5 Times Mitt Romney was Right about the Withdrawal of Troops in Iraq

This article was originally published on The Political Insider:

America, you should have picked Mitt Romney. The last several years have shown Romney to be right, and Obama to be disastrously wrong on so many things — Russia, Obamacare, Detroit’s bankruptcy, just to name a few.

Right now we are watching in horror as terrorists take over Iraq after Obama cut and ran, leaving zero troops in the country, just so he could say he had fulfilled a campaign promise to “end” the War in Iraq. From the beginning, Mitt Romney warned against pulling out of Iraq too early and the importance of leaving enough troops to secure our victories.

Here are 5 times Romney was right about what would happen in Iraq:

In a speech announcing his entry into the 2008 presidential race, 2/13/2007:

“Across the nation, there is debate about our future course in Iraq. Our desire to bring our troops home, safely and soon, is met with our recognition that if Iraq descends into all-out civil war, millions could die; that Iraq’s Sunni region could become a base for Al Qaeda; that its Shia region could be seized by Iran; that Kurd tension could destabilize Turkey; and even that the broader Middle East could be drawn into conflict. The possible implications for America and for American interests from such developments could be devastating. It could mean a future with far more military involvement and far more loss of American life. For these reasons, I believe that so long as there is a reasonable prospect of success, our wisest course is to seek stability in Iraq, with additional troops endeavoring to secure the civilian population.”

At a veterans round table in South Carolina, 11/11/2011:

“It is my view that the withdrawal of all of our troops from Iraq by the end of this year is an enormous mistake, and failing by the Obama administration. The precipitous withdrawal is unfortunate — it’s more than unfortunate, I think it’s tragic. It puts at risk many of the victories that were hard won by the men and women who served there.”

In a statement on the withdrawal of troops, 11/21/2011:

“President Obama’s astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq has unnecessarily put at risk the victories that were won through the blood and sacrifice of thousands of American men and women. The unavoidable question is whether this decision is the result of a naked political calculation or simply sheer ineptitude in negotiations with the Iraqi government. The American people deserve to hear the recommendations that were made by our military commanders in Iraq.”

On ‘Fox News Sunday,’ 12/17/2011:

“I think we’re going to find that this president, by not putting in place a status-of-forces agreement with the Iraqi leadership, has pulled our troops out in a precipitous way and we should have left 10-, 20-, 30-thousand personnel there to help transition to the Iraqi’s own military capabilities.”

In a speech at the Virginia Military Institute, 10/8/2012:

“In Iraq, the costly gains made by our troops are being eroded by rising violence, a resurgent Al Qaeda, the weakening of democracy in Baghdad, and the rising influence of Iran. And yet, America’s ability to influence events for the better in Iraq has been undermined by the abrupt withdrawal of our entire troop presence. The president tried — and failed — to secure a responsible and gradual drawdown that would have better secured our gains.”

I’d say Mitt Romney, and the many others who warned this would happen, gets the last laugh, but the situation in Iraq isn’t even remotely funny. There is no joy in this “I told you so,” only anguish at the lives lost in vain, progress squandered, and effort wasted.

As Romney once said, “I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed.” The problem is, we knew from the start Obama couldn’t succeed because he was just plain wrong. Mitt Romney was right.

Yes, Mitt Romney was Right about Everything

Yesterday BuzzFeed had a great article entitled "Was Mitt Romney Right About Everything?" The answer is Yes, yes he was. It goes on to talk about Russia, Mali, Obamacare, and Detroit's bankruptcy and is worth quoting at length:

In the most actively cited example of the Republican nominee’s foresight, Romneyites point to the candidate’s hardline rhetoric last year against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his administration. During the campaign, Romney frequently criticized Obama for foolishly attempting to make common cause with the Kremlin, and repeatedly referred to Russia as “our number one geopolitical foe.”

Many observers found this fixation strange, and Democrats tried to turn it into a punchline. A New York Times editorial in March of last year said Romney’s assertions regarding Russia represented either “a shocking lack of knowledge about international affairs or just craven politics.” And in an October debate, Obama sarcastically mocked his opponent’s Russia rhetoric. “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” the president quipped at the time.
...
Indeed, earlier this summer, Moscow defiantly refused to extradite National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to the United States, prompting Obama to cancel a meeting he had scheduled with Putin during the Group of 20 summit. Russia has blocked United Nations action against Syria. And on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told lawmakers that Russia was one of the countries supplying Syria with chemical weapons.
...
During a foreign policy debate in October, the candidate briefly expressed concern over Islamic extremists taking control of northern Mali — an obscure reference that was mocked on Twitter at the time, including by liberal comedian Bill Maher. Three months later, France sent troops into the country at the behest of the Malian president, bringing the conflict to front pages around the world.

On the domestic front, Obamacare — which Romney spent more time railing against on the stump than perhaps any other progressive policy — is less popular than ever, while the federal government struggles to get the massive, complicated law implemented. (One poll in July found for the first time that a plurality of Americans now support the law’s repeal.)

And while the unemployment rate has, in the first year of Obama’s second term, gradually fallen to post-crisis lows, the still-ailing U.S. economy, which served as the centerpiece for Romney’s unsuccessful case against Obama’s reelection, was given a potent symbol earlier this summer when Detroit became the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy.
...
“It’s frustrating because there’s no way to correct it,” Zwick said.  

I totally agree with Zwick.  While it's nice to be vindicated and see Obama finally exposed, his approval ratings down, NSA and IRS scandals unfolding, his own side turning against him on drones and war with Syria, there is NOTHING we can do about it!

Our chance to fix and prevent this came on November 6, 2012. Now there is nothing we can do, short of impeachment, in which case we'll get President Joe Biden (shudder). We can only sit and watch Obama run this country into the ground.

Even if we manage to get a majority in the Senate in 2014, that would only allow us to stop Obama legislatively and we know that doesn't matter to him, he is perfectly willing to govern through executive order or simply ignore the rule of law.

2016 is a political lifetime away and if a Republican somehow managed to win the presidency, I don't think that will even matter because the damage will be irrevocable by then.

2012 was our chance. Mitt Romney was the man for the moment. America blew it.

As an old Obama buddy once said, "America's chickens are coming home to ROOST!"
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[WOO HOO MY FIRST INSTALANCHE!!!]

STFU and Let's Get This Done!

UPDATE: 9/27 Special bonus uncensored 40 days until the election audio version of this piece! Thanks to Thomas LaDuke and others at FTR Radio for helping me do this:


or MP3 link

I've gotta get blatantly partisan and maybe ruffle a few feathers, but hopefully wake some people up.  We are 48 days away from the election.  This is do or die, the fate of our country is at stake.  The infighting is over, the circular fire-squad must end, the criticisms of our candidate must be held until after the election, the Reagan 11th commandment must be adhered to - this may be controversial to say, but it must be said and must be done if we are to win. 

President Obama has been an utter failure and the focus right now should be on the Middle East which is on fire - and a US ambassador was ASSASSINATED!!!! for the first time since the Iran hostage crisis - plus the economy is in the toilet.  If you have concerns about the optics of things Romney says - his press conference on Egypt was too early, it shouldn't have blamed Obama, the 47% quote is bad - even if you truly believe this stuff, even if you think these issues are of Romney's own making and he is a bad candidate, I must say to you right now: STFU!!!!! 

You are being a useful idiot by providing cover for the left and MSM to make this into a huge story instead of the actual things going on in the world that matter you are giving Obama further campaign ads - "Romney sucks - even X conservative says so!"  The fact that you have qualms about Romney "gaffes" ONLY hurt us, there is no possible positive outcome for you saying it.  Don't give me the "I'm just being objective, I'm maintaining my independence and integrity," etc. I don't care about your self-centered righteous indignation - forget you and your personal vanity - this isn't about YOU, we have a country to save.  So, STFU!!!!! 

You can easily find things in what Romney has said to agree with - if you can't get over the 47% number of people who don't pay income taxes, then turn the discussion into a broader point of big government dependence vs. individual independence and the American creed - what kind of country do we really want to be?  Or focus on his truth on Israel and the Palestinians not wanting peace from that same donor video.  Or attack Obama and his administration for ignoring warnings about the September 11th embassy attacks. Or the fact that Brownshirts took in a film maker in the middle of the night because he exercised his free speech rights to criticize a religion.

There is so much material, you should not be wasting one second going after Romney for supposed "gaffes."

Get in line, defend Romney, or at the very least focus every breath on attacking Obama as if your life depended on it - because it does, if not literally, then at least the quality of your life and all future generations.  This is desperation time, do or die, leave it all on the field.

"Let's get this done. We can do this." - Paul Ryan.  WE MUST DO THIS!

Thank you.

Signed,

A die-hard conservative who cannot live under another 4 years of Obama and will do ANYTHING to win in November
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A New Low: Shameful Smear Ad Blames Romney for Woman's Death

So Obama’s former staffer Bill Burton’s Super PAC Priorities USA has a disgusting attack ad out today that pretty much accuses Mitt Romney of killing a woman.  They imply that after a man loses his job, he lost his health insurance, and shortly after his wife got sick and died.  Alas, the timeline doesn’t add up: Romney left Bain in 1999, the man lost his job in 2001, and his wife died in 2006. 

But pretty much, using this twisted logic, if any family member has died of the millions of people who’ve lost their jobs and thus health insurance in the last 3 ½ years under the Obama economy and 8.3% unemployment it’s Obama’s fault.  (And who can forget that it is his fault that Brian Terry, U.S. Border Patrol Agent, died because of his administration’s “Fast and Furious” gun running scheme.)

To defend his indefensible ad, Burton told Politico,

“We’re illustrating how long it took for communities and individuals to recover from the closing of these businesses. Families and individuals had to find new jobs, new sources of health insurance and a way to make up for the pensions they lost. Mitt Romney has had an enduring impact on the lives of thousands of men and women and for many of them, that impact has been devastating.”

Well, Bill Burton, how long will it take “for communities and individuals to recover from” the devastating policies of the Obama administration?  Just like you accuse Romney, “families and individuals have had to find new jobs, new sources of health insurance and a way to make up for the pensions they lost” because of Obamanomics.  It is obvious that Obama has “had an enduring impact on the lives of thousands of men and women and for many of them, that impact has been devastating.”

This is a shameful, despicable smear ad that makes me sick to my stomach.  

Between Dirty Harry Reid smearing Romney with lies saying he didn't pay taxes for 10 years and that his dead father should be ashamed of him, as well as attacks on Ann Romney, the Obama campaign's scorched earth politics of personal destruction has begun.  We are only at the beginning of August, is there nothing Obama and his allies won't do? Any despicable attack or vicious lie they won't spread? How much longer can we bare to live in Obama's sick, twisted, disgusting, unconscionable, heinous, political world? November can't come soon enough!

P.S.  Don’t forget - Romney has literally saved lives.

UPDATE: RedState's Erick Erickson has additional details on just how spurious the claims of the ad are (emphasis my own):

Mitt Romney and Bain Capital bought GST Steel at some point. Romney left day to day operations of Bain in 1999. Thereafter, Bain offered Joe Soptic a buy out and he refused. Eventually the steel plant went out of business and Joe went on the unemployment line. That happened in 2001.

In 2002 or 2003, Mrs. Soptic injured her rotator cuff and left her job. She lost her insurance. In 2006, she was diagnosed with cancer and died a few days later. It is a terrible tragedy that Mitt Romney had nothing to do with.

It seems Mr. Soptic chose poorly on the buy out offer, lost his job, and would prefer to blame Mitt Romney than anyone else. Priorities USA has set a new standard — Mitt Romney killed a woman, despite being removed from both time of death and decision making.

UPDATE II: Politico catches Team Obama lying about their knowledge of the man in the disgusting ad:

When President Obama’s aides said they weren’t familiar with former Missouri steelworker Joe Soptic’s life story, all they had to do was check their own campaign archives.

Soptic, laid off from Bain Capital-owned GST Steel, stars in a Priorities USA Action spot this week in which he tells of how his wife died without health insurance after he lost his job. Soptic also appeared, wearing what appears to be an identical shirt, in a May television ad for the Obama campaign.

Asked about the Priorities spot on MSNBC Wednesday morning, Robert Gibbs said he doesn’t “know the specifics” while Stephanie Cutter said on CNN: “I don’t know the facts about when Mr. Soptic’s wife got sick or the facts about his health insurance.”

And Jen Psaki told reporters on Air Force One that “we don't' have any knowledge of the story of the family,” according to Yahoo! News.

But Cutter hosted an Obama campaign conference call in May in which Soptic told reporters the very story featured in the Priorities spot.

So, is this a new new low?

UPDATE III: Obama Team admits knowing the story.  Gotta love the opening sentence:

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was no longer pleading ignorance about the story of a man who has appeared in both a super PAC ad and a campaign ad.

"No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story," Psaki told reporters on Air Force One.

...yesterday on Air Force One, Psaki said, "we don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family."

Pure, sweet schadenfreude!
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Obama's Polish Gaffes

Following up on last week's post Olympic Gaffe Games: Comparing Romney and Obama 
which listed Obama's foreign policy gaffes with Great Britain, there's a damning article out today on his gaffes and outright disrespect of Poland, a country that threw off communism and is very pro-America.

The Washington Free Beacon has the story, here are the most striking quotes:

Last week’s surprise announcement of U.S. Ambassador to Poland Lee Feinstein’s retirement highlighted a string of policy missteps by the Obama administration that have left many in the Polish government and population questioning Obama’s commitment to the two nations’ alliance. ...

“To put it plainly, on Obama’s list of priorities, Poland is obviously lower than whale shit,” said one Polish defense industry official. “We are further down that list than that stuff laying at the bottom of the ocean.” ...

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said in a nationally televised address that “yesterday’s words by President Obama offended all Poles—we always react in the same way when ignorance, lack of knowledge, bad intentions lead to such a distortion of history, so painful for us here in Poland, in a country which suffered like no other in Europe during World War II.”

Other Poles were less restrained. Foreign Minister Sikorski tweeted, “It’s a shame that such a momentous ceremony has been overshadowed by ignorance and incompetence.” ...

“When Obama first came into office, the opinion polls about Polish impressions of the U.S. were 70-plus percent favorable,” said the Polish defense industry official. “But with all that has happened this figure is now somewhere in the mid-30s range.” ...

Dropping from 70% to 30% favorability is astounding!  Remember this the next time someone tries to claim Obama has raised America's standing in the world.  Actually, tell Obama himself - last week he said:

"Because we're leading around the world, people have a new attitude toward America. There’s more confidence in our leadership. We see it everywhere we go," President Obama said at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno.

The Poles certainly have a new attitude toward America, and it is not good.  Meanwhile, Mitt Romney visited Poland to pledge “U.S. support of Poland as a captive nation during the Cold War.”  The choice in November couldn't be more clear.

Freedom fighter and former Polish President Lech Walesa has endorsed Romney:

"I wish you to be successful because this success is needed to the United States, of course, but to Europe and the rest of the world, too. Gov Romney, get your success -- be successful!"

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Olympic Gaffe Games: Comparing Romney and Obama

The hubbub surrounding Mitt Romney's Olympic comments in response to Brian Williams' question asking if Britain seemed ready "to your experienced eye?" is utterly ridiculous.

Romney responded to Williams innocuously, "You know, it's hard to know just how well it will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the-- private security firm not having enough people-- supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging..."

The British press and American leftists jumped on this comment as a "gaffe," which is absurd for a multitude of reasons.

Mitt Romney is an Olympics expert.  He went in to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and saved it from bankruptcy and security disaster.  God forbid the man who saved the post-9/11 Olympics security nightmare comment on today's Olympic security nightmare!  One London resident laughably responded to Romney's comment, "What would he know?"  I'm left to wonder if Britons even know that Romney ran an Olympic Games - perhaps they just think he's just another loudmouth American politician with no knowledge of the situation. 

London's Olympic problems have been all over the news and such a source of criticism within the country itself that they've coined the phrase "omnishambles, a word first applied to government screw-ups that has been used to describe the crisis-prone buildup to the games."  In this context the hashtag some used yesterday #RomneyShambles to mock Romney doesn't seem like such a bad thing - Romney simply commented on the shambles of the "crisis-prone buildup to the games."  British Labour lawmaker David Winnick used the word when he demanded of the CEO of the security group that failed to provide enough security workers, "It’s a humiliating shambles for the country, isn’t it?"

Heck, Piers Morgan even defended Romney, saying, "It’s no secret over here that for the last three weeks the security around the Olympics has been a shambles."  Piers continued:

“The outside firm they got in to run it has been all over the place – they didn’t have enough people and the army had to be drafted in. So, Mitt Romney was only saying exactly what has been happening.”
“He’s run an Olympics, so I thought he was perfectly entitled to be critical,” Morgan continued. He said that the English press jumped on him because they wanted Romney to “talk us up a bit,” but the substance of Romney’s critique was on point.
“I thought it was a bit of a fuss about nothing,” said Morgan. “He was just speaking the truth which can sometimes be rather unpalatable.”

Now, if Great Britain was honest, they'd agree that Romney just said what everyone in their country has been saying.  As Joshua Trevino said yesterday on Twitter, "Romney has accomplished what was unthinkable 24 hours ago: Londoners will now proudly defend their Olympics."

The only reason they are upset is because of the whole idea of "You can't complain about my country, only I can complain about my country!"  Winnick, who noted complaining was a British national sport, even said, "There is a feeling, and I’m sure it applies in the United States, that … families can quarrel bitterly in private, but should anyone from the outside have a go, the family is united. In other words: 'Mind your own business.'"

This is understandable, but hardly enough reason to consider this a ghastly gaffe that will lead to a rift between the two country or resonate with the American public.  Especially now that it's becoming a tit-for-tat with David Cameron making a dig at America, specifically Utah, with the remark, "Of course, it’s easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere."  This is simply a silly issue that will die out quickly.

Of course, no conversation is complete without talking about Obama's numerous Great Britain gaffes. As I wrote in 2009, the UK Telegraph had a devastating article on how the Obama Administration is neglecting foreign policy, especially our special relationship with Britain.  Some highlights from the article entitled Barack Obama 'too tired' to give proper welcome to Gordon Brown:

Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister. ...

A British official conceded that the furore surrounding the apparent snub to Mr Brown had come as a shock to the White House... "A number of our US interlocutors said they couldn't quite understand the British concerns and didn't get what that was all about." ...

Mr Brown handed over carefully selected gifts, including a pen holder made from the wood of a warship that helped stamp out the slave trade - a sister ship of the vessel from which timbers were taken to build Mr Obama's Oval Office desk. Mr Obama's gift in return, a collection of Hollywood film DVDs that could have been bought from any high street store, looked like the kind of thing the White House might hand out to the visiting head of a minor African state. ...

The official dismissed any notion of the special relationship, saying: "There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment." ...

The next day I had a follow up post on Obama's embarrassing foreign policy gaffes with links to the  following articles:

Obama's blockbuster gift for Brown: 25 classic films

No10 had tried to keep the present a secret, refusing to answer reporters who asked what President Obama had given to mark the reaffirmation of the special relationship. However, the Evening Standard discovered the truth through White House insiders.

One reason for the secrecy might be that the gift seems markedly less generous and thoughtful than the presents taken to Washington by the Prime Minister.

Brit reporters in bit of a snit over lack of Obama-Brown news conference

They see it as a snub.

"Embarrassing," says Benedict Brogan of The Mail. Embarrassing, that is, for Brown.
"Mr. Brown might lament," writes Toby Harnden of The Telegraph, "that despite the so-called 'special relationship' Britain is now getting the same treatment as the president of Uruguay but he need not despair. I'm told there's a chance he might get drinks with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday evening."

And who could forget the time Obama gave the Queen of England an iPod filled with his own speeches?  
Or when Obama infamously returned Britain's gift of a Churchill bust?  Romney got in a good dig at Obama a few days ago when he said, "I'm looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again."  

Olympic expert Mitt Romney repeating what everyone has been saying about the London Games, which unfortunately may have wounded British pride but had the benefit of uniting the country behind the Games, is nothing compared to Obama's "embarrassing" snubs of British leaders and dismissal of the "special relationship" the United States has with Britain.

This point is, this kerfuffle shouldn't hurt Romney in the US (of course, with a liberal media desperate to take the heat off of Obama, who knows how they'll try to drag this story along).  This will all blow over soon, with the excitement of tonight's Opening Ceremonies and other news stories quickly overshadowing it.  The Obama campaign can't keep bringing it up because, if anything, the incident reminds people of Romney's leadership during the 2002 Olympic Games where he dealt with national security issues and efficiently cut spending to dig the Games out of a fiscal hole (a quality that is desperately needed right now with $16 trillion national debt.)

The quotes that will endure are Obama's real gaffes (if speaking your mind can really be considered a gaffe) on the economy saying, "The private sector is doing fine," "If you've got a business you didn't build that," and "We tried our plan and it worked," and the full context of these quotes are just as bad.  They reveal a president who is distressingly out of touch with economic realities, not to mention the American creed which includes rugged individualism and personal accomplishment. 

Does he really think with 8.2% unemployment ANYONE is doing fine?  Does he really think the idea that "If you've used a public road, you've benefited from government assistance and therefore you owe the government all your success," is a winning message?  Does is really think his plan which has brought 41 straight months of 8.1-10% unemployment, adding $5 trillion to our $16 trillion in debt, and 1.5% GDP growth this quarter worked?

In the Olympic-sized Gaffe Games, Obama takes home the gold.

Mitt Romney the Bad Ass

National Review writer Jim Geraghty has a piece out today that focuses on 6 stories from Mitt Romney's past that he says he would highlight if he were running the campaign.  These tidbits about his history may surprise you or at least remind you of the truth of the man beyond Obama's attack ads.  The truth is, Mitt Romney is actually exciting and kind of a bad ass!

Read on to learn more, it will pump you up to fight for this man in November.
(Geraghty's headings are in bold, the words below them are mine)

Taking on epic mismanagement and incompetence in Massachusetts state government as governor

Geraghty highlights when Romney physically confronted the head of the Mass Turnpike Authority in the wake of the death of a motorist from a falling piece of concrete in a Big Dig tunnel.  Now, the Big Dig was a huge, decades long construction project to completely overhaul the highway system in Boston.  It was a boondoggle bloated with waste, incompetence, corrupt government contracts, delays, and safety issues.  I'm from Boston and I can tell you what a headache the Big Dig was and how cynically it was viewed at the time.  No one was particularly shocked that bad craftsmanship had led to a fatal disaster, many felt it was only a matter of time, but it was nice to see someone finally take on the corrupt MTA and hold them accountable.  As an article on the incident said, “Immediately, Romney became a commanding and reassuring presence.”  Finally, an adult took over to manage the out of control project! 

A focus on spending priorities that saved the Salt Lake City Olympics

Romney came in to manage an Olympic games that was almost $400 million in the hole.  He cut wasteful projects like a youth camp, wetlands restoration, and decorations.  He even charged the Olympic Committee for food and drinks to raise money.  The Olympic COO at the time recalled: “Every line item in the budget was classified as ‘must’ or ‘nice to have,’ ” Mr. Bullock said, and “nice to have” was chopped.

Giving away his inheritance

Geraghty quotes Romney saying, "I did get a check from my dad when he passed away. I shouldn’t say a check, but I did inherit some funds from my dad. But I turned and gave that away to charity. In this case I gave it to a school which Brigham Young University established in his honor."  Romney is a self-made man, it wasn't his father's money that made him successful.

Romney and his sons, heroic lifesavers

This one's a great story about Romney and his sons saving a family on a lake whose boat was quickly sinking.  Mitt Romney saves lives!!!  That's the story that he should be associated with, not the stupid dog one.

I'll get to this story a little later, but the quote from a man whose daughter Romney helped find when she went missing is particularly apropos and one to keep in mind when thinking about Romney, his character and how he'd be as a president:

So, here’s my epiphany: Mitt Romney simply can’t help himself. He sees a problem, and his mind immediately sets to work solving it, sometimes consciously, and sometimes not-so-consciously. He doesn’t do it for self-aggrandizement or for personal gain. He does it because that’s just how he’s wired.

Now contrast that with Obama ... nuff said.

A focus on helping others, reflected in lifelong generosity to charitable foundations   

Mitt Romney has given back at least $18 million to charity.  Obama always talks about the rich giving back and paying their fair share but he means that in the forms of taxes paying for more wasteful government programs.  Romney doesn't need the government to mandate he give back even more, he already does, by his own volition, with the power to choose what his money goes towards.  And private charities are better at doing things than the government.  They tend to be more localized, focused and can be held more accountable than a massive, faceless government bureaucracy.  Plus, if the charity is not doing what it is supposed to, people can choose not to give them their money.  I sure wish we could do that with the government!


Young Mitt Romney, barefoot street-brawling vigilante

This is a funny story about Romney running out barefoot in the snow to defend some female Mormon missionaries from a group of thugs while in France.  Bad ass!

One additional story that Geraghty does not include but needs to be told is the one I mentioned earlier about Romney helping to save a Bain partner's missing teenage daughter.  PolitiFact relates the story:

"In July 1996, the 14-year-old daughter of Robert Gay, a partner at Bain Capital, had disappeared," the story reads. "She had attended a rave party in New York City and gotten high on ecstasy. Three days later, her distraught father had no idea where she was. Romney took immediate action. He closed down the entire firm and asked all 30 partners and employees to fly to New York to help find Gay’s daughter. Romney set up a command center at the LaGuardia Marriott and hired a private detective firm to assist with the search. He established a toll-free number for tips, coordinating the effort with the NYPD, and went through his Rolodex and called everyone Bain did business with in New York and asked them to help find his friend’s missing daughter. Romney’s accountants at Price Waterhouse Cooper put up posters on street poles, while cashiers at a pharmacy owned by Bain put fliers in the bag of every shopper. Romney and the other Bain employees scoured every part of New York and talked with everyone they could – prostitutes, drug addicts – anyone."

The quote from Mr. Gay about Romney that I cited earlier deserves to be repeated: "He sees a problem, and his mind immediately sets to work solving it...He does it because that’s just how he’s wired."

I say these stories reveal Romney the Bad Ass.  He is often portrayed as a milquetoast, unapproachable, greedy businessman but these aspects of his history show him to be an exciting, smart, accomplished man with a heart for using his wealth and power to help others.

Mitt Romney is a businessman, a doer.  Barack Obama is a professor, a thinker.  Romney deals in the real world, he sees a problem and he fixes it.  Obama lives in Fantasyland, he sees a problem and he finds someone else to blame for it - or proposes a solution that makes things 10x worse yet still declares it a success.  

"He sees a problem, and his mind immediately sets to work solving it."  At a time of high unemployment, record deficits and debt, and an economy on the brink, this is the kind of mind our nation needs.  We need Mitt Romney as president.

The War on Women Like Ann Romney

The internet has exploded at Democratic campaign adviser Hilary Rosen (who has visited the White House 35 times, and works for the PR firm that represents Sandra Fluke) who attacked Ann Romney, saying the stay at home mom "has actually never worked a day in her life."

So many emotions: anger at Rosen and all the feminazis she represents, disgust at the personal attack on a mother of 5 who suffers from MS and survived breast cancer, and yet schadenfreude that the "War On Women" lie is blowing up in Democrats' faces and turning the tide in our favor for once. 

Rosen was attempting to launch a class warfare attack by acting as if only the super rich can afford to be stay at home moms.  She's so out of touch in her little liberal elite world that she has no clue what millions of women know: women of all classes sacrifice and forgo things to be with their children because it's important, not because they're lazy or rich.

Rosen tries to say "most" women can't afford to stay at home like Ann Romney, but if that's true, who's fault is it that times are still so tough now?!  If moms are forced to work, it's because the economy is so bad and we need a businessman like Mitt Romney who HAS run a business, unlike Obama, to fix what Obama has done to prolong this recession!

Liberals want the government to take over the role of daddy - Rosen bemoans the hypothetical woman "whose daycare funding is being cut off because of the Romney-Ryan budget."  How about the fact that that woman's dependence on government-funded daycare is a result of the Obama economy not giving her better opportunities?  How about the woman who can't be a stay at home mom anymore because of President Obama's lack of any kind of a budget or economic recovery plan?  And let's not forget that of the people who have lost their jobs under Obama, an astounding 92.3% of them are women!

Economics aren't Obama's only women problem.  Remember when his own staffers said his White House was a "genuinely hostile workplace to women" and "the president has a real woman problem."  Even Christina Romer said she "felt like a piece of meat."  Now this week comes the news that women on Obama's staff are paid 18% less than men.  I guess Obama talks so much about the female pay gap because he participates in it himself!

I think it's clear who's waging the real "War on Women."

Candidates Lure Voters With Bacon - YUM!

MMMMMMM...bacon

Bacon is one of the best foods on the planet - and now it looks like some presidential candidates are tapping into Americans' love of bacon in their logos.

I once called Mitt Romney's logo "Patriotic Bacon"

Now here's Michele Bachmann's logo with what just looks like actual bacon:

Subliminal messaging?  It just makes me hungry.

CPAC Day 2

Friday was Day 2 of CPAC. I wasn't feeling well so I only made it over there around 4pm - just enough time to stop by the job fair, take pics in the exhibition hall, and check out the happy hours!


The NRA had an interactive video game to help teach gun safety and skills. SWEET


I saw a big line of people in the middle of an exhibit aisle and I soon found out they were all there hoping to get books signed by Rep. Ron Paul. Yes, there are many constituencies in the conservative coalition.


My friend Dave gets a picture with the CFACT polar bear who is protesting the myth of global warming while inviting people in for a happy hour!


The guy on the right is leftist Max Blumenthal who crashes conservative conventions and events to antagonize participants, heavily edit it and put it on YouTube. Don't talk to him!

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) stops to talk with our group before he headlines a reception sponsored by Rebuild the Party featuring cigars and scotch.

Other scenes from the exhibit hall:


People gather round the monitors in the exhibition hall to see Mitt Romney who was speaking in the main ball room.

Radio Row - many conservative talk radio hosts set up shop to broadcast live at CPAC as well as interview the many interesting speakers and presenters.

A view of the entrance of the exhibit hall - with a nice charging station for iPhones right there in the front.


Bloggers Row, featuring Krystal of Crystal Clear Conservative updating her blog.

Tomorrow: Rush Limbaugh and Reaganpalooza!!!

Again, follow my twitter stream: @AlexaShrugged and you can watch the proceedings online at UStream sponsored by Townhall.


Other entries:

CPAC Day 1

CPAC Day 3