I'm announcing a name change

for the next 3 weeks I want to be known as 'Joe the Plumber'

Pop !

That was the sound of the Democrat Denver party balloon.

Less than 12 hours after Sen. Barak Obama's coronation the headlines at all the media outlets read:

It's Palin!!



















Bold. Risky. Exciting!

Definitely not the usual Republican fare.

I have a dream...Congratulations Sen. Obama

It is fitting that Sen. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic Party's presidential nomination tonight. Forty five years after Rev. Martin Luther King gave his monumental "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial a black man stands where no black man has stood before; at the top of his party's ticket and one step from the office of President of the United States.

From MLK's speech that day:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.”

And

"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Congratulations Sen. Obama.













I agree with Sen. Obama on very little but I truly hope he is judged fairly not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character (and his standing on the issues).

Texas Primary Day

Its Primary day in my two 'home' states. Born in Ohio, lived the majority of my life in Texas.

Will this be the day that finally rings the death knell for the Hillary Clinton campaign and ring in the coronation of Barack Obama. Or will it merely be the bell between the latest rounds in this heavyweight bout. We shall see in a few hours.

One thing is sure. No more campaign calls in the middle of dinner (or bedtime routine), no more political ads on T.V. on the radio or in the mail. At least for a few more months.

Romney’s Out…McCain ‘08

I think it was me. I announce my support for him on Monday, he has a below expectations showing on Super Tuesday and announces his departure today. I’m the Sports Illustrated cover of rarely-read blogs.

But seriously Mitt Romney announced at annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington today that he is dropping out of the race.

In one excellent and moving speech Gov. Romney did more to advance his conservative credentials than in his whole year of campaigning.

Some key excerpts:

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention … I’d forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I’d be making make it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

“This isn’t an easy decision. I hate to lose… If this were only about me, I’d go on, but it’s never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America in this time of war, I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country.”

“I will continue to stand for conservative principles; I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next president of the United States to retreat in the face of evil extremism.”

“It is the common task of each generation and the burden of liberty, to preserve this county, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prolonged to its glorious future. To this task, accepting this burden we’re all dedicated and I firmly believe by the providence of the Almighty that we will succeed beyond our finest hope. American must always remain as it has always been, the hope of the earth.”

Some video is here and a transcript is here.

It was classy, it was moving and it was necessary. Because what we fight is extremism that has no problem with things like this.

Romney 2012?

It’s a good thing I don’t earn a living through political punditry or prognostication, I’d be penniless and homeless. But then again those that do specialize in punditry didn’t see Tuesday’s results coming in the way that they came.

My man didn’t do as well as he needed on Super Tuesday and the Republican primaries are only slightly more clear. John McCain is firmly entrenched as the frontrunner by proving he can win in left leaning blue states where the conservatives are moderates. Mike Huckabee has surprised most by showing he’s not dead and is still strong with faith-based conservatives and in the South. Mitt Romney remains strong among the very conservative outside the South.

RealClearPolitics has the delegate count at McCain 604, Romney 244, Huckabee 187.

What’s it mean? Barring anything unforeseen McCain will take the Republican nomination. Huckabee and Romney by themselves cannot mount an opposition and their support does not flow to the other. What they can do is push John McCain to the right. Each from their areas of strength; Huckabee on social issues of life and marriage and Romney on fiscal issues of taxation and trade.

It will be up to McCain to heed the conservative base and assure and reassure that he will govern as he has promised in a Regan conservativism. And it’s up to the conservative base to hold McCain to those positions. Hold him to border enforcement first, making permanent the Bush tax cuts, nominating constructionist judges, cutting spending, preserving free speech (no Fairness doctrine), support for traditional marriage, market-based solutions for health-care and supporting life on embryonic stem cells and abortion.

I’ve never voted in a primary before and if Romney is still in the race I will cast my vote for him. But if the inevitable happens (and I think it will) then John McCain is my choice for president. Not my first, second or third choice but my choice none-the-less.

Super Tuesday

And so it begins. Who will win the Republican nomination? I don't know.

Regardless of who comes out on top today, tomorrow or late in March. That candidate will need to heal the fractures and repair the conservative coalition. In my opinion that candidate is Mitt Romney.

Governor Romney has demonstrated time and again his ability to connect with voters and persuade them to his side. Contrast this with John McCain. Senator McCain has ridden a sort of natural constituency that needed little persuasion. Sen. McCain’s following is made up of Americans of his age and older that look favorably on his experience as a contemporary, no persuasion necessary. Sen. McCain is also very strong among current and retired military and military families. This is natural considering Sen. McCain’s military experience and support of the military, again no persuasion necessary. Finally Sen. McCain is strong among those for whom the war is the single overriding issue of the day. Which again is natural given his full-throated support of the war on terror and the surge in Iraq and again no persuasion necessary.

On the other hand Gov. Romney has done nothing but persuade voters to his camp. Starting with questions of his Mormon religion all the way through questions of his recent conversions on some core conservative issues Gov. Romney has persuaded voters to support him. In a Republican field with many other options Gov. Romney has reached out to a substantial block of conservatives. It is this ability of persuasion that makes Gov. Romney more capable to mend the divisions in the Republican Party and repair the Reagan coalition.

And it is this ability of persuasion that will serve him well in the general election when both parties vie for the centrist, independent and undecided voters.

Redbleed endorses...

Celebrities, pundits of the airwaves and the political heavyweights are all lining up behind one candidate or another. Oprah Winfrey and Ted Kennedy have endorsed Senator Barack Obama. Chuck Norris is backing Governor Mike Huckabee. Senator John McCain has the support of Rudy Giuliani and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Governor Mitt Romney has almost all of conservative talk radio and National Review. Bill Clinton has endorsed himself. Senator Hillary Clinton has the backing of her husband and the whole Clinton political machine.

But there are still a number of undecided voters out there. So I’m here to help. I know thousands hundreds tens ones people have been waiting to see where redbleed will throw its support.

So here it is:

Redbleed endorses Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

Governor Romney is frankly an impressive guy. In a Republican field full of flawed candidates the upsides of Mitt Romney outweigh the negatives. That is more than I can say about Senator McCain, Governor Huckabee and Representative Paul.

Gov. Romney’s record of success in private business, not-for-profit and the government sector demonstrates the potential of the man. If we were selecting a Commander-in-Chief only then Sen. McCain would be the guy. But we’re not. The president has to be the Chief Executive as well as the Commander-in-Chief. It is those skills as an executive that make Gov. Romney the most attractive candidate.

As the markets of the world continue to globalize we’ll need someone with Gov. Romney’s immense talents to guide this nation in the atmosphere of emerging markets of Southeast Asia and India, a rising China, a strengthened European Union and the challenge of connecting to the potential of Africa and South America.

We’ll need someone with Gov. Romney’s background to tackle a bloated and ineffective bureaucracy and to make the hard business decisions from a conservative viewpoint on how best to scale back the worst excesses of government.

After 7 years of constant wailing about George W. Bush and ‘competence’ that is one knock that cannot be pinned on Gov. Romney. The man oozes competence. If he makes it to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. he may be the smartest man to hold the office. This is a man who can get a briefing on a subject one week and the next week give a better brief back to the briefer.

The ability to take in the information, process the data and produce executive decisions is exactly what is needed in these times of exponential change.

Gov. Romney is a supporter of the war in Iraq and the broader Global War on Terror and radical Islamic extremists. I also think Gov. Romney would perform wonderfully in terms of foreign diplomacy and statesmanship.

Gov. Romney stands head and shoulders above the rest on economic issues. He has a full understanding of market forces and pressures from both private and governmental sector viewpoints.

Gov. Romney falls on the side of life on abortion and stem cell research and the side to traditional values on same-sex marriage. Although a recent convert some social and life issues his views were tempered by the fire of direct contact with them as governor of Massachusetts. Much the same way Ronald Reagan formed his views as governor of California.

There are many laudable aspects of Sen. McCain, his military service and sacrifice for his country foremost among them. And if Sen. McCain wins the Republican presidential nomination he will have my full support. But until that time Mitt Romney is my choice for President of the United States.