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The audio about Romney starts at 7:11

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. - Federal agents say an Iranian citizen lied to get across the U.S.-Canadian border and then stashed weapons near the border after transporting them from McMinnville, according to a court document. Agents said last Tuesday night Oliver King crossed the border on a false passport telling customs he had to “pick up his wife at the Target store.” But agents followed him down Interstate 5 to McMinnville, watched him pull up to an office building he leases which is a gun shop, load up boxes and drive back to Ferndale, Wash. There in a storage unit, agents said...

Palin spoke with reporters after her plane landed in Anchorage, Alaska on Tuesday night. She expressed regret for 'over reacting' to 0bmama's comment about lipstick on a pig saying that she did not know that it was a common phrase that is often used by politicians including John McCain. "In Alaska we don't have any pigs so no, I've never heard that saying before." Palin went on to say that she now believes that 0bama was not referring to her when he read the lines off the teleprompter. "0bama didn't even know what he was saying, he was just reading...

Governor Palin should challenge Biden to three debates. She needs to do so with humor that makes fun of the Democrat attacks on her. The democrats have been acting like Senator McCain is already dead and that Governor Palin needs to be ready to lead on day one. They also claim that she isn't ready and doesn't know anything about foreign policy. Both these arguments could be used by her to justify challenging Biden to more debates. She could say something like: "The Media and my Democratic opponents are concerned that I might not be ready to lead day one....

One of the first national polls weighing the impact of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee shows little change in a tight presidential race. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released tonight gives the Democratic ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden a 49 percent to 48 percent edge over the Republican ticket of Senator John McCain and Palin. That compares to a tie at 47 percent each when voters were asked earlier in August to choose between Obama and McCain, without their running mates mentioned. The survey, which was conducted Friday through Sunday, found that...

• Saakashvili: a lie that Georgia started it; • Tbilisi ready for international investigation; • Merkel: no time for putting blame; President Saakashvili has strongly brushed off any suggestion that it was his administration to blame for armed conflict with Russia and said Georgia was ready for international investigation to find out what led to the conflict. At a joint news conference with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, President Saakashvili was asked to comment on allegations that he also was partially responsible for the crisis because of attacking breakaway South Ossetia. Saakashvili said in a response that it was Russia which...

[Two days after the invasion of Georgia by Russia] Questioner: With your national security background, what do think about what's going on in Georgia. Merkley: [munch... munch... munch] Questioner: I know you've been on the road, so you probably haven't exactly kept up... Merkley: I haven' heard about what's going on in Georgia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B6furdKP1k

SOUTH OSSETIA- Following an invasion of Russian troops in Southern Ossetia in Georgia, a state of war has been declared by the Georgian Foreign Ministry. The Baltics, having worked closely with Georgiain international matters have much to say on the situation. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Petras Vaitiekunas is currently in Georgia assessing the situation. “Having arrived in Georgia and observing the situation on the spot, I agree with the assessments of the situation by the international community, that Russian military forces have crossed all red lines by crossing an internationally-recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia,” said...

The man who would have advised the White House on future U.S. Supreme Court appointments, had Romney been elected president... Pepperdine Law Professor Doug Kmiec served as co-chairman of the Romney for President campaign's "Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts." http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTJhYTgyZjdkYjAwZDFhOGQ0YTEzYzYxNTMzZWE5ZTA Now that his first choice philosophically is out of the race, the top advisor on future judicial appointments to the allegedly "conservative" Republican presidential candidate has now endorsed -- naturally, who else? -- the pro-abortion on demand, pro-homosexual agenda, socially liberal Democrat from Illinois, Senator Barack Obama. http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/03/23/endorsing-obama.aspx Which explains... ...why Kmiec was also comfortable supporting Romney,...

As first-time voters and teenage members of the Web-savvy Generation Y, we've been right in the middle of one of the clearest themes in the 2008 presidential primaries: More than Howard Dean in 2004, the Internet really does change everything. From Ron Paul's impressive online fundraising and Barack Obama's slick social networks to Hillary Clinton's online "conversations" and the quirky CNN/YouTube debates, the Internet has played a bigger role in selecting our next president than ever before. But none of these provide the best example of how the Internet is changing the political landscape. No, the true trail blazers of...

Pro-life political activists are in a bind. They successfully fought off Rudy Giuliani's bid for the Republican nomination only to end up with Giuliani-lite John McCain. They may be quietly praying for a Huckabee-sized miracle. Groups like the National Right to Life Committee have traditionally played ball with lackluster Republicans. Their position is that mediocre but electable Republicans are far better than hostile Democrats. Thus they have not coolly supported a candidate as being merely the lesser of two evils. They want him to win, so they try to generate enthusiasm among grassroots abortion opponents. NRLC hailed Bob Dole as...

Our Path to Victory at the Minneapolis-St. Paul convention Too many Republicans have tried to turn this nomination battle into a coronation, not a series of further election contests. Big mistake on their part. They are wrong. We know that we are running an underdog campaign, but that’s nothing new—we have always been the underdog. And yet a whole lot of onetime “overdogs” are now on the sidelines, licking their wounds. The Republican National Convention is seven long months away; a lot can happen in that much time. A lot will happen. But in the meantime, as you all know,...

TULSA, OKLA. -- Mike Huckabee has found a new way to deflect the headwinds of conservative pundits who, with Mitt Romney, have said a vote for Huckabee would be a vote for John McCain. At a press conference following an enthusiastic rally, Huckabee said, "A vote for Mitt Romney may be a vote for Hillary Clinton. Because the fact is I've got a far more conservative record than Mitt Romney ever dreamed of having. Where people can come up with branding him a conservative is really, I think, tantamount to requiring an extrarodinary amount of imagination." The candidate was much...

Post-mortems on Fred Thompson's short presidential run focus on how the actor and former senator ran his campaign. Started late, poorly managed, lack of enthusiasm, etc. But these analyses miss the more fundamental, and instructive, problem -- his message. Touted as the only "real conservative," a careful look shows that this label was pretty dubious. His ideas were devoid of the vision and leadership that fueled Republican ascendancy a quarter-century ago and badly needed today. On the social agenda, the difference between Thompson and Mike Huckabee was palpable and significant. Huckabee understands that abortion, like the slavery issue years ago,...

SEATTLE (AP) — Shares of Getty Images Inc. soared Tuesday after the seller of stock photography and video footage acknowledged it is exploring strategic alternatives and said it retained Goldman Sachs as a financial adviser. Investors sent the stock up $2.81, or 12.8 percent, to close at $24.75. "While the evaluation process, including discussions with various interested parties, is ongoing, there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur," the company said in a statement. The New York Times on Monday reported that the company is in play, with interest from private equity groups including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and...

On Friday January 20, Lars Larson interviewed Jim Harris about Huckabee's immigration plan. Lars started out by calling the plan that Huckabee posted on his website 'amnesty.' Lars: Well when I've read his website the Nine Point Plan really does sound like amnesty. It says that people who are in this country illegally would be allowed to stay after satisfying a couple of minor conditions, which is not sending illegals home. Jim: Well you know, I keep hearing that. One of those minor conditions is that you go back to where you are from and get in line behind everyone...

Not All Presidential Candidates Are Equal The Marriage Protection Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, championed by President Bush, has not yet met with the congressional approval required for referral to the states for ratification. Will the next president continue to champion this effort? Will he sign commonsense marriage protection bills into law? Will he veto legislation that tampers with marriage? Will he appoint reliable justices to the U.S. Supreme Court? These are important questions, for when it comes to saving marriage in our laws and customs, the president makes a profound difference. And not all presidential candidates are equal. Rudy...

On January 14, Frank Pastore wrote an open letter Mike Huckabee Titled: “Dear Huck: You’ve Won Our Hearts, Now Win Our Minds Too.” Below are Pastore’s Original Questions with the Response from the Huckabee campaign. Frank Pastore: 1. You’re accused of advancing “liberal economic policies” because you raised taxes in Arkansas. If elected, what do you want to increase social spending on and why? Most conservatives don’t define “limited government” in terms of “no government.” We want government to help those who truly need it. We want to help the single mom down the street that’s struggling. Unlike Democrats, we...

Giuliani, Romney and Thompson are the only true conservatives? This seems like an odd grouping of candidates. Most FReepers agree that Thompson is conservative but most also know that Giuliani is a liberal. A majority think that Mitt Romney was a liberal and became a conservative just to run for POTUS. Does it seem crazy to anyone else that all the talk radio hosts keep claiming that each one of these are acceptable and good candidates? Why is it that almost every FReeper disagrees with Rush, Sean, Levin,.. that Giuliani would be a good candidate? Are they wrong or is...

With McCain loosing big in Michigan, there is going to be another shakeup in the GOP race. What are your predictions for what is going to happen this Saturday in South Carolina?