Jenn January 31st, 2008
Although I am tired of the completely dysfunctional debate formats that we have grown accustomed to, like a flame to a moth, I tuned into the GOP debate last night. The fact that the debate was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was the primary draw for me. CNN was definitely hoping for big hits by the positioning of the candidates. The say John McCain and Mitt Romney side by side. It would have been more interesting to put Romney between McCain and Huckabee.
Romney and McCain bickered about matters of minutiae, mainly because both would like to be painted as the consummate Conservative and neither really are. Huckabee was ignored and Paul ignored even more. CNN wins by inviting Huckabee and Paul and then win again again by ignoring them. For the first time Huckabee stood up for himself and requested to be included in the debate. However little his time allotted, Huckabee had one of his stronger performances in recent times. His answers were, clear, inspiring, honest, and issue-oriented. He wasted little time attacking his opposition while McCain and Romney devoted most of their time to attacking one another. I became so bored with John McCain. He is a lousy speaker. I became annoyed with the smugness of Mitt Romney. And, as always, I was amused with the lunacy of Ron Paul. McCain and Romney both looked as though they were fighting off the silent shakes (laughter) as Paul spoke.
CNN analyst Bill Schneider describe it this way:
Huckabee, I think, stood out in this debate as the one who made sense, talked as ordinary people do, and rose above politics. They may have scored. He connected. And that’s a problem for Romney, who would like to become the alternative to John McCain among conservatives who oppose the Arizona senator. But he has very tough competition from Huckabee, who’s forcing people to re-think his run at a time when he was supposed to be out of the game.
I am glad someone in the mainstream media finally noticed who among the field is truly Presidential.
Jenn January 30th, 2008
Well, the Florida results are in and we have 2 more drop-outs: Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards. Hats off to Rudy for recognizing he was done and getting out of the way. He is expected to appear with John McCain and endorse him today.
Super Tuesday seems less super all of the time. It actually seems more like muddy Tuesday. With one week to go, the three Republicans left in the battle are likely to split the delegates. I believe that Super Tuesday will likely move Mike Huckabee into second place in the delegate count. A lot of focus is spent on California’s 173 delegates; however it is not a “winner takes all” state. Mike Huckabee is polling well in several states voting on Super Tuesday, but John McCain and Mitt Romney are battling it out for the lead in several “winner takes all” states. I imagine Giuliani’s endorsement will help pull McCain over the top in those states.
Key Primary Language
Here are some basic explanations of terms you might hear tossed around as Super Tuesday draws close. I strongly recommend reading this article from Real Clear Politics for a very good explanation of the choosing of delegates and the voting process at the convention.
Closed/Open Primary – A closed primary requires that you be registered in the party for the primary in which you to vote. An open primary means that anyone can vote in a party’s primary. Pennsylvania has closed primaries.
Delegates – delegates are generally elected to vote at the convention for the party nomination. There is a great degree of variance state to state on how delegates are chosen, but they are usually related to the state’s primary results. Sometimes delegates have been known to change their support at the convention, making for an interesting turn of events.
There are four types of delegates to the Republican National Convention. The first type consists of elected members of the Republican National Committee (RNC). Each state is allocated three such delegates. Second, each state gets three delegates for every congressional district. Third, each state gets ten “at large” delegates. Fourth, each state gets “bonus” delegates added to their at large delegation based upon how Republican the state has voted recently. [Note that United States territories like Puerto Rico and Guam also receive at large and RNC delegates.] Source: Real Clear Politics
Winner Takes All – The candidate winning the majority, or in the case of Alabama if the candidate wins 50% of the vote, receives all of the delegates from that state. These states can make or break a candidate.
Jenn January 30th, 2008
Windows Mobile users can download free utilities, programs, ring tones, wallpaper, and themes from the Windows Mobile Owner’s Circle. I have been taking advantage of these goodies for a while, but tonight I stumbled on a couple of really useful items.
First, I downloaded an RSS reader called Viigo. It is a slick easy to use mobile RSS feeder.
Second, I downloaded Photo Contacts 3.0. It is an enhanced photo option for your contacts and caller id.
This in a nice photo plug-in for your contacts that features not only the photos in the in the contact list, but different list view options as well as different photo caller id options.
Microsoft rotates new software in and out, so it is worthwhile to sign up for their periodic email updates. Let’s hear it for the freebies!
Jenn January 29th, 2008
January has turned into a rather chilly month, but the snow has been nowhere to be found. My favorite meteorologist, Henry Margusity, is indicating that we can expect the first part of February to bring real potential for snow.
Jenn January 29th, 2008
In the 80’s and 90-’s we called them dummy terminals, now Steve Jobs has figured out a way to bring back dummy terminals and sell them for a ridiculous amount of money.
Jenn January 28th, 2008
Yes, there is a new Christian book out on how to help women get married. I have not read the book. I might read it, but don’t hold your breath. The book, Get Married: What Women can do to Help it Happen boasts the following chapters:
- Believe in Marriage as a Worthwhile and Holy Pursuit
- Restore Biblical Honor and Desire
- Men aren’t Jerks, They’re Fallen (Like You)
- God Still is in the Business of Making Good Matches
- You Need a Network
- Waking a Great Sleeper
- Pulling a Ruth
- Living Like You’re Planning to Marry
- Pray Boldly
I am sure there are a few things I could learn from the book, but I am more concerned that there is an entire book that focuses on pursuing one of God’s gifts rather than pursuing God himself.
I have highly recommended this sermon before, but in case you are a newer reader, I again strongly recommend John Piper’s sermon, “Single in Christ: A Name Better than Sons and Daughters.” This sermon is actually applicable for everyone. Parents, remember, as my good friend once put it, “…you don’t know which of your daughters God will have married and which he will have to remain single…” Additionally, it is highly probable that either you or your spouse will again be single some day.
Jenn January 24th, 2008
Personally, I can’t believe that all single adults (or any true conservative, actually) are not kicking and screaming for the implementation of the Fair Tax. As if the annual process of filing my taxes hasn’t been convincing, along comes Congress with their economic stimulus package to “save the economy”.
In case you haven’t noticed, the package calls for a $600 rebate per individual, $1200 per couple, plus $300 per child. That is completely outrageous!!!!! Why are we returning money to people just because they are married or have more kids? Talk about a crock – the rebates should be a flat percent based on what you pay into taxes. Basically, it doesn’t matter how much money you put into the economy, it matters how many people live in your house. I am really hoping that there is some great mitigating factor that I am missing. Surely these rebates cannot be as unfair as they seem. How many kids you have is a personal decision and not a government decision (at least not yet). Therefore, the quantity of children you have should not give you a tax advantage just as you should not be penalized for having or not having children.
Let’s take it a step further. Two men both have children. They would each receive a $2700 rebate. Let’s say one man earns $150, 000 per year and the other man $60,000 per year. Obviously the man earning $150, 000 pays more taxes. Why should he get the same rebate as the other man? Liberals will say the man making more money doesn’t need the rebate as much. That is false. Rebates are not government handouts.
If this isn’t evidence that we need the Fair tax, I am not sure what is. If the Fair Tax isn’t evidence that Mike Huckabee is the true Conservative left in the GOP race, I am not sure what is.
Jenn January 24th, 2008
Apparently Mark Twain and Mike Huckabee have something in common. Both have been rumored to be near imminent death. Of course’s the rumor about Twain’s death was his physical death that sprouted form reports about a relative’s illness. Twain cleared up the matter by stating, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Upon rumors that the Huckabee campaign was folding and pulling out of Florida Twain’s cohort in folksy whit, Mike Huckabee, declared, “Those news reports that our demise is imminent is much exaggerated…”
The truth is, that the Huckabee campaign has made cuts and that some staffers have volunteered to go without pay. This is similar to what other campaigns have done already. The Huckabee campaign is used to running a lean machine and it looks like it will continue to do so.
Fred Thompson’s exit from the race and Duncan Hunter’s endorsement this week are both expected to bolster the campaign which is retooling its strategy as it heads into Florida and Super Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the co-founder’s of Huck’s Army, the Internet grassroots group supporting Huckabee have been again featured in the national spotlight. Newsweek featured an article on the Harris twins, Brett and Alex, this week.
Jenn January 24th, 2008
Duncan Hunter announced that he is endorsing Mike Huckabee.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/23/hunter-endorses-huckabee/
