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Stringer / Reuters
Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a joint news conference with Honduras' President Porfirio Lobo in Tegucigalpa March 6, 2012.
Biden enters the fray, giving speech in Toledo at 11:00 am ET… A thank-you gift to bundlers: at least 47 guests at last night’s WH state dinner were Obama bundlers… The president delivers remarks on energy at 11:00 am ET from Maryland… Romney plays defense on health care in FOX interview… Santorum to Puerto Rico: If you want to become a state, speak English… Political vultures continue to circle over Gingrich’s head… And breaking down the ad spending for the upcoming contests.
*** Biden enters the fray: In a speech that the Obama campaign says will be the first of a series of addresses by the vice president framing the general election, Joe Biden today delivers remarks at a United Auto Workers town hall in Toledo, OH at 11:00 am ET. This is the first major campaign speech by either member of the ticket that didn't have a fundraising invite connected to it. According to excerpts released by the campaign, Biden will focus on -- you guessed it -- the auto bailout that Obama supported (and Romney didn’t). “The president didn't flinch. This man has a spine of steel,” he’s expected to say. “He knew rescuing the industry wasn't popular. He knew he was taking a chance. But he believed. He said, we are not going to give up on a million jobs, and the iconic industry America invented. Not without a fight. We all want a president with the courage of his convictions. Well, folks, we have one. He made the tough call. And the verdict is in: President Obama was right and his critics were dead wrong.” Do take note of the somewhat low-key rollout of this speech; it appears this may be more about message testing (and practicing) for the vice president, whose role on this campaign is likely to be similar to the role of previous veeps: serve as both a validator and the chief "contraster,"
As many donors become frustrated with the narrative that has begun to crystallize around Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch, gaffe-prone politician who cannot connect with voters, will Rick Santorum become their last hope? The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports.
*** A thank-you gift to bundlers: Per NBC’s Shawna Thomas, at least 47 of the guests at last night’s state dinner honoring British Prime Minister David Cameron were bundlers for the Obama re-election campaign. That’s quite a perk for those helping to rake in cash for the campaign. To be fair to Team Obama, inviting top donors and bundlers to these kinds of events is common practice -- in any administration. What’s more, we actually know the names of these bundlers because the Obama campaign has released them (unlike any of the GOP presidential candidates, including Romney). Still, it was quite striking to see so many campaign types invited; nearly 13% of the entire invite list consisted of bundlers. For the first two and half years, many regular donors to the Obama cause grumbled about the LACK of perks they got, including state dinners. Judging by how this guest list was put together, apparently the Obama White House heard those grumbles.
*** Another Obama energy speech: At 10:55 am ET today, Obama delivers another speech on energy – this time at Prince George’s Community College in Maryland. We’ll say this again: With all the polling out there, it’s inconclusive that rising gas prices are hurting the president -- for now at least -- but the White House is trying everything it can to get out in front of the issue. By the way, does anyone else think it’s curious that Obama and Biden are speaking at roughly the same time today? It only reinforces the idea that Team Obama wanted the Biden rollout to be low key.
*** Romney plays defense on health care: As the New Republic’s Noam Scheiber notes, Romney has been pretty lucky on the issue of health care, as his opponents have been unable to land a solid punch on perhaps Romney’s biggest vulnerability in a GOP primary. (But is it luck, or his rivals’ ineptitude?) Yet in an interview on FOX yesterday, Romney continued to struggle to explain his past support from an individual mandate -- and this time it was a 2008 debate and a 2009 op-ed in which he seemed to suggest he supported a mandate on a national basis. And under questioning from FOX’s Megyn Kelly, Romney simply sidestepped what he said in ’08 and ’09. "I believe we should get rid of Obamacare," Romney responded, per NBC’s Matt Loffman. "It's a disaster." More Romney: "I have allowed and agree that a state should have the capacity -- if it wants -- to have a health-care mandate. We had that in my state," Romney said. "Time and again, I've pointed out I'm not in favor of a health-care plan that includes a national mandate."
*** Getting under Romney’s skin: In fact, Romney looked uncomfortable during the entire interview. And we’ve learned a couple of new things about Romney that we might not have known four years ago: 1) it’s pretty easy to get under his skin; and 2) he’s not very nimble when it comes to turning lemons into lemonade. (Saying you want to repeal Obamacare doesn’t erase all the questions about your past support for an individual mandate.) After losing Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, Romney is now getting TONS of advice from news outlets -- the latest being from Politico. This is what happens when you don’t put a Rick Santorum away.
*** Santorum to Puerto Rico: If you want to become a state, speak English: Santorum spends another day in Puerto Rico, where he held two town halls and attended a church service yesterday, per NBC’s Andrew Rafferty. But it’s this interview with a Puerto Rico newspaper that’s raising eyebrows: "As in any other state, you have to comply with this and any federal law - and that is that English has to be the main language,” Santorum told San Juan newspaper El Vocero, per AP. “There are other states with more than one language as is the case in Hawaii, but to be a state in the United States, English has to be the main language." But as Reuters points out, the U.S. Constitution “does not designate an official language, nor is there a requirement that a territory adopt English as its primary language in order to become a state.”
*** Political vultures circling over Gingrich’s head: Politico writes, “Should Newt Gingrich get out of the race? Depends on whom you ask. If it’s a Rick Santorum supporter, the answer is pretty clear: a resounding yes. But if it’s a Mitt Romney fan, the answer is the opposite: no, at least not for now.
And if you ask the former House speaker himself, he insists he’s not going anywhere after humbling losses in both Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday night. ‘I’m staying in the race,’ Gingrich told a small crowd here the day after the results came in.”
*** The ad-spending race: Here’s a look at the ad spending in the upcoming contests:
Illinois (3/20): Restore Our Future $2.3 million, Romney $923,000, Gingrich $16,000
Louisiana (3/24): Restore Our Future $465,000, Red White and Blue Fund $244,000, Santorum $32,000 Winning Our Future $3,000
Wisconsin (4/3): Restore Our Future $508,000
A few points here: 1) Romney and his allies continue to enjoy a HUGE advertising advantage, especially in upcoming Illinois; 2) all the campaigns and Super PACs are engaged in Louisiana; 3) the advertising has now moved to Wisconsin; and 4) the Sheldon Adelson-backed Winning Our Future has been reduced to spending a mere $3,000. Has that spigot been turned off?
*** On the trail, per NBC’s Adam Perez: Rick Santorum remains in Puerto Rico… Gingrich stumps in Illinois, hitting Barrington, Elgin, and Lake in the Hills… And Romney and Paul are off the campaign trail.
Countdown to Illinois primary: 5 days
Countdown to Louisiana primary: 9 days
Countdown to Election Day: 236 days
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Leave a Comment:
Is President Barack Obama slightly retarded? He sounds like he has a case of the "slows" upstairs when he talks.
Funny how people like Bob voted for McCain/Palin, and then questions the presidents intellect. Top of his class at Harvard. May be you are retarded?
Top of the class at anything does not mean sh..t. Proves one thing and one thing only, they are good af learning. Now leading, that is something than cannot be taught. Being a leader come naturally, however, Obama, in my opinion, along with Biden fails miserably.
The reason why it sounds like he has the slows is because he is using an ear piece to be told what to say, you notice there is no more teleprompter. Pay attention he will pause lean his head to one side then repeat what he is being told. This guy has a great handle on the garden path he is leading us down I wonder who will really be whinning the most if he does get reelected? Most likely his loyal followers when they finally figure out he doesn't walk on water and only wants to be king. Funny how that four more years chant is starting to sound like sieg heil.
"Biden enters the fray"
IS THIS A BIG ----ING DEAL???
Here we go again.....just like it to the deadhead media to screw up yet another story. This Biden piece belongs under the "entertainment" section. Just can't wait for crazy Joe to start babbling. Just so much fun watching Joe with his one oar in the water making an ass of himself .
Why wouldn't you support Obama?
He and his administration have increased the national debt to $15,400,000,000,000 in 3 years from $10,600,000,000,000. It will further increase to
$16,400,000,000,000 before election day. And he has no ideas, no plans to lower it, none. We are now more than 100% of GDP in debt. The first time
since WW-II. We will soon be in worse economic condition that Italy (120% of GDP in debt) and on our way to reach Greece(180% debt to GDP) and economic
failure. Numerous studies of made recommendations to eliminate duplicate government departments which could save 100's of billions of dallars and all have
been ignored.
He and his administration pushed healthcare reform with the goal of decreasing the costs of healthcare. He stated he welcomed ideas to achieve that goal
from anyone, republicans too. But after republican leaders presented their ideas, even in writing, each and every one was ignored. The end result was the
healthcare bill we have today which has increased the rate of increase in healthcare and healthcare insurance costs. It has ushered in an unconstitutional
mandate for citizens to purchase healthcare insurance. (unless you are a muslim, they are exempt if they choose). Never before in our history has
the federal government mandated that citizens purchase anything. As a result 29 states are suing the federal government. Now the Congressional Budget
Office comes out and says for the ten years ahead 2012-2022 Obamacare will not cost $900 billion as projected but $1.76 trillion and that is just for
providing healthcare benefits, does not include the costs of administering the plan.
He and his administration are preventing the USA from achieving energy independence by preventing the Keystone pipeline, preventing new drilling on national
lands and offshore rigs. Increased taxes on energy companies stifel investment. These policies are designed to drive up the costs of fossil fuel energy
so that Americans will migrate to so called green energy sources. Even the secretary of energy, Chu, admits this. Obama himself has stated under his
policies the costs of energy will necessarily skyrocket.
As commander of the military he has made big blunders. Even little children playing war games know not to tell your adversary what your plans are. But not
Obama. When he announced the troop surge in Afghanistan, a surge that he had to think about for 3 months, he also announced the future date of withdrawal.
This tells the enemy to just wait us out and tells Afghans working with us that we are going to abandon them. Really stupid.
When Bin Laden was killed, Obama couldn't wait to get to the media and disclose all sorts of operational details, including who exactly performed the raid,
much to the displeasure of defense secretary Robert Gates and the Navy Seals.
Obama stacked the NLRB full of ultra left wing people who immediately overreached when it sided with the unions and stopped Boeing from opening a new plant
in South Carolina. There was no authority for the NLRB to prevent a business from opening a plant anywhere they wanted. Only after extortion money was
paid by Boeing to the unions was the NLRB ruling dropped.
Eric Holder, attorney general appointed by Obama, makes one anti-American move after another. Black Panthers at the polling places in the last election
intimidating voters, he refuses to prosecute telling his own justice dept personnel that he and they are not going to prosecute black on white voter
initimidation. This was reported by a justice dept lawyer. Fast and furious, selling thousands of high power automatic weapons to Mexican drug cartels
and getting lots of people killed, he acts like he never heard of it. Stopping Texas from implementing their new photo ID requirment for voters. He claims
Hispanics will be disenfranchised. Why, apparently Hispanics are to disabled, mentally challenged, or totally financially broke to obtain an ID from the
state, like every other citizen will do. This is inane. Flys in the face of common sense. It is Holder and the Democrats that are trying to guarantee
voter fraud. They would like nothing more than to have illegals vote because they are sure to be the beneficiaries of those votes. Shameful trampling of
our democracy.
Obama has divided this nation like never before since the civil war. Liberals and conservatives are at each other throats. Obama has demonized anyone
that has been successful in their life touting the wealthy as the evil people that don't pay their fair share when the truth is they pay the lion's share.
Obama is killing the American spirit of hard work and striving to make oneself better. Obama is feeding the country a sense of entitlement and dependency,
turning the country into a nanny state. This is what a communist country is all about. Socialism is the evil destructive power that Obama is bringing to
us all and we will detsroy our country unless this process is reversed.
Steve- Who has divided this country? 24/7 faux noise, for one. Republicans with all this redistriubution of wealth rant.
People like you with your hyperbolic rhetoric, "destroy" our country!
In the economic crisis, demonizing people,because they collected unemployment, or any kind of government assistance.
Saying that this President want's everyone to be dependent on government, when you know that's not true!
hummer.......the President is of the Democratic Party....the party that believes in socializing everything. Hence, the President has socialized attitudes. And the President has done his level best as has Pelosi and Reid to divide the country. Also, MSNBC is just as bad if not worse in the opposite direction of Fox News (and by the way, I hardly ever listen to Fox News). The government mandate health plan is a socialized program. Get with the program and stop the BS with your leftist rhetoric.
Do us all a favor, don't let Santorum leave PR...
Mr. Vice President, you spoke of "courage of his convictions". Your President said that deficit spending was bad and he vowed to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first administration. The last full year of the Bush administration was 2008 and the federal deficit for that year was 458.55 billion dollars. The last full year of President Obama's first administration is 2012 so to keep his promise the 2012 federal deficit must not exceed 229.27. With regard to " courage of his convictions" please explain how the promise of the President is going to be kept.
Both tThe Vice President and the President need to be reminded of some words of wisdom that were spoken back in March of 2006. The words were as true then as they are today.
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006
I love it so many will listen to Joe and not Fox news how closed minded is that. Given that the media as a whole is only reporting what they want you to hear and not the facts if you do not listen to multiple source you should not be able to vote.
As for me I would vote tomorrow for Elmer Fudd tomorrow to get Obama out and not have to listen to this until November and ruining my summer. Face it we are headed for another election between dumb and dumber and dumber has failed us so what do we have to loose.
Careful Jeff, Obama is Elmer Fudd..........
Biden is as full of crap as a Christmas Turkey, just about as bad as MSNBC is.
Romney said they should go through bankruptcy BEFORE a bailout, just like American Airlines did.
But what do we get? The USUAL lies from the left of how Romney wanted the unions.....ooops, I mean the car manufacturers to just go under.
And guess what lefties, EVEN with the bailouts, GM and Chrysler STILL had to go through a bankruptcy.
Meanwhile GM still owes the taxpayers of this nation around 25 BILLION dollars as they brag about their "profits" and every UNION employee gets a $7000 "profit sharing" check. Not counting the BILLIONS in subsidies they got for their oh so great Volt (that is costing the taxpayers of this nation $250,000 for each Volt that is on the road now, not counting the ones that burnt up of course.)
Based the IDIOCY of Biden's argument the Stanley Steamer should have been bailed out, the Pony Express should have been bailed out, Edison Records should have been bailed out, and as a matter of fact ANY and EVERY company in this nation that employed more than 100 workers should have been bailed out. That's how you "save jobs" by Biden's, Obama's, Pelosi's and Reid,s standards. It was only a coincidence that they were UNION and had thrown 60 MILLION dollars at Obama's campaign.
Grate news!! for the Republicans.
even gasbag joe would be a better president than this clown obama...ANYONE BUT obama IN NOVEMBER!
Paddy....do you have Tourette's Syndrome or something? You keep saying the same drivel over and over again.
Biden got out without adult supervision again.
Biden is an old has been just like me.....he should be put out to pasture just like me.......hey, he will be the next election. I think even Obama has had enought of the MOUTH.
Fox news is the Brain Child of Richard Nixon. Ailes his press secretary made it real with the help of Murdock. The idea was the bypass the public media and just put out what ever propaganda benefited the right. Ailes is right wing, Murdock just wants to create controversy to make more advertising money and ratings. So you see all you righteous right wing Obama haters they are playing you like a violin. I watch fox news and man you have to be pretty gullible to believe most of what they say on the air. It is sad to think citizen's of this country would put up with the like's of O'Riley, Hanity, Limbaugh. Its like they wave a red cape at you to keep you from seeing the real agenda of the right. If you are not wealthy the republican party will never do anything to help you. The country is changing and all the rich old white men are doing a death twist as they lose power to women and people of color.
So you mean you are an avid listener of Keith(once upon a time), Rachel, and all the other left talking heads?I dislike Obama and the demoratic party because they are opposite to what I believe. AND I hardly ever listen to Fox or MSNBC, but apparently you do.
And what do you believe?
Oh come on Gobig.......prove Steve wrong....give us your magical list.
Oh and Steve you are 100% wrong! But you win a brownie button for the longest and stupidest post.
GobigO
And just what is wrong in Steve's post? Come on give us a rebuttal for each item. A blanket 100% wrong just doesn't cut the mustard as they say.
Prove him wrong, especially prove him 100% wrong.
Its all lies you learned on fox news. Got to hand it to them, they are good at what they do.
Gobig
If they are lies you should be able to prove them wrong very easily. So come on prove Steve wrong..
Do you have any reading comprehension, GoBig.....read my posts.....I hardly ever listen to Fox News. As a matter of fact, I may listen to MSNBC more than Fox News. But either way it is very little for both networks. So I see what the dems are doing especially with the SPEND, SPEND, SPEND and ENTITLEMENTS and MORE ENTITLEMENTS here in liberal land USA: California......run by dems for years and years and being ruined by dems for years and years.
So Cal do you know what entitlements are? Do you know how much money has been taken out of entitle ments over the last 30 years. Millions of Americans have paid into SS & Medicare over their lifetime. So now we just say so sorry we have to give big oil subsidies and big corporations tax breaks. What would you do Steve in your wacko world?
I give up on you Gobig....nothing more from me because if I argue with a fool he will beat me everytime with his vast knowledge and experience of being a fool. Good nite, little demy.
Wow that is deep.
Let Biden speak all he wants; he probably doesn't know where he is anyway.
Hey steve make us a list for Bush.
Hey, Gobig, give us a list of why Steve is wrong....you know....100% wrong.
Steves post is just wacko. I guess that is his opinion. If you watch the BBC you will get a better picture of what is going on in this country.
Then prove he is a wacko.....give us some information......prove he is.....your belief that he is wrong just does not cut it.
So steve can you give Obama credit for anything? Anything at all?
GobigO
Come on GobigO prove Steve wrong. Gobig or STAYHOME!
I will GoBig....to his credit, he is a good little democrat.
Steve is wrong and crazy, realy if you believe what you wrote you are crazy.
Gobig
Come on how many times will you dodge proving Steve wrong?
Quit being immature.....prove he is wrong and crazy. We all want to know why he is wrong and crazy. We wait breathlessly.
The left can't prove people wrong because they run on emotion and not thought. The only thing in their arsenal is name calling.
What another word for stupid and wrong?
I guess Gobig went home.
Ok Slodon all that crap is his opinion weird as it is. Go to fact check and prove it to yourself. There is so much stupid disinfomation twisted up with his own wacko views. The whole post just sorta proves itself wrong. Did you actually read it?
Where are your fact checks?
Do it yourself it is just to long and stupid to think about.
I don't need to, I've been doing it all along. The fact that you won't shows that you really don't care about facts. Typical.
So steve and slo did you think Bush was a good president?
Ok so would you vote for any of the 4 republicans candidates?
Funny to hear you rip on Biden. Just think you might have had Sara Palin as VP. Do you love her ?
I love watching the republican party imploding on itself. They hate having a Democratic black man in the oval office so much they are scratching their eyes out.
So do all you guys want you social security and medicare?
An original thought and a cold drink would kill this lib MFer.