Day: December 11, 2011

The “Last Stand” Of Jon Huntsman: New Hampshire Primary

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Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, seen by many political experts as easily the best candidate the Republican Party has to offer for President, has been languishing all along in the polls since his announcement in June of this year, usually with no more than three percent.

It is clear that he has little hope of doing well in Iowa or South Carolina, and is unlikely at this point to do well in Florida, but that reality COULD change IF Huntsman can follow through and win the New Hampshire primary on January 10, one month from now.

However, at present, in the latest polls from CNN, Huntsman scores only eight percent in New Hampshire, behind front runner Mitt Romney having 35 percent, Newt Gingrich having 26 percent, and Ron Paul 17 percent, meaning 78 percent of the voters are locked up at this point by Huntsman’s opponents.

It looks highly unlikely that Huntsman can recover, but if he does, it could affect Florida. If neither happens, Huntsman may as well look ahead to 2016, with him being the only candidate in the present race who could be seen as legitimate in 2016.

“The “New” Nixon Vs. The “New” Gingrich

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In the 1960s, we had the “resurrection of Richard Nixon”! Now in 2011, we have the “resurrection of Newt Gingrich”!

The difference is that with all of the negatives we can conjure up about Richard Nixon in 1967-1968, the negatives were nowhere near the number that Newt Gingrich faces in 2011-2012.

The statement in 1967 and 1968 was that Richard Nixon had “changed”, and that he could be trusted to lead our nation, despite earlier character issues in his 14 years as a Congressman, Senator, and Vice President.

As it turned out, there was no NEW Richard Nixon, and while he certainly had some virtues in office, his “evil” side showed up, and he faced impeachment and resigned in disgrace in 1974!

As it WILL turn out, IF Newt Gingrich ends up winning the GOP Presidential nomination in 2012, all of his warts, his weaknesses, his character issues, both politically and personally, will be revived, and to believe that Newt Gingrich is a changed man is unrealistic.

The Republican Party will implode around Gingrich, as he will NOT unite the party, and has no capability of uniting the country, so the stalemate and gridlock that is present today will become ever worse if he is, by some miracle, elected President!

The Growing Role Of Political Satire And Comedy In Influencing Public Opinion

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This 2012 political campaign has demonstrated a growing role of political satire and comedy in shaping public opinion, and has emerged as a real challenge to conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel.

Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert have become major players in the media, and the Capitol Steps series conducted every weekend at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, and in numerous venues all over the nation throughout the year, has also had an effect on how people perceive politics.

Only in a democracy such as ours could this occur, and it is to be applauded, as in the midst of crisis and turmoil, it is good to reflect on personalities and events, and laugh, rather than always be angry!

So we should salute the impact of political satire and comedy as good for public health!

Ron Paul: The Wild Card Against Newt Gingrich

Ronald 1 Comment

Texas Congressman Ron Paul was very effective in last night’s Iowa ABC debate, going on the attack against Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House.

Paul was more effective than Mitt Romney, former Massachusetts Governor, who for the first time seemed on the defensive as his poll numbers decline, and Gingrich surges in polls in Iowa, South Carolina and Florida.

While Michele Bachmann made strong attacks against Gingrich as well, it seems inevitable that Ron Paul, with his libertarian support and many young people behind him, is the “wild card” in Iowa, and could actually win that state, complicating Gingrich’s surge toward the nomination.

And there is always the thought that even if Gingrich is the party nominee, Ron Paul could run as a third party candidate, and effectively, re-elect Barack Obama.

One other thought: It was disappointing that former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman did not participate, because he is not competing in the Iowa caucuses and hedging his bets on the New Hampshire primary, where he is spending most of his time and money, hoping to stage an upset victory over Mitt Romney. Newt Gingrich might just destroy that possibility, plus Ron Paul’s followers! The exposure to the voters might have been preferable to staying away from the debate.