Photo: A young Mitt Romney

What an incredible young man who grew into an incredible leader. America passed on his leadership in 2012 when the majority re-elected Barack Obama as president. Will America regret its choice when we look back from the perspective of history? Time will tell....

Photo courtesy of Mitt Romney
H/T to Mike Van Fossen

Making the case for Jeb Bush in 2016

The 2016 presidential election is on everyone's minds, and names are bantered back and forth on both sides of the political aisle.

For Republicans, the name "Jeb Bush" is heard more and more. Some have "Bush" fatigue, others insist no one other than a tea party pick is conservative enough. As for me ... I like Jeb. He was a very popular governor during his leadership in Florida. He was actually the Bush son most thought would run for the presidency. I think Jeb should run.

I'm not alone in that thinking. From writer Gary Stein at the Sun Sentinel:

No offense to Barbara Bush, who seems like a fabulous grandmother, and  certainly has been a wonderful mother and wife, raising a future president and being married to another one.

But Barbara, I hope son Jeb doesn’t take your advice not to run for President.

You famously said last week that “We’ve had enough Bushes” when talking about Jeb’s presidential possibilities in 2016.

Actually, if the 2012 Republican presidential hopeful field was any indication, we  haven’t had enough.

It seemed like every week, another right wing kook was in the lead for the Republican nomination. They finally went with boring Mitt Romney, and you remember how well that worked out.

I disagree that Governor Romney was "boring" and felt that his problems were more that he was running against the Democratic incumbent which may have been one reason Jeb Bush declined to run.

Mr. Stein goes on to make the case for Jeb:

Jeb would be refreshing for a GOP candidate, in that he is sane.

As governor of Florida, he may have done some things you didn’t like, but he was very popular. And he didn’t come across as crazed.

So I ask you, who do you like for the Republicans in 2016 if it’s NOT Jeb Bush?

Marco Rubio? Rand Paul? Paul Ryan?

Like I said Jeb looks better every second.

Yep, it's still early in the race but Jeb is becoming more visible and making appearances around the country. I'll be keeping up with this Bush son who is a conservative leader, no matter what his last name. Jeb Bush for President? I say bring it on.

Romney wins Wyoming caucus ... on to Washington State

Adding to his wins in Michigan and Arizona, it was announced yesterday that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won the Wyoming caucuses.

From the Washington Post:

The final results from the caucuses, which were held at various points over the last three weeks, show Romney winning the presidential preference straw poll portion with 39 percent of the vote, compared to 32 percent for Rick Santorum, 21 percent for Ron Paul and 8 percent for Newt Gingrich.

Onward to Saturday's Washington State caucuses. Click here for information on locations and how to help. The latest PPP poll has Romney leading in  Washington: Romney 37%, Santorum 32%, Paul 16%, Gingrich 13%.

Romney wins ... will Santorum pay?

Michigan was a must-win for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. After all, it was his home state where his dad once served as governor.

Going into Tuesday, the pundits were dwelling on the fact that challenger Rick Santorum was surging ahead in the polls, and before voting places even opened Romney was being written off by some.

As the polls closed Tuesday night and the numbers began trickling into major news networks, it was obvious from the start that Team Romney had handily won Arizona.

So what happened in Michigan that caused Romney to win by three percent instead of a larger margin?

This article from the Detroit News probably explains it as well or better than most. Then there was the crossing of political lines. Remember "Operation Chaos" in 2008 when Rush Limbaugh urged Republicans to vote in Democratic primaries against  Hillary Clinton? The slogan was, "Anyone but Hillary."

In Michigan, Democrats -- with help from Rick Santorum -- played their own "Operation Chaos" as Democrats were urged by Santorum campaign robocalls as well as Democratic operatives to vote for anyone but Mitt. Exit polls showed that one out of every ten voters was a Democrat.

Democrats admitted mounting a campaign against Romney by voting for Santorum and Ron Paul. However, those same Democrats also admitted they will be voting for Barack Obama in November.

The contest continues ... but at what cost to Romney, Santorum, Paul, and Newt Gingrich?

Will Santorum face repercussions from Republicans unhappy at  his campaign's blatant partnership with Democrats? RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has already made it known that he was not a fan of Santorum's tactics. Will it become an albatross around Santorum's neck as Romney and others point out not only the fact that Democrats were urged to cross over but also that Santorum still lost?

The win was probably a bigger boost for Romney than the mainstream media or Santorum supporters want to admit. Super Tuesday, coming up on March 6 and including Virginia without Santorum on the ballot, will help tell that tale.

Cross-posted at Bearing Drift

Game changer? Christie endorses Mitt Romney

The news began leaking out shortly after noon that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who just last week once-and-for-all squashed speculation that he would run for President, would endorse former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his presidential run.

Further news today confirmed that Rudy Giuliani would not jump into the race and speculation was that he would also back Romney.

Could this be a game changer in advance of tonight's Presidential Debate? Stay tuned....

"Defending the American Dream:" The candidates

The "Defending the American Dream" summit held by Americans For Prosperity is over ... and what a wonderful experience to hear from so many presidential candidates -- seven of them! --at one event. I had never heard any of them speak in person and, since I have not made up my mind about a candidate, have been listening to the debates and studying their issues.

One event cannot determine a decision but two candidates hit it out of the park: Rudy and Mitt.

One disappointed: Fred.

This does not negate their stands on issues -- my number one issue is national security -- but public speaking does impact people. If someone is passionate about becoming President, I like to see it come through in their remarks ... I like to be rallied and caught up in their dream of heading up the most powerful country in the world.

However ... I want a leader ... and sometimes a leader is not the most articulate person. Time will tell as I learn more about the candidates.

Other posts for "Defending the American Dream"...

- Mitt Romney
- Rudy Giuliani
- Fred Thompson
- John McCain
- Sam Brownback
- Mike Huckabee
- Ron Paul

- Bob McDonnell led the Virginia delegation
- Bob McDonnell's remarks at Virginia lunch
- State Senator Mark Obenshain
- Who was there
- College Republicans
- Washington, DC: The Nation's Capitol
- Dinesh D'Souza
- Michael Steele
- Senator Mark Obenshain
- Delegate Chris Saxman

More to come....