Instead of getting him back on the high road, President Obama’s bus tour left him deeper in the ditch. What to do now? Of course, give a Big Speech on Jobs! Clearly, the Obama team is back to the 2008 playbook: When the chips are down, the chief will come through with a powerful,…
Read MoreIf I were a self-respecting Republican, I’d be praying for Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman to catch fire – or for Paul Ryan to get into the race. Especially after hearing these gems from Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry: Bachmann in South Carolina: “Under President Bachmann, you will see gasoline come down below…
Read MoreYesterday was a day the locust ate – everything that could go wrong did and there were no simple solutions. If it could go wrong it did. A television ad jumped the tracks, a website derailed, a mailing imploded. Three train wrecks in three hours. Then, that night, when I got home instead of having…
Read MoreA TAPster who is a veteran observer of legislators has a good take on State House speaker Thom Tillis: “Tillis who squirted from obscurity to the state’s most powerful politician in record time, is an adroit organizer, manager and fundraiser and is as politically sophisticated as most of us have ever seen. He’s made two…
Read MoreNo doubt the Governor can explain to her fellow Democrats why she’s fighting Republican legislators ‘tooth and nail’ but how on earth can she explain to Democrats she’s been bushwhacked from behind by the Obama Administration? The problem, Obama’s Justice Department says, is the Governor (or rather her minions who run Medicaid for her)…
Read MoreThis is a big day for my wife Gwyn and me. We become empty nesters. We take our daughter to Appalachian State for her first day of college. Our son was born 22 years, two months and two days ago. Every day since, our daily lives have focused on James and Maggie: feeding them,…
Read MoreDuring Governor Rick Perry’s announcement he opined he loves America and loves Texas and loves the U.S. Army and loves South Carolina with its early Primary and I thought, Yes – but where do you stand on raising the debt ceiling? Governor Perry’s maiden voyage into Presidential politics is being hailed as a grand…
Read MoreSpeaker Thom Tillis again shows signs of being soft (if you’ll pardon the term) on gay marriage. According to the Charlotte Observer, Tillis was pressed at a town meeting this week about the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. “Can you explain to us why you’re squandering taxpayer resources on this…
Read MoreAt the Iowa debate, without blushing, Tim Pawlenty described himself an ‘Effective, Tested, Conservative Leader’ – two days later he was out of the Presidential race. So much for the power of slogans. This election folks are asking, Where’s the beef? On the other hand, Newt Gingrich breathed a real spark into his flagging…
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