Iowa determined to go first in GOP presidential nomination race

  

Herman Cain upset the Republican presidential apple cart with an impressive win Saturday in the Florida straw poll. Now it looks like the Sunshine State could once again disrupt the march toward picking an opponent for President Obama.

According to published reports, Florida's presidential primary could move to Jan. 31, more than a month ahead of schedule. A panel named by Gov. Rick Scott and GOP legislative leaders is expected to complete the move Friday, and that could put the state in hot water with the Republican National Committee.

(UPDATE: And the panel indeed did move the primary to Jan. 31)

According to RNC rules designed to prevent a chaotic rush during primary season, only Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina can hold elections before March 6.

But Florida, which will play host to the 2012 Republican National Convention, in Tampa, wants to have a more central role in picking the nominee. To achieve that, it would run afoul of the RNC, which will dock it about half of its 116 convention delegates.

Speaking to the Miami Herald, Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R-Merritt Island) said: "That's the price we have to pay. I feel bad for those folks who might not be able to be delegates. But ... we'd love to give the entire Republican Party membership in Florida the ability to have an influence on who the nominee would be."

Florida also pulled a similar move in 2008, moving its primary to Jan. 29, and helping to lock up the nomination for Sen. John McCain. Though all the Florida delegates made it to the convention floor in Minneapolis-St. Paul -- with about half being characterized as "honored guests" -- the RNC seems in no mood to make a deal this time.

Also speaking to the Herald, RNC spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski said: "Any state that violates the rules will lose half their delegates. This is not a negotiation. These are the rules."

The current schedule has the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 6, followed by the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 14, the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 18, and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 28.

Determined not to be knocked off its perch as the first-in-the-nation caucuses, Iowa will do what it takes to keep its place of honor.

In a statement, Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn said: "The four sanctioned, early states have been very clear that we will move together, if necessary, to ensure order as outlined in RNC rules. If we are forced to change our dates together, we will."

In a Sept. 29 interview on Fox News' "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," GOP candidate Sen. Rick Santorum (obviously not a disinterested observer), said: "For the life of me, I don't understand what Florida's trying to accomplish, because whatever they're going to accomplish, they're going to fail. ... All you've effectively done is cut off one month of the lead-up time to this primary process."

He also defended the role of the smaller states, saying: "They've had a pretty good track record of taking the responsibility very seriously. ... These states are smaller states. It's manageable for them to meet the candidates, to kick the tires, to find out who these people really are."

Theoretically, Iowa could go as early as the first week of the year.

Democrats avoid all this hullabaloo by having their incumbent run unopposed (at least so far). But if former Clinton advisor Dick Morris is to be believed, the Democratic race could become as complicated as the GOP's.

In a Sept. 21 article on his website, DickMorris.com, the former Democrat strategist writes: "As bad news piles up for the Democrats, I asked a top Democratic strategist if it were possible that President Obama might 'pull a Lyndon Johnson' and soberly face the cameras, telling America that he has decided that the demands of partisan politics are interfering with his efforts to right our economy and that he has decided to withdraw to devote full time to our recovery.

"His answer: 'Yes. It’s possible. If things continue as they are and have not turned around by January, it is certainly possible.' "

Though Morris is leaning toward prediction territory, he's not the first person to publicly suggest the same thing.

On Sept. 18, Steve Chapman, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune (a sister paper of the Los Angeles Times, under the Tribune Co. umbrella), wrote a piece called "Why Obama Should Withdraw."

He wrote: "In the event he wins, Obama could find himself with Republicans in control of both houses of Congress. Then he will long for the good old days of 2011. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner will bound out of bed each day eager to make his life miserable.

"Besides avoiding this indignity, Obama might do his party a big favor. In hard times, voters have a powerful urge to punish incumbents. He could slake this thirst by stepping aside and taking the blame. Then someone less reviled could replace him at the top of the ticket."

And who did he think that someone should be? The answer can be found in the picture at the top of this post, a shot from the New Hampshire primaries of 2008.

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-- Kate O'Hare

Photo: Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea visit Democratic supporters in Nashua, N.H., on primary day, Jan. 8, 2008. Credit: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

How Jay Leno handled Michele Bachmann's appearance on his show

As usual, there was nothing confrontational about Jay Leno's interview with his political guest, in this case, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.).

She was on the West Coast on Friday to speak in Orange County and at the state Republican Convention in L.A. and, who knows? Maybe to schmooze some money from the people who give California its Golden State name too. Watch out. President Obama is on his way to California too in a few days. Although, the story is, some Hollywood folks are kinda unhappy with him.

Bachmann's star soared last summer. She won the Ames Straw Poll, which means nothing in reality but sounds good in the media for a while. But that same day, Rick Perry entered the Republican presidential sweepstakes. He's a big-shot GOP governor from Texas and began sucking the air, the money and the media attention away from the only female in the contest so far.

Late-night American TV is a special breed. Some jokes. A little music. Some chatter. Maybe a movie starlet swears she got locked out of her Paris hotel room with nothing to wear but a hand towel. Nothing too complicated or controversial because regardless of the time zone, Americans are in their beds beginning to drift off to zzzzzz...

Not all Americans realize that these late-night interviews, especially with politicians, are ...

Rick Perry's debut gives MSNBC top GOP debate ratings so far

   

You could call it the Rick Perry bump.

Fox News trumpeted its ratings after the Aug. 11 Republican presidential debate in Ames, Iowa, and now MSNBC is snapping its suspenders about its numbers for Wednesday's GOP debate from beneath the wings of Air Force One inside the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Wednesday was the much-anticipated debate debut for Texas Gov. Perry, who announced his candidacy Aug. 13 and is already the field's front-runner. The debate aired on MSNBC, CNBC and Telemundo, and streamed live on Politico.com.

It drew 5.4 million viewers for MSNBC, with 1.7 million viewers in the key Adults 25-54 demographic. It's the highest-rated of the four Republican debates aired so far in 2011, with two previous ones on FNC and one on CNN.

MSNBC's predictable main post-debate "analysis," which spanned the cable channel's ideological spectrum from Ed Schultz to Al Sharpton, lost half the viewers, down to 2.7 million total, with 817,000 in the target demographics.

Also on hand were Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and, for humor, Chris Matthews, who got no tingle from Perry.

But while MSNBC fielded its "A" team on analysis, no MSNBC personalities participated in the debate itself.

Moderators were Brian Williams of "NBC Nightly News" and John Harris, Politico's editor-in-chief, with a cameo question period by Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart for the immigration interrogations.

By contrast, June's CNN New Hampshire debate featured anchor John King, and both Fox News debates -- May in South Carolina and August in Iowa -- featured FNC anchors Bret Baier and Chris Wallace.

The next GOP debate is Monday at 5 p.m. Pacific in Tampa, Fla., co-sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express. It will be carried live on CNN, CNN International, CNN.com and CNN Radio. Also available via live-stream in the CNN Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.

While MSNBC got the Wednesday numbers, NBC was actually Politico's co-sponsor.

Since it's summer, it's a bit surprising that NBC didn't air its own debate -- except that Wednesday is the night of the "America's Got Talent" results show, which easily trumps choosing a presidential nominee.

The "AGT" show drew 7.9 million viewers, giving NBC the win for the evening in total viewers, and tying it with second-place CBS for the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demo.

When it comes to competitions, Americans are still more interested in who will wind up with the $1 million and headline a Las Vegas show than who might move into the White House in January 2013.

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-- Kate O'Hare

Media critic Kate O’Hare is a regular Ticket contributor. She also blogs about TV at Hot Cuppa TV and is a frequent contributor at entertainment news site Zap2it. Also follow O'Hare on Twitter @KateOH.

Speaking of 2012, follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the retweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photos: Rick Perry on a monitor at the Republican presidential debate at the Reagan Library; dance group Silhouettes on "America's Got Talent." Credits: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images (Perry); Trae Patton / NBC (Silhouettes).

Rick Perry grins, shrugs and swings away at Reagan Library GOP debate

 
Texas Gov. Rick Perry came under fire as Republican aspirants to Ronald Reagan's old job gathered under the wings of his former Air Force One tonight, for another debate aired on national TV.

Fresh from surveying wildfires in his home state, Perry was the shiny new toy at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. It was his first presidential debate, and moderators Brian Williams of "NBC Nightly News" and Politico editor-in-chief John Harris called on him at most every opportunity.

And he didn't disappoint, particularly in pointed exchanges with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who was the presumptive front-runner until Perry entered the race on Aug. 13, the day of the Ames straw poll in Iowa.

Consider this exchange on the question of job creation:

Perry: "Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt." (A grin and a "whaddya gonna do?" sort of shrug followed.)

Romney: "George Bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, Governor."

Perry: "That's not correct."

Romney: "That is correct."

Williams: "Nice to see that everybody came prepared for tonight's conversation."

Or, when Rep. Ron Paul of Texas said Perry wrote a letter in the '90s "supporting Hillarycare."

Perry countered that he was his state's agriculture commissioner during the Clinton administration and that he was urging Hillary Rodham Clinton, then the first lady, not to forget rural healthcare in her proposal to overhaul healthcare policy. Then he looked at Paul and said, "I was more interested in the one you wrote to Ronald Reagan, saying, 'I'm going to quit the party because of the things you believe in.' "

"Oh," said Paul, "I need an answer on that!"

He went on to explain how he'd supported Reagan in 1976, and supported his....

Sarah Palin is running in Iowa

 

 
Is Sarah Palin running?

Why, yes, she is ... in a half-marathon. (She's the one in red above.)

As reported by Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren on her GretaWire blog, as well as by the Iowans4Palin blog, Palin -- as of this moment, still a non-candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential contest -- and husband Todd Palin headed to the LakeTrail in Storm Lake, Iowa.

There, Palin took part in the "Jump Right In and Run" race, which was sponsored by the Storm Lake Running Club and included a half-marathon, two-runner half-marathon relay and 5K run/walk.

Although Palin doesn't show up in the official results, Van Susteren reported that her time was 1:45 for the 13.1-mile race.

(UPDATE: According to a report in the Des Moines Register's 2012 Iowa Caucuses blog, Palin ran under her maiden name of Sarah Heath. She was the second-place finisher among women 40-49, with an official time of 1:46:10.)

On Saturday, Palin spoke at a Tea Party of America event in Indianola, Iowa -- as The Ticket reported (link below, with video).

But the avid road warrior and daughter of a track coach was up bright and early Sunday morning (the races were scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. local time) to shake the kinks out before getting back on the non-campaign trail.

Iowans4Palin reported:

This was not a campaign event, this was some personal time for Governor Palin to get in a good run in a beautiful setting, and they didn't want anyone to know they had slipped in. Very low profile. Amazing they can pull this off.

After running her race in Iowa, Palin took time to pose for a photograph with Iowans4Palin's "teledude" and his wife.

Palin also tweeted a thank you to the town.

SarahPalinUSA 

Thank you, Storm Lake, Iowa. You put on a great event & we loved meeting some great folks in your beautiful town today!

Now Palin's off to speak at the Tea Party Express event Monday (Labor Day) in Manchester, N.H.

Coincidentally -- or not -- Iowa is the first presidential caucus state in the nation, and New Hampshire is the first presidential primary state.

Still no word from Palin on the other kind of running.

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Sarah Palin gives a rousing non-campaign campaign speech in Iowa

-- Kate O'Hare

Media critic Kate O’Hare is a regular Ticket contributor. She also blogs about TV at Hot Cuppa TV and is a frequent contributor at entertainment news site Zap2it. Also follow O'Hare on Twitter @KateOH.

Speaking of 2012, follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the retweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photos: Sarah Palin running a half-marathon in Storm Lake, Iowa; Palin posing with Iowans4Palin blogger "teledude." Credits: GretaWire.com; Iowans4Palin/Joni Wulfekuhler (Palin posing)

Sarah Palin gives a rousing non-campaign campaign speech in Iowa

Sarah Palin brought it and then didn't take it on the campaign trail.

After a rain delay, an undercard that left the crowd impatient for the main event, some songs and a showing of the "Iowa Passion" video, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate hit the stage at the Tea Party of America's "Restoring America" event at the National Balloon Classic Field in Indianola, Iowa, to chants of "Run, Sarah, run."

Today, Saturday, Sept. 3, is three years to the day from Palin's roof-raising speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention, which launched her into national prominence. As on that night, Palin opted for a light-colored top. But in Iowa, it was not an oyster-colored silk designer jacket, but a rib-knit cream sweater. And if you didn't know Palin hadn't yet announced, you'd be forgiven for thinking she's knee-deep in the race.

(Scroll down for video at bottom.)

The crowd got many of the themes it came for, including the "restoration" of American, American exceptionalism and the virtues of working people and small towns, along with the Palin bedrock issue of developing American energy resources.

She also went straight at President Obama and his policies, decrying his handling of the economy -- including "Obama's bullet train to bankruptcy" -- and referring to his "winning the future" theme, saying, "President Obama, is this what you call winning the future? I call it losing, losing our country and with it the American dream."

Palin praised the tea party movement, calling it an "American awakening" and relating it to such historic events as the Revolutionary War and the Civil Rights movement (smart move, since this was a tea party rally).

She called it a movement of ordinary Americans, saying, "You got up off your couch; you came down from the deer stand; you came out of the duck blind; you got off the John Deere; and we took to the streets."

While declaring herself allied with individual Americans, Palin echoed themes that worked for her when running for governor of Alaska, decrying "corporate crony capitalism" and the "permanent political class."

She aimed this at the Obama administration, accusing the president of rewarding big donors with subsidies and bailouts.

"Barack Obama has shown us cronyism on steroids," she said.

But you may remember Palin's biggest gubernatorial challenge was in the primary against....

Ron Paul's federal disaster relief plan: Kill FEMA

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul is on his his third bid for the presidency.

A distinctive and refreshing trait of the libertarian's campaigns is that the retired doctor calmly provokes politicians and voters to talk about the political givens they otherwise would prefer to leave alone. Why is the Federal Reserve so powerful and secretive? What benefit do we really get out of foreign wars? Couldn't those billions be better spent at home?

Disturbing to some, who boo Paul at Republican debates.

But that's a healthy thing given the tendency of well-coiffed candidates to blather out their focus-grouped, well-rehearsed talking points at every opening. You don't get the impression that Ron Paul is ever saying what he thinks you want to hear, a sign of genuineness that attracts his devoted band of followers and sticks out in American politics, albeit often self-defeating

Also, honestly, Ron Paul's straight-faced ability to drive government-loving TV interviewers into incredulity is most entertaining.

The 76-year-old's latest willing victim is CNN's Anderson Cooper. And Paul's latest contribution ...

Sarah Palin's four-point plan on Libya

President Obama may still be dining with the elite at fancy island restaurants on Martha's Vineyard, but Sarah Palin is pondering the future of Libya and wisely pushing to wind down American involvement in that latest military entanglement.

Palin may not be in the race for her party's 2012 presidential nomination, but the Republican former governor released her four-point Libya plan late Thursday night to her 3.2 million fans on Facebook. Her first concern is to protect U.S. interests in that troubled land. 

"The fall of a tyrant and sponsor of terrorism is a great day for freedom-loving people around the world," she wrote. But then warned that the path to democracy is incomplete there and "we must make wise choices to ensure that our national interests are protected."

First, Palin said, the Obama White House must avoid celebrating too heartily and recall instead that tribal and sectarian fighting can erupt as it did in previous conflicts, such as in Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq.

Second, Palin said, "history teaches that those with the guns usually prevail when a coalition overthrows a tyrant." And she warned the rebel command is an outgrowth of the Islamic Libya Fighting Group, some of whose commanders have links to Al Qaeda.

Third, Palin writes, "we should not commit U.S. troops or military assets to serve as peacekeepers or perform humanitarian missions or nation-building in Libya. Our military is already over-committed and strained, and a vaguely designed mission can be the first step toward a quagmire."

Finally, Palin said terrorist groups are trying to co-opt the Libyan revolution and the United States must use its intelligence assets to thwart that.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

Keep track of the Obama administration's latest military strikes by following The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photo: Sarah Palin makes an appearance on Aug. 12. Credit: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press

Ron Paul's birthday 'money bomb' nets $1.6 million

  

When it comes to donations, Texas Rep. Ron Paul believes small is beautiful.

In a 24-hour fundraising push over the weekend, GOP presidential candidate Paul scooped up more than $1.6 million in small donations. It was Paul's 76th birthday and his loyal band of dedicated campaigners came through again for the inconoclastic Texas libertarian.

This happened despite a cyber-attack on the campaign Website, announced on Paul's Facebook page, that shut it down for a few hours.

A press release quoted campaign chairman Jesse Benton as saying, "Our campaign is surging, and today's money bomb results show the strength of our grassroots support. We've just come off an impressive finish in the Iowa straw poll, and our growing poll numbers and strong fundraising proves that our message is resonating with people."

Indeed, those who support Paul are passionate, but the RealClearPolitics.com average of major polls puts the 11-term congressman sixth in the field of Republican hopefuls, behind Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Sarah Palin (who's not actually running yet), Michele Bachmann and Rudy Giuliani (also not officially running), but ahead of declared candidates Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman Jr. and Rick Santorum.

The 2012 campaign is a final push for Paul, who has announced he will not seek another term in the House in order to concentrate on his presidential race.

One of the biggest obstacles in Paul's way is fellow Texan Rick Perry, the Lone Star State's longest-serving governor. Since announcing his candidacy for the Republican nomination last Saturday, Perry has generated a lot of buzz and attention (and a Twitter endorsement from rocker and businessman Gene Simmons).

Perry also has a successful history of getting donors to open their wallets.

In an interview with ABC News, Craig McDonald, director of Texans for Public Justice, said, "He  is the most successful campaign fundraiser in the history of Texas politics, hands down."

The question will be whether Perry can transition from his base of big-money donors in his home state to attract the attention of big donors nationwide -- a strength of Romney, who's also got personal wealth to draw on -- and the support of individual donors more focused on particular issues and ideologies (such as Paul's).

"I don't think money will be an object [for Perry]," McDonald also said. "I mean, it won't be a question in his success unless he stumbles badly."

True, Paul's moneybombs were larger back in the 2007-08 cycle; he got $5 million one day then and even outraised Mike Huckabee, the last GOP candidate to concede to John McCain's primary efforts.

There's little doubt Paul's ardent fans will continue to throw dollars at him, but if Perry locks into the national big-money bundlers, the battle of Texas could be over quickly.

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-- Kate O'Hare

Media critic Kate O’Hare is a regular Ticket contributor. She also blogs about TV at Hot Cuppa TV and is a frequent contributor at entertainment news site Zap2it. Also follow O'Hare on Twitter @KateOH.

Speaking of 2012, follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photo: Ron Paul at the Iowa State Fair. Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images

Jon Huntsman smacks fellow GOP hopefuls on 'This Week'

  
In an interview set to air Sunday on ABC's "This Week," current GOP presidential contender Jon Huntsman Jr. -- a former Utah governor and U.S. ambassador in Asia for two presidents -- reacted to the rise of candidates Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann by taking swings at his fellow Republicans.

In conversation with Jake Tapper, Huntsman -- who didn't focus on Iowa and finished ninth out of 10 contenders in the recent Ames straw poll -- appeared to be laying claim to the "centrist" label by embracing some points of view more common to Democrats.

Here are a few excerpts:

Regarding Perry's skepticism about anthropogenic global warming: "When we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Science ... Sciences, has said about what is causing climate change and man's contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and therefore, in a losing position."

On whether he would trust a President Bachmann after characterizing her stand against the debt-ceiling deal as a "crash and burn" approach: "Well, I wouldn't necessarily trust any of my opponents right now, who were on the recent debate stage with me, when every single one would have allowed this country to default. ... So I have to say there was zero leadership on display in terms of my opponents."

On Perry's comments about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's efforts to "print more money" as "almost treasonous": "I'm not sure that the average voter out there is going to hear that treasonous remark and say that sounds like a presidential candidate, that sounds like someone who is serious on the issues."

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-- Kate O'Hare

Media critic Kate O’Hare is a regular Ticket contributor. She also blogs about TV at Hot Cuppa TV and is a frequent contributor at entertainment news site Zap2it. Also follow O'Hare on Twitter @KateOH.

Speaking of 2012, follow The Ticket via Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or click this: @latimestot. Our Facebook Like page is over here. We're also available on Kindle. Use the ReTweet buttons above to share any item with family and friends.

Photo: Jon Huntsman Jr. in China. Credit: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images AsiaPac