it up, it shows actually Carl Paladino leading the race with 51% , to 48% for Cuomo.
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Care for Israel, vote for Republican Watch dog candidates

Deputy FM Danny Ayalon on Channel 1 Friday night said regarding the US Midterm Elections: The Base of US support of Israel is bipartisan and Israel must not be portrayed as supporting One specific Party, and also added that even if the Republicans win control of Congress,there will be no change of US foreign policy or Mideast approach.

But we as US citizens and my call is to all of US citizens - Jews and non Jews that support Israel's right of Land, Israel's right of self defense, do have a choice in this election, and here is why.

Ed Koch in March 2010 wrote and spoke on National TV:

"I have not heard or read statements criticizing the president by New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand or many other supporters of Israel for his blatantly hostile attitude toward Israel and his discourtesy displayed at the White House".


"So I ask again, where are our Senators, Schumer and Gillibrand? And, where are the voices, not only of the 31 members of the House and 14 Senators who are Jewish, but the Christian members of the House and Senate who support the State of Israel? Where are the peoples' voices? Remember the words of Pastor Niemoller, so familiar that I will not recite them, except for the last line, "Then they came for me, and by that time, there was no one left to speak up."


"Supporters of Israel who gave their votes to candidate Obama - 78 percent of the Jewish community did - believing he would provide the same support as John McCain, this is the time to speak out and tell the President of your disappointment in him"


Our Democratic Representatives part of them Jewish, have stood silent time and time when it was most crucial of them to speak out for Israel and attack President Obama's policies and hostile treatment of Israel.


President Obama may not change his stance and approach towards the middle east conflict,But what these past 2 years have showed us is, that the Democratic Representatives in the house have no courage to stand up against their leader when they know he's wrong, as Rep. Peter King said in June that President Obama's weak Mideast policy is forcing House Democrats to make the difficult choice of either supporting Obama or supporting Israel."I hope they put our relationship with Israel above their relationship with Obama", and based on their action we have seen these Jewish representatives Like NY Rep. Jerold Nadler and others stay silent and vote with Obama 100% of the time.

Therefore by voting in this Nov. 2 election for GOP candidates all across the Country, and out seating Incumbents, we send a strong message to Obama and to Israel: We Republicans that control the Congress will safeguard The President, we will be the president's watchdog, we will speak out in Israel's defense and support Israel in these challenging time.
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Saturday, October 30, 2010

You may want the Keys, but what have you delivered Mr. President?


"Two years after these rousing speeches, the yes we can chants, the are you fired up shout outs, the change has come to America promise.... have you delivered Mr. President?? hmmm He may want the keys, but where has he driven us to in the the years he was in charge... People are looking for solutions.... they rather have cope over hope.... fix over mix....so on November 2nd you all have a choice.... a once in a two year opportunity... choose for the guy that will drive you in the right direction, that will break when needed...that will close the holes... and unblock the clogged passage... your vote counts... "

Listen to our special "Optimism for America" closing argument election broadcast on Monday night Nov. 1 at 10 PM EST with our panel and experts ...DTF..

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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Meek quiting FL race may be last Shot in Obama's Gun - to prevent a rising GOP star

Ben Smith of Politico reports:
Bill Clinton sought to persuade Rep. Kendrick Meek to drop out of the race for Senate during a trip to Florida last week — and nearly succeeded.

Meek agreed — twice — to drop out and endorse Gov. Charlie Crist’s independent bid in a last-ditch effort to stop Marco Rubio, the Republican nominee who stands on the cusp of national stardom.

The former president’s top aide, Doug Band, initially served as the intermediary between Meek and Crist, and Clinton became involved only when Meek signaled that he would seriously consider the option, Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna confirmed to POLITICO.

“The argument was: ‘You can be a hero here. You can stop him, you can change this race in one swoop,’” said another Democrat familiar with the conversations, who said Clinton had bluntly told Meek that he couldn’t win the race.

The Crist, Meek and Clinton camps even set a date for an endorsement rally: the following Tuesday, Oct. 26. Meek was to give Crist his blessing and explain to his disappointed supporters — many of whom deeply distrust the governor, who was elected as a Republican — that their votes could save the Senate for the Democrats and save America from the rise of Rubio, who is viewed both as a hard-line conservative and a potential national figure.

The White House, Democrats said, had knowledge of the plans and viewed them as a path to capturing the Senate seat, but did not initiate the talks.
Don't be surprised folks, if in the last moment of this campaign, as the Democrats see thier chances of keeping the Senate grow very slim, Obama will shoot the last bullet in his gun, and force Meek to quit the Race, to prevent the rise of the most dominate rising star in the Republican party, a threat to Obama's reelection and to the Change theme of his 2008 campaign.

Our only hope is that the Floridains, and so on the American voters in the Country don't take these races for granted, and go out to vote, to chnage Washington, to bring back the Train to our Future on the right track.
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RJC: Time for US Jews to change Course, Get out and VOTE For Republican's

(Matthew Brooks, RJC Executive Director).Recent polls have shown a higher-than-usual amount of interest in this mid-term election, with large early-voting turnouts and strong opinions among likely voters about issues like the economy, health care, and Israel. There is a deep sense that this election matters.

It certainly does to the Jewish community. Of course Israel, Iran, and other foreign policy issues are important to our community in particular, but the Jewish community shares the same worries and concerns of all Americans this year, about our struggling economy, our high unemployment, and the ballooning national debt that threatens our children’s and grandchildren’s economic security.

Americans who were looking for hope and change two years ago have watched the Democrats in Washington push for a wholesale transformation of our country, while digging the economic hole we’re in deeper and deeper. And the majority of Americans don’t like it. Polls show strong public disapproval for many of the Democrats’ top policy goals. Among the most drastic and controversial are: the nationalization of healthcare; the billions of dollars in wasteful, inefficient “stimulus” spending (which stimulated the public sector and did almost nothing for the job-creating engine of our economy, the private sector); and the government takeover of companies (such as General Motors) and even whole industries (such as the student loan system).

These policies are not only hurting working Americans, they are dramatically re-shaping the role of government and its relationship with citizens. The election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts and Republican wins for governor in Virginia and New Jersey were a wake up call for Washington that voters don’t want higher taxes and don’t want government mandates to replace their independent, personal choices about health care, education, and the economic activities through which they support their families.

This election is important because, with Democrats in the majority, the Bush tax cuts will be allowed to expire and most Americans ¬– not just “the rich”– will feel the sharp bite of higher taxes. It’s important because no economy can continue indefinitely to run the kind of deficits we do. Greece has shown us one troubling scenario.

Looking outward, voters also have many reasons for worry. President Obama’s foreign policy – from his apology tour and the mishandling of our relations with Russia to the disastrous all-carrot-no-stick approach to Iran – have seriously weakened the United States in the eyes of both of our allies and our enemies. It has also brought the possibility of a nuclear Iran closer than ever. A nuclear Iran is not only an existential threat to Israel, it increases the danger that the U.S. and other Western countries will face terrorist attacks from nuclear-armed clients of Iran. Time is running out on the most serious foreign policy challenge we currently face.

The vast majority of Americans support the State of Israel, consider it a vitally important ally, and want the U.S.-Israel alliance to be strong. Sadly, American policy makers do not always seem inclined the same way. Israel has been berated by the Obama administration for building in Jerusalem. The traditional American support for Israel in the United Nations has been diluted. Because President Obama put pressure on Israel to make unilateral concessions (the building freeze), his much-touted peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians ended almost before they began. Fifty-four Democrats in Congress urged President Obama to pressure Israel to reduce its defensive measures at the Gaza border.

With all of this in mind, the Republican Jewish Coalition has run a powerful issue advocacy effort, We want to educate the Jewish community about these issues and encourage the community to question the status quo, to examine the issues thoughtfully, and to make informed decisions. American Jews have the privilege and obligation to be active participants in our democratic process, and they should be knowledgeable participants as well.

Republicans, independents and disappointed Democrats alike are energized for this election. Grassroots activism is high, voter turnout will be high, and Republican candidates appear poised to win in some unlikely places, on both the national and state levels. The motivation for this energy across the country is the same: the overreaching, unrepresentative, extreme agenda of the Democrats in power.

This election is too important to sit out. We encourage the Jewish community to get informed, get active, and get out and vote.
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"Optimism for America" Election discussion W/ Noah Silverman - RJC, Orthodox Columnist Yossi Gestetner



As the Midterm elections are around the corner, President Obama losing his base, losing the Jewish Vote, the donors and the motivation,The Republicans are about to regain Power in the Congress and are on the tip of making major gains in the Senate -

we discussed W/ Yossi Gestetner (http://www.yossigestetner.com)a Columnist and PR Consultant Within the Orthodox Jewish/Hasidic Communities in NY - The power of the Jewish vote, how the Orthodox Jews swayed away from the Democrats to the GOP, and what impact will a GOP Congress have on Obama's Mideast policies.

Our Guest on the discussion board is Noah Silverman the RJC Congressional Affairs Director discussing the importance of this Election, analyzing the races in PA, IL and NY, Obama's approach towards Israel and the GOP support of Israel.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Mr. President, You have a plan for the campaign trail , but NO plan for the Economy

(Jacob Kornbluh).Watching the British Parliament on Wednesday's at the PMQ where the PM and the Opposition leader debate on the issues and is always fun to watch.. but this week watching PM David Cameron debate with Newly elected Opposition leader Labour chairman David Miliband, i came through a very good phrase used by the PM, citing from a memo giving advice to Opposition leader how to confront the Prime Minister and score points that the media can report on, he had this to say the the Opposition leader the Labour party that led Britain in the last 13 years:
"Mr. Speaker...He has got a plan for the PMQ, but has got no plan for the Economy, No plan for the debt, No plan for the mess they made..absolutely nothing of worth while to say.."
The President likes to energize his base and urge the Democrats to get out and Vote by using these rousing speeches, pointing fingers and shouting right into the Microphone..in which he blames the republicans that go us into the Mess...and that the Democrats go us out of the ditch.. therefore we cannot give them back the keys...etc etc....

In a Poll conducted by the Hill in 10 competitive house races, Almost two years after Obama declared on election night that “change has come to America,” only 26 percent believe he’s delivered on his promise to end business-as-usual in the capital. Strikingly, 63 percent of voters under the age of 34 said the president either has not changed Washington or has made it worse.

So my rebuttal to President Obama is: Mr. president You may have a plan for the Campaign trail..for the GOTV... but you have no plan whatsoever for the Economy, the wasteful spending, for reducing the unemployment.. for creating Jobs.. This is all what this election is about.. it is not a referendum on political bickering and finger pointing..it is a choice of who can deliver ..who can fix the economy..who can bring this Country back... You had your time given and you have failed... don't give us the keys back Mr. President.. but we ask the Americans to give us the brake pedal... the steering wheel..the Power to get this Country back on track, reduce the reckless spending and create a better and hopeful future for all Americans.
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Israeli PM Netanyahu teaches us how the Economy can be fixed - Yes we can too , clue? Vote 'R'



President Obama is trying to scare voters by saying how the republican plan will only draw us into the ditch as he has done for the past 2 years, and the Democrats in the Congress for 4 years, now he claims that Change is difficult, Yes we can... but it's not going to happen overnight,” .... Well in one country, maybe in one of the only countries that survived this recession and its economy is reporting over 45 of Growth, it happened not long ago, in 2003 Netanyahu as Finance Minister did the unpredictable, and here is how he did it, and how by following these reforms we can do it too:

Below is a excerpt of The remarks Netanyahu gave this week at the OECD event in Jerusalem:

"I had the opportunity to help lead some of these reforms first as Prime Minister in the 1990’s and then as Finance Minister from 2003 to 2005 and again as Prime Minister today.....Until 12 years ago, Israel was a fourth world country...."

"So the first reform was freeing up our currency. We adopted a new fiscal policy that strictly controls spending and dramatically cut taxes. We actually had a law that was in place as long as I was Finance Minister that actually reduced government spending per capita for three years. we did this including the overhauling of our welfare system; we privatized government monopolies; we reformed our capital markets and our pension system – we raised our retirement age for men from 65 to 67 and for women from 60 to 64."

"the ability to give individuals the right to pursue their own thoughts, to record their dreams, to communicate with one another, without the feeling that they’re being encroached on, that somebody is prying into their private lives, I think is one of the great challenges of the 21st Century and it’s something that will guarantee the 22nd as well".
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Obama's '08 advocate Ed Koch Predicts a Political Tsunami - a Republican Victory in House and Senate

(Op-Ed By Ed Koch in YWN: The Coming Political Tsunami).For the last six months in various public forums, I have said that Republicans will take both the House and Senate. Most political observers, citing statistics from various states, continue to say that, while it appears certain that the House will go Republican, there are too few Senate seats in play for a Republican takeover. Further, many pundits state that Democrats will preserve their control of the Senate because the Republican Party has undermined itself by fielding whacko and semi-whacko candidates from the “tea party” wing or otherwise offering inferior candidates, e.g., Christine O’Donnell in Delaware, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Linda McMahon in Connecticut and Carly Fiorina in California.

Without being able to cite statistics that support my view, I nevertheless predict the Republicans will also take the Senate. Imagine what the Republicans could have done if they had really good and visionary leadership. But they don’t.

New York State notwithstanding, I predict that mounting anger around the country will carry Republicans to victory in both Houses of Congress.

Why would intelligent voters leave the Democratic Party that they endorsed so heavily two years ago in the 2008 presidential election? The reason is obvious – deep, deep disappointment in the record of President Obama. The President has wasted many opportunities in his term to date, and has lost by his own admission almost every battle for the hearts and minds of the electorate in pushing through Congress monumental legislation that he signed into law.

Why did the President and Congress insist on reinventing the wheel when it came to health care coverage? Weren’t there prototypes in Europe and elsewhere developed and used for more than 50 years with proven track records that could have been used as models? Did the President and Congress have to terrify people who had insurance coverage in order to provide coverage for the additional 32 million Americans covered under the new law? Couldn’t those without insurance have been attached in some way to the Medicaid rolls? Why did the President and Congress sell out to the prescription drug companies and strip Medicare of the right to negotiate volume discount purchases that could have saved U.S. taxpayers more than a trillion dollars over ten years? What rankles most for many, including me, is why have there been so few criminal prosecutions of those who are responsible for having brought the U.S. economy to its knees, destroyed the nation’s prosperity and caused millions of Americans to lose their homes, their jobs and a substantial portion of their retirement savings? Why when looking at Obama’s cabinet and advisers, do we see the faces of those who many hold responsible for the economic debacle?

It is for these reasons, I believe, the coming November tsunami will roll across America and give the Republicans, who are undeserving of the honor, control of both Houses. The American public is enraged and wants to punish those who have been in charge of the country. They know those who will replace incumbents may be as bad or worse, but they also believe they can’t do any greater damage. They are willing to put up with them until the next election to teach our elected representatives a monumental lesson — that public service is an honorable profession and must be performed competently and honestly.

We are an optimistic, generous people, who believe in fairness and justice. And we will be heard.
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Looking Ahead - Vote 'R' to reverse from the dangerous 'D'rive on wrong track

(Jacob Kornbluh-NY).President Obama has been using the D for Democrats putting things in Drive and the R for Republicans putting things in Reverse metaphor during recent speeches - liking the example of the car and the ditch he recently said "You want to go forward, you put it into D. You want to go backwards, you put it into R."

Here is my answer to President Obama: that example is good when you are on the right road, the right lane or right track, but if you accidentally or by purpose take the risk and enter a 1 way street the wrong way, and a Truck is approaching you in full speed, you have a second to make the choice, continue on D (Drive) You crash and die, reverse on R you escape and survive.

This is what the election is all about... we are not looking for HOPE, but Cope, how to survive in these difficult times, and to be rescued from the dangerous Journey Obama is taking us all, You vote for a Democrat candidate, you take the risk of being crushed under the wheels of that big truck, You make the right choice and reverse, you vote and elect a GOP candidate ,you have the chance to get back in the right direction.. and start from beginning the journey to your future...Yes Mr. Obama this is nothing about the past, nobody wants to relive the past..but we want a safe and bright Future, and the Way you took us in the past 2 years is just taking us to hell.
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Monday, August 2, 2010

Its Your Economy, Stupid! 48% Americans Blame Obama for Bad Economy

(Rasmussenreports).For the first since President Obama took office, voters see his policies as equally to blame with those of President George W. Bush for the country’s current economic problems.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters now think Obama’s policies are to blame for the continuing bad economy, up three points from last month. Forty-seven percent (47%) say the recession that began under Bush is at fault.

Fifty-five percent (55%) of men blame Obama’s policies for the current economic problems, while 52% of women think Bush is the cause.

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, Obama is now chiefly to blame by a 52% to 44% margin.

Sixty-two percent (62%) trust their own judgment more than Obama’s when it comes to the economic issues facing the nation. Twenty-seven percent (27%) trust the president’s judgment more. These findings have changed very little for months.
Republicans and unaffiliated voters strongly trust themselves more than the president when it comes to the economy. A plurality (48%) of Democrats place more faith in Obama.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of Mainstream voters trust their own economic judgment more than the president’s. Sixty-two percent (62%) of the Political Class trust the president more.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of voters currently rate the president’s handling of economic issues as good or excellent. Forty-seven percent (47%) view his handling of these issues as poor. These findings, too, have held relatively steady since last November.
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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Zogby predicts the Republicans to win the mideterm elections

(Newsmax).President Barack Obama and both major political parties face an uphill fight going into this fall’s midterm elections, pollster John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International, told Newsmax.TV.

Republicans and Democrats have solid control over their respective bases, but Zogby told Newsmax.TV’s Kathleen Walter that neither party has any credibility with independent voters.

“Both parties are in trouble because neither party have a message for the middle, but they do have a message for their base,” Zogby said.

He said this polarization can be seen in Obama’s poll numbers, which have been hovering around 50 percent due to support from his base. Zogby’s most recent poll had Obama with a 49 percent approval rating.

The president enjoys firm support from Democrats, including 88 percent of blacks, which has kept his poll numbers from collapsing further.

“[This] means that he’s wounded, he’s not fatally wounded by any stretch of the imagination, but he is wounded,” Zogby said. “That means he’s not able to translate that into a governing majority, and he just rolled the dice by getting back to a campaign promise, which was to solve problems to build consensus.

“He’s not building the consensus part, but at least he’s trying to do something with the jobs bill, with the healthcare bill, and it remains to be seen whether the American people favor stagnation and inaction or whether they favor a risk taker.”

Zogby says it remains to be seen if Obama’s gamble of sticking with the Democrats’ unpopular healthcare bill will pay off for him politically in the long run because people want something done about healthcare, and he will be able to tell voters he tried doing something.

Obama also faces an uphill fight when it comes to jobs because his efforts to stimulate the economy.

“Whatever is spent on stimulating the market may just very well stem the tide without growing the economy,” Zogby said. “We’re in for a tough job market for a while.”

But he said Americans think the private sector should create jobs rather than the government.

It’s too soon to discount Obama’s re-election chances, Zogby said, because similar efforts against Ronald Reagan in 1982 and Bill Clinton in 1995 proved premature.

But Zogby believes Republicans will benefit from the Democrats’ missteps and pick up 25 seats in the House and 10 seats in the Senate.

He predicts Illinois Republican Rep. Mark Kirk will pickup Obama’s former Senate seat and that Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., is vulnerable against former Rep. Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania, but he does not know how much damage Specter’s primary challenger, Rep. Joe Sestak, will inflict.

At the same time, he believes Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will successfully fend off his primary challenge from conservative former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.
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Friday, February 26, 2010

Gergen On CNN: Dems Didn't Get "Breakthrough" They Wanted; GOP "Had Their Best Day In Years"


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The Election is over, Hell Yeah! The Mistaken summit of Obama



The Democrats’ Mistake [Jay Nordlinger] - NRO: Let me try something out on you: This health-care summit was a bad idea for the Democrats for this reason: They have long benefited from a perception — a perception greatly abetted by the media: The Republicans don’t care about health care, they don’t know about health care, they are the Party of No. All the ideas and caring are on the Democratic side.


It is not so, and it has never been so. And now everybody knows it.


Yuval Levin: Things could surely change this afternoon, but so far it is hard to see how the Democrats are doing themselves anything but harm with the health-care summit.

Beyond particular observations about individual exchanges or moments I would say the morning’s session suggests three broad points. First, the Democrats appear to have no particular purpose in mind for this event. They’re not driving anywhere, or making a clear individual case, while Republicans clearly want to get across the point that we should scrap the current bills and start over in pursuit of a few incremental steps. The Democrats may have thought that simply putting the spotlight on Republicans when the subject is health care would make the GOP look bad. But Republicans so far seem prepared enough and focused enough to avoid that, and to make the Democrats look rather aimless by comparison.

Second, the Democrats are going to great lengths to argue that their bill incorporates some Republican ideas—by which they mean that it includes insurance exchanges and the like—suggesting that this means they are moving in the direction of Republicans and toward some middle ground. They fail to see (or to acknowledge) that while some similar mechanisms may be proposed by wonks on both sides, Republicans and Democrats in fact want to move in nearly opposite directions from our current health-care arrangements: Republicans toward a genuine individual market and Democrats toward a greater socialization of costs. That makes a great deal of what Obama and the Democrats said this morning basically meaningless. (This is a point I tried to argue more fully in this space a while back.)

Third, an important part of the Democrats’ problem is that Obama himself is their only star, and this format is not working for him. He certainly seems engaged and well informed (even given a few misstatements of fact, at least one of which John Kyl made very clear.) But he doesn’t seem like the President of the United States—more like a slightly cranky committee chairman or a patronizing professor who thinks that saying something is “a legitimate argument” is a way to avoid having an argument. He is diminished by the circumstances, he’s cranky and prickly when challenged, and he’s got no one to help him. The other Democrats around the table have been worse than unimpressive. The Republicans seem genuinely well-prepared, seem to have thought through the question of who should speak about what rather carefully, and several of them have done quite a good job making their case against the Democrats’ approach. If we were to judge by debating points, Republicans certainly won the morning handily.



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Romney's path to nomination: Stay competitive among conservatives, holding a large lead with moderates

(PPP Poll).Mitt Romney is the early preference, by a small margin, among Republican voters in both Texas and New Mexico to be their 2012 nominee for President.

In Texas he gets 32% with Mike Huckabee right behind at 29%, and Sarah Palin further back at 23%. In New Mexico he receives 33% to 32% for Palin and 18% for Huckabee.

The internals of these polls suggests a path to the nomination for Romney: stay competitive among conservative voters while holding a large lead with moderates. In Texas the three are bunched up among conservatives with Huckabee leading at 32% to 30% for Romney and 27% for Palin. But Romney's blowing the other two out of the water with moderates, getting 40% to 22% for Huckabee and 13% for Palin.

It's a similar story in New Mexico. Palin leads Romney 34-31 with conservatives, but Romney has the overall advantage thanks to a 37-29 advantage with moderates.

In each state Romney is particularly strong with senior citizens, who tend to comprise a large portion of the Republican primary electorate. He has an 11 point lead over Huckabee with them in Texas and 13 point lead over Palin with them in New Mexico.

Obviously it's incredibly early and things will change a lot between now and 2012, but it's a good sign for Romney to have even this small early advantage in a couple of states that are a long way from home.
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George Bush endorses Dick Cheney role defending past policies

POLITICO 44: For the first time, former President George W. Bush has said publicly that he approves of former Vice President Dick Cheney’s high-profile role in defending the past administration’s national security policies.

“I’m glad Cheney is out there,” Bush said Friday morning at a reunion breakfast that was the inaugural event for the Bush-Cheney Alumni Association.

The reception, held at a downtown Washington hotel, was closed to the press. Attendees supplied this account of the remarks.

Cheney originally had been scheduled to appear with Bush but did not come because he is recovering from a heart scare. Bush visited his former vice president in McLean on Thursday and said Cheney “is feeling well” and has “a fierce constitution.”

The former president started with a funny patter that several attendees related to stand-up. In announcing his book, he joshed: “This is going to come as quite a shock to people up here that I can write a book, much less read one.”

Turning serious, Bush said: “I don't want to be involved in politics, but I do in policy.” He talked about his own record, saying of his signature education reform: “No Child Left Behind was the most advanced civil rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act.”

Giving advice, he urged humility. “Don’t swagger. Sometimes I got carried away rallying the country," he said. "I think the swagger criticism was fair. A lot of others weren't. I hope I conveyed a sense that I was a lowly sinner who found redemption. I'm not better than anyone else. What makes me different from others is that I realized I needed help.”

“I’m religious — I confess,” he continued. “One of the challenges in life is: Maintaining religious piety is harder when the pressure is off than when it is on. But now there is still a dependency in a greater grace.”

Bush made it clear he plans to continue to keep a low profile: “I have no desire to see myself on television. I don't want to be a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I'm trying to regain a sense of anonymity. I didn't like it when a certain former president — and it wasn't 41 or 42 — made my life miserable.”
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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tim Pawlenty: “President Obama will be a one term President"

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Marco Rubio - The Republican Obama

(John B. Judis-TNR).Politicians who hold or aspire to high office have learned the hard way (e.g Trent Lott speaking at Strom Thurmond’s birthday party) that when you speak to a select group of loyalists in these viral times, you are also addressing a national audience, including people who would like nothing better than to latch onto some gaffe or fringe conviction. So when Marco Rubio—the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives who is running for Senate against Governor Charlie Crist (and leading in the polls)—spoke to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last Thursday, he had no easy task ahead of him.

This year’s CPAC reminded me of the Christian Coalition meetings of the early 1990s. It was carefully staged; the rhetoric was generally inflammatory; the participants, who numbered 10,000 or so, were passionate in their beliefs; and their beliefs oftentimes veered into the realm of the preposterous. A good many thought the best way to get out of the current economic slump was to drastically cut government spending, abolish the income tax and the Federal Reserve, and go back on the gold standard. Some wanted to close the borders, get rid of the United Nations, and impeach Obama.

In the booths on the main floor, where many of the CPAC visitors mingled, one of the largest and most popular displays was from the John Birch Society, which had been banished from the conservative mainstream by William F. Buckley Jr. three decades ago, for the insistence of its founder, Robert Welch, that Dwight Eisenhower was a Communist. In its booth, the Birch Society was selling CDs of Welch’s speeches. How was someone with dreams of becoming a U.S. senator in a state larded with independents and moderates supposed to cope with this assemblage?

Well, precisely as Rubio did. His speech to the group was a masterpiece of political positioning. He assiduously avoided endorsing any of the notions of the crackpot right. Nothing about abolishing the Fed. He was against “cap-and-trade,” but did not brand global warming a hoax. He also didn’t criticize Obama himself. In fact, he didn’t mention Obama’s name. Yet, he had the audience on its feet, and for the remainder of the three-day event, it cheered lustily whenever a speaker mentioned his name.

His trick consisted partly of echoing the great themes of conservative America: opposition to big government, support for free enterprise, a determination to defeat “radical Islam and the threat it poses through terror.” But he breathed life into these weather-beaten notions by infusing them with his own life story, which proved their worthiness and their applicability. Unlike many a prominent Republican, Rubio could not be said to have been born with a silver or even stainless steel spoon. The son of Cuban exiles—his father worked as a bartender and mother as a maid—Rubio first attended college on a football scholarship. His is the classic story of the American dream fulfilled.

In his speech, he related how his grandfather, who had grown up in rural Cuba, had told him “that because of where he was born and who he was born to, there was only so much he was able to accomplish. But he wanted me to know that I would not have those limits, that there was no dreams, no ambitions, no aspirations unavailable to me. And he was right. … I have never once felt that there was something I couldn't do because of who my parents were or weren't.”

That was because, of course, Rubio was born in the United States, not Cuba. In America, he said, “you can be anything you are willing to work hard to be. The result is the only economy in the world where poor people with a better idea and a strong work ethic can compete and succeed against rich people in the marketplace and competition. And the result is the most reliable defender of freedom in the history of the world.”

Rubio never talked about Republicans and Democrats. His speech hovered above partisanship. Instead, he talked about “those who haven't seen it this way. … They think that we need a guardian class in American government to protect us from ourselves. They think that the free-enterprise system is unfair, that a few people make a lot of money, and the rest of us get left behind. They believe that the only way business can make its money is by exploiting its workers and its customers. And they think that America's enemies exist because of something America did to earn their enmity.”

These other politicians were trying to “redefine our government, our economy, and our country,” he warned. “The leaders with this worldview … have used a severe economic downturn, a severe recession as an excuse to implement the statist policies that they have longed for all this time.”

Rubio isn’t the first politician to use this kind of appeal: Barack Obama and Bill Clinton blended biography and political vision in their successful presidential campaigns. But Rubio has taken their method and used it to promote a very conservative rather than a liberal or progressive agenda. And he has done it in such a way that never really spells out what the specific agenda is. Does he think global warming is a hoax? Does he think the stimulus cost jobs rather than created them? He never said one way or the other, but his conservative audience was somehow led to believe that, like them, he held these views.

Rubio also didn’t brand his political opponents socialists. He didn’t describe the White House as followers, as one daffy speaker put it, of Marx, Engels, Che Guevara, Hugo Chavez, and Saul Alinsky. But using his own life story, he framed the choice facing Americans in a way that evoked the contrast between his Horatio Alger capitalism and Obama’s or Nancy Pelosi’s socialism. America, he said, “is the only country in the world where today’s employee is tomorrow’s employer. And yet, there are still people in American politics who, for some reason, cling to this belief that America is better off adopting the economic policies of nations whose people immigrate here from there.”

Rubio wasn’t referring to immigrants from the capitalist Philippines or Costa Rica, but those, like his own family, who came from socialist Cuba. “Do I want my children to grow up in the country that I grew up in or do I want them to grow up in a country like the one my parents grew up in?” he asked. The audience knew immediately what he was saying—and the choice he was posing—but his incendiary message was implicit and softened by the insertion of his biography.

Other speakers at the CPAC convention who had similar or even greater political aspirations—such as Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich—also tried to stoke the audience’s passions without endorsing their specific policies or prejudices, but none did so as eloquently or credibly as Rubio. The 39-year-old Cuban-American who has the looks of a matinee idol and speaks with wit and vigor is a force to be reckoned with.
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Friday, February 19, 2010

Dick Cheney at CPAC : Barack Obama's 'a one-term president'

Former Vice President Dick Cheney made a surprise appearance this afternoon at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference gathering in Washington after a speech by his daughter, Liz Cheney. And a surprise proclamation.

He was greeted by cheers and chants of "Run, Cheney, Run!"

To which Cheney responded: "A welcome like that almost makes me want to run for office -- but I am not going to do it."Former Republican vice president Dick Cheney greets the crowd briefly at CPAC meeting Washington 2-18-10

The former representative, White House chief of staff, secretary of Defense and VP then stopped by the hall to chat with an old friend of his and The Ticket's, Scott Hennen, probably the Heartland's most prominent conservative talk-show radio host.

Cheney talked about his continuing concerns over the Obama administration's treatment of the man accused in the alleged Christmas Day bomb plot as a criminal case, not as part of a larger war on terror.

Cheney questioned the integrity of the Justice Department under the Democratic administration, especially its pursuit of investigations against CIA officials and attorneys from the previous administration.

Cheney repeated his support for the military strategy in Afghanistan outlined by Obama, who was off in Colorado today fundraising for embattled Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet.

And the Wyoming Republican even slipped in a plug for his daughter's website, KeepAmericaSafe.com. (Which has just posted a video of her CPAC speech, btw.)

Of special interest to politics fans awaiting the former VP's 2011 memoirs were Cheney's particularly outspoken responses to Hennen's questions about the nation's political situation in 2010.

This is the first midterm election year since Obama took office, historically a time when a new president's party suffers some membership losses on Capitol Hill.

Here are two Dick Cheney excerpts:

I think it is a combination of things. I think he totally misread the results of the last election.

He really believed he had some kind of a mandate to take the country in a radical direction...healthcare policy, cap and trade, economic policies, size of the government, the counter terrorism policy, and I think he’s been proven wrong on virtually every point.

We’re beginning to see the ramification of that now, and things like the Massachusetts election where Republicans captured that seat for the first time in 50 years, or what happened in Virginia and New Jersey. I think the year of 2010 is going to be a great year in congressional races, and I think President Obama is going to be a one-term president.

Another Dick Cheney excerpt:

I think 2010 is going to be a great year for Republicans. I was struck by the fact that Sen. Brown (who talked on election night in Massachusetts about his special election), that terrorism was on the top of the list of issues that he felt had been responsible for his victory in Massachusetts.

I think things are going to be very good this year, and for those of us in conservative causes, we need to get out there and do everything we can -- work hard. Lot of great candidates; we’ve got a lot of Democrats that I think are deciding not to run, like Sen. Bayh in Indiana.
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Romney trails Obama by only 2 points 43-45, Romney leads among Independents 43-38

After trailing in one of the hypothetical match ups on our monthly 2012 poll for the first timein January, Obama is back ahead of all the potential 2012 hopefuls. He's up 45-43 on Mitt Romney, 46-43 on Mike Huckabee, 50-43 on Sarah Palin, and 46-28 on John Thune.

For Romney this is his first time flying solo as the closest Republican to Obama. In the previous ten polls Huckabee was the closest nine times and the tenth was a tie between Huckabee and Romney. The former Massachusetts Governor fares the best of the GOP contenders among independents, leading Obama 43-38.

Huckabee falls back behind Obama after leading by a point a month ago. He's the most well liked (maybe least disliked is a better term) of the Republican field among Democrats at a 16/40 spread.

Palin continues to be the weakest of the leading trio of Republicans. Where Romney and Huckabee hold small leads with independents she trails by 10 points. She also loses 14% of the Republican vote to Obama compared to only 10% for Romney and 11% for Huckabee.
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"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" (Churchill)