Romney's Perfection

Does Mitt Romney appear too perfect? The Los Angeles Times suggests the answer is yes:

Mitt Romney arrives at his campaign headquarters here 10 minutes early, a knife-blade crease in his khakis, winter tan, lots of hair, all of it in place. He skips the coffee and doughnuts in favor of skim milk and the home-baked granola sent along in a zip-lock baggie by his wife. That's Ann, his high school sweetheart -- the mother of his five handsome sons -- with whom he says he has never had a serious argument in 38 years of marriage.

[. . .]

Romney's life looks like a photo album of the American dream: two homes, one in a posh Boston suburb and the other on a New Hampshire lakeside; four cars (he drives a red Mustang, Ann a Cadillac SUV); a friendly dog, big Christmases, church every Sunday, meaningful family discussions (Web viewers can watch as the Romneys gather on the sofa to ponder his run for president). If he has a vice, it's chocolate malts.

At the same time, his glide path was remarkably free of hardship, not the Horatio Alger story Americans sometimes warm to in a candidate. The son of Michigan governor and former American Motors Corp. Chairman George Romney, Willard Mitt Romney was born into privilege, raised in a devout Mormon home and educated at Harvard. He made a fortune in business and then entered politics, just like his dad. His first real tragedy was his wife's 1998 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which he calls the worst day of his life. (Her illness is in remission.)

Romney runs his campaign operation like the business executive he was: disciplined, on message and on time -- often early.

Romney's not perfect, but his storybook personal life could backfire on his presidential campaign. I hear many people refer to Romney's presidential appearance as "too slick." According to the Times, when Rudy Giuliani warned voters this week to beware "this pretense of perfection," he mentioned Democratic candidate Barack Obama's acknowledgment of past drug use, but he was really aiming at Romney's picture-perfect past.

As Giuliani implies we don't need a paragon of virtue for president, but I like the fact that there are no Clintonesque scandals in Romneys past.

Hating Hillary

We have discussed Hillary haters and her extraordinarily high negatives. But those cold polling statistics are nothing compared to what the Daily Telegraph's Toby Harnden found in his tour of America's flyover country. Harnden crisscrossed America from Portland, Maine, to San Diego and from Seattle to Merritt Island on Florida's Atlantic coast.

After visiting the America where "people shop at Wal-Mart, eat at Dairy Queen, work two jobs to make ends meet and have a Bible at home," Harnden concludes "America hates Hillary Clinton and Co.:"

Mrs Clinton might be the frontrunner in the polls, but almost everywhere we went people questioned her candidacy. Many stated bluntly that they did not want a woman in charge. "It's a man's world," said Hugh Laflin, 62, a Kansas truck driver. "Would a Middle East sheikh talk to a lady president?"

A Vietnam veteran in Arizona and a Florida gun-shop owner were among those who made crude jokes about America "going to war every 30 days" under a female president. We never brought up Bill Clinton's sexual dalliances, but many ordinary Americans did. "She couldn't keep her own home together, so how can we trust her to manage America?" asked Micki Martinson, a housewife in Somerset, Pennsylvania.

While we found many people who hated Mrs Clinton, those who loved her were few and far between. Certainly, many said they would vote for her, but the reasons cited tended to be her status as the top Democrat, the fact that she was battle-tested against Republicans and - for some women - the fact that she would be the first female president.

Such support might register in the opinion polls, but could melt away should the former First Lady lose in Iowa. And the frequently expressed nightmare for Democrats is that she will win their party's nomination but lose to a Republican next November when most Americans decide they don't much like her.

Obama has recently overtaken Hillary in Iowa. In response the Hillary campaign has started lowering expectations, preparing for a possible loss in Iowa.

Nor does Harnden have good news for Barack Obama:

Beyond the coasts and outside the college towns, Obamamania was difficult to find. His lofty, professorial manner has made it difficult for him to connect with ordinary Americans and he could well go the way of earlier "outsider" Democrats running on a platform of change, including Gary Hart, Paul Tsongas and Bill Bradley. Obama's lack of experience was a staple of conversations about him.

Although few people cite Obama's race as a negative factor, there are clearly worries about whether he is too exotic a creature for Middle America. Some openly speculated that he was a Muslim - the result of snippets from his background cited in emails that have dropped into inboxes everywhere.

A childhood in Indonesia and Hawaii and mixed-race parentage in some ways epitomize modern America. But voters are often most comfortable with the candidate they can best relate to - something Bush tapped into in 2000 when he played down his Yale education and chose not to reveal how often he had traveled abroad.

Harnden did find support for Giuliani:

The great and the good of Washington decreed long ago that Mr Giuliani, who favors abortion and gay rights and has previously advocated gun controls, was too liberal to secure the Republican nomination. Not so in the flyover states, where in the post-9/11 world, defending America trumps everything else among conservatives.

"I have always admired Giuliani, especially after 9/11," said Grita Poehle, a German-born new citizen in San Diego. "If he can do for America what he did for New York, that would be good."

I grew up in flyover counter. I agree with Harnden, flyover folks don't care much for Hillary and remain security voters first.

Biden's Heartache

I've never had much use for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden. I simply can't get past his plagiarism.

Nevertheless, I found this article by the Des Moines Register's Abby Simons very moving:

But ask him about that day in December 1972, a week before Christmas, six weeks after he was elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29. Ask him about when a drunk driver slammed into a car his family was riding in, killing his wife, Neilia, and 13-month-old, Naomi, and leaving sons Beau and Hunter hospitalized for months.

Then he does something very un-Biden-esque. He clams up.

"I just don't ... it's hard to talk about. It's just hard ..." Biden trails off, pauses for several seconds, and clears his throat. His wife, Jill, looks on patiently.

"Whenever you talk about it, you relive it. It doesn't matter whether it was a day ago, a month ago or, in my case now, 34 years ago."

[. . .]

He's a senator who has more than once been called a braggart, yet now speaks in passing - if at all - of the wreck that could have put his life in shambles. Nor does he speak of the brain aneurysms that nearly killed him weeks after he dropped out of the 1988 presidential race following accusations that he used plagiarized portions of a campaign speech. The dropout was a blessing in disguise, said Biden's wife, Jill, whom he married in 1977. Reaching the top may have killed him, as the aneurysm occurred the day before the New Hampshire primary.

[. . .]

"If this doesn't work, look at what we have," Jill Biden said. "We have a great marriage, we have wonderful kids and grandchildren, we have our health. It's not like 'Oh God, this is going to affect us, we have a really positive attitude about new directions, new things to do. The whole family obviously thinks Joe should be our next president. But if it doesn't work, we're happy."

Read the whole thing.

Hillary Bracing For Loss In Iowa

Sun-Times Columnist, Jennifer Hunter, writes that Hillary must be worried.

The latest poll from the Washington Post and ABC News finds Barack Obama ahead in Iowa.

Over the last few weeks, Hillary has increased her Iowa field staff and opened new offices.

Edwards has been campaigning in Iowa nonstop since right after the 2004 presidential race. Edwards has visited Iowa more than any other candidate, a total of 61 days. Obama started his Iowa campaign in Iowa as soon as he decided to run. He has visited Iowa 33 times.

The Iowa caucuses are more important in winning the Democratic nomination. In addition, Hillary's Democratic challengers see Iowa as their best shot to overcome Hillary's inevitability campaign.

As the Iowa causes finally get near, Hillary has hit a bumpy stretch. Her Democratic opponents are taking shots at her, hitting her where she is most vulnerable -- her reputation as too cautious and calculating. Hillary, with her double talk, provided the needed ammunition.

As a quote from the Hunter article demonstrates, the Hillary campaign is lowering expectations, preparing for a possible loss in Iowa:

"Our definition of success doesn't necessarily mean coming in first," explains Clinton spokesman Mark Daley. "As long as we have a strong showing on caucus night."

The Progress In Iraq Is Finally Reported

The last ten days have seen a sea change in the mainstream media's coverage of the war.

On Thanksgiving, ABC and NBC described the improving security situation in Iraq:

NBC Nightly News said Thanksgiving in Baghdad was "almost a celebration," adding, "Today we see traffic jams where Al Qaeda once saw targets." ABC World News led with a story that noted that "last year, on this day, Baghdad was in lockdown, after one of this city's deadliest suicide bombings." But "the headlines in recent weeks have been different." Yesterday, ABC's Baghdad correspondent, Terry McCarthy, "got an extraordinary look at the country, traveling with the number two US general there, Ray Odierno. They made nine stops, visiting several communities that have been notorious for violence. And...the optimism, among Americans at least, is spreading. ... the message we get from US commanders outside of Baghdad is pretty much the same wherever we go, cautious optimism. ... Civilian deaths in Baghdad are down 65% compared to six months ago. Car bombs are down 47%."

ABCNEWS reports General Raymond Odierno sees a "window for success in Iraq:"

Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno will not say the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq, but he clearly thinks it.

"I think we have created a window. I think we can be successful here," he told ABC News today during a whistle-stop Thanksgiving tour of 9 U.S. military bases in and outside Baghdad.

Other top military and civilian leaders have talked up the situation in Iraq in the past. But Odierno, the number two general in Iraq under General David Petraeus, is known as a straight shooter - not given to hype.

His barely suppressed optimism was reinforced by a series of interviews with commanders on the ground. Casualties and roadside bomb attacks are down. An increasing number of local citizens are abandoning the insurgency and coming over to the American side, registering as community policemen to bring back security to their neighborhoods.

The Los Angeles Times reports the recent reduction in terrorist attacks has allowed Iraqi oil production to exceed 2.1 million barrels per day, which will enable Iraq to improve the country's infrastructure:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki is proposing a $7.4-billion boost in public spending next year in an aggressive budget designed to stimulate industry and speed up repairs of this country's tattered roads, sewers and utilities.

It would also give more fiscal power to the country's 18 provinces by increasing their budgets more than 50% on average.

The increased spending, which raises Iraq's annual budget to $48 billion, would largely be financed by a projected 12% increase in oil revenue as well as funds that were not spent last year because of inefficiency.

The budget's optimism is driven in part by the expectation that oil prices, now at record levels, will stay high. In addition, Iraq's crude production, which dipped this year, has rebounded since August, climbing slightly above the target of 2.1 million barrels a day, according to a U.S. State Department report.

The Guardian reports 1,600 Iraqi refuges are returning home every day:

Slowly, cautiously, but unmistakably, thousands of Iraqis who moved abroad to escape the violence are going home, stemming an exodus that has seen 4.2 million people leave since the 2003 war. According to the Iraqi government, 46,000 returned from abroad to Baghdad in October - the first month of the new school year, though it has not produced a statistical breakdown.

Iraq's displacement and migration minister, Abdul Samad Sultan, said this week that 1,600 people were returning every day. The UNHCR, the world body's refugee agency, said yesterday it could not confirm the figure because it has no permanent access to the border - though a day of monitoring suggested it could be true.

The BBC describes the "din of normality:"

All the indicators for violence are down.

Compared to the beginning of the year, attacks against Iraqi civilians have declined by 55% in the country as a whole and by 75% in Baghdad, according to US military figures confirmed by the UN.

US military casualties are also dramatically reduced. October was one of the least bloody months since the beginning of the invasion.

[. . .]

Military commanders on the ground are very careful not to crow about the successes. Nor is the White House doing so. They are hoping that the facts will eventually speak for themselves.

In the past, boastful words have turned to dust almost as soon as they were uttered.

So what has caused this decline? An extra 30,000 US troops on the ground since the beginning of the so-called surge have certainly made a difference.

Shuttered Baghdad markets have re-opened for business. Silent streets have come to life with the sound of children playing football and mothers yelling for attention. The din of normality has trumped the silence of fear.

In Anbar province - which used to be the heart of the insurgency - Sunni leaders are fed-up with the high-handed brutality of al-Qaeda's fighters, deemed to have abused their hospitality and outstayed their welcome.

The Associated Press reports Iraq is offering free trips home for Iraqi refugees in Syria:

With violence down in Iraq, the country's embassy in Damascus is starting to organize free trips home for Iraqis who fled the conflict and now want to return, an Iraqi diplomat said Wednesday.

Free convoys and even airplane tickets are part of a new push by the Baghdad government to reach out to Iraqi refugees in Syria, said Adnan Shourifi, commercial secretary at the Iraqi Embassy.

The New York Times reports security improvements are real:

The security improvements in most neighborhoods are real. Days now pass without a car bomb, after a high of 44 in the city in February. The number of bodies appearing on Baghdad’s streets has plummeted to about 5 a day, from as many as 35 eight months ago, and suicide bombings across Iraq fell to 16 in October, half the number of last summer and down sharply from a recent peak of 59 in March, the American military says.

As a result, for the first time in nearly two years, people are moving with freedom around much of this city. In more than 50 interviews across Baghdad, it became clear that while there were still no-go zones, more Iraqis now drive between Sunni and Shiite areas for work, shopping or school, a few even after dark. In the most stable neighborhoods of Baghdad, some secular women are also dressing as they wish. Wedding bands are playing in public again, and at a handful of once shuttered liquor stores customers now line up outside in a collective rebuke to religious vigilantes from the Shiite Mahdi Army.

The Chicago Tribune reports on the sharp decline of violence in Iraq:

Attacks in Iraq have fallen 55 percent, to a level not seen since January 2006. Violence has fallen in some areas to its lowest levels since the summer of 2005. The number of Iraqi civilian casualties has fallen 65 percent, and Baghdad has witnessed a 75 percent drop since June.

The New York Times reports the drop in violence is better than proponents of the revised strategy predicted:

“These trends are stunning in military terms and beyond the predictions of most proponents of the surge last winter,” said Michael O’Hanlon, a military analyst at the Brookings Institution, referring to President Bush’s troop reinforcement plan. “Nobody knows if the trends are durable in the absence of national reconciliation and in the face of major U.S. troop drawdowns in 2008."

The Los Angeles Times reports Sunnis and Shiites work together at the local level to protect their neighborhoods from insurgents and militias:

Despite persistent sectarian tensions in the Iraqi government, war-weary Sunnis and Shiites are joining hands at the local level to protect their communities from militants on both sides, U.S. military officials say.

[. . .]

Here in Qarghulia, a rural community east of Baghdad, the results are palpable. Killings are down dramatically and public confidence is reviving. "Sunnis-Shiites, no problem," said Obede Ali Hussein, 22, who stood at a checkpoint built by the U.S. Army along the Diyala River. "We want to protect our neighborhood."

Agence France Presse reports on the neon lights, bustling streets of Baghdad's resurgent night life:

"Even two or three months ago we would have been afraid to come here at night," said 20-year-old Hussein Salah, an off-duty soldier, slurping a milkshake with his wife, Shihad, at the Mishmesha (apricot) juice bar in Baghdad's relatively safe Karrada suburb.

"Now we sometimes sit outside here till one or two in the morning. It is quite safe. The security situation is vastly improved," said Salah, the orange light from a nearby flashing palm alternatively brightening and dimming his clean-shaven face.

Declines in Iraqi civilian casualties and a sharp reduction in bomb and mortar attacks have sparked optimism that the capital is at last starting to revive.

US military commanders attribute the fall in violence to a "surge" of American troops on the ground, their decision to set up small military posts in neighbourhoods, and the increasing number of Iraqis joining US forces in anti-insurgent alliances.

Reuters reports Baghdad's ambulance drivers can now catch their breath:

“With violence levels dropping across the city, Baghdad's hard-working ambulance drivers now find time to sit and sip tea instead of each rushing to four or five emergency calls a day. ‘Today the situation has changed for the best. There are ambulances that sometimes do not go out on duty for two days,’ said Kais Mohammed, head of an emergency services centre that covers all of southern Baghdad and some areas west.”

The Investor's Business Daily points out the New from Iraq gets better by the day:

• In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, British Major Gen. Graham Binns said that attacks against British and American forces have plunged 90% since the start of September.

• Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reported that terrorist attacks of all kinds are down almost 80% from last year's peak — thanks directly to the U.S. surge of 30,000 new troops.

• Amid growing signs that even Iraq extremists have tired of terrorism and killing, a Sunni religious group closed down the high-profile Muslim Scholars Association because of its ties to terrorists.

• U.S. Major Gen. James Simmons, speaking in Baghdad, said Iran's pledges to stop sending weapons and explosives into Iraq "appear to be holding up." Roadside bombs, the leading killer of U.S. troops, have plunged 52% since March, he added.

• Perhaps most touching, according to a report from Michael Yon, that Muslims are asking Iraqi Christians to return to help build Iraq.

• Douglas Halaspaska, a reporter on the Web site U.S. Cavalry ON Point found so much has changed.

Because the progress, troops are being withdrawn.

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

The traditional Thanksgiving story is that some time in the fall of 1621, the settlers at Plymouth, Mass., held a feast to thank God they'd survived their harrowing first year in the New World.

They invited neighboring Indians, who had taught them agricultural skills critical to their survival. Together they celebrated their good fortune with a three-day feast.

There is a problem with the traditional story - no one invited the Indians.

The settlers threw the party for themselves. Members of the local Wampanoag tribe arrived only after hearing the English firing their arms in celebration. This view may be historically accurate.

A firsthand account of the original Thanksgiving is provided in "Mourt's Relations," a series of letters written in 1620 and 1621, primarily by settler Edward Winslow.

He writes of a harvest celebration, "at which time amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor."

Actually, the harvest of 1621 wasn't great at all. The barley, wheat, and peas the Pilgrims brought with them from England had failed. Fortunately, the corn did well enough that they were able to double their weekly food rations. The Pilgrims were happy to be alive: The previous winter had wiped out 47 people--almost half their community.

What people are thankful for changes from year to year. The Pilgrims were happy to be alive. The Founding Fathers were happy to have established a government. And Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation expressed thanks that the Civil War had not destroyed the country.

On January 6, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress. His "Four Freedoms" offered a vision in which the American ideals of individual liberties were extended throughout the world:

Four Freedoms

We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.

The speech inspired Norman Rockwell to create a series of paintings on the "Four Freedoms," including "Freedom From Want."

In his Thanksgiving Day, 2007 Proclamation, President Bush reminds us that we have much to be thankful for:

Americans are a grateful people, ever mindful of the many ways we have been blessed. On Thanksgiving Day, we lift our hearts in gratitude for the freedoms we enjoy, the people we love, and the gifts of our prosperous land.

Our country was founded by men and women who realized their dependence on God and were humbled by His providence and grace. The early explorers and settlers who arrived in this land gave thanks for God's protection and for the extraordinary natural abundance they found. Since the first National Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed by President George Washington, Americans have come together to offer thanks for our many blessings. We recall the great privilege it is to live in a land where freedom is the right of every person and where all can pursue their dreams. We express our deep appreciation for the sacrifices of the honorable men and women in uniform who defend liberty. As they work to advance the cause of freedom, our Nation keeps these brave individuals and their families in our thoughts, and we pray for their safe return.

While Thanksgiving is a time to gather in a spirit of gratitude with family, friends, and neighbors, it is also an opportunity to serve others and to share our blessings with those in need. By answering the universal call to love a neighbor as we want to be loved ourselves, we make our Nation a more hopeful and caring place.

This Thanksgiving, may we reflect upon the past year with gratefulness and look toward the future with hope. Let us give thanks for all we have been given and ask God to continue to bless our families and our Nation.

As we gather together with family friends and family, let's take a few minutes and contemplate our many blessings and give thanks.

Image courtesy of the National Achieves.

Obama Overtakes Clinton In Iowa

A new ABC New/Washington Post poll in Iowa finds Barack Obama ahead of Hillary. Obama is supported by 30% of likely Iowa voters compared to 26% for Hillary and 22% for John Edwards:

The results are only marginally different from a Post-ABC poll in late July, but in a state likely to set the tone for the rest of the nominating process, there are significant signs of progress for Obama -- and harbingers of concern for Clinton.

The factors that have made Clinton the clear national front-runner -- including her overwhelming leads on the issues of the Iraq war and health care, a widespread sense that she is the Democrats' most electable candidate, and her strong support among women -- do not appear to be translating on the ground in Iowa, where campaigning is already fierce and television ads have been running for months.

At the heart of the Democratic race has been the dichotomy between strength and experience (qualities emphasized by Clinton, Richardson, and Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut in their appeals) and the ability to introduce a new approach to governing (as Obama and Edwards have promised to do).

Iowa Democrats are tilting toward change, and Obama appears to be benefiting from it.


Fifty-five percent of those surveyed reported that a "new direction and new ideas" are their top priority, compared with 33 percent who favored "strength and experience." That is a shift from July, when 49 percent sought change and 39 percent experience.

The poll also found Hillary vulnerable on questions of character:

Thirty-one percent found Obama to be the most honest and trustworthy, about double the percentage who said the same of Clinton. While about three-quarters credited both Obama and Edwards with speaking their mind on issues, only 50 percent said Clinton is willing enough to say what she really thinks. Forty-five percent said she is not sufficiently candid.

Iraq and health care dominate as the campaign's top issues.

ABC World News reported the new poll has even more bad news for Hillary, only half of Iowa Democratic caucus goers say she's willing to say what she really thinks. Watch the video of the ABC report.



The perception that Hillary won't say what she really thinks was damningly illustrated in her pathetic performance at the Democrats' debate at Drexal university. You can see highlights of that Hillary's failure to give straight answers during that debate here, here and here.

The survey was conducted November 14 to 18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.

Rudy's Leadership Ad

The Giuliani campaign is running this new television ad entitled, “Leadership,” in New Hampshire and Boston.



Compare Rudy's 27 years of public executive leadership experience to Hillary's unique inexperience.

Agreeing With Joe

The Democratic Presidential candidates agree: Joe is right.



Thanks to Peter Hauck for the tip.

A Day At Hillquarters

Mary Katherine Ham tours Hillary's office.



Thanks to Orlando at Fort Hard Knox for the tip.

More Progress In Iraq

The Investor's Business Daily points out the New from Iraq gets better by the day:

• In Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, British Major Gen. Graham Binns said that attacks against British and American forces have plunged 90% since the start of September.

• Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reported that terrorist attacks of all kinds are down almost 80% from last year's peak — thanks directly to the U.S. surge of 30,000 new troops.

• Amid growing signs that even Iraq extremists have tired of terrorism and killing, a Sunni religious group closed down the high-profile Muslim Scholars Association because of its ties to terrorists.

• U.S. Major Gen. James Simmons, speaking in Baghdad, said Iran's pledges to stop sending weapons and explosives into Iraq "appear to be holding up." Roadside bombs, the leading killer of U.S. troops, have plunged 52% since March, he added.

• Perhaps most touching, according to a report from Michael Yon, that Muslims are asking Iraqi Christians to return to help build Iraq.

• Douglas Halaspaska, a reporter on the Web site U.S. Cavalry ON Point found so much has changed.

So why do the Democrats not only refuse to admit that the revised strategy is working, but pretend that things are getting worse:

"It's not getting better; it's getting worse," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. "The goal remains out of reach."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said the reduced violence in Iraq wasn't enough to win her support for the mission.

The Democratic leaders are in deep denial. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner puts it this way:

Democrats can't acknowledge the fact that our troops are winning the war against al Qaeda in Iraq without admitting that they've been dead wrong on the biggest national challenge of our generation at the same time.

But Connecticut's Independent Democratic Senator, Joe Lieberman put it even better:

"Even as evidence has mounted that General Petraeus' new counterinsurgency strategy is succeeding, Democrats have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of defeat and retreat in Iraq, reluctant to acknowledge the progress we are now achieving, or even that that progress has enabled us to begin drawing down our troops there," he added.

Hillary Plant Speaks

The Grinnell College student, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, who asked ask a "planted" question by the Hillary campaign speaks with CNN about the experience. You can watch the video here.

Obama Lost Los Vegas

I watched most of Thursday's Democratic Debate. Hillary performed much better than she did at the Drexal University debate two weeks ago. Most pundits say Hillary won the debate. The Frank Luntz FOX News focus group, confirms Hillary had a good night. Did Hillary finally knock Obama out of contention?

Lou Dobbs for President?

Friends of Lou Dobbs say he is seriously contemplating running for president:

After months of telling reporters that he "absolutely" would not consider leaving his highly-rated CNN show in which he crusades against free trade and illegal immigration, Mr. Dobbs posted a commentary on his Web site last week predicting a surprise new presidential candidate in 2008. The mystery candidate is an "independent populist . . . who understands the genius of this country lies in the hearts and minds of its people and not in the prerogatives and power of its elites."

Friends of Mr. Dobbs say he is seriously contemplating a race for the first time, although it's still unlikely. They spin a scenario under which the acerbic commentator would parachute into the race if Michael Bloomberg, the New York billionaire and favorite of East Coast elites, enters the field as an independent.

That web commentary Dobbs posted is available here.

At The Caucus, Katharine Seelye reports Dobbs isn't interested:

"I don’t know where this is coming from," he said in a quick phone interview. "I have no interest in running, and I’ve said that throughout."

I think Dobbs is just trying to sell his new book.

Planting Hillary

John Edwards takes on Hillary's "Politics of "Planting:"

His campaign today announced it has created a website that jabs his fellow Democrat's campaign for admitting that it planted a question at an Iowa event with a college student.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Edwards' camp calls PlantsforHillary.com an one-stop shop: "Potential plants can listen to testimonials from past plants, read the 'Top 10 Questions Plants Should Never Ask Hillary,' learn how to recognize other plants at Senator Clinton's events, submit suggestions for planted questions, and purchase the soon to be released 'Questions are hard...so plant them' T-shirt."

The website features a video, titled "The Politics of Planting," a sequel to "The Politics of Parsing" video highlighting Hillary's failure to give straight answers during the Democrats Drexal University debate.

The new video highlights Senator Clinton's evolution from parsing answers to answering planted questions.





The Hillary campaign was forced to admit that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy.

CNN reported that a Grinnell College student, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, had been encouraged to ask a "planted" question by a Clinton employee:

Gallo-Chasanoff, whose story was first reported in the campus newspaper, said what happened was simple: She said a senior Clinton staffer asked if she'd like to ask the senator a question after an energy speech the Democratic presidential hopeful gave in Newton, Iowa, on November 6.

"I sort of thought about it, and I said 'Yeah, can I ask how her energy plan compares to the other candidates' energy plans?'" Gallo-Chasanoff said Monday night.

According to Gallo-Chasanoff, the staffer said, "I don't think that's a good idea, because I don't know how familiar she is with their plans."

He then opened a binder to a page that, according to Gallo-Chasanoff, had about eight questions on it.

"The top one was planned specifically for a college student," she added. "It said 'college student' in brackets and then the question."

Topping that sheet of paper was the following: "As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?"

The student who asked the question told CNN "voters have the right to know what happened" and she wasn't the only one who was planted.

According to the New York Times the Grinnell College plant-gate wasn't the only time the Clinton campaign planted questions:

Last spring, an Iowa Democrat, Geoffrey Mitchell, said that a different Clinton aide encouraged him to ask Mrs. Clinton about Iraq policy during a campaign event, according to a news account at the time and a report Saturday on Fox News.

Mr. Miller told ABCNews about that incident:

Geoff Mitchell, a minister who recently moved to Hamilton, Ill., from Iowa, told ABC News that he was approached this spring by Clinton's Iowa political director Chris Haylor to ask Clinton a question about war funding.

Mitchell, 32, said that the request "did not sit well with me in the tradition of the Iowa caucus."

"I grew up in Iowa and I value the tradition of the caucuses of answering the questions of the people," Mitchell said.

Mitchell said he introduced himself to Haylor because he had heard of him before and knew that he had worked on Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's campaign.

Before the campaign event, Haylor asked Mitchell if he would pose a specific question about Iraq. The question was about how Clinton would be tough on President Bush about funding the Iraq war, Mitchell said.

Planting questions is dishonest and inexcusable. This despicable conduct just reinforces the perception that Hillary's campaign is manipulative and schemes to bend the rules in order maintain her lead in the polls. It's also more evidence of Hillary's hypocrisy. Last month, Hillary attacked someone at a town hall for asking a question that she alleged was planted. Watch the video.

Hillary Plays Leadership Card

In a very public "strategic memoranda" Hillary's chief strategist Mark Penn today announces Hillary will try to play the the leadership card in tonight's Democratic debate:

Poll after poll shows it's leadership that people see in Clinton, her pollster says.


He cites a number of independent media polls to make his case.

Penn didn't do his homework on all those polls.

A recent Gallup poll found Hillary, Obama and Rudy Giuliani all rate "roughly the same'' on the question of leadership.

Marc Ambinder has posted an annotated version of Penn's strategic memo.

To paraphrase President Clinton, it all depends on the meaning of leadership.

Americans Expect U.S. To Be In Iraq For Years

A recent Gallup Panel survey finds that most Americans expect the United States to have a significant number of troops in Iraq several years after the 2008 election, regardless of which party wins the presidency:

Gallup polling shows that relatively few Americans favor an immediate withdrawal, but most Americans currently prefer that the United States reduce its troop levels. Regardless of their preferences, the data presented here indicate that most Americans expect the United States to have a significant military presence in Iraq through much if not all of the next president’s first term. And the data also suggest that Americans appear willing to accept a continued presence in Iraq until that time, but probably not longer than that.

Americans believe the withdrawal process will happen more quickly if a Democrat rather than a Republican is elected president.

Watch the video report:



So why have Pelosi's Liberal/Progressive Democrats renewed their legislative push to force a withdrawal from Iraq.

Obama's Chance

Obama will begin airing a new ad on education in New Hampshire, called, “Chances I had.”

NBC’s Domenico Montanaro says this ad could spur attacks on Obama:

"The one thing I was able to get was a great education." But Obama went to an elite prep school in Hawaii -- not a public school. Can't you just hear Republicans in a general election, "You did get a great education... at a prep school, which is why we should be for vouchers."

Exactly.

McCain's Outrageous Ad

Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today released a new television ad, entitled “Outrageous.” The new ad focuses on John McCain’s commitment to ending wasteful pork-barrel spending in Washington and of course takes a shot at Hillary:

A million dollars for a Woodstock museum in a bill sponsored by Hillary Clinton: Predictable.

Solving Illegal Immigration

While Romney and Giuliani go at it over the "sanctuary state of mind: "

As for Mr. Romney, he spared no political stripe in denouncing candidates on the subject:

"We’re not going to give people who are here illegally drivers licenses, nor are we going to give them tuition breaks in our institutions of higher learning,” Romney said. “This ‘sanctuary state of mind’ which exists from Hillary Clinton to Mayor Giuliani to Governor Huckabee is simply an attitude we’re going to have to change."

Updated 4 p.m. Maria Comella, spokeswoman for the Giuliani campaign, shot back this afternoon at Mr. Romney’s criticisms:

"Once again Presidential Trail Mitt Romney completely ignores the record of Governor Mitt Romney. Under Governor Mitt Romney the number of illegal immigrants skyrocketed, while he recommended millions of dollars in state aid to numerous sanctuary cities and to companies employing illegal immigrants, not to mention the illegals working on his own lawn."

Fred Thompson airs a new ad in which he talks about how to solve the illegal immigration problem - securing the border, enforcing the la, and w opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants.




Thompson has proposed the government should take away federal dollars from cities and states that don't report illegal immigrants. Under his proposal, so-called "sanctuary cities" would lose discretionary federal grants, as would colleges and universities that allow illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition.

Makes sense to me.

McCain Nearly Quit

Robert Draper, GQ correspondent and author of "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush," has an interesting article in GQ about the McCain Presidential campaign - "The Unmaking of a President."

Draper takes us back a year, when McCain was the GOP's top fund-raising attraction and poised to defeat Hillary Clinton by double-digits. More than 4800 words into this summary of McCain's presidential campaign, Draper gets to the New York Times' July 10th report that "McCain had placed a call to donors while in the Senate cloakroom — which, if it involved soliciting donations, violated federal law. But it didn’t: McCain was just assuring them that the campaign was healthy despite the staff changes." As Draper puts it:

McCain was ready to quit the campaign then and there.

There is much more to this account of McCain's nearly failed presidential campaign.

The McCain campaign was supposed to model the fabled Bush '04 operation:

Bush had Karl Rove and Ken Mehlman; McCain would have Weaver and Nelson. Bush had Pioneers and Rangers as big donors and bundlers; McCain would have Admirals and Lieutenants.

Terry Nelson was Bush’s national political director.

Even in December '06 the writing was on the wall. As late as mid-December, not a single fundraiser had been scheduled for January. According to Weaver, “we’d joke that we’re turning into the Yankees:”

In other words, McCain was spending like Bush but collecting checks like Ron Paul.

Fast forward to spring '07.

On March 26, McCain told conservative critic Bill Bennett that “there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk today, ” which CNN’s Michael Ware mocked as “beyond ludicrous.” A week later, McCain described his visit to Baghdad’s Shorja market as an unfettered stroll, when in fact he’d been escorted by twenty-two soldiers, ten armored Hummvies, and two Apache attack helicopters. As support for the war fell, so did support for McCain.

On May 13, McCain gave a commencement speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, a bland discourse on civility:

By all means, let us argue.… But let us remember, we are not enemies.

To critics the Liberty speech was a "calculated effort to shore up votes from religious conservatives."

If McCain was pandering to conservatives, he was doing a lousy job at it:

The campaign wasn’t attracting new donors, and all the negative press was hitting him in the pocketbook.

Unlike the McCain campaign’s chosen model, Bush ’04, no one at McCain headquarters was monitoring the discrepancy between dollars in and dollars out.

During the Bush '04 campaign Ken Mehlman developed daily, weekly, and monthly budgets for every campaign division, reviewed bank-draft statements daily, and readjusted the budgets accordingly. The McCain campaign continued to spend as if there was $150 million to burn.

Bad news continued. Anemic first-quarter showing had forced the senator to lay off nearly fifty staffers. Then there was the failed immigration reform.

At the third GOP debate in Manchester, McCain caught a break. His republican rivals went after McCain on immigration reform, but they didn't hurt him. During the town hall portion of the debate, Erin Flanagan took the microphone:

Her little brother had been killed in Iraq. “As a member of an American family who has suffered so greatly at the choices made by the current administration,” Ms. Flanagan asked the ten candidates, “I desperately would like to know what you, as commander in chief, would do…to bring this conflict to a point at which we can safely bring our troops home.”

Duncan Hunter responded first, followed by Sam Brownback. Throughout, Salter was watching McCain sitting in his chair—locked in on her, leaning into the question—and Salter could feel it coming, this is it this is it this is it…

McCain then stood and walked to the edge of the stage. “Ma’am”—and like that, it was as if there were only two people in the auditorium now, the senator with his halting voice and the young woman with her sad brown eyes—“I want to tell you thank you for your brother’s service and sacrifice to our country. We are proud of you and your endurance, and we’re proud of your sacrifice. This war—I’m going to give you a little straight talk. This war was very badly mismanaged for a long time, and Americans have made great sacrifices, some of which were unnecessary. … I believe we have a strategy which can succeed, so that the sacrifice of your brother would not be in vain. …”

A McCain Moment!

But it wasn't enough. On July 6, McCain returned from another trip to Iraq:

He was impressed with the surge’s progress, depressed by the Maliki government’s shiftlessness—but most of all, pissed off at his senior campaign staff. The second-quarter results were in. And after all assurances to the contrary, the campaign hadn’t exceeded, or even met, the paltry receipts of the first quarter. They’d brought in $11 million but spent $13 million. There was almost nothing in the bank.

That brings us to the point where McCain nearly quit.

Draper continues:

Despite his universal name recognition, his more extensive experience as a high-stakes campaigner, and his superior national organization, McCain couldn’t outraise Giuliani or Romney.

[. . .]

For all his overt admiration of the impervious “Bush model,” his had become the least Bushlike of the three leading Republican candidacies.

“I think he panicked,” says an outside adviser. “After all the challenges he’s faced, it’s almost like he expected the presidency to be a coronation.” Confronted with hard calls, the Straight Talker proved not to be a straight thinker.

[. . .]

McCain made a mistake in not being more decisive and clear.

There are things I like and there are things I don't like about Senator McCain. If Draper's article paints an accurate portrait about McCain's failure to effectively oversee the finances of his presidential effort and McCain's inability to hold staff accountable, I have more reservations about his ability to run the enterprise we call the federal government.

Rudy's First TV Ad - "Tested"

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will begin advertising this week in New Hampshire with a commercial that presents him as the man who turned around a crime-ridden and unmanageable city in spite of typical human foibles:

The spot features gritty, black-and-white images of New York — a Harlem movie house marquee and the words, “Sex World;” riot police struggling with an unseen perpetrator — as Mr. Giuliani describes a mess that he inherited: “They used to call it unmanageable, ungovernable. A large majority of New Yorkers wanted to leave and live somewhere else. It was a city that was in financial crisis, a city that was the crime capital of America.”

Then the screen floods with color and brilliant images of New York City — a new-model Volvo cruising along Park Avenue with virtually no traffic and a light-filled and crowd-free Grand Central Terminal — and the music becomes decidedly upbeat.

“By the time I left office, New York City was being proclaimed as the best example of conservative government in the country,” Mr. Giuliani says, adding,

“We turned it into the safest large city in America, the welfare-to-work capital of America, and most importantly, the spirit of the people of the city had changed. Instead of being hopeless, the large majority of people had hope.”

The New York Times finds "Tested" reminiscent of the famous 1984 Reagan reelection ad “Morning in America,” which featured a flag being raised into a blue sky and inspirational music.

Spitzer Can't Take The Heat

On Saturday I asked if New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer could take the heat over his very unpopular plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

Today we learn the answer is no.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is abandoning his plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that opposition is just too overwhelming to move forward with such a policy.

[. . .]

“You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it’s not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward,” he said.

If Spitzer's position was truly principled, should it not be worth fighting for to the better end? The truth is more likely that Spitzer's decision is simply unprincipled and poll-driven:

Mr. Spitzer’s decision to abandon his plan comes as a poll released Tuesday by Siena College found that seven in 10 New York voters who had heard about it — and more than 80 percent of the 625 registered voters polled had — opposed it. It also found that for the first time, more people viewed the governor unfavorably than favorably.

Steven Greenberg, Siena New York Poll spokesman said, "voters think the Governor is wrong on the policy and on the rationale for the policy:"

"One year ago, Eliot Spitzer won 69 percent of the votes for Governor. In January, 75 percent of voters gave him a favorable rating. Only five months ago, 64 percent viewed him favorably and 55 percent gave him a positive job performance rating," Greenberg said. "All that’s changed in a New York minute."

"Eliot Spitzer’s standing with voters has fallen faster and further than any politician in recent New York history," Greenberg said. "Everything may not have changed on day one but from the voters’ perspective, everything about Governor Spitzer changed in year one."

[. . .]

The Governor’s fall is directly tied to his license proposal.

Even Democrats can't understand why their party's national leaders embrace driver's licenses for illegal aliens, and see driving illegals as "de facto amnesty" and political poison.

National Right To Life Committee Backs Thompson

The National Right to Life Committee endorsed Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

This is a big deal. With 3,000 local chapters in 50 states, National Right to Life is the nation's largest antiabortion group; it publishes a monthly newsletter, funds radio and TV broadcasts and organizes local activists. Supporters donated more than $9.7 million in 2005, according to the latest available tax records. The group's political arm spent $4.4 million in the 2004 election cycle to support antiabortion candidates and causes.





Some were taken aback by Fred winning this endorsement. Huckabee thought Fred didn't handle the abortion issue well on NBC's "Meet the Press:"

MR. RUSSERT: Let me ask you about an issue very important in your party’s primary process, and that’s abortion.

MR. THOMPSON: Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT: This is the 2004 Republican Party platform, and here it is: “We say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution,” “we endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions.” Could you run as a candidate on that platform, promising a human life amendment banning all abortions?

MR. THOMPSON: No.

MR. RUSSERT: You would not?

MR. THOMPSON: No. I have always—and that’s been my position the entire time I’ve been in politics. I thought Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. I think this platform originally came out as a response to particularly Roe v. Wade because of that. Before Roe v. Wade, states made those decisions. I think people ought to be free at state and local levels to make decisions that even Fred Thompson disagrees with. That’s what freedom is all about. And I think the diversity we have among the states, the system of federalism we have where power is divided between the state and the federal government is, is, is—serves us very, very well. I think that’s true of abortion. I think Roe v. Wade hopefully one day will be overturned, and we can go back to the pre-Roe v. Wade days. But...

MR. RUSSERT: Each state would make their own abortion laws.

MR. THOMPSON: Yeah. But, but, but to, to, to have an amendment compelling—going back even further than pre-Roe v. Wade, to have a constitutional amendment to do that, I do not think would be the way to go.

MR. RUSSERT: I went back—we went back to your papers at the University of Tennessee and read through them. This is what you said back in 1994 as a candidate. Here’s the first one: “I’m not willing to support laws that prohibit early-term abortions. I’m not suddenly upon election as a senator going to know when life begins and where that place ought to be exactly. It comes down to whether you believe life begins at conception. I don’t know in my own mind if that is the case so I don’t feel the law ought to impose that standard on other people.”

MR. THOMPSON: Yeah.

MR. RUSSERT: So you yourself don’t know when life begins.

MR. THOMPSON: No. I didn’t know then.

MR. RUSSERT: You know now?

MR. THOMPSON: I, I, I—my head has always been the same place. My public position has always been the same. I’ve been 100 percent pro-life in every vote that I’ve ever cast in, in my service to the United States Senate.

MR. RUSSERT: But, Senator, you say that you’re for states having...

MR. THOMPSON: Well, no...

MR. RUSSERT: Let me finish, because this is important. You’re for allowing states to have pro-abortion rights, and you yourself, and I have 10 different statements from you, say that you would not ban abortion, it’s a woman’s right, and you would not ban it in the first trimester.

MR. THOMPSON: No, no. Well, you just said two different things here. You know, it’s a complex issue concerning whether or not you’re going to have a federal law, whether or not you’re going to have a federal constitutional amendment, those kinds of things. Nobody’s proposed a federal law on this. Nobody’s recently proposed a, a federal constitutional amendment. I, I, I had an opportunity to vote on an array of things over eight years, whether it be partial birth abortion, whether it be Mexico City policy, whether it be transporting young girls across state lines to avoid parental notification laws and all that--100 percent pro-life.

But let me finish on my point, and, and, and my legal record is there, and that’s the way I would govern if I was president. I would take those same positions. No federal funding for abortion, no nothing that would in any way encourage abortion. When I saw—and again, all consistent with what I’ve said. I—people ask me hypothetically, you know, OK, it goes back to the states. Somebody comes up with a bill, and they say we’re going to outlaw this, that or the other. And my response was I do not think it is a wise thing to criminalize young girls and perhaps their parents as aiders and abettors or perhaps their family physician. And that’s what you’re talking about. It’s not a sense of the Senate. You’re talking about potential criminal law. I said those things are going to be ultimately won in the hearts and minds of people. I’m probably a pretty good example of that. Although my, my, my head and my legislative record’s always been the same, when I saw that sonogram of my little now four-year-old, it’s, it’s, it’s changed my heart. It’s changed the way I look at things. I was looking at my child when, when, when I, when I saw that. And I knew that, and I felt that. And that’s the way I feel today. And I think life begins at conception. I always—it was abstract to me before. I was a father earlier when I was very young. I was busy. I went about my way. One of the, one of the maybe few advantages you have by getting a little bit older.

MR. RUSSERT: So while you believe that life begins at conception, the taking of a human life?

MR. THOMPSON: Yes, I, I, I, I do.

MR. RUSSERT: You would allow abortion to be performed in states if chosen by states for people who think otherwise?

MR. THOMPSON: I do not think that you can have a, a, a law that would be effective and that would be the right thing to do, as I say, in terms of potentially—you can’t have a law that cuts off an age group or something like that, which potentially would take young, young girls in extreme situations and say, basically, we’re going to put them in jail to do that. I just don’t think that that’s the right thing to do. It cannot change the way I feel about it morally, but legally and practically, I’ve got to recognize that fact. It is a dilemma that I’m not totally comfortable with, but that’s the best I can do in resolving it in my own mind.

You can watch the video of this exchange below. The abortion discussion begins at 1:33:




Pro-lifers are split among the Republican presidential contenders with Robertson backing Giuliani and Brownback endorsing McCain.

At RedState, Eric has the inside scoop on the National Right to Life Committee endorsement of Fred.

Tancredo's Explosive New Ad Bombs

Republican presidential candidate Tom Tancredo has released a new television ad entitled "Tough on Terror."

The ad links lax border security to future terrorist attacks and depicts a hooded figure who plants a backpack loaded with explosives in a crowded shopping center. Images from terror attacks in London, Spain and Russia flash across the screen as a timer counts down to an explosion.

Dennis Goldford, a professor of politics at Drake University in Des Moines, said the ad is a fear-based advertisement reminiscent of the President Johnson's famous 1964 "Daisy Girl" ad that featured a little girl plucking petals from a daisy and a mushroom cloud to suggest that Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential candidate, would set off a nuclear war.



Tancredo's ad is not nearly as powerful as Johnson's "Daisy Girl" ad.

Obama Calls For Higher Payroll Taxes

On NBC's "Meet the Press," Democratic presidential wannabe, Barack Obama, said he would raise Social Security payroll taxes:

"The best way to approach this is to adjust the cap on the payroll tax so that people like myself are paying a little bit more and the people who are in need are protected."

Here's the video of Obama's saying he'd raise payroll taxes:



Perhaps Obama wasn't around in 1984 to hear Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale's famous pledge to raise taxes, then see the former vice president lose in a landslide. Polling found that Mondale's call for higher taxes to be the main reason for his defeat:

The Times/CBS News Poll showed that Mr. Reagan's handling of the economy was the strongest factor attracting voters to him. Those polled rejected Mr. Mondale's call for higher taxes by a ratio of nearly 2 to 1.

Calling for higher taxes might help Obama win the Democratic nomination, but it will also help the Democrats lose the general election.

Hillary Goes FEMA

The Hillary campaign in Iowa was forced to admit that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy:

After Clinton spoke, a student in the crowd was invited to pose a question. "As a young person, I'm worried about the long-term effects of global warming. How does your plan combat climate change?" the student asked.

Clinton replied: "Well, you should be worried. You know, I find as I travel around Iowa that it's usually young people who ask me about global warming."

The cover was blown on the orchestrated nature of the exchange a few days later when the Grinnell college website reported that one of its students, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, had been encouraged to ask the question by a Clinton employee. "One of the senior staffers told me what to ask," she said.

Clinton's spokesman admitted the question had been arranged but said: "This is not standard policy and will not be repeated again."

But after claiming planting questions isn't standard policy, another case of the Hillary campaign planting questions came to light at an Iowa campaign event in April.

This reinforces Hillary's critics accusations that Hillary is a double-talker who refuses to give straight answers to tough questions. Planting questions is inexcusable, especially coming after FEMA's fake news conference which cost two officials their jobs.

Fred Answers Questions About His Campaign

WYFF News 4 talks with former Senator Fred Thompson about his presidential campaign.



Thanks to Orlando at Fort Hard Knox for the tip.

De Facto Amnesty - Driving Illegals

Even Democrats can't understand why their party's national leaders are embracing driver's licenses for illegal aliens, and say their constituents see it as a "de facto amnesty."

Alabama Democrat Representative Artur Davis, said voters in his state "get that a driver's license is a form of legal status" because it can be used to board a plane, enter most government buildings and conduct most financial transactions.

"The American people don't want conferring driver's licenses to become a de facto amnesty," he said.

Kansas Democratic Representative Nancy Boyda, Kansas Democrat, said the stance favoring licenses for illegals taken by Democratic presidential candidates is very unpopular in her district.

"It is ultimately about the rule of law," she said. "We don't give driver's licenses to people who are here illegally. We do something about the fact that they are here illegally."

Texas Democratic Representative Nick Lampson, said "Somebody else might be out of step with the voters of my district, but I'm not."

Driving illegals has exploded as a major issue in the presidential campaign thanks to New York's Liberal/Progressive Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer's very unpopular proposal to give licenses to illegal aliens and Hillary's inability to say whether she supported Spitzer's proposal at the Drexal University debate.

According to the Washington Times, Hillary isn't the only Democratic presidential candidate to support Driving illegals:

In addition to Mrs. Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said he favors licenses for aliens while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's state is one of the small number that already allows such licenses.

A recent Fox 5-Washington Times-Rasmussen Reports poll found 77 percent, nearly a five-to-one margin, oppose drivers' licenses for illegal aliens, including (88%) of Republicans, 75% of unaffiliated voters and even 68% of Democrats.

The people get it. Unlike the Democratic Presidential candidates, voters understand that an incentive like a driver's license will encourage more illegal aliens.

Tennessee stopped issuing driving certificates to illegal aliens after investigations found illegal aliens were being shuttled to Tennessee from other states, using fake residency papers and sometimes bribing state workers to get the driving certificates. Tennessee's Driving certificates for illegals, like Spitzer's licenses, were meant to improve driving safety by making sure immigrants living in the state knew traffic rules.

New York Democrat Representative John Hall, broke with Spitzer over licenses for illegal aliens because of the security risk:

"I'm concerned that making licenses available to illegal immigrants could present security risks, make New York a magnet state for illegal immigrants by creating an incentive for more undocumented individuals to come to New York, and that the proposal would create a bureaucratic, confusing system," Hall said in a statement after he was criticized on the issue by national Republicans.

Even though some Democratic members of Congress see the silliness of providing incentives that encourage more illegal immigration, it's only the Republicans that are trying to stop driving illegals.

Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, introduced a resolution that would put the Senate on record condemning states issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Coleman's resolution is co-sponsored by 15 Republican Senators.

A similar resolution has been introduced in the House by Republican Representatives Tom Latham of Iowa and John Randy Kuhl Jr. of New York

New York Republican Representative Peter T. King of Long Island plans to introduce legislation next week that would prohibit states from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

Driving illegals is more problematic than just encouraging more illegal immigration. A driver's license is more than a permit to drive. It's a nationally recognized form of identification that implies citizenship. With the license comes an assumed legitimacy. The same legitimacy achieved by the 9/11 hijackers, who had dozens of state IDs, used to rent cars and apartments, open bank accounts, take flying lessons and board planes.

Instead of arresting and sending illegal aliens back to where they come from when they are discovered driving illegally, the liberal/progressive solution is to give them driver's licenses. I just don't get it.

More On Robertson's Endorsement Of Giuliani

Pat Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani is discussed on "Hardball with Chris Matthews."

Brownback Endorses McCain

Kansas Senator Sam Brownback endorsed Republican presidential hopeful John McCain:

Brownback said McCain is the most fiscally conservative candidate, has the best foreign policy experience, was right on the strategy for Iraq and takes a tough anti-abortion stand. He also argued that McCain would appoint strict constructionist judges to the Supreme Court.

If you want a guy to change Washington, John McCain's the guy to do it. He has been in Washington, but he is not of Washington.

Brownback's endorsement doesn't help McCain as much as Pat Robertson's endorsement helps Rudy.

McCain's campaign has been resurrected recently. The former front runner has clawed his way back to second place behind Rudy Giuliani in three recent polls.

National polls don't mean much in the presidential campaign. Statewide polls are much more significant. McCain is not faring as well in state polls:

In those, McCain is not faring as well. He is running fifth in Iowa, third in New Hampshire and fourth in South Carolina, according to the RealClearPolitics Web site's average of recent polls.

If McCain's better poll numbers translate to better fundraising numbers, he has a shot.

Pat Robertson Endorses Giuliani

Deeming Giuliani, "more than acceptable to people of faith, Pat Robertson endorsed Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid this morning:

Robertson said although he and Giuliani disagree on social issues, those disagreements "pale into insignificance" when measured against the import of the fight against global terrorism and radical Islam. "We need a man who sees clearly how to deal with that issue," said Robertson.

Pat Robertson is one of the most influential figures in the social conservative movement. He is probably best known as the founder of the Christian Coalition. More recently, Robertson's influenced has lessened as he made one controversial statement after another.

Robertson's endorsement of Giuliani is a setback to Mitt Romney. Romney, like many of the Republican presidential hopefuls sought Robertson's backing. Giuliani can now counter Romney's recently endorsement by conservative stalwarts Paul Weyrich and Bob Jones III and support his claim that despite his positions supporting abortion and gay rights, he is an acceptable choice to conservatives.

At The QandO Blog, Bruce McQuain belittles Robertson's endorsement posting "Dems get union endorsements and Reps get religious endorsements." McQ misses the point that it matters that this "religious endorsement" went to Giuliani. This endorsement matters because voters have heard of Pat Robertson.

UPDATE: I've added Video of the announcement of the endorsement.

Doubting Fred

According to the Telegraph's Toby Harnden, even Fred doubts he'll be president:

Chatting off-air to a television reporter, a stunningly candid off-the-cuff quip from the Hollywood actor cemented the impression that his heart is not in the 2008 race.

Trying to encourage his studio to hurry up so an interview could start, Carl Cameron of Fox News said into his microphone: "The next president of the United States has a schedule to keep." Standing beside him, a deadpan Mr. Thompson interjected: "And so do I."

As some Thompson aides looked bemused and others cringed, a taken-aback Mr Cameron, Fox's chief political correspondent, exclaimed: "You can't do that kind of stuff!"

Harnden misses the mark here. Unlike most presidential candidates, Fred has made a major point of not insisting that his candidacy is the most important thing in the world. This little exchange is totally in character for presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Toby Harnden overreacted. Jim Geraghty has it about right:

That exchange will fuel the Fred's-heart-isn't-really-in-it talk, but I don't think it ought to. This is the guy who jabbed Tim Russert about his weight, who told Chris Matthews "that's your opinion, Christopher," and who generally comes across as a guy who could take or leave the presidency. Cameron's comment was pretty clearly a joke in its presumptuousness, and Thompson's comment seems to be a joke to deflate that presumptuousness.

I like the Daily Telegraph a lot, but the whole tone of the article at the link has an overwheming Thompson-campaign-in-freefall tone that I think just isn't warranted by events. At least, not yet.

This exchange isn't a reason to doubt Fred.

Gay Marriage Ban Likely On Florida's 2008 Ballot

In next year's Presidential election, Florida voters will probably also vote on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages:

Proponents of the ban are heartened by polls showing that the amendment has a good chance of getting the 60 percent of votes necessary for passage.

"People intuitively understand why marriage should be between a man and a woman," said John Stemberger, head of Florida4Marriage.

Gay marriage is already illegal in Florida because the state adopted the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Nevertheless. Some support the amendment to ban gay marriage so state judges could not find the current law unconstitutional.

Only 13,000 more voter signatures are needed to reach the required 611,009 to get the amendment on the ballot

Bill Vayens, secretary of the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Democratic Caucus, said opponents have a legal team ready to challenge signatures.

Driving Illegals - Political Poison

A new poll finds voters oppose drivers' licenses for illegal aliens by a nearly five-to-one margin:

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of American adults are opposed to making drivers licenses available to people who are in the country illegally.

The results won't surprise anyone except the Liberal/Progressive extremists that have taken over the Democratic Party.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans oppose giving drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants. So do 68% of Democrats and 75% of those not affiliated with either major political party. There is little difference along gender, age, or income levels.

I have said before, we should trust the people on immigration reform. The people get it. They intuitively understand that it is stupid to give someone known to be here illegally a license to drive.

The poll numbers are the real reason Hillary refused to give a straight answer about New York Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer's very unpopular proposal to give licenses to illegal aliens.

The same analysis applies to the misguided Liberal/Progressive proposal to provide instate tuition breaks to illegal aliens contained in the so-called Dream Act. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of all voters oppose the concept of the Dream Act. On the left coast, 62% of California voters support Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of the state version of the Dream Act.

Providing any sort of "sanctuary" only encourages more illegal immigration.

Hillary Loses Ground

A CNN/Opinion Research poll, conducted after the Democrats' debate at Drexal University, finds less support for Hillary. Slick Hillary is now supported by 44 percent of the Democrats polled, down from 51 percent in October.

Hillary's poor performance in the face of the criticism heaped upon her by the other Democratic candidates for Hillary's failure to give straight answers to simple questions and the new poll numbers showing the Hillaryland juggernaut losing ground show the vaunted Clinton machine is vulnerable.

Just wait until after the primaries when the Republicans use the same material in ads like the RNC's "Long On Rhetoric, Short On Answers" video.

The CNN/Opinion Research poll was conducted on November 2-4 with Democrats or independents who lean Democratic. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.5 percent.

Slick Hillary Double Talk

Hillary's horrific performance in last weeks debate at Drexel University is a gift that just keeps on giving. In the following RNC video, Hillary's Clinton’s unwillingness to give a straightforward or honest answer is lambasted by Democratic candidates and political pundits alike:



You can watch the ad the Edwards campaign made parsing Hillary's double talk here and the fun Saturday Night Live and Obama had at Hillary's expense here.

Mondale Endorses Hillary

Former Vice President and presidential candidate Walter Mondale, the first presidential candidate to choose a woman as his running mate, backs Hillary.

Obama On Saturday Night Live

Last night Obama hosted Saturday Night Live. The opening skit was a Halloween Party hosted by Bill and Hillary Clinton:



Obama also took both Clintons to task on the campaign trail:

Campaigning in South Carolina earlier, Obama accused Hillary Clinton of giving voters “vague, calculated answers to suit the politics of the moment instead of clear, consistent principles about how you would lead America.” And he subtly swiped at former President Bill Clinton by listing problems that “existed long before George Bush took office.”

You can watch videos of Hillary's vague and calculated answers here and here.

Parsing Hillary

The Edwards campaign takes Hillary's to task over her devious and insincere refusals to give straight answers during the Democratic debate at Drexel University.



It was such double talk that caused me to declare her the loser of the debate. Hillary isn't nearly slick enough at such obfuscation to even aspire to succeed to Bill Clinton as Slick Willy.

Thanks to Stop Her Now for the tip.

Parsing Hillary

The Edwards campaign takes Hillary's to task over her devious and insincere refusals to give straight answers during the Democratic debate at Drexel University.



It was such double talk that caused me to declare her the loser of the debate. Hillary isn't nearly slick enough at such obfuscation to even aspire to succeed to Bill Clinton as Slick Willy.

Thanks to Stop Her Now for the tip.