Chris Christie

Speculation Seriously Begins On 2016 Presidential Competition

Ronald 2 Comments

Eight weeks away from the Presidential Election of 2012, but with the obvious trend toward Barack Obama emerging, political pundits are starting to speculate on who might compete for the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominations in 2016, when if Barack Obama is reelected in 2012, we will be certain to have a new President.

The field of potential nominees is long in both parties. Among those being discussed are the following:

Democrats

Vice President Joe Biden from Delaware
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from New York
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill
Virginia Senator Mark Warner
Newark New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren

Republicans

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul
Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley
Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham
South Dakota Senator John Thune

So there are, theoretically, 12 Democrats and 14 Republicans who can be seen now as possible competitors for the Presidential nominations, but of course, some of these conceivable candidacies are based on election results yet to occur, including whether Senators Claire McCaskill, Scott Brown, and Lindsay Graham are reelected, the first two this year, and Graham in 2014; whether Cory Booker runs for New Jersey Governor and defeats Chris Christie, with the result eliminating one of those two candidacies; whether Elizabeth Warren can defeat Scott Brown, which would eliminate one or the other of those two candidacies; and whether the “old timers”—Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Jeb Bush—decide to run or stay out of the race, leaving the battle for the nominations to the “new generation” of leadership that is emerging in both political parties.

As of now, there is plenty of diversity in the potential race, with the following statistics:

7 women in the race–Hillary Clinton, Amy Klobuchar, Kirsten Gillibrand, Claire McCaskill, Elizabeth Warren for the Democrats, and Nikki Haley and Kelly Ayotte for the Republicans.
2 African Americans in the race—Deval Patrick and Cory Booker for the Democrats.
1 Hispanic-Latino in the race—Marco Rubio for the Republicans.
2 Asian Americans in the race (both of India heritage)—Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley for the Republicans.

On the Democratic side, there are three potential candidates from New York—Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Kirsten Gillibrand; one from New Jersey (Cory Booker); one from Delaware (Joe Biden); one from Maryland (Martin O’Malley); two from Massachusetts (Deval Patrick and Elizabeth Warren)–a total of eight of the 12 potential candidates from the Northeast, with one from the South (Mark Warner of Virginia); two from the Midwest (Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri); and one from the West (Brian Schweitzer of Montana).

On the Republican side, there are four potential candidates from the Northeast—Chris Christie of New Jersey, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, and Rick Santorum from Pennsylvania; seven from the South and border states—Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio of Florida, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, and Rand Paul of Kentucky; and three from the Midwest—Paul Ryan and Scott Walker of Wisconsin and John Thune of South Dakota.

Additionally, there are many Catholics running, startling when one considers that this nation has only had one Catholic President (John F. Kennedy), and one Catholic Vice President (Joe Biden).

Also, the Democrats have four Governors, one Mayor, and seven former or sitting or potential Senators on their list; while the Republicans have six Governors or former Governors, seven Senators, and one Congressman on their list.

Speculation starting already makes the 2016 Presidential race seem ever closer even though it will not begin in earnest until mid to late 2014, and particularly so after the midterm elections of 2014!

What Republicans Will Never Understand: The Role Of Wealth In Politics!

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Let’s face the facts: People who become politicians invariably are wealthy, or become wealthy, before they serve in public office.

The fact that politicians are wealthy is not a problem. What IS a problem is when they fail to understand the daily struggles of average Americans, and go out of the way to benefit their new status–wealthy Americans, who do not need political favors because they are already privileged!

These politicians in the Republican Party all love to talk about the struggles that their grandparents and parents went through, which is fine and good. Marco Rubio talked about it; so did Tim Pawlenty, Chris Christie, and numerous others who gave speeches at the Republican National Convention. But to get them to translate to the idea that today there are millions of people who are not as fortunate as they are, to be born to wealth as Mitt Romney was, or to live a prosperous middle class existence, and then inherit millions from family or in laws, as Paul Ryan has experienced, shows that they have no concern for the average American who is not born to wealth, or does not inherit money!

Let politicians have their wealth, but let them, as Franklin D. Roosevelt or Ted Kennedy or many other wealthy Democrats, not be so selfish and greedy as to only care about people of their social class, as wealthy Republicans have proved is their only motive in life!

FDR and Ted Kennedy demonstrated real concern and desire to help those not as fortunate as themselves and made America a better place, and that is a lot more admirable than Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan or others in the GOP having no concern about those below their class, and in fact, condemning middle class and poor people to the bottom of the pile, forgetting it is not only adults, but children and the elderly being abandoned in the name of greed, selfishness, and lack of compassion!

The Egotism And Ambitions Of Republican Speakers At Their Convention: Embarrassing, But Also Revealing!

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When one looks back at the Republican National Convention, which finished last night, what will stick out the most in our memories will be the egotism and political ambitions of many speakers at the convention, who touted their own background and credentials to be considered for the Republican nomination in 2016!

It is clear that many Republicans believe Mitt Romney is going to lose the election, and therefore, the battle for the future leadership of the party was in full demonstration.

The Republican speakers were falling over themselves, trying to out brag each other!

This included Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, and Bob McDonnell. It was embarrassing how much of their speeches was about themselves, only mentioning Romney briefly at the end of their presentations.

The best speeches by far were by Condoleezza Rice and Jeb Bush, who dealt with really important issues, rather than displaying their egotism.

So the battle for the future is in full forward motion, even before the election is held!

Chris Christie: Great Speech, But Needs To Look At His Own Party Being Cause Of Our Problems More Than He Is Willing To Admit!

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New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie, who could never be the nominee of his party with his socially moderate views, gave an outstanding speech tonight about the need for both political parties to work together, compromise, and bring about solutions to our many economic problems.

The problem is that he fails to tell us that it is his party–the Republican Party—which has stood in the way of negotiation and compromise, and that they have adopted an extreme right wing agenda in their party platform, some of which in his heart, he truly does not support.

So Christie aroused the delegates, but his message will have deaf ears among Congressional Republicans, who have brought about the most unproductive Congress since World War II!

Christie has said all of us must share in the sacrifice, but his party and his candidate, Mitt Romney, are out to enrich the rich and take from the middle class and the poor, so his message falls flat, as pure propaganda!

The Vice Presidential Selection: More Important Than Many People Realize!

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The office of the Vice Presidency has often been ridiculed, and some have argued for its abolition by a constitutional amendment, but that is a wrong headed idea.

The Vice Presidency has become an important office since the 1950s, when Richard Nixon transformed the office, both by his own ambitions, and the willingness of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to allow the office to expand.

While Lyndon B. Johnson under John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey under Johnson were not used effectively by their Presidents, and while Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush could be seen as disasters in office, still the office has grown in stature and accomplishments otherwise.

So Gerald Ford, in his brief Vice Presidency under Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford, Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan, Al Gore under Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney under George W. Bush, and Joe Biden under Barack Obama have had a great impact on the office, and made it an office of real power and influence!

When one realizes that Ford and the first Bush ended up in the White House, as did Nixon and Lyndon Johnson; and that Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore were Presidential nominees; and that Rockefeller and Biden both sought the Presidential nomination, one realizes that choosing a Vice Presidential nominee is not to be regarded as insignificant to the nation!

But can we afford another Agnew, Quayle, Geraldine Ferraro, or Sarah Palin to be a possible heartbeat away from the Presidency?

The answer clearly is NO, so Mitt Romney, by taking his time to choose a running mate, hopefully is carefully considering who could really contribute to the office, and help Romney if the two of them end up in the White House!

If one decides to forget everything but experience and competence, and ability to add to Romney’s candidacy, then the choice must be one of the following: Condoleezza Rice, Rob Portman, or Tim Pawlenty.

Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Bob McDonnell, John Thune, and Kelly Ayotte all have issues and problems if they are chosen, and one could argue that some of them could not match the list of Vice Presidents who have served, as not being on their competency level.

But if one had to predict what now seems likely, don’t be surprised that Mitt Romney selects Paul Ryan, which would be an unmitigated disaster, as the controversy surrounding him and his economic plans would reverberate against Mitt Romney.

The gut feeling is that Ryan is on the top of the list, followed by Kelly Ayotte, who is simply not qualified to be President, and would not be much better than Sarah Palin was in the 2008 election cycle.

So bet on Ryan or Ayotte, but if Romney does the best for the nation, it would be Rice, Portman, or Pawlenty!

One Month To The Republican Convention: Time To Reconsider Mitt Romney Being The GOP Presidential Nominee, Before It Is Too Late!

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The Republican National Convention begins one month from today, and the party is in deep trouble.

It has a presumed nominee who is a total disaster, an embarrassment to the party in so many ways, it cannot be calculated.

With all of his faults and shortcomings, it was thought that Mitt Romney would conduct himself properly at the Olympic Games in Great Britain, but instead he managed to alienate, totally, our closest ally with his stupid, inane comments, and his blunders and forgetfulness–mentioning the secret intelligence service, and forgetting the name of the opposition leader, after claiming there were problems with holding the Olympics in London, as compared to Salt Lake City. The Mayor of London was incensed, along with Prime Minister David Cameron, and rightfully!

This man is now being compared by the British press to George W. Bush and Sarah Palin!

It is clearly time for the GOP to consider nominating someone else,and the answer might be to have Romney pick a running mate, who would then be nominated for President, and the best choice clearly would be former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race after the straw vote of the Iowa Caucuses, but to many seemed an acceptable candidate, somewhat boring, but still pleasant and competent!

Picking Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal or Chris Christie would be far worse, with only Rob Portman, Senator from Ohio, being acceptable as an alternative to Pawlenty.

Would Pawlenty or Portman win over Barack Obama? Highly unlikely, but at least neither would be an embarrassment to the party or the nation!

It is time for Mitt Romney to have the courage to back down from the nomination, but he will not do so, so he must be forced by the GOP delegates to do so!

Anyone who now still thinks Mitt Romney will be the next President needs to have his head examained!

Mitt Romney’s Vetting Process For Vice President: Different Than For Himself!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is deep into the process of vetting potential Vice Presidential running mates.

Among those thought to be in the competition are:

Tim Pawlenty
Rob Portman
Paul Ryan
Bobby Jindal
Marco Rubio
Condoleezza Rice
Bob McDonnell
Kelly Ayotte
Chris Christie
John Thune

What is being expected of any, and all, of the above candidates?

A complete vetting, including many years of tax returns!

Hey, wait a minute here! Mitt Romney wants these people, or at least those on the short list, to give information about their finances?

If that is so, which it is, WHY is it that Mitt Romney refuses to give the American people an accounting of his finances, as well?

Why is it that potential Vice Presidential candidates must do this, and Romney will not do so?

Does Mitt Romney think he is a “privileged character”, who does not have to meet the same standards as those who might be his Number Two, and ALL presidential nominees or contenders from his father George Romney on through both Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, and all others?

That is the answer: Mitt Romney THINKS he is a “privileged character”, who is “entitled” to play by his own rules, and to remain secretive about his finances!

Why would he be so vehement about this, if there is nothing to be concerned about in his finances?

BECAUSE, obviously, there is a lot to hide!

But one thought crosses one’s mind: Mitt Romney handed over 23 years of financial information to John McCain in 2008, as he was on the short list to be McCain’s running mate!

So the McCain campaign has these records, and if Mitt Romney refuses to release them, they should be released against his will!

Of course, one would say that would be illegal, which, technically it would be!

And certainly, Senator McCain, being a loyal Republican, is not about to do such a thing to his fellow Republican!

But what about the thought that to refuse to reveal information that EVERY other candidate in the past 40 years has done SHOULD be seen as disqualifying someone to be President, and should actually be illegal itself!

In conclusion: Mitt Romney is trying to hide something, probably a lot, as if that were not so, why not release the financial information?

So as Vice President Joe Biden said the other day; Mitt Romney wants Latino and Hispanic immigrants to be forced to “show their papers”, but he is not willing to show his own papers!

It is a great laugh line, but also totally TRUE!

The Vice Presidency Competition: Only Tim Pawlenty Or Rob Portman Makes Sense!

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More speculation about the race to be Vice Presidential nominee with Mitt Romney has been churning lately, with one clear conclusion: Only former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty or Ohio Senator Rob Portman make any sense!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is simply too toxic with his plan to privatize Medicare and Social Security, although Mitt Romney has endorsed the plan. It would harm Romney in a major way in the upcoming campaign.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is simply too controversial and outspoken, not a good match for the reserved Mitt Romney. His image as a “Bully” Governor would be harmful.

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, the only woman mentioned, has too little experience to be a heartbeat away, and might bring about comparisons to Sarah Palin, although obviously Ayotte is much smarter and more intelligent than Sarah.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would bring little to Romney’s candidacy, and there are doubts about either being qualified to be a heartbeat away from the White House.

Marco Rubio would be too controversial, too much of a lightning rod, and would not draw Hispanic or Latino support of Mexican Americans or Puerto Rican Americans, or others, other than Cuban Americans.

The only possible alternative to Pawlenty or Portman might be Senator John Thune of South Dakota, but it is clear that Pawlenty and Portman are both qualified, non controversial, and most important, from the heartland Midwest, which Romney must win to become President. Only Thune is from the same area, unless you include Ryan, who again is extremely toxic, and would be unwise for Romney to select!

The Emerging Campaign For Condoleezza Rice For Vice President

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Former Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is rapidly emerging in political discussion as a leading candidate for Vice President with Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Rice attended the Republican gathering of top advisers, leaders, and campaign contributors in Utah this past weekend, and it was said that Rice’s speech electrified the gathering.

Condoleezza Rice is very much respected for her foreign policy experience and expertise, and Mitt Romney desperately needs a heavy hitter in foreign policy. One can imagine a very exciting debate between Rice and Vice President Joe Biden, himself a foreign policy specialist in his background and experience.

Rice is also very intelligent, and being African American and a woman, would make her very appealing, although it would not mean that either group would swing to Romney in the election coming up this fall.

Rice is a non politician, who has never run for public office, and if she ran with Romney, the two together would have the least elective experience of any Presidential team in many decades, not a good thing, since Romney only has one term as Governor of Massachusetts.

Rice running would also bring up the skeletons of the George W. Bush Administration, also not a plus.

Also, Rice is a social moderate, and has supported gay rights and abortion rights in the past, so the religious Right would have problems with her in those regards.

It is quite clear that Rice seems to have no interest in running, and unlikely she would be asked, but if one was to look simply at who would be the best person to serve in the office of Vice President of the many mentioned–Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, Paul Ryan, John Thune, Rob Portman, Tim Pawlenty–, Condoleezza Rice would be the best Vice President on pure qualifications.

But don’t hold your breath that she will run, or become Vice President under President Romney, as the chances of his winning the White House are not good, and not getting any better!

The Crash And Burning Of Cory Booker: The End Of National Leadership Potential!

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Just a few weeks ago, it looked as if Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker had a great political future, thought to be likely to challenge New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for re-election in 2013, and maybe to become a possible Presidential candidate in 2016.

This author theorized that Booker could become the successor to Barack Obama, and be the second consecutive African American President of the United States.

It is now time to say forget it, as that is NOT going to happen!

Mayor Booker ruined his political future in one fell swoop when he went on Meet the Press on Sunday morning, and openly criticized the Obama campaign’s argument that Mitt Romney’s experience at Bain Capital, primarily concerned with maximizing of profit over people and survival of specific businesses, was a negative that disqualified Romney to be President of the United States. Booker disagreed with the attack on equity capital, venture capital, saying he found it “nauseating”, stunning David Gregory, the host of Meet the Press, and the rest of the panel that was on the program Sunday morning.

Later, Booker backed off on his criticism, and also went on Rachel Maddow’s show on MSNBC last evening, protesting the way the Republican Party is now using his statement to help their own campaign and attack Obama.

Unfortunately, it is too late once you have left, symbolically, the toothpaste out of the tube, as it cannot be put back!

We have now learned that Bain Capital helped to finance Booker’s campaign for Mayor, and he is, therefore, already tainted, so do not expect him to go further than, maybe, re-election to be mayor of Newark.

Booker turns out to have made a fatal error that cannot be reversed, and if, by some chance, Mitt Romney wins the Presidency, this moment will be seen as the moment that Romney gained an edge, all due to a Democratic mayor who was fatally flawed by his own blunders and personal association with Bain Capital.

What a sad ending to a promising political career, stained by connection to equity capital which he should have rejected, but was too tempted by the offer of support, and, therefore, lost his principles!