Thomas Sowell on Hillary, McCain

Thomas Sowell has long been my favorite columnist (see his link to the right.) Today's piece assesses the level of "experience" being touted by both Hillary Clinton and John McCain. What is most interesting is that these obvious observations are so easily overlooked by the media and the voting public.

Sowell on Hillary:

For those people whose memories are short, go on the Internet and look up Whitewater, the confidential raw FBI files on hundreds of Republican politicians that somehow -- nobody apparently knows how -- ended up in the Clinton White House illegally.

Look up the sale of technology to China that can enable them to more accurately hit American cities with nuclear missiles. Then look up the money that found its way to the Clintons through devious channels.

Look up Bill Clinton's firing of every single U.S. Attorney in the country, which of course included those who were investigating him for corruption as governor of Arkansas.

Sowell on McCain:

While you are on the Internet looking up the record of the Clintons, look up John McCain's record, including the Keating Five, the McCain-Feingold bill, and the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill.

Senator McCain's trump card is his military experience. Some say his military experience is especially valuable when we are under threat from terrorists. But is it?

John McCain's military service was both honorable and heroic. But let's not confuse that with experience relevant to being President of the United States.

The most charitable interpretation of Senator McCain's constant touting of his military service is that he is simply milking it for political advantage.

It would be truly dangerous if McCain really considers himself a military expert, who can therefore ignore the advice of real military experts as President of the United States.

A man like McCain, with a history of being headstrong and shooting from the hip, is the last thing we need as President, in an age of complex global threats, including terrorists who may get nuclear weapons within the next few years.

I don't think Thomas Sowell has come out and endorsed anyone, but from articles like these, I think it's safe to say he's voting for Mitt Romney.

Romney's Super-Tuesday Surge

It looks like Mitt Romney is finding some traction leading up to all-important Super Tuesday tomorrow. In the last week in many areas of the country he has eliminated most or all of John McCain's lead in the polls; especially significant is delegate-rich California, where Romney leads by eight points. This is complemented by his non-binding landslide win in Maine. I'm sure this is due in no small part to the support of the conservative ideologues in the media - the Rush Limbaughs, Sean Hannitys, Laura Ingrahams, et. al. He may have been helped by comments from Mike Huckabee, who is believed to be siphoning votes from Romney in the South. Huckabee has turned negative toward the talking heads who oppose him, even going so far as to say that Sean Hannity was speaking from his pocketbook because he was on the Bain Capital payroll.

Romney is known to be the most hated candidate among his competition thanks to his Washington outsider status, his money and his evolution on key issues. If he can pull this off, it will be quite the upset. At the very least, I believe Mitt will win enough delegates on Tuesday to continue his run.

Rick Santorum Gets Behind Romney

Former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum joined Laura Ingraham on her radio show to voice his support of Mitt Romney. From the interview:

If you're a conservative, there really is only one place to go right now. I would even argue farther than that. If you're a Republican, if you're a Republican in the broadest sense, there is only one place to go right now and that's Mitt Romney.

Listen to the interview.

It's Out Of My Hands

Well, I worked the phones for a couple hours for the Romney campaign on Saturday, and this morning I was voter #4 in my precinct, so I've done just about all I can on my end here in Michigan. The rest is up to the remaining electorate – in whom I don't hold a lot of faith. I mean, they keep electing people in favor of more taxes in a depressed economy. Detroit City Council is a circus. The Michigan legislature is the embodiment of malaise. Not the most enlightened voters I've seen.

Will these people break from tradition and nominate a non-lame-o? We'll know tonight!

Another One Bites the Dust. Tancredo Cedes Race to Romney

There's one fewer Republican candidate to remember. Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo dropped out of the race, recognizing that he has no chance of winning, and that Romney has the best chance to push Tancredo's signature platform - illegal immigration reform.

As the article states, the endorsement comes at a time when Romney (considered the odds-on favorite to win by Pat Buchanan) is pushing to retain an edge in Iowa - and it's a welcome endorsement indeed.

Tancredo and Romney met for about an hour today prior to the announcements, Tancredo said. He opted to support Romney after he was reassured that he had clarified his position on immigration.

Bowing out was the only way to ensure the momentum behind the anti-illegal immigration movement wouldn't flame out, he said.

Seems that Romney has enjoyed slow but steady growth over the course of his marathon campaign, compared to his opponents, whose standings have been either anemic (John McCain, Fred Thompson), in decline (Giuliani), or wildly unpredictable (Huckabee). If recent history is any measure, Mitt is right on track to be the one who beats Hillary in the general election.

Michael Novak - Another Powerful Romney Endorsement

Wow, there's nothing like heating up the political horse race to bring out the big, ringing endorsements. First the National Review, and now the widely respected philosopher and diplomat Michael Novak. Read the endorsement.

An excerpt:

"One of my favorite texts from the New Testament is "By their fruits you shall know them." That verse has taught me to look for persons who actually love God, not so much by the churches they attend or what they say they believe, but by how they and their families live their lives. Over two public generations now, the Romney family has given us examples of upright, decent, warm lives, given to public commitment even though they did not have to be.

"These days, though, it has become imperative for some Christians to come out publicly for Mitt, now that his religion has come under unfair attack. I am no expert on Mormon theology, but I do profoundly admire the good family life and good individuals it keeps sending forth into the world. Those are signs I read clearly."

National Review Endorses Romney

The bastion of conservative news, thought and commentary, the National Review, has endorsed my pick for president, Mitt Romney. Read the excellent endorsement. Here are some excerpts:

Our guiding principle has always been to select the most conservative viable candidate. In our judgment, that candidate is Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts. Unlike some other candidates in the race, Romney is a full-spectrum conservative: a supporter of free-market economics and limited government, moral causes such as the right to life and the preservation of marriage, and a foreign policy based on the national interest.

Romney is an intelligent, articulate, and accomplished former businessman and governor. At a time when voters yearn for competence and have soured on Washington because too often the Bush administration has not demonstrated it, Romney offers proven executive skill. He has demonstrated it in everything he has done in his professional life, and his tightly organized, disciplined campaign is no exception. He himself has shown impressive focus and energy.

We believe that Romney is a natural ally of social conservatives. He speaks often about the toll of fatherlessness in this country. He may not have thought deeply about the political dimensions of social issues until, as governor, he was confronted with the cutting edge of social liberalism. No other Republican governor had to deal with both human cloning and court-imposed same-sex marriage. He was on the right side of both issues, and those battles seem to have made him see the stakes of a broad range of public-policy issues more clearly. He will work to put abortion on a path to extinction. Whatever the process by which he got to where he is on marriage, judges, and life, we’re glad he is now on our side — and we trust him to stay there.

For some people, Romney’s Mormonism is still a barrier. But we are not electing a pastor...He deserves to be judged on his considerable merits as a potential president...Romney is an exemplary family man and a patriot whose character matches the high office to which he aspires.

In this most fluid and unpredictable Republican field, we vote for Mitt Romney.

National Review and NRO are America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for Republican/conservative news, commentary, and opinion. Both magazine and web site are the benchmark vehicles for reaching those Republicans/conservatives who shape opinion on the important issues, and both reach an affluent, educated, and highly responsive audience of corporate and government leaders, the financial elite, educators, journalists, community and association leaders, as well as engaged activists all across America.

Mitt Romney: Most Targeted by the Democrats

These figures from Drudge are rather telling. It's a summary of the press release attacks from the Democratic National Committee. Here's the breakdown:

Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) – 37% (99 press releases)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-NY) – 28% (74)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) – 24% (64)
Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) – 8% (20)
Governor Mike Huckabee – 2% (4)]

Mitt Romney is far and away the biggest target for the DNC. They obviously see him as the greatest threat, with the best chance of defeating Hillary or whomever else they nominate.

Compare that to Mike Huckabee, who has been on the business end of a total of four negative attack releases – even though he has proposed putting all AIDS victims under quarantine.

The DNC had better pray the anti-Mormons have their way. Hmm...now there's a strange pair of bedfellows.

Watch "Faith in America"

I finally got around to embedding Mitt Romney's defining moment thus far in his campaign. Take a few minutes to give it a watch or listen. There are at least a half-dozen AOL (agree-out-loud) moments in it.

Webcast: Catch Romney's Religion Speech

Don't miss one of the cornerstone speeches of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign! Airing 10:30am EST. Watch it at MittRomney.com.

Bob Jones III Gets Behind Romney

Here's another significant win for Mitt Romney: the support of Christian leader and chancellor of the fundamentalist Christian Bob Jones University.

Says Bob,

"This is all about beating Hillary," Jones said. "And I just believe that this man has the credentials both personally and ideologically in terms of his view about what American government should be to best represent the rank and file of conservative Americans.

As Mitt maintains his momentum in the crucial early voting states, he's also maintaining his momentum convincing mainstream Christian leaders that he's running for Commander-in-Chief, not Pastor-in-Chief.

Hastert for Romney? Cool.

From the article,

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert heads a full slate of 57 candidates seeking election as convention delegates pledged to Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney in the state's Feb. 5 primary, the campaign said Tuesday.

Groovy.

Ames Chooses Romney

The much ballyhooed Ames, Iowa straw poll, which is seen as a bellwether for the success of Republican presidential candidates, has given another solid and significant victory to Mitt Romney, who has maintained his upward momentum over the grueling past 12 months or so.

This result should narrow the field of Republican contenders significantly--particularly those who were hoping to slide into a close second place behind Romney and knock him off balance. In fact, Tommy Thompson had stated that he would drop out if he didn't achieve first or second place. I think others will probably follow suit. Bye bye.


Here are the results:

1. Gov. Mitt Romney with 4516 votes and 31%
2. Gov. Mike Huckabee with 2587 votes at 18.1%
3. Sen. Sam Brownback with 2192 votes and 15.3%
4. Tom Tancredo with 1961 votes, 13.7%.
5. Ron Paul with 1305 votes, and 9.1%
6. Tommy Thompson, 1,039 votes, 7.3%
7. Fred Thomson with 203 votes.
8. Rudy Giuliani with 183 votes.
9. Duncan Hunter with 174 votes.
10. John McCain with 101 votes.
11. John Cox with 41 votes.

Mitt Romney Signed Photo

mitt romney
Originally uploaded by Senor Velasco

After four months of waiting and eager anticipation, I finally got my Mitt Romney signed photograph! I suppose I've done enough stumping for Mitt here that it's the least he can do for me.

I wonder what the chances are that I can collect signed photos from the other 9+ presidential candidates. Let's find out!

Senate: Let's Put This Messy Immigration Issue Behind Us

immigration_dc 006
Originally uploaded by mattdailey.

Amid the self-congratulation the Senate is giving itself about its immigration bill compromise, appears that the claim of bipartisanship has trumped reason as well as effective legislation. Let's quote South Carolina senator Jim DeMint:

"According to reports, the bill contains a new 'Z Visa' that allows those who entered our country illegally to stay here permanently without ever returning home. This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don't care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty."

Thank you, Senator, for calling a spade a spade.

Immigration is one of those issues that legislators wish they didn't have to deal with, because no matter your position, you're going to make a lot of people angry. What's unfortunate is that few have the cajones to take a real stand, and instead take a watered-down position and call it a glorified act of bipartisanship.

Know which presidential candidate isn't getting caught up in the sweep-the-problem-under-the-carpet routine? Yep, it's Mitt.

"I strongly oppose today's bill going through the Senate. It is the wrong approach. Any legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country indefinitely, as the new 'Z-Visa' does, is a form of amnesty. That is unfair to the millions of people who have applied to legally immigrate to the U.S.

"Today's Senate agreement falls short of the actions needed to both solve our country's illegal immigration problem and also strengthen our legal immigration system. Border security and a reliable employment verification system must be our first priority."

No other major presidential candidate has taken as strong a position on immigration reform, which is anther reason that Romney is the clear choice for '08.