Presidential Campaign

The Republican convention's goal was to serve two purposes.
 
One was to convince the party’s most ardent supporters that the GOP was going to continue to tug harder to the right, so that the country wouldn’t be pulled over to the left in a heaping mess.
 
The other was to convince folks in the middle that the party wasn’t nearly as conservative as it was letting on.
 
Achieving these twin goals is not easy. Indeed, it is darn near impossible.

In my column “Last stand for liberals” I warned that the party of Mitt Romney would not recreate the Reaganism of 1980, but would recreate the robber barons of 1890. My view is that Romney has at least a 50-50 chance of being elected, and probably slightly more. I found it strange that Marco Rubio introduced Romney by giving a speech about Marco Rubio, as Chris Christie, whom my colleague A.B. Stoddard wrote about perceptively in her column, gave a speech about Chris Christie. Meanwhile Ron Paul was disrespected by Mitt Romney, while Rand Paul began his campaign for 2016. Read more...

Paul Ryan is a tough act to follow in any situation. But he gave the speech of his life on Wednesday night. I’ve never seen a vice-presidential candidate speak with such discipline, intelligence, and daring.

Predictably, the attacks on Ryan have been desperate. Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Al Sharpton and others called his speech outright dishonest, saying Paul Ryan was a liar. But what lies did he tell? They claim that he only told half the story. Of course he did! It’s a campaign speech! Did they really expect that he was going to get up there and talk about his early years in Congress, voting the party line? Unbelievable.

TAMPA, Fla. — Candidate Romney will soon fulfill a lifelong dream. Tonight he will become the Republican nominee for the presidency of the United States. The convention is off to a promising start, which makes many conservatives feel bad for the media: What will they have to report on? I’m sure that they’ll find a way to manufacture a few gaffes by the time we’re finished here.

Everyone is talking about Paul Ryan and Condoleezza Rice’s speeches, both of which were intelligent, articulate defenses of conservative principles, but I want to come back to Tuesday night’s speeches for a moment.

Judging by the rapturous reception at the Republican National Convention last night, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be considering a future in politics.

Certainly the Twittersphere was bubbling with suggestions that Rice was a potential presidential contender after she spoke movingly about overcoming racial segregation in Jim Crow Birmingham. Recalling those days, she said, “Her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant, but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter, she can be president of the United States. And she becomes the secretary of State.”

Give credit where it is due. Ann Romney hit a home run for her man. On the other hand, I think Chris Christie forgot to mention the man Ann Romney loves in his campaign speech for himself.

I doubt Mrs. Romney’s speech will have much impact with female voters for a party that opposes pay equity for women, has a platform that would prevent women's choices if they are raped and attacks Social Security and Medicare, which are important to women seniors.

TAMPA, Fla. — This morning I had a chance to speak with two of our nation’s most vibrant and exciting conservative leaders, Ralph Alvarado, a candidate for the Kentucky Legislature, and former presidential candidate Herman Cain. To give you an idea of what people on the ground here in Tampa are feeling like, here’s a little of what they told me.

What will this election’s October Surprise be?
 
According to Mike Rogers, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, it could be an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
 
Rogers (R-Mich.) was speaking to a breakfast group organized by The Hill, where he was asked point-blank by the moderator, A.B. Stoddard, about the likelihood of such an event.
 
The chairman had just returned from the Middle East and had been briefed by the highest levels of the Israeli government.

Three scenarios arise in November. One, and likely, Obama wins. Sixty-seven percent of the people like him. Why would you vote for someone you don't like?

Two: Obama wins, the Eastern conservatives crash and burn and the Westerners, led by Sarah Palin (with Bobby Jindal, Rick Perry and Ted “Cat Scratch Fever” Nugent), obliterate them in 2016 and a new Jacksonian, libertarian era opens.

With the convention officially under way, the atmosphere is electric, and not just from Tropical Storm Isaac. Team Romney just put up the National Debt Clock, which shows both the total national debt (over $15 trillion and rising $3 million per minute) and the amount of debt accrued just since the start of the convention. This is a wise tactical move, since several polls are now showing that the top concern for most Americans is debt. No, it’s not dogs on roofs, it’s not likability, it’s not contraception.