Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts

Obama’s Watergate? New Fast and Furious details indicate gov’t cover-up, White House involvement



The mainstream media is leaving this scandal totally alone because their protecting their boy, President Obama. The last thing Obama needs to add to his miserable and inept presidency is a revelation of a “Watergate” style cover-up on his watch.



Daily Caller



The heated Congressional investigation into the botched Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program Operation Fast and Furious reached a whole new level on Friday.



New emails obtained by the Los Angeles Times appear to show senior Obama administration and White House officials were briefed on the gun-walking operation. The three White House officials implicated by the LA Times’ reporting are Kevin M. O’Reilly, the director of North American Affairs for the White House national security staff; Dan Restrepo, the president’s senior Latin American advisor; and Greg Gatjanis, a White House national security official.



The emails were sent between July 2010 and February 2011, before the scandalous ATF program was exposed, according the LA Times.



The LA Times says a senior administration official denies that the emails which lead Fast and Furious ATF agent William Newell sent to O’Reilly — who later briefed Restrepo and Gatjanis –included details on “investigative tactics” used in the program. By “investigative tactics,” the White House means how ATF agents facilitated the sale of firearms to drug cartels via “straw purchasers,” or people who could legally buy guns in the U.S. but did so with the intention of selling them to individuals who would traffic them to Mexico.



Those emails apparently show Newell and O’Reilly discussing how the program was affecting Mexico.



Another explosive new detail that emerged on Thursday was a set of documents showing senior officials in Phoenix attempting to cover up a connection between Fast and Furious weapons and U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry’s death.




More here





Why no jobs? ObamaCare passed, employment tanked



President Obama and the Democrats are directly responsible for the state of this lousy economy passing ObamaCare. Sadly, the current GOP leadership is too timid to tell it like it is.



Thankfully an important colum appeared in the New York Post than explains what’s happening.



Grace Marie Turner



In the early months of 2010, the economy was starting to show signs of life after the recession. Then Congress passed the president’s health-overhaul law.



Debate over the ObamaCare law’s potential impact on hiring and the economy has been fierce from the start. The president promised it would be a boon to both; then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the law would create 400,000 jobs “almost immediately.” Others argued the law would make businesses much less likely to hire new workers.



That debate should now be over.



The Heritage Foundation’s James Sherk recently released a paper comparing the rate of net job growth before and after the passage of ObamaCare in March 2010. The findings show that job creation came to a screeching halt at the time ObamaCare was enacted



The low point of the recession came in January 2009, when US employers shed 841,000 jobs in just that one month. But the economy slowly started to recover over the next 15 months; private employers began hiring workers at an average rate of 67,600 per month (net of layoffs). The economy’s high point came with the April 2010 report, when 229,000 jobs were added.



But ObamaCare was signed into law in late March, and the hiring freeze began. In the following months, the economy added an average of just 6,500 jobs per month (net of layoffs) -- less than a tenth the pre-ObamaCare average.

This doesn’t prove that the health law is a major cause of the problem. But there is no question that the jobs recovery stalled after ObamaCare passed.



A new jobs report is due out tomorrow, but yesterday’s preliminary estimates from the payroll company Automatic Data Processing are that the number of new jobs created last month fell far short of what’s needed just to keep up with number of new people entering the workforce.



And there’s good reason to believe that the health law is a major contributor to the hiring halt.



In a recent US Chamber of Commerce study, 33 percent of business owners cited Obama--Care as either the biggest or second-biggest reason they’re not hiring new workers.




More here







Yeah, Joe, it’s a big fucking deal that’s continuing to kill the economy.

Democrats Distancing Themselves From Obama, “Don’t call me Bro, I’ll call you!”



I guarantee you this. Not one white Democrat is gonna want President Obama to pop into their district for a campaign speech. Of course none of them will say it publically, but Obama has become radio-active. That’s what happens when you have a 38 % approval rating and falling.



But, fear mot!



MSNBC is still shilling for the president as if he’s still the most popular politico in the country.





National Journal



It’s been a tough summer for swing-district Democrats seeking reelection in 2012 with a president at the top of the ticket whose approval ratings are in the weeds.

As these members begin to focus on their reelection bids after Labor Day, they are increasingly calculating how close is too close to an unpopular President Obama.

Take Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., who represents a district that nearly went for Republican George W. Bush in 2004. In a recent local TV interview, DeFazio said of Obama that the word “fight” isn’t “in his vocabulary” -- and he then repeated the criticism to constituents at a town hall. Or Rep. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., who won a Republican-friendly district in a special election last year and pointedly declined to endorse the sitting president last week.



The president’s dismal poll ratings, should they continue into next year, could sink Democratic hopes for reclaiming ground in the House and retaining control of the Senate -- especially in battleground states and swing districts.



“If he is where he is now, it’s not going to work for Democrats,” said Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., who opted earlier this year not to seek reelection in his competitive district.



Democrats are also keeping their distance in two House special elections taking place later this month -- in both a solidly-Democratic district in New York City and a Republican-leaning one in rural Nevada. The sting of Obama’s low approval ratings is already being felt in Queens and Brooklyn, where Republican candidate Bob Turner has turned the Democratic-leaning district into a battleground by framing the special election as a referendum on the administration and its treatment of Israel. Liberal firebrand Anthony Weiner held onto that district with ease for more than a decade, and even when scandal forced him out of office, few had thought the race to replace him would be close.



In the Nevada race to replace Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., in the House, national Republican groups have aired advertisements connecting Democratic nominee Kate Marshall with Obama. Strategists from both parties expect Republican Mark Amodei to prevail -- in a district where Obama won 49 percent in 2008.



It’s a sea change from the early days of his presidency, when liberal and moderate Democrats alike sought to tie themselves to the president and benefit from his popularity and charisma. Most moderate Democrats supported his stimulus and health care reform legislation that they’re now distancing themselves from. Less than two years ago, Owens tied himself to the president’s agenda in his initial campaign for Congress. That’s now a distant memory.




More here







Memeorandum

Five NASCAR Drivers Decline President Obama's White House Invitation



Who really wants to hang with a guy who has dragged down the country in a Socialist malaise?



SB Nation.com



President Barack Obama will honor NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and the 11 other Chase drivers from last year in a White House ceremony on Wednesday – but nearly half of the 2010 playoff contenders won't be there.



NASCAR said Thursday that five drivers – Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart – will not be attending the White House visit due to "schedule conflicts."




I’m sure some WH lackey will demand these NAS 5 be banned from driving for insulting the president.



Memeorandum

Rush Limbaugh: 'If They Ever Do a Colonoscopy on Obama They're Gonna Find Richard Wolffe's Head There



I almost fell out of my chair when Rush said this. But, what else would you expect from MSNBC, a station dedicated to cheerleading the Obama administration to the point of nauseating?





NewsBusters



As NewsBusters reported moments ago, MSNBC's Richard Wolffe said Wednesday that House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Oh.) request for Barack Obama to reschedule next week's jobs address might have been due to the color of the President's skin.



On his radio program Thursday, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh responded by saying, "If they ever do a colonoscopy on Obama, they're gonna find Richard Wolffe's head there"








Rush is wrong. They’d also find Chris Matthews and Ed Shultz’s heads too.

W.H. furious over speech delay Really? Then Obama should have cut vacation short by 10 days



I’m getting tired of this whimpering man-child that always seems to find fault in everyone and everything but his own narcissistic self.



When is he going to learn that the American people are no longer swooning over his radical Leftist oratory that is nothing but a re-packaging of the same speech he’s given for the past 3 ½ years?



The Politico



It seemed like a trivial matter: On Wednesday, House Republicans forced the president to delay his speech to a joint session of Congress by one day.

Who cares? The White House cares. Very much.



“It is a big deal that the House said ‘no’ to the president from our end,” a White House source with intimate knowledge of what took place between the House and the president told me Thursday. “This confirms what we all know: They will do anything in the House to muck us up.”



On Wednesday, the White House staff did not know exactly what President Barack Obama was going to say in his major jobs speech, but it knew exactly where and when he was going to say it.



The location would be before a joint session of Congress in the august marble-clad chamber of the House of Representatives. And the speech would be next Wednesday night, when the House returned from vacation, and there would be maximum TV viewership.




More here











Memeorandum

Video: Allen West: I Might Leave Black Caucus Over Lawmaker's 'Lynching' Comment



Rep Allen West (R FL) is the only conservative in the CBC. The other congress people there are pretty useless because they’re tied to a party that only cares about the black vote come election time, and that’s it. And the methods the Democrats use to keep the over 90% voter rate in the Black community going is to use misinformation that successfully fools the people year in and year out.



It’s the, “Look! There goes the racist!” brand of politics that stirs the emotions of the community to vote for a party that keeps them down by keeping their schools in failure, give out free cell phones, and basically keeps the people addicted to government assistance and false promises like phony job training programs.



I put more blame on the people themselves for allowing themselves to “be played” like suckers.



The Huffington Post



Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said Wednesday he is considering leaving the Congressional Black Caucus after one of its leaders said Tea Party-backed lawmakers want to see black people lynched.



West's news comes a day after a video circulated on the Internet showing Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), the CBC whip, telling attendees at a recent CBC jobs event that Tea Party lawmakers "would love to see you and me ... hanging on a tree."



"When you start using words such as lynching ... that’s a very reprehensible word," West said on "FOX and Friends." "I think we should move away from using that type of language."



"One of the things I'm starting to think about is reconsidering my membership in the Congressional Black Caucus because I don't think they're moving toward the right manner in which we are going to solve the problems, not just in the black community, but all across the United States of America," he said.




More here







Whether West leaves or stays in the CBC, I don’t see any difference unless black community wake up and smell the coffee.

Daryl Hannah Arrested During Oil Protest In Front Of White House

Actress Daryl Hannah, who is also a very active environmentalist, was arrested Tuesday (August 30) during a protest against oil pipeline expansion project outside the White House in Washington, DC. The proposed pipeline, known as the Keystone XL pipeline, would run from Canada to the Gulf Coast.


Hannah was arrested along with more than 100 other protestors who sat on the sidewalk in front of the White House and they refused to obey the requests of the police to move away.

"Sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice your freedom for a greater freedom," Hannah said. "And we want to be free from the horrible death and destruction that fossil fuels cause, and have a clean energy future."

Her dedication to the environment have landed her in trouble. In 2006, the 50-year-old Kill Bill actress was arrested for protecting a community garden in LA. She also taken in to custody back in 2009 for protesting mountain top mining in West Virginia.


[Photo courtesy by AP Photo/Evan Vucci]
Follow MindRelaxingIdeas on Twitter! - Facebook!

Far Lefty blog, Wonkette, posts heavily edited video of Michele Bachman and lies “Who likes White people?”

The bits of dirt and grime that collects under your shoes write articles for Wonkette. When they’re not busy sipping wine and eating cheese, they contemplate on how they can sleaze conservatives like Michele Bachman.



Thankfully, The Last Tradition is around to set the record straight and point out the dirty tricks the Left loves to play. Look at this video posted on Wonkette who says Michele Bachman said, “Who likes White people?







Even a person with a 90% hearing deficiency can tell that Michele Bachman did not say what Wonkette clamed.



Here’s the full version:









That’s right you heard correctly. Michele Bachmann said, “Who likes “wet” people?” And she said in context people waiting through the rains to her her speack.



Yahoo News



An edited video that makes it appear as if Republican presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann asked an Iowa crowd, "Who likes white people?" is quickly spreading around the Web. However, if you watch the full, unedited version of the video, it's clear the Minnesota congresswoman said something very different.



Bachmann made a campaign stop at the Midwest Spirit Christian Music Festival on Aug. 5 in West Des Moines to give a speech about her Christian faith. It was raining during her the appearance, so when Bachmann took the stage, she asked, "Who likes wet people?" referring to the still-damp masses who stuck around for her talk.



"Yeah, that's right. Because we have the God of the winds and the rain don't we?" she said immediately after--a key phrasing that was edited out of the shorter clip. "We serve a mighty God."



More here



Nice try Wonkette, but you can’t fool The Last Tradition.



Memeorandum

Behind the scenes Democrats are considering dumping Obama





The whispers are already reaching mania levels of some Democrats questioning “off the record” that Barack Obama should not seek the Democrat nomination for the best interests of the party.



“He’s killing us!” said a New York Democrat and former Obama supporter, “Obama needs to a Lyndon Johnson before he drags the rest of us down like an anchor.”



A recent Gallup poll has the president approval rating at 38% and falling. If the economy doesn’t show robust improvement relatively soon, Obama has no hope of staying in the White House. So, Democrats have to ask themselves: Do will continue to support a radioactive president, or do find a new leader?



I wonder if somebody has Hillary Clinton on speed dial.

Krauthammer breaks with GOP Intelligentsia: Rick Perry could be our next president



This is a significant development because Krauthammer is the first GOP intellectual to say Perry has an excellent chance of becoming our next president.



It will be interesting to see how many more will follow Krauthammer’s lead. My prediction is not many more will jump on the bandwagon because GOP eggheads like David Brooks of the NY Times care more about keeping their “intelligentsia card” and being in good standing with the media.



Daily Caller



Right after making their big splashes as new presidential candidates, many Republican hopefuls enjoyed something of a polling bump. But ultimately their numbers came back to earth. That phenomenon also seems to apply to Texas Gov. Rick Perry — at least so far. His stock rose after his announcement. Could Perry’s big numbers be here to stay?



On this weekend’s broadcast of “Inside Washington,” syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer argued that Perry hasn’t seen his numbers decline because his messaging is just right for success in 2012.




More here





Perry supports Constitutional Amendment banning Gay Marriage



Marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman-period!



Any argument that throws up the term “marriage equality” is a smokescreen to divert attention away from the true aim of the Gay lobby.



What they want to do is legitimize an illicit lifestyle by giving it a government stamp of approval.



Perry has it right!



Wall Street Journal



As gay marriage was about to become legal in New York last month, Texas Gov. Rick Perry channeled his inner libertarian and offered this comment: “You know what? That’s New York, and that’s their business, and that’s fine with me,” Mr. Perry said. “If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business if you live in some other state or particularly if you’re the federal government.”



The remarks came at a meeting of GOP donors and governors in Aspen, Colo., on July 23, a day before the first same-sex marriages were performed in New York. A week later, as it became increasingly clear Mr. Perry would run for president, he told the Associated Press he would support a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.



“Yes, sir, I would. I am for the federal marriage amendment,” he told the AP. “And that’s about as sharp a point as I could put on it.”



More here



Memeorandum


Puerto Rico’s Anthony Weiner, Roberto Arango caught sexting to Gay dating site





Get this guy out of office!



He’s just as much a freak if not worse Anthony Weiner, if not worse because he’s homosexual. Weiner was a pervert, but at least he was straight. That’s right I said it!





Gawker



Puerto Rico's Anthony Weiner is much more thrilling than ours: Last week, images from Puerto Rican senator and GOP cheerleader Roberto Arango's alleged profile on gay hook-up app Grindr surfaced. When a Puerto Rican TV show confronted him, Arango neither confirmed nor denied making the profile but offered this excuse:



You know I've been losing weight. As I shed that weight, I've been taking pictures. I don't remember taking this particular picture but I'm not gonna say I didn't take it. I'd tell you if I remembered taking the picture but I don't.




More here



Memeorandum

Douglas MacKinnon :Left And Right Going Nuclear On Rick Perry





I usually don’t do this, but this brilliant colum deserves to be printed in its entirety. Texas Gov has got enemies on the Left and the Right and Douglas does an excellent job of breaking it down.



Investor’s Business Daily





When you hear every single liberal media outlet in the country say, "We will know more about Rick Perry after we vet his 11 years in office," you need to understand that what they vindictively mean is: "President Obama and his followers will be proud of us after we are done with the mother of all smearing campaigns against the conservative governor of Texas."



Not since Ronald Reagan has a Republican candidate for president evoked such outright fear and loathing from the mainstream media and the far-left.



They are flat-out petrified of Perry and are desperately trying to kill off his candidacy before it can take hold. Why?



Simple. As they suspiciously heap praise on the likes of Jon Huntsman and even Mitt Romney, they increasingly worry that Perry has the best chance to defeat their handpicked socialist messiah now occupying the Oval Office.



With exactly that mission in mind, an editor of a major newspaper told me: "We plan to declare war on Rick Perry and do all in our power to crush him."



There you have it. No pretense of integrity, professionalism or of unbiased news-gathering. This particular newspaper plans to use its very considerable resources to destroy the Perry campaign before it gains momentum. Period.



Enemies On The Right



Beyond the usual suspects in the far-left media, many in the GOP establishment such as Karl Rove, are doing all they can to derail the Perry campaign. Again, why?



Erick Erickson, in an excellent horse race summation in Red State, nails the answer:



"So you have these guys ... trying to settle every score they can with Perry and his consultant, Dave Carney. ... Because so much of the consultant class will be shut out of the White House should Rick Perry win, their livelihoods depend on Rick Perry losing either now or in November.



And frankly, for a few in the GOP consultant class, they'll gladly see Perry lose in November just to ensure they are not shut out of a Republican White House. For all the talk of Perry being an establishment guy, the establishment hates his guts as much as the left does . . ."



Erickson then punctuates the close of that paragraph with this all powerful truth: "That's one reason the base finds him so endearing."



Exactly. The majority of the American people know — or will know — the real deal when they see it, and that is what is causing so much of the left and the establishment right to quake right down to their faux-Texas cowboy boots.



The White House has already launched what has been called an "unprecedented" attack against Perry.



Obediently joining them in this politics of personal destruction campaign against Perry being the likes of NBC News, ABC News, CBS News, the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, and the liberal bottom-feeders at Comedy Central and the cable networks.



Going Nuclear

No surprise to be sure. What is a bit shocking is that the left and some from the out-of-touch right have gone nuclear on Perry so quickly.



For the left, despite their phony denials, they absolutely do see this shaping up as another Jimmy Carter-Ronald Reagan rematch with Obama playing the role of Carter and Perry playing the role of Reagan.



The parallels right down the line are undeniable and very telling.



As such, the far left is trying to do all they can to avoid a liberal-nightmare replay of the Reagan landslide victory of 44 states and 489 electoral votes. Followed of course in 1984 with Reagan winning an amazing 49 out of 50 states and 525 electoral votes.



To his credit, Rick Perry is not trying to sell himself as Reagan. All he is trying to do at the moment is introduce himself to the American people and explain his vision and his hopes for our nation.



As he tells his story and as he explains his vision, more and more voters are lining up behind him. As that momentum builds, more and more from the left and right try to twist his words, besmirch his reputation and deceive the American people.



Fortunately for all who still cherish traditional values, the voters are wise to these self-serving attacks on Perry. Most are now willing and anxious to hear the Texas governor out.



The rest is up to him.



Douglas MacKinnon is a former White House and Pentagon official and author of the forthcoming memoir, "Rolling Pennies In The Dark."



Memeorandum

Romney’s Testy Exchange at a NH Town Hall with an idiot Liberal woman



The woman talking in this video is obviously a Liberal drone that thinks a balanced budget amendment is irresponsible.



Where do you go from there with that type of thinking? It’s irresponsible to balance a budget?



But, that’s the way Libs are, idiotic!



The Blaze



Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is drawing some attention after he got into a heated discussion during a town hall, at times holding his hand up and raising his voice to insist he be allowed to answer a woman’s questions.



It happened Wednesday in New Hampshire when an audience member pressed the former Massachusetts governor about his support for “cut, cap and balance,” telling him, “I wish you would speak the truth rather than say something you think is a platitude, when in fact we do need the government to spend money.”



The woman repeatedly talked over Romney, prompting him to ask “Do you have a question? Do you have a question and let me answer it” and later say, “You had your turn madam, now let me have mine. … Just hold on a moment. Just hold on.”




More here





Shooting star: Texan newcomer Perry takes double-digit lead over Romney in Republican presidential nomination race









I think this is Rick Perry’s nomination to lose!



The reason he’s surged so quickly is because of the weakness in Romney. Romney is not a strong conservative and cannot be trusted when the going gets rough.



Perry embodies all three legs of the Conservative stool—social, fiscal, and defense. And the vicious media reaction also confirms Perry’s potential to “landslide” Obama out of office in 2012.





Daily Mail



Rick Perry has taken a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential nomination race in two polls released today.



It is an indication that the Texas governor could replace the former Massachusetts governor as early favorite.



Although he only formally entered the race on August 13, 29 per cent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said Perry would most likely be their choice to oppose Barack Obama in 2012, according to a Gallup poll.



Mr Perry's support among Republicans was not dented by strong comments just after getting into the race, when he raised eyebrows among some of the party's opinion leaders by seeming to threaten U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and questioning Mr Obama's patriotism.



The first nominating contests will not begin until early next year, but most of the other Republican White House hopefuls have been campaigning for months.



Mr Romney had been first in most nationwide opinion polls. Gallup said 17 per cent favored Romney, when asked to rate the field of candidates vying for the nomination. Texas Congressman Ron Paul was third, at 13 per cent, and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann came fourth, with 10 percent.



The telephone poll of 1,040 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents between August 17 to 21 was the first conducted after the second Republican candidates' debate in Iowa, the Iowa Straw Poll and Mr Perry's entry into the race.



More here





Compare Rick Perry and Barack Obama at age 22



The Perry campaign said a picture is worth 1,000 words.



I agree and we see how the media that's trying so hard to destroy Rick Perry, is the same media that hoodwinked enough American people to elect this fraud president.



Memeorandun

Krusada: Henry-Omaga Diaz reexamined the Manila Hostage Crisis

One year after tragic shameful event that gave the Philippines a bad reputation in handling hostage crisis situation will be reexamined by Henry-Omaga Diaz in ABS-CBN's “Krusada”. 


The incident showed the world how the local police failed to deliver a strategic operation plan plus the lack of proper equipment. The hostage-taking incident at Quirino Grandstand in Manila took the lives of eight tourists from Hongkong.

This episode airs Thursday (August 25) after “Bandila” on ABS-CBN.

Follow MindRelaxingIdeas on Twitter! - Facebook!

Obama’s own words come back to haunt him: Said in 2008 adding $4 Tril to debt is unpatriotic



The former community organizer who has managed to outspend all previous presidents combined should be red in the face today with the release of his own words condemning his own actions.



CNS News



Although the national debt under President Barack Obama has increased $4 trillion since he took office in 2009, as a presidential candidate in 2008 Obama criticized then-President George W. Bush for adding $4 trillion to the national debt, saying it was “unpatriotic” and also “irresponsible” to saddle future generations with such a large national debt.








More here



Senator Obama also voted against raising the debt ceiling when Bush was president and called it a lack of leadership. For once I agree with Obama.



Memeorandum

Tex Gov Rick Perry dominates GOP field: Poll



Just the way I like it!



Perry is hitting the ball out the ballpark despites the complaints s of Karl Rove. I remember the same thing happened to Ron Reagan. He wasn’t liked by some GOPers for being too conservative.



What these RINOs have to get into their poll-tested heads is the days of selecting a Democrat-lite candidate are over. We’ve been there and done that with John McCain.



So Jon Huntsman, who recently gripped that the GOP nominee has to believe in Global Warming, can take a flying leap into irrelevance!



Daily Caller



Newly declared presidential candidate Rick Perry is now the undisputed GOP frontrunner, while Michele Bachmann’s star has started to fall, according to the latest Daily Caller/ConservativeHome presidential primary tracking poll.



Perry now leads the field in all five categories polled this month: first choice, most electable, second choice, best at dealing with the economy, and best at keeping Washington spending under control — often by a large margin.

Perry is the top choice for 29.3 percent of Republicans, handily trouncing Michele Bachmann’s 17.0 percent and Mitt Romney’s 11.1 percent.



But Perry has not just captured the hearts of Republicans; he has also captured the minds of those who are pragmatically looking not just for a nominee they like, but for one who can beat President Barack Obama. He is also considered far and away the most electable, with 46.5 percent naming him the most viable candidate to beat the incumbent president. Romney takes just 19.8 percent of the vote in this category, a sharp drop from July, when he led in this category with 33.5 percent. Michele Bachmann’s share has dropped to just 9.6 percent, falling precipitously from 21.1 percent in July.



That’s particularly problematic for Romney. In the past, his appeal has resided in the fact that he has seemed like the Republican candidate most able to win a general election. He is seen as moderate enough to appeal to independents, and also with someone with the business experience to match up favorably against the president in the troubled economic climate. But Perry has ousted him in both categories. Not only is he perceived as electable, but his record of job creation as governor of Texas appears to trump Romney’s business experience.



Voter perception of Perry’s electability isn’t necessarily off the mark. A Gallup poll released Monday found that Perry would tie Obama in a head-to-head match up among registered voters, with each taking 47 percent of the vote. Public Policy Polling found slightly different results: In its poll, released Tuesday, Obama bests Perry 49 to 43 percent.



With that said, Romney currently looks far more electable in a general election than for which respondents to our tracking poll give him credit. PPP found Obama and Romney tied with 45 percent of the vote, while Gallup found Romney leading the president 48 to 46 percent.



Asked who would do the best job with the economy, Perry is the leader with 27.1 percent of the vote, while Romney is a distant second with 14.5 percent. Paul Ryan (who was pondering a run during the survey, and then very inconveniently announced Monday that he would not run) gets 12.4 percent. For now, at least, Perry’s record of job creation seems to be a greater selling point than Romney’s business credentials.




More here