Quick Candidates Condition Round Up...(PT 2)

[Scooter]

I loved this line from the CNN story:

His catchy "9-9-9" economic plan is not going anywhere, he said.

He's got that right.

[Gob]

Herman Cain's turn as overnight sensation was already done, but his exit could still be important.

The question is where his supporters go now.

It has been a feature of this Republican race that while Mitt Romney jogs along in first or second place, a series of shooting stars have briefly outshone him before fading and losing their lustre.

Newt Gingrich is not merely the latest "anti-Mitt" candidate. He is the last.

Why? Michele Bachmann or Rick Perry could rise again. Rick Santorum or Jon Huntsman could have their day in the sun.

But I doubt it.

Ron Paul? I am less inclined to rule that out, and I expect him to do well in Iowa.

But I don't see him breaking through to be the main challenger to Romney.

If Cain's voters in the main go for Newt Gingrich, as pollsters think they will, it would be an important and significant boost to the Newt surge.

If they divide up more equally among the rest of the field, it is good for Romney.

Fans of a nomination fight will point to this forced exit as the primary process living up to its purpose.

An unvetted candidate who might have survived a couple of weeks of campaigning couldn't take the strain of this long, drawn-out process.

Better now for Republicans than in the middle of the presidential contest itself.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16014210

[rubato]

The cream of the Republican crop curdles early.

"Stupid is as stupid does, sir":

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/herm ... 41824.html

Plagued by allegations of sexual harassment and marriage infidelity, businessman Herman Cain announced Saturday that he is officially suspending his campaign for president of the United States.

"As of today, with a lot of prayer and soul searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign," Cain said at what was supposed to be new campaign headquarters in his hometown of Atlanta. "I am disappointed that it came to this point that we had to make this decision."

But he added, "Before you get discouraged, today I want to describe Plan B. . . . I am not going away. I will continue to be a voice for the people." With that, he unveiled the headquarters of his new website, TheCainSolutions.com.

Standing with his wife Gloria by his side, Cain vowed that he would make an endorsement before the primaries were over and said that he "will not be silenced."

Cain, one of the first Republican candidates to launch his campaign for the White House last spring, spent most of his run as an obscure, low-polling candidate that was a hit at tea party rallies. But as the Republican field took shape, and it became clear that high-profile party hopefuls like Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would not enter the race, Republicans seemed willing to give any of the candidates a fair shake.

Cain's big break came in Florida in September during a presidential debate that preceded a major straw poll of party insiders in the state. Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the front runner at that time, but after he flubbed the debate and told a crowd of Republicans that they didn't "have a heart" if they disagreed with him on immigration policy, Cain's clearly-articulated conservative message earned him a fresh look and victory at the straw poll.

Over the next few weeks, Cain would rise to the top of national and state public opinion polls. He published a book, This is Herman Cain! My Road to the White House, was placed center-stage at the upcoming debates and his economic policy proposal, the very marketable "999 Plan," became the focus of national discussion.

Of course, with national prominence came heightened scrutiny from his opponents and the media and, for a while, Cain coasted through without most of the new attacks sticking to him. That is, until Politico published a report alleging that several anonymous women had accused him of sexual harassment while he was president of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s.

For the most part, Republicans came to his defense. Cain's campaign raised millions of dollars sent to him from supporters who felt he was the victim of unfair and unsubstantiated attacks. ... '

--------------------------

yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

Is it me or has Romney taken a turn toward self destruction over the past few weeks?

[Lord Jim]

I think that the Gingrich surge has made Mitt somewhat testy and panicky....(Though I think the pundits and Demo spinmeisters are making waaaay too much out of the "$10,000 bet" thing...that's really trivial.)

I think he was perfectly happy to see Herman Cain as his number one competitor going into Iowa, and having the rest of the Not Romney vote split between several others....

Romney doesn't need to win Iowa; but he desperately needs to have Gingrich not emerge as the clear winner there, going into New Hampshire...

He's got one thing going for him in that regard; every other candidate in the race has the same need, so they will all be focusing their resources on knocking Gingrich rather than him. (Perry in particular could be helpful to Romney in this regard, since he's got a substantial amount of money to hit Gingrich with)

Romney's campaign is also spending 3 million in an anti-Gingrich campaign, in Iowa, and a super-PAC backing Romney is spending a similar amount...

All of this negativity can backfire, (especially coming at Christmas time) but it's a risk Mitt has to take...

If Newt comes out of Iowa with a five point or better victory over the field, he might even beat Romney in New Hampshire, in which case Mitt will be finished. (Romney's getting bitch slapped from two directions in New Hampshire; on his right the Not Romney vote has largely coalesced behind Gingrich, and on his left John Huntsman is siphoning off a significant percentage of vote...8-10%... that would otherwise most likely go to Mitt)

Mitt doesn't need to get Gingich's Iowa supporters to switch to him...

He just needs to get some of them to switch to somebody...anybody....else...

[Crackpot]

He was getting testy before Cain imploded he has been getting way too combative about his flip/flopping and it's making him look bad. he Can't seem to handle that people aren't swallowing his weak (at best) excuses (outright lies) on the subject and frankly it's making him look like a petulant little child that has no business holding the highest office in the country.

[Gob]

Romney doesn't need to win Iowa; but he desperately needs to have Gingrich not emerge as the clear winner there, going into New Hampshire...

[Lord Jim]

The latest Iowa poll (CNN/Time 11/29/12/06) actually has Romney coming up a little bit:

Gingrich 33%
Romney 20%
Paul 17%
Perry 9%
Bachmann 7%
Santorum 5%
Huntsman 1%
Someone else (vol.) *
None/ No one (vol.) 2%
No opinion 5%

Read more: http://swampland.time.com/topline-resul ... z1gG3EAz3b


If I'm Romney, I'm hoping for a major snow storm in Iowa Jan. 4th. The worse the weather is, the more important ground organization becomes in terms of getting your people to the caucuses....

Romney doesn't have as extensive an organization in Iowa as he did in '08, but he's got a far stronger one than Gingrich. Also, the candidate bad weather most favors is Ron Paul, (his people will turnout no matter what) and if Romney can't win it himself, a Paul win is almost as good for him, in terms of blunting Gingrich's momentum.

Aside from Gingrich winning big in Iowa, the other thing Romney needs to avoid is having one of the other Not Romneys (Bachmann, Perry or Santorum) sneak up from behind and knock him into 4th place.

Even a third place finish, where he and Gingrich and and Paul are all within a point or two of each other is something he can live with.

[Gob]

If I'm Romney, I'm hoping for a major snow storm in Iowa Jan. 4th. The worse the weather is, the more important ground organization becomes in terms of getting your people to the caucuses....

Romney doesn't have as extensive an organization in Iowa as he did in '08, but he's got a far stronger one than Gingrich. Also, the candidate bad weather most favors is Ron Paul, (his people will turnout no matter what) and if Romney can't win it himself, a Paul win is almost as good for him, in terms of blunting Gingrich's momentum.

When you can type that with a straight face, then don't ever criticise me for taking the piss out of US politics!!!

[Lord Jim]

No problem Strop...

I realize that the American Presidential selection process is just a little too complex and nuanced for you to follow....

[Scooter]

No, it's just filled with an inordinate number of crazy people when compared with most other countries.

[Crackpot]

Nah we just don't shroud our crazies in pageantry.

[Gob]

No problem Strop...

I realize that the American Presidential selection process is just a little too complex and nuanced for you to follow....

Well that's one way of putting it. I work with lunatics every day, I can send a few over to give added interest to your political system if you like?

[Gob]

But Mr Romney found himself under attack too, with the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, arguing against the former's healthcare policies.

Mr Romney also offered up a $10,000 bet over healthcare - a move which some say will portray him as out of touch with the public, especially at such a time of economic hardship.

Your boy just shot himself in the foot there Jim!

Never mind, may be you'll get snow in Utah, freak gales in Pennsylvania, swarms of locusts in Arizona, and a sighting of bigfoot in Alaska, and all the other weird and wonderful things which make up this; "election, but not a real election, of those who may or may not have declared that they will run, until their affairs get found out, and be voted for by people who support the opposition party and who have registered themselves as partly insane members of the party they don't like," dog and pony show!

[Lord Jim]

Your boy just shot himself in the foot there Jim!

Nobody but Demo spinners and their allies in the MSM gives two shits about this...

It shows how desperate they are to see Romney derailed that they would even attempt to make a big deal out of this...it's not even a one day story....

What happened was Perry, for the umpteenth time, was claiming Mitt said something in his book re the individual mandate that he did not say, (I haven't read Romney's book but I'll take the word of more than one liberal pundit who has no reason to wish Romney anything but ill who I saw on the news programs this morning, who said that Perry got it wrong.)

When Perry repeated it again, Romney told him he was wrong. When he again tried to get in the last word claiming it was true, Romney got fed up with Perry pulling this and extended his hand (as if to offer to shake) and said, "I'll bet you $10,000 that isn't in my book."

BFD.....

[Gob]

He's getting "pwned" for it Jim!

Democratic headquarters emailed reporters listing what $10,000 would mean to middle-class Americans in a country with a median average income of $26,197.

The figure is three times their average annual grocery bill and represents more than a year's worth of mortgage repayments.

The offhanded remark went viral on the social networking site Twitter as people chimed in with the hashtag grouping "#What10kbuys".

He's going to own that $10,000 bet line. Nothing else he has said in this debate matters.

Brad Woodhouse, DNC communications director
"He's going to own that $10,000 bet line. Nothing else he has said in this debate matters," tweeted Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

"Don't forget, in the #IowaDebate where @MittRomney casually offered a 10k bet he called a $1,500 tax break for the middle class a band-aid," Mr Woodhouse added.

New York Times blogger Nate Silver wrote in a satirical tweet: "On the bright side, Romney did NOT offer Perry $10,000 to sleep with his wife."

The former Massachusetts governor - who made his massive fortune at a private equity firm and is trying to use that experience as proof of his ability to create jobs - has struggled to portray himself as an average guy.

He drew fire in June for saying "I'm also unemployed" and chuckling at a campaign event in Florida, and telling a heckler in Iowa that "corporations are people" because "everything corporations earn goes to people."

Mr Romney's wealth also became an issue in August when news emerged of his plans to quadruple the size of a $12 million beachfront home in San Diego, California.

The morning after the debate Mr Perry was still shaking his head.

"I was taken a little aback. Driving out to the station this morning I'm pretty sure I didn't drive by a house that anyone in Iowa would even think about that a $10,000 bet was possible, so [Romney is] a little out of touch with the normal Iowa citizen," he said.

Mr Romney's campaign sought to shift the focus to Mr Perry by noting that the Texas governor would have lost the bet if he had accepted, but it was the size of the bet - not the substance of the debate over Romney's health care policies - that won the day.

His Republican rivals were also quick to press the point.

"That's the language of Wall Street and not the language of Main Street, Iowa," Robert Haus, co-chairman for Mr Perry's Iowa campaign, told reporters after the debate.

Iowa House majority leader Linda Upmeyer, Gingrich's Iowa campaign chairwoman, called the proposed bet "a little odd."

"I don't know anybody that carries that kind of money around with them," she said. "When I make a bet with somebody, it's usually for the five dollars I have in my hand and we lay it down and we bet."

[Guinevere]

Romney is losing support in Massachusetts faster than you can spell Mittens. While that may not mean a whole lot in electoral numbers, it speaks volumes for the continued lack of faith in his ability to beat anybody when the chips are down. And will also result in his downward trend in NH. He loses NH and he is done, because he doesn't have a prayer in SC.

[Sue U]

Just in time for the holidays!

[Crackpot]

The one thing I can say about him is not heven his head is large enough to contain his ego.

[Sue U]

The one thing I can say about him is not heven his head is large enough to contain his ego.

I don't think there's an arena that big.

Oh, and did you see Rick Perry's ad last week essentially blaming teh gheys for taking Christmas away from children? Someone who's running a blatantly homophobic ad campaign might think twice about wearing Heath Ledger's jacket from Brokeback Mountain! Haha, I said "think" in a reference to Rick Perry! Bwahahahahahahahaha!