Mitt Romney

General David Petraeus As Vice President? Why Would He Do It?

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Rumors are flying that four star General David Petraeus, presently head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and formerly engaged in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and seen as a national hero, might agree to resign his position in government to run as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate.

Certainly, if Petraeus did so, it would electrify Mitt Romney’s candidacy, and give him a real shot at winning the White House over President Barack Obama.

But although Petraeus is registered Republican, it is hard to imagine him giving up his responsible position in the government for the Vice Presidency.

Yes, Petraeus could be an active Vice President, and would certainly add stature to Romney in the area of foreign policy, national security, and defense, in which Romney has no background at all.

But despite that, Petraeus, having worked with Barack Obama very closely, and with the understanding that the two men have high regard and respect for each other, it is inconceivable that Petraeus would agree to run against the man, who, technically, has been his boss.

And the question of who would replace Petraeus, with his depth of knowledge and expertise, is also one to consider, and to imagine Petraeus really doing this, considering it is still a long shot that Romney would win the Presidency, is hard to conceptualize.

We will know in less than a week what Romney is doing, but again consider the likelihood of Paul Ryan or Kelly Ayotte as more likely, with Rob Portman or Tim Pawlenty as safer choices and alternatives!

Mitt Romney And The Three Words Beginning With “M”: Off Limits!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, has problems with three words beginning with the letter M!

He does not wish to talk about his years as Massachusetts Governor, when he was a moderate Republican.

He does not like to talk at all about his Mormon faith, and is just as secretive about it as the Mormon Church is toward investigation and analysis of itself.

And he certainly has no desire to talk about his money, being far less transparent than his own dad was in 1968, when he was running for the GOP Presidential nomination.

This is not the kind of person we want governing us, when he refuses to be accountable about his past in any form!

Barack Obama And “RomneyHood”!

Ronald 5 Comments

President Obama has come up with a new term for his opponent, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for President.

Referring to Robin Hood as the man who stole from the rich to give to the poor, Obama called what Romney represents as “RomneyHood”, in that he wishes to steal from the poor and middle classes to give to the rich, as if they need more tax cuts than they have already received under the Bush tax cuts of the past decade.

Mitt Romney is trying to overcome his wealthy, uncaring image, so he went shopping yesterday for a few items near his mansion in New Hampshire, and looked totally ridiculous, preposterous, and phony, which is nothing new for him.

It is clear that he cannot even shop and seem like a normal human being, and is totally non-communicative with the media in the process of acting stiff and formal, even when shopping.

This man is an aristocrat who cannot relate to average people and never will, and calling what he wishes to do as “RomneyHood” is, therefore, totally appropriate!

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!

Is It “Good” Politics And “Good” Diplomacy” For Mitt Romney To Be So Outspoken Publicly Overseas? NO!

Ronald 1 Comment

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is making controversy and creating turmoil as he continues on his foreign policy trip to convince Americans and the world that he is ready for the Presidency.

After his flubs in Great Britain, antagonizing our closest ally, he has now gone “off the bridge” in his speeches and comments in Israel.

While trying to demonstrate his strong support of Israel, and hope to wean away many Jewish voters in America from Barack Obama, Romney has managed to make things worse by his actions.

Stating that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of Israel by the United States, when both Republican and Democratic Presidents without fail from Lyndon B. Johnson to Barack Obama have felt it unwise to do so, creates a new problem for Middle East negotiations, which should not have been brought up at all.

It is not an issue of whether the US should recognize Jerusalem as the capital, but since both parties and all Presidents have steered clear of it up to now, for a total of 45 years, a campaign trip is the wrong place to bring it up.

Also, Romney compared Israeli and Jewish achievements to the failures of the Palestinians, which are indeed true, but should have been left unsaid, as all it does is antagonize the Arabs, which still have to be dealt with if there is to be any chance of Middle East peace at any point in the future.

And comparing israel and the Palestinians to the US and Mexico or Chile and Ecuador as examples also, unnecessarily, can make those nations angry, and serves no purpose!

Mitt Romney is demonstrating his recklessness in speech, so one wonders about his potential recklessness in action, were he to become President of the United States in 2013!

Barack Obama: The First Democratic Presidential Noninee Since 1964 To Have The Edge On Foreign Policy In A Presidential Campaign!

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The Republican Party has often been seen as stronger on foreign policy, particularly in a Presidential year.

The last time that a Democrat had the edge on foreign policy in a Presidential campaign was in 1964, before the major escalation of the war in Vietnam, with Lyndon B. Johnson making Barry Goldwater look like a danger to world peace.

Richard Nixon had an edge on strength in foreign policy over Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, in 1968 and 1972, just as Gerald Ford had an edge over inexperienced Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Ronald Reagan was seen as stronger than Carter and Walter Mondale in 1980 and 1984; and George H. W. Bush had significant foreign policy experience, as compared to Michael Dukakis and Bill Clinton in 1988 and 1992.

Bob Dole was seen as tougher on foreign policy than Clinton in 1996, and George W. Bush somehow came across as stronger in 2000 because of his running mate, Dick Cheney, and kept that edge over John Kerry in 2004.

And finally, John McCain was seen as far more knowledgeable than Barack Obama in 2008.

But now, with the respect Obama has around the world, his active drone attack on terrorists. and the removal of Osama Bin Lade and Moammar Gaddafi, it is tough for Mitt Romney, who has no background in foreign affairs, to look stronger in foreign policy.

Mitt Romney And The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 2002: Another Scandal And Boondoggle!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican Presidential nominee, has boasted about how he saved the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games of 2002.

What he has not told us is that those Olympics received $2.7 billion in federal funds, equivalent of a bailout, with most of it going to improve the public services of Salt Lake City, as Romney was unable to gain much private investment. So the taxpayers of the nation added to the national debt to present the Olympics, and Romney took credit for its “success”, without revealing that it was on taxpayer money.

But now Romney has the gall to say that taxpayer money was used to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, even though it saved the auto industry in the Midwest, and has been paid back handsomely by those auto companies!

Additionally, Romney had said that the records of the Salt Lake City Olympics would be fully available for journalists and others, and that he believed in “transparency”, but then he proceeded to make it impossible for the records to be accessed, and as it turns out, the records of Romney’s activities have strangely disappeared!

What is clear is that Mitt Romney is not only a liar and a deceiver, but he is also corrupt, and has spent his life covering his tracks, including his refusal to reveal his tax records, because it is clear that they would show manipulation and chicanery in his financial dealings!

This is a man who is secretive, distant, insincere, arrogant, and thinking he is “entitled” to the Presidency being handed to him on a silver platter!

We need to make sure that does not happen this November 6, exactly one hundred days from today! Barack Obama supporters must do whatever they can to guarantee that our 44th President has another term in the White House, which he richly deserves!

Mitt Romney’s Foreign Policy Debut In Great Britain: Total Disaster!

Ronald 6 Comments

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the GOP Presidential nominee, has struck out in his first foray into foreign policy, of which he has no background or experience at all!

Of all places, he bombed in Great Britain, the closest ally and friend of the United States for the past century!

He stupidly criticized London as not having prepared adequately for the Olympics, which totally insulted the mayor of London, as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This man cannot utter a statement that is not seen as inadequate, as incomplete, needing further explanation, or being a pure embarrassment!

The British press is comparing Romney to Sarah Palin and George W. Bush! What kind of hope of diplomacy with our closest ally is seen as possible when the first impression is so negative?

British observers have said that Romney came across as without “charm, warmth, humour, or sincerity”!

What is a greater indictment of Romney than that statement? All of it is TOTALLY TRUE, as Romney is clearly a total PHONY, unconcerned about how people feel, and clearly, if he can alienate Great Britain, imagine Iran, China, Russia, North Korea, etc!

Romney is giving further proof that he is the WORST GOP Presidential nominee since James G. Blaine, the extremely corrupt nominee in 1884, against Democrat Grover Cleveland!

Realize this includes Richard Nixon and George W. Bush, but realistically, Romney is far worse than either of them or any other nominee since Blaine 128 years ago!

Romney is clearly digging his own grave!

Chick Fil A And Politics: Not A Good Match!

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The Chick Fil A restaurant chain has managed to get itself involved in a controversy over politics which can only hurt business and alienate customers, by the decision of its management to take a strong public stand against gay marriage, and for traditional marriage.

It is not the job of any corporation to take political stands on controversial issues, as there is no way to avoid alienating many people in the process.

Of course, the management have a right to their view, but to go out of their way to promote their private ideas to the public is totally inappropriate.

What it has led to is a break by Jim Henson’s Muppets as an ally in advertising, and a silly campaign by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to show support for Chick Fil A, a way to draw attention to himself, since he seems to crave public attention which has been ignoring him since he decided not to run for President this year.

One even wonders if Huckabee is vying to be Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, although, considering his nasty comments about Mitt Romney in 2008, it would be a shot gun marriage!

In any case, corporations may have the right to spend money excessively in political campaigns, due to the infamous Citizens United Case of the Supreme Court in 2010, but they should NOT be taking political stands on divisive matters, that split the country, in so doing!

Regarding Chick Fil A, the author has always admired your chicken, but he is not going to be a customer anymore, until and when they renounce their views, which is not likely. I guess Boston Market is now the place to go, as an alternative, until and when they decide to put their business at risk by a stupid decision to get involved in politics!

Mitt Romney: The “Gutless Wonder”, Beholden To Wayne La Pierre, Grover Norquist, And Dick Cheney! Is This What We Want In Our President?

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Mitt Romney refuses to come out squarely for ANYTHING, other than kowtowing to the extreme right of the Republican Party!

This man is a “Gutless Wonder”, not a man of courage and convictions, but simply a man who is afraid of his shadow, afraid to assert himself, afraid to tell the whacko elements of his party that they are wrong, and that he is not going to be beholden to them!

So he refuses to speak up for reasonable gun control policy; for reasonable tax policy; and for a foreign policy that has, as its main goal, avoidance of war unless it is totally unavoidable!

This man is a total coward, unwilling to show any principles, but just obsessed with the idea of having power, even though he has no conception of what he would do as President!

Based on his refusal to take a strong stand against extremist elements, one cannot have confidence that he would be tough and strong in any crisis with a tough opponent, whether domestic or foreign!