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Donald Trump, Herman Cain, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Polling, President 2012, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty
President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney 20% Vs. Palin 12% Vs. Gingrich 9% Vs. Giuliani 7%
According to the latest Suffolk University Poll.
Favorable Vs. Unfavorable:
- Barack Obama – 51% Vs. 42%
- Mitt Romney – 39% Vs. 32%
- Mitch Daniels – 10% Vs. 14% Never heard of = 46%
- Tim Pawlenty – 18% Vs. 16% Never heard of = 38%
- Newt Gingrich – 29% Vs. 50%
- Michele Bachmann – 20% vs. 28% Never heard of = 30%
- Ron Paul – 24% Vs. 34%
- Sarah Palin – 31% Vs. 58%
Job Approval Vs. Disapproval:
- President Barack Obama – 47% Vs. 45%
Do you feel that Barack Obama deserves to be re-elected or is it time to give someone else a chance?
- Deserve Re-election – 43%
- Someone else – 48%
GOP Primary Head to Head:
- Romney – 20%
- Palin – 12%
- Gingrich – 9%
- Giuliani – 7%
- Paul – 5%
- Daniels – 4%
- Cain – 4%
- Bachmann – 4%
- Pawlenty – 3%
General Election:
- Obama – 46% vs. Romney – 43%
- Obama – 47% Vs. Pawlenty – 31%
- Obama – 50% Vs. Bachmann – 30%
- Obama – 52% Vs. Gingrich – 38%
- Obama – 48% Vs. Daniels – 30%
Is the economy improving or getting worse?
- Improving – 41%
- Getting Worse – 46%
This is again a national poll and it is not certain that Sarah Palin, Mitch Daniels or Rudy Giuliani will be candidates. And, the poll was taken before Huckabee and Trump dropped out.
But, at the present time, it looks like you would have to consider Mitt Romney as the front runner.
The nationwide survey of 1,070 United States likely voters was conducted May 10-17, 2011, using live telephone interviews. The margin of error is +/- 3.0 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence.
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President 2012: GOP Elite Favor Mitch Daniels?
President Barack Obama is greeted by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as he steps off Air Force One in Indianapolis, Ind., Friday, May 6, 2011
Or, see Mitch Daniels as the GOP 2012 Savior?Top Republicans are increasingly convinced that President Barack Obama will be easily reelected if stronger GOP contenders do not emerge, and some are virtually begging Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to add some excitement to the slow-starting nomination race.
It’s a sign of the GOP’s straits that the party is depending on the bland, wonkish Daniels for an adrenaline boost.
But interviews this week with longtime party activists and strategists made clear that many in the Republican establishment are unnerved by a field led by Mitt Romney, who could have trouble confronting Obama on health reform; Tim Pawlenty, who has yet to ignite excitement; Jon Huntsman, who may be too moderate to get the nomination; and Newt Gingrich, weighed down by personal baggage and a sense that he is a polarizing figure from the 1990s.
Despairing Republican lobbyists say their colleagues don’t ask, “Who do you like?” but instead, “Who do we back?”
“It’s not that they’re up in arms,” said a central player in the GOP money machine. “It’s just that they’re depressed.”
And a huge swath of operatives, donors and strategists remain uncommitted, in the hope that the field is not yet set.
The fact is Mitch Daniels is being helped by Jeb Bush and the Karl Rove/Bush family GOP machine. Daniels is the anti-Romney and the GOP field is better with him in the race. He will announce within a few weeks.
Daniels is an accomplished two-term GOP Governor in a midwestern state that President Barack Obama won in 2008. His political narrative will play well in the key battleground states where the GOP will confront Obama’s re-election juggernaut.
The field is starting to shape up: Romney, Pawlenty, Daniels – all capable, non-damaged, accomplished Governors. If one of these fails, then the bench includes Chris Christie and/or Paul Ryan.
Prospects are looking better to beat Barack Obama next year.
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Day By Day May 16, 2011 – Target Practice
The GOP Presidential season has started for Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels with various conservative pundits taking their shots at him. Here is one.And, here is the story about the case.
People have no right to resist if police officers illegally enter their home, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled in a decision that overturns centuries of common law.
The court issued its 3-2 ruling on Thursday, contending that allowing residents to resist officers who enter their homes without any right would increase the risk of violent confrontation. If police enter a home illegally, the courts are the proper place to protest it, Justice Steven David said.
“We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” David said. “We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest.”
Justices Robert Rucker and Brent Dickson strongly dissented, saying the ruling runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure, The Times of Munster reported.
“In my view the majority sweeps with far too broad a brush by essentially telling Indiana citizens that government agents may now enter their homes illegally — that is, without the necessity of a warrant, consent or exigent circumstances,” Rucker said.
Both dissenting justices suggested they would have supported the ruling if the court had limited its scope to stripping the right to resist officers who enter homes illegally in cases where they suspect domestic violence is being committed.
But Dickson said, “The wholesale abrogation of the historic right of a person to reasonably resist unlawful police entry into his dwelling is unwarranted and unnecessarily broad.”
Likely, this decision may very well go up on a federal court appeal on Constitutional grounds. But, whether it does or not, I caution folks to make sweeping generalizations about Mitch Daniels and his appointment of Justice Steven David from a list of three candidates presented him.
In 1970, the Indiana Constitution was amended to create the Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission. By Constitution and statute, the Nominating Commission is charged with vetting applications and submitting a list of the three most qualified applicants to the Governor for each vacancy that occurs on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or Tax Court. The Governor then appoints an individual from that list to fill the vacancy.
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The Day By Day Archive -
President 2012: Mitch Daniels State PAC Raised More Money Than Other Potential Presidential Candidates
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels speaks at the Conservative Political Action conference (CPAC) dinner in Washington February 11, 2011
Does anyone still think Mitch Daniels is NOT running for President?While Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels coyly dodges questions about his presidential intentions, he quietly raised more money for his state political action committee than any other potential 2012 Republican candidate.
According to a new report from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Daniels’ Aiming Higher state-level PAC raised $2,182,953 in 2010. The next closest total during this time period comes from Mitt Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC, with $1,623,044.
Only two other candidates have raised money via state-level PACs, according to the report: Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC, with $337,570 and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s PAC, with a reported $2,250, plus an undetermined amount in Pennsylvania. The four combined to take in over $4.1 million during 2010.
So, when Mitch was asked by the AP about fundraising he replied.
Daniels said the fact that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, another possible Republican presidential contender, raised more than $10 million in a single day Monday doesn’t add to the pressure on him.
“I guarantee you that if we did it, I think we’d have the best letterhead and plenty of money,” Daniels said. “I just don’t think these things get settled by money. … I think it’s going to be a lot more about the quality of ideas.”
And, the fact that Daniels is being helped by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in tapping the Bush family of Presidential donors, also does not hurt.
In 2010, Daniels collected money through only one PAC, in his home state of Indiana. Romney, who collected almost $600,000 less than Daniels, registered PACs in Alabama, Michigan and the key primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. iWatch News recently reported on Mitch Daniels’ tenure at pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. His state PAC received at least $80,000 from top Lilly executives in the 2004 and 2008 election cycles.
Under federal election laws, donors can give a maximum of $5,000 a year to a federal PAC. Those rules don’t apply to state-level PACs, and some states allow donors to give massive amounts of money to a candidate of their choice. The development of state level PACs is often seen as a sign of a serious presidential contender. Donors to state level PACs can contribute from all over the country, leading some campaign finance experts to worry that state level PACs create a back door to avoid federal campaign limits.
Daniels is running and believe me the donors are being called.
Wait for the leaks….1….2……3……
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President 2012: Mitch Daniels Close to a Decision
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels greets first lady Cheri Daniels before she speaks at the state Republican Party fundraiser in Indianapolis, Thursday, May 12, 2011
This is what the Indiana governor tells the AP.Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday that it won’t be long before he makes a decision on whether he’ll run for president in 2012.
Daniels said he doesn’t have a timetable for announcing the decision once it’s made, and that he’s really only focused his attention on the issue since the legislative session ended in late April.
“It’s only been a couple of weeks,” Daniels said. “I’ll decide pretty quickly.”
Political observers are watching Daniels’ every move for signs of a possible decision. Some recently speculated on Twitter that he would run, which Daniels seemed to find surprising Tuesday.
“I don’t Twitter so I wonder who made the decision,” Daniels said. “It didn’t start with me, obviously.”
Daniels also laughed at speculation that he would announce his plans at the Indianapolis 500 or sometime after the May 29 race.
“I don’t have a fixed date,” Daniels said before speaking at a meeting of Indiana state agency officials to review state government performance.
“I’m not going to take much longer with it,” he added.
What about organization and fundraising for a Presidential GOP Primary campaign?
I have it on good authority that Daniel’s campaign has been meeting with the Bush Presidential donors with the help of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. So, when Daniels says he will have plenty of money for a campaign, he knows how much and from where it is coming.
Why do you think Mitt Romney put on such a fundraising display yesterday?
I predict that Daniels will announce shortly before or shortly after Memorial Day and the Indianapolis 500 Race.
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President 2012: Should Paul Ryan Run for President?
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveils the House Republican budget blueprint in the Capitol in Washington April 5, 2011
Yes, and the case for a duty call is obvious.Jennifer Rubin makes the case as well.
In a very practical sense, the question for Ryan is: Why not give his party and the country six months (September 2011 to February 2012)? By then he’ll either have failed to catch fire or he’ll have a clear path to the presidential nomination. Six months. Twenty-four weeks. For a politician constantly at work in Congress, in town halls and in media appearances, that doesn’t sound like that much. (In fact, I would venture that his schedule is more rigorous now than the average presidential contender’s.)
You see, there is no good reason for Ryan to avoid a presidential run. Sometimes, if you don’t see the opening and seize it, a better one never comes along. Bill Clinton understood this in 1992.
Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie and Paul Ryan should all consider running for the Presidency. Obama is wounded and the GOP needs popular and articulate candidates.
Duty Calls.
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Chris Christie, John Kasich, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, President 2012, Sarah Palin, Scott Walker
President 2012: Huckabee is Out – Michele, Newt and Mitch In?
The presidential nominating process is a lot like the US Open tennis tournament. There is a final (the Republican v. Obama), a semifinal (the top conservative against the top moderate for the GOP nomination) and a quarter final (the conservatives against each other and the moderates competing together for the right to enter the semis).
Mitt Romney and Donald Trump are centrists. Businessmen, economic growth free market types who will vie with each other for the moderate nomination. In 2008, Romney fought and lost to Huckabee for the conservative nod to oppose McCain. But, because of his health care position, he now has to fight it out on the moderate court.
Mike Huckabee’s withdrawal opens the way on the right court for Gingrich, Bachmann, and Daniels. Had Mike run, he would have easily carried the day and faced Romney/Trump for the nomination. But, with Mike out, it’s an open field.
Bachmann has the most to gain from Huckabee’s withdrawal. Polling shows that the Tea Party types and the evangelicals are more or less the same people. With Mike out, Michele has a clear shot at their support (once they get over Herman Cain and Ron Paul, neither of whom can win — and Paul shouldn’t win). As the odd-woman-out dissenting from the Boehner deals with Obama, holding out for fiscal conservatism and tough Republican bargaining, she can pick up a lot of ground in a hurry.
Gingrich’s announcement puts the onus on him to dispel the negatives that dog his campaign. All agree that he would be the best opponent to Obama in a debate and that he is the brightest, best candidate would have. But many are scared off because of the negatives. He has six months to show them that they are wrong.
And then there is Mitch Daniels, potentially, the conservative establishment’s answer to Romney. Despite an absence of charisma, his extraordinary record as governor puts him right in the thick of the hunt for the nomination. He, along with his supporters (Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, and John Kasich of Ohio), have walked the walk not just talked the talk. His candidacy is a most attractive one.
And, if Sarah Palin decides to come in now, I would say the battle for the social conservatives will really heat up.
Newt Gingrich with his personal baggage should be used as a foil against Obama but he is unelectable – too old and too damaged.
Mitt Romney will have to compete in Iowa and will probably take a loss there even with Huckabee not in the race. Romney will be vulnerable in South Carolina too –then on to Florida.
Exit question: Will Mitch Daniels with Scott Walker, John Kasich and Chris Christie endorsing him be able to beat Michele Bachmann in Iowa?
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Update: President 2012: Mike Huckabee Better in or Better Out of the Race?; Huck Won’t Run
+++++Update+++++
Mike Huckabee announced tonight on his Fox News Show that he will not be a candidate for President
Better in for the Republican Party.
And this from Democratic Pollster PPP.
Rumor has it Huckabee may announce that he is not running on his Fox News show tomorrow. That would be good news, at least for the time being, for the president. Huckabee gives him more trouble than the others in the South, in Appalachia, and up and down the Mississippi–including in states where the president remains strong (like North Carolina and Virginia) and states where he has declined since 2008 (like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Missouri). The GOP almost certainly needs to return to Southern dominance and dip into either the West or Midwest–or both–to win the White House next year, and it remains to be seen whether another candidate can establish the rapport with these voters that Huckabee has.
Romney is not a much weaker alternative in these states, and he does put Obama more on the defensive in the Northeast and Southwest, particularly Nevada and New Hampshire, than does Huckabee. But Huckabee would certainly be leaving both a good shot at the nomination and a decent shot at Obama on the table by keeping his hat out of the ring.
Mike Huckabee is a stronger candidate than Mitt Romney and will provide an alternative to Mitch Daniels, should he falter. Moreover, should Huck not run, Sarah Palin may decide to go. Her polling against President Obama has been appalling.
All in all having the affable, Baptist minister in the race is better for the GOP, than Donald Trump, Newt Ginrich or Tim Pawlenty.
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President 2012: Mike Huckabee Better in or Better Out of the Race?
Better in for the Republican Party.
And this from Democratic Pollster PPP.
Rumor has it Huckabee may announce that he is not running on his Fox News show tomorrow. That would be good news, at least for the time being, for the president. Huckabee gives him more trouble than the others in the South, in Appalachia, and up and down the Mississippi–including in states where the president remains strong (like North Carolina and Virginia) and states where he has declined since 2008 (like Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Missouri). The GOP almost certainly needs to return to Southern dominance and dip into either the West or Midwest–or both–to win the White House next year, and it remains to be seen whether another candidate can establish the rapport with these voters that Huckabee has.
Romney is not a much weaker alternative in these states, and he does put Obama more on the defensive in the Northeast and Southwest, particularly Nevada and New Hampshire, than does Huckabee. But Huckabee would certainly be leaving both a good shot at the nomination and a decent shot at Obama on the table by keeping his hat out of the ring.
Mike Huckabee is a stronger candidate than Mitt Romney and will provide an alternative to Mitch Daniels, should he falter. Moreover, should Huck not run, Sarah Palin may decide to go. Her polling against President Obama has been appalling.
All in all having the affable, Baptist minister in the race is better for the GOP, than Donald Trump, Newt Ginrich or Tim Pawlenty.
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President 2012: Jeb Bush is Still a NO
Nothing like a busted Amtrak train to bring me face-to-face with the one man Republicans would love — and I mean LOVE — to get into the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination. Former governor Jeb Bush (R-Fla.) and his wife Columba were just a few rows behind me. So, of course, I couldn’t resist asking him a question he has heard myriad times. “Is there any possible way your party could convince you to run for president,” I asked? “I don’t think so,” he said. “A lot of people are asking me that, and it’s flattering. But the Magic Eight Ball says, ‘Outlook not so good.’ ”
This comes mere hours before former House speaker Newt Gingrich alerts the world via Twitter, Facebook and Fox News that he will seek the 2012 Republican nomination for president. According to Gallup, he will enter the race with high name recognition and low positive intensity. I’d love to say there’s nowhere to go but up for him, but that wouldn’t be true.
My bet is that Mitch Daniels and/or Chris Christie will jump in very soon.
After Mitt Romney’s disastrous blow up on RpomneyCare today, he is out and Mike Huckabee is still not showing any effort.