Tony Snow

As you have probably have heard, Tony Snow is once again battling cancer. My family's prayers are with him and his family for his speedy, successful recovery.

I think Tony Snow is a truly honorable man who is following his heart and serving his country, doing his best for what he believes in. I have always thought that his time at the White house has been a real open insight into the working of Bush's policy. I think he is great.

He will beat this. He has a lot more good work to do for himself, his family and America.

RR

The Fifth at the Halls of Justice.

With Monica Goodling taking "The Fifth" when she goes to senate hearings, I sense no good outcome for Alberto Gonzalez. I think he is in political trouble. I think that Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty is out to get him. I think he decided that he wanted to be AG and set about to get the job. There is no actual wrongdoing, from what I have seen so far but Al Gonzalez is going to get whacked by politics here pure and simple.

That isn't what is so fascinating here however. It is the strategy that Goodling's lawyer, John Dowd, is implementing here. If I was being investigated by the democrats, I think I might want this guy on my legal team. Here is what he said...

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from
even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very
real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.
"One need look no further than the recent
circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby," he said, a reference to
the recent conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff in
the CIA leak case."

Did you catch that. Dowd is saying, very clearly, that his client can't testify at all without the potential for her to incriminate herself. I do not think he thinks she has done anything illegal, just that the potential for incriminating oneself in testimony is a great risk to his client. Still don't follow....

Why is it such a risk to talk to the Senate subcommittee? Dowd has looked at the Libby case and sees Libby did not break any laws in his actions. He correctly sees that Libby was 'hung' because his recollection of events was different that Russert's recollection of events. This became a procedural act, not a substantive act. If Libby took the Fifth in the grand jury and kept his mouth shut, he would not have made statements that would have conflicted with Russert's. And since no one committed a crime in the 'outing' of Valerie Plame, Fitzgerald would have had no one to prosecute and it all goes away.

Goodling's attorney is saying that the potential for being challenged procedurally, with perjury or similar infraction, is possible when going in front of the current Senate Subcommittee. Even if she tells the truth and has video of her entire life like a reality show, she could be called out on any misstep by the current congressional majority. Because of this risk, He has come up with a valid reason , correctly, I might add, to take the fifth.

Even if she did do something wrong, will never know now. Thanks Fitzgerald.

Stay Tuned

RR

Fred's Boss says he can win, plus the first polls of spring...

Each day that goes by, May is closer and so is Fred announcement to seek the presidency. Here are just a few of the morsels I have been savoring today.

When your wife tells you to do something, you better do it. I feel a whole lot better now that I know that Fred's wife is telling him to run.

A lot of initial polling out there done by reputable firms have Thompson in this race before he even officially announces he is in. This article talks about how he's already tied with Hillary.

Another straw poll of a few counties in Georgia show how strong Fred would be in the south. He would clean up.

In Ohio, with no infrastructure or organization, Fred is in a strong third behind Giuliani and McCain.

Again the Pundits are starting to see Fred as the man to win in 08. My favorite has to be Paul Mirengoff 's Powerline piece.

And I will speak to this rumor that Fred is being groomed to take Cheney's place...as soon as I find out more about this from McLaughlin

Stay Tuned

RR

On the Fred/McCain Bait and Switch

H/T to Blonde Sagacity

There is this horrible speculation out there regarding a bait and switch by Fred to McCain.

"...There is, however, another theory circulating about Thompson, one being floated by critics of the Tennessean. Some Republican insiders suspect that Thompson, who makes no effort to hide his close friendship with McCain, instead might be working a behind-the-scenes, McCain-orchestrated strategy to build support among conservatives for the Arizonan. According to this theory, Thompson – who backed McCain in the 2000 presidential primary race – would build support and anticipation among conservatives for his own campaign, and then abruptly direct them instead to McCain's camp. Sources note that Thompson and McCain had an extensive telephone conversation on March 9, just two days before Thompson discussed his presidential ambitions on "Fox News Sunday." And both camps have worked hard to keep the substance of that conversation private. Whether or not he runs, Thompson might benefit McCain, if only because he appears to be slowing the momentum enjoyed recently by McCain's two main rivals, Giuliani and Romney, among conservatives..." (source)

I don't think Fred would do that, and If he did, I would lose a lot of respect for him. Why would conservatives, who are excited about Fred, jump to McCain, who is not a conservative...

I would not go to McCain. I would fall back to Giuliani or Romney, or pray Newt could roll on it. I don't think that Fred will drop out, seeing that he could be the front runner and even be president. If the opportunity is there to serve, great men find a way. I think Fred might be one of those men.

Stay Tuned

RR

Stand Up and Take Notice!

When Larry Sabato takes notice of a candidate, then there is fire at the end of the smoke. In this article he is quoted as saying...

"If the current Republican candidates destroy themselves in some sort of demolition derby, then Thompson is one of a small group of top Republicans who could ride the horse over the hill to save the damsel in distress," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said recently in a NewsMax interview. “Of course, he'll have to fight the other Republicans who are also riding other horses," such as Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, Tommy Thompson and, possibly, Newt Gingrich."

But, Sabato added, Thompson has many admirers – inside the Beltway and around the country – some of whom view the folksy Republican as the second coming of Reagan. "He might be able to rekindle the views people had of him back in 1994 as another Ronald Reagan, someone coming out of Hollywood, on a white horse to rescue us," he said. "He's got some strong pluses. He's smart and certainly has a good television presence, and of course that matters quite a lot."

The push, a real grass roots, net roots push for Fred is starting to work.

Go Fred Go!

RR

Why Fred Thompson isn’t on the Pajama Media Straw Poll…Yet.

After the Fox News Sunday (FNS) and the Hannity Radio Show interview, it seemed that Fred Thompson had the momentum. He had exposure, excitement was building and all he did was speak on the air for less than thirty minutes. Fred had ‘blown up the trial balloon.’ Now it was time to see if it floated, and took off.

It did. Big time. People across he country started to notice that Fred would be a great president. They liked the answers from the ‘lightning round’ on FNS. They were the ‘right’ right answers. People liked his positions on the issues, and especially liked the fact that he seemed to truly believe what he said. He is the package that delivered what the other big three candidates did not. Fred Thompson is a true conservative and would govern as the chief executive with conservative principles guiding him. No wobbling, polling or flip-flopping.

It was strange. There seemed to be a ground swell of support from the people for Fred and the support of a conservative candidate. (I am not saying the other big three are not conservatives but each of them has an issue that they support that deviates from the conservative platform. See previous posts for an explanation.) There wasn’t a movement to support him or even recognition of his potential impact on the race in the Right punditry and media. They seemed to brush off Fred as someone who wasn’t going to run.

For example, Mort Kondracke and Fred Barnes (two of my favorites,) both said he wouldn’t run. Charles Krauthammer, (I call him The Kraut respectfully since he is the best political analyst period,) also said that Fred was not in. The fine crew over at National Review blogged on The Corner that it was nice but nothing would come of it. The right punditry and media didn’t want to ride the Fred bandwagon, or even acknowledge it was up and had wheels.

I think I know why. A lot of the right punditry and media have already picked a preliminary horse to ride in this race. Since this is so early, there is an unbelievable ability for this group to have their say sway voters to their side. Their comments will have a great weight on people decisions in this election since the new media is the main way republicans, both conservatives and moderates, get their information.

Kathryn Jean Lopez (KJL) at NRO already has interest in Romney. Other pundits and writers also had people they particularly liked, and they were not pushing but pointing others toward. Pundits and writers really want their predictions/support to come to fruition. That’s why they write. They want their beliefs and ideas to become reality; just like every blogger and myself. (Now I am not on the same level as them but on this topic I think I am spot on.)

This was going on all week, until today. KJL wrote an article that basically says, “Hey, why not Fred?” As of this afternoon, I am noticing other writers and media types are wondering why not Fred. Then comes Pajama Media. I love them. The website and the whole effort is awesome. They run a straw poll each week on presidential candidates. The week following Fred Thompson’s appearance on FNS, the Right media they did not include him in the Poll, even though they include Newt. I think the reason is the same. PJ has people they want and that’s fine, Fred isn’t in yet and they want to stick to their current people. But without gauging Fred’s s support with their audience, how do they know he’s not in. Fred is waiting for the groundswell of people to carry him into this race. PJ and others need to bite the bullet and test the waters to see if they are right, or if Fred is the right man for 2008.

Stay Tuned

RR

Fred: Gandhi wouldn't win the War on Terror

Fred Thompson is still moving toward running. He has increased his political profile tremendously in the past 4 days. Not to mention the media is scrutinizing his every move now too. Check out his article where he steps up and says that if Gandhi was running the war on terror, we would surrender to the terrorists. I think he has a point. If you let tyrants and murderers do their thing, you will have no one left to stop them. If you don't fight back, you are not really free. That's why Bush is right, like Reagan was. Call them what they are, murderers and evil doers. Then bring the full might and power of the USA military upon them to stop them before the Free World is no more.

Run Fred Run!

RR

Bernie Kerik is in Hot Water

It looks like Bernie Kerik, Rudy's top cop back when he was mayor, is about to be indicted. In the article, it lays out that he may be charged with tax evasion. making false statements and other items. Whether he did it or not, I do not know. Kerik seems to be a little on the mischievous if you ask me. I would not outright reject the possibility he did this stuff.

What is interesting is the timing. Giuliani is the 'front runner' (till Fred announces). Hillary and Obama are behind him in the polls everywhere. This just doesn't seem to smell right to me. The Dems will jump on this most assuredly. They will ride this hard trying to tie this both to Giuliani and Bush. I went to a liberal blog I frequent and saw these comments...

Another quality Bush appointment. A Senate confirmation process is the only thing that stopped this creep from heading up the Department of Homeland Security

I think the Bush admin brings out the worst in people. This guy would have been honest on the application, but heard he had the inside track and to not worry about it. I think that kind of thing has happened quite a bit. People who have never crossed the line before, feel they can do that now, because of the corrupt Bush administration. We call it the “culture of corruption”.

According to these folks, Kerik's problems are Bush's fault. They will try to flame Giuliani on this. They will say "Well if Kerik was dirty how much did Giuliani know?"

I hope Giuliani can stay about the fray here. If these accusations set him on fire, Giuliani will have tough time getting firefighters to put it out.

Stay tuned

RR

Fred Thompson is getting ready.

H/T to Reformed Chicks Blabbing.

It seems that Fred is getting key organizers ready to roll out the campaign at the state level. This is welcome news. Already I can see that vacant store front in the strip mall down the road being leased for the next 2 years to the Run Fred 2008 campaign.

Find the article here

RR

The Obama Trap - Part 2

See Previous post for Part 1

You have to ask yourself, ‘How did a two year senator with very little experience get where he is?’ The answer is simple. Someone else supports him and is behind his campaign. There is only one person who would want a viable alternative to Hillary in the race to keep her engaged. There is only one person who knows Hillary well enough to know that the longer she is actively campaigns, the lower in the polls she will get. There is only one person knows that knows that Hillary will do anything she can to destroy her opponents.

Al Gore. That’s right, good old Al. You don’t see Al with Clinton campaigning. You don’t see Al out and about pushing for the good old days of Clinton to return. He is keeping his powder dry. Gore knows he can’t beat her one on one (She has too much dirt on him probably.) He is waiting for Hillary to unleash that attack on Obama that is so vicious and dirty that it backfires. Obama is almost bulletproof from attacks because he is a member of one of the most important voting blocks of the Democratic Party Base. But when Hillary does attack, and she will have too, Gore will sweep in defending Obama and then contrast Hillary’s actions to his own.

For the good of the party, Gore will announce he is running, with Obama (wounded from the Hillary attack machine) as is running mate, to prevent Hillary from getting in the White House This does two things. One it steals a the ABC election strategy from the republicans (Anyone But Hillary Clinton) and two, it brings a feel of an DC outsider (Gore, since his Hollywood travails has the appearance of an outsider) running for president that will attract the base, the liberal left and some independents. The Democrats will rally around eco-warrior Gore and actually back him to defeat Hillary.

This seems so obvious to me, Hillary and her people must see it too. All she has to do is resist the urge to attack Obama personally. If she sticks to issues and plugs along she may win or she may lose. If she attacks Obama personally, she is done. I think she knows what to do. I just think the Clintonistas will be not be able to control themselves. If so, the trap will be sprung, Hillary will be boxed in, and Al Gore will ride in to the rescue.

The Obama Trap – Part 1

There is something very interesting playing out on the democratic side of the 2008 race. Obama is running very early, Hillary is doing what she can to stay in front and someone who should be running isn’t. There is more to this than meets the eye I think. Let me walk you through it.

Hillary didn’t want to announce early. She wanted to keep her powder dry and her money in the bank. The sooner the race would start the worse off she would be. The longer the race the more money she would have to raise and spend. The more people get to know her, the more they dislike her for various reasons. That is why she kept her profile low in the senate and tried very hard to walk the moderate line. She would have been happy to wait till October, but someone had other plans.

Out of the blue, here comes Barak Obama. Here is a senator with 2 yrs experience, some state government experience, but still a really green politician. He is gifted and charismatic. He announces early and the anti-war liberals as well as the democrats looking for a Clinton alternative latch on. The Media goes wild for Obama and sets him up as the second coming of Bill Clinton.

This makes Hillary have to jump in early to stay the front-runner and keep her base. She didn’t want too but the longer she waited to announce, the closer Obama got. If she’s not the front-runner, she cannot hold on and win. Obama is a threat to her nomination. She has to put a stop to Obama’s rise. How does she do it? How do the Clintons’ deal with political opponents? They use personal attacks, the politics of personal destruction.

Clinton team quietly releases information about how Obama was a Muslim and schooled in a madrassa as a child (read about this here). The media debunks this claim relatively quickly. This event is a warning to Obama. Clinton’s team had fired a shot across the bow. ‘Don’t mess with us or we will destroy you politically.’ Obama moves back and takes the high ground, shrugging of the claims. This created a stalemate between the two that will eventually have to be broken. If Hillary slips in the polls more, it will force her team to really play hardball and attack Obama directly.

That is exactly what the architect of the Obama Trap is waiting for.

RR

"Going to leave the door open."

He is going to run. Fred Thompson is going to run for president. He did what every potetnial cananidate has to do, float out his canandiacy and see who's buying. Now all the major polling firms will have to add him to the lists. All the donors and money makers will have to consider him. The other big three canidates will either court him or prepare to run against him. Unless Romney or Giuliani moves way right, or if McCain takes the lead before May, he will not run. I think he's running.

Chris Wallace really helped Thompson out. He asked about every issue that at least on of the other big three canaindates have a non- conservative position on. Pro-life, For Immigration Control, Pro-Gun, For equal rights for all, not special rights for some, Against Gay Marriage, Civil Unions is a States issue, reduce dependance on forgien oil, For originaists judges, Stay the course and win in Iraq and finally putting an end to ridiculous prosecutions by pardoning Libby today.

At the end of the interview he gave us all a snipet of how engaged he is on current forgien policy issues, and he explained it in a way we could understand. Check it out for yourself.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258222,00.html

More tomorrow all.

RR

Big Announcement on Fox News Sunday?

Well it seems that Chris Wallace has landed Fred Thompson in the interview chair for this Sunday. The teaser says that Fred wants to announce something on the show. On the surface, this seems really great. Part of me is a little worried. I don't think he would announce his candidacy on FNS. He may announce that he's formed an exploratory committee though.

My gut says, and I can't shake this, he may say he's not running. That makes the time between now and the FNS taping critical. We all need to push his candidacy and our effort to draft him as far as we can between now on Sunday Morning. We MUST create a political tsunami on the web that captivates Senator Thompson and shows him he is well supported in his run.

He also may announce he's running, lay down his basic platform and set the tone for the next 9 months. That would be the Fred Thompson we would expect. Direct, honest and straight talking. He would be the front runner in two weeks. For the country's sake, I hope that Fred can stand up for all of us in 2008. Tomorrow is a big day.

Go Fred Go!

RR

The Right Man for 2008

We need Fred Dalton Thompson to run for president in 2008. He is the only candidate that can unite the conservatives and the rest of the republican party. He was there to help get Reagan elected in 1980 and now its his turn.

About three weeks ago I was wondering who I would vote for. I knew McCain, who I initially supported in 2000 (Sorry W, I did come around) was not an option for me. Even though he's strong on the war, some of his social positions are a little wobbly. That left Giuliani and Romney. I like Rudy, but his abortion position is troublesome. I know he would not impose his views on this issue on the country, but I just think that I want a stronger pro life candidate in the White House. And Mitt is Mitt. He's seems to be pretty good, but I just don't know enough about him.

That left me asking, who else could their be. I really like Tancredo, but he's 'not in it to win it' (Sorry Hillary, but the line fits.) Tancredo is there to really stir the pot on illegal immigration. I think he will do that, but I don't think he can win. The other second and third tier guys and gals are all good but not great. That's when I remembered the 2004 Republican convention speech/introduction by Fred Dalton Thompson. I remember that when I saw that, I thought, " WOW that guys got it all." They now call that GRAVITAS. And Thompson's got it.

I won't go into all his positions or why he is better than the other top three, but as a slew of conservative writers are saying, there is a conservative void in this group of candidates. Fred fills that void and carries with him the rest of the conservatives and republican party. His strait talk and understanding that DC is dangerous place for an honest man (W learned this lesson early on too.) will help him become the best option for the country in this time of need.

I believe he is currently gauging interest in a run. His mentor, former senator Howard Baker, is making the rounds measuring interest and setting up fundraising commitments, since if he does do this he will need $$$ in a hurry. With the advanced schedule he has to make up his mind soon. I think he will announce to run in April. I think if he decides to run, conservatives and republicans will RUN, not walk, to him as the front runner.

In the next couple of days I will outline why I think Fred is the man to lead us in 2008. Check out the Fred 2008 Buzz links to keep up to date with the latest news.

RR

"Mr. Gorbachev... Tear down that wall!"

President Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987, Berlin Wall.

And so my little part of the effort has begun. I am going into this endeavour with two distinct goals. First, to provide my two cents about today's political topics and secondly, to remind every one that Reagan was Right. As this blog grows and evolves, you will see how Reagan's lessons in political discourse still apply and are more relevant today than ever. I hope to get one or two of the lost flock back into the fold and help us find a path toward that shining city on a hill once again. And if I help someone get fired up and involved, that's even better. I hope to use my experience and insight to comment on daily events. I will try to post daily and keep up to date on news and special events. I do have a few friends that will post as well to this so that my opinions are checked once and awhile. I also have a few favorite topics that I will favor, like the 2008 Elections. Feel free to comment. I will try to be as open as I can. Remember, Reagan was Right, does that make the Left Wrong...Let's find out.

RR.