Honestly, this is not a very impressive politician. If he were white, I don’t think we’d even been considering him.

“Would not be surprised if Palin took the opportunity to put herself in that slot and in the center of power…to work for 2012…and look for her to get the attention on the energy issue.”

I hope not. I’d rather see her have a successful term in Alaska and get reelected to burnish her executive reputation and maintain her “Washington outsider” image, which I think will still be a selling point for the foreseeable future. There are plenty of ways she can build a national standing without becoming one of one hundred in the Senate.

We need the yutes.

What’s a yut asks Fred?

Lets’s shoot for Wisdom, an acquired characteristic giving all humans and non humans alike the ability to use Intelligence of all kinds to it’s maximum efficiency

I like Steele – new blood and new vision.

BTW, Ted Stevens, who appears to have won his Senate seat from the last news I heard, will probably be going to the”big house” in the not too distant future. Would not be surprised if Palin took the opportunity to put herself in that slot and in the center of power…to work for 2012…and look for her to get the attention on the energy issue.

I think Steele’s ideal.

Secret Service code names not so secret
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-code-namesnov11,0,2798932.story

Barack Obama – Renegade
Joe Biden – Celtic
John McCain – Phoenix
Sarah Palin – Denali, “The Great One”, after Mt. McKinley

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
ren⋅e⋅gade /ˈrɛnɪˌgeɪd/ [ren-i-geyd]

–NOUN

1. a person who deserts a party or cause for another.

2. an apostate from a religious faith.

–ADJECTIVE

3. of or like a renegade; traitorous.

More fun at (Wiki):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_codenames

Be sure to look up “Driller”.

“President-elect Obama’s advisers are quietly crafting a proposal to ship dozens, if not hundreds, of imprisoned terrorism suspects to the United States to face criminal trials, a plan that would make good on his promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison but could require creation of a controversial new system of justice.

…….”I don’t think we need to completely reinvent the wheel, but we need a better tribunal process that is more transparent,” Schiff said.”

Well, none better to create a “better tribunal process that is more transparent” than The One who seals almost all of his personal records from his electorate and accepts hundreds of millions in campaign funds under the aegis of what is clearly a loophole in dated election rules….. despite, ironically, having sworn vengeance on all the loopholes for Corporate America.

(Ahem) Clearly, this is one Administration that will be well-remembered for its “transparency”.

And of course, there’s no need to concern ourselves with any of them escaping when there’s a more likely chance they can walk out the front door as “guests” of the US once He grants them all amnesty on US soil, maybe even welfare, Medicaid, and public housing ….. just like Dear Auntie.

The fallout is going to be widespread. A lot of cars and RVs were purchased with home equity loans. Same with college tuition. Same with remodeling and refurnishing of homes. People were using their home equity like an ATM machine. Well, that machine is now dry.

Every market segment that got a substantial portion of their business through home equity loans … roofers, siding companies, furniture stores, boat dealers, RV dealers … are all going to be singing the blues until home values recover.

today’s WSJ posted articles by Steele, Danny Vargas, Richard Land, Henry Olson, and Peter Robinson.

here is Steele:

Most Americans today see a Republican Party that defines itself by what it is against rather than what it is for. We can tell you why public schools aren’t working, but not articulate a compelling vision for how we’ll better educate children. We’re well equipped to rail against tax increases; but can’t begin to explain how we’ll help the poor. We exclude far better than we welcome.

Things were different as recently as 20 years ago. Back then, Ronald Reagan made it cool to be a Republican — it wasn’t just his specific policies, but the timeless truths he so eloquently gave voice to, and upon which his policies were based. That’s the Republican Party we must re-establish.

We must articulate a positive vision for America’s future that speaks to Americans’ hopes, concerns and needs. It’s time to stop defining ourselves by what we are not, and tell voters what we believe, how we’ll lead, and where we’ll go; how we Republicans will make America better; how we’ll make their families more prosperous, their children better educated, their parents more secure, and all of us healthier, safer and stronger.

Our challenge lies not in beating Democrats, but in uniting around a message that solidifies our ranks and attracts new people to our cause. We have to listen to what Americans are telling us about their hopes, desires and needs, and then translate that message into proposals for meaningful action squarely grounded on the values we Republicans have always stood for.

Our faith in the power and ingenuity of the individual to build a nation through hard work, personal responsibility and self-discipline is our uniting principle. That is the sacred ground upon which our Republican Party was built. For the sake of all Americans, it is the ground we must reclaim.

here is Vargas:

Sadly, too many Americans view the GOP as out of touch, intolerant, the party of the rich, and unable to govern effectively. To be successful and regain the majority, we must change these perceptions and communicate more effectively with all segments of society, expand the base and allow for varying view points, while remaining true to our core values of limited but effective government, individual liberty and personal responsibility, and respect for traditional values.

Our message must offer a clear, optimistic and compelling vision for the future made up of ideas, reforms and solutions Americans can embrace. And this can be done without pandering, patronizing or compromising on our core principles. But it cannot be done without engaging in dialogue, listening to concerns, and making every effort to welcome citizens from various segments of society into the party infrastructure and to run for elective office.

both messages are pretty good, but the difference appears to be Steele wants to rebuild the party, Vargas wants a to make the party ideas more appealing. We need both. Vargas is not running but i like what he had to say.

not to play identity politics but both being minorities (one african-american, one hispanic-american) would be pluses.

but i am intrigued by the idea of someone who is an organizational genius leading quietly, allowing the candidates to take the front line actions.

Sad thing is that a lot of the people STILL believe that all those smears were true. At some point you need to get in the media’s face and call them flat out liars. Maybe the candidate doesn’t need to do it, but a spokesperson for the campaign could really attract a lot of attention by making a public release accusing a news outlet of outright lying and failing in their obligation to fact-check. This lukewarm non-response that Republicans have been giving to this stuff isn’t working. They need to be aggressive and call them on it flat out. If they are lying, call them liars and use that very term. If they are failing in their fact checking, call them incompetent and use that very term in an official release.

It is time someone held them responsible. The Republicans have been letting the press steamroll them with only minor complaints on friendly interviews from Fox. It is time to call them what they are and do it publicly and officially.

I like Fred. I like the way he talks. But I don’t think that deep down he is the kind of “political animal” that needs to run the party. I don’t think he has the party contacts at the state and local levels that would be best to basically rebuild the party. We need someone who would be relentless on corruption and return to core values such as government being the problem, not the answer. Our problems today are caused by too much government meddling in markets, not from a lack of enough meddling.

We need new faces and names that aren’t associated with “fat cat” incumbencies, “good old boy” networks, and “business as usual” politics. Government needs to get over itself. Sam is your uncle, not your mommy.