Mitt Romney

Theodore Roosevelt Became President On This Day In 1901: Transformation Of The American Presidency!

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On this day in 1901, the first year of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States upon the death of President William McKinley, who died of gunshot wounds suffered eight days earlier in Buffalo, New York, perpetrated by the assassin, Leon Czolgosz!

TR becoming President turned out to be transformational, as he became an advocate of an activist Presidency, and became a model for both Republican Presidents and Democratic Presidents of the future!

TR helped to make America a world power, and would be shocked at the thought of many today who would advocate withdrawing from the world.

TR would be proud of President Barack Obama in his handling of the Middle East crisis that emerged this week with the death of Christopher Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya, and would be shocked at the reaction of his fellow Republican, Presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Also, TR would be proud of Barack Obama for accomplishing what he first brought up as an issue a century ago–national health care for all—and would be disappointed that his party has set out to repeal “ObamaCare”!

It is clear that TR, were he alive today, would be a Democrat, not a Republican, as TR’s Progressive beliefs have been repudiated by right wing conservatives, and TR would be furious at social conservatives trying to control the American people’s private lives, and promoting religion in government, rather than the tradition of the Founding Fathers, to have separation of church and state!

And TR, were he here now, would love to punch Glenn Beck and other right wing extremists who have attacked him because he was a Progressive, who believed that government was designed to make life better for the people, not for the corporations and the wealthy!

Yes, TR had his faults, as we all do, but he stands out as one of our greatest Presidents, who might never have ascended to that job, but for the evil deed of one man, who murdered William McKinley.

Just the same, Barack Obama will not let a small band of terrorists and thugs in Libya to upend our foreign policy, and he will show resolve and principle in dealing with the issue, just as TR always did in the Presidency!

Barack Obama is a worthy successor to the heritage of Theodore Roosevelt!

Jon Huntsman: A Rare, Sane Voice Among Today’s Republicans In Foreign Policy!

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Sane Republicans, the small number that seem to exist these days, should mourn that Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, who was the only legitimate GOP candidate for President this year, before his withdrawal in January, was one of the few of that party to express the proper thoughts on the Middle East situation that blew up this week, with the death of the US Ambassador to Libya.

Huntsman said this is not the time for someone to be impetuous, to be reacting without all of the facts, or to suggest that foreign aid should be cut, or that we should withdraw from the region of the Middle East altogether!

This was Huntsman’s reaction to Mitt Romney’s impetuosity; to Bill Bennett’s justifying that impetuosity; and to Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s call for a cut in foreign aid and withdrawal from involvement in the controversial area of the Middle East—all signs of just how nuts much of the Republican Party has become!

There are Republicans who are silently, and quietly, whispering privately how crazy the Romney campaign has become, and all that they hear is that Romney and Paul Ryan are accusing the Barack Obama Administration of sympathizing with terrorists and the thugs that attacked the Libyan Consulate and killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others!

The incompetence and recklessness of both Romney and Ryan is literally terrifying, politicizing a national tragedy! And when the former Secretary of Education under George H. W. Bush (Bill Bennett) can double down on what Romney said after the first reports of the attack, and Rand Paul and other crazies can talk about losing all influence in the Middle East by punishing nations for the actions of a few, and even advocate total withdrawal and isolating ourselves, it makes one quiver at the thought of a Republican in the White House!

And when aides to Romney say that if he was in the White House, what happened this week in the Middle East would not have happened, one has to shake his head in disbelief, as if a President or anyone can control what goes on in other nations and prevent mobs or hoodlums from taking action, simply by the image of his presence! How egotistical and arrogant can someone get in the pursuit of becoming President, that his aides have the gall to state such an imbecilic assertion!

This is not the sanity of George H. W. Bush and his foreign policy advisers, or even the statesmanship of Condoleezza Rice or Colin Powell!

This is the insanity of people who have no respect for foreign countries, no knowledge of the world, and no understanding of what the use of language can do in relations among nations!

How far the Republican Party has fallen, from an image of being expert in foreign policy, to one of total irresponsibility and looniness, and in so doing, giving the Democratic Party and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the distinction of being the grown ups in the room!

Mitt Romney has dug a hole for himself that he will be unable to dig himself out of at the last Presidential debate on October 22, devoted solely to foreign policy. We will see the final disintegration of his candidacy on that evening, just 15 days before the election!

Tax Returns: 10 For Vice Presidential Possibilities, Only 2 For Mitt Romney! Is This Not Arrogance?

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Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has refused to give out more than two tax returns–2010, and in October, 2011–as he says that is all that is legally required.

At the same time, it is now revealed that he demanded TEN years of tax returns from Paul Ryan and other Vice Presidential possibilities on his short list.

And other Presidential nominees and Vice Presidential possibilities in the past have regularly given out multiple years of tax returns.

So what Mitt Romney is continuing to say is that he is ENTITLED to set his own rules, and to refuse to provide information that is normally expected, and also to refuse to give specifics on any area of public policy for the future, and that we should trust him!

The answer and will be in November: Sorry, Mr. Romney, but you have shown you are unwilling to be forthright, honest, and transparent! You have taken the attitude of a prima donna, who does not have to follow the rules, and still seems to expect that we, the American people, should entrust you with power and authority and believe in you! However, we are sorry to inform you that you have not met the tests of leadership, and you are, therefore, fired!

The Dangers Of Islamophobia On American Life And The Future

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Islamophobia has multiplied due to irresponsible right wing talk shows hosts, politicians, and websites that are exploiting the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya.

Sadly, Mitt Romney is adding to this hysteria by refusing to make it clear that America cannot declare war on the Islamic world, with its more than one billion population. He needs to calm the hysteria, but instead is contributing to it!

It is right that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton denounce the anti Muslim video that has caused demonstrations in the Middle East, and led to massive riots. We as a nation are not responsible for the reckless, divisive, hateful actions of right wing nuts and Christian and Jewish zealots who preach undying antagonism toward the entire Islamic world.

The reality is that we MUST coexist in this world, as a modern day Crusade would destroy this planet that seven billion people occupy!

And if we are not careful, we will have massive violence in this nation against our Muslim population, and massive retaliation by people out to defend their faith and their culture. The Muslim population overwhelmingly has denounced what happened in Libya and Egypt, and are trying to go about their lives and be good American citizens.

Just because there are some radicals does not mean that all Muslims should be painted with the same brush. Leave it to the FBI and CIA to handle that problem, as they have done very well so far!

Indeed, we need to keep watch over our own religious extremists who are willing to be outrageous in their behavior in the name of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and do not care how they divide this nation, and put it under stress and danger, and undermine our national security!

Fox News Channel Poll Shows Obama Ahead Of Romney By Five Points!

Ronald 12 Comments

Imagine this: Fox News Channel, which has been attacking Barack Obama relentlessly for years, has come out with a poll showing Obama five points ahead of Mitt Romney, 48-43!

How is Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly going to explain this?

How is Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Michael Savage and Mark Levin and Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham and Michael Reagan and Lou Dobbs and Michelle Malkin going to explain this?

How is the Tea Party Movement and the evangelical Christian Right going to explain this?

How is John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor going to explain this?

How is Human Events, the Weekly Standard, The National Review, the American Conservative and NewsMax going to explain this?

How is George Will, Bill Kristol, Tony Perkins and Grover Norquist going to explain this?

The answer is that they cannot answer this—and that when one realizes that this five point lead is BEFORE the gaffe of Mitt Romney about Libya is computed, it can only mean a wider lead for Obama in the next poll!

In other words, while no one wants to say it, face the facts!

THE ELECTION IS OVER, AND BARACK OBAMA IS THE WINNER OF A SECOND TERM!

But that does not mean one should not vote, as until the vote is counted, nothing is one hundred percent, BUT it is safe to say that the election is indeed over!

Republican Congressional Leaders Back Away From Mitt Romney

Ronald 3 Comments

The reaction of Republican Congressional leaders, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain is far less incendiary than Mitt Romney’s rhetoric on the Libyan tragedy, the death of the American Ambassador to that nation, in the midst of a planned attack by a minority of violent instigators.

Even Paul Ryan, the Vice Presidential running mate, has been cooler in his reaction to the events in the Middle East.

One can tell by their body language and their actual utterances that they are uncomfortable with Romney’s perceived overreaction to the tragedy.

And Ryan is now spending money to insure that he wins his Congressional seat in the First District of Wisconsin, as an insurance policy that he can keep his job in the House of Representatives, if he and Romney fail to win the election.

All the signs are there that Mitt Romney, by every utterance he makes, or his refusal at other times to give details or information, and instead to remain purposely vague, is quickly lengthening the odds against him becoming President.

No one in their right mind should put betting money on him taking the oath of office as the 45th President on January 20, 2013. At best, he will probably be relaxing at one of his many homes on that day, while Barack Obama takes on the burden of a second term that day at 12 Noon!

Foreign Policy Finally Moves To The Forefront Of The Presidential Campaign! The Test For Mitt Romney!

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Foreign policy has finally moved to the forefront of the Presidential campaign of 2012, and Mitt Romney is going to have to prove his capability in that area, with a grade so far of F!

His rhetoric on Iran; his calling Russia the major threat to the United States; his insulting Great Britain about its preparation for the Olympics and talking about their security apparatus openly while in London; his willingness to exploit his personal friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a way to undermine the Obama Administration policy on the Middle East; and his rush to judgment without facts about the tragic attack in Libya, as well as Egypt, which caused the death of our ambassador to Libya, and three other diplomatic personnel, has so far made him seem dangerous, too easily “shooting from the hip”, and too willing to consider the use of military force before exhausting diplomacy and sanctions, as against Iran, for example.

From now on, and for the next eight weeks, Mitt Romney will be micro analyzed on everything he says or proposes in foreign affairs, and he will have to battle to get up to a C grade, if that!

And on October 22, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, he will be confronted with a full scale debate just on foreign policy, opposite President Barack Obama, who is judged as very strong in that area of policy making, in the last of the three Presidential debates.

The eyes of the world, not just those of Americans, will be on the former Massachusetts Governor, as to whether he is up to the job. He had better start studying at a ferocious pace, and control his mouth, or he will end up looking like an utter fool after that last debate, with his Presidential campaign in flames, much like the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya is this sad morning!

The Ignorance And Arrogance Of Mitt Romney In So Many Areas Of Significance!

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Mitt Romney is politicizing the tragic death of the US Ambassador to Libya in a disgraceful manner, which totally disqualifies him for the office of President of the United States!

Mitt Romney has not only now proved his ignorance and arrogance on this matter, but also on other areas of foreign policy. If somehow he was elected, the neoconservatives would take over, and we would be engaged in warfare against the Islamic world—Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt—and continuation of the war in Afghanistan, and maybe going back into Iraq—as if we have the manpower, the capability financially, and the national commitment to continuous war! And the Russian Government has also indicated its distrust of America growing if Romney is elected President, so get ready for a new Cold War with that nation!

But this situation only proves further that Mitt Romney is not only ignorant and arrogant about foreign policy.

He has also demonstrated his willingness to be manipulated by the far right wing of the Republican Party, when it comes to the fields of science, economics, mathematics and history. Facts and reality do not matter to the ideological extreme, and falsehoods and lies are the menu instead!

It is clear that Mitt Romney would be a total disaster for America, and would make George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon look good by comparison!

Shocking Murder Of US Ambassador To Libya Due To Reckless Anti Muslim Video Produced By Israeli Extremist Who Should Have Used Better Judgment!

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The tragedy of the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, in a harsh reaction by extremist Muslims in that nation to an extremist, hateful video produced by an Israeli extremist who should have used better judgment, is a warning of the need for religious tolerance if we are to avoid massive bloodshed worldwide.

Promotion of anti Islamic ridicule and hatred is self defeating, as the Islamic world is not going to disappear, and their sensitivities cannot be ignored, unless we wish to send our young men and women in harm’s way endlessly, bleeding our youth and bankrupting our nation, already in tremendous debt due to two failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a person of Jewish heritage, who certainly knows what anti Semitism has meant to the Jewish people historically, to be so reckless as to incite the Islamic world when Israel must live in that neighborhood for the rest of time, requires the condemnation of the civilized world!

There are those who say the Jewish people are a false religion and people, and here we have an Israeli who says the same thing about Muslims, but with what purpose except to cause trouble and loss of life?

Freedom of religion does not mean we have to attack the beliefs of others in such a hateful way. We may not agree with what others believe, but no religious group should be subject to disrespect.

And for Mitt Romney to politicize this tragedy only shows further than before that he is ill equipped and ill qualified to be President of the United States, unless we are prepared to have unending war, lack of tact and diplomacy, and keep on undermining the strength and stability of our nation!

Commitment To Others (Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama) Vs. Commitment To One’s Own Wealth Acquisition (Mitt Romney)!

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Two former Democratic Presidents—Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton—have devoted their post Presidential lives to a commitment to help others, through the Carter Center and the Clinton Initiative.

They have both stood out for their efforts to promote peace, fight hunger and disease, improve the lives of others, rather than set out to add to their own wealth acquisition.

At the same time, Barack Obama seems likely to follow the same pursuits, because, after all, he devoted his early adult life to being a community organizer in the toughest neighborhoods of Chicago, dealing with poverty, hunger, and family problems of many Chicago residents. He has been ridiculed by the right wing of the Republican Party for doing so, but then the right wing of the GOP has also shown a lack of respect and deference toward both Carter and Clinton with their retirement years commitment to doing good for others!

Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has devoted his entire adult life simply to the acquisition of wealth for the sake of wealth, not concerning himself with the closing down of businesses by Bain Capital, and the loss of jobs by many thousands of workers. He also likes to flaunt wealth, as with the car elevator at his one of many homes in California, and his refusal to release his tax returns, because it would reveal just how manipulative and deceitful he has been, a man who has no ethics or morals when it comes to the making of money!

Of course, it is said that Mitt Romney gives to “charity”, but that “charity” is almost completely to his Mormon Church, which requires a tithe of ten percent from its membership. So that is not all voluntary, and in any case, giving “charity” solely to one’s church is not true charity, in the sense that he has shown no interest, with his vast wealth, to support good causes, as has Carter and Clinton, both far less wealthy than Romney.

And it is predictable that if Romney loses the Presidency, he will devote his life to his church and to the constant acquisition of wealth, as this is the trend of his life, not devoting time and effort to good causes, as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have done, and assuredly, that Barack Obama will do in his post Presidency!