Clinton speaks with gusto, sucks air from room and omits Gingrich

On Wednesday night when Democrats gathered in Charlotte, former President Bill Clinton spoke with gusto, obviously enjoying himself.

As Clinton's address dragged on (and on), however, the impact any other speaker might have made was, to borrow a verb from another speaker, vaporized.

Click to read more ...

For Clinton at DNC, it’s a legacy speech; for Crist, search for a political future

Photo: The US Report/KBDPresident Bill Clinton will speak at the Democrats’ national convention in Charlotte, and so will former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

Democrats have probably invested hope in both men for different reasons—Clinton as sage of the party and Crist as disenchanted ex-Republican in search of a political future.

There are potential political hazards for both men should they falter.

Click to read more ...

For conservatives, trust is factor when it comes to Romney

The US Report met and interviewed Tagg Romney in Jacksonville in 2008. (Photo by Kay B. Day)No one was more infuriated than I was when Republican National Committee Finance co-chair Georgette Mosbacher and her political peers anointed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee in October, 2011. It didn’t help that states like Florida were bumping primaries ahead in decisions made by party power brokers on the state level. The earlier primary lobbed advantages to Romney—all of us Republicans know that.

There was predictable backlash, especially from those of us who initially supported Texas Gov. Rick Perry. No governor has a better record, but the disrespect Perry encountered, in part from his own party, was undeniable.

In retrospect, I've come to realize that trust is a definite factor when it comes to Romney. I also came to realize Mosbacher's lack of self-control helped construct distrust for the candidate she endorsed with nary a concern about the ethical conflict in a GOP official endorsing one person when there was an abundance of hopefuls.

Click to read more ...

Newt stands out as statesman in Arizona debate

The CNN debate held in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday was in my opinion the best debate so far. The questions were mostly framed well and only once, when the contraceptive issue emerged, did the moderator run the risk of heavy-handedness. John King did a good job, much better than his last effort.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich won the debate.

Click to read more ...

Gingrich says he's staying in race

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich says he will stay in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Gingrich's declaration was reported by various media after a campaign event in Los Angeles.

National Review had called for Gingrich to drop out of the race. My perception is that NRO's preference for the nomination is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

The US Report no longer receives campaign statements from Gingrich's organization.  We'll bring you updates on his campaign when we can. We have requested reinstatement several times; we have no idea why we were removed. Having received no response, we have stopped requesting access.

I have personally expressed my support for Gingrich in previous postings.

Newsmax has a brief story on Gingrich's statement; that story is sourced to the Associated Press.

(Filed by Kay B. Day/Feb. 14, 2012)

No, National Review, Gingrich should not drop out

Never let it be said that any media entity is humble. The latest example of media arrogance comes in a call from National Review for former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to drop out of the race for the GOP nomination. That would leave, in NRO's opinion, a race between former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Click to read more ...

Rollins clears the record on Gingrich, surprises Fox pundits

Ed Rollins was a campaign manager for President Ronald Reagan, and he’s nationally known as an expert on politics as well as a strategist.

Few pundits know more about members of Congress during the Reagan years than Rollins. Fox News interviewed Rollins recently, and he spoke bluntly about some of the negative charges former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s fellow presidential contenders have levied.

Rollins’ comments about Gingrich appeared to surprise at least one Fox pundit—watch her face in the video as he speaks. His tone even surprised me.

Rollins said:

"I'm going to straighten it out once and for all: Gingrich was a very important congressional ally. Congressmen aren't in the White House all day long, and they're not basically giving advice. But he and Jack Kemp and Trent Lott and others were among 10 or 12 most important players and most loyal to Ronald Reagan. At the same time, Mitt Romney was an independent and he was not on the political scene at all. It's a stupid argument. They ought to be talking about the future, not the past.”

(Filed by Kay B.Day/ Feb. 9, 2012)