Let’s fact check, shall we?

So far from watching both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions I have learned that if I want to be successful in politics, I better sharpen my trash-talking skills and become a damn good liar.

I would share the USA Today fact-checking articles with you, but they are so long that I’m not even going to attempt it. But I strongly encourage you to read the Paul Ryan fact-check, the Mitt Romney fact-check, and the DNC opening night fact-check – though it may make you dislike politicians even more than you do currently…

Biggest failures of the week:

1. Hilary Rosen

Attacking Mitt Romney’s wife by saying that she “never worked a day in her life”? Not smart. I’m pretty sure no one is going to support you on this one…

Hilary Rosen, Democratic Strategist, Criticizes Ann Romney For Having ‘Never Worked A Day In Her Life’

Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen stirred controversy Wednesday evening when she criticized Ann Romney for having “never worked a day in her life.”

During a discussion on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 of the so-called war on women, Rosen said she agreed with Mitt Romney’s claim that women care more about economic issues than reproductive rights. But Romney’s use of his wife Ann’s perspective shows how poorly the former Massachusetts governor connects with voters, Rosen said.

“Guess what?” Rosen said. “His wife has actually never worked a day in her life. She’s never really dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing.”

Rosen continued, “There’s something much more fundamental about Mitt Romney. He seems so old-fashioned when it comes to women, and I think that comes across, and I think that that’s going to hurt him over the long term. He just doesn’t really see us as equal.”

Rosen’s comments provoked a quick response from the Romney campaign, as well as from President Barack Obama’s reelection team.

Ann Romney, who previously was not on Twitter, sent her first official tweet in response to Rosen’s comments.

“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys,” she wrote.
“Believe me, it was hard work.”

Top Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom also tweeted about the interview, referring to Rosen as an “Obama adviser,” even though Rosen is employed neither by the Obama campaign nor the Democratic National Committee.

Obama’s strategists rapidly disassociated themselves and the campaign from Rosen’s comments.

“I could not disagree with Hilary Rosen any more strongly,” Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, wrote in a tweet. “Her comments were wrong and family should be off-limits. She should apologize.”

David Axelrod made a similar statement, tweeting that he was “disappointed” in Rosen’s “inappropriate and offensive” comments.

Rosen tweeted several times about her remarks, saying she has “nothing against” Romney’s wife and that her comments were intended to criticize Mitt Romney’s use of Ann as an “expert on women and the economy.”

In a blog on The Huffington Post, Rosen (who, in full disclosure, was once employed at this website), further clarified her comments. Ann Romney “seems like a nice lady who has raised nice boys and struggled with illness and handles their long-term effects with grace and dignity,” Rosen wrote. “What is more important to me and 57 percent of current women voters is her husband saying he supports women’s economic issues because they are the only issues that matter to us and then he fails on even those.”

 2. Howard Davis (aka “Cold-Hearted Idiot from Toledo”)

Just read the short article below… there is no need for an explanation.

Man charged after allegedly dumping suitcase full of puppies in alley

TOLEDO –  An Ohio man was charged after he allegedly dumped a suitcase full of puppies and their mother in an alley, but forgot to take the luggage tags with his contact information off the suitcase, FOX Toledo reports.

Toledo police say a passer-by found the canvas suitcase with six 4-week-old puppies and their mother inside. The suitcase still had a luggage tag on it with the contact information for 53-year-old Howard Davis. The mother dog was also found to be registered to Davis.

“He gave us a story about the dog,” said John Dinon of the Toledo Area Humane Society. “He had given the dog away to some friends in Michigan, and that the suitcase had been stolen.”

Police didn’t believe Davis’ story, and charged him with two counts of animal abandonment.

The mother dog and her puppies, which are mixed-breed English Bulldogs, are now in the care of the Humane Society. 

“It was really a lucky break because they were sealed up pretty tight in that suitcase,” Dinon said. “Imagine if it would have gone on for any length of time, they might have suffocated.”

Click here for more on this story from FOXToledo.com. 

Last Night’s Debate

Here are some of the highlights of last night’s GOP debate. I didn’t think anything was necessarily that insightful, but it was quite entertaining at times. I can’t decide what part of it I liked the best: seeing the candidates sitting uncomfortably at kindergarten-sized desks, listening to Ron Paul call Rick Santorum a “fake” to his face, or witnessing the awkward catfights between Romney and Santorum…

What were your thoughts about the debate??

Santorum surges

I was shocked surprised to hear that Rick Santorum won all three primaries last night - Colorado, Missouri, and Minnesota. This certainly shakes up the GOP field (Newt… it may be time to drop out now) and underscores the fact that the Republican party does not seem to want to rally around Mitt Romney.

 

This GOP race is becoming more and more ridiculous…

Seriously???

GOP Debate in a nutshell

Didn’t see the debate last night? Watch the clip below. But you missed out on an hour and a half of pure entertainment.

Plus, you got to tweet your questions to my BFF Wolf Blitzer. I wanted to do it and get on TV, but couldn’t come up with anything good. I asked my dad what I should ask and he said, “Ask: ‘Why do you hate poor people?’” I contemplated, but I don’t think that Wolf would put that one on the top of his list. So I just continued watching and talking to the TV screen by myself.

To summarize:

• Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are really good at fighting like little catty girls & making everyone feel awkward
• Jon Huntsman is really smart… but good Lord his jokes are terrible and he comes across like he’s in his own little world. He made me uncomfortable the whole time. Hearing his jokes and then crickets afterwards? Awkward.
• Michele Bachmann… not bad. Good at debating — I have to give her credit.
• Newt Gingrich… still hangin’ on somehow. Good at trying to insult Obama.
• Rick Santorum wasn’t bad… I just don’t think he ever comes off very smart. And I feel like he’s just an outsider that nobody really likes. He reminds me of the little neglected child that always wants to be included… but no one cares.
• Herman Cain. He basically just keeps demonstrating that people in business are generally a lot smarter than politicians. Good debater.
• Ron Paul looked just like the cute old man from the movie “UP”

 

Obama’s looking really good right now…

I’m talking about the election next year, people. I kept thinking that maybe there was some hope in the Republican party, but what a let down! I really can’t see any of these presidential hopefuls winning big in 2012. Why? Let’s take a look, shall we?

Sarah Palin: I’m praying to God that she doesn’t enter the race. But if she does, I’m pretty sure that she will somehow mess it up for herself by either continuing to make up American history or by accidentally revealing to the world that she doesn’t read the news and cannot name one news publication on camera.

Michele Bachmann: What terrifies me most is the fact that Bachmann has a lot of Republican support right now. What? How? Why? But not to worry. It’s just a matter of time before she starts to become the next Sarah Palin. Just like with Palin, a sizeable portion of really odd Americans will somehow still support her and not be completely embarassed by her, while the majority of people will look back to when they considered her Presidential material and say, “What the hell was I thinking?” Like Palin, she has the strange habit of rewriting history, and she also is coming under a lot of fire because her family-owned clinic apparently thinks that they can “cure” gay people. Yeah, okay.

Mitt Romney: Who? This guy seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. He is probably the most sane of all the GOP hopefuls, but despite having millions of dollars, he seems to be a PR failure. Unfortunately, people seem to be a little biased towards him because of his Mormon faith as well, though I’m not sure how much that has to do with his depressing poll numbers.

Tim Pawlenty: I like you sometimes, Tim. Refusing to sign the pledge against gay marriage was cool, as was publically stating that Michele Bachmann hasn’t achieved much in Congress. (To be fair, he isn’t the only GOP candidate who refused to sign the pledge, but still…) And the fact that he’s a Lady Gaga fan? Wow. But with all seriousness, though I don’t agree with a lot of his political views, he seems to be right where the majority of Republicans are in terms of opinions on what needs to be done in the White House. He just isn’t that exciting or something. His poll numbers and fundraising efforts have not been great, so apparently people are bored with him and would rather watch trainwrecks like Sarah Palin on the nightly news.

Jon Huntsman: This guy is pretty legit. As Obama’s Ambassador to China, he obviouslysurpasses most other candidates in terms of intelligence and experience. He is socially conservative, but breaks the mold by supporting civil unions and encouraging government to become more active in environmental problems. I don’t like his stance on several issues — he is a bit too right-wing for my taste — he seems to have it together. To be honest, I don’t quite understand why his poll numbers aren’t better.  His biggest issue seems to be the fact that he is friends with Glenn Beck.   

Rick Santorum: Anytime this guy opens his mouth, he offends someone. Somehow he has managed to make  every racist, sexist, and homophobic statement possible. Sorry to break it to you, but if you offend every American out there, there is going to be no one left to vote for you. Someone obviously never learned how to play nice on the playground with others.

Herman Cain: Oh, Herman. You were so promising. You even caught my interest way back when, so I wrote a blog post or two about you. You are a very intriguing and intelligent person, but some of your views and comments? Good God, man. Seriously? Between stating that you wouldn’t appoint a Muslim to your cabinet to saying that communities should have the right to ban mosques, your discriminatory views are too much to handle. Maybe pissing off and alienating a couple million Americans with your comments wasn’t the smartest thing to do…

Newt Gingrich: Hahahaha. You’re joking, right?