ARE HILLARY, BARACK REALLY CHIHUAHUAS?

"A political gaffe occurs when a candidate inadvertently tells the truth." (John Fund)
"Hearing Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debate about who has the most national security experience is like hearing two chihuahuas argue about who's the biggest dog." (Mitt Romney on March 12). Romney left no doubt that the "big dog" on the crucial issue of national security is John McCain.

Tomorrow's important column: "Obama's 'Spiritual Advisor' Hates America."


I like Mitt Romney as a person and a candidate. As most of my reader know, I hope John McCain chooses Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his vice-presidential running. In the campaign, Sarah -- relatively little-known in what Alaskans call "the lower-48" -- would take off like a cruise missile.


However, if John McCain chooses Mitt Romney, an expert on economic growth, as his vice-president, I wouldn't be disappointed. I don't at all believe McCain is somehow obligated to pick a hard-shell right-winger as a running mate. Romney is an articulate conservative who would eviscerate -- rhetorically speaking -- anyone the Democrats choose for the vice-presidency. John McCain needs to take a very careful look at Gov. Romney.


Romney's joke about the chihuahuas is a good one. In the general election, humor can be a powerful weapon. Note the fact that "Saturday Night Live," a comedy show, is playing a significant role in the Democratic primary, in large part by influencing media coverage of Barack Obama. It's a sad situation when a satirical TV show has to remind the media what its job is.In the general election,

McCain-Romney (or McCain-Palin) will be able to use Hillary Clinton's questions about Barack Obama's ability to be commander-in-chief. As you'll recall, Mrs. Clinton said that both she and John McCain had "a lifetime of experience." In contrast, she said Barack Obama "has a speech he gave in 2002" (against the Iraq War).


If Obama is the nominee, as he probably will be, I can't imagine Republicans not using Hillary's remarks in a commercial -- one that shows over and over again. Senator Clinton has seriously questioned Obama's capacity to serve as President, and she's absolutely correct. Increasingly, the Illinois Senator appears to be someone who's all speech and no coherent action.


Paul Begala, a media cheerleader for the Clintons, recently talked about his "concern" some recent poll numbers. They showed that 25% of Senator Clinton's voters said that, if their candidate doesn't get the nomination, they will be inclined to vote for John McCain. There's additional evidence that McCain will get a majority of the votes by the huge bloc of Independents.


Mitt Romney's witty comments about Hillary and Barack being "chihuahuas" make us smile. But the fact that it rings true with so many voters is not something that put a frown on the faces of many Democrats.

Obama/Clinton: Politics of Hatred

On my PennsylvaniaforJohnMcCain site, I write today about a common practice in the Keystone State (and others): Democratic vote-buying.

This is Samantha Power, the Obama advisor who had to "resign" because she called Hillary Clinton a "monster." She said a whole lot more than that, and it indicated the white hot hatred between the two candidates. Samantha is an academic who has quite a "potty-mouth."

I didn't know how exactly how one "resigns" from a volunteer role, but here's the contrite (and, I believe, hypocritical) statement she made: "With deep regret, I am resigning from my role as an advisor the Obama campaign effective today. Last Monday, I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor, and purpose of the Obama campaign."

She added, "And I extend my deepest apologies to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama, and the remarkable team I have worked with over these long 14 months."For a young woman, Ms. Power expresses herself in a profoundly pompous way.

Why not just "variance" rather than "marked variance?" Why not just the "spirit" of the Obama campaign rather than "spirit, tenor, and purpose?"

Power's original condemnation of Hillary Clinton went far beyond merely calling the New York Senator a "monster.' Here's what she said, according to the Guardian publication, focusing first on Clinton's win in the Ohio Primary: ""We f----d up in Ohio. In Ohio, they are obsessed and Hillary is going to town on it, because she knows Ohio's the only place they can win. She is a monster, too - that is off the record - she is stooping to anything." (Note: Power had earlier agreed that everything she said would be on-the-record.)

Power added, "You just look at her [Hillary] and think, 'Ergh'. But if you are poor and she is telling you some story about how Obama is going to take your job away, maybe it will be more effective. The amount of deceit she has put forward is really unattractive."

Power's comment about the "obsessed" people of Ohio probably won't go over well in the Buckeye State. Given her entire comments about Senator Clinton (including the "Ergh"), Power's supposed "admiration" for Obama's rival rings very hollow. (In her writings, Power has concentrated on condemning the Bill Clinton Administration for not responding decisively to genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia.)

In fact, Power has worked up a good deal of hatred for Senator Clinton. After 14 months on the job as an advisor, her animosity can't have come as a major surprise to Obama or her staff. With the national media, we don't expect them to convey any sense of what's really going on in political campaigns.

One wonders how much Samantha Power reflects the Obama Campaign's deep dislike -- let's call it hatred -- of Hillary Clinton. Ms. Power let us look under the rock and, lo and behold, there were a host of creepy crawlies. Yes, she resigned, but we have to wonder if she wasn't just "taking one for the team."

On Thursday, I'll be writing about racial dimensions ("The Democratic Race: Racial Politics") of the Democratic primary campaigns. The report Tuesday night is that Barack Obama won 90%-plus of the Black vote in Mississippi. At the same time, Hillary Clinton won 72% of the White vote, while Obama got about 27%. My questions are these: (1) Why is Obama getting such an overwhelming percentage of the Black vote? (2) Why is Hillary Clinton getting approximately three-out-of-four White votes?

I'll be looking into Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Obama being "lucky" that he's a Black male candidate. Ferraro's statements horrified the prissy cable media, which is easily horrified. I believe both Clinton are using race to gain political advantage. Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are using the "race card" to their advantage -- and to the disadvantage of Black people. Sadly, there's nothing unusual about the approach they're taking.

On Thursday, I'll be writing about racial dimensions ("The Democratic Race: Racial Politics") of the Democratic primary campaigns. The report Tuesday night is that Barack Obama won 90%-plus of the Black vote in Mississippi. At the same time, Hillary Clinton won 72% of the White vote, while Obama got about 27%. My questions are these: (1) Why is Obama getting such an overwhelming percentage of the Black vote? (2) Why is Hillary Clinton getting approximately three-out-of-four White votes?

I'll be looking into Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Obama being "lucky" that he's a Black male candidate. Ferraro's statements horrified the cable media, which is easily horrified. I believe both Clinton are using race to gain political advantage.Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are using the "race card" to their benefit -- and to the disadvantage of Black people.

Sadly, there's nothing unusual about the approach they're taking. At the national level, Democratic politics is about three things: race, gender, and redistribution of income.

I got the following information from MSNBC, which got it from TheDailyBreeze.com. Hey, everything has to start somewhere.

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro

"Geraldine Ferraro defended her remarks and went even further in another interview with the Daily Breeze, where Ferraro's original comments appeared. This time SHE claimed to be the victim of racism and said, "Sexism is a bigger problem." ...

"But far from backing off from her initial remark, Ferraro defended it and elaborated on it."

" 'Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up,' Ferraro said. 'Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?'...

"Ferraro said she was simply stating an obvious truth, as seen in exit polls that show Obama taking as much as 80 percent of the black vote in the Democratic primaries." [Note: In Mississippi, Obama got 92% of the Black vote.]

" 'In all honesty, do you think that if he were a white male, there would be a reason for the black community to get excited for a historic first?' Ferraro said. 'Am I pointing out something that doesn't exist?' ...

"She also said she is familiar with [Obama adviser David] Axelrod from his work for minority candidates in New York."

" 'He knows damn well that the best thing to do in a situation like this is to come back and hit with race,' Ferraro said, adding that the response is a sign that the Obama campaign is 'worried' about the first-term senator's lack of experience."

The Democratic Race: Racial Politics

On Thursday, I'll be writing about racial dimensions of the Democratic primary campaigns. The report Tuesday night is that Barack Obama won 90%-plus of the Black vote in Mississippi. At the same time, Hillary Clinton won 72% of the White vote, while Obama got about 27%. My questions are these: (1) Why is Obama getting such an overwhelming percentage of the Black vote? (2) Why is Hillary Clinton getting approximately three-out-of-four White votes? I'll be looking into Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Obama being "lucky" that he's a Black male candidate. Ferraro's statements horrified the cable media, which is easily horrified. I believe both Clinton are using race to gain political advantage.

Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are using the "race card" to their advantage -- and to the disadvantage of Black people. Sadly, there's nothing unusual about the approach they're taking.

Sarah Palin: Ready for Presidency

I have a new blog about how people can live better lives on less money. It is about "politics" only in the sense that it discusses ways people can be less dependent on government. You can find it at: http://dailykostkutter.blogspot.com/. I hope you'll visit.

Above: Govenor Sarah Palin, called by Fred Barnes in The Weekly Standard "America's most popular governor." I'll be writing more about her later today, with emphasis on why she would be ready to assume the presidency if that became necessary. If you haven't seen the Barnes article, a remarkable one, you can find it here.

Following are the opening paragraphs of the article:

"The wipeout in the 2006 election left Republicans in such a state of dejection that they've overlooked the one shining victory in which a Republican star was born. The triumph came in Alaska where Sarah Palin, a politician of eye-popping integrity, was elected governor. She is now the most popular governor in America, with an approval rating in the 90s, and probably the most popular public official in any state."

"Her rise is a great (and rare) story of how adherence to principle--especially to transparency and accountability in government--can produce political success. And by the way, Palin is a conservative who only last month vetoed 13 percent of the state's proposed budget for capital projects. The cuts, the Anchorage Daily News said, "may be the biggest single-year line-item veto total in state history."

(More to come.)

Sarah Palin Versus Hillary Clinton

I do have comments on the breaking story about Gov. Eliot Spitzer, but for now I'd just like to say that it was shameful for him to haul his wife out there -- apparently seeking some kind of public sympathy. I have always regarded Eliot Spitzer as a self-righteous phony. His wife and three daughters have my total emotional and spiritual support. We need to get people like him out of office and people like Gov. Palin in. The Republican Governors Association has called on him to resign. Sarah is a member of that Association.


Sarah Palin, dressed for speaking outside in Alaska weather. I'm delighted by the many visitors I'm getting from Alaska, including several visits from Wasilla, Sarah's hometown. I'll be writing tomorrow about why Sarah, who's under serious consideration as John McCain's running mate would herself make an excellent President of the United States. In my other site dedicated to Pennsylvania, I will talk about why Sarah would have special appeal to those in the Keystone State. She reminds me a lot of my friend Diana Lynn Irey, who ran in 2006 against the odious John Murtha. We need people in national office who are curious, ambitious, smart, and pillars of integrity. Sarah fits that definition. We're talking Mt. Rushmore material here. Come back tomorrow to find out more about Sarah.

If you're interesting now in learning more about Sarah and her career, read the Wikipedia article about her. Wikipedia has a great picture of Sarah as a point guard on her high school's state campionship basketball team.

Picture of Sarah Palin and her husband Todd. Children are, from left, Piper, now 6, Willow, now 13, and Bristol, now 17. Missing from the picture is son Track, now 18 and an infantryman in the U.S. Army. Sarah is now 7 months pregnant with her fifth child. "Or working in the home or out of the home. The world is our oyster also, whether carrying a baby

"I'm very confident that a pregnant woman should not and doesn't have to be prohibited from doing anything, including running for vice president. Or working in the home or out of the home. The world is our oyster also, whether carrying a baby. "-Sarah Palin

(Sarah, I agree completely with your statement. When John McCain shows the wisdom to name you (Sarah) as his running mate, you will have to deal with some creepy thugs such as the man below (KSM), and you have the courage, integrity, and life experience to do so. In the fullness of time, you will be a great President of our country. On the campaign trail, you can and will outperform Senators Clinton and Obama at every turn. Go for it, lady!)) -- Steve Maloney

The following is a note I sent to fellow McCain supporters regarding Hillary Clinton. My comments were inspired by Andrew Sullivan's fine column on Bill and Hillary.

That is a totally remarkable -- and accurate -- column by Andrew Sullivan on the Clintons as an American Horror Story. Later today, I'll be writing a column (adding to one actually) about Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the anti-Hillary. Sarah has four children and is pregnant with a fifth. She recently noted (correctly) that fact shouldn't disqualify her from running for vice-president on a ticket with John McCain.

Hillary Clinton talks about her great compassion for working men and women. Sarah's husband has been a commercial fisherman and an oil field production worker. Hillary talks about working mothers. Sarah is one. Hillary talks about the need for a "village" (i.e., government involvement) in raising children. Sarah and her husband have done just fine with raising their own four (soon to be five) children.

Hillary talks about how we are supposed to revere "our troops" (unless that troop happens to be General Petraeus. Sarah is the mother of an 18 year old infantry solider who enlisted with his best friend in the Army on 9/11/2007. Frankly, the chances of a Chelsea Clinton or the Obama daughters ever serving in the military are about the same as their choosing careers as pole dancers.

Sarah is someone who's resigned positions in protest over ethics violations by members of her own party. Hillary (and Obama for that matter) have done nothing of the kind. Sarah has the lowest "negatives" of any elected official in the country. Hillary has the highest -- and Obama is working hard to elevate his.Hillary regularly denounces the "oil companies." Sarah has stood up to them and rasied their state taxes in Alaska, as well as rejected their low-ball bids to build a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower-48.

Granted, some people ask me how I can favor a relatively "inexperienced" (they mean "young") candidate who will be a heartbeat away from the presidency. In fact, Sarah has more executive experience than Obama and Clinton combined.

She's an American Success Story and, God willing, she will be President of the U.S. someday . . . relatively soon one hopes.

Here's the link to Andrew Sullivan's superb column on the Clintons: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article3510778.ece

Note: The column below regards the ugly gentleman below and the lame responses of Obama and Senator Clinton to the threats posed by al Qaeda.

Khalid Sheik Muhammed, architect of 9/11 and many other murderous acts -- and, in his own weird way, an "agent of change. As I explain below, candidate Obama apparently believes people like Khalid are illusions spread by the Bush Administration.

Why Obama Inspires Fear

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself . . . nameless, unreasoning fear." (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 Inaugural Address)

"Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience. I will bring a lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002 [against the proposed legislation authorizing the use of force in Iraq]." (Recent statement by Senator Hillary Clinton)

As you may have noticed, Barack Obama likes to criticize his rivals -- Hillary Clinton and John McCain -- for supposedly using the "fear card." In fact, Obama makes me fearful because of his unwillingness to comprehend the world in which we live -- one where a certain amount of fear is justified. As FDR suggested long ago, the kind of fear we can do without is the "nameless, unreasoning" kind -- not the type that has names and a clear rationale.

The names of the fear factors that concern most Americans are: al Qaeda, bin Laden, Zawihiri, and Islamic terrorism. Americans are afraid, justifiably, that there will be another 9/11 type event, one that will result in the deaths of thousands of Americans -- and perhaps tens of thousands.

On the rationale: such fears are justified by what has occurred in recent years. Al Qaeda has not gone out of business. The organization is continuing to train terrorists whose main function is to kill Americans and other Westerners, especially civilians not able to kill or capture mass murderers.

In the simplest terms, the (justifiable) fear is al Qaeda, and the reason for the fear is that they've done it before -- and are sworn to do it again. The fear is neither namelss nor unreasoning. If you smell gas in your house, it's perfectly okay to be afraid -- and to act on that fear.

Of course, Senator Obama derides campaigns -- Mrs. Clinton's and Senator McCain's -- that he claims are based on unreasonable fear. Of course, if 9/11 (and many other attacks throughout the world) had not occurred, Obama might have a point.

Why does he take the approach that his opponents are fear-mongers? Mainly because he has no national security experience and no real grasp of what motivates the bin Ladens of the world. Perhaps he believes al Qaeda's hatred of the Western world is based on some misunderstanding that he, as President, would be able to rectify. He's dead wrong.

In the weeks ahead, I expect Hillary Clinton and her associates will do great political harm to Obama. The one chance Clinton has to win will be to establish Obama as someone unfit to be President -- and essentially unelectable in a race against an American hero like John McCain.

Some voters like Obama for various reasons, including, according to polls, his race. But does anyone seriously argue that he should be the one answering that momentous 3 a.m. phone call? If so, why? It's becoming clear that he's little more than a silver-tongued lightweight. He think the invasion of Saddam's Iraq was a colossal mistake, but he think invading our ally Pakistan makes a lot of sense.

The coming months should be an enjoyable period for McCain and other Republicans. Pass the popcorn and soda as we watch Hillary eviscerate Barack.

Sarah Palin: Pathway to Presidency

Sarah Palin and her husband Todd with Ina Boucher, Alaska's "Teacher of the Year."

There are many Americans (and I'm one) who think that Gov. Sarah Palin, who recently announced that she's seven months pregnant, needs to do to win the presidency in 2012 or 2016. Of course, one thing she could "do" is to get the Republican nomination for the vice-presidency, but that's beyond her capacity to control. Does she want to become President? You betcha! The following are my thoughts on the steps she should take.

Realizing that we Republicans are underdogs in 2008 and that Sarah Palin would dearly love to be President of these United States . . .

There are many things Sarah (and backers) need to do, including her establishing a Political Action Committee (PAC) designed to help Republican candidates in 2008, 2010, and 2012. Learing how to raise large sums of money will be beneficial when she wages a national campaign.

She also needs to do what is necessary to make the Keynote Speech at the Republican Convention in Minneapolis -- remembering that Obama's address in 2004 was his launching pad for his presidential campaign. The Keynote Speech is essential, and she must make it a barn-burner, perhaps with a theme like the following: "Stand Up America for all that's good and right about our country."

If possible, her son, Track, a U.S. Army Infantry Soldier, should be there in uniform. At the conclusion of the remarks, her entire family should be on the stage. Track is part of the "Sarah Narrative," because he joined the Army on 9/11/2007.

She also needs to do a book (one with lots of pics of Todd, Track, Baby Palin, little Piper, Bristol, and Willow ). It could/should be an "as told to" kind of book with a professional writer, perhaps someone a lot like super-blogger S J Reidhead or even yours truly. The book would be one of many ways she can introduce herself to the American people. It could be reissued in 2011, with new chapters.

Sarah likes to play a coy role when it comes to national office, but she must shed that tendency. The way to win the presidential nomination is to seize it with both hands. Thus, she has to decide this year if she wants the presidency enough to go after it with every fiber of her being.

She should talk to a diverse group of people who can provide good advice about what's necessary for her to wage a winning campaign. Some of those individuals should be significant Republicans including pollster Frank Luntz, Charlie Black (veteran of many campaigns and now working with Senator McCain), and Karl Rove. The latter can tell her what elements of his strategy (heavy on bringing out evangelicals) work and which need modification.

She also has to reach out to some people who are not yet household names but know a lot about contemporary political realities. One of those people should be Adam Brickley, from Colorado Springs, who launched the amazing Draft Sarah Palin Movement. Adam is a fount of good sense when it comes to practical politics. Sarah also could benefit from a discussion with Sharon Caliendo of Norman, Oklahoma, a woman who's a marvellous organizer and knows everything about Oklahoma and Texas politics.

Cindy Reidhead, mentioned above, is a person who can tell Sarah all there is to know about online politics. People with high-traffic blogs, and that includes Cindy, know the other high-traffic blogs, which are very helpful in launching viral marketing efforts.

People like Sharon, Adam, and Cindy are critical because Sarah is going to need a massive volunteer effort. Alaska is not the greatest place to raise big money.

In that regard, I hope Sarah and Carly Fiorina (Republican fundraiser and former CEO of Hewlett-Packard), who can raise lots of cash, become "new best friends." Conducting a national campaign is a lot like running a big business, and Carly knows all about that.

There are many factors in American politics, including the increased importance of Independents, that are working in Sarah's favor. She has none of the negatives associated with someone like Hillary Clinton. She has all the positives -- and more -- of someone like Ronald Reagan. She could be a big winner in a national election.

Sarah, please begin the quest today. When your son and his friend left for infantry training, you told them, "We have your backs." In the case of your run for the presidency, we have yours.

Why Obama Should Make You Fearful

(Beginning of Tomorrow's Column)

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself . . . nameless, unreasoning fear." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

"Senator McCain will bring a lifetime of experience. I will bring a lifetime of experience. Senator Obama will bring a speech that he gave in 2002 [against the federal legislation authorizing the use of force in Iraq]." Recent statement by Senator Clinton

As you may have noticed, Barack Obama likes to criticize his rivals -- Hillary Clinton and John McCain -- for supposedly using the "fear card." In fact, Obama makes me fearful because of his unwillingness to comprehend the world in which we live -- one where a certain amount of fear is justified.

As FDR suggested long ago, the kind of fear we can do without is the "nameless, unreasoning" kind -- not the type that has a name and a clear rationale. (More to come)

Why Obama Makes Us Fearful

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself . . . nameless, unreasoning fear." (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

As you may have noticed, Barack Obama likes to criticize his rivals -- Hillary Clinton and John McCain -- for supposedly using the "fear card." In fact, Obama makes me fearful because of his unwillingness to comprehend the world in which we live -- one where a certain amount of fear is justified. As FDR suggested long ago, the kind of fear we can do without is the "nameless, unreasoning" kind -- not the type that has a name and a clear rationale.

More to come later today . . .