I expected Paul Ryan to do well, but this well?  Wow!  The last time I saw anything close to this was when Ronald Reagan gave a televised speech just before the 1964 Presidential election.  Democrats expected some “B” level actor.  Instead they were introduced to the “Great Communicator.  Commentators tonight expected Ryan to give a good speech, but they never dreamed that he could be so effective at connecting with an audience.  He had that rare ability to connect with the television audience just as well as he did with all those die hard Republicans in the Tampa Convention Center.  We just saw the public unveiling of a new force of nature.  I recommend Democratic leaders all over the country put in an order for a mountain of Maalox.  They are going to need it.

Democrats will respond, as they always respond, with personal attacks and class warfare rhetoric.  They will try to destroy Ryans credibility by challenging some of his facts.  Then they will try to portray him as an evil villian determined to give huge tax cuts to big corporations while leaving Granny to die all alone without her Medicare.  But this time they have a couple of huge problems.  One is that even if you disagree with Paul Ryan he oozes credibility.  No one, who watched him discuss his grandmother with Alzheimers is going to believe that this man wants to cut off health care for granny.  Then, in a moment of high theater, he made a compelling argument that it was Obama who is threatening granny’s Medicare.  It was stunningly effective.  Ryan took the traditional Democratic Mediscare play book and used it against them.  It was a remarkable achievement.

This is going to be a speech that will be remembered for a long time.  The biggest problem for Republicans is that Mitt Romney has a very tough act to follow.  But Mitt Romney is not John McCain.  He probably won’t be nearly as effective as Ryan, but he will be effective enough.  Ultimately, Paul Ryan did a magnificent job of teeing it up for Romney. 

Ari Fleischer made a very astute observation.  He said the real issue is whether Republicans and  Democrats show up the way they did in 2008, the way they did in 2004 or the way they showed up in 2012.  He pointed out that unless Democrats show up in unprecedented numbers, as they did in 2008, that Obama is in serious trouble.  None of the liberal pundits, including Carville, challenged him on that.  That is because they know he is right.  But what Fleischer didn’t say is that a split between 2004 and 2008 is close to the best case scenario for Obama, and under that scenario Obama loses.  No one in either party seriously believes Democrats will repeat the 2008 turnout.  If Republican and Democrat turnout is similar to what is was in 2004, Romney will win in a landslide.  If it is similar to what it was in 2010, it may be a total wipeout.  The least likely scenario is a repeat of 2008.  Only a deaf, dumb and blind liberal optimist without access to polling data would predict that scenario. 

One final thought.  Joe Biden is scheduled to speak next week.  Imagine you are a liberal Democrat with faint residual dreams of Obama squeaking out a victory in November.  Now imagine that you just got done watching Paul Ryan explode off the screen.  Now close your eyes and imagine Joe Biden trying to match this performance.  Suddenly you get this cold clammy feeling and you feel faint.  You wonder if there is enough alcohol in the house.  Then you think about the upcoming debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, on national television.  A mountain of Maalox may not be enough.

TDM

My wife and I went to see 2016. It was a chilling documentary of Obama’s personal history. Nearly everything presented in the film, with the exception of some commentary, is based on well documented facts. The author believes that Obama is anti-colonial and that he wants to destroy the United States. I am not sure he proved that, because it is always hard to prove motive. However, it is clear that whether Obama is making decisions because of malice, or mere incompetence, the end result is the same.

Obama’s personal history is beyond disturbing. It is full of left-wing, anti-American radicals. The one thing shared in common by many of his closest friends is vocal hatred of the United States. Obama admitted in his book that he sought out the most radical Marxist professors. I strongly believe that if the average American learned the truth about Obama’s personal history that he would become unelectable.

I am sure that most people who attend this film are already convinced that Obama must go. I am equally sure that those people who support Obama will just ignore it.

Perhaps more important was the documentary on Mitt Romney run on CNN last night. It was stunningly good. Romney helped himself a lot. He looks very real and very American. It was a remarkable contrast with Obama’s personal history. CNN had no problem finding friends of Mitt Romney more than willing to talk about him.

Next week CNN will run a similar documentary on Obama. I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t ask Obama any of the difficult questions. Although they reminded viewers about 30 times a minute that Romney is a Mormon, I suspect there will be almost no mention of Obama’s religious beliefs. It will be stunning if there is mention of Williams Ayers, or Reverend Wright, or Anthony Rizzo and almost no chance of bringing up Frank Marshall Davis. The bias will shine on through. But it won’t matter. In spite of their best efforts, Mitt Romney comes across as a decent human being who genuinely cares about people. Perhaps CNN wanted to hurt Romney by constantly reminding us that he is a Mormon, but instead they actually made the Mormon religion seem very non-threatening. I think CNN really helped Mitt Romney, regardless of what they intended.

If CNN had run a documentary like this on Obama in 2008, John McCain would be President of the United States. Even if they run a documentary like this next week, instead of the expected puff piece, he will suffer a devastating defeat. I doubt that they will come close to doing that, but I still think the contrast will be there for everyone to see. Smoke and mirrors only go so far.

TDM

According to this scientific study, young people who smoke pot lower their IQ’s permanently.  Let’s see, one candidate for President is a Mormon who doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke anything and doesn’t even drink coffee with caffine.  The other dedicated his high school yearbook to his dope dealer and has talked openly about how he enthusiastically smoked pot to get high because that was the point:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9426205/Cannabis-smoking-permanently-lowers-IQ.html

This explains a lot.

TDM

Sarah Palin just may be the most brilliant politician in the United States.  No candidate in either political party has been the subject of so much unfair scrutiny.  The vicious personal attacks on her, including attacks on her family, would be unthinkable if they were directed at anyone else.  There seems to be no limit to the level of depravity that is acceptable, as long as Sarah Palins is the target.   Even now, the easiest way to get a cheap laugh on a late night show is still to make some remark slamming Sarah Palin as naive and stupid.  To top it off, she has a high squeaky voice that is annoying even to her strongest supporters.

Yet, perhaps more than anyone else, Sarah Palin is a real king maker.  When she speaks, people listen.  They not only listen, they tend to change course.  All she has to do is enter something on her twitter account and it becomes the story of the day.  She has an uncanny ability to focus in on tomorrows big story.  On several occasions her last minute support for a candidate has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.  Only a fool ignores Sarah Palin.

Now she has given Barack Obama the perfect poison pill.  By publicly saying that Obama should replace Joe Biden with Hillary Clinton, she has made it nearly impossible for him to even consider doing that.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2188688/Palin-calls-Obama-dump-Biden-make-Hillary-Clinton-2012-running-mate.html

I think Sarah Palin knows that Obama’s only real chance at getting re-elected is to dump Biden and replace him with Hillary.  The problem is that the loud sustained applause by the main stream media would have the potential to drown out anything Romney or Ryan has to say.  However, I doubt that Obama was seriously considering that, primarily because I don’t think Michelle Obama would tolerate it.  In addition, I suspect that Hillary Clinton is rather enjoying the opportunity to watch the Obama self destruction tour from her safe harbor as Secretary of State.

I am sure that a lot of top Democrats are very aware that Obama is sinkling like a stone.  They also know that he is poised to take a licking in the 2012 November election that could take much of the Democratic Party down with him.  They may be putting on a brave public front, but privately they have to be close to desperation.  It is these people who dream of Hillary Clinton riding in on her pale White Horse to save the day.  This is why what Sarah Palin did is so important.  They might be able to convince Obama to stand up to Michelle.  They might even be able to convince Hillary that this is a great idea.  But it will be nearly impossible for them to admit that Sarah Palin was right about anything.

I have learned that Sarah Palin is a lot smarter than most of her detractors.  Whe she speaks, it is wise to pay close attention.  I don’t think this comment was an accident and I am positive that she does not really want Hillary Clinton to replace Biden as VP nominee.   So, she did the one thing that makes this least likely to occur.   Never underestimate the damage when Palin pounces.

Note:   I wasn’t even done writing this when the White House announced that Joe Biden is staying.  Press Secretary Carney could not resist taking a shot as Sarah Palin.  Score another one for Palin:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/16/carney-biden-will-stay-we-wont-take-vp-advice-from-mccain-video/

TDM

In my opinion, Mitt Romney chose one of the most charismatic politicians in our nation’s history to be his running mate. He also chose one of the smartest. Democrats are about to learn this the hard way.

Romney has major problems that impact his candidacy. He simply does not connect very well with an audience. Average Americans do not relate well to him. He is too wealthy, and his being a Mormon makes a lot of people uncomfortable. He also is not very good at explaining conservative principles in ways people understand. Romney is brilliant, but he is not brilliant at making his point. He has solved all these problems with the selection of Paul Ryan.

Ryan oozes charisma. If you watch him in a one-on-one interview, you will quickly see that people really like him. For example, CNN played an interview with him by Gloria Borgia. She asked him about the Democratic ad that had someone who looked like Paul Ryan pushing an old lady in a wheelchair over a cliff. His response was beyond brilliant. He just smiled and laughed. His response was that he is a real person with a real family who just happens to work in Washington, D.C., a silly place, four days a week. He totally charmed Borgia. You could tell she liked him in spite of herself.

This is something that Paul Ryan shares with Sarah Palin that the liberal left cannot even comprehend. He is a genuine guy, so he doesn’t need to pretend. He is so comfortable in his own skin that others are comfortable around him. Democrats are going to try and demonize this man, as they always do, but they have a problem:  it’s really hard to dislike Paul Ryan.

Ryan is so obviously one of us. He is that average American, who lives in your neighborhood, attends your church and takes his kids to the soccer game. In this regard, he is the polar opposite of Mitt Romney. He is also the polar opposite of both Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Quite simply, they are politicians pretending to be real people. Paul Ryan is a real person who just happens to be a politician. That makes all the difference in the world.

Ryan seems not only to understand complex issues; he can explain them in terms that everyone understands. Even President Obama listens when Paul Ryan speaks. He is a compelling speaker with a firm grasp of the subject and a unique ability to connect with his audience.

It will not take long for the Democratic attack machine to gear up. We are going to see some really strong ads trying to portray Ryan as an evil villain who sold his soul to exploit the little guy at the expense of big business. Here, again, is their problem:  Paul Ryan. He almost doesn’t have to say anything. He can just smile, with his wife and three kids close by, all bundled up to attend a Green Bay Packers football game, and say, “Were they talking about me?”  “Do I really look like that guy to you?”

No one, especially yours truly, has a crystal ball that will accurately predict the future. But it doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that Mitt Romney made a brilliant choice in his selection for V.P. All of the major problems with the Romney campaign are fixed overnight.

My guess is that Democrats will launch an all-out assault on Paul Ryan, which will be a mistake. For one thing, he is running for Vice President, not President. If they focus on Ryan, that helps Romney; in addition, these assaults, guaranteed to be outrageous and disgusting, are likely to make Ryan even more popular. People will respond viscerally to unfair attacks. Democrats need to demonize Paul Ryan’s ideas without demonizing the man. Good luck with that!

Democrats think they destroyed Sarah Palin, but in reality they turned her into a political rock star. Sarah Palin proved that she is smarter than any of her detractors. While Democrats continue to laugh at her and put her down, when she speaks, elections change course. It is a foolish person who underestimates the political force that is Sarah Palin.

Paul Ryan is Sarah Palin on steroids. He has all of her charisma, without the high voice and the Alaskan accent. He has a superior academic and political resume, and he has something more important—respect; even by people who disagree with him. Sarah Palin has been treated unfairly by nearly everyone. Even Dick Cheney, who should know better, failed to treat her with respect. Sarah Palin needs to waste valuable time explaining to the uninformed why she is worthy of respect. Paul Ryan doesn’t have that problem. Perhaps it is because he is so eloquent in explaining his positions. Perhaps it is because he just looks the part. Whatever the reason, Ryan has it in spades.

Watch out!  It’s time for Ryan’s Song and it just might be a runaway best seller.

TDM

We are running out of gas, and so is the Obama campaign.  The recent polls showing an Obama surge are nonsense.  The only polls that matter, elections, are all trending away from Obama.  Obama shot his wad with a desperate “Hail Mary” media buy that accomplished little.  He was just as stupid with his campaign money as he was with taxpayer’s money.  He wasted millions on a strategy that didn’t work.  He ran out of time, out of ideas and out of money.   Even liberal Democrats eventually get tired of financing a lost cause.

He tried to spin Bain Capital as vulture capitalism, but that didn’t work.   Bain Capital is a major success story.  It is pretty unconvincing to criticize someone for being successful.  Then he sent Harry Reid out to claim that Romney didn’t pay income tax for ten years.  If Obama really wanted to find people who didn’t pay their taxes he should start in his own administration with his Treasury Secretary.  In addition, of course, Harry has zero evidence.  When Romney told him to either put up or shut up, Reid shut up.  Even people like George Stephanopoulos were disgusted with Harry’s great adventure.

Obama’s “friends” accused Romney of killing a guy’s wife by shutting down a steel plant and cancelling his health insurance.  This would have been a terrible ad even if Romney had actually shut down the plant and even if he had cancelled the guy’s health insurance, since that typically does not cause cancer.  But even that wasn’t true. Nothing about the ad was true.  It was so bad it was even denounced by the liberal left.  They at least expect higher quality lies.  More recently the White House tried to claim they knew nothing about the false claim, only to have audio tape surface proving the opposite.   This is nothing short of pathetic.

This is a classic example of being caught in a lie, trying to lie your way out of a lie, only to get caught lying about lying.  It is one thing to lie about an opponent.  Everyone expects politicians to lie about each other and to distort the other candidate’s position on issues.   It is something else to tell such a stupid lie.  Apparently the Obama campaign still hasn’t noticed that the blogosphere is on to them and they don’t miss a thing.

But ultimately, as bad as this is for Obama, it may not matter.  Something else is happening that may be a fatal blow to the Obama re-election campaign.  There was a big fire at a refinery in Richmond, CA.  Since California has unique requirements for refining gas, only a handful of refineries produce gas legal to sell in California.  The damage from this fire will create a shortage of gas in California.  Thanks to Obama’s war on coal, a bunch of coal fired power plants are shutting down.  That will raise the cost of electricity and increase the demand for natural gas and oil.  All that hot weather has ruined a lot of crops, raising the price of ethanol.  There also appears to be another international shortage of crude oil.  This is starting to look like a perfect storm destined to produce skyrocketing gas and electric costs.

If this is true, hang on to your hats because the price of gas is going through the roof, faster than you can imagine.  Don’t be surprised if Californians start seeing $4.00 gas, on its way to $5.00 without passing “Go” and without collecting $200.  If that happens, less than 90 days before the election, it won’t matter what Obama or the liberal left says or how desperately they try to blame George Bush.  The weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth by Americans trying to pay for fuel will drown out everything and everyone else. 

Someone once asked me how Romney would possibly win California.  The answer is $5.00 gas.

 TDM

Credence Clearwater had a major hit in “Bad Moon Rising.”   One of my favorite lines was the following:

Don’t go around tonight,
Well, it’s bound to take your life,
There’s a bad moon on the rise.

I am still convinced that what they actually said was “there’s a bathroom on the right.”  If you don’t believe me, listen to the original recording and you can hear it for yourself.

This song could be re-released today and dedicated to the Democratic Party.  As Yogi Berra once said, it’s getting late early.  There are more and more signs that the Democratic faithful have figured this out.  Obama’s fund raising machine is running on empty.   As an incumbent President, Obama should be up 9 to 10 points in the polls.  The President of the United States has huge advantages during an election year.  If the polls were showing a close election, that would be bad news for Obama.  But, the polls are showing Romney pulling away.  The only way any poll can even pretend to look favorable for Obama is to poll about twice as many Democrats as Republicans.  Even those polls are starting to look scary for the Annointed One.

In addition, President Obama is the gift that keeps on giving.  Stung by criticism that he relied too much on a TelePrompter, he stupidly tried speaking without one.  He immediately stepped in it and on it.  His comments about how small business owners didn’t actually build the businesses they built was incredibly dumb.   Now Obama is claiming that he didn’t say what he said.  Then, when it became obvious even to the main stream media that he did say what he said, he claimed he didn’t mean what he meant.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/24/12916104-obama-pushes-back-on-you-didnt-build-that-attack?lite

The Obama administration is now running ads that reek of desperation.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-campaign-brings-felons-latest-ad_649152.html

This is really really bad.  Here we are, just over three months from the election, and Obama has run out of things to say.   The economy is not only failing to improve, it looks poised to go over the cliff.  Voters all over the country are rejecting anything resembling a tax.  In California they couldn’t even pass a new tax on cigarettes.  Now the voters in the Atlanta region voted down a penny sales tax increase for transportation projects:

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Atlanta-region-shoots-down-transportation-tax-3755100.php

The voters are discouraged and they are angry.  They are sending a strong message to Washington that they want the government to stop wasting money.  In this particular case, unlike the high speed rail to nowhere in California, the project even made some sense.  But the bottom line is no one trusted government to get it done right.

If you want proof of the real mood in the county, check out the Chick fil-A story.  Recently the owner of Chic fil-A appeared to be in serious trouble for saying what he believed about gay marriage.  In prior cases, the main stream media assault would have resulted in a rather pathetic public apology and at least some kind of concession.  But not this time.   The owner of Chic fil-A didn’t budge an inch.  Chic fil-A was immediately under assault with liberal left wing Democratic mayors pompously saying they wouldn’t allow such moral degeneracy in their town.  But the liberal left failed to understand the nationwide anger over the attempt to force everyone to accept their position on gay marriage.  Liberals define free speech as the main stream media only providing free favorable coverage to liberals.  A lot of people are becoming more and more intolerant of intolerance.

The citizens have spoken with a loud voice that sent shock waves through the liberal establishment.  There was a nationwide movement to support Chic fil-A and people responded, in mass, all over the country.  This may just be the biggest mass demonstration in the history of the United States:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/eat-more-chicken-rallies-protests-of-support-and-critique-planned-at-chick-fil-a-restaurants/2012/08/01/gJQAb3TMPX_blog.html

If you are a liberal and a Democrat there’s a bad moon on the rise.  And with regard to liberals who are starting to experience feel more than a little fear induced nausia, go the nearest Chick fil-A.  There’s definitely a bathroom on the right.

TDM

No one likes a braggart  That is why every smart NFL QB gives credit to his teammates after a big win.  But it is even worse if it turns out that you have nothing to brag about in the first place.  There have always been rumors that Obama was reluctant to order the assault on Osama bin Laden.  The alleged concern was with regard to the political damage to Obama if an assault was launched and Osama bin Laden wasn’t there.  Frankly, that was naive, because no one in either party would have criticized him for launching an assault that had any chance of getting Osama bin Laden.

There are a lot of signs that the military despises Obama.  If so, nothing would have infuriated them more than to see him bragging about his heroic decision to send in someone else to kill Osama bin Laden.  That is nothing would have infuriated them more, unless he actually jeopardized the mission for months by his incompetence and indecision.

When now there is a new book out regarding this raid and it is devastating to Obama:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/29/obama-canceled-bin-laden-kill-raid-three-times-valerie-jarrett/

Whether they like it or not, the main stream media is going to find this story hard to ignore.  Even if the MSM ignores the story, the blogosphere is about to go ballistic.  This is a devastating blow to the myth of Obama the great leader.

Giving the order to take out Osama bin Laden was a no brainer.  But apparently, in the case of Obama, it was also a no spiner.  At the time of the raid there were reports that Leon Panetta was so disgusted with Obama that he launched the raid, on his own authority, and didn’t even notify Obama until it was too late to recall. 

This gets even worse.  Even the famous picture of Obama in the situation room has huge issues.  First, there was no live broadcast to the situation room of the raid, so that picture could not possibly be true.  Second, there are reports that it was photoshopped, much in the same way that Obama’s birth certificate was photoshopped.   Check it out for yourself:

It doesn’t take an expert to notice that the image of Obama is too small.  Compare the size of his head and shoulders to people standing back of him, farther from the Camera.  Also notice how even Biden appears to have a seat at the table, but Obama is off to the side.  At best, he looks like nothing more than an irelevant spectator.  

Obama desperately wanted to give himself the Congressional Medal of Honor to go with his Nobel Peace Prize.  Instead, it looks like the award he deserved was the “Waffle Iron.”

TMD

My mother used to always say that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.  I still am not entirely sure what she meant by that.  Since a goose is female and a gander is male, some has interpreted to mean that if a woman can act that way, so can a man.  I have always viewed this as meaning: “don’t ask someone to do something you wouldn’t want to do.”  Since my definition fits the story better, I’m sticking with it.

Nancy Pelosi has been leading the charge demanding, self-righteously, that Mitt Romney furnish all his old tax returns.  Apparently when Ms. Pelosi said this she failed to realize there were mirrors in the room.  The news media started suggesting she release her own tax returns.   Better yet, perhaps every member of congress should release their tax returns.  I am relatively sure this sent a collective chill down the spines of most members of congress, assuming we can find any who actually have a spine.  Ms. Pelosi experienced a sudden anxiety attack so severe she briefly began to talk coherently:

http://www.rollcall.com/news/nancy_pelosi_downplays_tax_return_demand-216283-1.html?pos=hln

She suddenly decided that all this tax return stuff is just a trivial distraction compared with more important economic issues.  Now when a liberal Democrat wants to change the topic to talk about the economy, you just know they are beyond desperate.  I think I know why.  A whopping 17 out of 535 members of congress have released their tax returns.  This is probably one of the few topics where Ms. Pelosi is guaranteed bi-partisan support. 

In addition, recognizing the danger here, Pelosi tried to introduce a poison pill by suggesting that the media should also be willing to release their tax returns.

“Some people think the same standard should be held to the ownership of the news media in the country who are writing these stories about all of this. What do you think of that?” she asked

Let me translate:  “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”

TDM

There are numerous reports expressing concern about Syria’s large stockpiles of WMD.  There seems to be little if any dispute that Syria has such weapons.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/syria-brink-civil-war-jordanian-king-213636899.html

This is actually similar to the wide spread belief that Saddam Hussein had WMD before the Iraq war.   I have never understood how people could believe that only George Bush was lying when Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, John Edwards, Jay Rockefeller and a cast of thousands said the exact same thing.  Everyone knew Saddam had WMD, until they knew he didn’t.

Actually, no legitimate expert denies that Iraq had WMD under Saddam. The only dispute is what happened to them. The liberal left would have us believe that Saddam just quietly destroyed these stockpiles, without telling anyone.  That seems to be the least plausible explanation to me.  A far more likely scenario is that Saddam shipped them to Syria just before the war.  Keep in mind that a large stockpile of WMD is not necessary very large.  That is the whole point.  A small amount of Sarin Nerve gas would do an incredible amount of damage.

Well lookee here.  Syria has exactly the same kind of WMD everyone though Saddam had before the Iraq war.  What a coincidence.  Could it?  It is possible?  Naw!  That would require giving George W. Bush a small amount of credibility and the main stream media could never risk that.

TDM