From the post–New Hampshire edition of the Morning Jolt : It won’t change the minds of the Romney critics — Kathryn has been getting knocked as a Mitt Romney fan since last cycle — but I concur with her assessment here : “Many conservatives have told me in recent weeks that they are worried (no surprise) that Mitt Romney cannot clearly present the competing worldviews at stake in this election. I think in his speech tonight he gave those skeptics some confidence — as he showed some passion for turning around the disappointing policies of a failed president. And I think Newt Gingrich helped him to this, by making the New Hampshire primary in part a referendum on free enterprise.” Keep reading this post . . .
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Mitt Romney Comes Out of New Hampshire With a Jolt!
I’ve commented pretty heavily on all of this already, but there’s more news out today on the Ron Paul racism controversies. National Journal reports that the Paul campaign is going ballistic over Eric Dondero’s hit piece out today, ” Ex-Aide: Ron Paul Foreign Policy is ‘Sheer Lunacy’: Eric Dondero says Paul is an anti-Israel 9/11 truther .” Dondero’s report is at Right Wing News, ” Statement from fmr. Ron Paul staffer on Newsletters, Anti-Semitism .” I saw it earlier at Althouse’s, where she lasers in on the intensity of Dondero’s descriptive language, ” Ron Paul is not an anti-Semite, but he is ‘most certainly Anti-Israel, and Anti-Israeli in general’ .” She also calls out Dondero for astonishingly bad writing, and commenter Deb provides this
In the next-to-last Morning Jolt before the Christmas holiday, a look at whether Jimmy Carter sent condolences to North Korea, the cost of . . . and this assessment of what’s going on in Iowa, and doubts about why we should care so much about all that: The Latest From — Yawn! — Iowa Keep reading this post . . .
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Why Must We Care About the Whims of So Few Iowans?
The good folks at The Daily , the new iPad-only publication from Rupert Murdoch, asked me to write an item, and so I offered these thoughts about the increasingly ubiquitous term “Sheeple.” What’s striking about the knee-jerk dismissal of the majority of voters as bleating sheep is that if you believe this assessment, then you must believe that somehow in the course of the elections of 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, the same electorate somehow veered between wise and stupid, sharp-minded and easily manipulated, and even extremes of nobility and racism. Keep reading this post . . .
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We the Sheeple?
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has only been a GOP presidential contender for a few days, but he’s already sparking controversy. On Monday, he delivered some tough words to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke — words that some of his critics find less than appropriate. The Huffington Post has the quote from Perry, who was speaking in Iowa: “[If Bernake] prints more money between now and the election, I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas.” Then, he went on to say that the act of printing more money would be “almost treasonous.” Watch these comments below in a video captured by ThinkProgress: The comments have drawn ire from liberals and conservatives, alike. ThinkProgress predictably picks apart Perry’s comments, writing that he “appeared to suggest a violent response would be warranted should…Bernake ‘print more money’ between now and the election.” NYU economics professor, Nouriel Roubini , though, took a much harsher approach. On his Twitter feed, he called Perry a “thug” and compared his tactics to Lenin’s (yes, the Russian revolutionary): Tony Fratto , a former member of the Bush Administration, while not as harsh in his assessment, was also less-than-pleased with Perry’s commentary on Bernake. He Tweeted the following: The Blaze reached out to Fratto via Twitter, asking him to elaborate on why, exactly, he sees Perry’s comments as un-presidential utterings. He responded : Clearly, Fratto believes that Perry crossed the line. ABC News has more regarding what Perry said following these controversial comments: “We’ve already tried this. All it’s going to be doing is devaluing the dollar in your pocket and we cannot afford that. We have to learn the lessons of the past three years that they’ve been devastating. The President of the United States has conducted an experiment on the American economy for almost the last three years, and it has gone tragically wrong and we need to send him a clear message in November of 2012 that new leadership is coming.” But, his statements on the Fed didn’t end there. In a follow-up interview, Perry was asked if he believes the Federal Reserve has been playing politics to assist the president. His reply? “If they print more money between now and this election, I would suggest that’s exactly what’s going on.” Despite the response, it’s likely that this situation will rapidly blow over. Still, it’s further evidence that candidates must be careful concerning how they market and package their ideals. One comment that is left unexplained may lead to a plethora of opposition. (h/t The Huffington Post )
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Perry Delivers Tough & Controversial Words to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke
Former Cleveland and Boston slugger Manny Ramirez will retire. See LAT , ” Manny Ramirez tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug “: Ramirez struggled with injuries but still hit .298 with nine homers and 42 runs batted in in 90 games for the Dodgers and White Sox last season. He’s a career .312 hitter with 555 home runs in 18-plus seasons, including some of his best with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. It was after signing with the Dodgers, though, that his reputation was sullied. The erratic Ramirez performed well on the field and became a fan favorite, with “Mannywood” signs popping up around town, and wound up signing a $45-million, two-year contract to remain with the Dodgers. But in May 2009, he was suspended for testing positive for human chorionic gonadotropin, a banned female fertility drug that is often used to help mask steroid use. “I’m shocked,” said Colorado’s Jason Giambi, who has acknowledged taking steroids during his own career. “He always kind of portrayed that he was out there, but he knew how to hit, man. He was unbelievable when it came to hitting.” Texas Rangers Manager Ron Washington was more somber in his assessment of Ramirez’s career. “Until the past couple of years, I thought he was on his way to the Hall of Fame,” Washington said. “I don’t think many guys got as many big hits in their careers as he has. There weren’t many guys who had as big an effect on a game as he had. You hate to see greatness all of a sudden just fade.” It’s just a waste, plain and simple. I always enjoyed watching Ramirez play, especially when he was with Boston. Drugs are a waste.
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Wasted: Manny Ramirez Walks Away From Baseball After Second Drug-Related Offense
