Politics Daily

Palin Seen More Negatively by Republicans Than Other Possible 2012 Candidates, Poll Finds

Bruce Drake — 2011-03-16T14:34:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich

If Sarah Palin is seriously considering a run for president in 2012, the latest poll on her standing among Republican candidates contains the same kind of bad news found in earlier surveys.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll, conducted March 10-13, found that among eight frequently mentioned candidates, Palin was viewed negatively by a significantly higher percentage of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents than the others. (Story; Poll data).

While 58 percent expressed a favorable view of her, those seeing her unfavorably added up to 37 percent. That's a jump from a year ago when the number of those seeing her unfavorably was 30 percent.

The only other potential candidate who came close was Newt Gingrich, who was see unfavorably by 26 percent.

Palin's 37 percent unfavorable number included those who had "somewhat" or "strongly" unfavorable opinions. Seventeen percent had a strongly unfavorable view of Palin, while all the other Republicans were in single digits in that column.

Mike Huckabee was the most popular in the poll, with 61 percent seeing him favorably and 18 percent unfavorably. Mitt Romney was next, with 60 percent seeing him favorably and 21 percent unfavorably.

The numbers for Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Mitch Daniels don't mean much because 57 percent or more of those surveyed in each case didn't know enough to have an opinion.

A Bloomberg poll, conducted March 4-7 among all adults and not just Republicans, found 60 percent with a negative opinion of Palin.

When the Washington Post/ABC News poll of all adults conducted last December asked respondents whether they would support Palin for president or even consider it, 59 percent said they would not.

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Huckabee, Bachmann Score Highest in GOP 2012 Field on 'Positive Intensity' of Support

Bruce Drake — 2011-03-15T16:09:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich

Mike Huckabee and Michele Bachmann score the best among the field of potential GOP presidential candidates when it comes to a "positive intensity score" calculated by Gallup, but neither they or anyone else in the Republican field generates a high level of intensely positive opinions.

Gallup arrived at this measure by asking Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, in a poll conducted Feb. 28-March 13, whether they had a strongly favorable, favorable, unfavorable or strongly unfavorable opinion of each potential candidate that they recognized. The intensity score is arrived at by subtracting the "strongly unfavorable" number for those names that they recognized.

One problem with this measure is the significant differences among the GOP field when it comes to name recognition. Huckabee, Newt Gingrich (in third place as far as positive intensity), Sarah Palin (fourth place) and Mitt Romney (sixth place) are recognized by 81 percent or more of those surveyed, with Palin having the highest recognition at 96 percent.

Bachmann may hold second place when it comes to positive intensity, but that's based on responses from the 52 percent who recognize her name. Rick Santorum beats out Romney when it comes to positive intensity, but that's based on the much smaller pool of 42 percent who know his name.

The showings by Bachmann and Santorum could be explained by the fact that, although they are known by a far smaller group of Republicans, their conservative credentials make them a hit among those who know them because they are their target audiences.

Gallup didn't consider any of the scores, including Huckabee's, to demonstrate a high level of intensely positive opinions.

For the Republicans who do have high name recognition, Gallup says the challenge is to "translate that name identification into strongly positive reactions from Republican voters."

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Obama Jokes for His Supper at His First Gridiron Dinner Appearance as President

Annie Groer — 2011-03-13T11:48:00+00:00

Filed under: Hillary Clinton, George W. Bush, Democrats, Republicans, Barack Obama, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Dick Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Humor, Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Harry Reid, al Qaeda, Republic of Dish, John Boehner

Bowing to precedent -- and perhaps the advice of his 2012 campaign staff -- President Obama attended a Gridiron Dinner on Saturday night for the first time since winning the White House.

He had skipped the two previous white-tie banquets and amateur theatricals where some of Washington's top journalists spoof the political/media establishment in song, dance and ridiculous costumes. But on Saturday night, Obama duly snarked for his supper by mocking himself, potential rivals and the tradition-bound club that even in this age of Twitter and You Tube, steadfastly bars TV coverage.

As commander-in-chief, he signaled Marine Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Bennear, one of the club's musically gifted ringer members, to "play that song we talked about," meaning the loud and proud "Born in the U-S-A, Born in the U-S-A" refrain made famous by Bruce Springsteen.

"Some things just bear repeating," Obama said of the lyrics, as if there might be any birthers questioning his citizenship among more than 630 politicians, government and media heavyweights who packed the Renaissance Hotel ballroom for the priciest and most exclusive of Washington's press celebrations of itself. ($300 per ticket, and a fraction of the more than 2,000 expected at next month's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner).

Then, taking aim at his hosts, whose predecessors entertained their first White House guests 126 years ago, Obama ticked off the heady events of 2011 that topped old regimes elsewhere in the world and said, "Look out, Gridiron Club."

The Gridiron Club's 2011 Political/Media Roast and Toast Lyrics

Annie Groer — 2011-03-13T11:43:00+00:00

Filed under: George W. Bush, Senate, House, Democrats, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Dick Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Ron Paul, Humor, Media, Bill Clinton, Governors, Congress, Conservatives, Harry Reid, Republic of Dish, Barack Obama, John Boehner, TSA Screening, 2012 Elections, Egypt Crisis

Once again, you won't see this costumed spoof on C-SPAN or YouTube, unless someone among the record 633 invited guests at Saturday night's 126th annual Gridiron Dinner surreptitiously captures the singing, dancing and wise-cracking and posts it online.

Of course there's always a chance an adroit cellphone or camera-toting guest will violate club rules, either at the dinner or at Sunday's matinee reprise show, thus busting an image-less tradition in place since 1885.

Say what you will about the irony or hypocrisy of a group of journalists barring media cameras from broadcasting the onstage antics (C-SPAN has been asking to do just that for a quarter century). Only the speeches by President Obama, Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana (cracking jokes for the Republicans) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius (doing stand-up for the Dems) will be on the written record, although many more details will likely leak out.

In a nod to the times, tweeting, Facebooking and other instant communication about all aspects of the dinner were embargoed until it ended.

So in the interest of semi-transparency, herewith the lyrics from every parody performed
this weekend by nearly 100 journalists and a handful of vocally-blessed ringers with truly great voices.

Don't Stop Believin' (Journey/Glee)

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADERS singing about Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Obama

DEM CHEERLEADER 1

He came from Ha-wai-i, with hope, change and audacity.
Now two years later and he is on the run.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 2

In a designer blouse, not long ago she ruled the House. She lost her power, and it's just no damn fun.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 1

He calls her on the telephone.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 2

Says Nancy, are you all alone?

BOTH

For a moment, they both shut their eyes, and dream on and on and on and on.
What if midterms, had turned out very differently?

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 1

What if red states had turned blue?

CHEERLEADER 1

What if we could, cap and trade and then we'd save the whales.

CHEERLEADER 2

Health care for all,

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 2

Dental too!

BOTH

Don't stop, believin'.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADERS 1& 2

Who are you deceivin'?

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 1

We're cooked.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 2

We're through.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADERS 1 & 2

Whoa oh oh!
Don't stop believin'.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADERS 1& 2

Dudes, you must be dreamin'.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 1

Farewell.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADER 2

Aloha.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADERS 1 & 2

Whoa oh -oh!

CHORUS

Don't stop!

LIVIN' ON A PRAYER (Bon Jovi/Glee)

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADER 1

Boehner used to work in a bar.
Palin hunts for moose, they're not very far.
Like Russia, they're in her yard.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADER 2

Bachmann would repeal this whole room.
Newt is back for more, O'Donnell might fly in soon, On her broom.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADER 1 & 2

Now, that we're run by the Tea Party
Let's fire all the unions, make them work for free.
With God and money we rule the House for now,
Just don't ask us how.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADER 1

Are we screwed next year?

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADERS 1 & 2

Hell yeah! You haven't got a prayer.

REPUBLICAN CHEERLEADER 2

Senate seemed to be so near.

DEMOCRATIC CHEERLEADERS 1 & 2

No way, you haven't got a prayer.

CHORUS

Haven't got a prayer!

TIME WARP (Rocky Horror Show/Glee)

SPEAKER

And now the part, where we sing 'bout ourselves.
I apologize, boss, if this causes any stress.
But fair is fair, and no one is exempt here,
So now it's time, to poke fun at the press.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 1

I remember, when newspapers were dying
Network ratings in the dumps, it surely looked like the end.
The furloughs were appalling, but then Bloomberg started calling.
We're back in business again.

CHORUS

We're back in business again.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 2

There's Arianna on the left.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 1

Glenn Beck's on the right.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 2

Juan Williams works for Fox now.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 1 NPR?

Not so bright.

PRESS CHEERLEADER 2

Is that Jul-i-an Assange there?

PRESS CHEERLEADER 1

No, he's not that insane.

BOTH

But thanks, Jules, your leaks were our gain.

CHORUS

We're back in business again.

REPORTER

I took a flogging, before I started blogging,
Each morning I write tweets, then switch to video.
I like to write at Starbucks, it's like the newsroom 'cept it don't suck,
Maybe I'll go to work at Patch, and cover 'burbs in Kokomo.
Politico sent out a news alert, in just one hour it's the thirty-third.
The cycle never stops, 24-7 in the know.
Enrollment's up in J-school. We're the cool kids but not that cool.

DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICANS CHEERLEADERS AND REPORTER

So welcome to Gridiron, my friends.

CHORUS

Welcome to Gridiron, again.
Wel-come to Grid-iron, a-gain.

KNOCK AROUND BARACK (Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley)

Cast portraying Republican Reps. Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy, Paul Ryan, Darrell Issa

CANTOR

House went up 63, thanks a lot Barack
Six more seats in the Senate, thanks a lot Barack
Boehner's now the Speaker, and the Dem's are still in shock
We're gonna knock Barack around the clock
Pick your spending cuts, and come with us
We'll put it all in an Omnibus

RYAN, McCARTHY, ISSA

We're gonna block Barack around the clock
We're gonna block block block it's our bedrock
We're gonna rock gonna rock our great big voting bloc

CANTOR

When health care dies, and earmarks flee
We'll owe a debt to the tea par-ty

TRIO

We're gonna move Obama to the right
We're gonna mock mock mock his election fright
We're gonna talk, gonna talk, and then we might indict

CANTOR

Republicans will have our way
We'll protect your wealth when you pass away
We're gonna knock Barack around the clock
It's just a recipe for more gridlock
We're gonna block, gonna block Barack around the clock.

CHORUS

We're gonna block Barack around the clock
It's a recipe for more gridlock
We're gonna knock, gonna knock Barack around the clock.

A BOEHNER MEDLEY (From: Johnny Angel, Shelley Fabares, and It's My Party, Lesley Gore)

Cast portraying John Boehner

LEAD SINGER

Johnny Boehner (GIRL GROUP: Johnny Boehner), he's our Speaker (he's our speaker)
He's got charm and grace and such élan
We Republicans are thrilled
That he's our No. 1 man

Johnny Boehner (GIRLS: Johnny Boehner), how we love him (how we love him)
He's the one who some of us adore
How we hold our breath when votes
Are counted on the House floor

He gets headaches
All his ducks in a row
Shot down by his own folks
No wonder that he smokes
In his loafers, and his bright-colored ties
At least he wears a shirt
While others online flirt

Johnny Boehner (GIRLS: Johnny Boehner), we still love him (we still love him)
He's so orange, suave and doctrinaire
If his convictions have to die
At least he'll do it with flair

ALL SHOUT: LOOK! HERE HE IS NOW!

BOEHNER (It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To)

Nobody knows just how hard it can be
Keeping a caucus in line;
Right wingers go their own way.
They pay their speaker no mind.

I'm try'n to show them some leadership here
Some gravitas and some gu-uts;
How did I end up in bed
With all these Tea Party nuts?

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to,
Cry if I want to, Cry if I want to;
You would cry too if it happened to you.

LADIES OF MAINE (Lady of Spain, Eddie Fisher)

Cast portraying: Republican Sens. Jim DeMint; Sen. Rand Paul; Sen. Olympia Snowe

DUET

Ladies of Maine, we abhor you
Loyalty means nothing to you
How could you work with those yahoos?
Just when we needed you most?

Stimulus money, how could you?
Gays and abortion, why would you?
Tea party's now aiming for you
Ladies of Maine, you'll be toast.

CHORUS:

Ladies of Maine, you'll be toast

REPUBLICAN MEMOIRS (Paperback Writer, The Beatles)
Cast portraying George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney

BUSH

Hey Dick and Rummy, did you read my book?
It took me DAYS to write, you should take a look
it's based on my mem'ry of decider days
how I got Saddam,
Even when I learned that he had no weapons

CHORUS

He had no weapons

RUMSFELD

Iraq's my story and I do confess
How because of YOU it became a mess
Paul Bremer, Condi Rice and Colin too
Screwed the whole thing up
Never told me that we needed more troops there
Needed more troops there

CHORUS:

Needed more troops there...troops there....troops there...

CHENEY

Mine will come out soon and then I'll settle scores
Like Iraqi prisoners you'll be on all fours
Al Qaeda's working to destroy this place,
Still a real grave threat
But Obama knows that we did the right things

CHORUS:

We did the right things

BUSH, RUMSFELD, CHENEY

If you really like them you can have our rights,
We can make a movie for you overnight.

BUSH: Brad Pitt, RUMSFELD: George Clooney, CHENEY: and Matt Damon too.

They can play our parts
Just as long as they can make us look macho
Make us look macho

CHORUS:

Make them look macho...macho...macho

FINGER IN THE WIND (Candle in the Wind, Elton John)

Cast portraying GOP Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham

MCCAIN:

Gays in the military
Used to never bother me at all
I was happy once letting
The Joint Chiefs make that call
And on immigration,
You know my old stance was withdrawn
And my message, it became:
"Hey Juan, get off my lawn." [shout this line]

And it may seem to you I lived last year
With my finger in the wind
Never knowing what to cling to
'Cause I had to win
And when it comes to all your judgments
Frankly, I don't give a damn.
I still have my Senate seat
And my best friend, Lindsey Graham

CHORUS
He still has his Senate seat
And his best friend, Lindsey Graham

LEADER OF THE PAC (Leader of the Pack, the Shangri-Las)
Cast portraying Mitch Daniels and Girl Group

SPOKEN:

MITCHETTE 1

Is she really gonna give to HIM ?

MITCHETTE 2

Well, there she is. Let's ask her.

MITCHETTE 1

Betty - Is that Mitch's PAC you're supporting?

BETTY:

Mm-hmm

MITCHETTE 2

Gee - it must be great giving to Mitch.
Is he doing anything for you?

BETTY

Uhn - uhn

MITCHETTE 1

By the way, where'd you meet him?

SUNG:

Betty:

I met him at the O-M-B
He read tax code and rules to me
You get the picture?

MITCHETTES

Yes, we see

BETTY:

So now I give to the AIMING HIGHER PAC.
(Motorcycle Noise)
Some folks say he's a true heavyweight (Mitchettes: weight, weight)
Though he may come from a really dull state

MITCHETTES

(Watcha mean when ya say that he comes from a really dull state?)

BETTY

They said he had no height
But I fell for his might
That's why I give to the AIMING HIGHER PAC
(Motorcycle Noise)
One day I might want somebody new (Mitchettes: new, new)
But till then Mitch will just have to do

MITCHETTES

(Watcha mean when ya say that ya might want somebody new?)

BETTY

My Hoosier's plans are grand
But sometimes he seems bland

CHORUS

But still she gives to the AIMING HIGHER PAC

THE IMPOSSIBLE TWEET (The Impossible Dream, from Man of La Mancha)

SARAH PALIN character

To tweet the un-thought-about tweet
To own my own name through trademark
To scorn those who opine against me
To shoot caribou on a lark

To give those at C-Pac the shaft
To star in reality shows
To bear the unbearable liberals
To blog about things I don't know

This is my quest
To side-step the press
To run if I want to
Not under duress

To fight for the right
And to lay waste the left
To be willing to refudiate
Without knowledge or heft

And I know if I only stay true
To my Tea Party base
That my books and my speeches will sell
If I just show my face

CHORUS

And her world will be richer for this
Who needs work or an office to seek

PALIN

I'll rise as a modern-day Shakespeare
To tweet the un-thought-about tweet

I'VE SEEN EVERYONE (I've Been Everywhere, Hank Snow)
Cast portraying Karl Rove and various GOP presidential candidates names in the song

ROVE

Well, back in the day, you know
They called me the ARCHitect
I had a certain knack for knowin'
Who the people WOULD elect

But this time I dunno unless
There's someone I've missed
And, listen, man, I've looked at
Every hopeful on the list!

I've seen every one, man
I've seen every one, man
Sure as the mornin' sun, man
They all wanna run, man
Egos by the ton, man
I've seen every one.

I've seen...
Romney, Huckabee, Christie, Giuliani
Johnson, Huntsman, Daniels and Pawlenty
Roemer, Cain, DeMint, Santorum
Trump, Bush, Bachmann, Barbour and Bolton
Perry and Pence and Palin and Paul
Gingrich, too, I've seen 'em all.

Tim is excitin' -- NO, not very
But HE's got Red Hot Smokin' Mary
Cain's an expert with a pizza
Mitch, he's shorter than Scalia
Haley hopes he can win it all,
And history'll get an overhaul.

I've seen every one, man
I've seen every one, man
Sure as the mornin' sun, man
They all wanna run, man
Egos by the ton, man
I've seen every one.

I've seen ...
Huckabee at his weekly weigh-in
Sarah Palin out surveyin'
Eye of Newt and chin of Romney
Guy in drag, that's Giuliani
Mitt, he's drivin' fast and far
With man's best friend strapped to his car.

John McCain, I guess he's history
What he's thinkin', it's a mystery
Where the heck is Harold Stassen
Guess he's pushin' up the grass..an'
Someone mentioned Alan Keyes

CHORUS (Shouted)

Not again!! Oh, spare us please!

CHORUS

We've seen every one, man
We've seen every one, man
Sure as the mornin' sun, man
They all wanna run, man
Egos by the ton, man

ROVE

I've seen every one.

EVERYTHING's COMING UP ROSES (Gypsy)

Cast portraying Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid

PELOSI

Things are swell!

REID

Things are fine!

PELOSI

Harry's still got his JOB, I got mine

REID

Now we're back.

PELOSI

Frick and Frack.
REID

Nancy, everything's coming up roses!
PELOSI

Lost the House
REID

That's okay

PELOSI

Running things was a drag anyway

REID

Budget cuts? Not for us

PELOSI

Honey, we would be holding our noses!

REID

Who needs winning! Power's lost its lus-TER

PELOSI

My head was spinning!
REID

It's our turn to filibus-TER!
PELOSI

We give up! To the right!
REID

Let them get 60 votes every night!
PELOSI

Our stimulus ... will stimulate!
REID

Any year now! Just you wait!
PELOSI

There's really nothing left for us to do!

REID

Nancy, everything's coming up roses for me and you!
PELOSI

Boehner's in charge; let's see how much that he can do!
BOTH

The mess that we left him will mess up his Tea Party!
CHORUS

Everything's coming up roses for you and for me!

JUST LIKE A LIBERAL (Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman)

Cast portraying Howard Dean

HOWARD DEAN

Nobody feels any change
Since that election night Chicago - it's all the same!
Everyone supposed, we knew `The One' we chose
But lately we seen the emperor has no clothes
Now we're wondering: Who's that man?

(refrain)
He looks just like a lib-ral
Yes he does and he writes books just like a lib-ral
Yes and his knee jerks just like a lib-ral
But he works with ... the Re-pub-li-CANS

John Boehner's his new friend
Can you believe they cut the rich man's tax again?
What were those campaign pledges worth?
Quell the oceans, heal the earth
Don't ask don't tell the country of your birth
End the war, close Guantanamo - "No we can't!"

(refrain)
He's so cool just like a lib-ral
Yes he is Harvard Law School just like a lib-ral
Suffers us fools, just like a lib-ral
SOLOIST and CHORUS: But he rules with Republi-CANS

MY FAVORITE FRIENDS (My Favorite Things from "The Sound of Music")

Cast portraying Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and global leaders named in the skit:

(Spoken) Oh, no! We said WHAT about WHO?

How dare that Wiki-Leaks publish our super-secret cables? Can you imagine
a world where diplomats say what they really think about foreign leaders?

Well it would certainly make it more fun to listen to Hillary Clinton. Here
comes our frequent-flying secretary of state now.

HILLARY CLINTON, singing:

A thin-skinned French MIDGET who goes by Sar-KO-zy
A dirty old man that they CALL Berlus-CO-ni
A nut job named KARzai who we must defend
These are a few of my favorite friends

Kim JONG-il's a drunken delusional FAT man
MedVEDev and Putin are Robin and BATman
In a Mafia state run by Russian made-men
CHORUS: These are a few of my favorite friends

Germany's MERK-el is timid and NER-vous
QuaDAffi's had sexy UKRAINian nurses
Prince ANdrew's bad language can SOMEtimes offend
CHORUS: These are a few of her favorite friends

After long flights
When this job bites
When I'm feeling bleak
I simply imagine my favorite friends
When they see their WI-ki leak

IT WAS NEWS TO ME (You Belong to Me)

Cast portraying CIA Director Leon Panetta:

PANETTA

See the pyramids along the Nile.
Authoritarians were just our style.
Revolutions brewing all the while
How was I to see?

Tunis, Cairo, those kids ran amok
Hid their plans where we would never look
A very secret place they call Facebook
It was news to me.

Could it be that after all those years
Of giving tyrants cash and guns and gear
Egypt, Bahrain all that oil so dear
Won't belong to us?

CHORUS

Won't belong to us!

_________________________________________________

TSA MEDLEY (Heigh-Ho from "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs" and Give up the Funk)

TSA SCREENER

Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! To frisk you we must go! We'll reach way down and grope around!
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho.

Heigh-ho Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! We'll goose you 'til you glow!
We're going to look, in every nook! Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!

If you say NO, say NO! To X-Ray you must go! And we'll divulge your every bulge!
Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho!

Heigh-ho Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! This may feel kind of low!
If it's a pain, then take the train! Heigh Ho! Heigh-Ho

HARRIED AIR TRAVELER

You got a late flight to catch, you're in line, losing time
There's a whole lot of waitin' goin' on (Heigh-ho!)
You feel a hand on your waist, moving 'round, slidin' down
There's a whole lot of feelin' goin' on (Heigh-ho!)

Don't touch my junk! (Heigh-ho!)
CHORUS: Don't touch my junk! (Heigh-ho!)
I know my rights! (Heigh-ho!)
Stay outta my tights! (Heigh-ho!)
When did the courts (Heigh-ho!)
Let you into my shorts? (Heigh-ho!)
Yo, screener punk! (Heigh-ho!)
CHORUS: Don't touch my junk!
_____________________________________________________________

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW (from the Wizard of Oz)

Cast portraying Health Sec. Kathleen Sebelius and characters from The Wizard of Oz

SECRETARY SEBELIUS

Somewhere over the rainbow
Mandates lay.
We made sure they won't start 'til
After Election Day.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Cost curves bend,
And the savings we promised
Will cause the debt to end.

But if you have a slacker son
Who's sitting home upon his bum,
He's covered.

And if conditions pre-exist,
You won't lack coverage due to risk.
Don't you just love this?!

Somewhere over the rainbow
Folks will see
A better system if it's fine
with Justice Kennedy.
Some day they'll thank us, yes they will,
But only after
They...get...very ... ill.

TRIANGULATE (Twist and Shout)
Cast portraying Bill Clinton

Well, take it from Bubba now (CHORUS: take it from Bubba)
Tri-ANG-u-LATE! (CHORUS: tri-ang-u-late)
Fake it, fake it, Obama now (CHORUS: fake it Obama)
For me it worked great. (CHORUS: It worked great)

You're going to look so tight (CHORUS: look so tight)
You're going to look so slick (CHORUS: look so slick)
Play the left against the right now (CHORUS: left against right)
Just like I did in 96 (CHORUS: ninety-six)

[8-bar dance break]

CHORUS

Aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah, (squeal)

Well, it's really not that hard now (CHORUS: not that hard)
Tri-ANG-u-LATE! (CHORUS: triangulate!)
Your opponents aren't that smart now (CHORUS: not that smart)
You know they'll take the bait (CHORUS: Take the bait, oooh!)

You're a silver-tongued devil, (CHORUS: silver-tongued devil)
There's no one so deft (CHORUS: none so deft)
You can own the whole center now (CHORUS: own the whole center)
If you freak out the Left (CHORUS: freak out the left!)

CHORUS

Aaah, aaah, aaah, aaah

"MAKE IT STOP" ("Start Me Up" Rolling Stones)

RED CHEERLEADER 1

Yeah we started up
So long ago you thought we'd never stop
Since we started up
You wondered when the show would ever stop

We've been on so long
Bill Daley's nappin' on a table top
Seventh course is done
Alan Greenspan's beggin'make it stop, make it stop, make it, make it, make it stop

We've made you ladies sigh
We've made you grown men cry
We singe but never fry
Sometimes we're cute, sometimes we're mean
Sometimes out meaning is impossible to glean

CHORUS

Time to stop
Time to stop

"THE GRIDIRON PLAYERS'' ("Livin' on a Prayer" Bon Jovi)

BLUE CHEERLEADER 1

They got some nerve to stand up on stage

They're barely employed, they don't act their age
They lust for . . . your gaffes

They been from Dogpatch to Camelot
Coverin' politicians some were clean some not
For tellin' truth to power they're OK but -- for laughs
Is this all they got?

Whoa-oh the Gridiron players
Whoa-no they don't have a prayer
They got a band, pretty costumes to wear
But whoa-no they don't have a prayer

CHORUS

Whoa-oh the Gridiron players
Whoa-no they don't have a prayer
They got a band, pretty costumes to wear
But whoa-no they don't have a prayer

"THE GRIDIRON-RON'' ("Da Doo Ron Ron," Crystals)

RED CHEERLEADERS; BLUE CHEERLEADERS; OLD NEWSBOY;
GOOD-GIRL & BAD-GIRL GROUPS
RED CHEER 1

Tonight we showed the world the way to get along

RED DUET

At Gridiron-ron at Gridiron

RED CHEER 2

Just drink a glass of wine and sing a silly song

CHORUS

At Gridiron-ron at Gridiron
RED DUET

Strange bedfellows
Dancing dosi-dos
'Til the curtains close
CHORUS

At Gridiron-ron at Gridiron

BLUE CHEER 1

Sebelius tried sell us medicine

BLUE DUET

At Gridiron-ron at Gridiron
BLUE CHEER 2

Mitch Daniels rocked us like a crazy man
CHORUS

At Gridiron-ron, at Gridiron
BLUE DUET

Monday we will fight
But we're friends tonight
By the rosy light
Of Gridiron-ron of Gridiron

OLD NEWS

We started up the show in 1885
CHORUS

The Gridiron-ron, the Gridiron

OLD NEWS

Some of us remember 'cause we're still alive

QUINTET

At Gridiron, son, at Gridiron

QUINTET

O say can you see
Sweet Civility
Baby 'tis of thee
We sing at Gridir'n at Gridi-ron

CHORUS REPEATS VERSE

O say can you see . . .

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Mitt Romney: How Long Can He Steer Clear of GOP Craziness?

David Corn — 2011-03-08T05:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Deep Background, Newt Gingrich

Mitt Romney, the sort-of second-place finisher in the 2008 Republican presidential sweepstakes, is taking a different approach this year. Rather than trying to create an early splash, Romney is taking his time in declaring a presidential bid and, as The New York Times puts it, "is operating in a cautious, low-key fashion . . . with limited news coverage." The conventional view is that the former Massachusetts governor is doing so to avoid becoming the official front-runner -- a position that would place a large bull's eye on his back. But there may be another reason: He doesn't want to live in Crazy Land. And at the moment, the GOP nomination contest is chock-full of crazy.

A brief recap:

- Mike Huckabee, on a campaign book tour last week, focused on two messages: President Obama is really a Kenyan at heart who attended madrassas, not Boy Scout meetings, when he was a lad, and that's why he doesn't like the West, and Natalie Portman's engagement pregnancy is of national concern. When Americans are worried about the economic future of the nation, Huckabee was slight bit off-topic.

- In an absurd mini-drama last week, Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, and his aides put out conflicting signals about his 2012 intentions, signaling he would announce a presidential run, then that he would set up a committee to explore whether he should run. Finally, he held a press conference to declare . . . that he and his third wife, Callista, had set up a website dedicated to "exploring whether there is sufficient support for my potential candidacy." The bare-bones website had but one page: a sign-up page for potential supporters. "It was ridiculous," a former Gingrich aide told me. "This showed just how undisciplined and chaotic he can be. Not qualities you look for in a president. It was amateur hour." (By the way, months before Huckabee got into the act, Gingrich claimed that Obama's "Kenyan anti-colonial mindset governs the president's actions," which he claimed were "authentically dishonest" and "factually insane.")

- Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), a self-proclaimed tea party leader who says she's contemplating throwing her tricorne into the race, went on "Meet the Press" and once again declared that the Obama administration is a "gangster government." No matter what the question was, her answer was the same: Obama had supposedly hidden $105 billion in the health care bill. Once again, she looked more like a cult member than a possible commander-in-chief. (A few months ago, Bachmann falsely charged that Obama's five-day trip to India would cost $1 billion; the price tab was about 5 percent of that.)

- Tim Pawlenty, who once upon a time was a moderate Republican governor in Minnesota (who kind of supported the Wall Street bailout and backed cap-and-trade climate legislation), has been trying to transform himself into Mr. Tea Party and declaring that if he is elected he will repeal the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy that prohibits out-in-the-open gays and lesbians from serving in the military (meaning he wants gay and lesbian GIs back in the closet).

- And there's Sarah Palin and all her utterances -- the latest being an attack on anti-union Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that didn't make much sense to conservatives. She also picked a fight with comedian Kathy Griffin. (Dave Letterman wasn't available?)

Who'd want to be lumped with these folks and all this nonsense? If Romney were in the race officially -- rather than proceeding with a low-flying operation -- he'd be grouped together with these other candidates and have to respond to their antics. Gov. Romney, do you think President Obama is a covert Kenyan? Gov. Romney, is Obama a gangster president? Gov. Romney, would you reinstate 'Don't ask, don't tell'? Gov. Romney, who's right -- Sarah Palin or Chris Christie? Sarah Palin or Kathy Griffin?

There's no way Romney could answer these sort of queries without either risking coming across as a wing-nut to independent voters or potentially ticking off right-wing voters who will make up much of the GOP primary electorate. (Romney already will have plenty of trouble explaining the mandates-imposing health care system he created in Massachusetts and his previous flip-flops on critical social issues.) As conservative columnist George Will noted the other day, Romney and other serious candidates are in jeopardy of nuttiness by association: "the [GOP] nominee may emerge much diminished by involvement in a process cluttered with careless, delusional, egomaniacal, spotlight-chasing candidates to whom the sensible American majority would never entrust a lemonade stand, much less nuclear weapons."

On Monday night, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition held a forum for Republican presidential candidates. Who bothered to show? Gingrich, Pawlenty, former Sen. Rick Santorum (who's running as the social conservative candidate), former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer, and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain. At the event, Gingrich assailed Obama's "secular, socialist" agenda. (Gov. Romney, do you think the president is a socialist?)

No wonder a Romney spokesman said, "He's not yet a candidate, so he's not doing a candidates' forum." Staying out of the race (in an official sense) keeps Romney out of the line of fire. It also allows him to maintain his distance from Republican looniness. At least for now. Eventually he's going to have to parachute into that hot zone, for the only path to the GOP nomination is through that Republican valley of weirdness.

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Lack of a GOP Front-Runner for 2012 at Odds With Republican History

Bruce Drake — 2011-03-07T11:51:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich

Although the contest for the GOP presidential nomination may seem far away (for all except those gearing up for it), there has been a lot of comment about the potential Republican field, ranging from those who regard it as weak to the fact that no one has emerged yet as a front-runner, at least according to polls.

Gallup says that situation is not typical. In reviewing its polling dating back to 1952, Gallup notes that in every presidential year up until now, there was a clear front-runner at this stage of the campaign and that, in most but not all cases, the front-runner won the nomination.

There have been a few twists and turns in that general pattern. It may have faded from memory now, but in 2007, Rudolph Giuliani was way out in front in Republican preference polls, leading John McCain by 42 percent to 25 percent in February of that year, with the remainder of support spread among other candidates or undecided. Giuliani faded fast after making the mistake of skipping the early primary states, and McCain, who had been the presumed front-runner aside from the 2007 poll, got a scare when Mike Huckabee went from a blip on pollsters' radar screens to winning the Iowa caucuses.

'Feelings Thermometer': Michelle Obama Ranks 'Warmest' With Voters, Pelosi 'Coldest'

Bruce Drake — 2011-03-07T06:30:00+00:00

Filed under: George W. Bush, Republicans, Mitt Romney, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Ron Paul, Polls, Bill Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Sarah Palin, Poll Watch, Harry Reid, Michelle Obama, Newt Gingrich, Mitch McConnell, Barack Obama, John Boehner, 2012 Elections

Everyone is used to the familiar "horse race" poll that tells us who is out front when it comes to a campaign, but Quinnipiac University has a different measure for some of today's leading political personalities: namely, who ranks the "warmest" and "coldest" on a "feelings thermometer"?

The winner when it comes to warmest? First lady Michelle Obama, with former President Bill Clinton close behind. The coldest? Sarah Palin and Nancy Pelosi. (Actually, Harry Reid ranks right in between them, but more later on why his result doesn't count as much).

The way Quinnipiac did this poll, which was conducted among registered voters Feb. 21-28, was to ask those surveyed to "choose any number between 0 and 100. The higher the number, the warmer or more favorable you feel toward that person, the lower the number, the colder or less favorable." The pollster then calculated a mean score for each.

But possibly a more bracing result for some of the politicians than being seen as "cold" was the measure of how little some of them are known nationwide, despite the relentless coverage they may get in Washington.

Quinnipiac asked respondents to say if they did not know enough about the person to rate him or her. The list of "least knowns" was topped by many of the Republicans who are considering making a run for president in 2012: former ambassador to China Jon Huntsman (84 percent don't know him); Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana (78 percent); former Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota (67 percent); Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi (65 percent); and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania (63 percent).

Now, back to Harry Reid. He may be the Senate majority leader and was much in the news last year because of his high-profile re-election contest against tea party favorite Sharron Angle, but 37 percent do not know enough about him to express an opinion. That's much less the case with his company at the "cold" end of the list - Palin, who is unknown by only 4 percent, and Pelosi, unknown by 15 percent.

At the other end of the thermometer, first-term Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, who has been a hit on the speaking circuit lately, ranks as the third warmest, but 55 percent don't know enough about him, compared with Mrs. Obama (4 percent), Bill Clinton (2 percent) and President Obama (everyone knows him).

While Democrats feel almost equally warm about President Obama and Bill Clinton, Republicans are fonder of Clinton: His mean "temperature" among them was 41.5, compared with 30.4 for Obama.

The temperatures for Palin and Pelosi are a measure of how polarizing each is. Palin is seen warmly by 63.8 percent of Republicans while Pelosi gets a score of 58.2 from Democrats. But the feelings they inspire in members of the opposite party are cold indeed: Palin gets a 15.6 from Democrats and Pelosi gets a 13.1 from Republicans.

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Huckabee Narrowly Leads the GOP Presidential Pack Among Fox News Viewers

Bruce Drake — 2011-03-06T09:41:00+00:00

Filed under: Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich

The news last week that Fox News had suspended the contracts of two prospective GOP presidential candidates -- Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum -- left open the question of when and whether similar action would be taken on two other much-mentioned prospects, Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee.

So, with so many possible Republican prospects in the Fox ranks, Gallup asked this question: Who runs best among Fox News listeners given that the network's critics say the political preferences of Fox and its audiences tilt pretty clearly to the GOP.

The winner of the Fox "presidential primary" is Huckabee who tops the list for regular Fox viewers at 18 percent, followed by Mitt Romney at 17 percent, Palin at 13 percent and Gingrich at 13 percent. Santorum was way back at 3 percent, according to the poll conducted Feb. 18-20. The margin of error is 3 points so no one in the top four is too far apart when it comes to viewer support. Gallup defined regular viewers as those who tune in four to five times a week.

Gingrich suffers the biggest gap of the potential candidates between his level of support among Fox News viewers compared to the Republicans who are non-viewers, with only 6 percent among the non-viewers compared to the 13 percent among Fox regulars.

Thirty-eight percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they watch Fox News four to five nights a week. Seventeen percent watch two or three nights a week, 11 percent only one night a week and 33 percent don't watch at all.

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Mitt Romney in New Hampshire: Lots of Buzz but No Announcement -- Yet

Tom Diemer — 2011-03-05T18:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Primaries, Obama Administration, 2012 President, Governors, Campaigns, Unemployment, Jobs, Economy, Barack Obama

It falls short of any campaign launch, but Mitt Romney's appearance at a Republican dinner in New Hampshire Saturday created plenty of political buzz over the weekend.

Romney, who served as governor of neighboring Massachusetts between 2003 and 2007, finished a close second to Sen. John McCain in the state's first-in-the-nation GOP primary three years ago. And winning New Hampshire will be an imperative if -- as is widely speculated -- he runs for president again in 2012.

Romney planned to give the keynote address Saturday at the sold-out Carroll County Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner in Bartlett, N.H., according to the Union Leader of Manchester.

No announcement about his plans for next year was expected, but that didn't tamp down interest in the potential candidate's first sighting in the Granite State since the mid-term elections.

In fact, the text of his speech was in wide circulation hours before the dinner. CNN, and other news outlets, said Romney's prepared remarks argue that President Obama "created a deeper recession and delayed the recovery" by expanding government and borrowing trillions of dollars. He talks about something he calls the "Obama Misery Index:" continuing unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies.

His speech comes a day after the unemployment rate fell below 9 percent for the first time in nearly two years. In Miami, Fla. Friday, Obama noted that 220,000 jobs were added in the private sector in February -- marking the 12th straight month of job growth.

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Mike Huckabee Holds Strong Lead Among Conservative Christian Bloc

David Gibson — 2011-03-04T21:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Religion, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Disputations, Conservatives, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama

Mike Huckabee has been making waves lately for his comments about Natalie Portman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy and Barack Obama's "anti-colonial" boyhood, but a new poll shows the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential hopeful still seems to be the hands-down favorite of conservative Christian voters who will be critical to securing the nomination.

The survey from the Barna Group, a leading Christian research organization, also indicates that Huckabee could go toe-to-toe with all Republican challengers, and he would be the toughest foe for President Obama in November 2012.

Huckabee, a former Baptist pastor, is strongest among evangelical Christians -- the 7 percent of the population that Barna defines by the strictest criteria of traditional faith and biblical literalism -- with an 88 percent favorable rating, followed by former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, with a 79 percent favorable ranking.

The field tails off considerably from there among evangelicals, with Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney -- who are widely expected to be among the first to throw their hats in the ring -- clocking 57 and 56 percent favorability ratings, respectively.

President Obama registers a meager 6 percent approval rating among this group, and an eye-opening 94 percent unfavorability rating.

Among "born again Christians" -- a pivotal and largely Republican-leaning group in the last three elections that Barna describes as "considerably less conservative than its evangelical subset" -- Huckabee still leads, with a 58 percent favorability rating. But Romney surges to a 49 percent positive ranking, just behind Palin at 53 percent. Gingrich polls at just 43 percent among born again Christians.

Among all Republicans, Palin and Romney post 69 percent favorability scores, but Huckabee is just behind with a 68 percent favorable rating. Gingrich generated a 62-32 positive-to-negative score among members of his party.

Spread across all voters, the numbers for the leading GOP candidates reflected other recent polls, as Huckabee still led, with 44 percent of adults holding a favorable view and 38 percent a negative view of him, followed by Romney, at an almost even 40-39 favorable-to-unfavorable ratio.

But the numbers for Palin (36 percent favorable) and Gingrich (32 percent favorable) fall off sharply from there.

An analysis by the Barna Group, which is led by evangelical Christian George Barna, concludes that while Obama stands "a better-than-even chance of being re-elected . . . Mrs. Palin would be the easiest opponent for him to defeat, while Mr. Huckabee would be the toughest adversary."

The numbers also suggest, however, that Huckabee's greatest electoral challenge could be securing his own party's nomination. In 2008, Huckabee's support among religious conservatives propelled him through the primaries, but he still finished second to John McCain.

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Newt Gingrich Poised to Run: Why the 1990s GOP Icon Struggles for Respect

Walter Shapiro — 2011-03-03T22:25:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Budget, 2012 President, Campaigns, Newt Gingrich, Economy, 2012 Elections

Newt Gingrich moved toward launching his first presidential campaign with all the grace of a suitcase falling down a flight of stairs.

It all began with conflicting signals from aides about what Gingrich actually would be announcing Thursday in Atlanta (correct answer: A website called "NewtExplore2012"). Then, in an odd one-question press conference, Gingrich proposed a Tenth Amendment Implementation Act (a vague project to return federal responsibilities to the states) while he simultaneously unveiled the exploratory White House candidacy. Finally, there was the embarrassing glitch when a liberal group pointed out that the flag-waving crowds in the background on the new Gingrich website were from a stock photo also used by Ted Kennedy with the logo: "We are the Democratic Majority."

Haley Barbour's Washington Week: Jabs at Obama, Romney in 2012 Preview

Jill Lawrence — 2011-03-02T23:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Budget, Energy, 2012 President, Conservatives, Jobs, Economy, Health Care Reform, Barack Obama, 2012 Elections

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says he won't decide on a presidential run until next month, but that didn't stop him from road-testing a 2012 campaign message all over Washington this week. As Newt Gingrich dithered over whether to announce that he might start to raise money to possibly explore a White House bid and Mike Huckabee made strange references to President Barack Obama's "Kenyan" childhood, Barbour was putting down markers on energy, jobs, health care and foreign policy.

The former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the Republican Governors Association has had access to some prime forums: NBC's "Meet The Press," testimony before a House committee, a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a mini-scrum with reporters. On the docket for later this week: a Wall Street Journal economic conference in Santa Barbara, Calif. (he's the only presidential prospect on the program) and the closed-to-the-press Club for Growth conference in Palm Beach, Fla. (along with Romney and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty).

GOP White House Hopefuls Need to Get Real About Libya, Egypt and Obama

Jill Lawrence — 2011-02-26T18:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Bush Administration, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Obama Administration, 2012 President, International, Newt Gingrich, al Qaeda, Analysis, Barack Obama, Egypt Crisis

Try this thought experiment. It's Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011, and President Sarah Palin is delivering a speech on Libyan dictator Moammer Gadhafi's murderous response to dissidents protesting his government. It's time, she says, to "speak out for the long-suffering Libyan people" and "the victims of Gadhafi's terror." She says she's talking to NATO allies about a no-fly zone "so Libyan air forces cannot continue slaughtering the Libyan people." Libya, she adds, is "a brutal enemy of America."

A day later, Libyan forces board a ferry trapped in the Tripoli harbor because of rough seas, and capture nearly 200 Americans trying to flee. Some are government employees and their dependents; all are now hostages in a land of escalating violence and turmoil.

Poll: GOP Front-Runners Show Different Strengths on Different Issues

Bruce Drake — 2011-02-24T20:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Polls, Foreign Policy, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, National Security, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich, Economy

While polls at this early stage have produced no clear favorite among Republicans for the 2012 presidential nomination, voters do have preferences for one candidate over another when it comes to how they view them on specific issues, according to a Gallup poll conducted Feb. 18-20.

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who put a priority on reducing government spending and government power are most likely to favor Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney, while those focused on the economy favor Romney or Sarah Palin. Republicans who say social and moral values are most important favor Huckabee or Palin.

In general, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents rank government spending and government power as their top issue, with 35 percent taking that view. That's followed closely by business and the economy, chosen by 31 percent. In the distance were social issues and moral values (17 percent) and national security and foreign policy (15 percent).

Among the four Republicans who top the early presidential preference polls, Huckabee and Romney attract the most support on the issue of government spending and power, at 18 percent and 17 percent respectively, with Newt Gingrich at 13 percent and Palin at 11 percent.

Romney leads at 20 percent when it comes to business and the economy, followed by Palin (17 percent), Huckabee (13 percent) and Gingrich (8 percent).

On social issues and moral values, Huckabee is the clear leader at 28 percent, followed by Palin at 19 percent, Romney at 7 percent and Gingrich at 6 percent.

Palin leads with 22 percent on the issue of national security and foreign policy, followed by Huckabee at 20 percent, Romney at 17 percent and Gingrich at 9 percent.

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Mike Huckabee Keeps Up Criticism of Islam in America

David Gibson — 2011-02-23T21:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Religion, Mike Huckabee, Terror, 2012 President, Disputations, Conservatives, Barack Obama, Islam

Just days after stirring Muslim ire for ripping Islam as "the antithesis of the gospel of Christ," Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee again sharply critiqued the religion, telling an evangelical magazine that Muslims are receiving special treatment "at the expense of others" -- apparently referring to Christians -- and that is "un-American."

In the interview with Christianity Today, Huckabee was asked about New York Rep. Peter King's controversial plan to hold hearings in March on the alleged radicalization of American Muslims, and Huckabee responded by talking about concerns that Muslims wanted to "impose" the Islamic religious law code known as Sharia on Americans.

Sharia law cannot be used to trump U.S. laws, but conservatives, including Newt Gingrich -- another GOP hopeful for 2012 -- have gained traction with their base by arguing that it can, and Huckabee seemed to be joining that camp.

"We live in a country where people are free to be Muslim. They're not free, however, to impose a Muslim law as if it were civil law," Huckabee, a Baptist and former pastor, said. "If I were to say, okay, everyone must tithe to their local church, people would be outraged."

Huckabee cited a story from 2007 when a campus of the University of Michigan installed foot baths to accommodate Muslim students -- who comprised 10 percent of the student body -- who wanted a safe facility to wash before their daily prayers. At least 18 other universities also have foot baths for Muslims and any others who want to use them.

"I don't remember anyone ever accommodating me and saying we're going to erect a cross so that we can make sure you're comfortable when you walk across campus," Huckabee said. "I find that the accommodation we're making to one religion at the expense of the others is very un-American." (Many universities do have Christian facilities and symbols, such as chapels and crosses, to accommodate believers or as a legacy of their original church affiliation.)

Appearing on a Fox News show over the weekend, Huckabee also took aim at Islam as he criticized two Protestant churches that allowed Muslims to worship in their facilities when mosques in the area were too small or under construction.

"If the purpose of a church is to push forward the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then you have a Muslim group that says that Jesus Christ and all the people that follow him are a bunch of infidels who should be essentially obliterated, I have a hard time understanding that," Huckabee, a Fox host, said while he was a guest on "Fox & Friends." "I mean if a church is nothing more than a facility and a meeting place free for any and all viewpoints, without regard to what it is, then should the church be rented out to show adult movies on the weekend?"

Huckabee added that Islam "is the antithesis of the gospel of Christ." A leading Islamic advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), called Huckabee's remarks "inaccurate and offensive" and asked him to apologize. CAIR said it would also help arrange a meeting between the former Arkansas governor and Muslim leaders "to discuss growing Islamophobia in American society."

Huckabee has not responded to either request.

In his Christianity Today interview, Huckabee did weigh in on the "birther" controversy -- about those who allege President Obama was not born in the United States -- and suspicions among many conservative Christians that Obama is not a Christian or may even be a Muslim. He said Obama is clearly a Christian and dismissed as "inappropriate, wrong-headed, and not helpful to the overall discussion when people try to say he doesn't have a birth certificate or he's a Muslim."

He said people should be focusing on whether Obama's policies are good for the country, "not what did he hear when he sat in church."

"If people went back and heard every sermon I heard when I was a little kid and some of the more fundamentalist pastors were yelling from the pulpit at me, if they took every one of those sermons and lifted out of them certain phrases and things, it could be scandalous, but only out of the context of the bigger picture."

In a similar vein, Huckabee seemed to give his close rival in the Republican sweepstakes, Mitt Romney, a boost when he said evangelicals should not consider Romney's Mormon faith when they weigh their preferences.

"I don't think they should, unless that person advances something truly bizarre," Huckabee said. (Evangelicals remain deeply suspicious of Mormon beliefs despite the fact that the two groups share many conservative values.) Huckabee said he was more interested in whether candidates live up to the teachings of their own faith.

Elsewhere in the interview, Huckabee maintained his standard line about a 2012 presidential run, saying he has not made up his mind. He said he projects a late summer decision, which would likely be three or four months after candidates including Mitt Romney make their official announcements.

He also casts social conservatives like himself as integral to fiscal conservatism and conservatism in general, pushing back at some of the more libertarian-minded conservatives who want to focus on economic issues at the expense of opposition to things like gay marriage and abortion.

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Still No Clear Frontrunner in Latest Poll on 2012 GOP Presidential Race

Bruce Drake — 2011-02-23T15:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Polls, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Poll Watch, Newt Gingrich

The latest poll on the pecking order of potential candidates for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination shows the same familiar four in the top tier -- Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich -- although Gingrich does not run as close to the other three as he has in some other surveys.

Huckabee leads the pack with 18 percent, followed by Romney and Palin, each at 16 percent, and Gingrich at 9 percent, according to a Gallup poll conducted Feb. 18-20 among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Huckabee moved ahead of Romney after trailing him by 3 points in Gallup's November poll, and Gingrich slipped by 4 points

After the top four, it's Ron Paul at 5 percent and every one else with less than that.

The value of these polls, at this stage of the game, is dubious given how much the name recognition factor counts this far in advance of the campaign season. In 2008, Huckabee had barely been a blip on the radar a couple of months before he won the Iowa caucuses and became a top contender.

Gallup says its poll "clearly underscores that there is no early front-runner."

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Mitt Romney: Adult or Empty Suit?

David Corn — 2011-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mitt Romney, 2012 President, Deep Background, 2012 Elections

Mitt Romney's crew likes to bill the straight-from-Central-Casting GOP presidential contender as the "adult" among the Republican 2012 wannabes. But the speech he delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday was full of schoolyard immaturity.

The gathering itself, the most prominent annual hoedown of conservative activists, was an out-of-touch affair. While much of the world was gripped by the pro-democracy uprising in Egypt, CPAC speakers, including many GOP presidential aspirants, derided Obama as an America-hating socialist hell-bent on weakening and/or ruining this nation. Practically every bold-type name who strode to the podium ignored the inspiring and world-changing events in Egypt. Obama-bashing was more important.

For many, this was expected. (Former Sen. Rick Santorum, this means you.) But as someone who has talked up Romney's chances of winning the Republican nomination -- despite the fact he's a Mormon and a flip-flopping former Massachusetts governor who once supported health care mandates, abortion rights, gay rights, and gun control -- I was disappointed by his speech.

Certainly, Romney had to toss steak tartare to this crowd. (Think of CPAC as a zoo where you must feed the animals.) That meant slapping the president silly and braying like a conservative. He enthusiastically proceeded through such obligatory gestures. But what was most notable about his speech was that it was unserious -- especially regarding the topic that Romney, a former CEO, claims to know something about: the economy.

Romney ripped Obama for responding to the economic crisis with "the most expensive failed social experiment in modern history." What did Romney have in mind? Obama's stimulus program? By the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's calculations, Obama's recovery legislation saved or created up to 3 million jobs. Nevertheless, Romney went on to assert that Obama "guaranteed that unemployment wouldn't go beyond 8 percent." Not so. There was no "guarantee." As Politifact.com has pointed out, in response to other GOPers claiming that Obama promised 8-percent unemployment,

What we saw from the [Obama] administration was a projection [in an economic report], not a promise, and it was a projection that came with heavy disclaimers.

"It should be understood that all of the estimates presented in this memo are subject to significant margins of error," the report states. "There is more fundamental uncertainty that comes with any estimate of the effects of a [recovery] program."

Romney was relying on a discredited talking point. That's fine for a partisan hack -- but it's not how an "adult" behaves.

Romney then exclaimed that Obama "has stood watch over the greatest job loss in modern American history." Not a peep from him about the Bush-Cheney administration, the housing crisis, the subprime credit crisis, Wall Street, or the financial collapse that occurred in September 2008, prior to Obama being elected president. Romney, like many of his GOP competitors, had absolutely nothing to say about the cause of today's economic misery. And if you're keeping score at home, job loss peaked in January 2009, when the imploding economy shed about 800,000 jobs. As this chart shows, Bush "stood watch" over a cratering economy, and Obama's first year was marked by a dramatic drop in monthly job loss.

Romney denounced Obama for ignoring the "job crisis," and he urged Republicans to blame Obama for the economic mess of the past two years. He claimed the high unemployment rate "is a moral tragedy of epic proportion," brought to you by Barack Obama.

Okay, all politicians blame the guy in charge during miserable economic times for the misery. All's fair -- and Romney was hardly blazing a new trail. He predictably decried the failure of Obama's "liberal" policies, claiming that "the president and his fellow liberals turned to Europe for their answers." Lousy answers, that is.

So what's the right answer, Mitt? What are the policy prescriptions that ought to be advanced to free Americans from the shackles of unemployment? What steps would a President Romney be adopting right this very moment to bring jobs to those millions of Americans out of work? At this point in the speech, I was ready to hear how Romney could be the white knight who rides in and puts all his years of CEOing to good use and saves the nation from its economic troubles. Cue the hero. Enter, stage right.

But here's what Romney said:

The right answer is not to believe in European solutions. The right answer is to believe in America -- to believe in free enterprise, capitalism, limited government, federalism.

That was it. Believe in America. Believe that it "is an exceptional nation of freedom and opportunity and hope." Rather than provide a single example of a pro-active measure that would help jobless Americans, this onetime corporate executive declared, "I will not apologize for America! I don't apologize for America because I believe in America!" (Those exclamation points are in the text of the speech.) Query: How does not apologizing for America create jobs?

After Romney droned on about how tough it is for the unemployed, this was his bottom-line message: Let them eat hollow rhetoric. Romney, it turned out, had nada to contribute to the national discussion about how to revive the economy. He didn't even call for tax cuts.

He offered bromides not proposals, not even vague ideas. Up until this speech, it seemed to me that Romney -- who placed second in the CPAC straw poll behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.), the libertarian heartthrob -- presented the strongest threat to Obama, for I assumed he could talk about the economy more convincingly than other leading candidates. After CPAC, I'm not sure. He riled up the crowd with right-wing spin and boosted his conservative street cred, a critical mission for anyone seeking the Republican nomination. But the presumptive leader of the GOP pack showed minimal leadership potential. Of course, if the economy languishes for another year and a half, any GOPer will have a shot at defeating the president. But if this was the best Romney could do, this empty suit may not wear well.

You can follow David Corn's posts and media appearances via Twitter.

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CPAC 2011 -- The Only Winners Were Mitch Daniels and Ron Paul

Walter Shapiro — 2011-02-12T23:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, 2012 President, Conservatives, Tea Party, 2012 Elections

The three-day Conservative Political Action Conference ended Saturday afternoon with a meaningless presidential straw poll (if you must know, libertarian gadfly Ron Paul won for the second year in a row). But what CPAC really illustrated (and the bizarro straw poll results underscored) is that the late-starting 2012 GOP race remains so wide open that Bob Dole at age 87 might have a plausible chance for a comeback.

Even though both Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee were too busy with their Fox News slots and paid speaking engagements to appear at this premier celebration of all things conservative, 2008 GOP runner-up Mitt Romney failed to emerge as even a paper-tiger front-runner. In fairness, CPAC has never been Romney's natural constituency. The biggest stir he ever caused at one of these things was when he used this forum to announce that he was suspending his 2008 presidential bid (after edging John McCain in a CPAC straw poll.)

Ron Paul Wins CPAC Straw Poll; Mitt Romney Comes in Second

Carla Baranauckas — 2011-02-12T17:34:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Conservatives, Campaigns, Newt Gingrich, Tea Party, 2012 Elections

For the second successive year, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas won the presidential straw poll conducted at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, capturing 30 percent of the vote.

Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts was second in the straw poll with 23 percent of the vote, Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio announced at the conference in Washington held by the American Conservative Union. The others on the ballot finished far behind.

CPAC 2011: Spring Training for Republican Campaign Metaphors

Walter Shapiro — 2011-02-08T22:15:00+00:00

Filed under: Republicans, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, 2012 President, Newt Gingrich, Tea Party, White House, Analysis, Barack Obama

Using a (gasp!) liberal definition of politically plausible, 10 Republican White House dreamers -- ranging from Michele Bachmann to Haley Barbour -- have featured speaking parts at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference beginning Thursday in Washington.

So what if the Republicans, showing rare reticence, have yet to begin the over-choreographed rollout of candidate announcements? Frustrated by the lack of candidate caravans canvassing all 99 counties of Iowa, the restive press pack is poised to treat the three-day CPAC meeting as the first step in the marathon that will climax with the exuberant Republican presidential nominee bathed in confetti at the 2012 Tampa Convention.

Impressionable political mavens may become overly excited by the results of Saturday's CPAC straw poll. After all, could there be a more statistically valid way to gauge national Republican sentiment than through an election with a hefty poll tax ($175 for a three-day ticket) held in a Washington hotel in the middle of the snowiest winter in memory?

Despite the unreliability of straw polls, there is, however, an enduring value to early GOP cattle shows (a phrase that only entered the political lexicon in the late 1970s). These round-robin speak-a-thons provide a first airing of the Republican rhetoric that will become the building blocks of stump speeches, debate answers and 30-second TV spots. What CPAC represents, in effect, is spring training for campaign metaphors.

Not even candidates who ran in 2008 like Mitt Romney, book-tour pros like Tim Pawlenty and veteran stem-winders like Newt Gingrich have their routines down yet. Everything is still a work in progress. Anti-Obama jokes that fall flat, policy pronouncements that veer towards the wonky, and self-deprecating stories that come across as oddball rather than endearing will soon be dropped from the set speeches. This is the moment in the campaign when a white-shirted would-be president has an uncanny similarity to T-shirted standup comic - both are honing their acts through constant practice in front of live audiences.

A warning to the unwary: Campaign rhetoric at this stage is entirely about running for president rather than being president.

Denouncing Barack Obama, as beguiling as it is for Republicans to hear, is not a governing agenda. At the beginning of the presidential race, it can be stipulated that any Republican elected president in 2012 would dismantle the Obama health care plan and would veto any attempt by Congress to increase taxes. That is Republican orthodoxy -- and no serious contender for the GOP nomination would dare depart from it.

In fact, it is a safe bet that the louder the applause at CPAC, the less relevant the triggering sentence is to the presidency. There are litmus-test issues for conservatives just as there are for liberals. So the hotel chandeliers will rattle from the cheers following every paean to constitutional government, every promise to uphold Second Amendment rights and every pledge to curb judicial activism. At a moment when the tea party movement is riding high, every Republican presidential hopeful will stress that he or she became a Ronald Reagan-worshipping conservative while hurtling down the birth canal.

Since the next president (or a reelected Obama) will not take office until January 2013, it is premature to get caught up in overly detailed prescriptions for the ailing economy. Remember at this point in 2007, presidential contenders in both parties were blithely assuming that the boom times would carry over to their tenure in the White House. The 21^st century reality is that things can and will change faster than you can utter the fateful words, "collapse of Lehman Brothers." An obvious downside of a 20-month presidential race is that candidates begin running long before anyone knows what issues will dominate the election-eve agenda.

Make no mistake: There will be things worth listening to at the CPAC cattle show.

The challenge for all presidential candidates is to package their autobiographies in ways that provide a compelling glimpse of how they would handle a four-year lease on the Oval Office. For veteran political figures like Newt Gingrich, it is highlighting which aspects of their long careers make them viable in 2012. For the five current and former governors on the CPAC agenda (Mitt Romney, Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, Mitch Daniels and Rick Perry), it is making the transition from state issues to national concerns. As for Michele Bachmann (and half-forgotten former U.N. ambassador John Bolton), the trick lies in convincing party activists that they would be serious contenders rather than irrelevant gadflies.

An obvious upside of the lengthy presidential race is that early stumbles are not necessarily fatal. (Prime example: The mid-2007 collapse of John McCain's campaign). That is the joy of these early cattle shows -- the stakes are still low despite the coiled tension of campaign aides and the overly definitive verdicts of the press corps.

Far more important than issues at this stage is for Republicans to begin to identify which candidates they can endure to see and hear on their TV screens campaigning for the next two years - and which candidates would lift their hearts if they ever got to take the oath of office.

Follow Walter Shapiro on Twitter (lucky you).

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