The Occasional Observer

A big, big number for Mitt in Florida.  All the results are not yet in, so that could tick up or down a bit.  Regardless, Mitt is on the cusp of looking unbeatable.  Newt's not done yet, but the fat lady is warming up.  If he can get to Super Tuesday and a bunch of southern primaries, he might have a few wins left in him.

If.

Coors-- it drink pretty good.

Some stories don't really need commentary.

$13.9M for Mitt, $3.8M for Newt in ad buys so far, when combining the campaign and super-PAC buys.

So says ABC News.

Even if Newt had a good counter-punch to some of the factually-challenged arguments Mitt used in Thursday night's debate, he's not going to be able to get them out at this point.  Barring some external factor, this race seems trending decisively to a Mitt victory.

Is Mitt hitting paydirt with his attack ads?  Seems that way.  Of course, it is a "target rich environment."

Tonight's the last debate.  Newt's home turf.  He needs another great moment a la his Juan Williams slap down or his John King rebuke.

Entering the last week before the Florida primary, Newt and Mitt are nearly tied in the polls.  The nomination may well be decided in the next week.

Senators being detained by the agents of the Executive Branch (TSA).

American citizens being arrested without habeas corpus and placed into offshore prisons.

And now the police watching pedestrians and illuminating them with a red light before they commit a crime, because apparently now the police are omniscient.

America is definitely moving further into police state territory.

So says at least this "scientific" report.  Of course, that just begs the question, safer for the mother, the child, or both?

A related study is due out later today.  Rumored title: "Cyanide: less painful than cancer"

in the movie version of the campaign that'll come out in a year or two.

Uncanny.

Newt or Shrute?

The Hunger Games trilogy. I'm in the middle of the second book.

As you suggested, Beasty, the series is great. Fast reads. Extremely interesting premise. Sure, not the newest thing under the sun, but the execution is great. I never tire of the genre.

While I'm on the topic of sci-fi/fantasy, has anyone read the Ender's Game series of books? Any comments on whether they're worth reading would be appreciated.

right here.  Imagine how high those voter fraud numbers would be if the AGs in states like, say, IL and NY weren't actively concealing it? were actually looking for it?

Not a controversial position, I know.  But when you read an article like this, it really drives the point home.

1/4 to 1/3 of all burn victims in these midwest hospitals are meth addicts.  They're blowing themselves up cooking meth.  Naturally, most do not have health insurance, and the unpaid cost of treatment is driving the hospital burn units out of business.  Then society gets to pay the freight on people that are permanently disfigured, blind, etc., in addition to being addicts.

In all honesty, it makes one wonder if a China-style Opium solution needs to be put into play here.

P.S. No, I obviously don't mean that literally.

Even if he can't win, they want to fund him, and keep his campaign going as long as possible.  The goal is, at a minimum, to splinter the anti-Mitt vote and keep Newt from winning.  A Newt win is their nightmare scenario.

So, here's what you get for attacking free-market capitalism, cozying up to Freddie Mac, and having cheated on not one but two wives: a 12-point win in S.C.

Sounds like the kind of guy who best exemplifies conservative principles, both fiscal and social.

Well played, S.C., you've just set back Republicans enormously. Here's why. First, in the long-shot chance that Gingrich actually ends up being the party nominee, he will lose to Obama. Period.

But in the more likely scenario that Romney still wins the nomination, all you've done is extend the primary thus allowing more time for in-party attacks against Romney that will subsequently be used by Obama in the general election. The longer this primary goes, the more fodder we generate for Dems to use against us. Santorum's weak finish in SC also unfortunately suggests he will not get much traction. One can only hope Romney gets a big win in FL to keep his momentum going.

If Mitt is smart he will not attack Ron Paul or Santorum, making sure he can line up their supporters in the future. There are also rumors he could pick Santorum as VP candidate, which would be a great choice (as well as Rubio and Christie).

Spartacus returns tonight! [Boo--it's next week]

 And get this... A Huff Post critic likes it better than Downtown Abbey. Wow.

NSFW

My thoughts later...

Here's the column:

There’s a lot of silliness on all sides of the Bain Capital debate.

On the one hand, Newt Gingrich’s attacks (and the follow-on assaults by Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry) on Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital have been unfair, over the top, and, for that matter, all over the place. Gingrich, Perry, and Huntsman deserve much of the criticism they’ve received from conservative commentators.

On the other, Mitt Romney’s claim throughout his campaign that his private sector experience almost uniquely qualifies him to be president is also silly. Does he really think that having done well in private equity, venture capital, and business consulting—or even in the private sector more broadly—is a self-evident qualification for public office? One assumes Mitt Romney would agree that Chris Christie is a better chief executive of New Jersey than Jon Corzine, and that Rudy Giuliani was a better mayor of New York than Mike Bloomberg. But Romney’s biography looks a lot more like Bloomberg's or Corzine's (leaving aside Corzine's recent misadventures) than like that of Giuliani (pre-mayoralty) or Christie. Past business success does not guarantee performance in public office. Indeed, Romney sometimes seems to go so far as to suggest that succeeding in the private sector is intrinsically more admirable than, e.g., serving as a teacher or a soldier or even in Congress. This is not a sensible proposition, or a defensible one.

And the unqualified defense of the virtues of Bain Capital by some on the right is also silly. Criticism of any behavior by a private firm? Outrage! An Assault on Capitalism! Haven't they read Schumpeter? Don't they know the glories of Creative Destruction? And, of course, all such destruction must be assumed to be creative! Yikes. If this is where some in the conservative movement and the Republican party are inclined to go—four cheers for finance capitalism!—good luck. Indeed, it’s useful to flush out this tendency now, and subject it to debate. Because it’s a recipe for political disaster—and intellectual sterility.

Post 2008, capitalism needs its strong defenders—but its defenders need also to be its constructive critics. The Tea Party was right. What's needed is a critique of Big Government above all, but also of Big Business and Big Finance and Big Labor (and Big Education and Big Media and all the rest)—and especially a critique of all those occasions when one or more of these institutions conspire against the common good. What's needed is a willingness to put Main Street (at least slightly) ahead of Wall Street, and a reform agenda for capitalism that strengthens it, alongside an even more dramatic reform agenda for government that limits it.

Bain Capital shouldn’t be demonized. It may not even deserve to be criticized. But in laying out a way forward, conservatives might remember that Bain Capital isn’t capitalism, that capitalism by itself isn’t freedom, and that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in the Gospel of Wealth.

While the former Utah gov proved unable to gain traction, this column from Robert Robb of the Arizona Republic speaks to why his platform deserved more recognition:

...On the two most important domestic issues of the day Huntsman has the best policy prescriptions of any of the candidates.

Check this one out while it lasts, which probably won't be long:

http://www.webcasts.com/kingofbain/

CNN has a breaking news banner, that says that 7 out of 10 GOP primary voters are very worried about the economy.

If that polling turns out to be accurate, this could be a banner night for Mitt. Based on the numbers in Iowa, IIRC, Mitt took over 50% of voters who identified the economy as their primary concern. If that ratio were to carry over into NH, Mitt would substantially increase his share of the NH vote from where he was 4 years ago. That would be a big win, and situate him to possibly deal a final blow to the rest of the field in SC.

If the combined Newt/Santorum/Perry/Huntsman vote turns out to be less than Mitt's share, there is almost no rationale for his current opponents to continue.

Clear the field and bring on Rubio!

jk



Mostly.

I was expecting Fredo to ask, but I'll post my predictions for tomorrow on my own:

Romney 30%
Huntsman 22%
Paul 20%
Santorum 14%
Gingrich 11%
Perry 3%

Actual Results (Fredo's guess) [difference]

Romney    25 (23)  [2]
Santorum  25 (25)  [0]
Paul          21 (24)  [3]
Gingrich    13 (11)  [2]
Perry        10   (9)  [1]
Bachmann  5   (6)  [1]
Huntsman   1   (2)  [1]

Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

Additionally, Beasty called the first four "in order."  Well done, sir.

In Mad Money news, Mitt's 8 vote win gives D.C. and myself some profitable Intrade contracts (too bad we didn't actually bet).

Of course, D.C. would've made a lot more.  One of these days I'mma wait and pick last.

Wow.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone

And what you dont see is the drool pooling on my keyboard as I stare slack-jawed at the monitor.  The Boston Globe, of all publications, would have been the last place short of the NY Times I expected to see an editorial like this.  While Newt's anti-Judiciary rants were seized upon by the liberal press as proof of his arrogant, power-aggrandizing, tradition-defiling extremism, the Globe made the following sober observation:

So the old-timers seem dead set on a Caribou hunt in the perma-frost.  Some potential guides linked below.  Comments desired from non-hunters and hunters alike.

Labrador hunts:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Here's one that looks a bit more cost realistic: $1700 Canadian for a 3 night, 4 day trip (3 days of hunting).


Northern Quebec hunts:

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3 - like the discussion of "Fair Chase" hunt

Leave them in the comments before 11:59 PM on Monday.

Why not?