More on the GOP debates

Boortz: "The heaviness of this decision is truly starting to sink in"  "Finally, after all this time, someone launched a concerted and effective attack against Mitt Romney and RomneyCare. And that person was Rick Santorum. He held Romney’s feet to the fire on the issue in a way that he could expect from Obama if he is the nominee."


Suffolk University:  FLA. POLL: ROMNEY STRONGER THAN GINGRICH IN FACEOFF VS. OBAMA

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/

American Thinker: Jacksonville debate: Santorum; Romney up; Newt down; Paul remarkably fit for his age  "Last night's debate in Jacksonville featured a more aggressive Mitt Romney, who appears to have benefitted from debate coaching, a somewhat tired-looking Newt Gingrich, a sprightly Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum getting much more attention than usual."

The Weekly Standard:  Romney and Santorum Shine in Final Florida Debate  "The worst moments for Romney came when Rick Santorum tore into both Romney's and Gingrich's records on health care:"... 


Peter Wehner:  A Good Night for Conservative Principles   "This is a wonderful articulation of America’s founding principle and a nice corrective to those conservatives who tend to focus only on the Constitution at the expense of the document (the Declaration of Independence) that dealt a crushing philosophical blow to tyranny and despotism."


 Jay Nordlinger The GOP Quartet, Once More    Running commentary while watching the debate Thursday

Our enemies are better students of our military than is Obama

Morning Bell: A Slashed and Burned Military  "Meanwhile, America’s enemies are watching. They can count our troops, our planes, and our ships. They can look on as America’s military retreats and loses its ability to project forces around the world. And they will quickly realize that the United States will not be able to cover its responsibilities worldwide. That is an invitation for the sort of security threats America cannot afford — and they are threats that America may not be able to respond to with its stripped-down military."


And you can be sure, the next president who has to deal with some threat that requires a build-up will be the target of liberal (Democrat) demagoguery and the resultant #occupations of you-name-it.


WSJ: Panetta Outlines Pentagon Cutbacks  "The cuts also would slow procurement of the advanced F-35 stealth jet and reduce the Defense Department's purchase of commercial-satellite imagery. The Navy would retire seven of its cruisers early, and the Air Force would take some of its aging C-130 transport planes out of service and halt purchases of one version of the Global Hawk surveillance drone—in favor of keeping the aging U-2 high-altitude spy plane flying."

http://theweek.com/section/cartoon/12/213702/barack-obama

Blackfive: THE DEFENSE BUDGET  "Or said another way, the administration has decided that it will attempt to cut spending primarily with cuts to national defense.  There is no serious program afoot to cut back the myriad of other government agencies and branches.  In fact, many are expanding (see EPA, IRS, etc.)."
Paraphrasing Sen. Carl Levin: “we’re more than willing to hold national security hostage and see it gutted to get our way on taxes”.

Over all this hangs the question: Will Iran Really Start a War? "The common theme of these modern examples of unforeseen preemptive wars is clear enough: empty, even foolhardy threats of war are not always so empty. The Korean War, the Yom Kippur War, the Falklands War, and the First Gulf War all share a variety of commonalities that are relevant to the ongoing tension with Iran — aside from the fact that these invasions eventually proved costly for the aggressors."  Victor Davis Hanson


The Foreign Policy Initiative:  Obama seems to lack an appreciation of America's unique role in the world, says FPI Executive Director Jamie Fly  "Although voters in 2012 will be focused primarily on the state of the economy, they should consider who is best suited to defend the country and advance America's interests as commander chief when choosing whether to reelect Obama or bring in a new president.

The transparency we were promised

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Ramirez, Beeler on Obama’s class warfare

Hot Air

"Sometimes, it doesn’t even really take a breaking-news hook to appreciate Michael Ramirez.  The two-time Pultizer Prize winning editorial cartoonist sums up Barack Obama’s class warfare strategy perfectly in one image from the day before Obama’s State of the Union speech (via Power Line):"

Re-Elect Obama: Vote Newt!

Ann Coulter  "To talk with Gingrich supporters is to enter a world where words have no meaning. They denounce Mitt Romney as a candidate being pushed on them by "the Establishment" -- with "the Establishment" defined as anyone who supports Romney or doesn't support Newt."....

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/24/95698

" Romney's one great "flip-flop" is on abortion. (I thought the reason we argued with people about abortion was to try to get them to "flip-flop" on this issue. Sometimes it works!)"
....

"Romney is "moderate" only in demeanor -- which is just another word game. His positions are more conservative than Gingrich's, but he doesn't scare people like Gingrich does. Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms were moderate in demeanor, too. No one would call them political moderates.

"Romney is the most electable candidate not only because it will be nearly impossible for the media to demonize this self-made Mormon square, devoted to his wife and church, but precisely because he is the most conservative candidate."

Blockhead

http://www.mrconservative.com/2012/01/1195-obama-job-blocker/

Hat tip to Conservative Patriots of America

Lets not forget Ron Paul

Both cartoons from http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/cartoons-by-clayton-liotta-dickmorris.com/

OBAMA HAS HEATED ARGUMENT WITH AZ GOV JAN BREWER

Drudge  "It was clear from the moment they greeted one another that this would not be a run-of-the-mill encounter between the president and a local official. At one point, she was pointing her finger at him and at another, they were talking at the same time, seemingly over each other. 

"He appeared to walk away from her while they were still talking, and she confirmed that by saying she didn't finish her sentence." 
President Narcissist not happy with Gov. Brewer’s portrayal of him in new book

Story developing...

Thou Shalt Not Write Bad Things About Obama



Being Obama; It’s all about him.  "As he talked to the donors, he started drawing a little sketch on the newspaper lying in front of him. Lizza reported:"

I couldn’t help noticing, when we sat down to talk in the dilapidated storefront that houses his Springfield campaign headquarters, that the blue-pen drawing he’d doodled on his newspaper during fundraising calls was a portrait of himself.

Still more commentary on that State of the Union, unless you prefer that we rehash Newt and Mitt's attacks on each other

From Heritage:
Obama’s State of Omission "The speech was notable for the items he did not mention, including many of the failed spending programs and policies he undertook over the past three years, the foreign policy and defense challenges he has exacerbated, and the economic actions he failed to take that would have created jobs and spurred economic growth."


President Obama Glossed over Afghan War  "President Obama needs to be up front with the American people about the risks of a precipitous withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. A hasty troop drawdown could lead to a civil war and the Taliban regaining influence in the country, which would strengthen Islamist militant forces in both Afghanistan and Pakistan and provide the conditions for al-Qaeda to revive in the region."


FACT CHECK: 10 Dubious Claims from Obama’s State of the Union  "President Obama made a number of questionable statements in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Heritage experts took on some of the policy issues he raised, but we at Scribe thought we would address the simple factual accuracy of 10 of the more outlandish statements from the president. Quotes are drawn from the president’s prepared remarks."

http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2012/01/25/95756

Heritage Reaction Roundup  "President Obama omitted two words from his State of the Union speech, but there’s two words that speak volumes about the president’s direction for America’s energy policy.  Keystone and Solyndra"

....
"Besides, this spending will have to be paid for, and since Obama has yet to propose a serious reduction to federal spending that means it would likely be through higher taxes or more debt – and both will further drain the economy."


To quote just two of many subjects in this section.


From PJ Media:
Barry Rubin:  Obama’s State of the Union Speech: My Response Discovers Some Curious Insights and Strange Formulations  "Governor Mitch Daniels gave the Republican response and stuck completely to domestic economic issues, which was after all Obama’s main theme. Yet international affairs was the only other theme and if Obama’s critics can’t do a better job of analyzing his claims, responding to his policies, and offering an alternative to his strategies he is more likely to remain president for five more years."


Ron Radosh:  Why Mitch Daniels Should Enter the Race: The Real Conservative Alternative  "But those who saw President Obama’s lengthy, boring, and uninspiring faux populist presentation could see a strong contrast from the Indiana governor. As the full text of his speech shows, Daniels touched upon the important themes that our president completely ignored."


Voice of Lillpop:
John W. Lillpop:  State of the Union: Occupied and In Decline!  "Were President Obama to break with tradition and give an honest report about the real State of the Union, he would be compelled to admit that America is occupied by forces hostile to the U.S. Constitution—himself and the Marxists in the U.S. House and Senate. Those forces are opposed to free-market capitalism and the rule of law held in such high esteem by the majority of Americans."

Neal Boortz: An America divided

Neal Boortz  ..."Let’s take a look at some of the divisions among us that politicians in Washington seem intent on expanding or making permanent for the purposes of their own political pursuits."
.... "But for those of you who believe that our country cannot survive at this current pace and that we need to scale back to a more limited government, you might describe our situation as “grave.”  That’s the word Mitch Daniels used in his GOP response to Ceasar Obammus’ campaign speech.  Then in response to this description of “grave,” Democrat hack Chuckie Schumer comes along and says “we think we are in great shape. We are in good shape.” "

...."Schumer and these Democrats like Debbie Wasserman Shultz are pandering to the lowest common denominator of voter who is completely incapable of discerning basic facts from tall tales."
Mr Boortz then discusses each of these points of division in turn and we have pasted in a brief excerpt from each: 

• Rich versus Poor  "The more accurate heading should read: Rich versus people who want... the government to redistribute the wealth."
• Perception versus Reality   "A study by Spectrem Group found that among today’s millionaires, inherited wealth accounted for just 2% of their total sources of wealth."
• Small Business versus Big Government  "Add ObamaCare into the mix and a host of other regulations and soon the cost of doing businesses just isn’t worth it."
• Americans versus Big Anything  "They are so unsatisfied with big entities like our federal government, and yet they hand their children over to our government every day to be educated."
• Black Voters versus Rational Thought  In 2008, Obama "enjoyed a 96% approval rating among black Americans.  That figure is embarrassing.  That figure has now dropped to an all-time low of 79% approval.  But still … 79%?  Gimme a break, folks." 
• Americans versus the Tax Code "First, many taxpayers abroad say they are confused “by the complex legal and reporting requirements they face and are overwhelmed by the prospect of having to comply with them.” "

http://conservativedailynews.com/2012/01/2012-obama-platform/

A case for Mitt Romney

Ann Coulter:  Strongest Case Against Romney a Few Sheets Short of a Ream  "Among Romney's thousands of business decisions, the one I gather his opponents consider his absolute worst was the decision to close a paper plant in Marion, Ind. Which wasn't his decision at all.
"It was labor trouble at the Marion plant of a Bain-acquired company, Ampad, that formed the basis of Teddy Kennedy's desperate 11th-hour attack on Romney in their 1994 Senate competition.....
"It is beyond journalistic malpractice for media outlets showcasing the bitter and lying Johnson to neglect to mention that he was the union president who led the strike that forced Ampad to close the plant.

"And yet The New York Times, MSNBC and others who have publicized Johnson's sob story regularly refuse to convey that crucial fact. This would be as if a judge excluded the fact that the defense's principal witness is the defendant's mother."  (Emphasis added)

Bain helped make the turnaround in Domino's Pizza


The Hill:  The case for Mitt Romney is actually pretty strong.  "Romney needs to build a better case for his election, a narrative that is more authentic, more revealing of the real Mitt Romney and more convincing to the voters.
"The narrative must fit into this time we live in." 


Someone wrote, "McCain wanted to be nice; Obama wanted to be president". Please, no more timid, McCain-type campaigners!  That Someone wrote the following about the Republican's opponent in this election:

My opinion was gradually set in steel as I read and studied and pored over Obama’s own books. The incongruous details of his race-obsessed memoir — the invented episodes, the composite characters, the utter lack of humility and true introspection — all bespoke a man of innate dishonesty and a lack of healthy shame. His audacious book on politics did nothing but hammer home his lack of principles and values, as he equivocated every single position, until the reader could determine absolutely nothing coherent about the writer.

donkeyhotey

Romney MUST overcome that "timid" label;  I'm an evangelical, but Romney's Mormonism is no  factor to me at all. While many of us would take issue with Romney's biblical beliefs- a non-issue in this case- we must appreciate that Mormons generally love this country and are patriotic people. 
I only question Mr. Romney's political convictions and his ability to confront Democrats with a solid defense of free markets and capitalism. It seems that Romney exemplifies the good things in capitalism, but apparently educating the ignorant masses will take Newt Gingrich.
Romney? Santorum? Gingrich? I have not a clue, yet. Do you?  TD

SOTU as commented upon by Terrell the Terrible

http://terrellaftermath.com/