The Occasional Observer

I couldn't even believe this story was true, but here it is.

Last payment scheduled for this weekend.

I finally found a job you're qualified for.

Full page story on Romney as GOP front-runner (albeit a weak one), here.

Based on those polling numbers, Mitt sounds like a dead candidate walking.

BTW, NBC news also offered a take on the Paladino/reporter brouhaha in the same blog entry:

Paladino is now caught on tape threatening New York Post reporter Fred Dicker over digging into the daughter that Paladino had out of wedlock. “If you send another goon to my daughter’s house, I will take you out, buddy,” Paladino yells at Dicker. The reporter replies, “You’re going to take me out? How are you going to do that?” Paladino answers, “Watch.” Why should folks care about Paladino, a candidate who will likely lose in November? Because if he becomes an anchor on the Republican ticket, he could cost the GOP a chance at three to five House seats.

The latest eruption here.

He's walking a tightrope. I hope he doesn't end up falling and dragging the whole party down with him, a la O'Donnell.

Check out these results:

from Grover Norquist:

Earlier in the year there was a danger that Arizona’s immigration law would distract attention from federal spending. And many Democrats from other states could bravely insist that they, too, liked the Arizona law, that therefore they were different from Obama, and that therefore they were moderate or even conservative. It allowed them to throw up what Ross Perot called "Gorilla dust" to distract voters from their actual voting records on the actual issues they were responsible for.When you are losing—you want distractions.

The mosque in Manhattan presented the same danger...

When you are winning—you do not want distractions.

We are winning at present. -- we should remain the “focus like a laser on spending” movement.

Full article here.

There are lies and there are damn lies.

This is both.

This Op-Ed in the Post today pretty well sums up the horrific state of the NY GOP. If I could afford it, I swear I'd run for public office next election. I couldn't do much worse than what passes for Republicans in this state.

...and I think you're going to like this guy.

"If it's about the lives of my men and their safety, I'd go through hell with a gasoline can." -Col. Allen West

That's Paladino's Angry Man Pronoucements (via the NY Daily News):

"I'm beyond the normal person, I'm not your everyday Joe."

"There will be blood on the floor," he said, washing down pork braciola with red wine. "It won't be pretty, it won't be clean, but I will take them [Lazio & Cuomo] down."

He told building contractors in Ronkonkoma that Gov. Paterson was "a wimp . . . really, he's pathetic." Former Gov. George Pataki? He's a "degenerate idiot."
The Legislature? "They don't have a brain in their heads," he told gas station owners in upstate Rochester.

...he described the Albany work ethic this way: "Their idea is to play pinochle, get sloshed at the bar, rub elbows with lobbyists, then leave town by Wednesday afternoon to go home and play golf."

His solution: "I'm going to have to put some people in prison." Who's at the head of the list? "The petty dictator and master manipulator Shelly Silver." The Assembly speaker, he repeats, "belongs in Attica."

Paladino's policy prescriptions can be unforgiving, like his platform on illegal immigrants. He vowed to send the state police into New York City "and every other sanctuary city in the state to pick up illegals and turn them over to the feds."

Rubio seems to be gaining momentum.

Great news for the GOP. Here's the math on why:

Principled conservative + quick on his feet + made-for-TV face + hispanic background = possible future as a national candidate.

"The budget should be balanced; the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest [we] become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of...living on public assistance."

I used the new paper ballots this morning. It's so crazy hard. I can see where everyone got messed up in Palm Beach.

I mean, there's all these ovals. And you have to mark them. I mean, who wants to leave a blank oval? It's like peanut butter without jelly. I just had to fill them all in.

But don't worry, I'm sure the election officials will figure out who I really wanted to vote for. Because I circled their name AND wrote an explanation on the bottom of the ballot, just for good measure.

The tea party-backed, Sarah Palin-endorsed insurgent candidates are starting to chap my posterior. I'm not weighing in on the merits. I'm sure Lamongtane and O'Donnell are perfectly good conservatives with whom I probably agree on most issues. And perhaps they will be more reliable conservatives than Castle or Ayotte.

But Castle and Ayotte are both brand name GOP politicians with a good reputation, who have won state wide elections previously. Both have been polling ahead of their Dem opponent all cycle long. And both seemed likely to win and create GOP pickups in the Senate.

And now, both insurgent GOP candidates, who have basically come out of nowhere to be polling in a dead heat with the leaders, may win the nomination. And both Palinistas trail the Dems in statewide polls. Just like in Colorado, Nevada, and Kentucky, where mainstream GOP candidates were likely to win, and now tea party candidates are either fighting uphill (NV) or in a dogfight (CO, KY). In DE and NH, the tea party candidates face even worse prospects.

I feel like the perfect is starting to become the enemy of the good.

With this win, Coach K is now the reigning NCAA Champion, FIBA World Champion, and Olympic Champion, simultaneously.

Yet one more reason he is approaching "GOAT" status.

I love how this guy shuts down the demagoguery. Gov. Christie Responds To Teacher Claiming He Lambastes Education.

For those interested in the GOP race to oppose Sen. Schumer, here's the link to part one of the debate between the two Republican hopefuls.

NOTE: I fixed the link

I can only hope the results will pan out on election day similar to today's polls:

California Senate - Boxer vs. Fiorina SurveyUSA Boxer 46, Fiorina 48 Fiorina +2
California Governor - Whitman vs. Brown SurveyUSA Whitman 47, Brown 40 Whitman +7