January 25, 2012
Fidel Castro lambasted the Republican presidential race as the greatest
competition of "idiocy and ignorance" the world has ever seen, the
AP reports.
"Castro's comments came in a long opinion piece carried by official media
two days after Republican presidential hopefuls at a debate in Florida
presented mostly hard-line stances on what to do about the Communist-run
island, and even speculated as to what would happen to the 85-year-old
revolutionary leader's soul when he dies. Cuba has become an important issue as the candidates court Florida's influential Cuban-American community in an effort to win the biggest electoral prize so far in the primary season."
This is fantastic: The
New York Times has a video of President Obama's State of the Union address alongside a rolling transcript and inline fact checks.
While Mitt Romney regularly accuses President Obama of wanting to turn the United States into Europe, a new
DNC video asks why Romney puts so much of his money there in secret Swiss bank accounts and other overseas tax havens.
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When East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo (R) was asked by
WPIX-TV what he would do for the Latino community in the aftermath of four police officers being charged with violating the civil rights of Latino residents he said that he might go home and eat tacos.
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A new
RNC video confirms that much of what you heard much in President Obama's State of the Union speech last night was recycled from previous addresses.
BuzzFeed: "Not sure it's exactly an attack, but it's a pretty compelling video."
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Newt Gingrich told
NBC News that he doubts Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has any dirt on him
as she hinted last night.
Said Gingrich: "She lives in a San Francisco environment of very strange fantasies and very strange understandings of reality. I have no idea what's in Nancy Pelosi's head. If she knows something, I have a simple challenge: Spit it out."
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Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) told the
AP she will seek a fourth term in the U.S. House following her failed presidential bid.
Mitt Romney told
Fox News that he wished he knew what Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
hinted she knows about Newt Gingrich that would derail his presidential bid.
Said Romney: "I wish I knew what that was. I'd tell people what it is right now."
John King,
CNN: "Because of your history with Speaker Gingrich, what goes through your mind when you think of the possibility, which is more real today than it was a week or a month ago, that he would be the Republican nominee and that you could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?"
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "Let me just say this. That will never happen."
King: "Why?"
Pelosi: "He's not going to be President of the United States. That's not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it, it isn't going to happen."
King: "Why are you so sure?"
Pelosi: "There is something I know. The Republicans, if they choose to nominate him that's their prerogative. I don't even think that's going to happen."
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A Super PAC aligned with Newt Gingrich just launched a $6 million ad buy in Florida, one day after a $5 million cash infusion by the wife of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson,
First Read reports.
"The
new ad being put into the rotation is a hard-hitting one focused on Romney's health-care plan and him saying he's a 'progressive.' The focus on health care is a shift away from Romney's time at Bain. Romney really hasn't taken sustained hits on health care, and it'll be interesting to see what life is like for him a week later. The ad also likely guarantees health care as a topic at tomorrow night's debate. The most devastating line of the ad might be -- 'the inventor of government-run health care.'"
That said, even with this new ad buy, Romney and his allies are spending more than double what Gingrich and his supporters are.
A new
Marquette Law School Poll in Wisconsin shows Gov. Scott Walker (R) holds leads of six to ten points over four potential Democratic opponents in a possible gubernatorial recall election.
The closest match up is with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D), where Walker leads 50% to 44%.
Said pollster Charles Franklin: "The old line 'you don't beat somebody with nobody' is true. Other polls have asked only if Governor Walker should be recalled and have found closer races. But in the end, some specific Democrat will face Governor Walker. This poll is the first of the year to match specific potential Democratic challengers against the governor. The results show a competitive race but one in which Governor Walker starts with an advantage."
A
Smart Politics study of the 70 orally delivered State of the Union Addresses since 1934 finds the text of President Obama's 2012 speech to have tallied the third lowest score on the Flesch-Kincaid readability test, at an 8.4 grade level.
"Well, the banks aren't bad people. They're just overwhelmed right now."
-- Mitt Romney, quoted by
Fox News, continuing his habit of comparing companies to people.
In a daring nighttime raid, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two
hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in
Somalia,
MSNBC reports.
The details are reminiscent of the raid that resulted in the death of
Osama bin Laden: "two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the
compound where the two hostages were being held. As the SEALS approached
the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and
several of the militants were reportedly killed... The SEALs gathered up
Buchanan and Thisted, loaded them onto the helicopters and flew them to
safety at an undisclosed location. The two hostages were not injured
during the rescue operation and are reported to be in relatively good
condition."
"The first indication of the rescue operation came
Tuesday night in Washington from President Obama himself. As the
president entered the House chambers to give his State of the Union
Speech, he pointed to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta standing in the
crowd and said, 'Leon. Good job tonight. Good job tonight.'"
Twitter
has put together an interesting graphic from last night's State of the
Union Address, showing the tweets per minute during the speech and how
members of Congress reacted.
Behind the numbers: While Republican members of Congress are generally seen as
more prolific
users of Twitter than their Democratic counterparts, last night's
congressional tweets were overwhelmingly by Democrats, with 60%, while
Republicans made up the remaining 40%.
"We discovered last night that Mitt Romney has picked up Charlie Crist's campaign manager. I thought that told you everything you need to know about this primary."
-- Newt Gingrich, quoted by
Politico, playing the Charlie Crist card, "the simplest, most direct and deadliest weapon available to him" to win over Florida conservatives.
In case you missed it, the
Daily Beast has compiled video clips of the "best moments" from President Obama's State of the Union speech last night.
Andrew Sullivan: "I was hoping for a vision. I was hoping for real, strategic reform. What we got was one big blizzard of tax deductions, wrapped in a populist cloak. It was treading water. I suspect this will buoy liberal spirits, but anger the right and befuddle the independents. It definitely gives the Republican case against Obama as a big government meddler more credibility. I may be wrong - but the sheer cramped, tedious, mediocre micro-policies he listed were uninspiring to say the least... We voted for Obama; now we find we got another Clinton."
Mark Halperin: "The speech was clearly poll tested to within an inch of its life, filled with programs and themes of broad appeal running from the left to the center right. Rhetorically reached out to the opposition by invoking national security, the need to get Washington working and a few familiar areas of common ground (entitlement and education reform). But much of the speech focused on policies that divide the parties absolutely. And, judging by the press releases and tweets from the Republican leadership, this State of the Union address will serve to lay down markers for November's election rather than break the current gridlock."
Jonathan Chait: "The first two years of the Obama presidency were a frantic rush of policymaking with barely any concern for political messaging, which suffered as a result. Tonight's State of the Union Address was just the opposite. President Obama knows full well that Republicans in Congress will block everything. In the absence of policy, he is backfilling the political narrative... It was the speech of a man who realizes that he has only one thing left to do, and that is to win reelection."
Jonathan Cohn: "But after the election, there will be a chance to govern again. Expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the onset of spending cuts from last summer's budget deal will force decisions on fiscal policy. With this speech, Obama is not merely trying to win reelection, although he is quite obviously trying to do that. He is also laying the groundwork for those negotiations, should he have a chance, as the president-reelect, to drive them."
Glenn Thrush:
"He didn't talk like this in 2011. Or in 2010. Or in 2009 -- when he was
trying to cultivate the image of a post-partisan pragmatist... But
voters, including liberals, are furious with Washington and demanding a
more populist tone. It's an atmosphere that gives a distinct advantage
to gritty Newt Gingrich, a millionaire at ease with working-class
voters, over the slicker Romney, a millionaire who isn't. And the
president's team has clearly taken notice."
A new
Quinnipiac poll in Florida shows Mitt Romney edging Newt Gingrich, 36% to 34%, among likely Republican primary voters. They are followed by Rick Santorum at 13% and Ron Paul at 10%.
However, Gingrich leads Romney, 40% to 34%, among likely voters surveyed after the South Carolina primary.
A new
American Research Group poll shows Romney leading Gingrich, 41% to 34%, followed by Santorum at 9% and Paul at 7%.
Meanwhile, a new
Univision-ABC News survey shows that among Hispanic Floridians planning to vote in next Tuesday's GOP primary, Romney holds a 15 point advantage over Gingrich, 35% to 20%, with Paul and Santorum polling at 6% and 7% respectively and 21% undecided.
January 24, 2012
Here's the complete text of President Obama's State of the Union address as released by the White House:Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought - and several thousand gave their lives.
We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda's top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban's momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America's Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They're not consumed with personal ambition. They don't obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.
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Jonathan Cohn: "Once again, today's biggest political news isn't about the Republican candidates or the President, even though the former are battling in Florida and the latter is about to give the State of the Union address. It's the latest
Gallup survey, which shows economic confidence has risen sharply since August and is now at levels not seen since May. That report is consistent with the latest
ABC News/Washington Post poll, in which confidence in the economy reaches its highest rate in months."
Jonathan Bernstein: "The overall numbers are still not very good. But confidence as measured by Gallup has fully recovered from a summer slump, and is rallying to close to its post-recession highs, and is well above the levels from George W. Bush's last year in office. For now, anyway."
The latest
Gallup tracking poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the Republican presidential field nationally with 31%, followed by Mitt Romney at 27%, Rick Santorum at 12% and Ron Paul at 12%.
A new
Rasmussen survey has similar results: Gingrich leads with 35%, followed by Romney at 28%, Santorum at 12% and Paul at 12%.
President Obama will warn the nation tonight that "the decades-old promise of a secure and rising middle class is threatened by economic unfairness as he delivers an election-year State of the Union message that is likely to resonate in the months ahead on the campaign trail," the
Washington Post reports.
"Obama will outline the steps he believes are necessary to reform a fragile American economy now showing signs of slow recovery after the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression."
According to excerpts, he will say: "The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important... We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them."
Mitt Romney's campaign released hundreds of pages of
tax documents, the
New York Times reports, "providing an inside glimpse into his sprawling investments, both in the United States and abroad, in an effort to dampen the attacks on his wealth that have become a central focus of the Republican presidential nominating battle."
"Mr. Romney and his wife, Ann, had an effective federal income tax rate in 2010 of 13.9 percent, paying about $3 million in taxes on an adjusted gross income of $21.6 million, the vast majority of it flowing from a myriad of stock holdings, mutual funds and other investments... That rate will rise to 15.4 percent for 2011, when the couple expects to report an adjusted gross income of about $20.9 million."
A new
Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Mitt Romney's popularity has dropped dramatically with an unfavorable rating at 49% and favorable rating at 31%.
It's even worse among independents: 51% don't view him favorably while just 23% do.
Jonathan Chait: "The Obama campaign would almost certainly still prefer to run against
Gingrich. But the electability gap between the two leading contenders is
dwindling. No wonder more and more conservatives are frantically
casting about for a new candidate to jump in and save the day."
"My ability to organize and orchestrate things would be vastly greater than a normal politician."
-- Newt Gingrich, quoted by
CBN News.
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