…that I wish that the media would ask, but probably won’t. It would separate the wheat from the chafe.
“Senator, Governor, whatever… Do you believe that we are at war with an enemy with whom no negotiation is possible?”
Iowa Also-Rans Commit To Change
January 6, 2008
MANCHESTER (APUPI)
In the days leading up to the crucial primary in this crucial state, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney put his money where his mouth is today in the hard-fought race for the Republican nomination.
“I am the candidate of change!,” he declared.
“To prove it,” he went on, “I am going to use my millions to provide every New Hampshire voter who shows up at the polls on Tuesday with a huge bag of nickels, to spend on whatever you wish, whether it be a down payment on your five thousand dollar fee for John McCain’s scamnesty program, or your first month’s payment on my mandatory health-insurance plan. We’ll even provide a truck to help you carry the loot home.”
In related news in the Democrat primary, Senator Hillary Clinton, who used the word “change” at least three hundred and forty times in last night’s debate, before transcribers got tired of counting, reiterated her commitment to it in a town hall meeting here today. “I promise that if I don’t win this nomination I will really be making change, even more than I have for the last thirty-five years. And in addition, I’ll be asking many of you in this audience, ‘would you like fries with that’?”
In unrelated news, several Clinton campaign advisors were admitted to the local emergency room with mysterious head injuries that had the appearance of blows from high-velocity table lamps.
[Update after watching the Republican “forum” which is a much better term than “debate’]
Rudy points out that “change” is less important, much less important, than what kind of change we get. I’m not in general a Rudy fan, but kudos. I wish that Fred, who spoke before him on the subject, had made at least that brief point.
Idiotic Question
I’m listening to the Republican debate, and wondering why they put up with this bullshit (yes, I don’t use that word often on this family…sort of… blog) from the MSM. Why do they allow Democrat media types to frame their debate?
The most egregious case of this is the question that just came up–why shouldn’t people vote for Barack Obama?
WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD ANY REPUBLICAN CARE ABOUT THIS QUESTION IN A REPUBLICAN DEBATE?
Romney responded with a bunch of blather that had little to do with the question, and Thompson came up next. I was disappointed.
It was a “I’m not doing no hand shows” moment, and he blew it.
The first words out of his mouth should have been, “Let me preface my answer with the statement that this is a foolish question for a debate that only Republicans are really interested in. It might be a perfectly fine question a few months from now, in a general election, if Obama in fact becomes the candidate, and I (or one of these other gentlemen) are debating him, but Republicans, or at least smart ones (and I don’t know that many dumb ones) don’t care why I or anyone on this stage thinks that they shouldn’t vote for Barack Obama. They’re trying to pick a Republican candidate. Now, having said that,…[then go on to the response he actually gave].
But instead, he just returned to Republican principles, but I think he missed an opportunity to bash the press again, which a lot of Republican activists would have loved.
One other thought overall. Mike Huckabee is one slick-talking, two-faced socialist son of a bitch. I’ll have to go through the transcript to make the case, though. He’s a combination of Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, in Republican clothing.
Must be something about people who were born in Hope, Arkansas, and became governor of the state. If the campaigns of the other Republican candidates are worth anything, there is much fodder here for anti-Huckabee ads that will amply and convincingly demonstrate this.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Here are some related thoughts to the latter point from Jonathan Adler (though more calm than mine, though they weren’t in the wake of the debate):
It’s interesting that Huckabee is now stressing a limited government message, as it has not been a significant part of his platform up until now. Rather this is a guy who celebrates farm subsidies, disavows free trade, and likes the idea of a national smoking ban, and his campaign manager has disparaged the limited government ideology that motivates many Republicans in New Hampshire and elsewhere. That he can deliver such a message effectively is no surprise
Bird Flu Redux?
Fortunately, it appears that they caught it from birds. But we can’t let our guard down.
Social Security Giveth, IRS Taketh Away
Social security is trying give out debit cards instead of checks while IRS is moving to ban refund loans. I guess the IRS subscribes to the ostrich theory of micro financing: out of sight, out of their minds.
Dopey and Dazed
Dopey
Does anyone find it dissonant that Iowan Democrats gave a victory to an admitted marijuana user to become President and the Senate is letting him keep his seat, while denying money to college students convicted of possessing illegal drugs?
The question that is begged is, “Does prior marijuana use help the chances of a Presidential candidate?”
Dazed
Obama’s last speech had a fog index of 8.17 (higher is more academic). McCain, 8.14 (most recent 4 weeks old on hydrogen?!); Clinton, 9.5; Giuliani, 11.6; No speeches I could find on the Huckabee site, just responses to opponents jabs, his foreign affairs article got 13.05.
My prior beliefs were that veterans like Giuliani would speak at the lowest level of diction and Obama and Clinton would use their race and sex as license to be less “regular guys” and more intellectual. That the leaders for New Hampshire are the candidates with the lowest Fog index tells me that the other campaigns need to use the K.I.S.S. formula: “Keep it simple, stupid!”
Death Of A Long-Time Blogger
Andrew Olmsted has been killed in Iraq, in a cause that he believed in dearly (not necessarily Iraq per se, as he explains posthumously, but in simply serving his country). My most profound condolences to family and friends.
Amidst All The McCain Worship
John Hood makes an excellent point:
There is also a longer, truly heart-felt affection by center-left journalists for McCain, who mirrors their sentiments on the issue they (wrongly) believe is central to American politics: campaign-finance reform.
…in this matter Iowa is inconvenient for the McCain/Left argument. Huckabee had little money and won. Romney spent lots of money and came in second.
This is one of the biggest reasons that I do not want to see John McCain as president. Of course, it’s also one of my many unhappinesses with George W. Bush, who signed a law that he stated himself he believed to be unconstitutional, thus betraying his oath of office.
The Current State Of Anti-Aging
A nice overview at The Economist.
Scientific Fraud
At The Lancet. This isn’t really new news–anyone with half a brain who looked at the study carefully at the time (i.e., not all-too-credulous journalists) could see that it was a nonsensical statistical mess. But the case against it is looking even stronger now.
Of course, it fulfilled its political purpose–to damage the Republicans and the Bush administration in the 2006 elections. And when it comes to righteous moral crusades like that, accuracy and scientific integrity be damned.