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Holden Caulfield, call your office. I have discovered the promised land of phoniness. During Friday's opening ceremonies in Beijing, a 9-year-old girl named Lin Miaoke sang a ballad to a packed stadium and a billion TV viewers. But the voice coming out of our TV sets wasn't hers. It belonged to a 7-year-old girl named Yang Peiyi. The Communist Party decided Peiyi had the better voice, but Miaoke was better looking -- so they created a phony hybrid of the two. "The reason was for the national interest," said Chen Qigang, general music designer of the opening ceremonies. "The child...

An embarrassing gallery of photos showing Bay State Sen. John Kerry surrounded by young women partying on Nantucket was a dockside encounter and nothing more, the senator’s office tells the Herald. The senator’s office said the images of Kerry are nothing but a chance encounter on a dock, and Kerry kept on walking after being caught on camera, according to a statement sent to bostonherald.com this afternoon.

"Does the Washington Post have any political reporters investigating the legitimacy of the Enquirer's stories about John Edwards?" the paper's national political reporter Jonathan Weisman was asked during an online chat on Friday. "Yes, and to be quite honest, we're waiting to see the pictures the Enquirer says it will publish this weekend," came his answer. Unfortunately, it's looking like Weisman and the rest of the mainstream media who still haven't touched the scandal will have to wait a little longer: the Enquirer's editor, David Perel tells Radar that while he is "definitely" in possession of photos from Edwards' bizarre...

Former Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy today was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by a judge who said Levy continues to exaggerate his military service in Vietnam. Levy, 61, had pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden in November to one count of falsifying his service record when he applied for increased veterans benefits in January 2003. During today's hearing, Judge Jerome B. Simandle asked Levy to explain more about the dangerous missions behind enemy lines he told probation officers he participated in. "I just picked up my M-16 and my radio and...

With his dashing chiselled features, swept back hair and perky bouffant the resemblance is unmistakable. But incredibly this carving of Elvis Presley was created around 1800 years before the King of Rock and Roll first warbled his first note. The amazing likeness has come to light as part of a sale of ancient antiques by the auction house Bonhams.

In the patois of punditry, “charismatic” has come to mean little more than “like a rock star.” But the striking thing about the charismatic leader is the extent to which his followers regard him as a healer of wounds, an alleviator of pain. In this sense, surely, Senator Barack Obama is charismatic. The carefully knotted ties and the dark, conservatively tailored suits only accentuate the exoticness of his shamanism; he has entered the American psyche not as a hero but as a healer. The country, or much of it, has longed for such a figure, a man from the once-oppressed...

Barack Obama stepped in it this time or sat behind it, that is. Sitting at a short rostrum at a meeting with Democrat governors, Barack Obama launched the “seal” of his campaign. His image makers figure that if they want him to look presidential and not like a little kid who is not ready for prime time -- they created something that looked like the Seal of the President of the United States. The problem is he looks more like he’s participating in a Saturday Night Live sketch, instead of being presidential. If you have ever been to an event...

In a McCain administration, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson would play a dominant role in selecting Supreme Court nominees and other judicial appointments, sources close to the McCain campaign and to Thompson tell us. And why is Fred suddenly everywhere? These sources say that the agreement between McCain and Thompson is behind Thompson’s resurgence in the national media in recent weeks. In a McCain campaign conference call with reporters yesterday on last week’s Supreme Court decision on terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Thompson -- without claiming such status -- played the role of a prominent McCain adviser. Developing…

It was not quite a Roger Mudd moment, but it was close. Mudd, you might recall, posed a simple question to Ted Kennedy in 1979: "Why do you want to be president?" Kennedy's vague, unprepared answer raised serious questions about his candidacy. Recently, Jake Tapper of ABC News asked a similarly blunt question of Barack Obama: "Have you ever worked across the aisle in such a way that entailed a political risk for yourself?" Obama's response is worth quoting in full: "Well, look, when I was doing ethics reform legislation, for example, that wasn't popular with Democrats or Republicans. So...

Daily Kos has obtained a copy of Obama's "certification of live birth." All of the information is what we have been told before - name, birth date, etc.. His mother's race is listed as "Caucasian," his father as "African." No middle name of Muhammad, no first name of "Barry," no last name of "Dunham." He's listed as "Barack Hussein Obama II," not "Jr." (Interestingly, in the lower right hand corner is the backwards reflection of a stamp, "June 6 or G, 2007". Did someone request or process this record about a year ago?) Site creator Markos Moulitsas mentions in the...

CNN story. Apparently Obama sent a letter to his pastor but that has yet to be released.

According to this AOL internet pol of 215,000. Every State in the Country feels that Barak Obama is a fake Christian except for Washington D.C.

Dr. Phil is a total loser. Watching Larry King on West Coast. He says Hillary's SNIPER gaffe is much about nothing. All Candidates would make these mistakes and gaffes. It doesn't reflect on her REAL experience at all. She has tons of actual experience. Then he says all these LOFTY issues that candidates talk about, in the end ALL PEOPLE CARE ABOUT IS ONE QUESTION: WHAT IS IN IT FOR ME? Its more than Local Politics, its Personal Politics. He doesn't speak for me. I for one am NOT thinking what is in this for me. My guess is most...

OBAMA'S DIMESTORE 'MEIN KAMPF'April 2, 2008 If characters from "The Hills" were to emote about race, I imagine it would sound like B. Hussein Obama's autobiography, "Dreams From My Father." Has anybody read this book? Inasmuch as the book reveals Obama to be a flabbergasting lunatic, I gather the answer is no. Obama is about to be our next president: You might want to take a peek. If only people had read "Mein Kampf" ... Nearly every page -- save the ones dedicated to cataloguing the mundane details of his life -- is bristling with anger at some imputed racist...

Last October the Associated Press reported that Barack Obama had made a decision not to sport an American flag pin on his lapel:Asked about it Wednesday in an interview with KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Illinois senator said he stopped wearing the pin shortly after the attacks and instead hoped to show his patriotism by explaining his ideas to citizens. "The truth is that right after 9/11 I had a pin," Obama said. "Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on...

Their Republican friends were aghast. "They told us we're crazy, that if Barack Obama gets elected the first thing he'll do is raise taxes and take all our money," Robert Stross says with a laugh. But Stross, 39, and his wife Ann Wann, 41 -- both lifelong Republicans -- knew what they were in for. They knew when they disclosed in this space back in February 2007 that they were fed up with George Bush and were joining the Obama for president movement, that they would endure a lot of flack from their fellow Republicans. Indeed, just a day or...

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye. I wish I could be proud of a nation that has a sitting president that has been responsible for killing almost a million innocent Iraqi people in a misadventure that was based on lies and is for profit.I sit here behind my computer screen in solidarity with Rev. Wright. Not only do I not denounce him, but I support him in telling the truth"

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton should be leery of ever trusting the word of another black person, especially the word of elected officials, celebrities and other elites. She most certainly should never again trust the word of black preachers. Too many blacks have betrayed Clinton. They have been disloyal. They have lied to her, many to her face. From the moment she entered public life after graduating from law school and before her opponent, Barack Obama, started to move up in the polls and won some major caucuses and primaries, Clinton worked with blacks and supported their causes. She was mostly...

Since 1962, Scranton, Pennsylvania has hosted the second largest Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in the country. This year was no exception! Thousands of people lined the streets, watching the 9,000 participants of all ages! The Obama campaign was present in all parts of the parade as surrogate speaker Max Kennedy met parade watchers and encouraged them to vote for Barack Obama. Scranton residents rallied for Obama by wearing special Saint Patrick’s Day Obama stickers, holding signs and carrying around balloons. Jennifer, Marissa and Debbie are excited to vote on April 22 for Barack. Jennifer, a teacher, supports Barack’s education...

How Does Tom Allen Keep His Promise to US Vets If....? Would Tom Allen Recognize a U.S. Vet if He Saw One? Tom Allen’s campaign for U.S. Senator website is promoting a feature called, “Keeping Our Promise To American’s Veterans,” with a series of photos. But how does Tom Allen keep his promise to American Veterans if he doesn’t know what one looks like? The picture below from Allen's website is a stock photo of a Royal Navy sailor. A U.S. Navy sailor would not be wearing a beard. The weapon in the picture is a British weapon. This isn’t...

In "light" of Nader running... again, here's bit more of the great "honesty" of this liberal fanatic (though this piece was written in 2002). Ralph Nader is a hypocrite where did millionaire Nader get so much money to invest in the first place? ... Nader refused to release his income-tax returns. ... http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=26345Actually political wise I think it's good for the GOP that Liberal Nader runs against Liberal Obama...

The latest Zogby International/Reuters poll today shows that Barack Obama has a sizable national lead over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic race for president and would also beat Republican candidate John McCain in the general election. And to help Obama’s argument to be the party’s candidate, Clinton would lose to McCain 50 percent to 38 percent. Obama would beat McCain 47 percent to 40 percent, the poll found. Reuters/Zogby Poll

This one is staggering. Mitt Romney’s defenders have argued that we should overlook his reversals on numerous issues because he took his earlier positions as far back as 1994, and anybody could change in that time period. But over the weekend, Romney flip-flopped again on guns, only this time, he reversed a position he held less than two months ago. Conservatives who have been rallying around Romney out of hatred of John McCain really need to take a close look at this and reexamine whether Romney can The short version is that during the Dec. 16 edition of “Meet the...

ABC news has tapes of 24 meetings of the board of directors of Wal-Mart. And just who do you think was serving on that board during these meetings? Why, none other than the smartest woman in the world, Hillary Clinton. View their story. http://boortz.com/more/video/hillary_walmart_gma.html Why are the tapes of these board meetings important? Because the board was discussing actions to be taken to fight unions who might want to organize Wal-Mart workers. Hillary? She sat there and never uttered a word. Nothing. Nada. The Wal-Mart board of directors was plotting against unions, and Hillary did nothing. That was then, and...

John McCain has the 'right stuff' January, 31, 2008 The threat of Islamofascism is real and we ignore it at our peril. While extremists threaten our European allies, rogue nations and fundamentalist regimes ... http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=18833

"Today" show Matt Lauer asked presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Friday if she has a connection to indicted developer Tony Rezko after flashing an undated photo of the two posing with President bill Clinton. ... Clinton said she did not remember taking the photo and said she doesn't even remember meeting Rezko...

During the debate last night, Mitt Romney was asked about his support of Brady and a ban on assault weapons. MR. ROMNEY: I do support the Second Amendment, and I believe that this is an individual right of citizens and not a right of government. And I hope the Supreme Court reaches that same conclusion. I also, like the president, would have signed the assault weapon ban that came to his desk. I said I would have supported that and signed a similar bill in our state. It was a bill worked out, by the way, between pro-gun lobby and...

Recalling his days as a businessman, Republican U.S. presidential contender Mitt Romney often cites the 25 years he spent in the private sector creating jobs. But as the leader of private equity firm Bain Capital from 1984 to 1999, Romney's record shows that while some of the firm's investments helped companies grow, others ended in thousands of layoffs, and in some cases, bankruptcy. Layoffs are a common result of private equity takeovers, with Bain Capital no exception. Although Romney is credited with helping make Bain the private equity powerhouse it is today, buyout firms are known more for cutting jobs...

The morning after John McCain lost the Michigan primary to Mitt Romney, his team rolled out a new attack on the former Massachusetts governor, even likening him to John Kerry as a flip-flopper. Steve Schmidt, a top McCain strategist, attributed yesterday's loss to "Mitt Romney's pandering up in Michigan" by promising what Schmidt called a "$100 billion bailout of the auto industry...Mitt Romney should explain to the rest of the country how he's going to pay for it." While Romney has proposed a five-year, $20 billion-a-year effort to revitalize the ailing auto industry, the Arizona senator has emphasized worker retraining...

On Wednesday, after his loss in the New Hampshire primary, Gov. Mitt Romney returned to Boston to lick his wounds and conduct a telephone fundraiser before heading off to his next must win state of Michigan. ABC Radio microphones were there and they featured an audio quote from Romney in their top of the hour news broadcasts. Romney was encouraging his phone bank volunteers with a little pep talk when he unintentionally summed up his entire campaign; ironically hitting upon the reason why he has failed to gain any traction with conservatives despite spending the most money of any Republican....

Mitt Romney, a dominant favorite in New Hampshire just weeks ago, said Sunday that a "close second" to Arizona Sen. John McCain would be a significant feat on Tuesday. The almost frantic downsizing of expectations for the former Massachusetts governor came as the candidate and his staff are publicly and privately preparing to explain away what would be a disheartening loss and shift to a last-ditch strategy predicated on his ability to outlast and outspend his rivals, according to sources inside the campaign. "This is a must-win state for him," Romney said of McCain, in a Politico interview Sunday. "If...

Hoping to stymie John McCain’s New Hampshire surge, Mitt Romney has turned to two issues almost certain to move GOP primary voters: tax cuts and immigration. On both counts, Romney noted in recent Granite State campaign appearances, McCain has been crosswise with the majority of his own party. But, in responding to the charges, McCain’s campaign turned to off-the-shelf material sure to take some of the sting out of Romney’s attacks - Romney’s own words. On these two hot topics and many others, past statements or positions by the former Massachusetts governor can be found that either completely contradict or...

NBC’s Ann Curry interviewed Mitt Romney on Friday morning's Today on the impact of Benazir Bhutto's assassination, and in a tough interview, she dismissed Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy credentials. When Curry questioned Romney’s foreign policy experience, Romney noted that Reagan "was a governor, not a so-called foreign policy expert." Curry dismissively stated "Reagan was not elected at a time of war." No, Reagan was just elected in an intense point in the Cold War. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and U.S. diplomats were still being held hostage in Iran. Romney did say that Reagan was "elected at a time of...

sacbee.com - The online division of The Sacramento Bee This story is taken from Sacbee / Politics. It's the Law: Medal liars face new sanctions State law enforcement may now cite those who falsify their war exploits. By Peter Hecht - phecht@sacbee.com Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, December 27, 2007 One in a series of reports on new laws that take effect Jan. 1. The new director of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District in Claremont introduced himself with tales so harrowing, so seemingly courageous, that people took notice. Fellow board member Dan Horan said Xavier Alvarez told him he...

A couple of weeks ago Mike Huckabee was skyrocketing out of sight. Now the polls are tightening up. But Huckabee is a dark horse in more ways than one. For one thing, he must know that his public record is much too controversial for him to get elected president. So why is he running? Think about that for a second. Huckabee is not a conservative. He is a populist, like Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Hewey Long. He started off as a very successful radio preacher. Huckabee has years of practice doing off-the-cuff repartee with radio listeners. He is a...

As the New Hampshire Presidential Primary approaches, the increased focus on the candidates and the issues appears to be costing Mitt Romney vital support in his close fight with John McCain. The New Hampshire Union Leader published a devastating attack on Romney, calling into question his conservative credentials: THERE IS A reason Mitt Romney has not received a single newspaper endorsement in New Hampshire. It's the same reason his poll numbers are dropping. He has not been able to convince the people of this state that he's the conservative he says he is. Like a lot of people in New...

If you were building a Republican presidential candidate from a kit, imagine what pieces you might use: an athletic build, ramrod posture, Reaganesque hair, a charismatic speaking style and a crisp dark suit. You'd add a beautiful wife and family, a wildly successful business career and just enough executive government experience. You'd pour in some old GOP bromides - spending cuts and lower taxes - plus some new positions for 2008: anti-immigrant rhetoric and a focus on faith. Add it all up and you get Mitt Romney, a disquieting figure who sure looks like the next president and most surely...

Mitt Romney, who earlier this year had to backpedal on his hunting exploits, is explaining himself again after claiming an endorsement he did not receive and saying he witnessed his father in civil rights marches he could not have seen. "It's a figure of speech," Romney said Thursday after media inquiries into the Republican presidential contender's statement during his recent religion speech that he watched his father, the late Gov. George Romney of Michigan, march with Martin Luther King Jr. Romney, who was in high school at the time, later said he only heard of his father marching, and some...

Romney says that it depends on what the definition of "saw" is. A defensive Romney was peppered with questions today on exactly what he meant when he said -- most recently on Meet the Press -- that he "saw" his father march with Martin Luther King Jr. Recent articles have indicated that his father, the late Michigan Gov. George Romney, didn't march with the civil-rights leader. Admitting that he didn't see the march with his own eyes, he said, "I 'saw' him in the figurative sense." "The reference of seeing my father lead in civil rights," he said, "and seeing...

<p>New questions are being raised about whether Mitt Romney’s father actually marched with Martin Luther King Jr., after the GOP presidential candidate claimed during a major speech on faith and politics that he saw the two marching together.</p> <p>Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Thursday that Romney did not personally witness his father with King and that he was speaking “figuratively” when he said so during his address in Texas in early December.</p>

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney suggested there was no way a landscaping company that worked for him could have known its employees were illegal aliens even though the federal government has an employer verification system that any employer in America, on a voluntary basis, can use for free. And while the system already exists and is in use, Romney called for creating one during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. A Romney spokesman said the governor meant to say he wanted to make the system mandatory for all businesses. Romney, former Massachusetts governor and a leading Republican...

Mitt Romney was fully aware of a $150 donation to Planned Parenthood made by check in his wife's name and indeed himself attended the Massachusetts Planned Parenthood fundraising event in 1994 in connection with the donation, according to former Massahcusetts Planned Parenthood President Nicki Nicholas Gamble. This contradicts previous statements by the Romney campaign. In April of this year ABC news reported that Romney's wife Ann had made a $150 donation to Planned Parenthood in 1994. The story reported that Romney spokesman Kevin Madden contended that " an internal review of Romney's personal records has not turned up any instances...

It has turned out that Mitt Romney’s Meet the Press appearance appeared decent at the time, but mistakes seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Race 4 2008 has one write-up. First, there was Romney’s lie about the NRA endorsement. He claimed that he had received it in 2002. He hadn’t. Just made it up. Second, he claimed that "…every piece of legislation which came to my desk in the coming years as a Governor, I came down on the side of preserving the sanctity of life." Fred Thompson’s campaign sent out a press release basically blowing that up....

I just got finished watching Mitt Romney's performance on "Meet the Press." Snip.. --On guns, he may have gotten himself in trouble, in an attempt to diffuse the flip-flop label, by standing by his support for the Brady Bill and the 1994 assault weapons ban. He even said he would have signed an extension of the assault weapons ban when it expired in 2004. He also employed the odd phrase "weapons of unusual lethality" to describe the type of guns he would ban. --On immigration, Romney was utterly Clintonian. He said that when in November 2005 he described the Bush/McCain...

Check this out. Mike Huckabee is looking for all the endorsements he can get. Well, in August of 2005, look what Mitt Romney had to say about Mike Huckabee. This was at the Governor's mansion in Little Rock when both Huckabee and Romney were Governors. They were meeting about healthcare and Romney was asked about his future as a presidential candidate: "Who knows what the future will hold? Most likely, we'll all stay as governors or find other offices, but we need to make sure that we have a strong person who can take the baton from President Bush, and...

Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday called one of Mitt Romney’s mailers in New Hampshire "not true." Watch the video. What is Romney’s strategy? Lie about everything through the primary? CNN caught him being dodgy yesterday. But the guy has the money to do it. I don’t think that the Republican Party wants a guy who spends millions of his own money to spread lies about other Republicans. I just think that the party is more decent than that. UPDATE: Quote of the day from Rudy Giuliani’s campaign: "Mitt Romney’s already changed his own position on illegal immigration, so it...

Suddenly “The Speech” is starting to look like a brilliant idea. Snip> As a former GOP consultant who believes Mitt Romney talking about Mormonism is about as politically productive as John Edwards talking about hair-care products, it turns out there’s something even worse he could be talking about: illegal immigration. When news broke that Romney’s “sanctuary mansion” was still open for business this week, it was a double-whammy for the former gov who would be president. It confirmed Rudy Giuliani’s criticism from last week’s debate in Florida, but it also highlights Romney’s fundamental weakness - does the guy really mean...

Mitt Romney is under fire for being caught a second time using a landscaping company that employs illegal immigrants. The Republican presidential candidate on Tuesday fired a landscaping company that worked at his home in Boston after he said he learned it employs illegal immigrants. With Romney locked in a tight race for the top spot in the GOP's upcoming Iowa caucuses, the company -- which he said he gave a "second chance" after similar information arose last year -- had become an easy target for Romney's political opponents. In the statement, Romney said he met with the owner of...

Because the Boston Globe was looking into it. From the paper, posted a short time ago: Mitt Romney, who has taken a tough stance against illegal immigrants in his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, has continued to employ a company that uses illegal immigrants to do lawn work at his home. Responding to inquiries from the Globe, which had observed the work taking place at his house and interviewed the workers, Romney tonight fired the company for failing to comply with the law… Romney has made illegal immigration a central campaign issue in his bid for the nomination. At...