Oh Mitt, Ya Gatta See This Video

Even Billionaires like Mitt Romney have honey-do’s!

The Park City Home Depot crew and I just spent the last half hour or so helping Mitt Romney with some home repair projects. It’s not unusual for me to meet and help celebrity customers up at the Park City Home Depot, but because I’m a political junkie today was a special day. Mitt came in dressed in casual jeans and work shirt and needed some power tools to address some projects at his Park City Retreat. I guess the Romney's are celebrating Easter in Park City. We hooked him up with some Ryobi power tools and necessary hardware accessories. I left work around 4pm and walked out to the parking lot and we talked about the current situation in the presidential race. We shook hands and saw him get into a Black Jeep Cherokee. I have a white Cherokee and he followed me out of the parking lot. His car was not a new model, just like any other car. As I looked in my review mirror I was thinking to myself, man this guy was a serious candidate for President of the United States. In any event, all I can say was he was very nice and just a normal guy. Well this for sure made my day.

The Captain

Pundits: Romney may be out soon

By Jessica Fargen:

The Super Tuesday shake out has left Arizona Sen. John McCain riding high with more than twice as many delegates as GOP rival Mitt Romney, who despite spending millions of dollars of his personal fortune was left out in the cold yesterday.

McCain, who won the big-delegate state of California, has 613 delegates, followed by former Bay State Gov. Romney with 269 and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with 190 delegates, according to the Associated Press. It takes 1,191 to win the GOP nomination.

“I think Romney will probably not be in the race that much longer,” said Republican media consultant Todd Domke, who is not affiliated with any GOP campaign. “He performed below expectations. Romney has rasied the expectations so high that when he failed it was all the more devastating.”

Full Story:
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/2008/view.bg?articleid=1071675

Romney Focuses on Business Resume

By DAVID ESPO – 3 hours ago

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — With recession fears growing, Mitt Romney's latest television ad is part resume, part resolve. And all reassurance.

"I know how America works because I spent my life in the real economy," says the man who made millions as a venture capitalist. "My plan will make America strong."

No mention of John McCain, Rudy Giuliani or Mike Huckabee, Republican presidential rivals whose campaign credentials lean heavily on government service. The point is unmistakable, all the same.

The ad is the most visible element of Romney's strategy for the final week of the Florida primary. After a series of early campaign setbacks and one notable triumph, the former Massachusetts governor and aides have concluded that even in a state with relatively low unemployment, economic anxiety is his best hope for a victory that could finally set him on a path to the nomination.

"I won't need a briefing on how the economy works. I've been there. I know how the economy works," he told an audience on Wednesday to applause.

Not surprisingly, his Republican rivals are loath to let his claim go unchallenged.

"Of all the people running for president of the United States, I've had the most experience in turning around a government and turning around an economy," Giuliani said earlier this week. "I actually accomplished that in New York City," the former mayor added.

McCain's aides recently circulated a one-page compilation of reports, many from the media, that said Massachusetts state spending rose sharply and economic growth lagged during Romney's four years as governor. One recalled his refusal to take a position on President Bush's tax cuts in 2003.

In fact, Romney the politician can seem awkward trying to acknowledge the economic anxiety that is manifest in opinion polls.

"I do believe that among our citizens there's a growing concern about our economy as they see the dollar slide, the stock market slide," he said recently before listing more common concerns such as mortgage foreclosures and job losses.

And on Tuesday, as the markets braced for a sell-off that would send stock prices plummeting, he mixed in some professional investment advice. "If I were at home I'd be calling my broker and looking for opportunities to buy," he said.

Whatever his earlier position on tax cuts, Romney now preaches their virtue.

On Saturday, he issued an economic stimulus plan totaling $233 billion, half again as big as anything President Bush and congressional leaders had been discussing.

Its centerpiece is tax breaks for businesses investing in new equipment, an essential element, he says, for the creation of jobs.

It also included an individual income tax rebate of $400 to get money into the economy quickly, as well as a permanent reduction in the current 10 percent income tax bracket to 7.5 percent, designed for longer-term economic growth.

Under his plan, millions of lower-paid workers who pay payroll taxes but no income tax would not receive rebates. "I don't give it to people who don't pay taxes," he told one audience, which applauded in return. Aides also cited studies they said cast doubt on whether lower-income workers had used earlier rebates to stimulate the economy by purchasing consumer goods.

Romney's decision to emphasize his business background comes at a pivotal point in the battle for the nomination. Many conservatives have never warmed to him, wary of his previous support for abortion rights and gay rights. Huckabee's rise in Iowa and McCain's New Hampshire comeback made Romney odd-man out in the first two events of the year.

He rebounded smartly with a victory in the Michigan primary, where he campaigned on a promise to try and bring back the thousands of auto industry jobs that have been lost in recent years.

A Michigan native, he also stressed his personal ties to a struggling state with the highest unemployment in the country.

Without the same economic-based appeal, but without the personal connection, he stumbled the following week in high-unemployment South Carolina, where McCain won and Huckabee came in second.

Now Florida looms as the final single-state test before the campaign goes national with more than 20 primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5. With former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson out of the race, Huckabee out of money and Giuliani in desperate need of a victory, the winnowing process is under way.

Ironically, Florida presents Romney with a personal business decision to make.

He has poured $35 million or more of his own funds into the race. While he has outspent his rivals on television in Florida, he is not advertising in Miami, the state's most expensive media market. According to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, aides have urged him to so, and in recent days asked him to commit another $400,000 or so from his personal funds to finance the effort.

None of the behind the scenes maneuvering plays out in public, though.

Instead, Romney's aides produced a new campaign backdrop within hours after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and the stock market plunged on fears of recession.

"Economic Turnaround," it read.

First hunting, then dad with MLK. Mitt is doomed as the GOP nominee

January 4, 2008
Authenticity Wins

Posted by TOM BEVAN E-Mail This Permalink Email Author

DES MOINES - Clearly, last night was the embodiment of what we've been sensing all along: this is an election about change. But last night was also the triumph of authenticity in both parties: the two winners were candidates who were not the most experienced, did not speak in terribly specific policy terms, but nevertheless were the most real and most sincere in their pitch to - and ultimately in their connection with - the voters of Iowa.

Last night we saw the result of the 'authenticity gap' in this race. Mitt Romney spent $7 million in Iowa touting himself as a candidate of conservative values and came away with only 25% of the vote. Hillary spent $6.7 million trying to portray herself as an agent of change and finished in third place with under thirty percent support. Voters simply did not buy the repackaging of these two candidates and instead opted for candidates who were, to use a cliche, exactly who they said they were.

You can see why this is such a problem for Clinton and Romney moving forward because while the composition of the electorate will change as they move to New Hampshire and beyond, the fundamental weakness of their candidacies will not. Will Clinton or Romney appear any more authentic over the next four days or even the next forty? It's hard to say they will.

The problem is especially acute for Romney, who has just a few days to regroup and retool his message against another candidate brimming with authenticity: John McCain. Romney is now in a do-or-die situation in New Hampshire, and unless he can somehow bridge the authenticity gap in the next four days he could very well finish second - or worse - and find his bid for the presidency critically wounded.

Let the Spiking Begin Lefty Bloggers

I had mentioned in an earlier Spyglass post that the lefty authors of Amicus, Bell, etc, etc, etc (Shall we Dance) would wait till the last minute on Saturday night to intentionally spike down the ratings of the Spyglass. Well I just happened to be reading some of the lefty blog posts this evening and what do I see? , nearly every article I posted early this morning was repeated by the left.

Well I couldn’t have felt more proud that many of you thought what I had already posted needed to be repeated under your byline. I also thought I must be running around 10 out of 10 possible in highest ranking, since every post I made today was repeated by somebody, but NOOOOO, the Spyglass was spiked down to 4 , FOUR!!!! You know who you are.

So the Gloves come off you ingrates, just watch in shock as your favorite Amicus, Bell, Track, and the rest feel the sharp attacks you have chosen to dish out on the old Spyglass.

And in closing, I will say for the record that Romney’s campaign is done. He painted himself with previous lies right up to the cliff’s edge. This latest whopper pushed him over the edge as far as this voter stands.

I and many others don’t want a prejudiced anti Mormon Southern Baptist minister as the leader of this great country (along with 5 million other voting Mormons) so Huckleberry Hound is toast. This latest thing with Rudy is going to bring back memories of his excuse of Prostate Cancer when he bowed out against Hillary “the ROD” Clinton, when his pollsters gave him the losing numbers.

So I’m going out on a HUGE Limb tonight and tell you who I feel will be the nominees for their respective parties.

Obama will be like Fox’s 24 David Palmer, the first African American Presidential Nominee for the democrats, who will be his running mate? Wesley Clark most likely

As for the Republican’s, hold onto your hats folks, but here is the actual winning team that can take the White House. Drum roll please. You gatta hand it to Governor Jon Huntsman and AG Mark Shurtlef, they ignored them all and stayed loyal to Senator John McClain. He will likely win New Hampshire after Mitt stepped in it again by opening his mouth, and then come in second to Huckabee in SC. Mitt will likely win Iowa, but not by much, and he had to pander to those multi millionaire farmers about ethanol if he does.

At least McCain told them where they can stick their corncobs subsidies. And guess who will be his running mate? , the democratic Vice Presidential nominee of 2004 Joe Lieberman. Uncle Joe is squeaky clean, smart, and really wants to stick it to the Democrats who tried to toss him out of the US Senate. He is well respected on both sides of the aisle of the Senate, and probably could get some real work accomplished.

What’s happened to Romney? The more prevalent this revelation about Romney’s pattern of lying (especially about stuff that happened during the Olympics) gets out, he should save the Millions he would throw down the toilet, and give his son about 3 million to take on Matheson here in Utah’s second district. I actually herd that the party is considering Merrill Cook as a possibility again. If the Republican Party can’t get a fresher candidate to run against Matheson, they should concede the inevitable and put their money in a race they actually might win.

A Second Look at Romney

By Mona Charen
Friday, December 14, 2007

Link: http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NWExZDFjMzYyNDU4MzUzMTA3OWEwYjZmM2FhMWIxZDc=

Pretty much every election year since I can remember, a complaint has arisen that goes like this: "Why are we stuck with these awful choices? In this vast country of highly successful individuals, why don't any of the best people run for president?" Some years evoked more howls than others, and admittedly, 1976 really did present two underperformers, as did 1996. So let's pause to notice the fact that this year we have some exemplary choices.

Fred Thompson is an excellent man who is running a refreshingly substantive campaign. John McCain has demonstrated not just personal courage (which is admirable enough) but the courage of his convictions. And Rudy Giuliani achieved a seemingly impossible task in transforming America's largest city.

But no one running is more impressive than Mitt Romney. It was his speech on religion in American life that caused me to take another look at him. Until then, I confess that I saw him as a sort of robo-candidate: smooth, articulate, but perhaps a little opportunistic and possibly even insincere. The religion speech cast a new light on him.

The question as to whether someone's religious convictions are a fit subject for public scrutiny is not as simple as it sounds. It's too pat to say, "There should be no religious test for public office and there's the end of it." If a candidate were, say, a fundamentalist Mormon like Warren Jeffs, or a Scientologist, that would be an obstacle. But the mainstream Mormon Church has enough of a track record in producing excellent Americans that the particularities of its doctrine are by now a matter of purely scholarly interest. No one thought to raise objections to Mormonism when Mo Udall ran for president, nor even when Mitt's father, George, made a bid. The Senate majority leader is a Mormon and this fact causes not a flicker of interest on the part of his colleagues. Besides, Mitt Romney served as governor of Massachusetts. If anyone felt Joseph Smith's brooding presence during that time, they haven't mentioned it.

What Romney's religion speech demonstrated was not so much his devotion to his own faith (though he declined to run away from it) as his understanding and embrace of America's civic religion. In his telling, that civic religion amounts to a commitment to religious liberty as well as to broadly shared religious values. "It is important to recognize," he said, "that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it's usually a sound rule to focus on the latter -- on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people." Romney went on to paint America as the golden mean between the empty cathedrals of Europe and the violent jihadists of the Islamic world. It was a masterful performance.

But then Romney has been masterful in everything he has attempted. It is not insignificant that this cum laude JD/MBA graduate of Harvard guided Bain Capital to become a hugely successful private equity investment firm and rescued Bain & Company from financial collapse. Romney was brought in to save the 2002 Winter Olympics when the games were mired in scandal and $379 million in debt. Romney was able to turn the situation around completely so that the games actually turned a $100 million profit instead. (He also gave back his salary.) That's not slick, that's substance.

When Mitt Romney took office as governor of Massachusetts, the state had a $1.2 billion deficit. Four years later it was in surplus. He boasts that fourth and eighth graders in Massachusetts achieved the highest scores in the nation in reading and math, though they were doing so before he became governor as well. But his program of assessment, merit pay for good teachers, English immersion and a focus on math and science may have helped keep them at the top.
It is difficult to find any significant weakness in Romney. He is refreshingly articulate, exceedingly well prepared and self-disciplined, clearly an excellent manager with both private and government experience, happily married with a large, supportive family, and well within the mainstream of conservatism on every major issue. His nomination would not divide the base.

He is just the sort of candidate people complain that they never get.

From Kennedy to Romney: 47 Years of Judicial War Against American Freedom of Religion

On Sunday, I appeared on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" to comment on what I am calling a bureaucratic coup d'etat, that is the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran released earlier this week. I'll give you my take on it in a minute, but first, I wanted to share with you that while I was getting ready to appear, it occurred to me that all the historical comparisons being made between presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech last week and President John Kennedy's speech in 1960 are wrong in a fundamental way.
After my appearance, I listened to some of the program's political analysts criticize former Massachusetts Republican Gov. Romney for pointing out the current, judicially-driven effort to drive faith and God from America's public square -- something Kennedy didn't do.
The Kennedy-Romney comparisons are fundamentally false because President Kennedy spoke at a time when Americans had a fundamentally different understanding of faith in the public square. He gave his speech almost two years before the Supreme Court decision Engel v. Vitale outlawed school prayer in 1962.

Kennedy spoke 11 years before the 1971 Supreme Court decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman, in which the court devised its most stringent standard of legal secularism.
Kennedy spoke 20 years before the 1980 Supreme Court decision in Stone v. Graham, which found that the state of Kentucky could not post copies of the 10 commandments in public school classrooms.
Kennedy spoke 32 years before the 1992 Supreme Court decision in Lee v. Weisman, which held that non-sectarian invocations and benedictions at public school graduation ceremonies were unconstitutional.
Kennedy spoke 40 years before the 2000 Supreme Court decision in Santa Fe School District v. Doe, in which the court found that brief, nonsectarian, student-led prayer before football games (which no one is forced to attend, and where no one is forced to pray) is unconstitutional.
In the forty-seven years since Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kennedy delivered his historic speech, the courts have been increasingly hostile toward public religious expression and increasingly tolerant of anti-religious bigots and their agenda to remove all references to and acknowledgement of God from public life.

Huckabee behind anti-Mormon push Poll?

Huckabee, Romney go another round

By Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor December 11, 2007 01:02 PM

Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee continued tussling in Iowa today on the eve of the last Republican debate before the Jan. 3 caucuses.

In response to a new Romney TV ad that hits him on illegal immigration, Huckabee introduced a new supporter -- Jim Gilchrist, the leader and founder of the Minuteman Project, a controversial group that has sent members to the borders of both Mexico and Canada to watch for illegal immigrants.

Huckabee also told reporters that the Romney ad is a sign of "desperation" by the former Massachusetts governor, who has fallen behind Huckabee in the polls.

The Romney campaign repeated that Huckabee's record on illegal immigration is fair game, and an issue on which voters deserve to know the differences among the candidates.

Romney, Huckabee, and the other Republicans will debate Wednesday afternoon in a forum sponsored by The Des Moines Register.

A new poll out this afternoon from Rasmussen Reports gives Huckabee a 39 percent-23 percent lead over Romney among Iowa Republicans, not quite as large as the 22-percentage-point lead that a Newsweek poll released Friday gave Huckabee.

Romney attacks Huckabee

Romney's Attack

Posted: 11 Dec 2007 05:35 AM CST

Say goodbye to Mitt Romney's soaring rhetoric about religious freedom and tolerance - that sure didn't last long, eh? - and say hello an attack ad against Mike Huckabee on illegal immigration (via...

Romney's camp stunned

State Polls: IA, NH, SC, NV

Posted: 09 Dec 2007 08:24 AM CST

Mason-Dixon is out with new polling in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada. In Iowa (Dec 3-6, 400 Dem LV, 400 GOP LV, MoE +/-5.0%), Clinton has a 2-point lead over Obama, and on the other...

What about the FLDS Mitt?

Religious Freedom: Then, Now & Romney

Posted: 10 Dec 2007 12:15 AM CST

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- I had trouble choosing a lead for this column on Mitt Romney's nice speech about religious freedom last Thursday morning. I am for religious freedom and for freedom from religion....

Media Can Stop Killers From Having Notoriety

Media Can Stop Killers From Having Notoriety Posted: 07 Dec 2007 12:10 AM CST I still remember where I was when I heard that the student who committed the Virginia Tech massacre had released a press packet including a video, a manifesto and photos of himself holding various...

We've Gone Too Far With Focus on Religion Posted: 06 Dec 2007 05:30 PM CST Oh, just shut up about Mitt Romney's faith. He doesn't have to explain it to anyone. This isn't just directed at separation-of-church-and-state radicals who take offense that a president might be a...

GOP Gay Group Slams Romney in New Ad

GOP Gay Group Slams Romney in New Ad
1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican gay rights advocacy group accuses Mitt Romney of "Mitt-flops" in a new radio ad that criticizes the former Massachusetts governor on his tax record.
The ad by the Log Cabin Republicans notes that Romney signed legislation in 2003 that increased taxes on New Hampshire residents who worked in Massachusetts. It also says Romney raised taxes on businesses, a point Romney disputes by saying he was merely closing tax loopholes.

"Mitt Flops — sounds like something you'd wear to the beach, but they could cost you," the ad states. "Let's see. Running for governor, Mitt Romney said he'd balance the budget without raising taxes. So what'd he really do? He raised taxes on some New Hampshire residents who worked in Massachusetts, taxing their income and their pensions."

The ad represents yet another anti-Romney campaign by an independent political group that is hitting the airwaves with six weeks before the New Hampshire primary. This weekend, the Republican Majority for Choice, a group that advocates abortion rights, is running television and newspaper ads in New Hampshire and Iowa accusing Romney of flip-flopping on abortion.
The radio ad represents the second effort by the Log Cabin Republicans to cast Romney as a flip-flopper. Last month, the group aired an ad in Iowa and on national cable that sought to undercut his support among social conservatives.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said it was no surprise that a gay rights group would oppose Romney because he has supported a federal amendment that would declare marriage to be between a man and a woman.

"This negative attack and gross distortion of the governor's record was launched and paid for by a group recognized as having Mayor (Rudy) Giuliani as their 'favorite' candidate," Madden said. Giuliani has had the support of some gay rights groups in the past and has backed limited legal recognition for same-sex couples.

"Governor Romney has a stellar record of fiscal responsibility, having cut wasteful spending and worked to lower taxes as a chief executive focused on pro-growth economic policies," Madden said.
The criticism from the Log Cabin Republicans is similar to criticism of Romney contained in Giuliani's Web site, and in some cases the two camps cite the same sources.
But Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon said there was no coordination between his group and the Giuliani camp.
"We are not endorsing any candidates in this race," he said. "We have members who are working and supporting different candidates. Gov. Romney is, as usual, trying to attack the messenger instead of responding to the message."

Play of the Day: McCain's Mom on Mormons

Sometimes the Truth about peoples real bias comes out through their parents. I think there is more here than meets the eye, and this could spell a real problem for McCain.

MEREDITH, N.H. (AP) — John McCain's 95-year-old mother, in a swipe at her son's rival Mitt Romney, said Friday that Mormons were to blame for the scandal that rocked the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

During an appearance on MSNBC, Roberta McCain laid out why her son, John, deserves to win the Republican presidential nomination. But in evaluating McCain's primary rivals, she criticized Romney's Mormon faith and his time in Salt Lake City.

"As far as the Salt Lake City thing, he's a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City had caused that scandal. And to clean that up, again, it's not a subject," Roberta McCain said.

John McCain quickly stepped in: "The views of my mothers are not necessarily the views of mine."

"Well, that's my view and you asked me," Roberta answered.

The Salt Lake Organizing Committee had enticed International Olympics officials with lavish gifts and accusations of bribery mired the Games in scandal while resignations sullied the region's reputation.

Utah officials tapped Romney to lead the effort and as president and CEO of the organizing committee he pared the budget, boosted revenues and worked to repair the committee's reputation.

A Romney campaign spokesman said the McCains made a mistake.

"I would disagree with any candidate or any campaign surrogate that chooses to disparage someone based on the faith that they hold, and instead implore other candidates and their campaigns to make a case to voters based on the important issues facing the nation," said Kevin Madden.

Roberta McCain immediately apologized to her son.

"I didn't mean to say it," she said as they stepped away from the cameras.

McCain told The Associated Press after the interview that his mother misspoke.

"Mormons are great people and the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon should play no role whatsoever in people's decision," McCain said.

"What she meant was the Olympics were screwed up by the people in Salt Lake when Romney came in and fixed the problems there. But I know my 95-year-old mother is certainly in favor of Mormons."

Compiled by Philip Elliott.

If McCain leaves a hole, can Giuliani fill it?

Wednesday, July 18, 2007
If McCain leaves a hole, can Giuliani fill it?
Surely all the Republican candidates will try to capitalize on the misfortunes of Senator John McCain's presidential campaign, which some pundits argue is on life support after two underwhelming fund-raising quarters. But Rudy Giuliani seems to be aggressively filling the void, or trying to, by announcing a slew of hires, endorsements, and field organization improvements.

In the last few days, Giuliani's campaign has unveiled teams of supporters in Georgia, Iowa, and California; he's announced his Justice Advisory Committee, led by Ted Olson, a former US solicitor general; and he's opened offices in Lexington County and Charleston County, SC.
One interesting aspect of all this is that Giuliani is making a big show of his efforts to woo some pretty conservative parts of the country, which gets to the heart of the question surrounding his candidacy: Can a pro-choice, pro-gay rights guy from Brooklyn win a Republican primary? Look for reports from Giuliani's visit today to conservative northwest Iowa.
Mitt Romney, meanwhile, returns to South Carolina tomorrow for another "Ask Mitt Anything" event in Spartanburg and a barbecue in West Columbia. And Fred Thompson is reportedly hosting a fund-raiser on the Cape this Saturday.

Posted by Scott Helman, Political Reporter at 05:55 PM

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/07/if_mccain_leave.html

Sen. John McCain: 'I Will Respond If Attacked'

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 3:36 p.m. EDT
Sen. John McCain: 'I Will Respond If Attacked'
Reprint Information
Hillary Leads Superdelegate Primary
Bloomberg: 'I'm Not a Candidate' for 2008
GOP Clinches Ga. Congressional Seat
Bush Eyes Blair for Mideast Peace Role
Obama Wins Politico.com Straw Poll

The self-described "Happy Warrior" of the 2000 White House race has gone negative in 2008.
Republican John McCain struck a positive tone throughout much of his first presidential campaign, assailing rival George W. Bush only after the Texas governor engaged in nasty politics in South Carolina.

Eight years later, the Arizona senator is mixing it up with rival Mitt Romney with increasing intensity after largely ignoring the former Massachusetts's governor's criticisms - a full six months before voting begins, and as McCain, once considered the Republican to beat, finds himself struggling to regain momentum.

His support in early primary state surveys has been static or slipping; this week, polls in Iowa and South Carolina showed him in single digits. He is facing fierce challenges from Romney and Rudy Giuliani, sniping from lesser-knowns in the 10-man field and the wild card of actor-politician Fred Thompson, a likely entry.

Full Story: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/6/20/153803.shtml?s=ic

Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment

Sharpton tours Mormon Utah headquarters after Romney comment

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton toured Mormon facilities Monday and dined privately with a church elder after drawing criticism two weeks ago for remarks about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
"He's simply here to learn more about us," church spokesman Mike Otterson said of Sharpton's visit. "We want him to know what the church does, what its work is."
Sharpton made the trip after generating criticism during a debate with an atheist author when he said: "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation."
Sharpton, a Pentecostal minister who urged the firing of Don Imus after the radio host's racially insensitive remarks, said his words were taken out of context. But he immediately called elders of the 12.5 million-member church to apologize.
Monday, on a live broadcast of his radio show from a church-owned broadcast center in Salt Lake City, Sharpton said he respects Mormons as Christians and believers. He called any perceived friction between himself and the church a "fabricated controversy."

"Whatever differences I have with their denomination or religion had nothing to do with my respect of their faith," Sharpton said.
He has not apologized to Romney but called for a "dialogue of reconciliation." Romney has said Sharpton's comment could be construed as bigoted. Officially, the church will not comment on Romney's campaign and maintains a position of political neutrality.
On the air, Sharpton said he and Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the church's governing board of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, met over dinner Sunday night and "talked very little, if at all" about the comments. Instead, Sharpton said, they discussed shared concerns and places where their faiths can work together.

"This is not politics," Sharpton said. "This is about what you fundamentally, firmly believe. I did not want to leave it as 'we got past an issue."'

The dinner was followed by a tour Monday morning of church facilities, including a humanitarian aid center from which the church distributes clothes, food and medical supplies around the world.

Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with a temple and other properties covering several downtown blocks.

I need help from the Spyglass Crew

Well crew, the Captain has been working with some new software and I need to see if it works like it claims. All you need to do is click on the link below. I will post the results tomorrow.....

http://politicalspyglass.blogspot.com/2007/05/matinee-mitt-does-60-minutes.html

Captain Mark

Matinee Mitt does 60 Minutes

(CBS) Sixty-year-old Mitt Romney is a dark horse in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination. Although he is the least known of the frontrunners, he's raised more money – $21 million – than any other Republican candidate.

As correspondent Mike Wallace reports, Romney attracted national attention when, as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2006, he balanced the budget every year, without raising taxes. He ran the state like the hugely successful CEO he's been for over 20 years. And that came after he had rescued the 2002 Olympic winter games from financial disaster. And Romney says that now that he's turned around the Olympics and Massachusetts, he's ready to do the same for all of the U.S.A.

Over six feet tall, trim, fit, his hair graying slightly at the temples, he looks like a president. His movie star presence somehow reminds you of Cary Grant or Ronald Reagan.

Read the full story ....http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/10/60minutes/main2787426.shtml?source=mostpop_story

Captain Mark