Here's an idea....

“If the Republican Party really wanted to hold on to the White House in 2009, it's pretty clear what it would do. It would grit its teeth, swallow its doubts and nominate a ticket of John McCain for president and Mike Huckabee for vice president -- and president-in-waiting.”

UPDATE: Drudge doesn't have a link yet, but he is reporting this:

SOURCE: New Hampshire UNION LEADER Endorsing McCain tomorrow... Developing...

Could McCain be the comeback kid? I get all tingly just thinking about it.

Seriously, McCain needs a big time speech on immigration reform. One where he assures us that border control will be a high priority, along with strict enforcement of laws on the books.

Rudy's scandals. This is just the beginning

A report posted on Politico.com Wednesday said that at the time when Giuliani was beginning an extramarital relationship with Judith Nathan, who eventually became his third wife, he billed obscure city agencies thousands of dollars for his police security detail covering trips to visit Nathan.

But Giuliani insists that everything was done in the open, “honestly, honorably, above board.”

At the link Giuliani sits down with Kati Couric to discuss the issue. First let me ask, is anyone else bothered by that first sentence? I mean when a story about a Presidential candidate begins with an "extramarital relationship" and that's not even the scandal, you have to wonder what so many Republicans are thinking supporting this man.

Katie asks Rudy if this story, which broke right before the last debate, threw him a bit during the debate. But the important part of this interview is the last sentence:

Couric: Did it throw you at all during the debate?

Giuliani: No, I don’t think so; go look at the debate.

Couric: Well some have said they didn’t think it was your best debate.

Giuliani: I think it was a good debate. I think I did a really good job.

Couric: You didn’t really answer the question. You think it won’t matter in terms of the election itself - this story?

Giuliani: Of course not. I mean there’ll be 100 more stories … and we’ll see.

And that is the problem my friends, there will be 100 more "stories." Even Rudy knows that.

Economic Prosperity

Yeah, we got it.

via Redstate

The embryonic stem cell debate is over?

That's what Charles Krauthammer says:

A decade ago, Thomson was the first to isolate human embryonic stem cells. Last week, he (and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka) announced one of the great scientific breakthroughs since the discovery of DNA: an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells.
Even a scientist who cares not a whit about the morality of embryo destruction will adopt this technique because it is so simple and powerful. The embryonic stem cell debate is over.

Which allows a bit of reflection on the storm that has raged ever since the August 2001 announcement of President Bush's stem cell policy. The verdict is clear: Rarely has a president -- so vilified for a moral stance -- been so thoroughly vindicated.

More:

History will look at Bush's 2001 speech and be surprised how balanced and measured it was, how much respect it gave to the other side. Read it.

And finally:

That Holy Grail has now been achieved. Largely because of the genius of Thomson and Yamanaka. And also because of the astonishing good fortune that nature requires only four injected genes to turn an ordinary adult skin cell into a magical stem cell that can become bone or brain or heart or liver.

But for one more reason as well. Because the moral disquiet that James Thomson always felt -- and that George Bush forced the country to confront -- helped lead him and others to find some ethically neutral way to produce stem cells. Providence then saw to it that the technique be so elegant and beautiful that scientific reasons alone will now incline even the most willful researchers to leave the human embryo alone.

The Helen Thomas Show

In case you missed this White House briefing: (Q is Helen Thomas)

Q Why should we depend on him?

MS. PERINO: Because he is the commander on the ground, Helen. He's the one who is making sure that the situation is moving —

Q You mean how many more people we kill?

MS. PERINO: Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a — it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, at the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive.

Q Do you know how many we have since the start of this war?

MS. PERINO: How many — we are going after the enemy, Helen. To the extent that any innocent Iraqis have been killed, we have expressed regret for it.

Q Oh, regret. It doesn't bring back a life.

MS. PERINO: Helen, we are in a war zone, and our military works extremely hard to make sure that everyone has the opportunity for liberty and freedom and democracy, and that is exactly what they are doing.
I'm going to move on.

The latest poll from New Hampshire

via Powerline.

I just have this feeling that a different candidate is going to be winning a different state for the first four states. It wouldn't surprise me if Huckabee won Iowa, Romney or McCain won New Hampshire and Rudy wins Florida. Crazy. It will be interesting to watch.

In other hopeful news, Obama moves into first in Iowa.

"Workers Held Hostage At Clinton Office In N.H."

(WBZ) ROCHESTER, N.H. A man is holding at least two people hostage at the presidential campaign office for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Rochester, New Hampshire. A woman was released just a short time ago.

WBZ has learned he walked into the office with some sort of device strapped to him, claiming it was a bomb.

State Police said the man released a mother and a child from the office, but is holding others.

A young woman carrying an infant ran into a nearby store in tears, saying she had been in the campaign office when a man walked in, opened his coat and showed them a what looked like a bomb strapped to his chest with duct tape. She said the man let her and her child go.

There are reports from the scene that the hostage taker is demanding to speak with Senator Clinton.

They have evacuated Edwards and Obama's offices as well since they are nearby.

Hillary is not there, she is in Washington. Her campaign is keeping an eye on the situation.

Crazy people in this world. Let's send up some prayers for those in the office.

The Amazing Race of Mike Huckabee

Check out this latest Iowa poll:

The average of all the polls have Romney at 26.8. It has Huckabee at 24.2. And Giuliani at 12.8.

Considering how much money Romney has poured into Iowa, this is astonishing.

How is this happening? It's pretty simple really. When it comes to his Christianity, Huckabee is the real deal. Naturally being a minister helps, but Huckabee is not afraid to talk the language of faith. As he did here in the YouTube debate:

Sure. I believe the Bible is exactly what it is. It's the word of revelation to us from God himself.

And the fact is that when people ask do we believe all of it, you either believe it or you don't believe it. But in the greater sense, I think what the question tried to make us feel like was that, well, if you believe the part that says "Go and pluck out your eye," well, none of us believe that we ought to go pluck out our eye. That obviously is allegorical.

But the Bible has some messages that nobody really can confuse and really not left up to interpretation. "Love your neighbor as yourself."
And 'as much as you've done it to the least of these brethren, you've done it unto Me.' Until we get those simple, real easy things right, I'm not sure we ought to spend a whole lot of time fighting over the other parts that are a little bit complicated.

And as the only person here on the stage with a theology degree, there are parts of it I don't fully comprehend and understand, because the Bible is a revelation of an infinite God, and no finite person is ever going to fully understand it. If they do, their god is too small.

Compared to Romney's uncomfortable answer and Giuliani's convoluted answer, Huckabee's answer was flawless. It was exactly what most of us Christians believe.

While we don't want a theocracy by any stretch of the imagination, we do want a President of faith. Mainly because we who are Christians understand how important that is in our own lives. We understand how it guides us to be moral and good. It stengthens us when we are weak. It comforts us when we are in despair. It teaches us love, honesty, compassion, and forgiveness. We know all these things would help a President who needs these qualities to lead this country.

For example, if Nixon or Clinton had leaned on faith, they may not have committed the immoral acts they did during their Presidency. If we are a prayerful person we tend to avoid lying and cheating. So you can see why Christians would want a Christian in the White House. Not to impose our beliefs, but to live our beliefs.

Huckabee seems to be taking away Christian support from Romney in Iowa. I think the more independent minded will split between Giuliani and McCain.

If Huckabee wins Iowa, and that is a possibility now, then this will be the most interesting primary in recent history.

It will be an amazing race.

Imagine This

Imagine if the Democratic YouTube debate had had a planted Republican conservative questioner. Peggy Noonan paints us a picture.

I will never forget that breathtaking moment when, in the CNN/YouTube debate earlier this fall, the woman from Ohio held up a picture and said, "Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. Edwards, this is a human fetus. Given a few more months, it will be a baby you could hold in your arms. You all say you're 'for the children.' I would ask you to look America in the eye and tell us how you can support laws to end this life. Thank you."
They were momentarily nonplussed, then awkwardly struggled to answer, to regain lost high ground. One of them, John Edwards I think, finally criticizing the woman for being "manipulative," using "hot images" and indulging in "the politics of personal destruction." The woman then stood in the audience for her follow up. "I beg your pardon, but the literal politics of personal destruction--of destroying a person--is what you stand for."

Imagine the Democrat candidate's faces! No one ever confronts them this way on what is a serious issue in today's world. How can we stand for children if we allow them to be destroyed at a rate of 4000 a day? They support laws that takes the lives of our most precious gift, our children and no one in the media ever calls them on it. Ever.

Maybe it's time someone did.

Did you know...

...that many are praying for Hollywood?

Hillary polled Streisand's support first

That's right. They polled Democratic voters to see if Streisand's support would help. Polling said yes.

It is clear that Hillary will be polling her way to the Presidency just as her husband polled his way to popularity during his tenure as President.

You just have to love their dedication to their beliefs and values. If it polls well, they are for it. If it doesn't, then they are not.

Good grief.

Preach it brother!

Jason Whitlock at FoxSports asks how long will black men allow the culture of death among them? Whose to blame? The same people who can solve it, themselves.

Excellent.

via LST

I just want to give all of you a hug....

Just felt like it. I love this video.

More evidence that Bill Clinton lied

It feels like old times, doesn't it?

A former senior aide to then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice disputed Bill Clinton's statement this week that he "opposed Iraq from the beginning," saying that the former president was privately briefed by top White House officials about war planning in 2003 and that he told them he supported the invasion.

More:

Hillary Mann Leverett, at the time the White House director of Persian Gulf affairs, said that Rice and Elliott Abrams, then National Security Council senior director for Near East and North African affairs, met with Clinton several times in the months before the March 2003 invasion to answer any questions he might have. She said she was "shocked" and "astonished" by Clinton's remarks this week, made to voters in Iowa, because she has distinct memories of Abrams "coming back from those meetings literally glowing and boasting that 'we have Clinton's support.' "

The slow demise of the New York Times

The information age allowed people to read and hear different sides to every story, not just the liberal spin The New York Times wanted us to read.

Maybe they should try some real journalistic integrity by allowing both sides of an issue or story and maybe they won't have to keep laying people off.

Just a taste of what's to come....

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Rudy's Ties to a Terror Sheikh
Giuliani's business contracts tie him to the man who let 9/11's mastermind escape the FBI

It's a hit piece against Rudy at the Village Voice, but this is what we will face if we nominate Rudy.

Not good. Not good at all.

The Republican Debate

It was a pretty entertaining and informative debate as far as these things go. I suppose the big story is all the plants from other Democratic campaigns asking questions.

I think all the candidates did well. Huckabee was the funniest. Rudy was the most combative. McCain slapped Ron Paul around pretty good, which was enjoyable. Mitt held his own. Fred was ok, which is his problem. He can't get beyond being ok.

The YouTube questions turned out pretty well. Although I might suggest to future questioners that you might want to wear something other than a t-shirt to ask a question on national TV.

He was for it before he was against it...

I wonder how many times we are going to be able to use that line? Heh.

Bill Clinton told a crowd in Iowa on Tuesday that he opposed the Iraq war from the start and criticized Bush for cutting taxes even as he paid for the war.

“Even though I approved Afghanistan and opposed Iraq – from the beginning – I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support the soldiers.”

But Mark Halperin of Time cited two 2003 quotes which seem to show Pres. Clinton to be lying. (I'm shocked, aren't you?)

April 14, 2003: “In his first speech in Minnesota since leaving office, former President Bill Clinton on Sunday praised President Bush’s handling of the war in Iraq. But he criticized Bush’s domestic priorities…” Minneapolis Star Tribune

May 13, 2003: “Former President Bill Clinton accused President Bush of spending more time fighting the war on terrorism than on domestic issues. ’I supported the president when he asked for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but we can’t be forever strong abroad if we don’t keep getting better at home.”

As you can see in this 2004 interview Clinton makes it clear he did support the war: (emphasis mine)

Noting that Bush had to be "reeling" in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001, Clinton said Bush's first priority was to keep al Qaeda and other terrorist networks from obtaining "chemical and biological weapons or small amounts of fissile material."
"That's why I supported the Iraq thing. There was a lot of stuff unaccounted for," Clinton said in reference to Iraq and the fact that U.N. weapons inspectors left the country in 1998.

Obama threw another punch:

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., scoffed Wednesday at former President Bill Clinton's recent claim that he opposed the Iraq war from the very beginning.

"Well if he did," Obama said on a conference call with reporters, "I don't think most of us have heard about it."

"My understanding is that Senator Clinton and him were talking frequently. So you'll have to talk to them about whether they discussed this issued at all," he said.

I just LOVE the reference to them talking frequently. Maybe Obama does have what it takes to beat this woman.

This does seem to be a strange mistake for Bill Clinton to make though.

The difference between CNN and Fox News

A former CNN golden boy, Bill Hemmer discusses the difference at the New York Observer:

“People ask me all the time what the difference is between CNN and Fox,” said Mr. Hemmer. “It’s day and night. We’re a business. Viewers count. Ratings count. The store has got to stay open. We need customers.”

More:

Mr. Hemmer took another sip of his coffee and launched into a story about flying to Louisiana with a lean four-person team to cover Hurricane Katrina on his first assignment for Fox. There, on the sweltering streets of Baton Rouge, he came face to face with a 15-member CNN crew, who were busy eating pizza.
Mr. Hemmer shook his head. A pizza party in a disaster zone? He said the story was telling of an organization that had grown plump and was no longer hungry. “At Fox we do more with less,” he said.

If you want to read some of the most snobby elitist comments about Bill, who they just assume is Republican and gay, check out the comment section.

via mediabistro

"God and Country"

The anti-war and anti-troop films of the Hollywood left have tanked. They wanted to portray our boys as murderers and rapists because that is how they see them. But it isn't how our nation sees them. We see them for the heros that they are.

A Soldier's Mind has the scoop on a new movie coming out Dec. 15th that we will all want to see, "God and Country."

I was recently contacted about a new movie that is in the works about our Troops and the fantastic humanitarian work that they do in other countries. Things we don’t hear about in the media. Things like handing out toys, clothing and candy to the children, providing medical care to the citizens of the country, rebuilding vital resources for cities and towns, and the list could go on and on. These types of things, that are accomplished on a daily basis by our Troops are ignored by the media, but one film producer/director hopes to change that. He hopes to highlight the long-standing tradition of humanitarian service, that our military has, in the soon to be released movie God And Country. The types of things highlighted in this movie, are the things that we’ve been telling our readers about, the accomplishments of our Troops, that help to enable the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan, to stand on their own and take charge of their country. The acts of kindness, go a long way in establishing a trusting relationship with the citizens and it’s a task that our Troops gladly tackle.

American troops have a long and noble tradition of humanitarian service. From handing out candy bars and care packages to street children, to offering medical and dental care to the poor, to building churches and orphanages in third world countries… these American men and women commit thousands of hours to the service of others around the world, without expectation of gratitude or praise. GOD AND COUNTRY examines these heroes and their missions, and reveals a side of the military rarely mentioned in the mainstream media.

Producer/Director Scott Mactavish is a former Hollywood insider and US Navy veteran, who left LA to make films that counterpunch the typical liberal media agenda.

GOD AND COUNTRY is a direct rebuttal to the films put out by Brian DePalma, Mark Cuban and the other Hollywood ‘elite’. The film is due to be released on December 15th. You can pre-purchase a copy of the movie, by going to the God And Country website.

Sweet.