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Charlie Riedel / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney greets supporters Thursday during a campaign stop at Kinzler Construction in Ames, Iowa.
AMES, IOWA -- In early August, Mitt Romney, then a fragile national frontrunner, chose to skip the much ballyhooed straw poll here, appearing content to be leave the state of Iowa to others.
What a difference five months have made.
Thursday night, the former Massachusetts governor rode in to a construction company warehouse packed with hundreds of his supporters and undecided voters, the frontrunner in the latest polls of the state, and brimming with confidence.
"Wow. What a welcome. Thank you so much," Romney said after his bus drove into the warehouse and parked behind the stage. "That’s quite an entrance, isn’t it? Don’t try that at home kids."
Thursday night's rally, and the two other campaign stops earlier in the day on Romney's tour of the northern portion of the Hawkeye state, were marked by big crowds, and patriotic themes. Romney quoted liberally from 'America the Beautiful,' and dusted off the story of Olympian Derek Parra, one of the most-told anecdotes in his 2008 campaign.
But Romney, whose campaign also released in Iowa a 60-second ad with soaring patriotic themes, spared President Barack Obama no quarter Thursday as he looked to frame the coming election in dramatic overtones.
"This is not an election just to change presidents, its an election to save the soul of America," Romney said, telling the crowd that Obama's policies were making America more like Europe.
As if to underscore that point, Romney made an oblique reference to the infamous French monarch Marie Antionette's most famous line.
"I watch the president, he says, ‘Well, it could have been worse.’ That goes down there with 'Let them eat cake.' That's not the right," Romney said. "Americans believe it can be better, and I have confidence in the future. I’m not a pessimist"
Friday, Romney will pivot to an ambitious two-state swing; headlining a rally with Chris Christie in Iowa in the morning, and serving a spaghetti dinner in New Hampshire in the evening, before returning to Iowa late Saturday to sprint toward the caucus finish line Tuesday.
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What a difference since President Obama Was Elected. And Yes, Willard Is A Liar.
President Obama: A Radical Liberal Moderate Conservative Socialist Corporate Stooge?
By Julie Driscoll| December 29, 2011
President Obama, in his three years as President, has seen it all. He’s been maligned as a non-christian; he’s reached out to the Muslim community and been branded a terrorist-lover for his efforts; he’s tried to do what he can for struggling Americans, has had to make some unpopular concessions to the teabagging opposition, and has been accused of being in bed with big business; his stimulus, touted by the right as another liberal government give-away program, was branded a failure by conservatives, and at least a moderate success by economists; he didn’t let the auto industry fail, and therefore was accused of taking over American industry; he’s blamed for the failed TARP program even though he wasn’t even in office at the time it was passed; he captured and killed bin Laden and watched former President Bush get credit from the right; he attempted diplomacy far past the time that many on the left felt he should have. Many on the left, however, couldn’t see the forest for the trees – and missed the strategy that was evolving over the past three years.
President Obama is none of the things he’s accused of being; instead, he’s a man who’s committed to Americans, and the quality of their lives, and if he has to make some concessions that his side doesn’t like, he’ll do it, take the hits, get knocked back but keep moving forward. Determination is his hallmark.
The Real Job Creator: Obama Has Created 2.3 Million Jobs Since 2010
By Rmuse| December 29, 2011
Romney said, “25 million people are out of work because of Barack Obama. And so I’ll compare my experience in the private sector where, net-net, we created over 100,000 jobs. I’ll compare that record with his record, where he has not created any new jobs.” Romney, the devout Mormon, is a liar.
Since March 2010, the private sector added 2.3 million new jobs and “it took the Obama economy one year to create more jobs” than during George W. Bush’s presidency did in eight years. The new jobs created during the Obama Administration are due in part to the stimulus, unemployment benefit extension and payroll tax cut from December 2010.
During Romney’s tenure as governor of Massachusetts, from 2003-2007 before the recession hit the economy, the state ranked 47th in job creation. Romney’s lack of honesty and dispensation of the truth prevents him from providing evidence that during his time a Bain he created 100,000 jobs.
WASHINGTON DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the approval of two renewable energy projects that further advance President Obama’s initiative for a rapid and responsible move to utility-scale production of renewable energy. The projects – a solar plant in California and a wind farm in Oregon – will be built on private lands and will use power lines that cross public lands to connect to their respective power grids. When built, the projects will deliver 379 megawatts of power – or enough to power 112,500 homes – and help support over 600 jobs through construction and operations.
Wall Street Reform Opens Firms’ Mine Safety Records
by Mike Hall, Dec 22, 2011
The new Wall Street reform law will make it difficult for big corporations involved in mining—like the former Massey Energy—to hide their safety records from shareholders and the public. Yesterday, the Security and Exchange Commission adopted new rules that cover how companies must disclose the mine safety information. That information was required as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The new rules require that companies provide information for each mine they operate that includes the number of significant and substantial violations the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has cited; any flagrant violations; failure to comply citations, imminent danger orders; the dollar of value of proposed fines and more.
Bob Cesca: I believe the result will be a greater number of people voting straight Democratic on their tickets than perhaps ever before, at least in these key battleground states. And I also believe it’s important for us to remember that the kicking and screaming of pundits and political personalities almost certainly does not represent the average voter or the 84 percent of the Democratic base who wishes to re-elect President Obama.
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All courtesy of The Obama Diary, who do great work searching around the webs for news.
What's This?
Politico: Starting on last night’s Ed Show with Ed Schultz, MSNBC anchors are now disclosing their parent company’s ties to Bain Capital, the buyout firm co-founded by Mitt Romney.
In July 2008, NBC Universal, Bain Capital and Blackstone Group bought the Weather Channel for an estimated $3.5 billion – a business relationship that MSNBC anchors have not disclosed until now, according to a search of the Nexis and TVEyes databases going back to 2008.
Where's the toilet... I need to retch... YAK!!! Out of the mouths of liberals, for liberals, by liberals, boosting liberals... completely blinded by the opinions of so many other people who aren't liberal.
How convenient of liberals to create their own facts. Obama created more jobs in one year than Bush did in 8? Not according to the government.
Brianb- Pat either makes things up, or reprints from liberal blogs that make thing up.
The fact is that Obama is negative on or about three million jobs- and has a civilian labor force down to 1983 levels, which is why the unemployment rate is "only" 8.6%. Do you think those hundreds of thousands of people all hit the lottery for millions?
GDP is reported at 1.8%. That's not even good growth for a good economy- it is dreadful coming out of recession. Still, Pat needs to trumpet something good for Obama.
She does that by calling Romney a liar. I guess that's what we can expect- Obama did promise the dirtiest, most negative campaign we'd ever seen.
Won't help. He's done.
Obama shelved in 2012. No more four million dollar taxpayer funded vacations for him. I guess we'll just have to get used to him whining about how unfair it is.
Every year prior to 2000 have there ever been fewer people employed than any year since.
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.ceseeb1.txt
Pat you are one ignorant man! Where do you get all this crap from? Stop the madness!
Pat Boston, MA,
Thanks for a great post detailing many of Obama's accomplisments and the crazy name calling he has recieved from the GOP, Tea Party and RWNJs.
Now Romney uses language of th French Revolution to describe Obama. Romney, the epitome of the US" ancien regime" wants to run on a slogan of saving the "soul of America". Goosd luck qith that. Romney, a member of the trust fund leisure class, who ran a company that bought and dismantled companies and resold them with a nice fee for Bain, a guy whose claim to fame was bailing out the winter olympic in Utah, ran as a moderate liberal and governed as such in MA. This unemployed flip-flopper will be the nominee for the GOP.
Let the games begin...
Dennis, either your arithmetic skills are worse than I thought,mor you did not read your own link. The numbers show far fewer employed today.
Here's one that might be easier for you, since it has a picture you can easily comprehend
http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
Now, stay with me, Dennis. The Employment Ratio is the percentage of people over sixteen, below sixty five, not in prison, who are ready, willing, and able to work. Today, that ratio is just a little over 58% - you need to go back to October 1983 to get a lower ratio.
What do you suppose happened to the population in this CPU try since 1983, Dennis? Do you think it held steady, contracted, or grew?
The correct answer is "grew". So, that 58% number is actually worse, in terms of pure numbers, than it looks at the outset, because it means there are even MORE people who just plain quit the labor force.
You keep trying to find some data, somewhere, that will put the numbers in a better context- better for Obama, that is. Quit trying, because those numbers do not exist, and you just make yourself look foolish by trying to twist data into something it is not.
Total Employed in 1983 = 90,280,000
Total employed in 2010 = 129,818,000
Total Private sector in 1983 = 74,269,000
Total Private sector in 2010 = 107,337,000
What is down is manufacturing.
The link you gave is unavailable at this time.
Let's see - From Romney to Gingrich, to Santorum, to Perry, then onward to Bachman... Now back to Romney again, with a little Cain thrown in for good measure... the libbies are having a field day on First Read... The snarkiness is outstanding today... must be the season for insults and put downs.
Meanwhile back at the farm, the holy master is on vacation but that doesn't mean anything to the liberals because they are in full force thowing piles of dung at who may be the next president... How much fun can the liberals have in one day?
The Holy Master?
God, I can't stand Republicans. Why don't you for once think about the future of the country and THE MESS YOUR PARTY LEFT IT?
Nah! Just the season for watching and listening. And for storing in memory, against the day when the Republicans try to back off the insane positions they're taking today.
well auntie, the right really won't have to back off of anything, it is all campaign rhetoric and obama has already shown us what that is all about, hasn't he?
Interesting on how poll numbers to the question...."is America heading in the right direction?" are increasingly negative. Simply amazing that this administration and congress is so dysfunctional from all past administrations/congresses.
While everyone quibbles, and Willard is trying to save souls (personally, I would prefer to manage my own soul, thank you very much) I watched an octupus pick Alabama to win the National Title.
PS Sorry to all you GOP fans out there, but Willard is whacked. Probably why only about 25% of your party actually likes him
Happy New Year
Congrats to the FSU Seminoles! They just won the Champ Bowl in Orlando, beating Notre Dame (think I will keep that quiet from Mr. phinephancy for a while, he's Irish Catholic, ya know)
I'm Irish Catholic, too. And, I can't STAND Notre Dame! I'll give Notre Dame this - they still insist on their players being students. And, it's killing them!
My favortie question to bug the hubby - if both Boston College & Notre Dame are Catholic schools, which team does God favor in a meeting between the two? Drives him nuts!!!!
Good to see FSU's coach Jimbo Fisher , will be sticking around a little longer , Bobby Bowden's shoes are tough to fill......
I miss Bobby, dang gummit!
P&P - Didn't you just whine about WCA being off topic on another FR thread? interesting....
Oh the lost libbies are on let me get out of here!
Bye bye!!!
What is the price every single person is going to pay when Romney pays his supporters back should he get into office? The top three organizations that support Romney’s are Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse Group, and Morgan Stanley. How many more billions or trillions of bail outs and favorable Fed 'loans' will the 1% get from Romney while every single american pays more for gas, food and health care because of the inflation that results? How many more wars will Romney start to return the favors of the military industrial complex that supports him? How many thousands of lives will be lost for the profit of the war industry?
Gee... what a difference five months have made for Romney. Huh? What difference? He still has the same percentage of support that he had five months ago. For that matter the same percentage of support he had in 2008 when he came in second in the primaries.
It would seem that approximately 75% of the people in Iowa do not want Romney to be our next President. What does this indicate to you?
romney likes mandates but doesnt.Is prochoice and not prochoice,moderate and conservative.I suppose we would be better off with him than Ms bachman with a nuke button in her hand,and her slashing everything and then finding herself in divorce court after she didnt realized the ramifications of cuts would affect her husbands business.all them poor gays wouldnt get converted.
Dont know why Partisans dont like huntsman?They have a chance to beat obama?But first Bachman in Lead?Then 9-9-9 man?Then Mean Newt that most his colleagues disdain him?Now a guy thats not even Republican but liberterian is in lead?The canidates cant even have their own mind,right or far right.They cant even admit science exists.Facts show Ice shelves breaking into ocean.Pictures and film dont Lie!Some regulation needs modifying but to totally dismantle Epa,and shrink the health department to nothing with the cases of food poisioning on the rise.Then wonder why Obama is ahead in polls in a faltering economy?
The most fiscal conservative candidate is disowned by his own party primarily due to his foreign policy. When foreign is more important than domestic then we have a serious problem.