Real Clear Politics Poll Average

Republican Presidential Nomination
8/06 to 8/28

Giuliani-27.9%

Thompson-16.9%

Romney-14.1%

McCain-11.1%

Battered Person Syndrome in Liberal Form

Battered person syndrome is a psychological condition resulting from the suffering of abuse at the hands of someone else. This results in the victim having a low self-esteem, believing the abuse is their fault, and seeking out the abuser for comfort. Although this is associated with a physical abuse situation I think some of the same principles can be applied to liberals and their feelings about terrorism. And maybe I would not associate it to all liberals but the far left acolytes of liberalism who seek to blame America first for inviting the terrorists to attack us. It is a mentality that I can not get any grasp of. How someone could blame us for the heinous and evil acts perpetrated by radical Islamists. But we have heard the voices of individuals like a Cindy Sheehan who denounce our actions against the radical Islamic fringe and instead refer to our leaders as war criminals for taking such actions. Even those on the other side of the aisle like Ron Paul want to limit our intervention and instead resort to a policy of stick your head in the sand a.k.a. isolationism. He made the comments during one debate seeming to say that we have brought the wrath of the radicals on ourselves with our policies towards the Middle East. I find it disappointing to say the least that an elected official would claim that we would be to blame for men flying planes into buildings on our shores whatever our foreign policy. I think some of this talk is a result of those on the left who are so concerned with how we as a nation are viewed by the rest of the world. We tell our children early on in life that they should not be concerned with how other people think of them and that they should be their own person. Well the message is not resonating and we end up with individuals who are obsessed with implementing the European model into our country. I think these people need to seek professional help with their infliction. It is not only a disappointing position to take but potentially a dangerous one. That mindset leaves us open to real threats and dangers by simply dismissing them as unreal or even worse our fault.

Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

I think Spiro Agnew had it right when he referred to the media by that alliterative phrase. I think the statement would still apply to today's media which focuses on the negative more than the positive. It might be that the press corps is composed of pessimists or maybe they are unwilling to print the good news because it goes against their biases. It has certainly been hard to find the positive news during this current president's presidency. Two glaring examples of this are the coverage of the war and the economy. To find a news story about Iraq that does not contain doom and gloom is practically impossible. The stories tend to leave out the positive and focus on the negative. We hear about the death and destruction but not the reconstruction and rehabilitation of a country domineered by a tyrant. I do not have to tell you the kind of impact that has on the public back home. Poll after poll seem to suggest that the American support for the war has dwindled over the past five years. The media has done a good job of molding the story to fit their agenda. Even now as we are seeing some improvements with the surge the media is unwilling to give it a chance. You must ask yourself if the media is not vested in our defeat in the middle east from the rhetoric they fill their margins and columns with. The media has also shown a reluctance to report the good news of our economy. The Bush administration's economic policies have brought us out of the Clinton-Gore recession and the devastating effects of 9/11 to our economy. It is those tax cuts which have allowed for the economy to grow and prosper as we have seen in the dramatic rise of the stock market. But all we hear is how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Even the reduction in the unemployment rate to historic lows has not been enough to impress the media enough to report the positives. I think Agnew had it right when he referred to the media as nattering nabobs of negativism but I would include the politicians on the left side of the aisle under that umbrella as well. The Democrats in lock step with their liberal compatriots in the media have had an attitude of negativism since President Bush took office. It seems as if these two groups are opposed to anything with the president's fingerprints on it. This is clearly evident by their reaction to the economy and war in Iraq. The Democrats have made such an issue of denouncing the war in Iraq that with the success of the surge some in their leadership have become worried for their political futures. This would include Representative Clyburn who was worried about what would happen to the Democrat if we were successful in Iraq. And then you have Senator Harry Reid declaring the war lost a couple months ago. They makes these statements from the confines of Capitol Hill. We have seen recently the reports from those that have seen the situation on the ground and have come back with positive news. And not all of them have been conservatives but liberal-minded media and politicians. Maybe the Democrats should try to understand the truth of the situation before decrying the Petraeus report before it is given. I write all of this because I wonder what goes on in the mind of liberals. Those in the media and the politicians of the left have made it clear that negativism is their platform and standard operating procedure. They will continue to try and drive down confidence and support on issues like the economy and the war on terror because it does not fit their agenda. I hope that Americans start to realize this and are not swayed by this propaganda. I think we need more glass half full people in this world. So when you are confronted with these nattering nabobs of negativism confront them back with the truth and positiveness so that we can make them an extinct species.

Bush White House Loses Chief Architect

The man who was described as President Bush's brain has decided to vacate the White House. Karl Rove, one of President Bush's closest advisers and friends, has made the announcement that he is leaving at the end of the month. Rove is the man who is largely credited with helping Bush ascend to the presidency. He has decided that after six and a half years in the White House that he wants to spend more time with his family. It would seem odd that Mr. Rove would not finish out the second term with the president but the long hours and stress that accompany working in the west wing seem to have caught up to him like others before him. Pundits who discussed this on the twenty-four hour news channels felt that Rove could still be an influential voice for the White House and the Republican Party. Rove stated that he did not have a clear plan as to what he would do in the future. A book about his life in the White House is a real possibility. What is known is that the Democrats will not have him to aim their poison arrows at. Rove has been a target of the left and is hated at a level usually reserved for Dick Cheney. He has been a man who has been very successful in his career but liberals would only recognize him as being part of the dark side with some evil grand scheme. The president will now have to leave office is eighteen months with one less ally by his side. The president will now have to survive without his closest political advisor and friend.

Straw Poll Closes With Romney Victory

If you stayed until the end of the Iowa Straw Poll as I did you found out two things. The first being that it took too long to get the results, an hour and a half late, and two the winner was not a surprise. Former Governor Mitt Romney took the victory in yesterday's event with about 31% of the vote. That was not really a surprise as Mr. Romney has been the presumed winner for awhile now and with the lack of participation by the other front runners it was almost an inevitability. One surprise of the day was the second place finish of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Even in a watered down field he was still able to catapult over the other so-called second-tier candidates to a respectable showing in the poll. The question is whether this finish will allow him to increase his fundraising to keep his campaign going. The day may have not had the same feeling though as it did back in 2000. The attendance and vote totals were down from the last Iowa Straw Poll. The overwhelming heat may have had something to do with that or it may be that the event had to compete with the Iowa State Fair going on in Des Moines. Perhaps the reason was that the front runners in the race like Giuliani, McCain, or even a Fred Thompson were no shows and people were not as interested. I was able to make it down to the event and despite the weather I enjoyed the day. I think it gives people a chance to see the candidates up close and personal. I think it goes along with the whole idea of retail politics that defines the process in Iowa. Some may say the the event is not important because it is not a real vote. But it does show the organization of the campaigns and how they are able to mobilize their supporters. It will more than likely have the effect of weeding out some of the candidates like a Duncan Hunter or Tommy Thompson who both did not perform very well in the poll. We will have to see if those who finished near the top will be able gain some momentum and keep their campaigns going into the next couple of months before the caucus.

The Race to the Middle

If you have been keeping up with the politics you know that the campaign season for 2008 has started even earlier than previous election cycles. This year we have a multitude of candidates to choose from on both sides of the political aisle. We have already had a number of debates to find out how the candidates stand on the issues. We are at the point in the campaign cycle where the candidates are focusing their positions towards the primary voters. That means directing your views and comments towards your party's base. The point being to garner as much support from your base to get your party's nomination. So that is why we have the Democrats flying off to the Daily Kos convention to make an appearance. The people that participate on the Daily Kos website are increasingly becoming the base of the Democrat party. These are hard liners of the left that represent the radical views of people like Penn, Sheehan, and Glover. The Democrat's are so afraid of losing the support of these people that they practically let their political lives be dictated by them. I watched the interview between Bill O'Reilly and Senator Chris Dodd and watched as Senator Dodd defended the Daily Kos throughout the entire interview. O'Reilly pointed out the vile picture that had been put on the website but Dodd was unwilling to make even any hint of a remorseful statement about the picture. It revealed all to much to me as I watched the back and forth. That got me thinking about the usual trend in presidential politics. We usually see candidates speak to their base and try to convince them of their credentials but after winning the nomination they run to the middle. This being to attract any individuals in the middle who are undecided about their choice for president. The candidate seems to seek a new tone as they seek to show that they can not just lead the members of their party but the entire country. I wonder during this election cycle if we will see that race to the middle after both parties have chosen their candidates. I would hope that a candidate would stick with what they say along the political trail and not compromise their ideals to reach the masses of independents who ride the fencepost. Otherwise their positions seem somewhat disingenuous. I do hope however that if we do have a race to the middle that the Republicans are first to the finish line to pick up the moderate's vote. Because I fear for what a Democrat president we mean for our country. I think of that old phrase you are judged by the company you keep. One only has to look at the company the Democrats keep to know that they are the wrong choice to lead our country especially at this crucial time.