"Its more of a "no confidence" vote...If more people have no confidence in Obama in 2012 than not, he loses. If not, he wins. It is that simple."
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.
TIS - The idea of a Trump '12 campaign is amusing. The ultimate ego stroking for Donald, and with how fluid that GOP field is...its his best chance.
God knows we need Trump to make the primaries fun, especially with the NFZ (No Fun Zone) that is Pawlenty.
(Only in America could actors get elected Governors, NBA players get elected mayors, comics become Congressmen, and a reality TV star become President?)
Appleonya - Basically, or 3 elements: Economy, Foreign Affairs, and the opponent.
Don't forget that one of the most popular presidents was an actor by profession. The comic isn't a congressman - he's a Senator! Remember Sonny Bono was the mayor of Palm Springs and then became a congressman. Or Gopher from the Love Boat that became a congressman. Jim Ryun, the runner, became a congressman from Kansas. We have an ex NFL lineman as a congressman from NJ.
Last edited by Don Marco; 03/27/1108:58 PM.
"After all, we are not communists"
Christopher Moltisanti: You ever think what a coincidence it is that Lou Gehrig died of Lou Gehrig's disease?
Tony Soprano: Yeah well, when you're married, you'll understand the importance of fresh produce.
Yes, you're right, Edwards did not leave his wife. That doesn't excuse his behavior. The fact that it was during a campaign makes no difference either. He was campaigning for office. AND, the fact the Elizabeth was in remission doesn't make an affair acceptable...
Just for the record I hope you don't think I was actually defending John Edwards.
The 'in remission' statement was his. I like to put it out there every now & then and since his name was brought up....
I was laughing when I first read this a while ago as I tried to picture you defending John Edwards. That would be as likely as you defending Jon Corzine, or his predecessor, the gay American.
"After all, we are not communists"
Christopher Moltisanti: You ever think what a coincidence it is that Lou Gehrig died of Lou Gehrig's disease?
Tony Soprano: Yeah well, when you're married, you'll understand the importance of fresh produce.
Don't forget that one of the most popular presidents was an actor by profession. The comic isn't a congressman - he's a Senator! Remember Sonny Bono was the mayor of Palm Springs and then became a congressman. Or Gopher from the Love Boat that became a congressman. Jim Ryun, the runner, became a congressman from Kansas. We have an ex NFL lineman as a congressman from NJ.
Thanks for pointing that out. Don't forget Steve Largent, the Seahawks great, Congressman of Oklahoma, Lynn Swann who could have ended up Governor of Pennsylvania, and Clint Eastwood as Mayor of Carmel, CA.
One of the great things about America is that we get to choose who we want to represent us and that those who do represent us are drawn from all components of the Nation's population.
"Generosity. That was my first mistake." "Experience must be our only guide; reason may mislead us." "Instagram is Twitter for people who can't read."
Don't forget Heath Schuler in North Carolina, former football QB at University of Tennessee.
Or John Hall of New York, who was a member of the 70s music group Orleans ("Dance with Me," "Love Takes Time," "Still the One.")
Originally Posted By: Don Marco
Don't forget that one of the most popular presidents was an actor by profession.
And for that matter, he was also President of the Screen Actors Guild, and thus our only President who was also leader of a labor union.
(would today's GOP even give such a figure with such a background a chance in the national arena? I'm certain Anne Coulter wouldn't have approved of him.)
Originally Posted By: Don Marco
The comic isn't a congressman - he's a Senator!
True but he was elected to a house of Congress, so just a difference of terminology. Besides they're all jokers if you ask me.
Originally Posted By: olivant
One of the great things about America is that we get to choose who we want to represent us and that those who do represent us are drawn from all components of the Nation's population.
We are very lucky in that regard, and that really adds dimensions when you see people elsewhere around the world get the shit beaten out of them or imprisoned or murdered just because they publicly say they want that right.
So possible '12 candidate (I can't believe I typed that) Donald Trump pulled the Birther card.
And sorta backfires.
Quote:
Trump fails to produce birth certificate
Donald Trump made headlines earlier today when he provided what he said was a copy of his birth certificate -- but a quick check reveals it's actually not an official document.
The paper that Trump released says "Jamaica Hospital" on top and lists the date and time of what he says was his birth to "Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Trump." The piece of paper has a seal at the bottom.
But after several New York City-based readers contacted POLITICO's Maggie Haberman, her call to city officials revealed that an actual birth certificate, which is issued by the Department of Health, would have the agency's seal and also a signature of the city registrar - neither of which the Trump document has. Officials said the city Health Department is the "sole issuing authority" of official birth certificates in New York, and that the document would clearly say so, and "city officials said it's not an official document."
It appears instead to be a hospital "certificate of birth," meaning the piece of paper the hospital gave to his family saying he was born. Such a document typically has the signature of the hospital administrator and the attending physician.
Source: Politico
And Ben Smith is just being mean with his last paragraph:
Quote:
Trump's mother, it should be noted, was born in Scotland, which is not part of the United States. His plane is registered in the Bahamas, also a foreign country. This fact pattern -- along with the wave of new questions surrounding what he claims is a birth certificate -- raises serious doubts about his eligibility to serve as President of the United States.
David Frum
Quote:
Question to discuss: Is Donald Trump crazy? Or does he just hold a very, very, very low opinion of the Republican primary voter?
I agree, SC. All he needed to add was that Obama was a terrorist-loving, communist Muslim and Fox News would have given him his own daily show on the spot.
Trump talks a good game from the sidelines. If he wants to throw his hat in the political arena (which I doubt), hell be ripped apart and I think he knows it.
If he and his hair (a national treasure) do run, his opponents will inevitably (and very quickly) bring up about that time when Trump had invited over a certain Libyan dictator as a guest on his property.
(or if we're talking substance, how somehow a casino of his in Atlantic City went bankrupt? Or his USFL days where he and his media whoring cost that league their Anti-Trust lawsuit against the NFL.)
But as I said before, a Trump run would be fun for an otherwise dull lackluster primary field. He's got his own money, never been accused of shying away from giving an opinion (asked or not), and has a sense of humor about his reputation.
But if he is serious about '12, he's got to stop making mickey mouse mistakes (like the Birth Certificate) which make him look foolish.
Last edited by ronnierocketAGO; 03/30/1101:14 AM.
Re: Election 2012
[Re: klydon1]
#598863 03/30/1108:54 AM03/30/1108:54 AM
I don't see any reason for Trump not to run in this watered down political age of ours. If you remember back when H. Ross Perot ran in '92, he tabbed himself as a shrewd and seasoned businessman who could turn the economy around, but then he was completely embarrased on a national televised debate by Al Gore when discussion of the economy came up. In hindsight, that wasn't so much a knock on Perot's business sense but a credit to just how smart Gore and Clinton were.
But that was then and this is now. Obama ran and won on his celebrity status more than anything else, and neither he nor Biden have someone like Al Gore's knowledge on economic matters. No reason Trump couldn't hold his own against either of those guys in a debate. I mean it's not like Obama had much experience at all before he came to Washington. So no, I don't see any reason for the Donald not to throw his celebrity hat into the ring along with the other celebrity candidates such as Obama and Palin, in an electoral process that has clearly become more about popularity and less about substance.
There's no way Trump runs for real, and there is one simple reason:
Financial Disclosure.
Trump has kept his finances very private because as a real estate promoter, and as a plain promoter in general he needs to maintain the appearance that he is worth a great deal more than he really is. He's gone broke before, and a couple of years ago he sued and blocked publication of information that allegedly placed his net worth at about $200 million. Thats a lot to most of us, but Trump would have us think he is worth billions, but he isn't. Trump ' s birther business is more than crazy, but the bottom line is that Trump is all about getting publicity for Trump, and this whole political thing is just one more way for him to do it.
"Io sono stanco, sono imbigliato, and I wan't everyone here to know, there ain't gonna be no trouble from me..Don Corleone..Cicc' a port!"
If Trump really believes what he's saying, like Nugent or Orly Taitz or Corsi or other whack jobs, that would almost be more acceptable than someone who repeats a lie, knowing full well it's a lie.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
He's probably building something - a casino or a new skyscraper, and is relishing all the free publicity. There is no way that he's running for real.
Perot on the other hand, after getting his guys out of Iran when our government was incapable of doing the same, truly believed he could help the country. That's a big difference. Trump only wants to help Trump.
There's no way Trump runs for real, and there is one simple reason:
Financial Disclosure.
Trump has kept his finances very private because as a real estate promoter, and as a plain promoter in general he needs to maintain the appearance that he is worth a great deal more than he really is. He's gone broke before, and a couple of years ago he sued and blocked publication of information that allegedly placed his net worth at about $200 million. Thats a lot to most of us, but Trump would have us think he is worth billions, but he isn't. Trump ' s birther business is more than crazy, but the bottom line is that Trump is all about getting publicity for Trump, and this whole political thing is just one more way for him to do it.
There's no way Trump runs for real, and there is one simple reason:
Financial Disclosure.
Trump has kept his finances very private because as a real estate promoter, and as a plain promoter in general he needs to maintain the appearance that he is worth a great deal more than he really is. He's gone broke before, and a couple of years ago he sued and blocked publication of information that allegedly placed his net worth at about $200 million. Thats a lot to most of us, but Trump would have us think he is worth billions, but he isn't. Trump ' s birther business is more than crazy, but the bottom line is that Trump is all about getting publicity for Trump, and this whole political thing is just one more way for him to do it.
That really makes the most sense. God forbid "The Donald" had to admit he's "only" worth 200 million or so, what would his neighbors think?
He's probably made more money in his second career as a shameless, self-promoting, reality television star, than he ever did as a realtor.
"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
And no Republican has officially thrown his/her hat in yet????? Or was there one off the wall type person???? They sure aren't in any big hurry are they? My hunch, they are all hoping & praying that Christie will enter the race. I say he will.
TIS
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." JFK
And no Republican has officially thrown his/her hat in yet????? Or was there one off the wall type person???? They sure aren't in any big hurry are they? My hunch, they are all hoping & praying that Christie will enter the race. I say he will.
TIS
Well Newt "I've got women in California, New York and in between/It's a full time operation trying to keep my business clean" Gingrich has thought about setting up an exploratory committee. But he hasn't formally declared.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
I don't think Newt(a woman in every state) will run. Just as I don't think Trump will run. However, does Newt get to keep any money he raised on the pretense that he was (or might) run? How does that work?
TIS
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." JFK
No, I didn't go see Charlie Sheen. I think I had to clean my dog's teeth or empty the gasoline out of the snowblower that night-something more interesting.
I'm not sure exactly how that works either, TIS. Unless and until you actually declare as a candidate you don't have to make formal disclosures.
So theoretically you COULD form a presidential exploratory committee and spend the money on the greater good of TIS but presumably there are other laws preventing that.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
If I remember right, a candidate can keep its fundraising earned from a campaign in an account after an election. It can be saved for a future campaign or given to other candidates said candidate is supporting.
And in declaring regards, Pawlenty announced an exploratory committee. Which is a sign that Mr. Charisma is running.
Well, if I understand the article Lilo posted I don't think he needs to report money made at this point. If he becomes an official candidate, he must report anything over $5,000, including the money paid for polling and such that he may be doing now.
It just seems he's doing a lot of talking and hinting, but I'm guessing in the end he won't run.
TIS
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." JFK
In February, Mother Jones wrote to the office of Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe seeking access to a variety of records concerning his predecessor's tenure, including Huckabee's travel records, calendars, call logs, and emails. Beebe's chief legal counsel, Tim Gauger, replied in a letter that "former Governor Huckabee did not leave behind any hard-copies of the types of documents you seek. Moreover, at that time, all of the computers used by former Governor Huckabee and his staff had already been removed from the office and, as we understand it, the hard-drives in those computers had already been 'cleaned' and physically destroyed."
He added, "In short, our office does not possess, does not have access to, and is not the custodian of any of the records you seek."
Quote:
In January 2007, Parsons requested "a copy of all information" on the Huckabee administration's computers the day he left office. Beebe's office provided Parsons with a January 9 memo addressed to Huckabee from the Arkansas Department of Information Systems, reporting that all of the gubernatorial hard drives had been "crushed under the supervision of a designee of [Huckabee's] office." That is, a Huckabee aide had made sure all this information was destroyed.
The memo included another tantalizing piece of information: The information stored on the drives had been saved on a backup, which was handed over to Huckabee's then-chief of staff, Brenda Turner. The history of the Huckabee administration, then, was locked away, under the watchful eye of a former aide. What did she do with this information? Where is it now? Turner, who now runs the PR shop for a Arkansas-based purveyor of Christian-themed greeting cards, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. (Contacted via his political action committee, Huckabee didn't respond to questions about his records.)
Quote:
What do the Huckabee files hold? The records could provide details on any number of unsettled controversies involving a governor that faced at least 15 ethics complaints concerning, among other things: his failure to report gifts and outside income, his alleged use of state funds and resources for political and personal purposes, and the pardon of a convicted murderer and rapist who went on to kill again once released.
Quote:
Huckabee's aversion to public disclosure extends beyond his gubernatorial papers. He and his handlers have also taken steps to block access to videotapes of his sermons, spanning his 12 years as a Southern Baptist minister before he entered politics. During the 2008 campaign, Mother Jones reported that Huckabee's campaign had refused to make the sermons public—and that, according to an official at one of the churches he'd led, much of the archival material relating to Huckabee's tenure had been destroyed.
Source: Mother Jones
I'm reminded of how Jimmy Carter (allegedly) has kept a tight seal on his Georgia governorship records from historians and other nosey noses. Why? Who knows.
(Which really isn't necessary, since everybody already knows he used race baiting this side of Bob Corker to get elected Governor in '70.)
Michelle Bachman earlier today apparently snagged Huckabee's '08 campaign director to run her own presidential run.
Laugh, but she's a more serious candidate for that nomination than alot of people (especially on the GOP establishment) want to believe.
RR, you know what? I won't laugh because anything is possible. From all indications Bachman is loved not only in not only Minnesota, but I hear Iowa as well, and of course in the TP circles. She can draw a crowd, raise lots of money and spins a good yarn(although many times inaccurate yarns).
She has more energy and spunk then any of the other boring candidates so far. She'll give the other R's a good run for their money. Once Christie throws his hat in the ring, that'll be her main competition. Then, barring anything major snags, IMHO they'll both die down in popularity and Obama will win a second term.
TIS
Last edited by The Italian Stallionette; 04/05/1105:38 PM.
"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind. War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today." JFK
At first, I really thought Obama wouldn't last in the next election. But now, considering his opponents, I think he would make a good change for a second term.
I really don't see a Mike Huckabee going to be president, but then again I'm just someone from the Netherlands.
"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
I would be very surprised if Michele "You can see the crazy in my eyes, just look" Bachmann gets any support beyond a very small coterie of like minded people.
I think the true 2012 Republican Candidate has yet to reveal himself (herself)
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
They sure aren't in any big hurry are they? 
