Obama's State of the Union Address

On Tuesday January 24th, President Obama spoke about his future plans in his State of the Union Address. One of his main focuses was economic inequality. In order to balance this inequality, Obama proposed tax cuts to those making under $250,000 which I think is somewhat unfair. I firmly believe it would make the most sense if the middle class and upper class paid the same percentage of their income. In this way, everyone would be paying the same rate, but the extremely rich would in a sense be paying more because a fixed percentage of their incomes would be greater than those of the middle class. If it were done this way, it would be a balance of equality and trickle down economics.
One thing that I agreed with in Obama's speech was the fact that he wants to cut tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas. This would be a great incentive for companies to create jobs in America and strengthen our economy. I also support the fact that Obama wants to give tax breaks for companies that hire Americans.

Candidates on... Sugar?

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I really support The United States government's sugar program to limit the import of sugar from foreign countries, stabilize sugar prices and create more jobs for out of work Americans. This article states that the two main candidates, Gingrich and Romney said that they wanted to end the US government's subsidies to the sugar industry. However, the program is free and the government does not give sugar subsidies. I think that the candidates should definitely have all of the right information because when they speak of their opinions on the subject, they can sway viewers opinions on something that is based on nonfactual evidence. Also, when the public finds out that they were misinformed, the candidates lose credibility and trust in their voters. A comment from Nick Sinner, a director of The Red Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association said, “I think it reflects the media elite bias against rural America, which is very pronounced and repeated over and over,” he said. “They take misinformation and pass it around as fact. To have two presidential candidates so woefully ignorant was so striking and disappointing.” I agree with this statement and think that there needs to be more emphasis placed on rural America and not corporate business.

More on Romney's Money

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I have always preferred following BBC coverage on the different political candidates in the United States. I think that the reporting is relatively unbiased, very professional, and goes straight to the facts. This is why I prefer watching this compared to American media. After viewing BBC's take on the GOP, the reader has the option to form his or her opinion in accordance with what is presented in the article. This article compares Romney's income with Gingrich's and other former presidents. It states that he pays exactly what he owes in taxes, and "nothing more." He also gives a good portion of his income to diverse charity organizations. I think that although Romney's income is very high compared to present and former candidates, it does not mean that it should be held against him and that he is not a good candidate. However, I do think that many voters will think that because none of his income comes from wages, and all is from investments, he can not relate to the average American who must work for an income, and also many of the unemployed who are struggling. 

Romney's Preparation

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In preparation for the Florida primary, Mitt Romney has hired a new debate coach. His strategy of challenging president Obama has shifted to confronting Gingrich after his stunning win in South Carolina. In my opinion, Gingrich has been performing really well in his debates lately and this was most likely the reason why he took South Carolina. The video also cites a new poll that Romney is on favored by one percent compared to Newt Gingrich. I believe Mitt Romney is taking the necessary steps here because Newt Gingrich is definitely gaining steam. Another aspect shown in the video that I found interesting was the polls they showed. For example, in South Carolina people who made over $100,000 favored Romney over Gingrich by 15%. In reverse (people who made<$100,00) Newt won by 16%. I feel that this can be explained from Romney's wealth.

Gingrich's Ex Wife

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I think this video is very interesting because it pries deep into Newt Gingrich's personal life with an interview with his ex-wife. I think that it was biased for ABC News to release this in January, at a time that is vital in the campaign. I believe news stations are supposed to be neutral, and report the news as it comes, without leaning one way or another. I think that ABC dug deep to find this story and to break it at a time that would put Newt in the worst possible light. All of the negative attacks on all of the candidates is really not how it should be..

Plans for Paul

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This article speaks about the campaigning plans for Ron Paul, a candidate with much less financial support than the two main candidates, Romney and Gingrich. It is interesting to see how a candidate with less financial support leads his campaign. He said he would forgo spending money on his campaign in Florida and put more towards winning more favorable states. The article goes on to say that his campaign is very internet driven. I think that the use of the internet and social media currently play a big part in campaigning.

More on Gingrich....

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I pulled this article from the Dailymail, a United Kingdom based news outlet. I thought that it put an interesting spin on the Newt Gingrich affair story. My opinion is that a person’s personal life with their spouse should not be of interest to the public. I believe that it is irrelevant to whether the person will do a good job in office. However, this article cited that during the Clinton scandal, Gingrich was a strong supporter of impeaching the president for lying under oath. I think that this is very hypocritical of Gingrich if in fact that he cheated. But then again, I don't think that because of this he would do a terrible job as president.

Romney's Money

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I was happy to see that Mitt Romney finally released his tax returns for the public to see. The returns state that he made an income of $20 million to $22 million in the past few years from stock dividends and interest payments. Romney and his wife have given away millions to charities and paid just what they owed to the government in taxes--and nothing more. I think that it was important for him to give away money to charity and I definitely commend him for that. He also stated that those with multi-million dollar incomes need to be taxed more, something I definitely agree with as I believe it would help close such a large gap between those and the middle class.

Florida Bout- Newt VS Romney

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Following Gingrich’s win in South Carolina, one of his main obstacles is to promote organization within his campaign. He has been vigorously fundraising to further his campaign. He has been trying to keep up with Romney’s aggressive efforts in television advertising and endorsements. The article also says that he has been targeting the Cuban American population in the Miami area and that they formerly supported John McCain in the last election. I really took to this because I thought how important it is to relate with minorities in our country because they make up such a large portion of the population. Additionally, Newt Gingrich says he has best "captured the enthusiasm of the Republican base". I feel if Newt Gingrich takes Florida, the tables will have turned favoring him despite all of the negative news.

Newt's Relationship Status?

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Newt Gingrich has faced much scrutiny in his personal life after his divorce from wife, Marianne Gingrich. I thought this article was extremely interesting. It says that ABC was biased in releasing a tell all interview with Marianne Gingrich, Newt’s ex-wife in which she said Gingrich wanted an “open relationship.” Many viewers thought that the way in which ABC presented the interview, including the timing right before the elections. I agree with this in that I definitely think that the news station was biased and tried to paint Gingrich in a bad light. Despite the allegations, you will never know what exactly happened, that's why I am not using this personal attack against him, unless I know for sure that it is true. If it is true, you still must ask yourself the question: would you want an unfaithful man running our country?

Florida Primary

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After a startling victory by Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney in South Carolina, the G.O.P. now moves to Florida. A new debate will take place Monday in Tampa between all 10 candidates including Rick Santorum and Ron Paul. The article states that this debate presents opportunities to fix mistakes and also present new possibilities in the election. The articles addresses key issues that the two primary candidates Romney and Gingrich are expected to attack each other over including the fact that Gingrich lacks business experience and the scandal around Romney’s Bain Capital pursuits. This article prompts me to think about how a person who is good at debating can alter the opinions of viewers and sway votes. The ability to speak and communicate well in public can be extremely important in a political race. Many voters look to the candidate’s demeanor as a sense of how well they can lead, so I think that it will be interesting to see what happens Monday night. 

Romney on Taxes

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           Mitt Romney plans to release his tax returns by this Tuesday says this article. It says that he said, “We made a mistake holding off as long as we did.” I believe that the only reason why he is choosing now to release the returns are because of his surprising loss against Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina elections. I believe that it is a strong move on his part, and dissolves some of the secrecy surrounding his position at Bain Capital where allegedly his employees were layed off and he gained profit. The decision came after a week of shedding light on the topic by the Gingrich party.    

            In my opinion, I feel that the candidates should focus more on what they are going to do in the future instead of all this mudslinging. Whoever gets elected to represent the Republican party is going to have a tough time to beat Obama if this continues.                                                                                                                           

Gingrich on the Election

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This article spoke of Gingrich citing that although he may not have as much monetary support as the other candidates, he has his so called, "people power with the right ideas." Another interesting thing about the article is that Gingrich tries to win the appeal of the "average American", that lives in South Carolina, farms, etc instead of what he called the "elites" in Washington and the media. I think that this appeals to the majority of the voters but in the end, it is also very important to have financial support and a good organization which Mitt Romney definitely has. Also, I believe Newt's recent victory is partly due to his background pertaining to the south.

Gingrich's Guts

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In interviews with residents of South Carolina,many cited personal reasons rather than political as their motives for voting for Gingrich in the Election. My own personal stance on this is that the first aspect a voter should take into account is the concrete plans the candidate has to change for the country. In this case, some of Gingrich's main being his proposals on how to fix Social Security and immigration problems. This past Saturday, Gingrich celebrated his victory over opponent mitt Romney in the South Carolina primary. Voters were supportive of his tendency to speak out against his rivals and also to confront the media earnestly and with nerve. His "guts" proved to be an attractive attribute in this election. As one local resident Harold Wade said, "I think Mitt Romney is a good man. But I think we've reached a point where we need someone who's mean." I think that this is a good point, but it does not necessarily signify that Gingrich can promote real change.

Millions Will Go to Gingrich

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On Friday January 6th, billionaire Sheldon Adelson donated five million dollars to super PAC "Winning our Future" in order to help his longtime friend, Newt Gingrich. This donation will give Gingrich a boost since his presidential desires have been crushed by the myriad of negative ads coming from Romney's supporters. A majority of this money has already been invested in an advertising campaign in South Carolina where the primary is approaching quickly. The Super PAC plans to expose Romney's executive position at a equity firm called Bain Capital where he allegedly destroyed many jobs and took advantage of the companies' workers. With Gingrich not far behind in the polls in South Carolina, this boost may prove to be crucial in his campaign.
This donation by Sheldon Adelson is significant because it exemplifies the fact that a rich person can influence an election.

O'Donnell endorses Mitt Romney

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In an interview Thursday morning, Christine O'Donnell publicly announced her endorsement for GOP candidate Mitt Romney. In this interview, she clearly specified that she personally endorses Mitt Romney and not the Tea Party as a whole. O'Donnell claims that she supports all candidates but also states that Romney is the best candidate because of his consistency and executive experience. Just after she said this, the interviewer questioned the legitimacy of consistency and said that he has changed his mind on many topics. O'Donnell's response was, "He's been consistent since he changed his mind." To me, a person is not consistent if they change their views on a particular topic so I do not agree with O'Donnell here. Later in the interview, O'Donnell said that no matter who gets elected, the Republican party must unite in order to be able to win the primary election. I definitely agree with this statement because a political party must have solidarity to be able to win an election.