Let's Get Some MittMentum

Gosh, I can already feel excitement building for November!  No I can't.  But I will get excited or die trying.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, whose wealth has become a central issue in the 2012 campaign, has taken advantage of an obscure exception in federal ethics laws to avoid disclosing the nature and extent of his holdings.

...There is no indication that Romney is violating any rules, and his advisers note that his reports have been certified by the Office of Government Ethics, which reviews the disclosures required of presidential candidates.

An 'obscure exeption'?  I endorse this Romney Exceptionalism!  In fact, I want a President who can move beyond the obvious answers and find a previously unnoticed path forward.  Or anyway, a President who is Not Obama.

Comments

[Jim,MtnView,Ca,USA]

A B O

[Extraneus]

Click for full size.

[rse]

I want more Garden Gnome pictures.

And with Ann we will not need eyewash to overcome undignified or just horrendous outfits.

No workout sessions in the East Room or tugs of war by the antiques.

Bright florals to a posthumous MOH ceremony.

[M. Simon]

Compare the excitement about Mitt here to the JOM gang August 2008 reaction to Palin's nomination.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

M.Simon: It is dangerous to express excitement about Mitt here.

[Jane]

The race is starting to boil down to a hysterical race-baiter who acts like a 12 year old, and calm steady unexcitable man.

Speaking of teenagers - I'm going to have to work on feeling discriminated against - and maybe screech a verse or two of Women Hear Me Roar this weekend. I'm not so good at feeling sorry for myself, but for this president, I will give it the old college try.

Poor me, alas.

[NK]

ABO

[narciso]

In local news, our local Fnork candidate, Connie Mack was caught denouncing the Ryan
plan, he's for a stronger unviable alternative

[NK]

Jay Cost at WS agrees 'Bam has and will continue to go all Left all the time: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/morning-jay-our-pathetic-president_635461.html

[clarice feldman]

Ramirez the genius scores again!

[Pofarmer]

Poor, poor, pitiful you, indeed Jane. Sounds like a country song, Oh wait, it IS!!! Good morning.

[hit and run]

April is Minutemanmentum month.

[narciso]

Like the song say ,'Im confortably numb'

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/04/06/global-warming-wipes-out-all-polar-bears-except-the-increasing-number-of-them/

[NK]

ABO!! big miss on NFP new jobs report, only 120K created. "Seasonally Adjusted" rqte 8.2%. This report sucks. In April seasonal adjustments (unless BLS goes complete BS) will deduct jobs. TYhe rate will start crepping up, and probably stay at 8.3-8.4% through the summer. gas will be $4+ through the summer. That's 'Bam's record. ABO.

[narciso]

Not that you would know it from the Minitrue;

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/04/05/carney-on-engagement-well-judge-muslim-brotherhood-by-actions-not-religious-affiliation/#comments

[pagar]

American Thinker has some good articles this morning.

"In fact, Romney has the liberal media quaking in their boots."

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/mitt_romney_antihero.html#ixzz1rGYS528C

Things are looking up.

[pagar]

TK, have you seen this one?

http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/04/the_rebirth_of_birthers_comments.html#disqus_thread

If there were a single, original document to verify the president's Hawaiian birth, why "go to all that trouble, he reasoned."

"Monckton's conclusion? "My assessment is that they are right to be worried... That document is not genuine."

How much plainer can one say it?

[Captain Hate]

Compare the excitement about Mitt here to the JOM gang August 2008 reaction to Palin's nomination.

There's no excitement for me. Zero. Zip. Nada.

I don't have anything against Romney and will gladly vote for him in November against the JEF. But in no way do I consider him an ideal candidate nor somebody who will do all the right things to reverse the decline of the country; but if I'm wrong about the latter I'll be the first to admit it.

[centralcal]

Captain, you are not alone in your lack of excitement and enthusiasm. It is difficult to find it anywhere.

[MarkD]

I'd belly crawl a mile over broken glass to vote against Obama. Romney might not make a good president, but I'll happily settle for mediocre in place of the current divisive disaster.

[centralcal]

I am finding it more and more difficult to comment due to the bizarre captcha screens that are nearly impossible to read.

[narciso]

On a cheerier note, I'm looking forward to this, I've often remarked on Barcelona's prescience, (even though it was set in the 1980s

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/04/05/damsel-in-distress-review

[Captain Hate]

Captain, you are not alone in your lack of excitement and enthusiasm. It is difficult to find it anywhere.

Well he's better than McCain although at this point in 2008 I was not fully aware of the extent of the perfidy of "My Friends". Then my campaign slogan was "WTF: McCain" and I think that applies to the current candidate as well.

[Rick Ballard]

The Presidency of T1000 (The Last Oligarch) is going to be strongly mediated by the fact that we're flat broke. There is reason to hope that his ruthless application of HBS case studies to wounded and/or poorly run companies plus the fact that we're broke will move him to a level of deregulation and block grants that will obviate his willingness to act stupidly in pursuit of the Goldilocks Optimum.

T1000 is not programmed to elicit excitement but he does have a certain D9 at full throttle determination that makes attendance to his progress interesting.

[Jane]

Capn', CC, get excited about the opportunity to take our country back. I mean it. Get excited.

One upside to Mitt - everytime we have what the other side considers an "extremist" on either side, the push back is enormous. I suspect it will be decades if not lifetimes before another "progressive" (radical Alinsky) even dares to run. So let Mitt start the turn around and in 8 years someone like Palin will not be considered radical.

(That's my story and I'm sticking to it, so get excited!)

[Janet]

Bill Whittle's latest - Slowly...Slowly

[narciso]

Nexus 6, could come charging forth from the Rings of Tannhauser, but I suspect more a Norwegian parrot voom. Mittens at Tanagra.

[hit and run]

Jane:
everytime we have what the other side considers an "extremist" on either side

By the time he had the nomination,the other side painted McCain as extremist. Gone were his efforts to push global warming legislation and his success in passing campaign finance reform. No longer was he a hero for bucking the Bush admin on "torture". Nope. He was a knuckle-dragging, fire-breathing far right extremist.

They'll do the same with Mitt.

The only moderate Republicans as viewed by the other side are those who are not running or have left office.

It won't be long before we will hear stories of how radically right Mitt is compared with . . . McCain.

[Ignatz]

--The Presidency of T1000 (The Last Oligarch) is going to be strongly mediated by the fact that we're flat broke.--

I think Barry is toast and I'm already on record as suspecting Romney will be better than expected.
Hope he doesn't make a chump out of me. (well a bigger one anyway)

[centralcal]

Jane - you misinterpret. I am very excited at the prospect of sending Barry and Shelly and Eric back to the mean streets of Chicago.

My excitement is palpable for the "ends," just not necessarily for the "means."

[Dave (in MA)]

Eeny meeny miney moe...

[AliceH]

"Mittens at Tanagra."

LOL!

[Janet]

I'm not excited about Mitt at all. All the other candidates - even with their faults - had some area with strong conservative bona fides.

[Janet]

President Obama suggested this evening that the Republican governing agenda will lead to "poisoning our kids" with pollution.

Good Lord. I can't believe he is POTUS. :(

[Janet]

This is a great question at Instapundit.

"What exactly does he think Congress does not have the power to do under the Commerce Clause? Or, to be more precise, does the commerce power have judicially enforceable limits — and if so, what are they?"

The Dems get such a free pass on what exactly their end goals are....
like marriage - if it is not just a man & woman, then what is their definition?
AGW - what is the target correct global climate?
Is there some damn end point to all their whining?

[centralcal]

Major Garrett writing at National Journal is predicting that Romney will pick Rob Portman as his running mate.

Is that a good choice? I don't know that much about Portman, but is he another yawn inducer?

[AliceH]

I would prefer Romney not poach a Senator to be VP. We need all of them in the Senate.

[henry]

CC: Portman's wiki page. He is from Ohio and is a former US trade rep as well as OMB director, now a senator from Ohio. Per the wiki, he is against trade subsidies and tariffs. Captain Hate probably know more.

[AliceH]

I'd prefer Romney NOT poach a Senator for his VP choice - we need them in the Senate.

(Sorry if this is a dupe - first attempt to post it turned invisible)

[Captain Hate]

Portman's a good guy but I agree with AliceH; let the Senators stay in the Senate.

[Rick Ballard]

There is a very high probability that Governor Romney will go with a woman in the VP slot. The preemptive attack upon Nikki Haley is going to be repeated against any woman with a noticeable political profile.

Janet & c-c,

Governor Romney does not require your enthusiasm. Both of you will fulfill his requirements, as I will. My political hopes remain with the Tea Party. Solid electoral successes in the '12 election will offer an opportunity for a third party effort in '14 (should The Last Oligarch perform as I expect) with a reasonable chance of success for a third party candidate in '16.

[Captain Hate]

Although I like Portman a great deal, I think that choosing him would be a "safe" choice which I'd rather stay away from because Willard is safe enough on his own (plus don't get me started on pandering to Ohio's voters). I think, for a variety of reasons, that Allen West would be a much more energizing choice and would get the donks "hair on fire".

[Jane (where is Jon Corzine?)]

Months ago someone told me it was absolutely going to be Portman, altho I cannot remember why.

I love West, and Rubio.

My excitement is palpable for the "ends," just not necessarily for the "means."

AS long as you stay excited it matters not why.

[narciso]

The National Journal is rife with brainslugs,

http://www.thefancarpet.com/actor/tushkabergen

[Dave (in MA)]

I agree with CH, though it looks as though we've seen a preemptive Hair On Fire situation with Haley in the form of the same sort of trumped up "ethics" charges, so I think the HOF is going to happen no matter who's picked.

[narciso]

That was a little aperitif from the idiocy
therein;

http://decoded.nationaljournal.com/2012/04/romney-tries-to-turn-the-table-1.php

[Jane (where is Jon Corzine?)]

Here are my thoughts on Obama's women summit today.

[Threadkiller]

"President Obama and his top aides took aim at Mitt Romney Thursday night, calling on the likely Republican presidential nominee to release more of his tax returns and questioning whether he has used loopholes to avoid publicly disclosing more information about his personal wealth.

Seizing on a Washington Post report that Romney is using an exception in federal ethics laws to avoid disclosing the full extent of his investment holdings, Obama sent three tweets under his personal Twitter name attacking Romney. In his final tweet, the president wrote: “So what’s Romney hiding? Tweet @MittRomney to demand he release his tax returns. #WhatsRomneyHiding.”"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/obama-to-romney-release-more-tax-returns/2012/04/05/gIQANYeUyS_blog.html?wprss=rss_politics

A release of records is in order.

[narciso]

Is he craven or stupid, the debate continues

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/obamas-signal-to-iran/2012/04/05/gIQApVLDyS_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions

[AliceH]

Pulled from narc link @ 12:13

"The plan...polls poorly with the public"

"The Ryan budget is still unpopular"

I googled for polls on Ryan's Budget, but was unable to find anything for 2012. (Except an online Florida newspaper poll with a total of 30 responses - 18 approve/12 disapprove.)

Anyone have a link to where this fact(?) is coming from?

[Janet]

Governor Romney does not require your enthusiasm. Both of you will fulfill his requirements, as I will. My political hopes remain with the Tea Party.

True...thanks, Rick.

[Captain Hate]

Let's hear it for CastroCare:

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/chavez-cancer-venezuela/2012/04/06/id/435023

[Captain Hate]

I think the HOF is going to happen no matter who's picked.

Will there be a point where the donks decide to jump off the USS Bamtanic (now in 3D) and distance themselves from the "OMG the Repubs are trying to KILL EVERYBODY" histrionics? Was the 100% non-vote for the BammyBudget a shot across the bow? I don't see how they can walk back Debbie Fatass-Schultz or Yeeeaarrgh because expecting them to act sane is a fool's errand. But there's no evidence these stunts are fooling anybody and 2010 is increasingly looking like the preamble to November.

[maryrose]

When we see Odummy's scholl records and an explanation for a false Connecticut SS# then Romney can release additional info. Until then it's a stand-off. Lies told by Obama should not be accredited or acknowledged except to minimize King Obama.Let's look at his house purchase again.

[narciso]

You have to Tanagra, when the walls fell;

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/03/28/polls_americans_love_or_hate_the_ryan_plan

[narciso]

Yes Begala, jumped the Megalodon, too fast,
if this is their argument in April, I guess
storing people for food, like V classic will
be the fauly

[Captain Hate]

I'm so glad Teh Forehead is on their side.

[AliceH]

Thanks, Narc.

[Jane (where is Jon Corzine?)]

Windy Daze just tweeted me and said they were okay. She also said: "Dad said the pilot lost all thrust and stalled or the plane wouldn't have landed like that."

[sbw]

Let's see. The VP should be:
-- experienced in executive matters
-- well vetted by the bottom feeders
-- able to handle the press
-- able to handle Democrats on issues
-- well known

... I could go on but people would laugh at the possibility.

[narciso]

That's good to know, meanwhile, seriously get a room Brooksie;

http://minx.cc/?post=328203

[Captain Hate]

Per Tammy Bruce, Lisa Murcokespoon is supporting funding for Planned Parenthood and believes Sandra Fluke.

[narciso]

This really deserves the fish slapping dance

http://www.homernews.com/stories/040412/news_murk.shtml#.T38wptl-jct

[Chubby]

((Was the 100% non-vote for the BammyBudget a shot across the bow? ))

no. they were doing his bidding. he did not propose a serious budget because he does not want a budget passed and they went along with the game.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Captain, you are not alone in your lack of excitement and enthusiasm. It is difficult to find it anywhere.

The millions who have voted for him and the thousands who show up at all his events are just figments of the imagination.

He is going to be a great president and make you all eat your words. BELIEVE IN AMERICA!

[Chubby]

Sara, I pray to God you are right. I pray he exceeds everyone's expectations.

I supported him 100% in 2008, and after Sarah declined to run and Cain's campaign collapsed, I have mostly leaned to Romney, except for a brief few weeks when I veered toward Newt, admiring his ability to skewer the msm. I have to admit that I am now starting to worry about Mitt because I am worried that he won't play hardball with the Obama bunch, sort of McCain redux. Will he be able to deal with all the sh** they are going to throw at him, and will he come out on the offensive? What do you think?

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

I'm not excited about Mitt at all. All the other candidates - even with their faults - had some area with strong conservative bona fides.

Mitt is the strongest fiscal conservative of the bunch and I also think that if you look at his lifestyle and family life, he is also one of the most conservative candidates period. Certainly more conservative than Gingrich or Santorum, whose own constituents kicked him out of office for lying to them about all sorts of things, just like he lies about Mitt.

[Captain Hate]

He is going to be a great president and make you all eat your words.

What if he's not? This blind faith in the latter day wonderboy is incredibly off-putting. Even at my most rabid Palinista shilling I admitted potential fallibility and certainly wasn't bashing everybody else who ostensibly she'd need for support.

I don't think that Axelrod is smart enough to send trolls saying "Romney is great and everybody else sucks as do the people who support them" but I think it would be his best strategy at this point.

[n]

I have to admit that I am now starting to worry about Mitt because I am worried that he won't play hardball with the Obama bunch, sort of McCain redux. Will he be able to deal with all the sh** they are going to throw at him, and will he come out on the offensive? What do you think?

First, I think Mitt is much tougher than anyone thinks. Second, he seems to have Obama's number. As you know, I try to follow his speeches and I'm constantly amazed how he either anticipates what Obama's next move will be or has an answer almost immediately when broadsided with one of Obama's new stupidities. He is very aware of what they will try to do and in nearly every, if not all recent, speeches, he warns of the impending onslaught.

As to the VP pick, Mitt's campaign is aware how important taking back the Senate is and I don't think they will raid it for a Veep. If any of the named VP frontrunners has a chance, then I would say it will be Ryan. However, I am pushing/promoting West. Mitt is pretty much a military hawk, but he needs someone with the military cred. he doesn't have. And someone who will be his very own attack dog like Dick Cheney. West fills that bill.

The wild card is Newt. Unlike Santorum, I believe Newt actually cares about the country and after the meeting with Mitt, he has dialed it back considerably. He is 4 1/2 million in debt, his Gingrich Group has filed for bankruptcy, so who knows what promises he has made or extracted?

Texas is trying to force Mitt to debate two people who will be long out of the race by the time of the debate in May or lose delegates. They are trying to change to winner take all from proportional in mid season. Yet Mitt is up by 21 pts. in Calif. and by double digits in NY and it is looking more and more as if he is going to win Penna. So what is Texas thinking?

Keep in mind that the biggest thing they have been able to throw at Mitt is a 30 year old story about his dog and the elevator, which is really a lift, at his home he is renovating for his wife to make it completely handicap accessible. Tagg, Mitt's son, says he is a real skinflint with his own spending needs and also where the boys are concerned (made them pay their way as a teaching tool), but there is no amount too much to spend on his beloved Ann.

[n? where did that come from, Sara?]

Hmmm.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

Even at my most rabid Palinista shilling I admitted potential fallibility and certainly wasn't bashing everybody else who ostensibly she'd need for support.

Bashing? Oh that's right, it is okay to say awful things about Mitt Romney, but any kind of answer is bashing? Excuse me CH, I forgot the rules for a minute.

If you don't think he'll make a great president, then that is your opinion. End of story. If I think he will be a great president, it is time for the personal attacks. Got it! If he isn't a great president, then I guess I'll have to eat my words, huh? If he does, then I hope you'll be man enough to eat yours.

[Captain Hate]

If he does, then I hope you'll be man enough to eat yours.

I rest my case.

[Chubby]

Sarah, thanks for your reply. Re the car elevator, I had not thought about the handicap angle but in that light it makes good sense. In PA, no one has forgotten Santorum's residency issues that lost him his senate seat, so I think Mitt has a good chance there.

[narciso]

I don't hold that silly detail, against him,
his willingness to pander on policy grounds,
saying the rich should pay their fair share,
his uninspiring policy initiatives, thewilling
to grant too many of the administration's premises,

[Chubby]

are you talking about Santorum or Romney?