Mitch Daniels says 'No' to 2012 Republican presidential bid, citing family objections

In a humble 164-word email to supporters early Sunday morning, Indiana's Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels said he would not pursue his party's nomination for 2012.

His decision came as a shock to many mainstream Republicans, who knew of the objections of his wife Cherie to the personal rigors and media scrutinty of a national campaign.

But they thought those concerns had been overcome in recent days of quiet lobbying.

Not so.

Here's the full Daniels message text, that will further roil the GOP field:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels non-candidacy message to supporters

I hope this reaches you before the public news does. If so, please respect my confidence for the short time until I can make it known to all.

The counsel and encouragement I received from important citizens like you caused me to think very deeply about becoming a national candidate. 

In the end, I was able to resolve every competing consideration but one, but that, the interests and wishes of my family, is the most important consideration of all. If I have disappointed you, I will always be sorry. 

If you feel that this was a non-courageous or unpatriotic decision, I understand and will not attempt to persuade you otherwise. I only hope that you will accept my sincerity in the judgment I reached.

Many thanks for your help and input during this period of reflection.  Please stay in touch if you see ways in which an obscure Midwestern governor might make a constructive contribution to the rebuilding of our economy and our Republic.    #### 

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Orange County GOP official considers photo of President Obama as baby chimp 'amusing'

 

Failing to see any racism in a digitally altered photograph of President Obama and his family portrayed as chimps, Marilyn Davenport, an elected member of the Orange County GOP central committee, says that she will not resign after it was discovered that she emailed the image to several cohorts along with the message: "Now you know why — No birth certificate!"

Indeed, the OC Republican "simply found it amusing" and said it reflected the president's character.

Defiantly saying that the kerfuffle was "much ado about nothing", Davenport issued a statement (via email, naturally) that what she sent out was no different than what she received when President Bush was in office.

"I'm sorry if my email offended anyone, I simply found it amusing regarding the character of Obama and all the questions surrounding his origin of birth," Davenport wrote Saturday. "In no way did I even consider the fact he's half black when I sent out the email. In fact, the thought never entered my mind until one or two other people tried to make this about race. We all know a double standard applies regarding this president. I received plenty of emails about George Bush that I didn't particularly like, yet there was no 'cry' in the media about them."

Late-night's best: Will Obama pardon Rangel or the turkey? Levi Johnston bans interviews. Plus Oprah

As The Ticket's 54,600 Twitter followers here and 6,300+ Facebook fans here know, we regularly share our daily picks of the late-night jokes of interest, usually before broadcast each night. Here's our regular Monday morning collection No. 5:

Fallon: What is going on these days? George W. Bush writes a 500-page memoir and Obama publishes a kids coloring book.

Leno: Facebook launches the next-generation messaging system -- a combination of IM, text and e-mail designed to ensure that nothing gets done at any workplace ever again.

Leno: Tough decision for President Obama this week: Pardon the turkey or Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel.

Leno: House Democrats just elected Nancy Pelosi as their minority leader for the new Congress. Why mess with success, right?

Conan: Congressional Democrats push for $12 billion in additional....

The weekend's top typo: Miserly Democratic National Committee hands out a little more money to states

Seeking to find some good news to disseminate amid a bounteous harvest of otherwise dire political predictions for Democrats in Tuesday's voting, the Democratic National Committee sent out a rapid response news release over the weekend.

It proudly announced that the committee, headed by President Obama favorite Tim Kaine, had just presented 11 different state parties with a total of $2.67 to split among themselves for last-minute expenses.

That works out to about 24 cents per state. However, maybe two states could combine their DNC resources and buy one postage stamp for a voter reminder that would arrive too late.

Of course, being the current party that controls everything in Washington -- the White House, Senate and House of Representatives -- the Democratic organization had made a typographical error. It really should have been $2.67 billion.

No, just kidding. But with all the money flying around from both sides this campaign you believed it for a second, didn't you? The DNC meant to announce the amount distributed was $2.67 million. Billions, millions, what's the difference? One letter.

Shows how much change there's been back there: That sum used to be considered sizeable until the party's Washington community got organized by those Illinois folks 22 months ago.

You want big numbers? Mark your calendars for Dec. 1, when the president's deficit commission is scheduled to report.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Associated Press

New Obama money appeal warns that opposition to him 'is a threat to our democracy'

Not sure if anyone's keeping current records of political fundraising by politicians not on any ballot. But President Obama is back at it today.

He's sent another e-mail missive to his millions of supporters and others plaintively labeled, "Please, chip in what you can."

The guy who got the Oval Office for only $750 million would settle for just $3 this time if that's all you've got, though more would be better, of course. Because he's got some unidentified donors who will match your $3. In the last few weeks Obama has made the same plea. And he's had his wife do that. And also Joe Biden, who recently announced he'd be on the 2012 Democratic ticket again because no one had asked.

The president's message today, which is signed "Barack" because we're all close friends in....

Tell President Obama how you really feel with new iPhone app

Want to tell President Obama how you really feel? How about using your iPhone?  

As in all things social media, it’s not everything it seems: Instead of placing a call to the White House switchboard or your local political representative’s office, you can send a message to Obama via a new smartphone application. 

Called Note to Obama, the application -- or computer program for mobile devices --  builds on the popularity of a similar app called Note to God, also released by Medl Mobile Inc., that allows users to post their innermost feelings on religion to a public noticeboard in cyberspace. Anonymously, of course.

And though the notes aren’t directly delivered to the president’s desk, they’ll remain for a long time in cyberspace should the president ever swap his beloved BlackBerry for an iPhone or iPad and download the program. They even make a version for left-handed folks (just kidding). 

The forum is moderated by the public, and comments deemed offensive are flagged and removed. Comments also are voted on by other users with the best moving to the top of the display board. It also features a word "cloud" display with the most commonly mentioned words in users' posts. "Economy" featured prominently, as did "job," "citizens" and "guns." 

The app is only available for iPhones with the latest 4.1 software installed and requires a valid e-mail address. Recent comments include:

"I think you are pretty cool for someone who is so important. important people are usually quite boring but your cool."

"Mr President with two wars and the economy in shambles, I believed that you had an opportunity to become a truly great president. I am sad to say that your obsession for building a legacy for yourself via the 'Obamacare' package while totally neglecting the dire situation concerning employment has assured only that you will be another one-termer who has helped Jimmy Carter breathe a huge sigh of relief."

"Hey there just a little note from the country up north. I think you're doing a fantastic job and you were exactly what the states needed ... We Canadians love you!"

The Note to God app was developed after a 17-year-old California student won a nationwide competition to get his personal idea for an application developed by Medl Mobile.  

Note to Obama’s blurb points out that the application’s developers are not responsible for the contents of any of the comments posted on the site.  

-- Craig Howie

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Mayor Bloomberg annexes Facebook. Or did he?

Being mayor of a certain place comes with bragging rights, as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg well knows.

But when is a mayor not always a mayor?

In social-media terms, mayor often means that a user of location services like Foursquare has "checked in" to, say, a coffee shop or office building. If they're lucky, and no one is holding that mantle, they become "mayor" of the place (repeat visits can also confer the title of mayor).

After giving a speech on technical innovation at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif.,  Bloomberg posted  Friday  he'd taken on the lofty title of mayor of the social networking site that boasts more than 500 million users.

"Was, for a while today, Mayor of Facebook," Bloomberg posted to his Facebook page.

But The Ticket did a little bit of digging and found out that although Bloomberg’s Facebook page has more than 27,000 followers, as it’s only a “fan” page the mayor can’t subscribe to Facebook’s location services (which also doesn’t offer the chance to be “mayor” of anything).  Bloomberg also doesn't use a Foursquare account.

Which takes us back to our question: When is a mayor not always a mayor?

Answer: Cyberspace.

-- Craig Howie

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Image: Michael Bloomberg writes on Facebook's wall at its Palo Alto headquarters. Credit: Michael Bloomberg's Facebook page

Where social media meets traditional TV news: A viral video spoof

 

What do you get if you mix traditional TV news and social-media reportage?

Answer: A whole of lot nonsense, at least from this funny spoof -- put together by a Dallas Fox affiliate -- which has since gone viral on the interwebs. 

Funny, right-on or a little extreme? (And please be aware there's a bleeped-out swear word in the video.)

-- Craig Howie

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Joe Biden update: Finally, he's had enough

Well, it took long enough.

But finally after so many months of listening to Americans unhappy, frustrated and angry over the chronically crummy economic situation, two-fisted VP Joe Biden has joined the crowd of fed-up voters.

He's sent millions of Americans an e-mail headlined: "I've had it up to here."

There's a real sense of urgency to his electronic missive because there's less than two weeks until the crucial midterm elections across the country. And early voting has started in dozens of states.

As countless voters have told pollsters for a year now, Joe's tired of "record deficits." He....

Social media wrap: Schwarzenegger pumps up Russia's Silicon Valley 'gold mine'

Great things happen “when one and one become three,” California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told a delegation of Moscow business leaders on Monday. 

He wasn’t talking about California’s recent budget deal, but Russia’s “Silicon Valley” of Skolkovo, which he also called a “gold mine” during a four-day trade mission to the former superpower. 

Speaking about Russia’s entrepreneurialism, business climate and technological nous, Schwarzenegger was giddy as a schoolgirl on his first visit to Moscow in 20 years, judging by the stream of tweets and pictures he posted to his Twitter account, including one of the governor and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev lifting weights. 

Medvedev, a stern and austere tweeter as the Ticket has previously noted, matched ...