Tag Archives: Presidential Election

August 15, 2011 · 10:12 pm

Why Rick Perry is headed to the White House: CNN

Scary, Scary article from James Moore at CNN.com….

Governor Goodhair is by far the most frightening of the possible GOP nominees.  He’s ruthless, campaigns very well, is telegenic and from the State that  gave us George W. Bush.  I also suspect he is the pick of the Corporations and the Rich who don’t think Romney or any of the other lunatics can beat President Obama.  They also want to use his religious zealotry to use the Religious Right again.

I can see how they are thinking:  Supporter of Corporations and the Rich.  Check.  Christian Conservative- at least on face value- check.  Looks good on TV and print media.  Check.  And so on….

I think Mr Moore has some valid points, but there is a lot about Rick Perry that has not yet been exposed to the national media….

However, if he is the nominee, it will be the nastiest, most brutal Presidential campaign we have ever seen….

My gut tells me he will fizzle out as time goes by, but I could be wrong as well…

Editor’s note: James Moore is a Texas-based Emmy award-winning former national TV news correspondent and co-author of the best-seller, “Bush’s Brain.”

Austin, Texas (CNN) — As a resident of Texas for 36 years, I keep wondering why the rest of the nation pays any attention to our political and cultural absurdities and yet still chooses Texans as presidents. Our most revered historical moment, the Alamo, was arguably a mass suicide. The slaughter in San Antonio was followed by a massacre at Goliad, the fall of the Confederacy to Union forces, and later by the Houston Astros. Texas has a legacy of losing.

None of this apparently matters, though, because America is beginning the process of electing another Texan to be president. Gigantic tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations, a trumped up war and a ruined economy from the last Texan seem incapable of dissuading supporters of Rick Perry.

His Saturday speech in South Carolina will make clear that he is entering the race for the White House and will spawn the ugliest and most expensive presidential race in U.S. history, and he will win. A C and D student, who hates to govern, loves to campaign, and barely has a sixth grader’s understanding of economics, will lead our nation into oblivion.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

via Why Rick Perry is headed to the White House – CNN.com.

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June 22, 2011 · 8:17 pm

Rick Perry Gay Rumors: Governor’s Aides Prepared To Tackle Allegations

This was quite the buzz a few years ago in Texas and on the internet…

I truly hope it’s not true.  I don’t want him in my Club….

From The Huffington Post:

Texas Governor Rick Perry’s camp is prepared to tackle unfounded rumors dating back to as early as 2004 about the Lone Star State Republican’s personal life should he run for president and the allegations resurface, according to Politico.

Roughly seven years ago, Perry himself addressed the unsubstantiated buzz that he and his wife planned to divorce and that he was gay. He denied the rumors and told the Austin American-Statesman at the time that he was the victim of a “smear campaign” being conducted by his political enemies. The AP reported in March of 2004:

Perry said the rumors “are not correct in any shape, form or fashion. These are irresponsible. They’re salacious. They’re hurtful to my family.”

…

“I don’t think a rumor can just get to critical mass by itself,” Perry said. “I think you have to have a well thought-out, organized effort to disseminate that kind of information and keep it going day after day after day after day.”

According to Politico:

The crusted-over rumors were in the ether among some attendees at a dinner hosted last week by the Manhattan County GOP, where Perry gave the keynote speech.

…

But Team Perry, asked about how it’s prepared to handle them when they emerge if he runs, said it remains “false and misleading.”

It remains to be seen whether Perry will jump into the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. After previously denying he had any intention of entering the primary election contest, the Texas Governor recently signaled interest in pursuing a campaign for the White House.

via Rick Perry Gay Rumors: Governor’s Aides Prepared To Tackle Allegations Should They Resurface: Report.

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May 31, 2011 · 9:00 pm

CNN Poll: Obama’s Approval Rating Edges Up

Great news…

Now if the economy doesn’t tank- more- he should be fine for re-election next year…

The GOP Primary season is going to be the Greatest Show on Earth with all the clowns they have running…

That will only make President Obama look better to the electorate…

Bring on Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann!

President Barack Obama’s performance on national security and international affairs and his image as a strong leader appear to be behind his rising approval rating, according to new national poll conducted as the president was on an overseas visit to four countries.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday indicates that Obama’s approval rating among Americans stands at 54 percent, with 45 percent saying they disapprove of the job he’s doing as president. Obama’s approval rating appears to have steadily risen in the past two months, from 48 percent in early April to 52 percent in early May and the current mark of 54 percent.

“On specific issues, the president’s approval rating is over 50 percent on only three out of 11 items tested, and all three – terrorism, Afghanistan, and Iraq – are foreign or security issues,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “But his approval rating on every domestic issue listed in the poll is well below 50 and on most of them – including the economy, health care, taxes, and the budget deficit – his rating has remained flat or dropped since the start of the year.”

via CNN Poll: Obama’s approval rating edges up thanks to foreign policy – CNN Political Ticker – CNN.com Blogs.

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May 26, 2011 · 7:00 am

Texas Gov. Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid

I knew they would get around to him eventually….

The GOP did so well with their last empty-headed Texas Governor/Figurehead…

All I can think is how the late, great Molly Ivins always called him Rick”Good Hair” Perry…

Good Hair/ Empty Head….

From Political Wire:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) chief political strategist, Dave Carney, tells the Texas Tribune Perry is probably mulling a presidential bid.

Said Carney: “Obviously, it’s flattering to have everybody, Rush Limbaugh and all these other conservative, right-of-center leaders, talk about you, urging you to think about it, urging you to run, saying they support you. But I don’t see any difference in terms of the governor’s thinking… I’m sure he’s thinking about it because it’s just human nature when you have Rush Limbaugh spend 20 minutes talking about you and have all these other people mention you, that you don’t sort of think that’s flattering and think about it. But I don’t see any change in his direction, what he’s planning to do.”

via Perry Thinking About Presidential Bid.

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April 16, 2011 · 10:50 am

Public Policy Polling: Trump takes the lead

The GOP Primary is going to be so much fun to watch!

This is going to be better than a three ring circus…

I’ve never seen such a bunch of ignoramuses, panderers  and publicity whores in one place.  Non of these people are really serious candidates….

President Obama can laugh all the way to his second inauguration…

He’s definitely the only grown up in the room with this crowd…

Only 38% of Republican primary voters say they’re willing to support a candidate for President next year who firmly rejects the birther theory and those folks want Mitt Romney to be their nominee for President next year. With the other 62% of Republicans- 23% of whom say they are only willing to vote for a birther and 39% of whom are not sure- Donald Trump is cleaning up. And as a result Trump’s ridden the controversy about Barack Obama’s place of birth to the highest level of support we’ve found for anyone in our national GOP polling so far in 2011.

Trump’s broken the perpetual gridlock we’ve found at the top of the Republican field, getting 26% to 17% for Mike Huckabee, 15% for Romney, 11% for Newt Gingrich, 8% for Sarah Palin, 5% for Ron Paul, and 4% for Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty.

Among that 23% only willing to vote for a birther Trump is cleaning up even more, getting 37% to 13% for Huckabee and Palin, and 10% for Romney and Gingrich. He’s a lot weaker with the 38% who say they’re perfectly happy to vote for someone who’s dismissed the birther theory- with them Romney leads at 23%, with Huckabee at 18%, Trump at 17%, Gingrich at 10%, and Palin at only 7%.

I’m still pretty skeptical that Trump’s going to run but if he doesn’t someone who taps into the same sort of hard, hard right sentiment he’s appealing to right now will get their votes- it’s hard to imagine these folks voting for a more centrist candidate like Romney or Pawlenty. And that means there’s a very serious contingent within the Republican Party that’s less concerned with beating Barack Obama than having a nominee who gets them fired up. That suggests many GOP voters have not learned the lessons of Nevada and Delaware and that Obama may survive despite his weak approval numbers because the Republicans end up defeating themselves.

via Public Policy Polling: Trump takes the lead.

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April 1, 2011 · 6:34 pm

Can Obama Lose?

Interesting article from Matthew Dowd at the National Journal…

He also makes the point that only 1 Democratic president has lost his re-election campaign-Jimmy Carter.

So what combination of factors in this complex system of politics must come together to cause a catastrophe for Obama politically that would result in his defeat?

I see three, and all have to be in place and reinforce each other for Obama to lose. First, the economy in 2012 has to be either stagnant or in decline in the 10 or so key electoral states (especially the ones in the Midwest) as he heads into the election. This would mean that the economy is creating very few net jobs in 2012 and that prices (including food and gas) are still rising.

Second, no new major international crisis arises that causes people to rally behind Obama because of his competent handling of it. And I emphasize the words “new,” “major,” and “competent.” Afghanistan and Iraq devolving again into a problem will not help Obama, and actually may hurt him because our country has basically moved on from the situation in both places.

Third, a Republican nominee has to emerge who is charismatic; is a very good communicator; is in touch with the country’s economic and social needs; and is a new brand of GOP leader whom many younger voters can connect with. Think of what it took in 1980 to defeat the Democratic incumbent—Ronald Reagan and crises galore.

All three factors must converge for Obama to lose, and two of them are needed to drive his job approval down to a place, as I have written before, that makes it difficult for him to win. As one can see, these three elements don’t include how much money the Democratic National Committee and Obama have at their disposal; how much cash the Republican National Committee or the Republican nominee raises; the quality of each campaign staff; the legislative machinations of Congress; or the use of modern technology in the campaigns (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.). Those are all tactical factors that, ultimately, will have little influence on whether Obama wins or loses.

Two of these factors—the economy and an international crisis—are basically out of the GOP’s hands (in many ways, they are out of the Obama campaign’s control as well). Republicans should only be concerned with nominating the candidate who can give them a shot at winning if the two other factors are in place. And note that I didn’t add longtime political office-holding to the qualifications. Experience is nice, but it isn’t necessary in this environment.

Understanding the factors that could cost Obama the election allows us to not get distracted by the much-hashed-over details that matter little, such as money and technology. Focusing on what’s really important is a very good lesson for politics—and life.

via NationalJournal.com – Can Obama Lose? – Friday, April 1, 2011.

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