Tag Archives: Iowa Primary

IOWA: Romney won Iowa;Obama will win the presidency

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Lead

Mitt Romney won the Iowa Primary by a razor thin 8 vote margin. Barack Obama will win the Presidency in Election 2012.

The numbers:

1.Romney          24.60%     30,015

2.Santorum        24.50%     30,007

3.Paul                21.40%     26,219

4.Gingrich          13.30%     16,251

5.Perry              10.30%      12,604

6.Bachmann       05.00%       6,073

7.Huntsman        00.60%         745

Source: USA TODAY

Our Take

The GOP is bitterly divided. It is probably more divided today than it was in 1964 when Barry Goldwater won the GOP nomination for President.

Conservatives simply will not consolidate behind Romney. Santorum is weak. Gingrich, a real conservative horse in the race, is too far behind. Cain, who we believe would be the GOP’s best hope to beat Obama, is on the sidelines.

We can close the books on Election 2012. Barack Obama most certainly will win reelection.

So, we need to start thinking about and talking about Election 2016.

IOWA: winner, losers

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LEAD (Revised)

This is MJB’s call of the winner, there only can be one, and losers, the also rans, in the Iowa Primary for Tuesday, January 3, 2012:

1. Newt Gingrich

2. Rick Santorum

3. Herman Cain

4. Rick Perry

5. John Huntsman

6. Mitt Romney

7. Michelle Bachmann

8. Ron Paul

Comment

What do you think?

Do you think it’s between Romney and Paul as the polls and commentators have suggested?

Hint: the polls and the commentators could be wrong!

Will the outcomes in Iowa set the stage for the wins and losses in upcoming primaries?

GINGRICH: GOP’s Million Dollar Baby-Is the Bubble (NEWT) already in trouble?

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“Gingrich acknowledges benefiting from Freddie Mac fees, defends his work for mortgage giant”

NEXT

NEWT

Quote

URBANDALE, Iowa — Rising in polls and receiving greater scrutiny, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich found himself on the defensive Wednesday over huge payments he received over the past decade from the mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Gingrich, who now is near the top in polling on the GOP race, said he didn’t remember exactly how much he was paid, but a person familiar with the hiring said it was at least $1.6 million for consulting contracts stretching from 1999 to early 2008. The person spoke on condition of anonymity in order address a personnel matter.

Source: THE WASHINGTON POST

Can’t Remember? 

Newt’s “Contract With America” perhaps?

And, he was not even lobbying?

But, Newt’s presidential timber?

MJB’s Take: Give me Herman or give me Mitt!!

Web Reaction

If you can’t remember pocketing over $1 Million in “consulting fees,” for strategy, of course, not lobbying, I suppose you go brain dead if you pocket a $Billion!

Scandal still pays well; any bids out there for the stories of Cain’s accusers?

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The great American past time, scandal, still pays and pays well.

Take for example Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of man-slaughtering Michael Jackson. Murray apparently took in $300,000.00 to tell his story,

The Conrad Murray documentary Michael Jackson and the Doctor: A Fatal Friendship is set to air tonight on MSNBC. Murray was allegedly paid $300,000 by NBCU to appear in the film. According to Radar Online, none of that money will go to Murray himself. Most of it is for his lawyers and some will go to his girlfriend.

Source of Quote: Matthew Fleischer, “NBCUniversal, MSNBC and Other Media Outlets Sued by Conrad Murray Creditors,” MEDIABISTRO.COM.

Karen Kraushaar and Sharon Bialek, and perhaps others, are on the sidelines for the moment. They want to host a “joint press conference” of Herman Cain’s accusers so that they can present what they call their “Body of Evidence” about  allegations of Cain’s sexual misconduct. But, they don’t want to meet the press now.

> Why the wait?

> Could there be a bidding war going on behind closed doors by various media organizations for exclusive rights to their stories?

> Is America on hold until they net the highest bid?

After all it will take a boat load of money to pay their lawyer bills if they get sued!

> And, what is the fair market value for “The Girls of the NRA” to tell their stories yet again if it is the case that a bidding war is taking place?

Conrad Murray’s story fetched $300,000.00. I don’t even want to speculate how many more zeros they could get especially if there are on the stage together when they tell their stories again

Of course, they may not want any money at all. That’s what they have said so far.

They simply may want another chance to fullfill what they feel is their public duty to present their stories again to the American people.

Maybe America will listen the next time around, and knock Herman Cain out of the GOP nomination sweepstakes for President.

Who knows? We’ll wait and see!

Advantage: ROMNEY? Hey POLITICO, hold your horses, Mitt Romney is far from being the last GOP candidate standing!

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POLITICO Headline:   “Romney rivals continue to implode.” Politico reports (quotes):

Perry: Rick Perry is reeling after a debate gaffe for the ages.

Cain: Herman Cain is fighting off allegations of sexual impropriety.

The Field: The rest of Mitt Romney’s would-be rivals are either broke, deeply flawed or both.

Politico’s Commentary 

It’s viewed as a foregone conclusion that somebody will emerge from the GOP field to challenge Mitt Romney for the 2012 presidential nomination. But as of now, less than two months before the first votes are cast in Iowa, it’s still uncertain who will give Romney a real primary fight.

Sources of Quotes:  POLITICO 

MJB’s Take

> Ease up POLITICO; it’s way too soon in the GOP nomination sweepstakes to make that call.

> Are you trying to deprive other political media of the torrent of stories, tweets, talk shows, emails, images, videos, and another round of salacious sexual harassment or assault rumors which will be generated after Cain’s accusers hold their made for TV reality show:  ”The Girls of NRA Joint Press Conference?”

> You had your feast. Other media organizations have to eat too!

> And, are we not in a state of suspense and anticipation waiting for David Gregory’s “Grand Wizard” to pop up on the scene, maybe even as a surprise guest on “Meet the Press,” and perhaps if the accusers don’t take out Cain at their show,  to just, as Gregory said: “push Herman Cain out of the race?” LINK TO STORY

Other Web Coverage

Dick Armey for the Tea Party: “we like Herman Cain a great deal”

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Dick Armey says that the Tea Party wing of the GOP likes “Herman Cain a great deal.”

Armey is the former GOP House Majority Leader who is an activist in the Tea Party.

He was a  guest on “This Week” the ABC News Sunday morning talk show with Christiana Amanpour as host.

Text of  Transcript

xx     xx     xx

ARMEY: Well, we all — I speak for myself and a lot of the folks across the country with whom I associate, we like Herman Cain’s authenticity. But one thing that you can say clearly, he’s not a politician. He’s criticized by the politicians for being too amateurish, making all the wrong moves, yet he has got a personal record of accomplishments that none of them can match in terms of his personal life and what — how often he got the job done. He’s straightforward in the way he talks. And he dares to go campaign very directly and in a manner that doesn’t seem to be beleaguered by an excess of advice from political professionals. So from our point of view, yes, he’s not one of them. So, therefore, he — it makes him very attractive to us.

AMANPOUR: So is he the new standard-bearer? Because obviously Michele Bachmann had that title, that position, that self-declared sort of position during the summer. But is he now it for you? Do you think he has staying power?

ARMEY: Well, the fact is, this is a long-term process. We enjoy having people in the race, make their point of view. And we like Herman Cain a great deal. *  *  *

xx     xx     xx

End of  Text

Source: “This Week,” ABC News, Sunday, October 30, 2011:  READ FULL TRANSCIPT

There are few politicians in the GOP who are more conservative than Armey. And there are few who are more active in GOP politics than Armey. So it’s fair to say at least for now that Herman Cain is in good standing in the GOP race.

Panelists on THE ROUNDTABLE segment of the show discussed: “Can Cain Stay on Top.” They included George Will, Cokie Roberts, Ron Brownstein and Austan Goolsbee.

Source:  See Update Below

The view this week in most of the MSM is that Cain may be able to stay on top in the contest for the GOP nomination.

Update/ABC NEWS VIDEO [Uploaded in VODPOD Sidebar (10-31-11)] The Sunday before the sexual harassment accusations surfaced about Herman Cain, former GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey talked to the ROUNDTABLE Panel on ABC’s THIS WEEK about the sentiment in the GOP for Cain

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Iowa primary: is it Herman Cain’s “High Noon?”

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Herman Cain, touted as No. 2 in the polls, enters the Iowa primary facing Mitt Romney, the front-runner, Rick Perry and the other GOP contenders. He must feel a bit like Marshal Will Kane facing the gang of outlaws in “High Noon,” the 1952 American Western film classic starring Gary Cooper as Kane.

Marshal Kane confronted the gang all alone. And, in the Iowa Primary, candidate Cain, with no support from mainstream conservatives, confronts a field of “take no prisoners” GOP contenders all alone.

So far, with not much of a team and little campaign cash, Cain has done remarkably well. He’s climbed up in the polls, while Rick Perry has fallen down. Mitt Romney has stayed even. For the Iowa primary, Perry has now put an “A” team on the playing field, some of the best campaign talent on the GOP bench. Maggie Haberman writes about these GOP all-stars in her article: “Rick Perry’s new team,” posted online in Politico.com.

What does all this mean for Herman Cain, and his prospects for winning the Iowa primary, or staying ahead of Rick Perry?

It’s Herman Cain’s “High Noon” moment!

Like Marshal Kane, candidate Cain either overtakes the GOP field in the primary or beats Perry against the odds, thus positioning himself to vault to the top of the field and sustain his place for the duration of the GOP nomination contest; or in 10 weeks, he’s overtaken and kicked to the sidelines for good.

Sources

     * Maggie Haberman, “Rick Perry’s new team,”  Politico.com: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66743.html

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