Romney goes after Obama in first ad

Former Gov. of Mass. and apparent frontrunner in the GOP nomination race, Mitt Romney, released his first TV spot on Monday night. With six weeks until the start of the Iowa caucuses he somewhat surprisingly aired the ad in New Hampshire where many polls show him well ahead of the chasing pack. Why bother going after the people you have to first beat and instead keep your eyes on the prize! Is he really already presuming ‘he da mon?’ 

Mitt Romney is alarmed by the current state of the economy. Photo: Gage Skidmore (Flickr)

DNC retorts Romney and Perry

The Democrats have hit back at accusations, by GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, that President Barack Obama called Americans "lazy". In the web ad they show headlines from outlets, including Time magazine and ABC News, that describe the accusation as being erroneous. Rick Perry - another gaffe. Mitt Romney - another manipulation. Catchy?

I know it's a bit late but this is friggin' awesome! Photo: waywuwei (Flickr)

Paul ads bombard early voting states

Evergreen Republican libertarian Ron Paul has been airing two spots in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The Representative from Texas is targeting these first-in-the-nation states with this multimillion-dollar ad buy as he tries to put himself at the top of the field. This is his last hurrah. Spend like you mean it!

Ron Paul addresses a crowd in Houston, Texas. Photo credit: everett taasevigen 

Romney's "The Audacity of Indifference"

Long time GOP presidential nomination front-runner, former Gov. of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney has attacked incumbent President Barack Obama's economic track record. Capitalizing on somewhat of a gaffe by Senior Advisor to the President, David Plouffe, yesterday in a breakfast with Bloomberg reporters the new 30 second ad is voiceover-less and features a five individuals passing comment.

I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of brothers in the ad or it maybe it's just because we don't vote for people like Romney. (He's a Repu... Mormon.)  

RNC Attack Ad on Obama Spending

The Republican National Committee released the latest Election 2012 television attack ad on Wednesday seeking to compare Obama’s handling of the economy to violently spectacular car and train crashes; “Don’t let Obama drives us to disaster.” The creative imagination behind this rhetoric is driving me crazy!

Obama's Comic Relief

The annual White House correspondents' dinner provides a welcome opportunity for the President to indulge in some light hearted banter and general mickey-taking at the expense of nearly anybody within the political realm.

There is usually a comedian of sorts who has free reign to dole out all manner of abuse with some making more use of the opportunity than others. Recent dinners have seen Stephen Colbert's attempt verging on downright abuse, loyal to the style of his TV alter-ego, whilst it is fair to say Jay Leno did not live up to his billing.

Below is Obama's attempt from this year where Donald Trump was seemingly target number 1 due to the infamous 'birther' issue. In all honesty, with that dyed hair and fake tan he is a bit of an easy target.

        

The End of the 'Birther' Debate

Today the White House issued a longer birth certificate in order to confirm President Obama's status as a 'natural-born US citizen''; a constitutional requirement of the Presidency. The fuss over whether Obama was really born in the USA or elsewhere was largely confined to the more extreme margins of mainstream American politics but in recent weeks and months has been a pet topic for, possible presidential candidate and businessman, Donald Trump. Standing on the podium in the White House press room the President said, "we do not have time for this silliness."

Whilst the 'birther' debate was seen largely by the mainstream press as a false issue, milked by Trump for publicity, The Apprentice star seemed to effuse pride rather than embarrassment at today's development at a news conference in New Hampshire. He remarked, "I feel I've accomplished something really, really important and I'm honoured by it."

  

Misinformation of Obama's birth, heritage and religion have been perpetuated in parts of the media and blogosphere ever since he declared his candidacy in the Democratic primaries in 2007. The cause of such stigma is construed from the fact that his middle name is 'Hussein', his father's side of the family is Muslim and he was photographed wearing traditional Kenyan garb which includes a head-dress of sorts.

For Obama addressing such rumours became necessary in order to prevent the 'birther' debate occupying the news cycle in place of proper political issues such as the current federal budget discussions. Despite today's press release Obama recognised that it would not satisfy "a segment for people, no matter what we put out, this issue will not be put to rest."

President Obama's Long Form Birth Certificate

Courtesy of the White House.

And the Race for 2012 Has Begun

Barack Obama has formally entered himself into the Presidential race for 2012. He's the first candidate to do so and obviously the Democrat nominee.

The logistical motivations behind this are clear; the sooner you start raising money the more you raise by the end of the campaign. Which for the Democrats is crucial if they want to raise the heady sums of the last election and pursue their strategy of getting-the-vote-out amongst more apathetic parts of society ,the majority of which, will vote for Obama. Added to this is the need to run major TV campaigns in battleground states including those ones which Obama won in 2008 as statistics show his support waning. Obama has advantages this time around which include the stage of the Presidency to broadcast his message as well as the travelling capabilities of Air Force and Marine 1.

The likely Republican candidates seem to be playing a large game of chicken as when one declares then so will the others. The main reason being that once the announcement is made then comes a higher level of media scrutiny. Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty seem the two big fish likely to declare but of course what every political spectator wants to see is Sarah 'The Barracuda' Palin herself announce that she is going to take the fight to Obama. This would make 2012 the most entertaining, exciting and interesting race in the history of America - in my opinion. 

So whilst I continue to wait for Palin to muster the courage to take Obama head on I leave you with Obama's campaign video to his supporters released in the last few days, enjoy!