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What's Behind Jon Hunstman for President 2012?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 31, 2011 Comment (3)Jon Huntsman, the Republican former governor of Utah currently serving as U.S. ambassador to China, is reportedly expected to resign his post in the near future. Apparently he has an eye on replacing his boss, and I don’t mean Hillary Clinton at State. Huntsman has reportedly already assembled a presidential campaign team (heavy on John McCain veterans) so a Huntsman 2012 bid could indeed be in the offing.
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Obama Has Mentioned 'American Exceptionalism' More Than Bush
Tweet Share on Facebook January 31, 2011 Comment (12)Only one sitting president in the last 82 years has publicly uttered the magical phrase “American exceptionalism”--care to guess who it is? Ronald Reagan, he of the “shining city on a hill?” George W. Bush, who closed his speeches by asking that “God continue to bless” America? Nope. The only president to publicly discuss (and for that matter embrace) “American exceptionalism” is Barack Obama.
This would be the same president, of course, who is subject to a steadily rising stream of suspicion because of his supposed refusal to give voice sufficient voice to his love of country.
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Palin Disses Reagan With Anti-Obama 'Sputnik Moment' Jab
Tweet Share on Facebook January 28, 2011 Comment (23)It’s an article of faith among conservatives that Ronald Reagan “won” the Cold War, consigning the Soviet Union to what he eloquently termed the “ash heap of history.” The argument goes that Reagan’s acceleration of the arms race, including pursuing his Strategic Defense Initiative “Star Wars” pipedream, brought the Soviet Union to its knees when they couldn’t match it.
So how to square this with the recent comments by Fox News talking head (and potential 2012 presidential candidate) Sarah Palin who, while directing another rhetorical assault against President Obama, gave credit for the U.S.S.R.’s downfall to its “Sputnik moment”? Perhaps her Mama Grizzly instinct to attack Obama has overwhelmed her natural conservative reverence for the Gipper?
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Instant Polls Very Positive for Obama State of the Union
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2011 Comment (26)The insta-returns are in and the president knocked the State of the Union out of the ballpark.
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Obama's Not the First to Use 'Sputnik Moment'
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2011 Comment (6)Sputnik is back, baby. In one of the State of the Union sound bites leaked ahead of time, and one of the lines for which the speech will be remembered, President Obama said that this generation is encountering its “Sputnik moment”--a shocking turning point which spurs the country to step up its efforts to meet an unforeseen, startling challenge.
It’s a theme that the president has toyed with on and off for some time, and it’s one that other pols—including Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney--have used for several years as well.
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A Brief History of the State of the Union Address
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2011 Comment (1)President Obama this evening will perform one of the specific duties charged him by the Constitution. Article II, Section 3 mandates that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." It's a tradition which dates, of course, from George Washington, but it has evolved enormously since the Father of Our Country gave his first report to Congress, in 1790. Here are some firsts, facts, and other trivia about the State of the Union:
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Bachmann State of the Union Response Shows GOP Message Problem
Tweet Share on Facebook January 23, 2011 Comment (18)When it was announced last week that Wisconsin budget wonk Paul Ryan would be delivering the GOP’s response to the State of the Union, I missed the additional tidbit that Michele Bachmann will be delivering an a response of her own, streamed over the Tea Party Express’s website.
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Is Mitt Romney Setting Up a Tea Party 'Sister Souljah' Moment?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2011 Comment (42)The Boston Globe has an interesting story pointing out that once-and-future GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not trying to suck up to the Tea Party movement, a fact which distinguishes Romney from virtually every other potential Republican presidential candidate. According to the Globe (h/t TPM):
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Michelle Obama Weight Gain Battle Should Get Conservative Support
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2011 Comment (5)Mary Kate Cary wrote a very good column making the case for why conservatives should support Michelle Obama's anti-obesity crusade, but there's one point I think she could have fleshed out a bit more. That is: Suppose instead of nutrition we were discussing abortion--or any other issue that commonly falls in the universe of "family values"?
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Sarah Palin's Poll Numbers Hit New Low
Tweet Share on Facebook January 19, 2011 Comment (26)My bloleague Peter Fenn writes that Sarah Palin's post-Tucson performance has sunk her 2012 presidential hopes. Gallup released new poll numbers yesterday underscoring this point.
