Down to the wire…
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan expects his fellow Republicans to wait until the “last minute” to strike a deal that averts national default by raising the $14.3 trillion limit on the U.S. debt.
Failure to reach a deal could trigger a new global financial crisis, according to analysts and Democrats including President Barack Obama. But on Monday, the day the U.S. debt reached its current statutory limit, Ryan told an Illinois AM radio station that “we’re going to negotiate this thing probably up through July, that’s how these things go.”
“That’s how these things go” could place negotiations at the very doorstep of an Aug. 2 deadline, which is when the Treasury Department believes it will exhaust its bag of tricks for staving off a financial apocalypse.
Ryan’s comments came a day after Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell advised CNN’s viewers to see the approaching default deadline as a source of opportunity.
Meanwhile, inflation worries buttressed by still-way-high gas prices are driving U.S. states to consider making silver and gold coins legal tender. South Carolina is the latest to consider legislation to that effect, joining over two-dozen others in a trend that began this month in Utah.
What happens among the states often has a way of entering the circuitry of presidential politics, as Mitt Romney discovered with the healthcare reforms he championed in Massachusetts.
But at the moment, the presidential campaign debate is focused on Medicare, specifically the mini-GOP civil war between Newt Gingrich and Ryan over the latter’s Medicare reform plan. Newt, currently on the defensive, is being taken to the woodshed today by one of the strongest conservative voices in the United States: The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board.
Reuters/Ipsos poll: Republicans trail Obama
President Barack Obama comes out ahead against the field of potential Republican hopefuls for the 2012 presidential election, with more than a 10-point lead over the closest of the pack — Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
When Obama was pitted against each possible Republican candidate, he scored more than 50 percent. His highest rating came against Donald Trump with 57 percent saying they would vote for Obama versus 30 percent for the New York real estate magnate.
All the Republicans were in the 30-percent range, led by former Arkansas governor Huckabee at 39 percent and former Massachusetts governor Romney at 38 percent, compared with 51 percent who said they would vote for Obama.
On the question of whether Obama would win reelection in 2012, the survey was split with 45 percent saying he would win and 42 percent saying he would not.
Obama got no lift on the economic front, with only 34 percent of respondents saying they approve of his handling of the economy, a finding linked directly to a surge in gasoline prices.
The telephone poll of 1,029 adults was conducted May 5-9 and has a 3-point margin of error.
Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama in Austin, Texas)
There used to be an old crank that would pop up on every thread and parrot Republican talking points about Obama’s poll numbers, and frequently accuse other people of being paid to post on this forum.
But, interestingly, he quit posting here the day after the last election. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it…
And then there were two… Republicans exploring presidential bid
Two Republicans have now stepped up to the plate! Well, technically they have stepped up to the plate to consider stepping up to the plate.
Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty are the first to declare their intentions to explore a possible run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. Opinion polls show they have their work cut out for them.
The two Republicans who topped the list of potential candidates that Republicans would likely support for the party nomination were not Romney or Pawlenty in a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.
Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee tied for first place, 19 percent, in the survey which was conducted before Romney announced formation of an exploratory committee. That compares with 12 percent for Sarah Palin, followed by a third-place tie between Romney and Newt Gingrich at 11 percent each.
While Romney has tended to draw skepticism from conservatives, in a straw poll of conservatives taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he had a strong second-place showing after Libertarian Republican Congressman Ron Paul.
Skeptics were out in full force a day after Romney made his presidential ambitions clear.
Political strategist Mark McKinnon in a column on The Daily Beast says Romney won’t win because of his “Tea Party misfires and connections to Obamacare…”
Bachmann is tops in GOP “intensity”
House Tea Party darling Michele Bachmann may not rate highly with Republican hierophants like George Will. But some Republicans seem to have an intense liking for her none the less, according to a new Gallup poll.
The Gallup survey of more than 1,500 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents shows Bachmann with a 20 percent “positive intensity” rating among 12 potential GOP White House wannabes. That’s second only to Mike Huckabee’s 25 percent rating. And it’s worth noting that Bachmann was recognized by only 52 percent of the respondents, so there may be room for improvement.
Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor with a disarming nice-guy persona, has polled strongly among Republican voters for some time. But the results seem encouraging for Bachmann, a Minnesota Republican who has only recently emerged from relative obscurity on the back of the Tea Party movement.
Viewed in some circles as a not-ready-for-prime-time-player in national politics, Bachmann has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and castigated by critics for gaffes including a recent reference to the first shots of the American Revolution being fired in New Hampshire, instead of Massachusetts, where the Battles of Lexington and Concord actually occurred.
Will, the influential conservative columnist, told ABC’s “This Week” only two days ago that Bachmann was “not among the serious contenders.” That’s likely to prove true if she doesn’t poll strongly among independent voters who are not necessarily Tea Party-minded. Overall, Gallup said none of the GOP contenders they looked at drew a high level of intensely positive opinion — and that’s among Republicans.
The polling organization formulated its “positive intensity” ratings by asking respondents whether they have a strongly favorable, favorable, unfavorable, or strongly unfavorable opinion of the potential wannabe in question.
Rounding out the top 5 were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 17 percent, and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania with 16 percent each.
As a Minnesotan, I have opposed Bachmann on every single issue, save one:
Congress should never have nationalized Wall Street’s debts on the backs of taxpayers.
In my opinion, that is the only time she has come down on the right side of an issue since the first time I heard of her.
As Senators, Obama and McCain both voted for the bail out and for that reason I didn’t vote for either of them.
If they were truly afraid of an apocalyptic outcome, then they should have nationalized the banks’ money generators in addition of nationalizing their debt.
Obama up, Palin down in 2012 poll
President Barack Obama’s reelection prospects seem to be rosier, while former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s chances of being the Republican nominee were souring for 2012, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll. But it’s early yet.
Obama is expected to run again in 2012, and CNN said the poll suggests that his tax-cut deal with Republicans, pushed through at year-end, did not hurt him with Democrats.
Among Democrats, 78 percent said Obama should be renominated as the party’s presidential candidate, while 19 percent said they wanted a different candidate. Those readings were the highest and lowest respectively since March 2010, when the poll first asked the question.
Palin has hinted that she might run for president, but the poll found 49 percent of Republicans would support that move, down 18 points since December 2008, right after she and John McCain lost to Obama and Joe Biden.
Palin lagged behind other Republicans who may seek the 2012 nomination – Mike Huckabee (67 percent), Mitt Romney (59 percent) and Newt Gingrich (54 percent).
But it’s still a long way from next winter’s trudge through nominating primaries, caucuses and debates that Republicans will stage to ferret out who they think would best challenge Obama. The winner might not even be any of the names being polled in these early stages.
Photo credit: Reuters/Luke MacGregor (Democratic Party campaign button attached to cardboard cut-out of Palin after announcement that Obama won election, Nov. 4, 2008)
Agree with Donnlashelle. If Sarah Palin wins, it’s doomsday for the world. Think Bush was bad? Sarah will be far far worse. She’ll nuke Korea. Since she’s too stupid to tell north from south, so she’ll probably nuke both. Then she’ll nuke Iran. Giddy after her 2 lopsided “victories” against lesser states…she will try to take on bigger foes. She will try to nuke Russia or China. Unfortunately for her, these states also have nuclear ICBMs and will retaliate in kind. Next thing we know every nuclear power is launching missiles all over the world. 2012 becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. Sarah will doom us all.
Reuters/Ipsos poll: Obama steady, Republicans get higher marks on economy
President Barack Obama’s job approval rating held steady at 45 percent since late October despite last month’s “shellacking” of Democrats in the midterm elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Dec. 2-5 showed.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton scored the highest favorability rating on a list of prominent officials and politicians, followed by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a potential Republican presidential contender, and General David Petraeus.
At the bottom of the list were conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh with the lowest favorability rating, followed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
In 2012 wooing the independent voter is going to be important for candidates with 19 percent of Americans identifying themselves as independents.
When it came to confidence in which party is better able to deal with specific issues, Republicans fared better than Democrats on the economy, deficit, terrorism and taxes, while Democrats were given higher marks on education and the environment.
“Republicans are positioning themselves well heading into the 2012 presidential campaign,” Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said.
Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Obama at news conference)
Barbara Bush says Sarah Palin should stay in Alaska
Former President George W. Bush has carefully steered around the subject of Sarah Palin during interviews about his memoir. But his mother, Barbara Bush, aka the “Silver Fox,” is showing no restraint.
“I sat next to her once,” Mrs. Bush told CNN’s “Larry King Live” in an interview that also included her husband, former President George H.W. Bush. “Thought she was beautiful. And I think she’s very happy in Alaska — and I hope she’ll stay there.”
Palin is weighing a run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination,telling ABC’s Barbara Walters last week that she thinks she could defeat President Barack Obama. She has a book, “America by Heart,” coming out Tuesday and is starring in a reality TV show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska.”
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Monday showed a close contest between potential Republican candidates for 2012, with Palin gaining 19 percent to 18 percent for former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and 17 percent for former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Photo Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Barbara Bush with son George at n the deck of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia)
Barbara Bush said the right words about Sarah Pelin! She is a wise mother and has her own experience with George W. She allowed him to go out of Texas, and look what the guy made out of the USA and its influence in the world. Another one of those and the usa would come under UNO sanctions.She is now making sure that George is not on his own for shopping or even a harmless stroll. Good advice from the former first lady!
Rex Minor
Bill Clinton emerges as leading U.S. political favorite — poll
Nearly a decade after his presidency ended in scandal and disgrace, Bill Clinton has emerged as the most popular figure in the U.S. political firmament, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. Except he’s not running for office.
Fifty-five percent of the 1,000 adults who responded to the survey reported having positive feelings about the Arkansas Democrat, vs. only 23 percent who harbored negative feelings. (When he left office in early 2001, his ratings were 34 percent positive and 52 percent negative.)
The poll, which has a 3.1 percentage point margin of error, comes at a time when many voters are angry about the country’s economic straits, including high unemployement and an exploding fiscal deficit. Clinton’s two-term presidency was marked not only by impeachment and the Monica Lewinsky scandal but also by buoyant growth and a balanced budget.
How did other political figures rate?
Only President Barack Obama had a favorable rating clearly ahead of the negative number, at 47 percent to 41 percent.
Former Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rated 30 percent to 48 percent. The most visible of potential GOP presidential candidates also elicited the strongest feelings, both positive and negative.
Bottom Line: Would you let him babysit your teenage daughter? If your answer is yes then maybe your daughter needs to find a parent that cares about her…Assuming you have a teenage daughter. This guy (bubba) was accused of brutaly raping a woman. Now I know it was just an accusation but he (bubba) didn’t stand up to good the last time he was questioned under oath.
Bennet, Buck score wins in Colorado
In a primary drama that might have been subtitled “two presidents and a party,” incumbent Colorado Senator Michael Bennet won the battle for the state’s Democratic Senate nomination on Tuesday.
Bennet’s win was a welcome victory for President Barack Obama who backed the incumbent who battled both anti-incumbent fever and a challenger, Andrew Romanoff, who had the endorsement of former President Bill Clinton.
On the Republican side, Tea Party-backed candidate Ken Buck narrowly defeated former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton. Buck, a former prosecutor, won despite being caught on tape complaining about Tea Party “dumb-asses” who question whether Obama was born in the United States. He will face Bennet in November.
In Connecticut, the anti-establishment outsider candidate Linda McMahon — the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment — beat former Representative Rob Simmons in the race for the Republican Senate nomination.
The Colorado and Connecticut Senate races were the highlight of Tuesday’s primary races. But voters also cast ballots in Georgia and Minnesota to pick candidates for November’s midterm elections.
In Georgia, former Representative Nathan Deal narrowly led Karen Handel in the Republican runoff for governor with nearly all precincts reporting.
Facing Democratic Governor Roy Barnes is the ultimate prize for Deal or Handel, both players in a proxy war between potential 2012 Republican presidential contenders.
Gingrich once again at head of Republican pack
Once, a first-term Democratic president failed to deliver on healthcare reform and found his party swept from office by a wave of voter anger that brought Republican Newt Gingrich to the forefront of American politics. Could this history lesson from the Clinton era be repeated?
Healthcare reform is stalled, voters are angry and Gingrich — who rose to prominence as House speaker after Republicans won Congress in 1994 — is again leading the pack, this time among potential White House hopefuls for 2012.
The Washington-based political news outlet, Politico, says Gingrich’s political action committee is raising money far faster than those of 2008 campaign veterans including Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Gingrich’s group, American Solutions for Winning the Future, pulled in $6.4 million in the second half of 2009, says Politico, citing finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That compares with about $1.6 million for Romney’s PAC, $1.4 million for Palin’s and $519,00 for Huckabee’s.
The PACs exist ostensibly to support Republican candidates, promote the party and advance conservative policy. But according to Politico, they also help boost the visibility of White House wannabes. (Gingrich’s PAC spent $585,000 just to fly him around the country.)
Meanwhile, Palin, whose PAC paid $50,000 for policy advice, wants Rahm Emanuel to resign for using the epithet ”f*#!ing retarded” to describe liberal Democrats who wanted to launch attack ads against party conservatives concerned about healthcare reform. The New York Daily News reports that Emanuel apologized to advocates for the disabled in the White House on Wednesday.
Palin, the mother of a child with Down syndrome, slammed Emanuel’s remark as unacceptable and heartbreaking and called for his resignation on her Facebook page.
This pseudo-intellectual clown hasn’t held public office since the ’90s. He was driven from his leadership post in disgrace — by members of his own party — nearly 12 years ago. The GOP must really have shallow bench if Gingrich is considered one of their front-runners.
