Free Republic

PHILADELPHIA – President Barack Obama said Tuesday night he believed the majority of Americans were not closely following the ups and downs of the presidential campaign. Obama, who attended six fundraisers in Baltimore and Philadelphia on Tuesday, has not had a good start to June after coming under fire for saying "the private sector is doing fine" during a news conference last Friday. Speaking at a fundraiser at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Obama said he believed the good news is that the American people agree with his campaign's policies of moving the country forward. "They're not...

He. Cannot. Be. Serious. And yet, he is. If this doesn’t qualify as playing up the intellectually cheap, populist, class-warfare rhetoric, then I don’t know what does. He’s not just decrying ‘tax cuts for the wealthy’ (a.k.a., here, the Bush-era tax cuts) as a paltry route to prosperity, he’s throwing in a steak-and-a-martini metaphor to really classy it up! (snip) “Those of us who have spent time in the real world understand that the problem is not that the American people aren’t productive enough,” Obama said during a fundraiser today, after saying that Romney believes that America “automatically” prospers when...

Former Governor Mitt Romney is already offering top donors access to a special "Presidential Inaugural retreat," planned on the assumption that he will be elected president this November. The offer, in a fundraising email circulated by a top Georgia supporter to fellow Republicans and obtained by BuzzFeed, is one of several goodies offered to those who contribute more than $50,000 to the joint fundraising committee known as "Romney Victory," a program whose outlines were first reported by POLITICO. Those donors will be named "Founding Members" of Romney Victory and invited to a California retreat with Romney and offered "yet to...

"We have come together at critical times times and made the sacrifices necessary to preserve our liberty. So a campaign based on attacks, a campaign based on demonizing one another, that's not going to be successful. This country is going to be successful by pulling together, by recognizing that we have some common challenges and working together to overcome those things," Mitt Romney said on "Hannity" tonight. "The President's a nice guy, but we just can't afford him for four more years. Our kids can't afford him. We have to get back to machine who know what is it takes...

“In the absence of a candidate who has any poetry — who has any ability to connect on an emotional level — how do you create a bond?” Romney’s agenda, the adviser said, is “warmed-over oatmeal” and needs to be bolder. “If you’re a super-charismatic candidate like George W. Bush or John McCain...They had other, more emotional-level, values-level ways to connect with voters. This guy just doesn’t have it. He has all the warmth of a Wall Street CEO.” ...the more they put on a facade, the more people pick up on it.” "...Mitt Romney is still a big question...

Chris Wallace To Mitt Romney: Can You Understand Why Some Voters Might See You As Out-Of-Touch? On Fox News Sunday today, Chris Wallace was rather direct with Mitt Romney in addressing the GOP candidate’s falling poll numbers and favorability ratings. Wallace attributed these numbers to two important factors: 1) Romney’s campaign turning into naught more than attacks on his rivals, and 2) the impression many people have that Romney is unable to connect with average voters. RELATED: Chris Matthews: Romney Cannot Connect With Voters Because He Has ‘No Evidence Of Having Suffered’ Wallace highlighted two clips of Romney from the...

“ … states' rights, states’ rights, states' rights!” — Rick Perry at the Alamo, June 15, 2009 Until you get higher in the hills, Laconia might be considered the vortex of New Hampshire redneck politics, heavy into the Tea Party. The Lakes Region Tea Party is small but might be indicative of how things will go. A straw poll on Nov. 16 gave Newt Gingrich 49 percent while Cain tied with Ron Paul at 15. Romney 12 percent and Rick Perry 0. Similar results in a straw poll at a Republican club in Alabama on Saturday: Newt 45 percent, Cain...

Up for re-election in 2012 on a Democratic ticket headed by President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) continues to struggle for traction. In this morning's Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll, 30% of registered statewide voters have a favorable view of the Democratic senator and 23% an unfavorable view. Forty-seven percent don’t know him at all or have no opinion of him, including 49% of Democrats.

(VIDEO AT LINK) While addressing college students in Richmond, VA, President Obama was surprised to learn that schools use trailers, also called 'modular buildings' or 'modular classrooms.' During his visit Obama said he was approached by an educator who mentioned she teaches in a trailer. Obama did not mention that the teacher had a problem with her situation, but he made it clear this was unacceptable. "I just -- in the back, I was taking some photos with folks who had helped out to organize this event, and there was a young lady who is a teacher. And she said,...

Obama deflected blame for high gas prices by blaming American consumers for their automobile choices. According to the AP, "Obama needled one questioner who asked about gasoline prices. Obama laughingly said: 'If you're complaining about the price of gas and you're only getting 8 miles per gallon you might want to think about a trade-in." For most Americans, however, gas prices are no laughing matter. And for the president to suggest that a taxpayer's inability to buy a new $40,000+ hybrid vehicle (that still requires gas) is the root problem, rather than his price-increasing oil policies is shameful. Before Obama...

It seems pretty clear that Indiana Senator Richard Lugar has resigned himself to a primary challenge from his right flank and is attempting to shore up his support among moderate Republicans and dems. This would explain his high profile effort to renew the ban on assault weapons. Politico: "Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) this weekend called on Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. "Lugar is the first GOP senator to call for increased gun control following the Tucson tragedy that killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. But Lugar, who supported...

SECRETARY CLINTON: It is such a delight to welcome you back here for this wonderful national tradition. It is, by any standard we can imagine, the best weekend in Washington. (Applause.) And it is the tenth time since I have been involved with helping to host some of the Kennedy Center Honors. For eight years, Bill and I were privileged to host at the White House, and now as Secretary of State I get the great honor of hosting you here. And it was really extraordinary standing in the receiving line and seeing the genres and generations going by. (Laughter.)...

Several months ago a huge billboard appeared near Wyoming, Minnesota, with a beaming photo of George W. Bush with the caption “Miss me yet?” The answer to that question is clearly yes, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, which shows the former president staging a remarkable political recovery despite having largely disappeared from public life since leaving office: By 47 to 45 percent, Americans say Obama is a better president than George W. Bush. But that two point margin is down from a 23 point advantage one year ago. ...The CNN poll is of course deeply humiliating for the...

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown By Nile Gardiner The last few weeks have been a nightmare for President Obama, in a summer of discontent in the United States which has deeply unsettled the ruling liberal elites, so much so that even the Left has begun to turn against the White House. While the anti-establishment Tea Party movement has gained significant ground and is now a rising and powerful political force to be reckoned with, many of the president’s own supporters as well as independents are rapidly losing faith in...

Barack Obama has compared the impact the oil spill disaster will have on the U.S. national psyche to 9/11. The president said the ongoing environmental disaster will 'shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come.' His comments, made in an interview with U.S. news website Politico, were today criticised by relatives of those killed on September 11, 2001. Mr Obama said: 'In the same way that our view of our vulnerabilities and our foreign policy was shaped profoundly by 9/11, I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment...

So what is the matter with Obama? Conservatives have been asking this question for some time. I've written a number of articles trying to solve the mystery.   Even some liberals are starting to wonder. James Carville railed about Obama's blasé attitude after the catastrophic oil spill. The New York Times' Maureen Dowd revamped Obama's "Yes We Can" motto into "Will We Ever?" The liberal women of the TV show "The View" have expressed sympathy for Michelle Obama's living with a man so out of touch. Peggy Noonan, hardly a vehement Obama foe,  recently pronounced him disconnected.  Obama's odd mannerisms intrigue...

Camp David's woodsy confines lure him to 10th visit WASHINGTON - -- Why hasn't President Barack Obama kept his pledge to make Chicago's South Side his "Kennebunkport"? Two words: Camp David. The ultra-private, presidential mountain retreat -- a half-hour from the White House by helicopter -- has quickly found fans within the First Family. Their stay for Labor Day weekend was Obama's 10th visit.... ...With Obama's return Sunday, he has logged all or part of 26 days at Camp David, White House officials say.

Arizona Republican voters don’t see Senator John McCain having much trouble winning the GOP Senate Primary next year, but 50% believe he has lost touch with his party’s base. Conservatives are even more critical of the longtime incumbent. Forty-three percent (43%) of Arizona Republican voters offer a more positive assessment and say McCain has done a good job representing GOP values, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state. Nationally, 69% of GOP voters believe that Republicans in Congress are out of touch with the party’s base. A recent analysis by Scott Rasmussen suggested that the Beltway...

has taken casual to a haute new level. While volunteering Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crew cardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky splurge: trainers that go for $540. That's right: These sneakers - suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps - are made by French design house Lanvin, one of fashion's hottest labels. They come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all spring.

In his current incarnation, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger never tires of asserting that Republicans are too rigidly ideological. On ABC's “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” he called state GOP lawmakers out of touch for refusing to go along with his budget deal, which included $12.8 billion in higher taxes and (honestly calculated) about $7 billion in spending cuts. Schwarzenegger in the next breath went on to reveal that he planned to renew his push for state health care “reform,” even if it requires another round of big tax hikes, “because that's what the people want you to do.” This is mind-boggling....