Thursday Open Thread [4.19.12]
A new CNN survey of Republicans finds that they want a Romney-Rice ticket. Yes, Condoleeza “No one could have predicted 9/11” Rice leads the veepstakes with 26%, ahead of Rick Santorum at 21%, Marco Rubio at 14%, Chris Christie at 14%, and Paul Ryan at 8%. I wonder if this poll offered the names or if these names were volunteered. But putting her on the ticket would be a disastrous move on Romney’s part. Dan Amira: “If the Obama campaign decides to portray a potential Romney presidency as a retread of the Bush years, putting one of Bush’s closest advisers on the ticket would be a big help.”
I agree.
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT (Quinnipiac): Obama 46, Romney 42.
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT (Gallup Tracking): Romney d. Obama (48-44)
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT(PPP): Obama d. Romney (50-44)
NATIONAL–PRESIDENT(Rasmussen Tracking): Romney d. Obama (47-43)
NEW YORK–PRESIDENT (NY1/Marist): Obama 57, Romney 35
NEW HAMPSHIRE–PRESIDENT (Dartmouth College): Romney 44, Obama 42
FLORIDA–SENATOR (PPP): Sen. Bill Nelson (D) 47, Connie Mack IV (R) 37; Nelson 47, Mike McCallister (R) 35; Nelson 48, George LeMieux (R) 34
INDIANA–SENATOR–REPUBLICAN PRIMARY (McLaughlin and Associates for Mourdock): Richard Mourdock 42, Sen. Dick Lugar 41
DD–Rice would be my first pick. She has been quite a popular speaker post Bush, and really conveys a warmth, sense of humor, and overall pleasant demeanor. And Lord knows she’s got brains. Her autobiography is a good quick read. She’s stayed out of it for 4 years–I hope she’s rested, cuz I would sure welcome her back.
@Joanne, you’ll have to wait till 2016. 🙂
Joanne–
She is the architect of and responsible for two unpopular wars. I would be delighted if Rice is picked. The only other way Romney could tie himself to Bush more closely is for him to have a Bush or a Cheney on the ticket.
While Palin had no qualifications and no track record, Rice has a track record of disaster and destruction.
While I would agree w/ your thoughts on Cheney, I see Teflon around Ms. Rice. She did her job. Others either overplayed, upstaged, or oversold theirs.
Rice is only at 2.4% at intrade vs. Rob Portman’s 12% The Republicans may want her, but has she said anything about it?
@Jason330, do you live off of intrude?
Like Gilligan lives off coconuts and bananas.
I hope they do pick Rice. She’d be another Palin. She was a weak player in the Bush administration and didn’t seem to know what she was doing. Whatever intelligence she’s supposed to have was kept under a rock. I’m guessing it will stay there.
@n “do you live off of intrude?”
Intrade has been VERY good at predicting things. In Obama’s victory they were just one electoral college vote off, and correctly predicted 48/50 states. The point is that it represents a collective wisdom where few are trying to spin things.
JC: Yes, that’s a good recommendation for VP — a track record of being bulldozed by the men around her.
No, DD, she was not the “architect” of anything. Her academic specialty was the Soviet Union, which no longer existed by the time she joined the Bush administration. She was far less influential than your statement makes her sound.
I heard on the news today that Rice has already said she doesn’t want the job. Also, Rubio said he won’t take it even if Romney begged him to be the VP candidate.
Letter (fake) from Bank of America President. Too bad he wouldn’t write this for real.
is anyone covering the DE Board of Education meeting this afternoon–any Twitter hashtags?
Twitter #ncsapp Nichole Dobo and Wade Malcolm are there.
Here’s a link to all of the goodness from the Sussex County Council meeting on Tuesday. It’s a bit long and the good parts start about 5 minutes in. Enjoy – http://www.sussexcountyde.gov/e-service/audioarchive/Council/2012_04_17%20Meeting/041712-6.MP3
MJ, I must have missed it. Aside from the birther nonsense, what is the issue with giving money to a church? I am listening now and these birthers are incensed that county council gave money to a church.
For these damn Constitutional Scholars: “We have to tear up that pesky Delaware Constitution.”
So Obama is wrong when he allegedly goes against the US Constitution but these Sussex nuts are right when want to go against the Delaware Constitution.
DD – each council member has a fund to give grants to non-profits. Some of the churches also run non-profits to put on community events. Dan Kramer and the others think that that’s a waste of guvmint money. So no real reason, just a chance for Dan and these other idiots to get heard publicly (no one else will listen to them or give them the time of day).
@Geezer–“being bulldozed by men…”…you gotta be kidding. She did her job. Would you prefer a repeat of Alexander Haig, who didn’t respect chain of command or line of succession?
I don’t think she was bulldozed, but she was working on monumental issues — like the Iraq War. If her memoir is to be believed, she was opposed and yet was one of the major faces out and about making the case for this war with the public and with Congress. It is hard to believe that sending American young people to war, sending some of them to die and to get hurt and sending them using money that we didn’t have on premises you objected to doesn’t sound like the kind of leadership that we need. Maybe it was her job, but she wasn’t just some cubicle rat — she was a major player for BushCo and given the entire scope of the Iraq mess, this woman should never be allowed near the levers of power again. Especially since your party is beating the drums to take out Iran this time.
@c “…she was opposed…”
And therein lies the problem. She knew that they were wrong, and really bad things would happen, but she didn’t have the backbone to stand up to those creeps. At the VERY least she should have resigned in protest.
…and that makes her no better than “some cubicle rat”.
And I should point out that Rice resigning probably wouldn’t have stopped the Iraq war. But it would at least preserved any semblance of moral leadership she had. But she not only stuck around, but was a cheerleader for all of the unnecessary death, destruction and debt.
Barnabas Collins has met his demise – http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/jonathan-frid-actor-in-classic-vampire-soap-opera-dark-shadows-dies-at-87/2012/04/19/gIQAUl5pTT_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop
Thanks MJ–this is too weird. I was just thinking about Barnabus yesterday when hearing about Dick Clark dying. I remember after school TV was Dark Shadows or American Bandstand or Sally Starr (you may not know her–a local cartoon hostess we had around here). Geez–I hope she’s doing OK.
Not that it is germane, but since it isn’t often I get to name drop, but I had lunch with Condi at Stanford U, way back when she was Provost. I remember her to be very intelligent and commonsensical.
Sally did a country radio show on Sundays on a south Jersey station until a couple years ago:
http://www.sallystarrshow.com/
@ Joanne – Sally Star does the Woodstown Fourth of July parade every year. She rides in the back of a convertible and all the kids say, “Who is that old lady waving?”
Thanks Son and nemski–maybe it’s destination Woodstown this 4th of July for a trip down memory lane. And wouldn’t it be great to have Condileeza Rice riding w/ Sally on the back of that convertible? 🙂