A new CNN/Opinion Research Poll indicates that only
44% of Americans believe that things will be going well in the country a
year from now. That’s down from last fall, when 55% were optimistic
about the coming year, and from November, 2009, when 63% felt that way.
Romney Leads Republicans in California
A new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll finds Mitt Romney is the clear front-runner in California’s Republican presidential primary.
Romney leads the GOP field with 27%, followed by Herman Cain at 20%, Newt Gingrich at 14% and Ron Paul at 6%. All others are below 5% in support.
The California Republican primary will not be held until June 2012.
Republicans Can’t Reconcile Romney
New Bloomberg polls in New Hampshire and Iowa find wide majorities of likely Republican voters view Mitt Romney as “smart, business-savvy and fit to be president” however “substantial numbers, almost half in Iowa and two out of five in New Hampshire, also view him as someone who will do or say anything to get elected, ‘a flip-flopper,’ or not a true social conservative.”
“Those warring impressions help explain how Romney has attained front-runner status in national polls while remaining unable to secure enough backing to break away from his rivals.”
Said pollster Ann Selzer: “They see the competence, and they see that the problems that are immediately to be solved are in his wheelhouse, but there’s sort of this lurking suspicion about whether they can trust him or that he is going to be their guy on social, moral issues.”
Gingrich is the Leader of the Pack
A new Fox News poll shows Newt Gingrich leading the GOP presidential field nationally with 23%, followed by Mitt Romney at 22% and Herman Cain at 15%.
The rest of the pack: Ron Paul at 8%, Rick Perry at 7%, Michele Bachmann at 6%, Jon Huntsman at 3%, and Rick Santorum at 2%.
$15 Trillion
The U.S. national debt has now officially surpassed $15 trillion.
“That’s Pathetic”
Rick Perry released a new ad to run nationally and in Iowa slamming President Obama’s recent comments that “we’ve been a little bit lazy I think over the last couple decades.”
For bonus points, see if you can spot the missing “is” in Perry’s statement.
CIA Won’t Give Ex-Agent Book He Wrote
Gawker reports that Anthony Shaffer “is suing the Pentagon and the CIA over their extraordinary attempts to censor Operation Dark Heart, the book he wrote recounting his days as a military spy in Afghanistan and elsewhere. One problem he’s run into: The government has the original unredacted manuscript he wrote. And it won’t give him a copy. Because it’s classified.”
But he can buy it on eBay.
When the Pentagon discovered the book contained sensitive information, it had already been printed and dozens of review copies sent out. So even though the government bought all 10,000 copies of the book directly from the publisher and destroyed them, there are still copies floating around.
Cabinet Raises Money for Reelection Campaign
Obama administration Cabinet members and senior aides “are fanning out across the country in an aggressive fundraising drive, taking advantage of porous campaign finance laws that allow them to appear as marquee speakers and raise substantial money for the president’s reelection effort,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“For $5,000, a donor can get a kind of season pass to see officials when they come to town — a bargain compared with the $35,800 typically charged for dinner with President Obama… None of this is illegal, although the appearances must be carefully choreographed to avoid running afoul of the federal Hatch Act, which regulates political activity by government employees but allows ample wiggle room.”
Unhate
Italian clothing retailer Benetton launched a new print ad campaign with the tagline “Unhate” — featuring photos of world leaders kissing each other, reports Copyranter.
The unlikely (and photoshopped) pairings: Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, Mahmoud Abbas and Bibi Netanyahu, Barack Obama and Hugo Chávez and Kim Jong-il and Lee Myung-bak.
What it Means to be a Democrat
Just published: What It Means to Be a Democrat by former Sen. George McGovern.
Iowa Governor Warns Romney
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) mocked Mitt Romney’s Iowa expectation-setting and warned him that he “would meet the same fate as Rudy Giuliani four years ago if he didn’t get serious about the caucuses,” Politico reports.
Said Branstad: “I think he’s making a big mistake…by not coming here and spending more time. I mean Romney is dropping in the polls and I think he thinks that he wants to keep down expectations, you know. Well, his expectations may get really bad if he doesn’t get a little more serious.”
He added: “Iowans don’t like being ignored, they don’t like being ignored!”
Nate Silver: “Romney certainly does not need to win Iowa to win the nomination. But
unless he builds up more of a cushion in the national polls before the
voting there, a loss for his campaign in the caucuses would at least
make for an exciting January.”
Why Obama Must Target Mobile Phone Users
A new SurveyUSA poll finds President Obama leading Mitt Romney nationally, 46% to 44%.
However, if the survey only includes landline respondents (72% of registered voters), Romney leads by 6 points. Among those who only use mobile phones (28% of registered voters), Obama leads by 22 points.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I’m not supposed to know anything about foreign policy. Just thought I’d throw that out.”
— Herman Cain, quoted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, still reeling from his inability to answer a question about U.S. policy towards Libya.
GOP Freshman See Fundraising Fall
Two-thirds of the House Republican freshmen — 43 of 65 — saw their fundraising dip in the past quarter, USA Today reports.
“In addition, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee took in nearly twice as much campaign cash as House Republicans in September — a sign Democratic donors are energized, despite low poll rankings for Congress and President Obama.”
Voters Split on Congress
A new Public Policy Polling survey shows that just 37% of voters think that Republicans were an upgrade from when the Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, while 41% think they’ve been worse.
Nonetheless, the generic congressional ballot is a tie — with 45% favoring a Democratic candidate and 45% going for a Republican — because Democrats are almost as unpopular as their GOP counterparts.
Another Candidate Enters the Race
With the way the GOP presidential race is going, he just might win.
Cabinet Secretary Backs Gay Marriage
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told Metro Weekly that he ”absolutely” supports the legalization of same sex marriage in New York.
Said Donovan: ”It made me proud to be a New Yorker — not enough to get me to move back. We’ve got more work to do in the Obama administration in a second term.”
Asked if that included marriage equality, Donovan confirmed it did, saying, “Like marriage equality.”
Is the Gingrich Bubble Already Popping?
Joe Klein says news of Newt Gingrich’s ties to Freddie Mac threatens to halt his recent recent rise in the polls.
“You must understand: to Republican stalwarts, a relationship with Freddie Mac is the moral equivalent of satanism. Gingrich was a paid helper — and, believe me, he didn’t get paid $1.6 million to lecture the organization on the failures of government intervention in the market — in a ‘socialist’ effort to make home-buying easier for people who ordinarily wouldn’t be able to afford houses, an effort that famously went off the rails when the government began supporting sub-prime and other highly questionable mortgages.”
“In other words, Gingrich was supporting — the best guess was that Gingrich was hired to win some Republican support for Freddie — the very sort of program that he routinely excoriates. This sort of hypocrisy is astounding but, sadly, not unknown to Newt. After all, this was the guy who led the Republican Impeachment of Bill Clinton while having an extra-marital affair of his own.”
