New Gingrich is a candidate for 2012

Newt Gingrich, onetime Speaker of the House of Representatives and champion of Marietta, Georgia is running for the presidency. His campaign is styled "Together We Will Win The Future". Here is Newt announcing his candidature -

and here is his campaign website.

Donald Trump bows out of winnable contest

Donald Trump looking at a strong conviction

He's fired himself from a contest he says “I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election.” So says Donald Trump. Are we to miss out on a candidate with strong convictions or one with an eye on the main chance?

The Republican primaries are slimming down as each month goes by. Mike Huckabee's out, Donald Trump's out. It's a bit like a cricket match with Barack Obama doing all the bowling. Googlies at the moment.

Oh well, it makes Ron Paul's chances that much better.

Ron Paul is joining 2012 presidential race

Ron Paul to run in 2012

So Ron Paul has announced he is running for president. Good news. He told ABC's Good Morning America of his plans. I'd have commented earlier on this but Blogger went into the blogosphere and I've just found out it's back on earth.

The list for the Republican nomination is quite crowded with previous runners also entered, such as Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Although, I understand Huckabee's got a day job now that may be more lucrative than anything he's previously had. And to make matters worse, most Americans don't recognise them or even remember their names. I would have thought at least Donald Trump was a household name, but he gets less than half the voters picking him out. With that hair as well! Surely he's memorable for something? Sarah Palin doesn't do much better. It seems Americans need these people constantly in front of them, a bit like McDonald's advertising hamburgers.

It's a sorry state of affairs. But then I watch Jerry Springer, Judge Judy etc and some of the people on there are in need of remedial therapy. And they are voters too. If I think along these lines too much it might make me think democracy is a scary thing. Springer had a show with feuding hillbillies on. Then he's had fat slobs, African Americans with unique names (Chantalaya, Chantaleeza, etc), grandmothers dating teenagers (maybe twentysomethings) and each one of these is empowered to give the go ahead or not to one of these GOP hopefuls or their Democratic opponent President Obama.

It's early days. Those in the 1% recognition zone should not give up hope. I see Ron Paul isn't even getting a mention yet. Today's showing might have done something, but how many ABC viewers will claim they don't him tomorrow? I hope not many, but then I'm a bit of an optimist in this regard.

Donald Trump for president?

"Democrat, eh? You're fired!"

I can't believe this anymore than I can the Sarah Palin thing. Loads of people think Donald Trump would make a good president. Some even think he would make a great one. Now, I'd say if it was a toss-up I'd go straight for Trump. No question. He's a talented businessman, he's a people person (believe it or not!) and he's a patriotic American. And, give her her due, so is Sarah Palin. Can't take that away from her. But Trump is also abrasive. A bit tempestuous. He's also not good at collective management. He may find those phone calls to difficult senators and stroppy congress memembers a tad hard to do. And he doesn't have a political past as such, he's got a business political past. Maybe I'm wrong?

Anyway, he's rising in the polls. A bit like bread dough with the yeast getting going. Here he is as seen by the ABC pundits and penpushers.

Sarah Palin is policy lite, platitude heavy!

I don't think there has ever been a candidate in any election since elections were invented who's been like Sarah Palin. I saw a clip of her on Have I Got News For You where she was outdoing Mrs Malaprop. I then wondered what sort of person would want to support her. Well, if you look at some of the vast array of videos available on the internet, the common expression used is "clueless". Most of her fans believe she "supports the constitution". Yet she doesn't, or didn't here, know of any one of the Founding Fathers.

Now I know it's easy to mock. Easy to criticise. But surely someone in her position should do basic homework in political and historical facts. The more she appears dimwitted the more the mockery continues. I doubt if the Founding Fathers would be that miffed in her forgetting who they were, but I guess they would be gravely offended by her cavalier approach to the attributes that are required for the presidency. Political leadership requires a belief by the electorate that one is a serious candidate. The moment the public gets a whiff of a ridiculous situation, it's like the walls of Jericho tumbling down

Or at least it usually is. What I can't fathom is that so many think she is the right one to take on Barack Obama. There are any number of crazy things she has said since she was catapulted onto the world's stage. But it isn't just her saying odd, peculiar things. Her supporters are equally vacuous, equally mesmerised by clueless thoughts. In some cases it sinks to the level of gibberish.

Very few of those purporting to want her in the White House have any idea of her policies. That's probably because she doesn't either. This isn't even mom and apple pie stuff. There's a slight sinister streak in it all. None of the supporters appear conservative in the true sense as they are ignorant of what they want to conserve. I only hope the Republican Party has regained its self-respect. If not, well, we are all in for a bumpy ride if she ever gets to be be president.

Sarah Palin more sure about White House run

Sarah Palin does have one thing in common with the wild animals that surround her in Alaska. She has a tough hide! She's not bothered much about what is said about her. Which in one way is admirable. However, I don't think she stands much credit or merit for being put before the American people as a candidate for the presidency.

She talks about business doing the stuff of government. That government should be wound down. Sounds good, but all business needs a market to succeed. Her simple solutions do not create markets.

She talks about lowering taxes, yet would spend what it takes to fight wars, especially in Afghanistan. So no charity at home, where most think it should start.

She talks about Christian values, yet, as in the clip below, she likens humans to a mother bear. Sort of survival of the fittest. So if you are in any way physically or mentally disabled, then don't complain if you can't get at the salmon too quickly.

All her rhetoric is simple and rather cruel in all honesty. She sees it as her own reality. Personally, I just see a woman who is hard as nails underneath with not a lot of the caring soul about her. I wish I didn't think like that. She has hijacked the word conservative and given it a thorough going over. Out comes an altogether different meaning. Authoritarian, ruthless and rather dispassionate.

I feel I'm a conservative. I wish to conserve what is good about the human condition and change what needs changing. Maybe I'm oldfashioned. Anyway, she's at home on Fox News. Nobody there got where they are without fangs and finely-toned fingers!

Sarah Palin not quite sure about White House run

The last time Sarah Palin looked out of her kitchen window she was very certain she could see Russia. At the moment she is mulling over whether to run for the Presidency next time round. As fevered speculation mounts, she replies that she just wants to "look at the lay of the land". Well, it didn't "lay" in Russia. Maybe her best hope of seeing the lay of the land is watching a goose lay a golden egg. Her policies are best summed up as a golden curate's egg. Shiny shell and smooth with lots of rich texture but with a mixed bag inside. Maybe it's all some kind of a yoke?

As far as the lie of the land is concerned, well that's nearer to Washington and its far more fenced in and cultivated with an assortment of crops all springing up. She'll need all the help she can get to bring home the harvest.

Sarah Palin's radar picks up no signals

Sarah Palin has told Oprah Winfrey that a run for the presidency in 2012 is not on her radar. The thing about radars is that they can pick up extraordinary things. In some cases, the operator thinks there's an extraterrestrial object out there. In any case, it's no good looking at the radar today. Palin needs to keep checking the equipment. I bet she'll find at least a few blips on the screen. One or two neocons popping up, a couple of Alaskan oil workers, fundamentalist Bible-bashers, all kinds. Even detractors blowing her a few raspberries!

The first maxim of politics is "Never say never". She didn't say never, but she implied the radar would and that her radar is working well. "It's not on my radar screen right now", she told Oprah, as if to say it might flicker across the screen at a later date. She'll need to keep the electricity flowing through it as much as she has a growing band of eager-beaver nominators. There could come a time when they all ask "is this the time, Sarah?" and she replies, "Radar Says NO!"