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Subscribe to RSSWith just four days left until the Jan. 3 caucuses, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul are running neck and neck, with Romney at 23 percent among likely caucus-goers and Paul at 21 percent, according to an NBC/Marist poll. NBC's Peter Alexander reports.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- In an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd this week, Newt Gingrich said he did not need to win nominating contests in Iowa or New Hampshire as long as he won South Carolina.
“You have to be in the top three or four,” said Gingrich. “I would like to come in second in New Hampshire.” But, he continued, “You need to win South Carolina. Everyone who has won South Carolina has been the nominee."
And while Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond seemed to downplay that prediction, saying “no state is a must-win,” a memo obtained by Real Clear Politics today belies that sentiment.
The memo, written by new members of his Iowa team, said Gingrich is positioned to “perform consistently well in both Iowa and New Hampshire and then win in South Carolina and Florida.”
While every eventual Republican nominee since 1980 has in fact won South Carolina's primary, Gingrich is seeking to accomplish what no other candidate in the 30-year history of modern primaries has: a South Carolina victory after losses in the first two states.
Every longshot presidential candidate comes to Iowa hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. Most never come close, but GOP hopeful Rick Santorum hopes he can buck the odds. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
The former House speaker stands in fifth place in Iowa, according to the NBC/Marist Iowa poll released Friday. And some Palmetto State Republicans doubt that Gingrich would be able to achieve victory here after losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, even in spite of the fluidity of the Republican field.
“No one has gone 0-for-2 and won South Carolina,” said Warren Tompkins, a longtime strategist here who worked on Mitt Romney’s 2008 campaign and today announced he would be advising the campaign on a volunteer basis.
One factor is the boost in fundraising and buzz brought on by an Iowa or New Hampshire victory. If Gingrich doesn’t have that momentum coming in to South Carolina, the path to a win for Mitt Romney here becomes clearer, some experts say.
Hammond countered: "The must-win is the nomination."
PUTTING IT ALL ON PALMETTO
Past candidates who downplay early states have done so at their peril, noted former South Carolina Republican Party chairwoman Karen Floyd, citing Rudy Giuliani’s Florida-centric bid in 2008 and Romney’s decision that year to pull out of South Carolina after New Hampshire.
“When they decided not to play in some of the carve-out states, they lost the earned media,” she said.
That earned media – cable chatter, word-of-mouth, online buzz -- could compensate somewhat for Gingrich’s inability to match his opponents’ big ad buys. A lack of that energy, however, could be problematic in South Carolina, a state driven more by media than retail politics.
“It’s not like suddenly he’s going to be able to spend a ton on TV ads,” said one unaligned national consultant who worked for Romney’s 2008 campaign and is familiar with South Carolina politics.
Gingrich’s top-four threshold might not be enough to quell a perception that he’s running out of steam, said Jim Dyke, a South Carolina-based national strategist.
“I think if he does not do very well -- one or two -- in Iowa, he’s going to have a further sinking, which is going to make it more difficult in New Hampshire and it’s going to make it extremely difficult in South Carolina," Dyke said.
But Clemson political science professor and Republican consultant David Woodard said he would not count Gingrich out here, saying he’s been impressed with the former speaker’s “unconventional” presence.
“He is working something that the others aren’t doing and it’s primarily this social media kind of thing,” he said, noting the volume of emails and Facebook bulletins he receives from Gingrich supporters (Woodard added the Bachmann campaign is also reaching him through social media).
S.C. FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS MORMON?
While Romney’s campaign has been setting low Iowa expectations for months, he is now leading some polls there, including the NBC/Marist poll, which showed him at 23 percent. He is garnering larger, more enthusiastic crowds than his campaign said they had anticipated.
That atmosphere is leading some observers in South Carolina to say he could ride a stronger-than-expected showing in Iowa, plus a New Hampshire win, to a victory here.
“They have done a masterful job of managing expectations,” Dyke said, adding that an outright win in Iowa “would really solidify the argument that he’s the candidate who can win everywhere.”
That argument could be strengthened if Romney wins socially conservative South Carolina, some of whose voters balked at his Mormonism in 2008, according to the national consultant who worked on Romney’s campaign that year.
“You’re the Mormon from Massachusetts who flip flopped on social issues who just won in South Carolina. It beats the expectations. No one would expect it," the consultant said.
Dyke drew a parallel between Romney and 2008 nominee John McCain, whose record did not jibe perfectly with voters here but who eked out a 33 percent victory over Mike Huckabee, who took most of the Evangelical vote.
“[McCain’s] record wasn’t necessarily tailor made for this state, whether it was immigration or judges, but there was a recognition that he was the best candidate for the fall,” Dyke said.
Even if Romney doesn’t win in Iowa, he still has the ability to sustain his campaign without an Iowa fundraising boost.
“These other guys have to win states in order to stay alive,” the consultant said. “Mitt Romney doesn’t have to run a marathon, he just has to make sure that his terminal disease isn’t as fast as the other guys.”
Plus, Romney can invest in South Carolina’s relatively inexpensive media markets (he made a $230,000 broadcast ad buy here on Thursday) while simultaneously buying some of Florida’s much pricier airtime, the national consultant said.
“Florida is a must-win. And South Carolina is the perfect setup for it. Last time, they got cold feet [in South Carolina] and pulled the plug and they probably saved about half a million dollars. In the overall scheme of what that campaign spent, they spent more than that on rock climbing walls for the Iowa straw poll.”
While the Romney campaign isn’t investing in as much gym equipment this time around, they do have a low-key, but persistent, presence in South Carolina. In addition to holding a tele-town hall with voters here on Monday, Romney has a robo call, which Floyd received, in which he says he intends to “earn the trust of every person in the state of South Carolina,” according to Floyd.
Plus, in addition to Tompkins, Romney also signed on Luke Byars as an unpaid adviser – adding bulk to his three-person South Carolina team.
Romney’s sotto voce presence here, gradually crescendoing, could lay the groundwork for a Romney win in South Carolina -- but the persistence of a few other candidates past Iowa could complicate that calculus.
THE LONG SHOT AND THE WILD CARD
Rick Santorum’s recent Iowa surge (he’s in third at 15 percent in the NBC poll) has some observers here drawing comparisons to Mike Huckabee. the former Arkansas governor who campaigned, like Santorum, mostly on social issues. After winning in Iowa, Huckabee narrowly lost to McCain in South Carolina with 30 percent of the vote.
“I think Santorum could be the next Huckabee, I really do,” Woodard said, adding that the difference between 2008 and now is that “neither of the two frontrunners are a McCain. Neither Gingrich nor Romney have inspired the kind of loyalty that McCain could.”
But Dyke dismissed the Huckabee parallel, saying that Huckabee’s background as a pastor gave him a stronger connection to evangelical communities than Santorum has. “It’s just apples and oranges,” he said.
One candidate who could become a thorn in the side of any candidate in South Carolina is Ron Paul, who is expected to do well in Iowa (he's in second, with 21 percent, in the NBC/Marist Iowa poll) and has some support here (he took 8 percent of likely Republican voters in the most recent NBC/Marist poll here, third behind Gingrich and Romney).
Paul today also received the endorsement of former South Carolina treasurer Thomas Ravenel, who resigned after being indicted on a federal cocaine charge. In a Facebook post, Ravenel praised Paul’s position against drug prohibition.
Paul’s organization in South Carolina is not as robust as in Iowa -- and that's not even to mention that Paul does better in a caucus setting than a primary -- but his presence here is enough to vex any candidate looking to make South Carolina, where the 2008 nominee won by just a three-point margin, a firewall.
“It will be at least a three-way race, and Ron Paul’s not getting out. So it’s not like it’s as clean and clear as I think Speaker Gingrich is articulating it,” said Tompkins. But a Ron Paul victory in Iowa could be a rallying point for South Carolina voters lukewarm towards Romney, the national consultant said.
“If Ron Paul comes in first, then all of a sudden there’s a scary bogey man we’ve all got to rally around – look, Mitt might not be our guy but we can’t let it be Ron Paul.” Regardless of the various scenarios that pundits will no doubt be gaming out between now and the South Carolina primary, one fact remains certain: a win here, preceded by losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, would be a first in South Carolina’s 30-year history of picking Republican nominees.
NBC's Alex Moe contributed
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i cant wait until Obama gets reelected..i can put on my Nazi uniform again..stand in line for my welfare check..huh tea trash
where did you get your 'NAZI' uniform at? I thought the enemys of freedom outlawed any kind of expression for white people , maybe the klan (clan?) . wow i just love how 40-90 iq people see the only 'BAD' people to ever exist are EVIL,RACIST ,BIGOT, HATERS. the nazi's where a hell of a lot better then those marxist ,stalinist, leninist pieces of garbage.
elvis payne - if you have a nazi uniform in your closet - then maybe you should put it on and march down Main Street where you live and see how far you get and good luck not Sieg Heil
This is for the Big Butt Crack What a horrible visual - 5 million Jews killed - men women and children and you think the Nazi's where better than what the Stalin's yeah = lets just add up the bodies - these were people for god's sake loving families - dinner tables filled with joy, babies being born - our brothers and our sisters no matter the religion Hopes and dreams - not fulfilled - how unthinking can you be - are you a fellow American or just another worm crawling from out from a dung pile? How sad to be related to you
It's "gauntlet", not "gantlet".
True.
And the morons at MSNBC misspelled it on the home page and then the article page too. I bet you it's an idiot journalism grad with delusions of grandeur that can't spell basic English words.
he should have said right after that Obama was born if Africa huh Chester then he would be smart like you folk huh
Actually it is "gantlet"
I did a little research and I think these links explain the meaning of the word "gantlet". Yes you will have to read a little on the first link, but the second link explains it well. I included the first link so we can see that this is not the first time for the confusion.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/readers/2010/10/gloves-come-off-over-headlines-use-of-gantlet.html
http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2006/08/is-it-gantlet-or-gauntlet.html
Have a nice night all and remember, courtesy costs you nothing. :)
Walter--Thank you. I like to learn something every day and today, you have made that possible.
Bob stop with the gauntlet
A Canadian's perspective outside the USA political circus box:
This apperars to be not a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th place race, but only a 1st and 2nd place race..."Whaaat are you saying curious Canadian Snowbird to the north?"
Simple:
Ron Paul is on the one team with team-mates being the people of the USA, the nation's Constitution, Bill of Rights, common sense and where principles trumps law every time...) while Gingrich, Romney, Santorum, Obama, Bush, Clinton, Brezinski, Geithner, Summers... all the way to the top of the International Money Pyramid (IMP) are on the other team.
America is already facing unprecedented cultural & debt/crisis.
USA, rouse yoursevles from slumber and preserve your heritage else all will be taken from you.
In the politcal sector, Ron Paul is your only viable choice at this critical time.....and for example the "can't let Iran get the bomb scare tactic" is simple another smoke screen used in absurd tactic to make Paul seem old and senile when in reality Paul is the sharpest tack on the table. It hass noting to do with the bomb and everything to do with
Pride, Power and Pleasure
that can only be tempered and transformed by
Sacrifice Submisison and Santification
Look, USA, have you at least read Brezibnski's book called 'The Grand Chessboard'? For those to whom it applys, wake up already and get your face off the' ball games' of life, free yourselves of MSGs & GMO such 'medications'. Stop listening to this MSNBC media shrinking giant aligned with the IMP Gang
Speaking from the Spiritual sector of society, where it is posturized that there are actually four main pillars or sectors of society: 1 Political 2 Finance 3 Intellectual 4 Spitutual, make no doubt about it, any rEVOLution will in the end not stop an inevitable Globalization Order Grid (GOG) with a one world monetary system of 'Buying and Selling' that may be ,10 100 or 1000 years away.
The question is: Am I, are you, are we all together honoring the sentiments of One actual historical figure who we'll name 'Aslan', where his wise morsals to us about loving one another is the key to the utopia quested after, that by the way has nothing to do with GOG's 'Buying and Selling' system of order, power and control, but is has everything to do with it's opposite, 'Giving and Receiving' where it is required that each indivudual escape to 'Under The Covering' of Aslan's offering where 'Red' and 'Blue' mixes to form a royal color Morado similar to the color of liquid that exists fresh wound producing 'Under The Covering', quite similar to those slaves who escaped Egypt some time ago.
yeah your right lets just put all our military on every corner like they do in Russia..oh yeah i can then wear my Nazi uniform with conservative pride..
Aslan, does this mean you're a conspiracy queer like all Ron Paul fans?
nah that would be the republican log cabin folk
the tea party want a wall street President..you know an average guy the supreme court made.
Nothing in this makes sense, you couldn't get through one sentence coherently. The tea party doesn't like Romney the Wall Streeter and the Supreme Court reference can only be understood as the Democrat spin on their getting less votes in 2000 in Florida by every count than Bush, who wasn't a Wall Streeter.
Elvis, are you a) dyslexic b) mentally deformed by some variety c) trying to be witty in a kind of southern redneck, 3rd grade education kind of way ?
glad you can understand
Any of the GOP clowns will no doubt to send your kids, husbands and brothers to die and get injured to Iran while their kids will be watching how our kids fight Iranians on TV.
Are you willing to send your sweetheart to war???
Ron Paul all the way
Sorry, disinformed lefty/conspiracy freak RP fan, the military is majority rightwing, has been for a long time.
The Republicans do a majority of the fighting for our nation, with some Mexican and black Democrat help. What's really hard to find in our military is white liberals.
In 2008, a bad Republican year, McCain led Obama 56% to 34% amongst the military and veterans, according to the Boston Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/08/military_favors.html
MSNBC, in the same down year, reported that the Military Times conducted a survey showing 57% considered themselves Republican and only 13% Democrat. Amongst officers it was 66% to 9%.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5964655/
In good Republican years, such as 2004, the military votes 2/3 Republican.
Chester hahaha did you read that from a bowl of alphabets you ate this morning..
Chesty:
We're really not interested in being pulled into defining the political leanings of those serving this country.
Some of us are 100% behind them....regardless their "politics".
Some of us are 100% in support of the questions regarding the "politics" that many times is debatable when it comes to putting them in harms way.
Not necessarily a Ron Paul fan....although I respect his opinion.
Don't care what you're interested in Collapse, Carlos was interested in fudging the facts so I was forced to bash his brains in, and provide the polls.
Romney's fate has nothing to do with his Mormon long underwear beliefs, it has to do with his flip-flopping phony record.
I would vote for a Muslim or even an atheist scumbag, if they were consistent rightwingers.
You can have as many planets as you want when you die, that's irrelevant.
Please everyone leave Newt alone , He would rather be at a Book signing and go to Chocolate Factories then Campaigning Well I am sure we all have a sweet tooth and if you look at Newt He enjoys his Chocolate and when this is over he will return to Freddie Mac and more Book signings and make a few more millions but be careful not to eat to much Chocolate!
He's so much smarter and better at debating than Obama.
It would be fun to see the President get his head bashed in during several debates if Newton can pull it off.
Chester the molester not going to happen
Leona has someone pissed in your pepsi today? Why all the hate for President Obama when you and every one else knows he is not a suck-up to congress or the super rich. That is the reason they don't want him in office besides the fact that the republican candidates have flip-flopped on even their own ideas and have shown that what ever direction the wind blows that is the direction they are going. You know it is not illegal to have facts and intellect at the same time, maybe if you called Glover Norquist and asked his permission to not listen to fox news all of the time just maybe your mind will grow, don't you know being in denial on purpose of facts and the real truth about the gop is a sin, Come on and get on the stick with it and use your own mind and stay away from all of the pure B.S about President Obama because it is not his fault that 8 years of Bush Jr and his republican buddies have put this country in the shape it is in. Whats the matter do you want Bush Jr to be back in the white house that bad?
hawk - Leona is a wind up toy - she says the same thing over and over - like sending a child to the black board and writing a thousand times - Obama bad! Not an original thought in I hope a "pretty little head"
Sounds like an ex-friend of mine who thought the French were our enemy in WW11 and nothing can change her mind
"Stepford Wives are Alive and Well"
I think Chris Cristy will run..I think i heard him say he will be on the economy like a fat kid on a cupcake
I can see it know..President Christie we will not shut down the Twinkies factory and send our jobs over seas
Gantlet?
Gantlet, a section of railroad track where two parallel lines are arranged so that one rail of each line is between the rails of the other line
Converge lines in gantlet, to construct or merge two railroad tracks to form a gantlet
Another spelling of Gauntlet, Military dress
Just to fulfill my pedantic quota for the day, 'gantlet' is actually the original spelling of that charming after dinner game the Iroquois used to play with their guests. 'Gauntlet' was originally a big-ass leather glove with metal bits worked in. Somehow, they got confused, and now everything thinks a 'gauntlet' is something you run through, usually as hastily as possible, and have forgotten it started as a glove.
Oh, and Johnny Bee, you can pick up your money on fiverr now...
I know Mitt is the safe choice but I wonder how effective he will be at setting the table for business. I like Newt because he listened to what Donald Trump had to say about the economy. Now that does not in any way imply that he will do as Trump wants him to, but just the fact he listened to someone with a large amount of experience in business. Newt just seems to be the person who will turn over all the stones in finding a solution. We cannot keep sitting on our hands and hoping the economy comes back on its own. We need someone who is not afraid of the Chinese, and will dictate to them how it is going to go.
Larry, lets face it, not one of these nit-wits will win. Listening to Trump should disqualify you from ever holding office. Didn't you realize Newt was just pandering to Donald...'
Mitt- Can't believe anything out of his mouth, he wants to win so bad he'll say anything..
Newt - Biggest a$$hole on the planet, anyone who served with him won't vote for him. No moral values what so ever...
Ron Paul - Nuttier than a fruit cake....his domestic polices would collapse the entire country..he'd be impeached by the GOP within three months of holding office.
Santorium - No experience at all, bit player, claim to fame he's so far right on social issues he scares people.
Perry - OK, he's just an idiot. How Texas allowed him to be Governor is beyond me..
Bachmann - A better looking idiot, failed every history class she ever attended. Makes Sh$T up, no way to backup anything she says.. How she ever got to hold office is still a mystery.
John Hunstman - The only sane one, so he can't win.
And where would you fit the miserably failed Obama? You know the dumbo sitting on his hands and watching everything go by. We have to pick someone other than what we have. As for Trump please understand I am not endorsing him for president. But he did have some some interesting ideas that would work economically. This does not mean all of his ideas are genius. You do have to give him credit for business success and knowledge about business. A smart man listens to ideas from qualified people and then sorts through them for relevant parts. Your rant of disparaging each and every Republican candidate shows immaturity because any bozo can find something bad to say about someone. The fact remains that Obama must go.
Larry,
Wow!
Let me tell you what Obama has done for me personally:
1. As a woman, he passed Lilly Ledbetter law that ensures I get paid the same as amale counterpart
2. As a woman, because of the affordable healthcare act,I cannot be dropped from insurance because I have a pre-existing condition
3. He has deported more illegals than any other president
4. He got Osama Bin Laden
5. Consumer protection act ensures that I am not fleeced by banks, credit card companies or any other firm like that
6. Signed nuclear non-proliferation treaty with Russia (our biggest enemy in terms of nukes)
7. Passed regulations protecting our air, drinking water and soil
8. Executive order to hire veterans with disabilities
9.Executive order to hire returning Veterans
10.A WHOLE BUNCH of veterans programs including VA fully funded, homeless veterans, VA budget as must-pass legislation
11. As a woman, violence against women legislation
12. A WHOLE BUNCH of military services including expanding army corps, military families advisory boards, military exchange programs
13. Bioforensics program to track biological weapons of terror
14. Affordable high quality child care
15.Expand SCHIP for children
How's failed miserably? The entire military is voting for him and all that he and his wife have done. All the non-christians and muslims are voting for him. All the gays are voting for him. All the blacks (well,most of them) and women are voting for him
All that's left are white old evangelical christians (who will not even vote for Romney)
GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF YOU!!!!
Oh, good grief, please tell me you contribute to the Onion?
Once more with "those racists down there..." Watch how the droolers go, and it will be a weathervane for the R candidatees. 'Gimme an effin' break, fool.
Riddle me this: Which state had Blacks in it's army during the 1600-1700's and if wounded won their FREEDOM? S.C.
First Jewish Patriot killed in the War for Independence from where? S.C!
How old is our synagogue? Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue in Charleston was started in 1740.
First museum in the colonies: Charleston, S.C.
Unlike Puritain New England, which colony didn't give a hoot how you prayed, as long as you didn't harm your neighbor? S.C.
Gee...not even to the 1800's, and I see a pattern.
And for how long did you have slaves then share croppers and 'strange fruit' hanging in trees everywhere?
What is a gantlet?
lol. The picture attached to this article makes one think that candidate Romney, if not patterning his political philosophy after Mr. Trump, is at least adopting his hair-style.
Willard needs to call in the "grooming team" here..
Yikes.. !!!!
Wouldn't catch ole texas ricky with his hair looking like that...
Ha Ha Ha Haaaa....check out Romneys face up there!
He has that same mad look Jack Nicholson had when he went off the rails on the movie "The Shining"
Mitt looks like some crazy madman killer .....RedRum RedRum RedRum!
LMAO over & over again!!!!!!
I do not know what you are smoking or drinking but I do not see any resemblance. But keep laughing any way because that is good for you.
And crusty old Ron Paul will turn into that Evil Old Lady in the movie LEGION.......if he doesn't get to be RepubliCON nominee 2012
Crawling all over walls and the ceiling on all fours
justina - I noticed the same look - poor boy is looking tired - can you imagine what his brain looks like right now trying to keep up with all his - I am for it - No I'm not for it - Yes I am for it What is it?
His eyes have circles around them like a toy that explodes before all the springs come loose
It's spelled GAUNTLET, not gantlet.
What the heck is a "gantlet"?
Amateur hour is alive and well at msnbc.com. Yet again.
I hoope Suth Caroolina thros the "gantlet" att them.
Gingrich is crying because of what he did to his mother not because of what happened to her. He put her in a home instead of taking care of her himself. Most of us can't afford the care he gave to his mother and I for one would never put my mother in a facility anyway. He dumped his mother on someone else if you ask me. There are plenty of people willing to help with the elderly right in your own home. Shame on him.
Actually none of this matters. Just pick one out to run for Heavens sake. Anyone should be able to beat the mutt sitting in the White House.
Easy to say if you live in a state that lets you pick one out to run. For Heavens sake....we now need a picture ID. BS....I'll take my DD-214.
No picture on it. You want pictures? Got pictures. Some may be disturbing.
I'm all for the vote. Let the people vote.
Dream on Larry - Obama will slaughter any one of those Keystone cops the GOP throws at him.
Trump/ Palin 2012
Trump/Palin 2012
Now that is funny!!!
LMAO!!
The problem the Republicans are having with Romney is that he is too far left for their tastes. The other candidates are more on the right, which makes the Republicans feel safer that those candidates will actually accomplish what they want.
The problem with this thought though, is that many Americans consider themselves unaffiliated with either party and more moderate. In my opinion, whichever party chooses the candidate who is most moderate (neither left nor right) will win the nomination. Romney is too far left for his right winged Republican party to largely support, but that's just where he should be if we wants to win the presidency. It puts in within that moderate zone.
The polls show that Romney is by far the closest to beating Obama in the next election. The whole reason to this is that he is moderate. Many do not like him because he is so close to the middle, but the fact that he is able to scrape some voters away from Obama grants him the possibility of winning the presidency.
The Republicans will FAIL if they choose who they really want! They can go ahead and put up a right-winged nut job for their candidate, who can (promises to) do everything that the party wants, but when voting time comes, they will LOSE.
While the Republicans are busy bashing Romney for his RomneyCare in Mass, they are not thinking that when he is up against Obama, there will be no healthcare debate, because they are virtually on the same side (with the exception of Romney wanting the states to control it instead of the fed).
Basically, the government healthcare issue will not hurt Romney in the election.
Not so fast my friend. The economy will dictate this election. If Obama can cure the ills in this next year and actually show some progress then he wins without a doubt. This means a decent GDP and unemployment below 6% nationally and African-American unemployment down to at least 11%. This would require that Obama adopt some of the Republican strategy. They would have to vote for it, and Obama would look very good. Except for some of his fringe groups would be disenchanted. Personally, I think he is running out of time to get anything moving. His recent signing for tougher standards on coal fired electrical plants he even admitted we will all be getting higher electrical bills. Then when you raise costs on businesses then naturally the lay-offs begin. Openly antagonizing the Iranians may sound bold and brave. The under current message is higher gas prices because of a perceived threat. Again higher prices for the people and more expense for business. It is quite plain to see that Obama is under qualified to be president, and simply is lost on what to do. We need to listen to has the best economic plan. This means demanding they tell us what they plan to do economically. I seriously doubt most Americans care what religion a candidate is or if they are from a particular state. As a matter of fact most people do not care if they had an affair, are for or against abortion, or care about the environment. Most people only care about the economy and getting it fixed. This means anyone and everyone is still in the game. When one steps up with an economic blueprint it will not matter who copies them, because that candidate will win it. It is about the economy stupid.
Larry:
From the charts I've seen, you are not wrong. It is about the economy.
The balancing act is where this is zeroed in on. Is it the middle class? If so....let's look at the charts. It is about the economy. Who has done well and who hasn't?
Who will pay attention, and be wise enough to not attack those who haven't done well? Who is for the "working men/women" of this country and willing to suggest that they not be viewed as substandard and offered the "dregs" off of the profits they contribute to?
Business owners that produce and the workers that contribute to that production need to be rewarded and policies created that give them the incentive to continue doing so.
Newt's the one,all the others d.k.t.a.f.a.h.i.t.g.
once again RON PAUL is the clear standout nominee on the repub side.. i wonder hom much poll tampering is being done...
Horse - It's a cacus...you can't rig it.. All the Iowans sit in a room and move from corner to corner until they select a candidate. Your candidate doesn't get 25% of the vote, his members can defect, or have to, can't remember. In the end they are all looking at one another and tally the votes.
Even republicans can't manipulate this..