2012 Election

[Ryan Ruck]

With news of a couple possible Republican presidential contenders, it's time to start up the 2012 Election thread!

Donald Trump Considering Presidential Run

January 5, 2011

Donald Trump has spent a great deal of time in the boardroom over the course of the past few years thanks to "The Apprentice" -- could he making a change soon to the oval office?

According to a new report from Forbes, the multi-millionaire -- who has had a bit of a rags-to-riches story -- claims that there are polls that would support him making a Presidential run. Not only that, but he apparently has extra motivation to go for it due to what he feels is a decline in America's place in the global economy:

“I hate what’s happened to our country. I hate what’s going on in respect to how other parts of the world are taking advantage of this country, whether it’s OPEC or China or many others, and I am seriously thinking about it.”

The only real stumbling block in Trump's campaign right now is that thanks to "The Celebrity Apprentice," he will not be able to formally announce a decision until after the show finale in May.

Michelle Bachmann Considers White House Bid

Aides say she hasn't made a decision. But "nothing is off the table."

January 5, 2011

Fresh off winning reelection and proving she can raise massive amounts of campaign cash, Rep. Michele Bachmann is beginning to consider a presidential run, according to close congressional aides.

As part of that effort, the Minnesota Republican will travel to the early caucus state of Iowa on Jan. 21 to confer with state GOP leaders and address a group of conservative tax activists.

That puts Bachmann in Iowa more than a week before former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who will appear there later this month as part of a book tour that starts in New York on Tuesday. Pawlenty has spent nearly two years laying the groundwork and building credentials for a possible presidential campaign. A Bachmann presidential run could complicate that.

Bachmann has made no firm decision about a White House bid in 2012, but "nothing is off the table," press aide Sergio Gor told the Star Tribune Wednesday, confirming an earlier ABC News report that quoted Bachmann chief of staff Andy Parrish.

Asked about presidential aspirations shortly after she was sworn in for a third term on Wednesday, Bachmann answered indirectly. "I'm continuing speaking out on the issues just as I have for the last few years," she told the Star Tribune. "Part of that will include going to Iowa and some of the caucus states. My commitment level remains the same, and that's to making sure that President Obama doesn't have a second term."

'A bigger picture'

Two sources familiar with Bachmann's plans but who requested anonymity were more direct, saying she is looking seriously at a presidential run.

Born in Waterloo, Iowa, Bachmann has deep roots in her native state and is a close ally of Rep. Steve King, a popular conservative in northern Iowa.

Bachmann is scheduled to be the headliner at a Des Moines fundraiser for Iowans for Tax Relief, an influential group of GOP fiscal activists. She contributed more than $30,000 to Iowa Republicans last year through her political action committee, MichelePAC, including $10,000 to Iowans for Tax Relief.

Whether or not Bachmann ultimately decides to run for the GOP nomination -- something political analysts rate as a long shot -- her aides say she intends to play a leading role in the effort to oust Obama.

"The Iowa trip is part of a bigger picture; there's a national story line here," said Bachmann communications director Doug Sachtleben, who worked on Republican Christine O'Donnell's high-profile but fruitless U.S. Senate bid in Delaware. Bachmann, he said, "really wants to take these opportunities to speak against President Obama and his policies. There have been a lot of grassroots efforts to encourage her to be a leader in that, and Iowa is part of that."

Obama, Sachtleben said, "is going to need to be replaced by a conservative, constitutionally based candidate for president. That's what she's speaking to."

Last week Bachmann traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., to campaign for state party chairman Bobby Schostak.

"She knows how important the 2012 presidential election is and what a vital role Michigan will play in it," Parrish said in an e-mail last week.

Talk of Bachmann's interest in the White House elicited mild surprise among political analysts, who thought her a more likely challenger to U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a DFLer who faces reelection in 2012.

"It seems to me she's been floated for every possible office except Queen of England," said Washington political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.

Klobuchar, who could face a costly reelection campaign against Bachmann, declined to comment on Bachmann's presidential prospects.

U.S. Rep. John Kline, the dean of the Minnesota GOP delegation to Congress, said "anybody who's interested is welcome to explore it and see what support they can gather." But, he added, "I'm supporting Pawlenty."

A Pawlenty spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Whatever Bachmann's current intentions, analysts see little downside in her decision to float a presidential bid. "It will get a lot of attention, because she is a national figure, and she likes it when a camera goes on," Rothenberg said.

Her possible interest in higher office comes shortly after she was spurned by House GOP leaders in her effort to chair the House GOP conference and win a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

'Message really resonates'

Bachmann's record of prodigious fundraising, inflammatory pronouncements on cable TV talk shows, and her founding of the House Tea Party Caucus have cemented the affection of conservative activists nationwide and sparked at least one website encouraging her to run for president.

Michael Snyder, of Carnation, Wash., created the blog "Michele Bachmann for President in 2012" more than a year ago.

"Her message really resonates with the Tea Party movement," said Snyder, adding that Bachmann was a stronger candidate than another female conservative who has received lots of attention over a potential 2012 run, former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

• Trump clearly has great business sense and would probably go very far in repairing our economy. I also know he has plenty of pride in America in how he's spoken about 9/11 and debate relating to Ground Zero and reconstruction. Only question marks I have are how connected he is with the rest of America since NYC and the rest of America are 2 completely different cultures, especially with regards to the 2nd Amendment. I'd also want to know more about his views of the military and his foreign policy in general. The Donald also has star power and recognition in his corner.
• Bachmann, from everything I've heard and read, is the quintessential Tea Party Conservative. Can't say I've heard anything bad about her that would give me pause but, I can also say I'd like to know a bit more about her background in depth. Because of Bachmann's front and center involvement in this Conservative revolution her name is gaining household recognition and despite sniping from typical Leftists, nothing negative seems to have really stuck out.

[Aramus]

P. Romney VP. Bachmann ticket?

[Ryan Ruck]

I am not at ALL keen on Romney. Just as Bachmann is the quintessential Tea Party candidate, Romney is the quintessential Blue Blood, elitist GOP candidate - the anti-Tea Party candidate if you will.

I respect his business sense but on everything else he has been a stinky turd whether it is his Romneycare or his anti-gun stance. I'd much rather see him as SecTreas than President.

As for President, I certainly wouldn't oppose Bachmann and I'm pretty sure I'd prefer Trump over Romney. Palin would be good except she is a lightning rod and would probably be a better fit as Republican chair instead of Steele. Other Presidential possibles I wouldn't mind considering:

• Jim DeMint - I like what I've heard from him when he's been out in the public spotlight. Need to look into him more.
• Allen West - The man's history speaks for itself. I did hear that he claims to support a waiting period on firearms purchases due to a family suicide but I believe with proper education that could be rectified and I highly doubt he'd go pissing off all gun owners because of a personal crusade over something like that.
• Marco Rubio - Same category as DeMint. I like what I've heard so far but will have to do more research.

[Ryan Ruck]

I would also like to add that if we can keep the Old Guard GOP candidates like Romney, Gingrich, Huckabee, etc. out of this race there are a number of pretty good up-and-comers.

[vector7]

With all the terrible news out lately I was listening to Savage on the way home yesterday with commentary only he can give on the Tuson shooting for the first 18 minutes.

He gives a blistering montage of where America is at, facing an unbelievable hypocrisy from the Left.

Then at the 18:00 minute mark Donald Trump shows up and starts in on China.

He gets it with trade deficits and depleting American jobs, it goes in line with the article below.


Here's the broadcast.

21ST CENTURY AMERICA: MADE IN CHINA

By Frosty Wooldridge
January 10, 2011
NewsWithViews.com

In the past week, I took a shopping tour in Denver, Colorado—my residence for the last four decades. Forty years ago, I walked into American stores like Sears, J.C. Penny’s, K-Mart and McDonald’s along with Ford, Chevy and Chrysler dealerships. I ate at Burger King, Dominos, Dairy Queen and Howard Johnson’s.

As a teenager, I wore Converse All-Stars for playing basketball. I pulled on my Wrangler or Levi jeans every day for school. The local shoe store kept my feet protected with American cowhide. Hanes and Fruit of the Loom provided my T-shirts.

As I grew older, I owned a ’57 Chevy, 68 Camaro, 73 Mustang and 79 Ford Pinto (Big mistake on the Pinto!). I bought gas for .24 cents a gallon when I hit 16.

I shopped at Ace Hardware with creaky wood floors. I bought screw drivers, drills and tools for my needs.

After college, I bought a Maytag washer and dryer. Sears and Penny’s carried everything I needed. I bought dining room, kitchen and bedroom furniture for my apartment.

What did everything I purchased carry in common? Answer: “Made in America”! I depended on quality and excellence. I knew that I strengthened America, kept Americans working and brought vibrancy to my country.

As a service brat, my father instilled in me the importance of God and country.

He drove it home to me about responsible citizenship: personal responsibility and personal accountability. During my early morning paper route, I dismounted from my bicycle and stood at attention with my hand over my heart when I heard the bugle for flag raising on the bases where I lived across America—from Camp LeJeune, North Carolina to the Marine Corps Supply Center, Albany, Georgia to the Marine base at Kaneohe, Hawaii on Oahu . Also, San Diego, California; Paris Island, South Carolina; Quantico, Virginia and more!

You might say that my love for my country runs deep, runs wide and runs full. At the same time, as a veteran world traveler across six continents and nearly 100 countries, I witnessed the other side of the coin.

Most Americans do not possess an iota of the poverty, misery, hunger, disease and hopelessness for several billion people on this planet. Too many of the planet’s citizens live like those in Haiti. You never hear about anyone actually starving to death in America, but each year, 18 million humans starve to death worldwide—included in that number—10 million children. (Source: www.WorldHealthOrganization.com)

That’s why I am acutely aware of America’s demise on multiple levels. How can anyone explain 15-22 million Americans unemployed and 42.4 million Americans subsisting on food stamps? What about 13.4 million American children living below the poverty level. Another 1.5 million Americans remain homeless! Why do you suppose that’s happening to our citizens on such a grand scale?

Here’s why!

We spend $12 billion a month rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan while our country slides down a frighteningly slippery slope! We spend unbelievable billions to send 572,000 of our military personnel to 700 bases around the world in 120 countries—to sit on their butts doing virtually nothing but burning time. For what? Answer: I don’t know! Do you? Can anyone in Congress give us a reasonable answer why we guard other countries’ borders but leave ours completely wide open to millions crossing illegally?

Because of our $700 billion annual trade deficit to other countries for making products that flood the USA markets, we suffer a $1.1 trillion debt to China. We stand nostril-deep in $13 trillion national debt.

However, I digress! When I took my shopping trip around Denver, I visited Lowe’s and Home Depot. As I wandered the aisles, I picked up drills, tool boxes, screw drivers and paints. I picked up bird cages, hummingbird feeders, American flags, snow blowers, garden hoses and 50 other items.

What did they enjoy in common: “Made in China”.

While I strolled the aisles of Wal-Mart, Target, L.L.Bean, Eddie Bauer, Nordstrom’s, Sports Authority, Macy’s and a dozen other stores, I discovered 90 percent of the tags read, “Made in China”! Yes, a good many other tags showed, “Made in Bangladesh” ; “Made in India” ; “Made in Mexico” ; “Made in Japan” and several other countries.

I found scant few that read, “Made in America”!

Why would our own U.S. Congress and last four presidents set our nation on such a path of eradicating, erasing and eliminating millions of well-paying American manufacturing jobs by shipping them off to other countries—to the detriment of our citizens?

Did someone elect congress-critters to offshore, outsource and insource our jobs into the hands and to the benefit of other citizens of other countries? Weren’t they elected to represent American citizens’ interests?

President Barack Obama, since he won’t release his birth certificate, we don’t know where he was “made”—so we may not be able to count on him. But this new U.S. Congress needs to work for Americans, for our best interests and for the future of our country!

Let’s re-examine H-1B, H-2B, L-1 and other visas when over 1.2 million American IT workers cannot find a job in their field. Let’s examine why the USA only creates 95,000 new jobs monthly but imports 200,000 immigrants and green card holders into this country every 30 days. Why? What benefit?

Who in Congress keeps doing that to our citizens? Why not bring manufacturing jobs back into our country and let China make and buy its own products instead of turning the USA into a debt-laden morass?

Why not return “Made in America” as the most honored, most quality and most logical method for bringing peace, prosperity and the American Way of Life back to our citizens? As my dad said, “Take responsibility and personal accountability in everything you do in this life.”

Barack Obama and Congress need to listen to my dad. He makes sense!

[Toad]

...As for President, .... Palin would be good except she is a lightning rod and would probably be a better fit as Republican chair instead of Steele. ...

I like Palin personally and respect what she has done. And I know I'm going to get some hate for saying this, but I consider her the Hillery Clinton of the right. She's a lightning rod, she's polarizing, I consider her unelectable. Yes, she's loved by true conservatives, but even within her own party she'll get no support at all from the moderates. Because she's polarizing, she'll rally the left so much, she'll need those moderate Republicans or it's SOL. The left would LOVE to see her run because she'll do a better job rallying their core than even they can.

OK. I'm in my flamesuit. Fire away.

[American Patriot]

Not hate, Toad, take this for what it is worth.

For over thirty years I've sat on my ass and watched while the Left has scream, yelled, done violent, reworded phrases (like "Choice" instead of "murder" where abortion is concerned). The Left has used Alansky tactics for so long now it's ingrained into their very being.

Polarizing effect? No, Toad, that came from the left.

If the Right doesn't polarize, doesn't get in order, doesn't use the same tactics - yelling, screaming, bringing attention to the FACTS and stand up for their rights they will LOSE them.

"Electability"? What is that? We put too much emphasis on the ability of a person to be "Presidential" and not enough on Common Sense in this country lately.

I want a President that is "Manly" - one that isn't a sissified, Leftist, Feel-Good, take-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor person.

I haven't seen ONE man, other than Fred Thompson who was like that - and he 1) dropped out of the race early on after I donated money, 2) Joined this damned "Reverse Mortgage" movement.

Yeah, he's a lawyer, he's an actor - but the man has a down-home, smart-thinking attitude about himself. He doesn't take bullshit off people.


I haven't seen ONE OTHER MAN step forward to take the position. I think the rest of them are lousy actors (and we need someone who can BEHAVE LIKE AN ACTOR in front of the world - as in "Don't you dare, Iran, go forward with that tack... remember the Hostages? Remember Ronald Reagan? Reagan was my friend. I have a button you don't have....." Scare the pants off them)

Sarah Palin is the only WOMAN I've see who is MAN enough to do the job.

Unless of course *I* run.

Then Move Over Sarah.

Honestly. I could be a better President than most of those people.

[Ryan Ruck]

"Electability"? What is that? We put too much emphasis on the ability of a person to be "Presidential" and not enough on Common Sense in this country lately.

I agree 100% with you but realistically, there are a LOT of stupid people out there and they believe things like Sarah Palin actually saying "I can see Russia from my house." This public stupidity, through no fault of her own, has damaged her public image.

Sarah Palin is the only WOMAN I've see who is MAN enough to do the job.

That's what I like about Michelle Bachmann. She's Sarah Palin without the baggage. She's been in the spotlight to become known but not enough to have SNL skits done to make her out to be an idiot.

All that said, if Palin is the only Conservative in the fight, she'll enthusiastically have my vote!

[American Patriot]

Technically, Ryan, the remarks about seeing Russia from her house are true. She was a Governor of Alaska. Russia is about 60 miles from Alaska - and it is certainly an allegorical - or symbolic example she used.

The actual context of the discussion went:

"GIBSON: What insight into Russian actions, particularly in the last couple of weeks, does the proximity of the state give you?

PALIN: They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.

GIBSON: What insight does that give you into what they're doing in Georgia?

PALIN: Well, I'm giving you that perspective of how small our world is and how important it is that we work with our allies to keep good relation with all of these countries, especially Russia. We will not repeat a Cold War. We must have good relationship with our allies, pressuring, also, helping us to remind Russia that it's in their benefit, also, a mutually beneficial relationship for us all to be getting along. "

And YES, I agree people are stupid because they HEAR what someone else parrots and thinks it's true. This is WHY I get so angry when people bring up conspiracy theories. I get tired of re-explaining facts that people could and SHOULD easily locate and read on their own.

I've personally NEVER expected people to "take my word" for anything... but I certainly try to do some research on a subject before I show my stupidity on it. I would expect exactly and precisely the same out of my opponents in an argument - that they look up what I'm saying and know I'm being factual and NOT SPINNING an argument.

In this country we're inundated by "argument" which is really not argument at all. The bozos arguing about creating a safe zone around congresspersons, banning guns and shutting down "right wing talk radio" are not arguing FACTs, they are making up material as they go along and spinning lies and nonsense then obfuscating as they go.

We ALL know how they hated Bush and said some of the most evil things, wanted him killed (and said it out LOUD on posters even, and in articles for God's Sake) and WE LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

And yet they make it SOUND like our side is doing it - so you have people who believe all the BS and blame Palin for things she didn't say.

BECAUSE WE LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT.

[vector7]

Is Kathy Griffin Going Too Far Targeting 16-Year Old Willow Palin?

By Hollie McKay
Published January 04, 2011
| FoxNews.com




Kathy Griffin announced her New Year’s resolution to continue a verbal assault on the Palin family. Only in 2011, the comedian said she intends to target Sarah Palin’s 16-year-old daughter, Willow.

"I've already gone for Sarah, Todd and Bristol obviously," Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter. "But I think it's Willow's year to go down. In 2011, I want to offend a new Palin.”

Could Griffin be switching to a younger, easier Palin target following her Bristol backfire in December?

YOU DECIDE: Should a 16-Year-Old Be Held Up for Public Ridicule?
On a special that aired Dec. 5, Kathy Griffin was jeered by the audience after attacking Bristol Palin for being “fat” while hosting the VH1 Divas “Salute to the Troops.” Griffin called the 20-year-old “the white Precious,” referring to Gabourey Sidibe’s role as an obese and abused teen mother in the 2009 Lee Daniels drama.

The incident provoked widespread criticism.

“Calling Bristol Palin fat is inappropriate and distasteful, even under the guise of humor,” body image expert and author of “Love Your Body Love Your Life,” Sarah Maria told Pop Tarts at the time. “The problem is that people, and particularly young people, easily absorb the ideas, beliefs, and attitudes that are presented to them."

Bristol Palin herself responded, telling Pop Tarts that “The audience's reaction to this ‘comedian’ spoke volumes, and the decent people I know would probably have booed her, too.”

RELATED: Bristol Palin Responds to Kathy Griffin's 'Fat' Attack.
Hollywood publicist Angie Meyer says Griffin’s targeting of Willow, a minor, is even worse.

“To attack a young girl solely because of her last name seems rather contradictory of the types of justice she champions for others,” Meyer said. “A 50-year-old woman who chooses to attack a 16-year-old girl publicly at a time when cyber-bullying and teenage suicide are at their highest reported rates, not only sets irreconcilable example for others, it’s tasteless, immoral, and frankly – classless."

Griffin said she was going after Willow because the teen reportedly used homophobic slurs on Facebook. "She's called people a fa---t on Facebook a couple of times," Griffin told the Hollywood Reporter. "You don't throw around the f-word without hearing from me about it."

Willow Palin was reportedly in an online argument with some Facebook members making fun of “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.” And Bristol Palin already apologized for her sister’s alleged comments, posting on her own Facebook page that “Willow and I shouldn't have reacted to negative comments about our family. We apologize.”

Entertainment industry expert Jenn Hoffman said Willow Palin’s involvement in her mother’s reality show could also open her up to scrutiny. “Willow Palin is fair game for media scrutiny the same way Ali Lohan is also considered fair play for satire and criticism,” Hoffman said.

But show business reporter Gayl Murphy says Griffin’s attacks simply aren’t funny as their target, a 16-year-old girl, is basically defenseless.

“Willow isn’t the problem. If she (Griffin) really is a gifted comic, be gifted and be hilarious,” Murphy said. “It’s not a good fight unless the person you attack can defend themselves …then we’ve got something to laugh about!”

- Deidre Behar contributed to this report.

[Toad]

Rick -

I totally respect and understand your opinion and point of view. I stand with what I said about Palin. The reality of 24/7/365 media sucks. That good people can be targeted, smeared, and end up tainted with untrue baggage they have to fight through election cycles sucks. It's gotten to the point the later you enter the race the better, because it's less time to get smeared. She's been in headlines for quite some time now and like Ryan says, has a LOT of baggage. Some true, some media twisted, some outright BS to be repudiated.

"Electability", "polarizing"? If one side plays that game, the other side is forced to defend against that game. We don't like it. But it's like a home intruder kicking in your back door saying he wants your little girl. You sure as hell didn't ask for it or want it, but there it is. You're forced to sack up and respond to it. I know for a fact from all your posting you know that and live that.

There's a little less than 2 years left. Palin's in a tough spot. I give her MAJOR kudo's for having more balls than 99% of the male politicians out there and being CLEAR, BOLD, and undeniably REAL. She isn't poll driven, she isn't marketed like a product, she isn't anything like the overwhelming majority of BOTH parties in DC. I'd vote for her simply on the fact she's Jane Average you'd meet at the corner cafe for a burger and talk smack about the school board, the HS kids painting the water tower pink, and why potholes in front of the grain elevator haven't been repaired in 2 years now.

But big time American politics is fucking soundbites, 30 sec commerical clips, 15 sec mud slings, negative buzz words, and half truths sold as pure gold.

We are a representative republic. My 1 vote is pushed not to someone who I 100% agree with, but someone I agree with more than anyone else. And politics in America is Vegas. I also have to take into consideration, do I want to go with person A I'm on board with 90% but has a 45% chance of winning, or person B I'm on board with 65% but has a 85% chance of winning? Either are better than the opponent I'm 100% hating. AND I have to take into consideration what my neighbors are thinking to some degree. Are more of them for person "B"? If I vote A will asshole "C" get my districts vote? (I know, I shouldn't let my vote be driven by others votes, but that's real world. Hate it, but that happens coast to coast with regular people.) If I throw in with "B" will my district at least not go to asshole "C"? You can take a moral high ground, but this is very real. It's why redistricting happens every 10 years with the census and knowing who votes what.

I no longer believe in absolutes. Politics is a shifting chess game that the pieces are not black and white. You're picking one piece to move forward for a killing stroke and it's not entirely clear 6 turns ahead which piece has the best chance. You're looking for the darkest or lightest grey and throwing your chips in early for a commitment and doing your damnest to react to your opponents smart counter moves.

I'm not a pestamist. I'm a realist. I look for the diamonds amidst the gravel and I look out for myself and mine. God know I have only a few dozen loved ones looking out for me against the millions of apathetic.

Right here and now - like my original post, I don't have confidence Palin is our best chess piece. But we're still 2-ish years out. Like Ryan, I REALLY want to see the other contenders come forward.

(and Rick - Thanks for the post above. Well articulated, even if we're not 100% agreed.)

[American Patriot]

I would rather lose a fight that was based on principles than win one based on a third party making me look good with sound bytes.

Let me explain....

Because the Left does this, and they use only sound bytes to make their person look good and ours look bad - does this mean we should simply give up and move on to another person that can be more favorably seen through the eyes of sound bytes of the Leftist Media?

NO.

Palin is more electable than ANYONE. That the Leftist Media wants to keep her down and out makes it VERY CLEAR that they detest her, they want to make her look bad, stupid or whatever, and they are DOING IT FOR A REASON.

That reason is they FEAR HER (as they would fear me were I to run for an office). I stand on principles. So does Governor Palin.

I am a tough cookie. So is Mrs. Palin.

I do not take crap off people. Neither does Mrs. Palin.

I wouldn't expect someone to back out of a battle because "the look bad in the media" - only if they look at themselves and they look bad. Obama should have backed out long ago. So should have people like McCain and some of the others.

They are "more of the same". Governor Palin is just precisely what this country needs, a WOMAN who understands American, the American government, has been an "Executive officer" (She was the Gov of the biggest state in the union and contrary to what the left says, she WAS staring down the barrel of the Soviet War Machine - and would have been first to be hit and first to defend our country).

That someone ELSE makes her "appear bad" is NOT a reason to call her unelectable.

It's all the MORE reason to get out and help her look GOOD (Not that she needs help in that.....) /chuckles

[Ryan Ruck]

From what I've heard another potential contender may be throwing their hat into the ring. Former CEO of Godfather's Pizza, Herman Cain, has set up a Presidential Exploratory Committee.

I've heard him fill in for a host over the Christmas/New Year break and liked what I heard. Seems like a pretty solid conservative though I'd like to hear more of his views on things. Also, he has plenty of executive experience having run Godfather's Pizza for a number of years.

Links for more information:

http://www.hermancain.com/

http://townhall.com/columnists/HermanCain/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman_cain

[vector7]

Barack Obama's 2012 cash challenge

• 825 Comments

Raising money won't be as easy this time around, some of the president's donors warn. | AP Photo

By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 1/14/11 4:37 AM EST

Bracing for a half-billion-dollar onslaught of outside GOP cash in 2012, President Barack Obama’s advisers are quietly working to bring back together the major donor base that produced a record-breaking fundraising haul in his first run for president.

In the past few months, Democratic National Committee aides have contacted several of Obama’s earliest financial backers to brainstorm about when and where to host the first money-raising events. Several big donors said they expect the Obama 2012 operation to open its doors this spring, with a string of fundraisers to generate the early cash needed to rebuild the president’s high-tech campaign operation.

VIDEO: Harris on $1 billion re-election

But already some of Obama’s top financial backers are warning the White House: Raising money won’t be as easy this time around.

“They are getting organized in Chicago to start a massive two-year campaign, which I believe will be successful, but has extraordinarily large challenges in some of the major states,” said Philadelphia philanthropist Peter Buttenweiser, who hosted one of the first Obama presidential fundraisers in 2007 and is in talks to organize an early one for the re-election.

Obama’s team is running into resistance in at least one key fundraising hub — New York City, where some of Obama’s biggest 2008 backers have bitterly protested last year’s passage of financial reform legislation and what they perceived as an unfair bad-mouthing of bankers during the debate.

Obama was scheduled to go to New York this week to meet with about 25 large bundlers and supporters – and maybe clear the air – but that event was canceled after the Tucson shootings at the congressional event of Rep.Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), according to one prominent New York fundraiser.

In other places, such as Pennyslvania, top donors say Obama has to get in line behind other candidates who need the cash more urgently. And some donors are worried that the party has been slow off the mark in responding to the latest onslaught of GOP fundraising, millions of dollars raised from secret donors by a variety of Republican outside groups, including two associated with former Bush advisers Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie.

Wealthy donors and the Democratic operatives anxious to start up competing outside organizations that can blunt the Rove groups are growing frustrated as they await more specific direction from the Obama team about what form those efforts should take and who should lead them.
In interviews, several said two developments could quickly set things in motion: Creation of an outside group by an obvious Obama insider, or a major donation from a high level Obama supporter, such as Chicago fundraiser Penny Pritzker, to an existing group.

So far, neither of those things has occurred even as the GOP groups ready themselves for the race. “We are stumbling around,” said one Democratic fundraiser and activist.

To be sure, it’s early, and Obama and his team have proven to be prodigious fundraisers. In 2008, the president raised $745 million and became the first nominee in modern history to decline public funding and finance his campaign entirely with private money.

Simply duplicating that record-breaking sum would be a feat, particularly when Obama’s candidacy won’t be softly wrapped in the inspirational and historic themes of his first race, but he’ll run on an ambitious record of legislative accomplishments – victories that haven’t yet been embraced by his liberal base but have energized his Republican adversaries.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories...#ixzz1B2uxBbxk

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Trump: Mideast Explosion Could Destroy OPEC, Lower Oil Prices

Sunday, 30 Jan 2011 04:43 PM
Article Font Size
By Jim Meyers and Kathleen Walter

Donald Trump is mad as hell — and he’s letting everybody know it.
In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV on Friday, the billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star lashes out at China, OPEC, Obama’s Middle East dealings, the president’s State of the Union address and more.

Trump takes aim at America’s “horrible” trade agreements, declares that the Middle East is going to explode, warns about “catastrophic” oil prices, and charges that Obama’s Afghanistan policy is “dangerous and stupid.”
He also complains that the United States is a “laughing stock” throughout the world — and confirms that he is seriously considering running for president in 2012.

Asked directly about a possible run, Trump tells Newsmax: “I’m thinking about it. I’m looking at what’s happening with this country and frankly, it’s very sad. I see what’s happening left and right, how we’re being abused by other nations, and I don’t like it. I don’t like what’s happening with jobs. I am seriously thinking about it.”



Jan. 30, 2011; Real estate mogul Donald Trump tells Newsmax.TV he probably will announce his candidacy for president in June. The New York billionaire is confident he can restore the United States to glory after President Barack Obama has made America "a laughingstock.

Trump says if he does run it will be as a Republican and not as a third party candidate, and explains why he would run.

“I love the country. I’ve done well in the country. My businesses have never been better because I’ve made some good decisions. It shouldn’t be good. It should be terrible because a lot of other businesses are terrible. But I’ve made some very good decisions.

“I love the country and I hate what’s happening to the country. In 12 years China will take over as the world’s leading economic power, if not sooner, and the way we’re going this country will not be a great country as it was anymore. That’s so very very sad to me.”

Trump has a lot more to say about China.

“I’m a big buyer of products, and I’m also unfortunately a big buyer of Chinese products,” he says. “It’s very hard not to buy Chinese products, including sheetrock, which has destroyed many a development and many a life.

“I’ll say this: We make better products than China. The problem is they manipulate their currency so badly that it’s almost impossible for a person like me to buy outside China.

“I want to buy an American product. The Chinese products come in, they’re cheaper. They’re not as good but they’re cheaper. And it’s not because of their workers, it’s because of their manipulation of their currency.

“Another thing: If you try to do business in China, it’s almost impossible. They want all your technology. They want you to build your plants in China.

“We have a very weak policy. Whether it’s China, or the horrible agreement just signed with South Korea, or any of the other horrible deals that we make, we don’t have the ability to make good deals with other countries.

We’re like a whipping post for other countries. We are standing there and being beaten by South Korea, by Mexico, by China, by India. If you have a problem with a credit card and you call somebody up, that person is based in India.

“And then they wonder why we’re not going to have jobs for another five or six years.

“Ben Bernanke said recently it’s going to be at least five years before our jobs really come back. And I say, why? All our jobs are going to China. We’re rebuilding China and other places.”

Trump insists the United States needs to change its trade policies with the People’s Republic.

“If we ever taxed Chinese products coming into this country, we would pay off the debt so fast. More importantly, we would start creating jobs in our country.

“They cheated at the Olympics with their gymnasts, they’re cheating us with their manipulation of the currency. They’re not our friends. I know them very well. I do business with them. I’m not angry at them. I just can’t believe that they can get away with it.

“My friends from China said to me just recently — they didn’t know that I might be thinking about running for president — we cannot believe how stupid your politicians are to allow us to get away with what we’re getting away with.

“They thought they were talking to me as a business guy and they were all laughing and smiling. We are a laughing stock throughout the world.”

Referring to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, Trump says: “He didn’t talk about the deficit, he didn’t talk about how to pay off all the debt that we have. Instead he’s telling everybody what a great country China is, that China has the fastest computer in the world. That should be for the president of China to talk about, not President Obama.

“Unless we get tough, and smart, and unless we stop having dinners for people that are destroying us, like when the president of China came two weeks ago to this country and we gave him a great state dinner, we’re going to have big problems.”

Trump has a surprising response to speculation that the turmoil in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East could push oil prices to as high as $200 a barrel.

“It also could go the other way. Frankly, the Middle East is a tinderbox. It’s going to explode. OPEC will probably be destroyed if it explodes, and oil prices could go the other way.

“I understand economics. You break up what would normally be an illegal monopoly, OPEC, and break it up very strongly. The Middle East is exploding, and I’m saying that could have a positive impact on oil prices.

“If you look at oil right now, it’s soon going to be $100 a barrel. Far too high. It’s set by OPEC. I think OPEC would explode with the Middle East and that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”

Trump has especially harsh words for OPEC and its grip on oil prices.

“I think it’s unfair. I think it’s illegal,” he declares. “If you have a store and I have a store and we collude and set prices, we go to jail.

“Here you have 12 men, in this case all men, they sit around a table and they set the price of oil.

“We have so much oil. There’s so much oil out at sea. I see $3.50 for a gallon of gas. Cars are lined up trying to get it, and at $3.50. It’s a shame. It’s a ridiculous shame.

“Plus we don’t use our natural gas. We have more natural gas than anybody. Why we not using it is an amazing thing.

“Abu Dhabi, which has plenty of oil, just went to all natural gas for transportation because they want to sell us the oil at exorbitant prices. When you tell me about Obama and what he’s doing in the Middle East, I don’t think he’s doing anything in the Middle East.”

Trump warns of the dangers to the United States posed by OPEC and high oil prices.

“We have to do something about OPEC because that’s the life blood of the country. Right now, until we get on natural gas and other things, they really have us, and they’re sitting around inflating the price.

“When we had our problem not so long ago, a few years ago, oil was almost $150 a barrel. They’re blaming the banks, and the banks were terrible, and lots of other things were terrible, but I give a lot of the credit for the almost collapse of this country to the price of oil. It’s going to be up there again very soon and you’re going to have another catastrophic problem.

“By the way, any time a country comes up with oil they invite them in. Join OPEC. The United States is stupid, the people who represent the United States are really stupid, so join us and we’ll take advantage of the United States, sell them oil at inflated prices. They’re draining our life blood. We cannot allow that to continue. What kind of power do we have over OPEC? They wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for us.”

Asked where he thinks the price of oil is headed, Trump responds: “I think it could go, with proper leadership, down to $40 a barrel. I think if we continue the way it is, it’s going to go up to $150 a barrel.”

Turning to Afghanistan and the timeline President Obama has proposed for withdrawal of American troops, Trump tells Newsmax: “We should be out of there as soon as possible. At the same time, when Obama announced that he’s going to be out at a certain date, these militants are just sitting back saying, ‘He gave us a specific date. This is fantastic. We’ll just sit back and then we’ll take it over the minute they leave.’

“So for him to give a date was a very dangerous, stupid, and foolish thing to do.”

In Part Two of Trump’s interview, he rips banks, Obamacare, American diplomats, spending on Iraq and Afghanistan, and more. It will appear Monday night.

Editor's Note: See these other Newsmax Exclusives:

• Trump: Obama 'Isn't Doing Anything in Middle East'
• Trump: U.S. 'Whipping Post' for World Under Obama
• Trump: 'I'm Thinking About' Running for President

[vector7]

The Manchurian Candidate

by Mike Emanuel | January 31, 2011

• 11 Comments

U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman arrives before President Barack Obama welcomes China's President Hu Jintao during a state arrival on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Senior White House officials confirm they do expect U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman to resign this spring, and explore a possible 2012 Republican presidential bid.

But during Monday's briefing, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs backed away from conclusions that Huntsman will run for the presidency.

"I've talked to several people in the building," Gibbs said. "And I have not heard anybody say they know what the future holds for Ambassador Huntsman, except to say, as I said earlier, that he will leave sometime in the first part of the year.

The former Utah governor has avoided speaking about his political future publicly, but the campaign buzz continues.

President Obama nominated Huntsman ambassador back in May 2009 - mere months after Huntsman had been re-elected as governor. It was the first and only publicly announced nomination for an ambassador made by this president, and the treatment was befitting. Not only was Mr. Obama tapping a Republican, but a Republican who co-chaired his opponent's, Senator John McCain, presidential campaign. "I know that Jon is the kind of leader who always puts country ahead of party and is always willing to sacrifice on behalf of our nation," the president said.

When asked about the 2012 rumors at a press conference earlier this month with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Mr. Obama praised his ambassador's expertise in the region, noting specifically Huntsman's fluency in Mandarin Chinese and again, his party affiliation.

"He has brought enormous skill, dedication, and talent to the job. And the fact that he comes from a different party I think is a strength, not a weakness, because it indicates the degree to which both he and I believe that partisanship ends at the water's edge, and that we work together to advocate on behalf of our country," the president said.

"So I couldn't be happier with the ambassador's service. And I'm sure he will be very successful in whatever endeavors he chooses in the future," Mr. Obama said, smiling, "And I'm sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in any Republican primary."

[vector7]

Aid to eye White House, Jon Huntsman ends popular run as ambassador to China

Jon Huntsman, whose resignation as ambassador to China was announced Monday, has earned widespread respect among both American businessmen and Chinese officials.



US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and Chinese Ambassador to the US Zhang Yesui wave to China's President Hu Jintao as his plane departs O'Hare International airport in Chicago in this Jan. 21 photo.
Frank Polich/Reuters
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By Peter Ford, Staff Writer / February 1, 2011
Beijing Jon Huntsman, whose resignation as ambassador to China was announced Monday, has earned widespread respect among both American businessmen and Chinese officials during his two years in Beijing.

The former Republican governor of Utah will be leaving his post in the next few months, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. The move will leave Mr. Huntsman free to consider a possible run for the US presidency.

Huntsman, a fluent Mandarin speaker, has been ambassador during a contentious period in US-China relations; in the past two years Beijing and Washington have clashed over currency and trade issues, territorial questions in the South China Sea, and policy toward Iran.

“He did a lot in difficult conditions to protect Sino-US relations,” says Shi Yinhong, an expert in US affairs at Renmin University in Beijing. “He helped steer the relationship through the storm, and he leaves quite a positive image.”

Respected by bicyclists, business community

The ambassador, who could sometimes be seen on weekends riding his bicycle with his family around Beijing, “earned a lot of respect from the American business community,” says Patrick Chovanec, who teaches economics at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Huntsman's family firm Huntsman Corp., a global chemicals manufacturer, has investments in China. And as a businessman himself, Huntsman “was a very effective spokesman for US interests in China,” adds Professor Chovanec.

Though unfailingly urbane and diplomatic in public, Huntsman expressed himself more bluntly in cables to the US State Department, as illustrated by WikiLeaks. In one February 2010 cable he accused the Chinese government of “muscle-flexing, triumphalism, and assertiveness.” A month earlier he had complained that Chinese investment regulations “add to the overall sense that China plays unfairly in the global marketplace.”

WikiLeaks’ revelations of these “quite realistic and hard opinions,” says Professor Shi, “were regrettable for his image among some Chinese scholars and maybe the government.”

Huntsman for president?

Although his Mormon faith is seen as a potential political liability, Huntsman is widely believed to be pondering a 2012 presidential bid against his current boss, Barack Obama. President Obama referred slyly to such a prospect during a press conference last month with visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao. “I’m sure that him having worked so well with me will be a great asset in a Republican primary,” he said with a laugh.

Such a bid would have a historical precedent, points out Chovanec, who is a former aide to House Speaker John Boehner. In the 1964 presidential campaign, Republicans unenthusiastic about both Barry Goldwater and Nelson Rockefeller launched a write-in campaign on behalf of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., a Republican serving a Democratic president as ambassador to South Vietnam.

Mr. Lodge never built a campaign organization even after winning the Republican primary in New Hampshire, and Mr. Goldwater won the nomination. “If Huntsman is better organized, the result might be different,” Chovanec speculates.

[zenbudda]

if palin is the rep candidate for p or vp, obama's in for another term. we all vote for what we believe in. it's time to put someone in the white house who not only understands how to manage multi-trillion dollar debts but global policies. palin is not this person. trump would "attempt" to boost our economy. and without a doubt, if the "powers that be" actually let him do it, it would work. in his view, we'd be turning our backs on china, which means he better have some damn good advisors on how to stand off with the chinese.

if palin is on the final ballot, republicans lose until they get the picture that "mrs. mom of america" has no business running our country.

[American Patriot]

if palin is the rep candidate for p or vp, obama's in for another term. we all vote for what we believe in. it's time to put someone in the white house who not only understands how to manage multi-trillion dollar debts but global policies. palin is not this person. trump would "attempt" to boost our economy. and without a doubt, if the "powers that be" actually let him do it, it would work. in his view, we'd be turning our backs on china, which means he better have some damn good advisors on how to stand off with the chinese.

if palin is on the final ballot, republicans lose until they get the picture that "mrs. mom of america" has no business running our country.

Zen...

I have to ask you what the hell you people have against Palin. That's my wife, my sisters, my mother were she still alive and my aunts. She exactly what I grew up with and there's not a DAMNED thing wrong with her except what people make up.

She was a governor. Ran a state. She was indeed the first place that would have been hit if Russia attacked. Here state and National Guard would have been in the forefront of the battle. She HAS the experience as an EXECUTIVE to do the job. So does Trump, but in a very different way, from a purely business perspective.

When it comes down to it, she has run a state government - and running a state is very, very little difference from running the whole country - with the exception that you have more people, a bigger military budget and you deal with ALL the states' governments through other venues.

*I* was more qualified to act as President than Obama. Palin was too, and she's more qualified to act as President than McCain was.

But - if it comes down to it, I think Trump would make a better President as far as our economic concerns go. He has a lot more experience managing large sums of money. But you know damned well the Left will scream about how "The government is helping Big Business" and not helping "ME ME ME". You know it.

[Ryan Ruck]

As I've said before, I think Sarah Palin is a good fit for a national leadership position. Perfect? No. But, even Ronald Reagan wasn't perfect (though better than Palin, in my opinion).

You can be certain that there are far worse possibilities out there such as Gingrich, Huckabee, or Romney.

As I have also said, I think her best fit would have been as head of the GOP.

I will tell you this though. Palin is the only reason why McShame did as well as he did in 2008. If there had not been a real Conservative, as Mrs. Palin is, on that ticket I can guarantee there would have been 4 fewer votes in Ohio.