Barack obama

Newt Gingrich overcame a last minute attack on him to win the South Carolina primary:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stormed to an upset victory in the South Carolina primary Saturday night, dealing a sharp setback to former front-runner Mitt Romney and suddenly scrambling the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

“Thank you, South Carolina!” a jubilant Gingrich tweeted to his supporters. He appealed for a flood of donations for the next-up Jan. 31primary. “Help me deliver the knockout punch in Florida. Join our Moneybomb and donate now,” said his tweet.

Exit polls showed he led among voters who said their top priority was picking a candidate who could beat President Barack Obama — a group that had preferred Romney in earlier contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

What probably got him over the line was this stunning on the media in a live debate where the CNN host, John King, opened the debate with questions over Newt’s long term affairs. He absolutely smashed up the host, the media and attacked Obama as well…to loud applause.

In the US they take a dimmer view of people who cheat on their taxes than those who cheat on their wives.

Just like in Team America, F.A.G. are cutting up rough:

Senior figures in Hollywood have suggested funding for President Barack Obama’s re-election effort could be cut after the White House distanced itself from controversial proposed antipiracy legislation.

The Democrats are also running primary races, not that you would know.

Obama only got 81% of the democratic vote in New Hampshire, after being given a close contest by amongst others a guy called Vermin Supreme, who is remarkably like Penny Bright but humorous. He appears to be the democratic equivalent of Newt, or is it Rick, or the other Rick?

I love the policy of Free Ponies for All Americans.

The evidence is growing that gun control inhibits growth and jobs:

Ever since Barack Obama was sworn in as president, the economy has misfired. Jobs remain scarce and the market has yet to recover the value it had prior to the 2007 crash. Though Mr. Obama’s policies have unintentionally given a major boost to an industry he hates – firearms – even this one bright spot hasn’t necessarily translated into new employment.

Take Sturm Ruger Co., one of the few publicly traded U.S. gunmakers. Anyone who happened to invest $100 in the firm’s stock on Mr. Obama’s Inauguration Day would have about $532 today. That’s stellar performance in any business climate. According to company filings, Ruger had orders in hand for twice as many guns as it had the capacity to manufacture. Under ordinary circumstances, such sustained demand would be a green light to expand production lines and make new hires.

Unfortunately, Ruger, like most corporations, is afraid of what the Obama administration has up its sleeve. “The company believes that the lawful private ownership of firearms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and that the widespread private ownership of firearms in the United States will continue,” Ruger told the Securities and Exchange Commission. “However, there can be no assurance that the regulation of firearms will not become more restrictive in the future and that any such restriction would not have a material adverse effect on the business of the company.” Between 2007 and 2010, Ruger added just 10 employees.

As some states tighten their gun control laws gun manufacturers look at moving to states that are friendlier to their industry:

The regulation-minded states need to realize what Florida and Virginia already understand. Firearms sales and ownership are at an all-time high, while crime remains at an all-time low. Gun control doesn’t save lives or reduce crime; it just destroys jobs. Federal and state lawmakers could give the economy a real stimulus by repealing these obnoxious statutes once and for all.

Rob Long has written his first law of winning elections:

It’s a pretty simple law.  Here’s what you have to do:

You have to act less weird than your opponent.

Note:  Long’s Law doesn’t say you have to act normal.  For most office-seekers, that’s just not an option.   Long’s First Law of Winning Elections is, you have to act only slightly less weird than your opponent.

Think about it:  Bush v. Gore. Clinton v. Bush.  Obama v. Clinton.  Even Obama v. McCain.  All of these races were colored, primarily, as a contest between an awkwardly packaged and remote-controlled candidate and one who seemed more, well, human.  Less weird.

Let’s apply this to our recent election.

Goff vs Key…easy confirmation of the law. Whereas Goff changed his walk, dyed his hair, stopped wearing ties and underwent extensive media training, John Key simply was John Key and therefore less weird than the manufactured and demonstrably false Phil Goff.

As the mythbusters say..Long’s First Law is confirmed.

How about Auckland Central:

Jacinda Ardern tried to out green, out girl and out city Nikki Kaye. Unfortunately a carpet-bagging, country bumpkin, career socialist is definitely weirder than single blonde chick. So again it looks confirmed.

Hamilton West is the clincher. There we had a bitter, nasty, 4 time loser in Sue Moroney against a nice but dim and likable non-weird Tim MacIndoe. Long’s Law is confirmed there too.

Republican presidential candidates have said President Obama practices “appeasement” when it comes to foreign policy.

At the White House a short time ago, Barack Obama had this response:

“Ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-Qaida leaders who’ve been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement. Or whoever’s left out there. Ask them about that.”

This morning on Firstline Phil Goff continues the attacks on John Key. This time though he essentially says that Obama = Good and Key = Bad despite similarities in situations.

This comment from Andrew Sullivan is about what Obama needs to do but it applies equally to John Key:

His first term had to be about managing the onslaught from the past. His second term must be a specific vision of the future – with specifics and without cowardice: infrastructure investment and a radical tax reform are two proposals I regard as essential. Since January’s pathetic dodge past his own deficit commission, he’s been treading water. Another stimulus is not enough.

Hilary Clinton’s 3am ad for her battle for the Democratic nomination:

Playing on anxieties about national security, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has produced a “red phone moment” advertisement that suggests she would be better able to respond to a crisis than Senator Barack Obama.

Ultimately it didn’t matter, Obama won the nomination and is now the President.

Donald Trump and Rick Perry are both nuts:

Donald Trump continues to question the authenticity of President Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry suggested in a recent interview that Trump still harbored doubts about Obama’s birth certificate.

Perry said he did not know whether Obama’s birth certificate was the real deal, but at a dinner with Trump the issue had come up.

“He doesn’t think it’s real,” said Perry.

Perry said he could not “definitively” say whether Obama’s birth certificate was authentic, but said it was a “distractive issue”.

“It doesn’t matter. He’s the President of the United States. He’s elected.”

Trump released his own statement about the birth certificate, saying, “Is it authentic? – I don’t know – but I am proud of the fact that I was able to get him to do something that nobody else was able to get him to do – release the ‘certificate.’”

The only thing nuttier than Birthers are Truthers.