GOP GETTING SPUNKY

And we like spunk around here, Mary (ah, such a warped tribute to Lou Grant's rant in the old Mary Tyler Moore Show). McCain got snarky, Romney fired back, Huckabee showed his communication skills and Ron Paul occasionally sounded reasonable: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/31/gop.debate/index.html

DONATE NOW...

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DROPPING LIKE FLIES

And we're not talking about Bill Clinton's trouser malfunctions. John Edwards is set to pack it in today: news.yahoo.com/s/ap/edwards;_ylt=ApRP.W6L7Wv8Mzs8so5i9jOs0NUE
Giuliani will do the same in the next few hours and toss his support to... McCain.
Planets are apparently aligning and something's freezing over.

BOUNCE FOR MCCAIN IN CALIFORNIA

So says one poll: www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/28/california.poll.2008/index.html
But only half of those polled are "likely" voters. It's also apparent that some GOP respondents aren't paying attention to McCain's real stance on illegal immigration/amnesty.

THE HERO GOES FOR OBAMA

Senator Ted Kennedy, the Hero of Chappaquidick, will endorse Obama (the guy he once accidentally called "Osama Obama") on Monday. This comes on the heels of Caroline Kennedy doing the same thing, much to the irritation of the Clintons. Now we know that Bill tried to talk Teddy out of all this: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/8134.html It's also reported that the Massachusetts Bloviator attempted to get Bubba to put a cork in his attacks on Barack (and Ted does know corks). Memo to Clinton staffers: Hide the lamps and any other flying objects around the suite tonight. Maybe once and for all America is finally figuring out how tedious the Clintons are... and that they've worn out their time on the national stage... but if Obama gets the Dem nomination he will be elected the next President of the United States. Hillary's an easier target for the GOP. The bigger problem now: So far too much of the debate centers around playing the race card, Clinton's war room and lots of superficial garbage. Issues and voting records, anyone?

JOBS YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WANTED

Gotta love this... become a "sleep instructor" or "carbon coach": http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/104272/Ten-Jobs-You-Didn't-Know-You-Wanted Does Al Gore have a carbon coach? Maybe he's sleep deprived. For whatever reason, he's come out in support of gay marriage: http://gaysocialites.com/2008/01/al_gore_backs_gay_marriage_fin.html

THAR HE BLOWS!

He just cain't hep it... Bubba Clinton shines again in his "shame on you" spew to a news reporter:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080124/D8UC7BEO1.html
Gotta love it. Bill can't stand the fact that Obama is the Dem star now... and if anyone knows "shame", it's Mr. C.

Why the Dems are ticked at the Bubba Factor: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/23/AR2008012304036_pf.html

THEY CAN'T STAND IT: The Cheerleaders for a Recession don't know what to do after the Dow bounced back, up nearly 300 points. Watch for new ways to try to create disaster by making people feel sick and nervous... now a national media art form.

THE MYTHICAL FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT

Monica Crowley reveals the real "fairy tale" from the Land of the Clintons:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24600

SNOOZE-A-PALOOZA

See it now.... Bill Clinton dozes off in church, then (ala Bush 41) checks his watch:
nypost.com/seven/01212008/news/regionalnews/bill_has_a_dream_

WILL IT BE ENOUGH?

The Fed makes a surprising rate cut: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080122/fed_interest_rates.html?.v=1
Probably not enough to cause the Cheerleaders For A Recession to put a cork in it.

TRYING TO KEEP MY LUNCH DOWN

Just saw the first San Diego TV ad for Hillary Clinton... the California assault has begun, building to Super Tuesday February 5. The Hillary spot is an awful lot like what Sen. Barbara Boxer does during her campaigns: Soft, fuzzy, Oprah-like, warm, calm, no-finger-nails-on-the-blackboard voice... in other words, nothing like reality. Barf.
But very well done. And it's likely to sway some voters.

OBAMA RIPPING INTO CLINTON

Yes, I'm depressed over the Chargers loss (and the fact that the irritating Eli Manning will be in the Superbowl) but feelings are tempered a bit knowing the Presidential race is heating up, and finally Bill Clinton's being called for his "stuff"... this time by Obama:http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4162996&page=1

WHAT IRAN'S UP TO

It's not a matter of "little boats" alone: www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/opinion/20crist.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

GOT YOUR STIMULATION RIGHT HERE

The debate heats up over how to stimulate the economy, and people who should know better are advocating "giving" money to Americans... as if it wasn't the taxpayers' money in the first place.
One problem: Many people think the President can hit a magic button and "fix" things. It's the creep toward socialism... but now not just creeping... it's a brisk jog. Fact is: The government does best when it creates the environment for growth then gets out of the way.

THE GOVERNATOR ADMITS MISTAKES: Arnold shares all with the LA Times:http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-arnold18jan18,0,2337237.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml

LAWMAKERS GONE BAD

Nothing like a new GOP scandal to energize the left: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20080116/ex-congressman-indicted/ If the allegations are true, this guy deserves what's coming to him. The story also points out how difficult it is to know who/whom you can trust in the war on terror. But before the lefties get too thrilled about this case of support for the bad guys, take a look at who's aligned with whom on the other side: www.discoverthenetworks.org

NOW WE KNOW MORE...

...about the China/USS Kittyhawk incident:
www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_keatingchina_080115/

ROMNEY'S BIG DAY

The pundits keep trying to write him off, but not only did he win big in Michigan... he's way ahead of McCain et al in the delegate count: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200801/POL20080116a.html

OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

Sure, there's a war on and economic jitters, but members of Congress (just back to work after a long winter's nap) are obsessed with ballplayers-and-steroids... and now their swanky new cafeteria: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888_Page2.html

MICHIGAN FIREWALL UPDATE

Will Michigan's primary prove to be the "firewall" for Mitt Romney's campaign? He's surged in some polls and, on average, is slightly ahead of McCain: www.realclearpolitics.com
The buzz about Romney vs. McCain is that Mitt's playing the part McCain did in New Hampshire, not just "dailing it in". And McCain's track record on illegal immigration isn't helping him: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200801/POL20080114b.html
Meanwhile, as Dick Morris predicted, the race issue is heating up (flames fanned on both Clinton and Obama campaigns. Should be a red hot week.

GO CHARGERS!

OK, so they're for real. Next week, we'll see if New England is invincible. Oh.... and we've, uh.. ahem... been "behind Norv" all year. The sound you hear is Southern California overloading the Chargers bandwagon.

THINGS GET HOT: But if so, some in the state want to control our thermostats. Big Brother's running crazy, powered by global warming hysteria: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/11/america/calif.php Good grief. This is the kind of stupidity that Jimmy Carter proposed in the 1970s.

A NEW SURGE

Today's polls in Michigan show an upswing for Mitt Romney, who is ahead of McCain by as much at 8 points leading into Tuesday's primary:
www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7861.html

ABOUT THE CHEERLEADERS

Not talking San Diego Chargers here. They'll need much more than cheerleading to have a chance at winning in Indy on Sunday. The people I call the cheerleaders-for-a-recession are the ones out in force. Nearly every network newscast anchor and plenty of presidential wanna-be's are now cranking up "the economy sucks" rhetoric... and it's nauseating. ABC, NBC, CBS lead the way in barely hiding their glee when reporting the latest recession talk. One of the more absurd bits of analysis comes from Ms. Erbe (in print) where she has a gut feeling that "immigration" has helped keep the economy afloat longer than expected: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/347046_erbe13.html
Of course we know that she also means illegal immigration, a view in sync with others who are trying to sell us the idea that illegals paying into Social Security (using faked and/or stolen numbers) prop that system up as well. I'm not buying that or related attempts to talk us into the concept that illegal activity can be "helpful". So the games continue, and the cheerleaders are now pumped up on the steriods of distortion.

NO WOMAN IS ILLEGAL

So says Hillary Clinton at a stop in Las Vegas: http://www.lvrj.com/news/13702902.html
Nice way to deflect the illegal immigration issue, Senator. And aren't we getting sick of seeing all the photo-ops with "the children"?

A NEW STANDARD OF ENTITLEMENT

Hurricane Katrina victims are putting a number (and a very large one) on their misery:
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080109/ap_on_re_us/katrina_flood

OBAMA ON ABORTION

He's certainly not pro-life: http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=/Commentary/archive/200801/COM20080109b.html

SCARIER THAN WE THOUGHT

New video of the Iranian threats to US warships: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20080108-1454-iran-usnavy.html

AS NEW HAMPSHIRE SIZZLES...

... California's awash in red ink. The Governator proposes a major plan to fix the budget mess:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/01/08/state/n103030S80.DTL&type=politics

OH, THAT

That pesky problem with bad guys who want to kill us... back in the news again when Iranian gunboats threatened US ships: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-01-07-us-iran_N.htm?csp=34 Shades of the USS Cole attack. And the story wasn't reported nearly enough on Monday (taking a back seat to celeb news and New Hampshire).

MEANWHILE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: Very early returns from those people voting in their jammies in the middle of the night: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/08/nh.main/index.html

NAIL-BITING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Obama's out ahead of Clinton, McCain and Romney race tightens: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080107/D8U132EG0.html

ON THE MICHAEL REAGAN SHOW MONDAY

I'll be guest-hosting for Mike on his national radio show, heard on over 200 stations including Sirius and XM Radio. The show originates 3-6PM Pacific (5-6PM on satellite channels) and 7-10PM in Southern California on San Diego 1700AM. More about all things Reagan: www.reagan.com

GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY

Our friend Dick Morris says "there will be blood": www.nypost.com/seven/01062008/postopinion/
opedcolumnists/there_will_be_blood_556055.htm
He'll join me live on San Diego 1700AM tomorrow morning between 5 and 9AM Pacific (and on http://www.sandiego1700.com/). He's right that Hillary won't take this lying down (so to speak... nothing naughty intended, of course). But back to the Saturday night debates:

I watched the whole thing last night. The three hour mini-series featuring most GOP and Democrat candidates. Interesting, at times infuriating sometimes mind-numbing, it was. Candidates on both sides had their moments of "huh", in addition to plenty of substance. But one of the things that jumped off the screen for me was Barack Obama being asked about a terrorist nuke going off in the US. In his explanation of what he'd do as president, he talked about the threat (some experts say it's a 30% chance or greater of bad guys nailing us with a nuclear weapon) and then went off down the lane about why we need more talks (aka "treaties") about nuclear proliferation. As if the terrorist thugs would sit down and chat about such things. Naive? Ah, but he speaks about hope and "change". In fact all the candidates are now throwing the word "change" around. The assumption is that all of America wants it, at any cost. I'm thinking about all sorts of changes people seem to be buying into. .. probably without knowing what it all means. As a backdrop, I'm also mulling how there's lots of psychological info over the years noting that one of the things people tend to fear most is: change. Specifics? Nah, it's all about warm, fuzzy promises right now. Logic and reason be damned.

FOOD POLICE UPDATE

Now a mayor wants his city to diet with him: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080104/D8TV13280.html

HUCK-O-BAMA

The winners and losers in Iowa: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/NATION/423265890/-1/RSS_NATION_POLITICS

AS IOWA FREEZES, THE STOMACH CHURNS

Let me get this straight: 50,000 (maybe) out of 3 million Hawkeyes may brave subzero temps to "caucus"... something akin to seeing legislation or sausage being made. San Diego County has more people than Iowa. El Cajon, CA has more residents than caucus-goers. Candidates have spent over $100 million... for what? So national media will declare winners and losers, and in a blink of an eye it will be over and on to New Hampshire. The most fun will be watching to see the mainstream media try to annoint their "new" star: Bank on extra hype for McCain ("He's alive!") . Pundits at midday today were already calling this order of finish for Dems: Obama, Edwards, Clinton II. For Republicans they suggest a squeaker between Huckabee and Romney, with McCain third. And Hilary thought she was destined to ease into the Oval office, just by showing up.

NOT TO BE OUTDONE: Little Dictator envy crops up again. Whenever big names are in the news, count on goofballs like Kim Jong Il, Ahmadinejad or Osama (not running in Iowa) to work themselves into the news. This time it's the guy who grew up in Hemet, CA and now sucks up to Bin Ladin's #2, Zawahri: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TUKSK80&show_article=1
Does the former Hemetian really think he'll avoid a grisly demise when Al Qaeda is through with him?

WAS IT THAT LONELY?

Too much down-time and solitude over the holidays? Some"experts" got busy with making predictions, including this one regarding sex with robots (yikes): http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/5414105.html
Let's see how those presidential candidates view THAT issue.

WELCOME TO 2008!

It's the new year and some things never change as the Rose Parade also draws the nuts: http://www.kcra.com/news/14956724/detail.html Speaking of wacky, what WAS Mike Huckabee trying to do with the "I'm not running a negative ad but I'll show it to you" move AND the photo op of him getting a shave and a haircut? Ewww.