And in the re-election nerve center here, where a handmade calendar counts down the more than 520 days that remain before the election, campaign officials are sorting through census and polling data as they work to chart a variety of routes to the 270 electoral votes Mr. Obama will need to clinch a second term.
The early focus is on the same collection of states that Mr. Obama carried in 2008, with the exception of Indiana, which advisers believe is out of reach. But among these, strategists are digging deeper into Colorado, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia — where census figures show surging populations of Hispanics and blacks, groups that supported Mr. Obama in 2008 by wide margins. The campaign sees possibilities for gains, for example, around Charlotte, N.C., which is where Mr. Obama chose to hold his party’s nominating convention next year, a decision that aides said signaled how serious they are about competing in North Carolina.
(...) The president’s advisers are most closely watching the candidacies of Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty, but they are mindful that the rise of the Tea Party movement makes the course of the race hard to predict and makes it difficult to determine the strength of potential populist candidates like Ms. Palin.
“We’re doing our due diligence in terms of really understanding where this race is at and where people are at,” Mr. Axelrod said. “That’s the most important work we can do right now.”
In several interviews, aides to Mr. Obama said they were impressed with the early campaign tactics of Mr. Romney and Mr. Pawlenty. They said Mr. Romney had been wise to remain out of the fray for as long as possible — giving rivals less time to attack him — and Mr. Pawlenty wise to barnstorm important states, early, to become better known. Mr. Romney’s previous experience as a candidate, they suggested, could help him deal with the problems he faces.
They said they viewed former Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. of Utah, until a few weeks ago Mr. Obama’s ambassador to China, as a potentially formidable candidate if he did not have to modulate his policy stances to navigate the Republican primary.
They said they would be ready to pounce on any candidate who switches positions in the hunt for the nomination as lacking core convictions, indicating that they were particularly keen on doing so against Mr. Romney, who is still facing such accusations from his 2008 campaign. (...)
lunes, 6 de junio de 2011
Obama da por perdida IN; defenderá CO, FL, NV, NC y VA
New York Times:
Perry se lo está pensando seriamente
Según Mike Allen:
(...) Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who had played coy about a 2012 presidential run but did not seem to be seriously considering it, is now talking about the possibility with his biggest financial backers in Texas. If Palin doesn’t get in, he sees a path to the nomination. Makes no sense to some of the nation’s top Republicans, who think American has Texas fatigue, and who found Perry’s comments about Texas secession to be boneheaded. Perry is still more likely to challenge Jeb in 2016. (...)
domingo, 5 de junio de 2011
El front-runner que no convence y 1992
Steve Kornacki, de Salon.com, escribía hace unos días:
(...) •He (Romney) is the GOP's nominal front-runner right now.
•He is not a classic strong front-runner (like Bob Dole in 1996, George H.W. Bush in 1988 or Ronald Reagan in 1980) and he is quite vulnerable -- but only if another candidate can emerge as the consensus choice of the party's "elites."
•Right now, only two of Romney's Republican rivals could plausibly pull this off -- Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman; the rest (Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, etc.) terrify most elites and have no realistic chance of winning the nomination.
•Many Republican would love to see a new candidate, but there's little consensus on whom that candidate would be and there's only an outside chance a "white knight" -- probably either Chris Christie or Rick Perry -- will join the race. Either of them would certainly have a chance of beating out Romney, but they also might fall flat on their faces (like late entrants Wesley Clark in 2004 and Fred Thompson in 2008 did) -- if they even run.
•Even as many pundits write him off because of his "healthcare problem," Romney continues to raise serious money and is still -- for now -- well-positioned to ultimately win over the elites, even if it is reluctant (as it was when they rallied around John McCain in 2008).
•If Romney does win the nomination, none of this will mean anything when he's running against Obama in the fall of 2012.
And Romney should also be encouraged by history, because we've actually seen a set of conditions like this before in the modern presidential election era -- 20 years ago when Democrats were as dismayed as Republicans are now over their choice of candidates. The story of the 1992 campaign -- when Bill Clinton emerged from that disappointing crop of candidates and ousted George H.W. Bush -- has received a fair amount of attention this week, but one point is worth reinforcing: As late as six months before the 1992 general election, Democrats were openly and loudly declaring Clinton unelectable and lamenting that they had no choice but to nominate him.
Democratic despair in the '92 cycle actually went through several phases.
The first came in the spring and summer of 1991, when Bush's post-Gulf War popularity -- a 91 percent approval rating in one March survey -- scared off every big-name Democrat: Jay Rockefeller, Bill Bradley, Dick Gephardt, Sam Nunn, Lloyd Bentsen, Al Gore and so on. For months, the race was frozen, with only Paul Tsongas (an unknown ex-one-term senator who had left office in 1984 after being diagnosed with lymphoma) and Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder making any moves. The '92 race looked unwinnable for any Democrat. Stories about Democratic "distress" proliferated in this period.
By the early fall, Bush's numbers had fallen -- not enough for the White House to panic, but enough for Democrats to yearn for some real candidates to step forward. But all they got, in addition to Tsongas and Wilder, were a few B-listers: Tom Harkin, Bob Kerrey, Jerry Brown (Democrats in California were thrilled to learn he wouldn't be running for Senate there in 1992) and Clinton. Polls showed that Democrats wanted another choice -- someone, anyone -- and they seemed close to getting their wish when Mario Cuomo, a national Democratic hero since his convention speech in 1984, suddenly said he might run. For the final 10 weeks of 1991, the Democrats ignored their own candidates and focused on the New York governor, who waited until Dec. 20 to announce -- as his plane idled on a runway in Albany -- that he wouldn't run. Bush's poll numbers were now falling under 50 percent, but Democrats were again disheartened: Could they really beat Bush with one of these guys?
In the next phase, which lasted until late January, the party began warming up to Clinton, who was boosted by a wave of significant endorsements, raised some serious money, and impressed the faithful with his communication skills. Then came the scandals: Gennifer Flowers, the Vietnam draft, and all of the others. Clinton gutted it out and Democrats, unwilling to nominate Tsongas (who had emerged as his chief rival) or Brown (who became Clinton's new chief rival when Tsongas suspended his campaign), ended up sticking with him. But they weren't happy about it. In the days before the Illinois primary, in which Clinton crushed Tsongas, Roland Evans and Robert Novak reported that:
Tsongas suspended his campaign after Illinois, at which point Clinton seemed to win the nomination by default. But this reality so disgusted Democratic voters that Brown -- in one of the biggest primary upsets in the modern era -- shocked Clinton in Connecticut, the next contest. That set up a suspenseful two week run-up to the New York primary. Clinton, the consensus went, would be forced from the race with another loss -- at which point Democratic leaders would be left to anoint a new candidate. Tsongas pledged to jump back in the race if Clinton was defeated. Despair among Democrats was off the charts: Bush was looking more and more beatable -- but not if Clinton was their candidate. He would, they believed, be opened up "like a soft peanut" (in the words of Kerrey) by the Republicans in the fall.
The Chicago Tribune summarized the Democratic race this way as the April 7 New York primary approached:
After a grueling two weeks, Clinton fended off Brown. The nomination would be his. But Democrats were hardly reassured. And their frustration only intensified over the next two months, as voters who wanted Bush out but who were repulsed by Clinton began flocking to the burgeoning third-party candidacy of Ross Perot. By the end of May, Perot and Bush were running neck and neck, each with nearly 40 percent in polls. Clinton was barely breaking 20. In the final Democratic primaries of May and early June, there was real surprising suspense: How many write-ins would Perot receive? (The answer: a lot.)
Compared to this ordeal, the insults Romney is now facing are nothing. Clinton's own party was writing him off until weeks before the convention in 1992. In hindsight, it all seems foolish: We're talking about Bill Clinton, for God's sake -- of course he was able to make everything right in the fall. But that's just the point: Bill Clinton only became Bill Clinton in the summer and fall of 1992. Until that point, his fellow Democrats saw him only as the severely flawed product of a severely flawed field -- and desperately wished they could go back in time and recruit a real candidate for the race.
It's hard to imagine now, but Romney's story could play out the same way. He may not win the GOP nomination, but he could. And if he does, he could absolutely beat Obama if economic anxiety is still high. And if he does that, we'll all look back at this point in the cycle and wonder why we ever doubted his strength as a candidate -- he's Mitt Romney, for God's sake! (...)
(...) •He (Romney) is the GOP's nominal front-runner right now.
•He is not a classic strong front-runner (like Bob Dole in 1996, George H.W. Bush in 1988 or Ronald Reagan in 1980) and he is quite vulnerable -- but only if another candidate can emerge as the consensus choice of the party's "elites."
•Right now, only two of Romney's Republican rivals could plausibly pull this off -- Tim Pawlenty and Jon Huntsman; the rest (Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, etc.) terrify most elites and have no realistic chance of winning the nomination.
•Many Republican would love to see a new candidate, but there's little consensus on whom that candidate would be and there's only an outside chance a "white knight" -- probably either Chris Christie or Rick Perry -- will join the race. Either of them would certainly have a chance of beating out Romney, but they also might fall flat on their faces (like late entrants Wesley Clark in 2004 and Fred Thompson in 2008 did) -- if they even run.
•Even as many pundits write him off because of his "healthcare problem," Romney continues to raise serious money and is still -- for now -- well-positioned to ultimately win over the elites, even if it is reluctant (as it was when they rallied around John McCain in 2008).
•If Romney does win the nomination, none of this will mean anything when he's running against Obama in the fall of 2012.
And Romney should also be encouraged by history, because we've actually seen a set of conditions like this before in the modern presidential election era -- 20 years ago when Democrats were as dismayed as Republicans are now over their choice of candidates. The story of the 1992 campaign -- when Bill Clinton emerged from that disappointing crop of candidates and ousted George H.W. Bush -- has received a fair amount of attention this week, but one point is worth reinforcing: As late as six months before the 1992 general election, Democrats were openly and loudly declaring Clinton unelectable and lamenting that they had no choice but to nominate him.
Democratic despair in the '92 cycle actually went through several phases.
The first came in the spring and summer of 1991, when Bush's post-Gulf War popularity -- a 91 percent approval rating in one March survey -- scared off every big-name Democrat: Jay Rockefeller, Bill Bradley, Dick Gephardt, Sam Nunn, Lloyd Bentsen, Al Gore and so on. For months, the race was frozen, with only Paul Tsongas (an unknown ex-one-term senator who had left office in 1984 after being diagnosed with lymphoma) and Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder making any moves. The '92 race looked unwinnable for any Democrat. Stories about Democratic "distress" proliferated in this period.
By the early fall, Bush's numbers had fallen -- not enough for the White House to panic, but enough for Democrats to yearn for some real candidates to step forward. But all they got, in addition to Tsongas and Wilder, were a few B-listers: Tom Harkin, Bob Kerrey, Jerry Brown (Democrats in California were thrilled to learn he wouldn't be running for Senate there in 1992) and Clinton. Polls showed that Democrats wanted another choice -- someone, anyone -- and they seemed close to getting their wish when Mario Cuomo, a national Democratic hero since his convention speech in 1984, suddenly said he might run. For the final 10 weeks of 1991, the Democrats ignored their own candidates and focused on the New York governor, who waited until Dec. 20 to announce -- as his plane idled on a runway in Albany -- that he wouldn't run. Bush's poll numbers were now falling under 50 percent, but Democrats were again disheartened: Could they really beat Bush with one of these guys?
In the next phase, which lasted until late January, the party began warming up to Clinton, who was boosted by a wave of significant endorsements, raised some serious money, and impressed the faithful with his communication skills. Then came the scandals: Gennifer Flowers, the Vietnam draft, and all of the others. Clinton gutted it out and Democrats, unwilling to nominate Tsongas (who had emerged as his chief rival) or Brown (who became Clinton's new chief rival when Tsongas suspended his campaign), ended up sticking with him. But they weren't happy about it. In the days before the Illinois primary, in which Clinton crushed Tsongas, Roland Evans and Robert Novak reported that:
***[The prevailing view is that] Democrats "are building their November coffin right this minute here in Chicago," as an office-holding Cook County Democrat told us. They cannot stop, he said, because they don't know how, and there is no party authority to tell them.
The only way out of the coffin now, he went on, would be an unexpected upset of Clinton by former Sen. Paul Tsongas next Tuesday in Illinois or Michigan. Otherwise the lid on the coffin will be nailed shut, a ghoulish gift for George Bush on Nov. 3.***
Tsongas suspended his campaign after Illinois, at which point Clinton seemed to win the nomination by default. But this reality so disgusted Democratic voters that Brown -- in one of the biggest primary upsets in the modern era -- shocked Clinton in Connecticut, the next contest. That set up a suspenseful two week run-up to the New York primary. Clinton, the consensus went, would be forced from the race with another loss -- at which point Democratic leaders would be left to anoint a new candidate. Tsongas pledged to jump back in the race if Clinton was defeated. Despair among Democrats was off the charts: Bush was looking more and more beatable -- but not if Clinton was their candidate. He would, they believed, be opened up "like a soft peanut" (in the words of Kerrey) by the Republicans in the fall.
The Chicago Tribune summarized the Democratic race this way as the April 7 New York primary approached:
***Some day, historians reviewing pivotal events in this strange Democratic presidential campaign will reach the month of April and ask, "How did they get themselves into this predicament?"
Halfway through the primary season, the Democrats have a front-runner with the stability of a sailor on shore leave and an amazingly changeable challenger whose campaign runs on a very volatile fuel - resentment.***
After a grueling two weeks, Clinton fended off Brown. The nomination would be his. But Democrats were hardly reassured. And their frustration only intensified over the next two months, as voters who wanted Bush out but who were repulsed by Clinton began flocking to the burgeoning third-party candidacy of Ross Perot. By the end of May, Perot and Bush were running neck and neck, each with nearly 40 percent in polls. Clinton was barely breaking 20. In the final Democratic primaries of May and early June, there was real surprising suspense: How many write-ins would Perot receive? (The answer: a lot.)
Compared to this ordeal, the insults Romney is now facing are nothing. Clinton's own party was writing him off until weeks before the convention in 1992. In hindsight, it all seems foolish: We're talking about Bill Clinton, for God's sake -- of course he was able to make everything right in the fall. But that's just the point: Bill Clinton only became Bill Clinton in the summer and fall of 1992. Until that point, his fellow Democrats saw him only as the severely flawed product of a severely flawed field -- and desperately wished they could go back in time and recruit a real candidate for the race.
It's hard to imagine now, but Romney's story could play out the same way. He may not win the GOP nomination, but he could. And if he does, he could absolutely beat Obama if economic anxiety is still high. And if he does that, we'll all look back at this point in the cycle and wonder why we ever doubted his strength as a candidate -- he's Mitt Romney, for God's sake! (...)
Howard Dean cree que Palin puede ser competitiva
The Hill:
(...) “I think she could win,” Dean told The Hill in an interview Friday. “She wouldn’t be my first choice if I were a Republican but I think she could win.”
Dean warns the sluggish economy could have more of a political impact than many Washington strategists and pundits assume.
“Any time you have a contest — particularly when unemployment is as high as it is — nobody gets a walkover,” Dean said. “Whoever the Republicans nominate, including people like Sarah Palin, whom the inside-the-Beltway crowd dismisses — my view is if you get the nomination of a major party, you can win the presidency, I don’t care what people write about you inside the Beltway,” Dean said. (...)
(...) “I think she could win,” Dean told The Hill in an interview Friday. “She wouldn’t be my first choice if I were a Republican but I think she could win.”
Dean warns the sluggish economy could have more of a political impact than many Washington strategists and pundits assume.
“Any time you have a contest — particularly when unemployment is as high as it is — nobody gets a walkover,” Dean said. “Whoever the Republicans nominate, including people like Sarah Palin, whom the inside-the-Beltway crowd dismisses — my view is if you get the nomination of a major party, you can win the presidency, I don’t care what people write about you inside the Beltway,” Dean said. (...)
Huntsman confirma que no competirá en Iowa ¿y Nevada?
ABC News:
“I'm not competing in Iowa for a reason. I don't believe in subsidies that prop up corn, soybeans and ethanol,"Huntsman said, according to multiple news sources at the event.
Huntsman, the former ambassador to China, continued, "I think they destroy the global marketplace…. We probably won't be spending a whole lot of time in Iowa. I guess I understand how the politics work there."
(...) While Huntsman has not formally declared his candidacy, he has already mapped out a campaign strategy to connect with voters in key primary states. "We will be competing vigorously here, and in South Carolina and in Florida,” said Huntsman. (...)
sábado, 4 de junio de 2011
Segunda visita de Huntsman a NH
Huntsman emprendió ayer con su familia su segunda visita a New Hampshire en una semana. Participó en una recaudación de fondos en favor del comité republicano del condado de Belknap, que se celebró a bordo del buque MS Mount Washington (en la foto) en el lago Winnipeasukee.
El crucero por el lago dio inicio a una gira de dos días que le llevará a diferente pueblecitos del norte montañoso de New Hampshire, conocido como la pequeña Suiza, una zona generalmente descuidada por los candidatos, que normalmente suelen concentrarse más en las ciudades más pobladas del sur del estado.
Hoy visitará cuatro localidades norteñas y terminará el día en el Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, un gran hotel victoriano de Dixville Notch, pueblo famoso porque sus habitante suelen tener el privilegio de ser los primeros en votar en cada jornada electoral. En el hotel, Huntsman mantendrá una cena privada con políticos republicanos de la zona.
Mañana visitará tres pueblos más antes de visitar un puesto de Veterans of Foreign Wars en Littleton, al norte del bosque nacional de White Mountain, cerca del límite con Vermont.
Volverá al estado el próximo fin de semana para participar en la famosa semana motera de Laconia. Tiene planeado dar la vuelta completa alrededor del lago Winnipesaukee con su moto, un trayecto de unas cuatro horas.
Romney en la FFC
El Gobernador Mitt Romney destacó las cosas que unen a todos los conservadores sociales, los "valores morales que unen", como la sacralidad de la vida, el matrimonio como unión entre un hombre y una mujer, o el amor a la patria.
Pero en un claro contraste respecto a su campaña de hace cuatro años, preocupada en exceso por explicar su postura frente al aborto y el matrimonio gay, esta vez Romney ha puesto el énfasis en el empleo, la deuda y el déficit.
Coincidiendo con la subida del desempleo en mayo hasta el 9,1%, ha dicho que la crisis económica es también una "crisis moral", que la acumulación de deuda es una tragedia moral, y ha criticado a la Casa Blanca por haber definido la subida del desempleo como un "bache" en el camino. "No señor Presidente, eso no es un bache, eso son americanos (que no tienen empleo)".
Pero en un claro contraste respecto a su campaña de hace cuatro años, preocupada en exceso por explicar su postura frente al aborto y el matrimonio gay, esta vez Romney ha puesto el énfasis en el empleo, la deuda y el déficit.
Coincidiendo con la subida del desempleo en mayo hasta el 9,1%, ha dicho que la crisis económica es también una "crisis moral", que la acumulación de deuda es una tragedia moral, y ha criticado a la Casa Blanca por haber definido la subida del desempleo como un "bache" en el camino. "No señor Presidente, eso no es un bache, eso son americanos (que no tienen empleo)".
Pawlenty en la FFC
El Gobernador Tim Pawlenty pidió a los votantes que miren el historial de los candidatos en lugar de sus palabras.
"Los mejores sermones no son los predicados, son los vividos. Todos los candidatos van a venir aquí y van a decir, 'estoy a favor de recortar impuestos y reducir el déficit, estoy a favor de promover jueces que sean constitucionalistas estrictos'... Espero que os hagáis la pregunta, '¿Quién ha hecho en la realidad esas cosas y no sólo hablar de ello?'"
Reiteró su oposición al matrimonio homosexual y al aborto. Dijo que el derecho a la vida es un "derecho fundacional" de EEUU, y que no todas las relaciones domésticas pueden considerarse matrimonio tradicional.
También criticó la aproximación "políticamente correcta" de algunos al Islam radical.
Parte I
Continúa: Parte II
"Los mejores sermones no son los predicados, son los vividos. Todos los candidatos van a venir aquí y van a decir, 'estoy a favor de recortar impuestos y reducir el déficit, estoy a favor de promover jueces que sean constitucionalistas estrictos'... Espero que os hagáis la pregunta, '¿Quién ha hecho en la realidad esas cosas y no sólo hablar de ello?'"
Reiteró su oposición al matrimonio homosexual y al aborto. Dijo que el derecho a la vida es un "derecho fundacional" de EEUU, y que no todas las relaciones domésticas pueden considerarse matrimonio tradicional.
También criticó la aproximación "políticamente correcta" de algunos al Islam radical.
Parte I
Continúa: Parte II
Bachmann en la FFC
La Congresista Michele Bachmann se auto-adjudicó el éxito por la aprobación la pasada semana de una enmienda en Minnesota que define el matrimonio como la unión entre un hombre y una mujer. El proceso para aprobar la enmienda empezó en 2003, cuando ella era senadora estatal.
Afirmó estar determinada a eliminar la financiación federal de Planned Parenthood, y más si esto sirve para desmantelar el ObamaCare.
Y criticó la política del Presidente Obama hacia Israel. Bachmann está en contra de fijar las fronteras de 1967 como base para el acuerdo entre árabes e israelíes.
Parte I
Continúa: Parte II
Afirmó estar determinada a eliminar la financiación federal de Planned Parenthood, y más si esto sirve para desmantelar el ObamaCare.
Y criticó la política del Presidente Obama hacia Israel. Bachmann está en contra de fijar las fronteras de 1967 como base para el acuerdo entre árabes e israelíes.
Parte I
Continúa: Parte II
Huntsman en la FFC
El Gobernador Jon Huntsman tuvo ayer la oportunidad de presumir de sus credenciales pro-vida ante un auditorio repleto de conservadores sociales reunidos con motivo de la conferencia anual de la Faith and Freedom Coalition, en Washington DC.
Habló de la importancia de los asuntos sociales incluso en medio de una crisis económica, y de cómo los valores americanos inspiran a los disidentes de otros países. "No creo que el Partido Republicano deba centrarse sólo en nuestra vida económica, descuidando la vida humana. Ese es un intercambio que no deberíamos hacer.... si los republicanos ignoran la vida, el déficit que enfrentaremos será uno mucho más destructivo. Será el déficit del corazón y el alma."
Presumió de su historial como Gobernador de Utah, recordando que promulgó el mayor recorte de impuestos de la historia del estado y que firmó todas y cada una de las leyes pro-vida (anti-aborto) que llegaron a su mesa. También mencionó que, bajo su mandato, Utah fue considerado el estado mejor gobernado de la Unión por el Pew Research Center.
Habló de la importancia de los asuntos sociales incluso en medio de una crisis económica, y de cómo los valores americanos inspiran a los disidentes de otros países. "No creo que el Partido Republicano deba centrarse sólo en nuestra vida económica, descuidando la vida humana. Ese es un intercambio que no deberíamos hacer.... si los republicanos ignoran la vida, el déficit que enfrentaremos será uno mucho más destructivo. Será el déficit del corazón y el alma."
Presumió de su historial como Gobernador de Utah, recordando que promulgó el mayor recorte de impuestos de la historia del estado y que firmó todas y cada una de las leyes pro-vida (anti-aborto) que llegaron a su mesa. También mencionó que, bajo su mandato, Utah fue considerado el estado mejor gobernado de la Unión por el Pew Research Center.
viernes, 3 de junio de 2011
Huntsman se hace con importantes recaudadores
Wall Street Journal:
As he mulls jumping into the presidential race, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is corralling some big GOP fund-raisers—and even a few who helped Hillary Clinton in 2008.
A list of prominent Huntsman bundlers obtained by Washington Wire includes Georgette Mosbacher, a former Republican National Committee finance co-chairman, and John Mack, the Morgan Stanley chairman who was a big backer of President George W. Bush in 2004 but then switched parties to support Ms. Clinton in 2008.
Also on the list are Peter Malone, a Massachusetts-based corporate adviser who raised more than $250,000 for John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a former Democratic operative and Clinton bundler who accused then-Sen. Barack Obama of being “an elitist” after he beat Ms. Clinton in the primaries. Ms. de Rothschild then switched to support Mr. McCain.
(...) The list of Huntsman bundlers includes several big donors who have been heavily pursued by other GOP contenders, particularly former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Among them is New York real-estate investor Michael Ashner. Utah banker Scott Anderson, chairman and CEO of Salt Lake City’s Zions Bank, signed on with the Huntsman camp early on, as did Tom Loeffler, a former Texas congressman who played a major fund-raising role for Mr. Bush in 2000 and for Mr. McCain in 2008. (...)
jueves, 2 de junio de 2011
Romney ya es candidato
El Gobernador Mitt Romney ha oficializado su candidatura en Stratham, en una hacienda propiedad de Doug Scamman, ex Speaker de la Legislatura de New Hampshire. Un escenario idílico con icónicas casitas blancas de fondo, y una especie de establo o cochera decorado con su eslogan de campaña, "Believe in America".
Todo su discurso ha versado sobre economía, y más concretamente sobre ofrecer competencia frente a incompetencia. Ha señalado que el Presidente Obama "ha fallado a América", exponiendo varios ejemplos, incluído un guiño a las familias afectadas por la crisis hipotecaria en Nevada (segundo pilar de su estrategia de primarias). Le ha acusado de elevar el "índice de miseria" y de empeorar y alargar la recesión. Ha dicho que desde el primer día su objetivo será lograr que EEUU vuelva a ser número uno en creación de empleos. Cree que el gobierno ha crecido demasiado y aboga por recortar el gasto y equilibrar el presupuesto federal.
Ha declarado su lealtad a la Constitución, con un énfasis especial en la Décima Enmienda (Los poderes no delegados a los Estados Unidos por la Constitución, ni prohibidos por ella a los estados, están reservados para los estados o para el pueblo). Ha prometido que, si es elegido Presidente, la responsabilidad de docenas de programas federales será devuelta a los estados, empezando por una completa revocación del ObamaCare.
Mañana arrancará su campaña con un primer town hall meeting a primera hora de la mañana en el campus de la Universidad de New Hampshire, en Manchester.
Todo su discurso ha versado sobre economía, y más concretamente sobre ofrecer competencia frente a incompetencia. Ha señalado que el Presidente Obama "ha fallado a América", exponiendo varios ejemplos, incluído un guiño a las familias afectadas por la crisis hipotecaria en Nevada (segundo pilar de su estrategia de primarias). Le ha acusado de elevar el "índice de miseria" y de empeorar y alargar la recesión. Ha dicho que desde el primer día su objetivo será lograr que EEUU vuelva a ser número uno en creación de empleos. Cree que el gobierno ha crecido demasiado y aboga por recortar el gasto y equilibrar el presupuesto federal.
Ha declarado su lealtad a la Constitución, con un énfasis especial en la Décima Enmienda (Los poderes no delegados a los Estados Unidos por la Constitución, ni prohibidos por ella a los estados, están reservados para los estados o para el pueblo). Ha prometido que, si es elegido Presidente, la responsabilidad de docenas de programas federales será devuelta a los estados, empezando por una completa revocación del ObamaCare.
Mañana arrancará su campaña con un primer town hall meeting a primera hora de la mañana en el campus de la Universidad de New Hampshire, en Manchester.
Anuncio de Romney
Romney anuncia hoy desde New Hampshire su candidatura presidencial.
Ha enviado instrucciones para los que deseen seguir el anuncio en directo a través de internet:
Ha enviado instrucciones para los que deseen seguir el anuncio en directo a través de internet:
(...) Dear Friend,Para los que no tengan Facebook ni sean amigos de las complicaciones, está C-SPAN 2.
I hope you can join us this Thursday, June 2, at 12:30pm EDT and watch LIVE as I formally announce my candidacy for President of the United States. Please RSVP on Facebook now or visit our website, www.MittRomney.com, this Thursday to watch. (...)
Romney y Huntsman, los más temidos por los demócratas
National Journal ha preguntado a un centenar de insiders demócratas (operativos y estrategas del partido) sobre qué republicano consideran el rival más fuerte de Obama. Estos son los resultados.
miércoles, 1 de junio de 2011
No es candidato pero irá a Iowa
Chris Christie recibió ayer a un grupo de siete donantes y activistas republicanos de Iowa que viajaron hasta New Jersey en jet privado para suplicarle personalmente que sea candidato. La respuesta del Gobernador fue la misma de siempre. No se presenta porque su deber ahora es gobernar New Jersey.
Pero Chuck Todd (NBC News) nos recomienda que no le quitemos el ojo de encima y que nos fijemos en los detalles:
Pero Chuck Todd (NBC News) nos recomienda que no le quitemos el ojo de encima y que nos fijemos en los detalles:
(...) *** Pay more attention to Christie: Forget about Sarah Palin’s "dinner" last night with Donald Trump, one of whom isn’t running for president and the other of whom probably won’t run, either. The more important dinner -- at least as far as the “summer of speculation” goes -- took place across the river in New Jersey, where Gov. Chris Christie (R) met with Iowa Republican donors. In attendance: Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Stepien, Communications Director Maria Comella, NJ RNC Committeeman Bill Palatucci, and NY-NJ Port Authority Chairman David Samson. And get this: Christie’s wife was present, too. She was a question mark, and it's a signal we're told that shouldn't be overlooked.
*** The reason: He has the ability to put together an “A” campaign: Christie told the donors he was focused on remaining New Jersey’s governor, the AP writes. “What we heard from him very clearly was the same response he has given publicly: that he made a commitment to New Jersey and continuing to work to solve their problems,” one of the Iowa donors said. And it’s still unlikely he ever gets in. But consider these things: 1) he took the meeting, 2) he has agreed to go to Iowa later this summer to keynote an education summit there, and 3) if he were getting in late, he wouldn’t say he was getting in right now. Of all the folks sitting on the 2012 sidelines -- including Palin -- Christie is the one who could put together an “A” campaign. Fundraising? Check (with Wall Street’s help). Elite enthusiasm? Check. Tea Party enthusiasm? Check. And then there’s this for Christie: the realization that 2012 could be easier than 2016, with a potential tough run for re-election in 2013. (...)
Huntsman apoya el Plan Ryan en el WSJ
El Gobernador Huntsman se sitúa a la derecha del GOP en asuntos presupuestarios firmando un artículo de opinión en el Wall Street Journal apoyando con más entusiasmo que algunos de sus rivales el Plan Ryan para equilibrar el presupuesto. Lo describe como un "intento honesto de salvar el Medicare" y desafía a sus detractores a plantear un plan alternativo.
(...) This year marks the centennial anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birth—and America finds itself at a crossroads that brings to mind the title of that great man's famous speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy: "A Time for Choosing." We should not underestimate the seriousness of the responsibility. This is the moment when we will choose whether we are to become a declining power in the world, or a nation that again surpasses the great achievements of our history.
We are over $14 trillion in debt, $4 trillion more than we owed just two years ago. In 2008, the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product was 40%. Today it's 68%, and we are fast approaching the critical 90% threshold economists warn is unsustainable, causing dramatic spikes in inflation and interest rates, and corresponding declines in GDP and jobs.
Unless we make hard decisions now, in less than a decade every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. We'll sink even deeper in debt to pay for everything else, from national security to disaster relief. American families will fall behind the economic security enjoyed by previous generations. Our country will fall behind the productivity of other countries. Our currency will be debased. Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will be more precarious.
Some argue for half-measures, or for delaying the inevitable because the politics are too hard. But delay is a decision to let America decline. The longer we wait, the harder our choices become.
Continúa (...)
"The Herman Cain Train"
La campaña de Herman Cain ha realizado un video musical que dice así: "Parece que las cosas están más o menos al revés, seguro que podríamos utilizar a alguien para darles la vuelta: Herman Cain. Lo ha hecho antes, lo puede volver a hacer, su tren viene a la ciudad como un huracán. Herman Cain... súbete al tren de Herman Cain."
El video comienza con un cantante country diciendo que Cain es "un verdadero hijo del Sur", y muestra al candidato dirigiéndose a las multitudes en diferentes ciudades, defendiendo al Tea Party y recordando que él sí es tataranieto de esclavos, haciendo buenas migas con gente de todos los colores y clases, y hasta haciendo reir al izquierdista Lee Fang (de Think Progress).
Cain es el candidato que más está creciendo desde que Huckabee anunció que no se presentaba. Se desempeña como el candidato más genuino del montón.
El video comienza con un cantante country diciendo que Cain es "un verdadero hijo del Sur", y muestra al candidato dirigiéndose a las multitudes en diferentes ciudades, defendiendo al Tea Party y recordando que él sí es tataranieto de esclavos, haciendo buenas migas con gente de todos los colores y clases, y hasta haciendo reir al izquierdista Lee Fang (de Think Progress).
Cain es el candidato que más está creciendo desde que Huckabee anunció que no se presentaba. Se desempeña como el candidato más genuino del montón.
Palin en On The Record
Greta Van Susteren (Fox News) ha entrevistado a la Gobernadora Palin en su autobús.
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