Free Republic

Baluchis in Pakistan are rebelling against colonization by Chinese. Starts around 8:00.

Glenn Beck predicted Friday that he believes conservative voters will look to Republican presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz “when it comes down to it,” because he has the “gravitas” to win the election. “I think it’s going to be Cruz when it comes down to it,” he said on The Glenn Beck Radio Program. “When you go in and you have to vote and you’re looking at today’s world, who do you think has the gravitas to really pull this off?” Beck went on to say he believes Cruz is “serious enough” to be president of the United States...

No link now, they are just announcing it now.

I say "Joe Biden," you say . . . . Joke? Gaffe machine? Not Chuck Todd. In his pre-game commentary for tonight's debate, the NBC political director claimed that, as with Cheney versus Edwards and Bentsen versus Quayle, Biden—matched up against Paul Ryan—has "gravitas" going for him. View the video and a list of some of Grandpa Gravitas's most famous gaffes here.

Dick Cheney’s publisher, media companies and readers are gearing up for the Aug. 30 release of the former vice president’s much-anticipated memoir. Simon & Schuster’s conservative imprint, Threshold, has released the cover image for “In My Time: A Personal and Political Memoir” and promises that Cheney for the first time “opens up about a life and career in politics.” Media companies are scrambling to land interviews with the former vice president. NBC news will do a multi-part sitdown with the author starting with a prime time Dateline interview on Aug. 29. That will be followed the next day by Cheney’s...

If either the GOP contenders or President Obama plan on dismissing Michele Bachmann’s candidacy out of hand because she represents the Tea Party, they ought to think twice.In the war of economics and business, where these campaigns will likely be won or lost, Bachmann has shown the strongest practical grasp on issues of the American economy vs. any of the candidates in the race. Certainly she has the academic and business experience for her views on the economy to be taken seriously. "After high school, meanwhile, the disciplined Bachmann spent time on a Kibbutz in Israel, graduated from Winona State University...

The New York Sun has an article today called “Sarah Palin for the Fed?” in which they discuss how the former governor of Alaska and 2008 vice-presidential candidate has been running rings around all of Barack Obama’s high-priced, high-powered, ideologically impeccable financial men: “The big question as Chairman Bernanke gets set for his first quarterly press conference is how Sarah Palin was able to figure out sooner than everyone else that the Federal Reserve’s campaign of quantitative easing wouldn’t work. Disappointment in the Fed’s policies is being reported this morning at the top of page one of the New York...

Governor Sarah Palin’s Record That Gave Her A 90% Approval Rating: Energy Independence, Development, and Environmental Stewardship *Governor Palin’s cornerstone accomplishment is AGIA (Alaska Gasline Inducement Act). During the Palin administration, TransCanada and Exxon formed an alliance to build a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Lower 48. Under Governor Palin’s governance, the project was expanded and revised from what previous governors had proposed with an open policy process for the Alaskan people. More progress was made on this effort than in the previous 30 years. This is the largest private sector infrastructure project in North American history and...

First came the criticism of O’Donnell on the night she won the primary, then came the knock on tea partiers for being unsophisticated, which earned him Rush’s ire. Now this.Is he … trying to alienate grassroots conservatives? And if so, why? “With all due candour, appearing on your own reality show on the Discovery Channel, I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of ‘that helps me see you in the Oval Office’,” Mr Rove told The Daily Telegraph in an interview.He added that the promotional clip for Sarah Palin’s Alaska could be especially detrimental to any...

PORT ARANSAS, Texas (AP) -- A skydiver whose parachute collapsed as he was photographing skydiving tandems has died after crashing through a condo roof in Texas. Witnesses say the man's parachute opened but collapsed when he turned into the wind to land in Port Aransas, a coastal town about 15 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.

The vice president, well-known for his verbal gaffes, confirms at a dinner the existence and location of a secret hidden bunker that Cheney is believed to have used after the 9/11 attacks.

Biden Begs: No Swimming Pools! Posted by Mark Knoller | Comments Looking to strike fear and compliance in the hearts of local officials, Vice President Joe Biden warns that if they use money from the economic stimulus fund to build what he regards as the wrong kind of projects, “I’ll show up in your city and say this was a stupid idea.” “No swimming pools!” he implored. “No tennis courts!” he begged. “No golf courses!” he pleaded. “No Frisbee parks!” he exhorted. “This can’t be government as usual,” he told an assemblage of local officials invited to the White House...

When George Bush selected Dick Cheney as his running mate in 2000, the braying asses in the media decided he made the choice to add “gravitas” to his ticket. Bush was a twice elected governor of Texas, and managing the second largest state economy in the country. He had run the Texas Rangers baseball team and had served honorably in the Texas Air National Guard. Nevertheless, the Democrat”s media cheeerleaders immediately latched on to the word “gravitas” like a child learning a new word. The media spewed an endless stream of stupid comments about how the well accomplished Bush needed...

An old 'Rat word the last few elections. Thought I'd dust it off. They won't be throwing this one out there this year. Wouldn't want to confuse their base with anything larger than "change". grav·i·tas n. Substance; weightiness A serious or dignified demeanor Bottom line "my friends", O'Bomba ain't got it.

Back in 2000 the Democrats were all in agreement that it was of paramount importance to have a man with "gravitas" in the oval office. Back in 2004 the Democrats were absolutely adamant that, at a time when our country was/is at war, we needed a veteran from the Vietnam Era with a track record of leadership. Today we have a candidate that exemplifies both of those qualifications and those very same Democrats can't seem to find a single member that's willing to show even a modicum of consistency. Not one talking head in the media has asked the question...

..... The economic crisis brings a new question, unarticulated so far but there, and I know because when I mention it to people they go off like rockets. It is: Do you worry that neither of them is up to it? Up to the job in general? Is either Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama actually up to getting us through this and other challenges? I haven't heard a single person say, "Yes, my guy is the answer." A lot of shrugging is going on out there. This is a read not only on the men but on the moment. ........

In choosing Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate, Barack Obama has acknowledged his own shortcomings while recognizing that the election he and his people thought a cakewalk a few months ago is now a battle royale along the lines of the 2000 and 2004 contests. Republicans would do well not to celebrate too much over this choice. On the surface, it may appear to be a mistake - an almost comically bad selection by Obama due to Biden's well known (and well documented) verbal gaffes. And, as Politico points out, this should worry the Obama camp: But...

As we all remember from the 2000 election the MSM, more accurately called the Democrat Media believes Gravitas is extremely important. They talked about G-A-V-I-T-A-S more than any issue for quite some time. Bush was a very risky candidate because he lacked a certain level of, of, ah, hold it…GRAVITAS. Now I just watched the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency hosted by Rev. Rick Warren. Senators Obama and McCain were both asked essentially the same questions. And I have to say that while Sen. Obama did OK without his teleprompter Sen. McCain came off much more Presidential with much...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential running mate for White House hopeful Barack Obama, said on Saturday he would visit Georgia this weekend. Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said he had been asked to go to Georgia by President Mikheil Saakashvili for talks over the conflict with Russia. "I am going to Georgia this weekend to get the facts first-hand and to show my support for Georgia's people and its democratically-elected government," said Biden in a statement. "I look forward to reporting to my colleagues in the...

Quote: "It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."