Free Republic

Suspicion about the federal government's September jobs report has fallen on Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, who appeared on CNBC this morning and defended the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), claiming--falsely--that upward revisions of 86,000 jobs were from the private sector. In fact, the new number is entirely accounted for by upwards revisions to state and federal government payrolls. The BLS reported that while only 114,000 jobs were created in September--which would have translated into a rise in unemployment from 8.1% to 8.2%--the unemployment rate fell dramatically to 7.8%. That unusual drop is the fastest in nearly...

Congratulations to Mitt Romney on his choice of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. President Obama has declared that this election is about “two fundamentally different visions” for America. Goodness, he’s got that right. Our country cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama’s fundamentally flawed vision. We must now look to this new team, the Romney/Ryan ticket, to provide an alternate vision of an America that is fiscally responsible, strong, and prosperous – an America that understands and is proud of her exceptional place in the world and will respect those who fight to secure that exceptionalism, which...

(CNSNews.com) – West Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said he is not endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election, saying the president “has apparently made it his mission to drive the backbone of West Virginia’s economy, coal and the energy industry, out of business.” Tomblin is running for re-election in the heavily Democratic and major coal-producing state this year. He won a special election for the governorship last year after Gov. Joe Manchin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010.

It's 0930 EST and there's nothing in the sidebar that looks like a live thread for the SC primary . . .

Anybody see this yet? I just found this from an ad on Youtube....Could this be the Noobs campaign slogan?? "Are you in?" LOL!

IT'S MY PARTY: The Democrats in the Senate are headed to President Obama's turf on Wednesday to talk with him about the deficit and, the White House says, other things. In guidance to reporters, the White House said that at the meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Obama and the "Senate Democratic Caucus" will cover "the range of important issues on the legislative agenda, including the need to adopt a balanced approach in confronting the nation’s long-term deficit challenges." The meeting is closed to the press..

Remember that guy you went to high school with? You know, the one with the rich parents. The one who drove a Porsche to school and wore the slickest clothing. The one with a pool in the backyard and the Xbox and the tennis court. You thought he was a jerk then. He's still a jerk now. Only now, he's president of the United States. His parents didn't buy him the SUV and the tickets to the concerts and the jet rides to New York. You did. As the rest of the country suffers through a real unemployment rate of...

What's black and white and "red" all over? The Department of Justice's newly designed website. Gone are the standard red, white, and blue motifs, replaced by an all-black backdrop. And prominently placed on virtually every page of the site is a quote credited to a man who facilitated a greater role for socialists and communists at the U.N., and the global "workers rights movement." The redesigned website was launched without fanfare, but was noticed internally by several career lawyers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of political reprisals. "We were told that the media team and the senior...

Senate Democrats united to pass a financial regulatory bill that allows the government to collect data on any person operating in financial markets at any level, including the collection of personal transaction records from local banks, including customers’ addresses and ATM receipts. The Senate voted 59-39 on Thursday to pass the bill – the chief aim of which is to more-heavily regulate the financial industry – sending it to a conference committee in the House of Representatives, where differences between the House and Senate versions will be ironed out. The bill, if it becomes law, will create the Bureau of...

CNN’s latest state polls of polls show Sen. Barack Obama holding the advantage in the final hours of voting — but McCain making small last-minute gains in some key battlegrounds. In Florida, where the polls close at 8 p.m. ET, CNN's new poll of polls shows Obama leading John McCain by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent. The last poll of polls, released Saturday, also showed Obama head by 2 points. In Indiana, a historically Republican state up for grabs this cycle, the GOP nominee is leading his Democratic counterpart by 2 points, 48 percent to 46 percent. CNN’s...

Late today, Karl Rove's Electoral College projection changed from 311, McCain 160, toss-up 67 to Obama 338, McCain 200, no toss-ups. I’ve only been doing professional GOP politics for 18 years, and Karl is a lot smart than I am. But the only way I will agree with him is when the final vote is tallied. We all know John has a huge mountain to climb tomorrow, but all the battleground states races have greatly tightened up. - FlA Latest update.....

11.03.08-15:30: All polls are well within the margin of error and undecided voters. The +1.8 is the lowest lead Obama has held since McCain’s polling numbers went negative after the economic collaspe. - FlA FOX News/Rasmussen: 11/02 - 11/02 McCain +1 Reuters/Zogby: 10/30 - 11/02 Obama +2 Quinnipiac: 10/27 - 11/02 Obama +2 11.03.08-10:00: In all battleground states McCain is now within the margin of error and undecided voters +/-. RCP had a big shift to undecided voters, from NObama, in their EC projection this morning. The Florida early voting exit public polls are dramatically different, +Obama, than our internal...

CORAL GABLES (CBS4) ― Just one day before voters will decide on their next president, an invigorated John McCain rocked the house at a post-midnight rally on the University of Miami Campus in Coral Gables, in a speech aimed heavily at Miami's Hispanic community, with a promise that he would continue to fight and win the presidency on Tuesday. "We gotta have all of our rallies at this time of night, I'm telling you," he said to thunderous applause from the crowd that gathered under the banner "Estamos Unidos", Spanish for "We're United". Many had been waiting at the BankUnited...

WASHINGTON -- Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has said lobbyists won't run his White House. But senior campaign officials are crafting a policy that would clear the way for lobbyists to nonetheless hold important government roles. People familiar with Sen. Obama's still-evolving hiring policy say registered lobbyists would be banned from senior-level White House jobs. But the policy would allow some lobbyists to take important jobs elsewhere in the administration, should the Illinois senator win election Tuesday. "Our goal is to make sure that people don't leave an industry to come into our administration and then work on issues related to...

On John Gibson's Fox news radio show, Tom "still The Hammer" DeLay says Barack Obama wants to rewrite the Constitution because he is a well established Marxist, not just a Socialist. Gibson states that Obama said the Founding Fathers were "the original sin". Good interview - FlA Listen to Audio (7:21 minutes) | John Gibson Radio # # # # # 10.29.08 Video/Transcript: DeLay Blasts Obama on MSNBC Hardball 10.21.08: Marxists for Obama, by Tom DeLay06.07.08 Video: Tom DeLay Interview: "Unless Obama Proves Me Wrong, He is a Marxist."American Thinker: Another Obama Marxist by Lance Fairchok - - Barack Obama...

- - In the final stretch of the campaign, John McCain is trying to hold on to Florida's Hispanic voters, while Barack Obama is focused on getting Democrats to the polls. The ghosts of elections past emerged in Florida on Friday as Al Gore stumped for Barack Obama and John McCain's campaign vowed to match George W. Bush's record ad-spending and absentee-ballot success. In the final weekend before Election Day, Florida remains in play as one of the most pivotal states in the nation for the presidential race. Both campaigns have focused their battleground strategy on trying to avoid the...

10.31.08: Barack Obama leads John McCain by 4 points, 45% to 41%, in a poll just released by the Florida Chamber of Commerce. This response shows considerable movement in Florida's electorate since the last Florida Chamber poll, conducted October 1st, in which the McCain ticket lead Obama by 3 points, 45% to 42%. Pollsters for the powerful business group contacted 601 likely voters from Oct. 26-27 and the poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The poll also shows 9 percent of Floridians are undecided -- a total that's a bit higher than most other surveys --...

McCain Campaign Advisers News Teleconference Speakers: Bill Mcinturff, Lead Pollster, McCain-Palin 2008 Mike Duhaime, McCain Campaign Political Director Christian Ferry, McCain Deputy Campaign Manager Rick Davis, McCain Campaign Manager Brian Rogers, McCain Campaign Spokesman Rich Beeson, RNC Political Director [*] ROGERS: Hey, everybody. Good morning. Thanks for joining us for a call this morning to talk about the state of the race with our campaign manager, Rick Davis; Lead Pollster Bill McInturff; Political Director Mike DuHaime; Deputy Campaign Christian Ferry; and the RNC’s political director, Rich Beeson. With that, I’ll turn it over to Rick. Everybody’s going to talk...

Frank Calls for Major Defense Cuts, 'Eventual' Tax Hike The best thing about liberals like this is that they just don’t know when to keep quiet. The worst thing, Barney Frank is actually an able legislator...thankfully the rest of his House leadership is not. All the better for Republican fundraising and political fodder, and for our chances of winning back seats. - Tom DeLay # # # # # Frank Calls for Major Defense Cuts, 'Eventual' Tax Hike The Hill Staff October 24, 2008 Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Democrats will push for a stimulus package after the November election,...

Kissimmee (Orlando) FL - - Portraying harmony like never before, Bill Clinton hailed Barack Obama on Wednesday, a power pairing designed to inspire Democrats already smelling victory. "Barack Obama represents America's future, and you've got to be there for him next Tuesday," Clinton, with Obama at his side, said to the cheers of a partisan crowd. Heaping praise on President Bush's predecessor, Obama said of Clinton: "In case all of you forgot, this is what it's like to have a great president." Obama even prodded the crowd to cheer more, saying "Bill Clinton. Give it up!" And there was Clinton,...

Gov. Charlie Crist, his predecessor Jeb Bush and other Florida Republicans introduced John McCain to a crowd in the parking lot of a West Miami lumber yard Wednesday. The Republican presidential nominee came onto the stage outside Everglades Lumber to the theme song from Rocky and began his remarks just after 10:30 a.m. ''On Nov. 4, we've got to win the state of Florida, my friends, and we're going to win here,'' McCain said. He talked about the need to reduce America's oil dependency, cut government spending and lower taxes. ''I'm going to make government live on a budget just...

As the presidential race narrows to a handful of states where the two candidates are clawing to get over the top, Florida would be each man's top prize. And the Tampa Bay area is their key to Florida. As in 2000 and 2004, the race here has exploded in a welter of television ads, "robocalls," visiting celebrities and mega-rallies. The result, according to experts, political insiders and a rash of conflicting polls, is a race in Florida that's simply too close to call. Either candidate could win. But for John McCain and Barack Obama, a win would have drastically different...

John McCain "Joe the Plumber" Rally Everglades Lumber 6991 S.W. 8 Street Miami, FL 33144 Wednesday, October 29, 2008 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (Doors Open: 7:30 a.m.) 10.27.08 Video: John McCain Talks To CBS 4 - Miami, Ft. Lauderdale - - All eyes are on Florida as a key state to win the 2008 presidential election, and because of this both candidates are doing heavy campaigning throughout the state, and addressing problems that affect our state in particular. John McCain talked with CBS4's Antonio Mora, in a one-on-one interview about what his plans are for the economy. And he...

UTICA, New York - Reuters/Zogby telephone surveys of eight battleground states show Democrat Barack Obama ahead in six. While his lead over Republican John McCain is less than three points in Florida, Missouri and North Carolina, these results still point out the daunting task McCain faces to reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed for election. The surveys were conducted from Oct. 23-26. Sample sizes in each state ranged from 600-603, with a margin of error of +/-4.1%. == Florida == Obama: 47.2 McCain: 46.9 Other/Not Sure: 5.9 McCain is winning 16% of Democrats compared to Obama's 10% with Republicans....

TALLAHASSEE - Love it or hate it, most Florida voters have made up their minds about a ballot amendment to ban same-sex marriage. And most likely, a new poll shows, they'll vote to insert a definition of marriage into the state's constitution. An Orlando Sentinel poll released Thursday found Amendment 2 -- which defines marriage as "only one man and one woman" -- had support from 56 percent of likely voters, while 37 percent opposed it. That's barely changed from a 55-to-34 margin in a similar survey two weeks ago. The remaining 7 percent of undecided voters will determine whether...

Tampa Convention Center - East Hall <> 333 South Franklin Street; Tampa, FL 33602; Sunday, October 26, 2008; Doors open at 9:00 a.m.; Program Begins at 11:00 a.m. Silver Spur Arena <> 1875 Silver Spurs Lane; Kissimmee, FL 34744; Sunday, October 26, 2008; Doors open at 12:00 p.m.; Program Begins at 2:00 p.m.; Beginning 3 p.m. Friday, tickets can be obtained at the following McCain-Palin Victory Offices TAMPA RALLY: 142 West Platt Street Tampa, FL 33606 813-254-8010 800 Lumsden Boulevard Brandon, FL 33510 813-657-6499 6904 West Linebaugh Ave Tampa, FL 33625 813-454-1735 6904 West Linebaugh Ave Tampa, FL 33625 813-454-1735...

I have many Republican friends who are disgusted that I'm voting third party this election year. They believe stopping Barack Obama from becoming president outweighs all else. Meanwhile, I have many Democrat friends who are equally disgusted; for them, seeing John McCain defeated is more important than who wins. They are all wasting their votes. Imagine a reckless teenager who constantly runs up his parents' credit cards, smashes the family car every Friday night, is failing in school, and has serious drinking and drug problems. Now imagine that no matter how reckless and dangerous that teenager became, his parents believed...

ORMOND BEACH -- With the smell of sawdust in the air and planks of wood stacked around him, Republican presidential candidate John McCain hammered his tax cut promises and his opponent's encounter with ''Joe the Plumber,'' referencing the now famous ''spread the wealth'' remark more than half a dozen times at a morning lumberyard rally. McCain's rally at Allstar Building Materials in Ormond Beach was the first leg of McCain's ''Joe the Plumber'' bus tour, named for Ohio plumber Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher, who was catapulted onto the national stage following the last presidential debate when McCain used an encounter between...

Campaign Rally: Thursday October 23rd in Sarasota, FL October 23, 2008 3:00 p.m. Robarts Sports 3000 Ringling Blvd. Sarasota , FL34237 Doors Open at 3:00 p.m. For more information, please call (850) 391-4219 or email Florida@JohnMcCain.com Campaign Rally: Thursday October 23rd in Ormond Beach, FL October 23, 2008 7:00 a.m. Allstar Building Materials 1361 North Highway US 1 Ormond Beach, FL32174 Doors Open at 7:00 a.m. For more information, please call (850) 391-4219 or email Florida@JohnMcCain.com 10.22.08: McCain to push economic policy in return trip to Florida - - Just six days after his last trip to Florida, Republican John...

You know a story is sketchy when even a British tabloid looks at it and goes, "You know, this seems a bit salacious and over the top," as the Daily Mail has just done with the rumor, dating to August but now resurfaced, about how Barack Obama maybe got too close to an anonymous young staffer during his 2004 senate campaign, before Michelle had her exiled to the Caribbean, but probably the whole thing is just a big Republican smear. The Mail tracked the woman down somewhere in the West Indies — they won't give her name or location, dodgy...

What happens if the Messiah's Teleprompter goes out on strike!

Focus on the Family's James Dobson said on his July 21 radio broadcast he is rethinking his previous views on the presidential election and that he "might" endorse Republican John McCain, who the pro-family leader has criticized in the past. Dobson and guest R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, spent most of the program discussing Democrat Barack Obama's views on abortion and homosexuality before the two men closed the program by talking about McCain. In the past — particularly during the GOP primary — Dobson had said he couldn't support McCain. Dobson, speaking on his...

McCain's New Line On Obama 22 Jul 2008 04:04 pm When we adopted the surge, we were losing the war in Iraq, and I stood up and said I would rather lose a campaign than lose a war. Apparently Sen. Obama, who does not understand what's happening in Iraq or fails to acknowledge the success in Iraq, would rather lose a war than lose a campaign.Folks on the press bus say that the italicized sentence is new to McCain's oeuvre. So far today, he's used it twice.

The long overdue answer to Obama Girl. It's about three and a half minutes and terrific.

Obama wins Democratic nomination. God damn BLESS America, McCain ‘08 The Democratic superdelegates have seen fit to play a sick practical joke on the American people by throwing their party’s nomination to an individual who is totally unqualified for any position of public trust or responsibility. Barack Hussein Obama’s outstanding speaking voice qualifies him to record books on CD or perhaps serve as a radio personality, but he lacks both the competence and personal character to hold public office. His actions overwhelm any words his powerful, melodic, and mesmerizing voice may deliver to his adoring and adulating groupies, and these...

We can't tell if this is a barometer of how the fall general election might feel, but John McCain today compliments Barack Obama on his political acumen in a televised interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," a curious appearance for a candidate still trying to gather support from the Republican Party's social conservative base. Host Ellen DeGeneres asks McCain about Obama's contention that "a vote for you is basically a vote for" a third George W. Bush term. Says McCain: Good strategy. "I think it's a very intelligent campaign tactic. Obviously the president's popularity and approval ratings are low. So...

More than once I have found his books spread out in the toilet paper aisles amongst the toilet paper. Is this some protest movement I haven't heard about? Maybe I will join in. LOL.

Chip Wall can't help but zero in on the little stuff whenever he watches Barack Obama on TV. It's his old pal Stanley. For Wall and a few dozen others, Obama on the campaign trail often brings to mind Stanley Ann Dunham, Obama's mother and a strong-willed, unconventional member of the Mercer Island High School graduating class of 1960. "She was not a standard-issue girl of her times... "She touted herself as an atheist, and it was something she'd read about and could argue," the only child was a ... daughter of a father who wanted a boy so badly...

When seeking to extricate himself from the tight spot in which he has been placed by his long association with the spiritual leadership of Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama hauled in his (living) maternal grandmother, Madelyn Dunham. Obama has previously characterized Mrs. Dunham as a "trailblazer of sorts, the first woman vice-president of a local bank." She had a direct hand in his upbringing when Obama chose to live with his maternal grandparents rather than his mother, who was then in Indonesia. Today Obama brought Mrs. Dunham into his speech for a cameo appearance as a white counterpart to the fulsome...

As the news of Barack Obama’s pastor and his racist, America-hating comments slowly spreads (despite media’s best effort to ignore it), you just knew the Kos Kidz would be spinning like Iranian centrifuges, didn’t you? There are several Daily Kos diaries on the issue, but my favorite for sheer knuckleheaded idiocy is this one: Daily Kos: An Open Letter to White People.

More than half of voters are less likely to support Barack Obama for president after hearing the anti-American rants of his longtime Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a shocking poll revealed yesterday. The Rasmussen Reports survey found that Wright's controversial comments made 56 percent of voters, including 44 percent of Democrats, less inclined to vote for Obama. Two-thirds of the 1,200 people polled said they knew of Wright's statements, which have been broadcast repeatedly on media outlets over the past several days. And 73 percent of voters, including 58 percent of black voters, called Wright's comments racially divisive. In...

The key question is this: Whose policy is best for Israel: Barack Obama's or the neo-con hawks'? Instead of fearing Obama, Israel might consider that he is the President whobring peace to the Middle East. Barack Obama has pledged that, if elected President of the United States, he will travel to a "major Islamic forum" in the first 100 days of his Administration to deliver the clear message that "we are not at war with Islam." This is a strong signal that Obama believes George W. Bush’s lethal confrontation with the world of Islam needs most urgently to be defused....