Things Starting to Shake Up

Hey folks,

Tommy Thomson out, Mitt really won, Hillary a drag, and Obama’s wife says enough already. Good Monday morning to you. Yes, things are starting to shake up a bit. This Iowa Straw Poll means more than you think.

First, the standard Liberal tactic for dealing with issues that they cannot win, or opponents they see as a major threat, is simple.

1- Ignore it or them.
2- Attempt to dismiss or discredit, it or them.
3- Attack it or them.

As I pointed out to you yesterday, they are in step one and two with Romney’s win. “He bought the votes, voting machine glitches, no one really turned out,” basically, “well, it just doesn’t really mean anything.” Forget the fact he got the same percentage of the votes as did Bush in 1999. Forget the fact he got nearly double the votes of his nearest rival. It just doesn’t matter.

Well, ask Tommy Thomson. According to the AP-Tommy Thompson drops presidential bid

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said Sunday he is dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination after finishing sixth in an Iowa straw poll.

"I have no regrets about running," he said in a statement released Sunday evening by his campaign.

"I felt my record as Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services gave me the experience I needed to serve as president, but I respect the decision of the voters. I am leaving the campaign trail today, but I will not leave the challenges of improving health care and welfare in America."

The statement was issued several hours after WITI-TV in Milwaukee reported that Thompson, 65, told one of its reporters he was withdrawing.

"I have very much enjoyed my years in public service and I am comforted by the fact that I think I made a difference for people during that time," Thompson said in the campaign announcement. "I hope to continue working to serve others over the next few years."

The statement said Thompson intends to take some time off before returning to the private sector and his nonprofit work.

He had said before the Iowa event that he would drop out of the race unless he finished first or second.

So he is. This is good for the other candidates. The field was way too big to begin with. Now their voices can be heard more clearly. Then you have Romney actually having to defend his landslide victory. According to the AP-Romney: Win not hollow

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said Sunday that low turnout and the absence of some notable opponents shouldn't diminish his win in Iowa's Republican Party Straw Poll.

Romney said the straw poll did just what it was designed to do: Let candidates demonstrate support that could propel them to victory in the state's caucuses this winter.

He said,

"I think if they thought they could have won, they would have been here," Romney said on Fox News Sunday. "If you can't compete in the heartland, if you can't compete in Iowa in August, how are you going to compete in January when the caucuses are held, and how are you going to compete in November of '08?"

"I got a higher percentage even than the president got eight years ago," Romney said. "It was a warm day, and actually, it was difficult turning people out."

He’s right.

Then you have this. It seems that some Democrats are starting to look into the actual and TRUE possibility of Clinton winning. The AP reports AP-Clinton a drag? Dems fear her negatives

Looking past the presidential nomination fight, Democratic leaders quietly fret that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton at the top of their 2008 ticket could hurt candidates at the bottom.

They say the former first lady may be too polarizing for much of the country. She could jeopardize the party's standing with independent voters and give Republicans who otherwise might stay home on Election Day a reason to vote, they worry.

In more than 40 interviews, Democratic candidates, consultants and party chairs from every region pointed to internal polls that give Clinton strikingly high unfavorable ratings in places with key congressional and state races.

"I'm not sure it would be fatal in Indiana, but she would be a drag" on many candidates, said Democratic state Rep. Dave Crooks of Washington, Ind.

They are starting to find out what we already know. Then you have this. AP-Obama's wife decries blackness question

The wife of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Sunday admonished those who question her biracial husband's credentials as a black man, calling the issue "nonsense."

"We're still playing around with the question: Is he black enough?" Michelle Obama told a campaign event on Chicago's South Side. "Stop that nonsense."

Michelle Obama, who was raised on the South Side, was speaking at a predominantly black "Women for Obama" rally, which cheered her comment about the U.S. senator from Illinois.

OK I do agree with her there. But as you can clearly see things are shaking up. All this is happening AFTER this non-issue and meaningless Iowa Straw Vote. So maybe this was not such a hollow victory after all?
Peter

Sources:
AP-Tommy Thompson drops presidential bid
AP-Romney: Win not hollow
AP-Clinton a drag? Dems fear her negatives
AP-Obama's wife decries blackness question