• Barack Obama,  Hillary Clinton,  Joe Biden,  President 2012

    Joe Biden Being Taken to the White House Woodshed?

    Matt Drudge is certainly having some fun with today’s Joe Biden/Hillary Clinton White House meeting.

    But, wait.

    President Barack Obama and his mistake-prone vice president, Joe Biden, are having lunch today, a weekly occurrence that takes on far more significance than usual in the wake of controversy surrounding several of Biden’s recent statements.

    While the lunch was probably already scheduled, it’s practically impossible that Biden’s campaign trail remarks will fail to come up given the clamor they have provoked. There is even a growing chorus of suggestions – mainly from Republicans – that Biden is not up to the job and should be replaced on the ticket.

    The session could easily end up a trip to the woodshed for Biden or, though it’s unlikely, something far worse.

    Biden this week suggested that Gov. Mitt Romney would put African Americans back chains and, in a separate appearance, indicated that we are all still living in the 20th century. The statements are just the latest in a series of mistakes – assuming the comment about African Americans was unscripted – in the past few months that have raised concerns about Biden.

    Making the switch to Hillary would energize the Democratic Party and would be better for Obama’s re-election chances in some of the key battleground states. But, does Hillary want the job, especially since should Obama lose in 2012, she would be come the presumptive nominee in 2016?

    Team Obama is undoubtedly nervous about Biden’s gaffes and whether “Slow” Joe is up to the task as he approaches 70.

    How the President will frame the Biden scolding delicately, may be a challenge.

  • Barack Obama,  Medicare,  Mitt Romney,  Obamacare,  Paul Ryan

    Video: Romney Goes on the Attack to “Save Medicare” from ObamaCare

    Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan today unveiled an ad to be broadcast in key battleground states that attacks President Obama and his ObamaCare health reform legislation.

    In what is viewed to be a pre-emptive strike against Democratic criticisms of Ryan’s efforts in the House to reform Medicare, Romney is shooting the first shot across Obama’s bow.

    Here is the ad:

    Now, the Romney ad team will be able to build upon their own narrative not the negative portrayal of the national Democratic Party and their minions in the mainstream media.

  • Twitter

    @Flap Twitter Updates for 2012-08-14

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  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    Romney Attacks Obama Again Over Work for Welfare

    This is the second television ad in which Mitt Romney has attacked President Obama over welfare.

    Mitt Romney’s first television commercial since announcing House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate brings back a claim first brought up last week: That President Barack Obama is altering the federal welfare-to-work program by dropping work requirements in the law.

    The narrator in TV ad, released Monday morning by the campaign of the GOP presidential challenger and by the Republican National Committee, says that “Barack Obama has a long history of opposing work for welfare.”

    The spot then includes sound of Obama from June of 1998, with the then-Illinois State Senator saying “I was not a huge supporter of the federal plan that was signed in 1996.”

    The ad continues with the narrator adding that “on July 12th, Obama quietly ended work requirements for welfare. You wouldn’t have to work and wouldn’t have to train for a job. Mitt Romney strongly believes work must be part of welfare.”

    I believe this is a strong theme and will resonate well in Florida and the key upper-Midwestern states of Iowa and Wisconsin. This work for welfare meme will be pounding the President frequently.

    Although the Romney Campaign will not release their ad buy, it appears this will appear in all of the key battleground states.

    As is their practice, the Romney campaign would not reveal any details on where the new commercial will run or on the ad buy.

    But according to data provided to their clients by Kantar Media/Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political ad spending on broadcast and national cable TV, the new spot began running Monday morning in television markets in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers, Florida; Manchester, New Hampshire; Denver, Colorado; Reno, Nevada; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, D.C. (which covers much of northern Virginia).

    Here is the ad, embedded below:

  • Barack Obama,  Electoral College,  Mitt Romney,  Paul Ryan,  President 2012

    Does Paul Ryan Help Mitt Romney in the Electoral College?

    This map is from the interactive site, 270towin.com

    Why, yes, the selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate might just very well help the GOP recapture the White House.

    The Electoral College map above illustrates why – namely, Wisconsin and Iowa are moved to red, while Nevada moves to blue from my previous prognostication map which is below.

    2012 Electoral College Final Swing States Poll Watch: Obama 47% Vs. Romney 45%

    Mitt Romney has decided to employ an upper-Midwestern Electoral College vote strategy as opposed to a Hispanic-voter Western states Electoral College strategy. In other words, the key battleground states of Nevada and Colorado will be de-emphasized or even written off (although having just returned from Las Vegas a few days ago, the Romney campaign and Crossroads GPS television ads are omni-present and frequent).

    Most political pundits agree that Paul Ryan will help Romney in Wisconsin. With the failed recall of Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin might be ripe for a flip from Obama to Romney (polling there shows Romney/Ryan tied with Obama). And, who better to team up with Romney than a “Wisconsin favorite son” in Paul Ryan. Iowa is right next door to Wisconsin and will also be in play.

    Now, this punditry assumes that other key battleground states like Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Florida will also flip from Obama to Romney/Ryan. But, with the addition of Iowa and Wisconsin, Romney/Ryan could afford to lose Virginia and still reach the 270 Electoral College votes required for victory.

    The key battleground states are taking shape – add Iowa and Wisconsin to the mix.

    Tonight, the Electoral College numbers are looking a whole lot better for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

  • Barack Obama,  Polling,  President 2012

    Does Democrat Voter Enthusiasm Spell Trouble for Obama?

    Yes, according to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Democrats are significantly less likely now (39%) than they were in the summers of 2004 and 2008 to say they are “more enthusiastic about voting than usual” in the coming presidential election. Republicans are more enthusiastic now than in 2008, and the same as in 2004.

    These results are based on a July 19-22 USA Today/Gallup poll. They suggest a shift in Republicans’ and Democrats’ orientation to voting in the coming presidential election compared with the last two, with Republicans expressing more voting enthusiasm. The current 51% to 39% Republican advantage in voter enthusiasm is slightly larger than the 53% to 45% GOP advantage Gallup measured in February of this year.

    The voting enthusiasm measure gives a sense of Americans’ motivation to turn out and vote but probably also their expectations of their preferred party’s chances of winning. Thus, the Republican advantage may indicate a greater likelihood of voting among Republicans but also greater optimism about a Republican victory than was the case in 2008. In turn, Democrats are probably less optimistic about their chances of winning than they were in 2008.

    Can you not feel a sense in a change of momentum in the Obama re-election campaign and the left-wing dominated media about Democratic Party prospects?

    In 2004 and 2006, the LEFT was determined and driven to beat Bush and the GOP. This year it is ho hum. This indifference is reflected in the polls.

    Republicans vote with greater frequency than Democrats anyway. Should Democrats fail to show up to the polls to support Obama in the key battleground states, the President will be toast.

    With voter enthusiasm down significantly from 2004 and 2008 levels, it is reasonable to expect that turnout will be lower this presidential election than in the last two elections, both of which had above-average turnout from a historical perspective.

    Republicans’ greater enthusiasm about voting is a troubling sign for the Obama campaign, especially given the fact that registered voters are essentially tied in their presidential voting preferences and that Republicans historically vote at higher rates than Democrats do.

  • President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Obama 48% Vs. Romney 46%

    In the battle for the White House, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are locked in a   close contest nationally.  According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, 48% of U.S. registered   voters including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate support President   Obama compared with 46% for Romney.  Less than one percent backs another candidate,   and 6% are undecided.  “The race was close yesterday, it’s close today, and may even be close on Election Day,”   says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.  “You need to look no farther than the president’s approval rating to see how divided the electorate is.”
    Not a good sign for Team Obama as they have been spending heavily with the Bain advertising attacks against Romney.

    This race will go down to the wire in key battleground states, especially Virginia and Nevada.
  • Barack Obama,  Day By Day,  Eric Holder

    Day By Day for June 26 and June 27, 2012

    Day By Day by Chris Muir – No S–t

    Day By Day by Chris Muir -News

    Chris, everyone is wating for tomorrow’s Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare.

    Fortunately, for Attorney General Eric Holder his machinations with Fast and Furious may be lost in the media frenzy. But, this issue will come back to bite the Obama Administration.

    The Fast and Furious scandal WILL be tied into the President’s illegal immigration policy and further alienate voters in Colorado and Nevada – key battleground states for the November general election.

  • Brett Kimberlin,  Pinboard Links,  The Morning Flap

    The Morning Flap Featuring Brett Kimberlin for May 24, 2012

    Brett Kimberlin

    These are my links for May 23rd through May 24th:

  • Barack Obama,  Unemployment Rate

    Economic Growth Stalls as Unemployment Decreases to 8.1%

    The Obama economy continues to under perform as the American unemployment rate decreases to 8.1 per cent.

    The nation’s economy added 115,00 jobs in April while the unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a point to 8.1 percent, according to a report released Friday—the day before President Obama officially launches his campaign.

    The figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are lower than a month ago and were also below what many analysts had expected. They also showed the nation’s labor participation rate dropping to a 30-year low of 63.6 percent, suggesting workers continue to leave the labor force because their job prospects are so grim.

    The dismal numbers  add to the sense that the labor market is cooling down after months of stronger growth, and come as unwelcome news for Obama, whose campaign launch includes rallies in Virginia and Ohio on Saturday.

    Obama’s likely GOP rival Mitt Romney is hammering the president on the economy, which Romney sees as his best argument for reaching the White House.

    This is not good news for President Obama especially with his re-election campaign starting tomorrow.

    Look for Romney to seize the opportunity and begin to run economic-centric ads in key battleground states.