At Least 17 Republicans in 2012 Presidential Election Field

http://politics.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/09/10/at-least-17-republicans-in-2012-presidential-election-field
At Least 17 Republicans in 2012 Presidential Election Field
Paul Bedard
September 10, 2010

When Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told us this week that the 2012 GOP presidential field will be "wide open," we had no idea just how many Republicans might be marching to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada for the opening caucuses and primaries. Including Barbour, who will decide after the fall midterm elections but who is expected to run in 2012, Washington political insiders tell us that nine Republicans are almost a lock to run and another eight are considering a presidential bid.

Many former presidential campaign organizers say that now is the time to be considering a bid because by spring of next year, the list of announced candidates will be firm and those in will be divvying up staff and raising money.

The top tier of candidates includes many in the news like Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney, but some newbies have scratched their way into the category like budget-slashing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Long shots include some who've already made trips to Iowa, like former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

"A starting place. That's all anybody has," said Barbour, dismissing talk of front-runners this far out of the election.

Here's the latest list of those who want President Obama's job.

The A-Team Nine

- Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the front-runner, largely because he was the runner-up to Sen. John McCain in 2008.

- Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has recently made a name for herself by endorsing winning Tea Party candidates.

- Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a social conservative in his second term.

- Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a fiscal conservative in his second term.

- Mike Huckabee, a Fox host and former 2008 presidential candidate.

- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

- South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a conservative and darling of the party for defeating former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle in 2004.

- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose budget cutting in his first year has impressed many in GOP ranks who want him to apply his touch to Washington.

- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, already running and showing his conservative side.

The Eight Long Shots

- Indiana Rep. Mike Pence, a hero to fiscal conservatives.

- South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a Palinesque conservative who's helped steer the U.S. Senate to the right.

- Texas Rep. Ron Paul, the gadfly 2008 candidate who kept a very loyal following.

- South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley, who hasn't even won yet but is being heralded as the new Sarah Palin.

- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who has rejected a run but who still gets kudos for being the "smart Bush" for his successful two terms in Florida.

- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who'd be the social conservative in the race.

- Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk who conservatives adore.

- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal whose effort to protect his shores from the Gulf Oil Spill won him notoriety lost when he gave a lackluster national political address in 2009.

Narrowing List of Presidential Prospects

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/25/pub-gop-presidential-prospects/

For Republicans, a Narrowing List of Presidential Prospects
Nevada Sen. John Ensign's and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital affairs are the latest blow to the GOP as the Republican presidential herd thins fast -- leaving many to wonder who will lead the party in its attempt to reclaim the White House.
By Cristina Corbin
FOXNews.com
Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Grand Old Party's 2012 presidential pool isn't looking so grand these days.

Add Nevada Sen. John Ensign's and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital affairs to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's unconvincing TV speech and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's family dramas, and the Republican presidential herd is thinning fast -- leaving many to wonder who will lead the party in its attempt to reclaim the White House.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels are the names now being whispered in Republican circles as potential winners -- although observers admit political speculations can change overnight.

"It's way too early to be playing the name game," said Dana Perino, former White House press secretary for President George W. Bush.

"I believe it will be a governor," said Nick Ayers, executive director of the Republican Governors Association.

Ayers also stressed that it is far too early to make projections, but he said Pawlenty, Jindal and Romney are among the most promising prospects.

But, he added, "The list goes on and on."

Ayers said Republicans are well-positioned for a comeback in 2012, but focusing on a candidate short list now is "totally irrelevant to the rebuilding of the party."

He added that the nomination could very well go to someone with little name recognition.

"When George W. Bush got re-elected in 2004, Barack Obama was a state legislator," Ayers said.

Still, as Republicans continue to battle a Democratic-controlled Congress and White House as well as recent scandals within their own party, talk naturally falls to who will emerge as the GOP nominee.

Barbour's appearance in New Hampshire for a party fundraiser on Wednesday got some attention.

Barbour, who has replaced Sanford as chairman of the Republican Governor's Association, has been on a tour of New Hampshire and Iowa this week, the nation's first primary and caucuses states, and arguably a make-or-break destination for presidential candidates.

Barbour told FOX News he has "no plans to run for president" even as he warned: "never say never."

The Mississippi governor, who once served as Republican National Committee chairman, was elected to office in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. He was praised for his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

But a would-be candidate also faces the prospect of a Romney run. The former Massachusetts governor has earned credit for his business credentials and budget management.

Romney, who worked as a CEO of a management consulting firm and co-founder of a private equity firm, has a formidable resume -- one some political observers say may be the best weapon for a party looking for a comeback.

Jindal, perceived by many as a rising star within the party, has also been named a possible choice. But the 37-year-old son of Indian immigrants was roundly criticized for what many perceived as a childish and weak televised response to Obama's address to the nation in February.

Daniels, 60, gained praise for his commencement speech at Butler University in Indianapolis, in which he blasted baby boomers as self-indulgent. The Indiana governor, who served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget under the Bush administration, also won a second term overwhelmingly in a state carried by Obama during the election.

In a May 2009 FOX News poll, the majority of respondents said former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani would likely be the top contender -- followed by Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Palin.

Giuliani said in May he has not ruled out the possibility of launching a second bid for the presidency.

But as the GOP searches for its most promising candidate, the party will need to find someone who can address public perceptions of the party as intolerant and irrelevant, not to mention marred by politicians who on the one hand are caught up in extramarital affairs while on the other they preach of family values.

Insiders say the party need not be shaken by Ensign's and Sanford's recent confessions or a seemingly slim presidential list.

"The Sanford and Ensign stories are unfortunate, but they don't define Republican principles -- those are well-defined, and we need to focus on them: keeping the country safe, keeping the country capitalist and free, and keeping focused on solutions for energy and health care," said Perino.

The Problem with New Orleans Getting the Bowl

By Dave Zirin

Only in New Orleans could this be classified as "a return to normalcy." The Crescent City, torn asunder by Hurricane Katrina, stamped by federal neglect and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's neoliberal experimentaion, will once again collide with the freewheeling, hard-partying frenzy of the NFL's crown jewel: the Super Bowl.

It was announced this week that New Orleans will host their tenth Super Bowl in 2013, to the cheers of journalists with bionic livers and expense-account executives the nation over. It's also being celebrated across the sporting spectrum as an act of altruism. It shouldn't be, but that hasn't stopped the soundtrack of salutations.

ESPN's Len Pasquarelli wrote, "The Super Bowl was made for New Orleans. And as anybody who has attended a championship game there knows, New Orleans was made for the Super Bowl.... Great move owners!"

Governor Jindal said, "This is a huge win for New Orleans but also the entire state of Louisiana." Previously, Jindal has decried federal spending on disaster relief, which is somewhat like a governor of Nevada making a push to outlaw gambling.

The NFL wants to play up the choice as an act of post-Katrina missionary work, with commissioner Roger Goodell saying, "I think this is a great statement about the spirit and people of New Orleans and the great relationship the Saints and the NFL have in that community."

"No city has been through more than New Orleans," said Rita Benson LeBlanc, a part owner of the New Orleans Saints. "This is just a true testament to what an entire community can do."

Pasquarelli added, "Playing host to a Super Bowl should address some of the city's lingering problems." By "lingering problems" he must mean sky-high poverty and unemployment. Much has been made about the city's comeback, on the basis of healthy employment numbers (relative to the rest of the country) and a mini-construction boom buoyed by post-Katrina reconstruction.

But many New Orleans residents still feel compelled to celebrate any infusion of business, particularly the business of unlimited expense accounts and debauchery the Super Bowl inevitably brings with it. This is because the poverty in the city is still persistent. In March, the metro area lost jobs for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. And New Orleans, with some families still living in federal trailers and others still trying to return, remains the murder capital of the United States.

This is because the city has become profoundly dependent on its service economy since 2005.

This is also because the Obama administration has to date done nothing to help the Gulf Coast despite his repeated assurances to do otherwise. A look at politifact.com shows a depressing litany of broken promises straight from Obama's mouth on everything from strengthening the levees to rebuilding hospitals and schools.

As New Orleans resident and commentator Harry Shearer wrote:

“The farther we get into this administration, the clearer it becomes that New Orleans is now enjoying its second consecutive federal administration which, far from offering to fix what it broke, far from offering a hand of support, is merely offering one finger.”

This is why, in the absence of alternatives, the Super Bowl money train looks all the more seductive.

Scott Fujita, a star linebacker for the Saints who lives within the New Orleans city limits, said to me, "I'm thrilled about it.... You'd be hard-pressed to find a city that throws a better party, or a city that deserves the business more than New Orleans." He is correct on both counts. But this is one party that will come with a price tag which should make us more than skeptical. To paraphrase John Reed, the NFL never wants something for nothing. It will mean at least $85 million more in taxpayer money for Superdome improvements, including more luxury suites plus other bells and whistles. This investment is being pushed hard by Jindal and the New Orleans business community. Jindal is very fond of saying that "government can't solve our problems." However, it can provide Jindal's corporate backers with more luxury suites.

The Super Bowl decision perpetuates the status quo in New Orleans. The city will be forced to rise and fall on the basis of an external service economy. Jobs and wages will fluctuate rapidly based on whichever circus happens to be in town that week. Taxpayer dollars will pour into amenities for moneyed tourists and not into building the kind of stable industrial base that can stabilize the community. This will be another sporting shock doctrine.

Saints owner Tom Benson said after the announcement, in a moment of unvarnished truth, "It won't be all trickle-down, but it will definitely help." Someone needs to ask, When the Super Bowl party leaves town, who will really be helped and who will be left on the sidelines?

Dave Zirin is the author of “A People’s History of Sports in the United States” (The New Press) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.

Damn that Lincoln: Abe's to blame for Jindal

Damn that Lincoln: Abe's to blame for Jindal
by Greg Palast
Exclusive to Buzzflash.com by Greg Palast

Damn that Abe Lincoln. When Louisiana and Mississippi seceded from the Union, a sensible president would have sent them a box of chocolates with a note, "Goodbye and good riddance."

Tonight, following Barack Obama's budget presentation to Congress, effectively the president's first State of the Union Address, the Republicans have chosen to give their party's response, the governor of the state that wanted to leave the Union, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal.

Jindal's going to tell us that Barack Obama is a terrible President because Obama wants to require states like Louisiana to extend unemployment insurance to - get this - the unemployed! (Technically, the federal government would pay 100% of the cost of reforming Louisiana's and Mississippi's Scrooge-sized benefit requirements.)

Jindal, and some other Republican governors, notably Haley Barbour of Mississippi, are actually turning down millions in federal funds for their own state's unemployed out of fear that, four years from now, they may have to maintain full unemployment insurance like the rest of America.

Barbour's excuse, parroted by Jindal, is that the Obama payments to the unemployed of their states would mean, when the economy returns to expansion, that their state would have to increase unemployment insurance taxes and payments to the US average, scaring away new employers. "I mean, we want more jobs," says Barbour. Um, this is the Governor of MISSISSIPPI talking. Exactly what new "jobs" is he talking about? Is Microsoft based in Gulfport? Is Genentech opening its new headquarters in Bogalusa?

As an economist, I can tell you that the only industry Mississippi leads in is deep-fried chicken-dog manufacturing. I will admit that Louisiana and Mississippi can boast of growing employment at several casinos and cathouses spilling across what the locals charmingly call the "Coon-ass Riviera." Jindal's Louisiana is, after all, the state that solved its unemployment problem by sending its unemployed to Texas in FEMA trailers.

And it's true that Jindal's and Barbour's states do lead the nation in a few indicators. Like poverty: Mississippi has America's highest poverty rate. Louisiana is third worst in America.

And how about their commitment to education? Louisiana ranks 5th and Mississippi 2nd worth in school kids' math scores. As Randy Newman notes about the gulf states' education policies, "good ol' boys... from LSU, went in dumb, come out dumb, too."

Jindal himself is a product of a more advanced culture: His parents are Democrats. The Jindals are Hindus who come from the Punjab in India, a state known for its welfare safety net. Jindal, turning away from the successful example of his parents' politics and culture, has gone native, becoming a born-again Christian Republican who doesn't accept Darwinian evolution nor Keynesian economics. (I hear he may complete his redneck makeover next week by marrying his cousin at a tractor pull.)

For over a century, Louisiana and Mississippi have been trying to attract employers by changing their economy from one based on involuntary servitude to one based on voluntary servitude, selling their citizens to the lowest bidder. The results are blindingly visible: Mississippi and Louisiana, under the Barbour/Jindal Republican regime, maintain the lowest per-capita incomes in the nation (50th and 46th respectively). Mississippi and Louisiana infant mortality rates (1st and 3rd in deaths in the USA) would shame Costa Rica.

Years back, when I worked as an economic consultant to New Orleans, the Louisiana State Legislature was about to require that schools teach evolution as merely a theory equal to the Bible's literal creation myth. When asked if this would harm big employers' views of the state, I said, "Not at all: most national employers think of Louisiana as a state filled with Bible-thumping, dumb-bell rednecks. You won't have to worry about changing that impression."

OK, it's easy to make jokes about America's own Third World states. And before I get a zillion complaints, I'll be the first one to note that Louisiana has birthed the extraordinary, including the greatest of America's investigative journalists, the late Ron Ridenhour, jazz, Chris Ruth's Steakhouse and gris-gris. And it was Louisiana that long ago led the nation in social reform, whose governor, in 1932, led the national fight to create a program now known as "unemployment insurance." Really.

Nevertheless, Jindal's rejection of funds for his state's own unemployed simply follows a history of local Republican plantation-mentality cruelty. After Hurricane Katrina, I met a young man, Stephen Smith, who was stranded with a family on Highway 10 for four days while George Bush photo-strafed him from overhead. An elderly man with Stephen died of dehydration after giving his grandchildren his last bottle of water. (See Stephen on Big Easy to Big Empty, click here.)

I investigated the drowning of New Orleans and the "let'm drown" rescue plans of the Bush Administration. What I found was sickening, heartless and Republican. Marie Antoinette at least offered cake.

Now, once again, the Republican party, by making Jindal the party's official spokesman, is adopting the Barbour-ous refusal to reach out a saving hand to Americans drowning in this economy.

So, let me make a suggestion for Governors Jindal and Barbour. If you cannot join America in accepting our President's call to arms against disaster, if you reject our President's State of the Union - then leave the Union.

As the prescient Phil Ochs sang:

And here's to the government of Mississippi In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down…
…And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of

Amen.
****************
Greg Palast's investigative reports can be seen on BBC Television Newsnight. Palast, author of the New York Times bestsellers Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, is a Nation Institute/Puffin Foundation Writing Fellow for investigative reporting. Pick up the DVD of Big Easy to Big Empty at http://www.PalastInvestigativeFund.org.

Please subscribe to our reports at www.GregPalast.com.

Republicans Gear Up for 2012 Race

http://news.aol.com/elections/article/republicans-gear-up-for-2012-race/242287

Republicans Gear Up for 2012 Race
By Jonathan Martin, Politico.com

(Nov. 9) - Votes are still being counted in some races in last Tuesday’s election, but no matter: Talk of the potential Republican field in the 2012 presidential election is already underway.

Too early? Too bad — just look around.

Two potential candidates will be in Iowa before month’s end, multiple prospects — almost certainly including Sarah Palin — will make high-profile appearances next week at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) meeting, and Newt Gingrich’s name has already been floated in a Bob Novak column.

For a party anxious to move past a brutal election up and down the ballot, and especially a presidential campaign it would just as soon forget, it’s not too soon to start thinking about "next time," as the pros call it.

Now officially, of course, any talk of a presidential run is verboten.

“Oh, man,” drawled Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, when asked about 2012 and specifically his own interest in a possible presidential run. “I’m going to tell you something. One of the worst things that can happen to the Republican Party in our effort to rebuild is for a bunch of people to start running for president. Anybody harboring that ambition needs to squelch it until after 2010. … Anybody out there running for president is undercutting what’s important. You do this against your own interest.”

Following Barbour’s admonition, every likely candidate asked the same question by Politico demurred in all the time-honored ways politicians demur about such questions.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee: “That’s way too far away.”

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal: “The most important thing I can do is be the best governor of Louisiana.”

South Dakota Sen. John Thune: “I’m just looking to help the team.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty: “My day job is an honor and a privilege, and my focus is here.”

That is, according to the holy “don’t-get-beyond-the-next-cycle” writ of presidential politics, what they must say.

But don’t watch their mouths — keep an eye on their feet.

Huckabee, winner of the 2008 Iowa caucuses, returns to the Hawkeye State Nov. 20 for stops in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines to hawk his new book, “Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America.”

Huckabee, who is making his trek in a campaign-style bus with his likeness emblazoned on the side, is also slated to make five stops in South Carolina. The Palmetto State is home to the first-in-the-South GOP primary and a reliable indicator of who will get the party’s nomination in every primary since 1980. It was also Huckabee’s Waterloo this year, the place where he saw his presidential hopes slip away when Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney cut into his conservative vote share and enabled John McCain to snare a plurality win.

The book, he said, “makes the connection between conservative fiscal and social policy.”

“The size and scope of government is related to the way people behave,” noted Huckabee, who is also keeping his name fresh in the minds of Republican activists with a weekly talk show on Fox News.

Jindal, elected governor of Louisiana in 2007 after serving in Congress and holding health care posts in state and federal government, makes his first trip to Iowa on Nov. 22.

He’s keynoting the statewide banquet of the Iowa Family Policy Center, a Christian conservative group, in suburban Des Moines and will tour flood-ravaged Cedar Rapids, offering his insights as a hurricane-state governor to state and local officials.

Though only 37 and in his first year in statewide office, Jindal is already drawing rave reviews.

Asked in a post-election chat which Republican officeholders impressed him during the campaign, McCain campaign chief Steve Schmidt didn’t hesitate: “Bobby Jindal, no question.”

Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, who wanted Jindal to be McCain’s vice presidential nominee this year, said flatly: “Jindal will be president. I don’t know the year.”

Thune, who is eyeing a Senate leadership post, is likely to keep the majority of his travel confined between the Badlands and Siouxland. The freshman senator is up for re-election in 2010, and Democrats would like nothing more than to knock him off and ensure that their tall, handsome, hoops-loving president doesn’t have to worry about facing a tall, handsome, hoops-loving Republican in 2012. That he also knocked off Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a close Barack Obama confidant, only adds to the Democratic desire to send him the way of George Allen.

But to get a sense of Thune’s ambitions, look back, not forward, on the calendar. Since coming to the Senate, he’s been a hot ticket for GOP Lincoln Day dinners. Freshman senators from the Great Plains don’t trek to such party fundraisers in Kent County, Mich., (Grand Rapids) and Hillsborough County, Fla., (Tampa) because they like the chicken and rice pilaf.

Pawlenty, a runner-up in McCain’s veepstakes and frequent surrogate for the Arizona senator, will make his presence known this week in Miami, when the RGA holds its annual conference. He’ll be featured at the kickoff luncheon and then appear at two more open press roundtables in what will effectively be the first of many GOP cattle calls ahead of the 2012 contest.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, another potential 2012 aspirant and the event’s host, will close the session by giving a speech Thursday night focused on broadening the party, according to his closet political adviser.

“We can’t win with what we have right now,” said George LeMieux, who ran Crist’s 2006 gubernatorial run, a rare bright spot in a difficult cycle for Republicans.

Crist made inroads with African-Americans in his 2006 race and feels strongly about making the GOP more inclusive — a demographic imperative made clear by Tuesday’s election.

Predictably, LeMieux offered a standard-issue demurral on behalf of Crist when asked about 2012.

Barbour, Jindal and other prospects such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman will also brave the November weather at the InterContinental Miami.

But there is little doubt who will be the star of the show: Palin is virtually certain to make her first official post-election public appearance in the Lower 48 at the RGA, according to GOP sources.

Asked about a future run by CNN’s Dana Bash in the Phoenix Biltmore lobby on Wednesday, Palin said that “2012 sounds so far off that I can't even imagine what I'd be doing then.”

A source close to the Alaska governor says that she has been bruised by the finger-pointing in her direction by anonymous campaign aides — something made plain by her denunciation of them as “cowards” upon returning home Friday — but that she’s also “clearly an ambitious woman.”

Then there is Mitt Romney.

The former Massachusetts governor was a dogged surrogate on McCain’s behalf after their sometimes-bitter primary campaign and retains a loyal following in the party.

He declined an interview — he’s actually in Alaska on a cruise sponsored by National Review, a magazine that endorsed him in the GOP primary — but sources close to the CEO-turned-politician say he’s very much uncertain about whether he’ll run for elective office again and is keeping a close eye on what direction the party takes in the months ahead, especially with regard to Palin.

Romney is extraordinarily close to members of his family, and most are opposed to another run.

He is, though, likely to stay involved at least at a policy level.

“What I’d say is he’s keeping his options open for now,” said one source close to Romney.

And as for Gingrich, the always-plugged-in Novak seems to think he’s running, and other longtime Republicans around Washington say the same of the former House speaker.

His spokesman, Rick Tyler, even hints that it may be a possibility — edging dangerously close to speaking the unspeakable.

“We’ll see what Barack Obama does,” said Tyler.

Sea of white faces at Republican convention

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080905164053.kt1koqqw&show_article=1

Sea of white faces at Republican convention
Sep 5, 2008

There is such a thing as a black Republican, but they have been all but invisible at the party's national convention which is hardly representative of America's diverse population.
Among the party's 2,380 delegates gathered in St. Paul only 36 are African Americans and very few other visible minorities were to be found on the convention floor.

This is the first time in 40 years that there has been such a weak representation of minorities at a major political party convention, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who did not appear at the convention, is like a tree hiding in the forest of the Republican landscape.

For the past six years there has not been a single black Republican governor, senator or representative in the US Congress.

Blacks comprise 12.4 percent of the US population while 14.8 percent are Hispanics, according to the most recent census data.

By comparison, nearly a quarter of Democratic delegates at the party's convention in Denver last month -- some 1,087 -- were black.

Democrats have one black senator -- presidential nominee Barack Obama -- and 42 representatives in Congress.

The party is heavily favored by African Americans: polls show that nine in ten support Obama's bid to become the nation's first black president.

Deborah Honeycutt, a doctor from Georgia who is running for a seat in the house of representatives in the November 4 elections, hopes to be the first black Republican woman elected to Congress.

But it's a nearly impossible proposition: her district is overwhelmingly Democratic.

"We've given 90 percent of our vote to one party basically since the 60s and are we where we thought we would be by doing that?" Honeycutt told AFP, adding that as a private doctor she had become angered by all the red tape, rules and regulations she felt were holding back small businesses.

"Are our children better educated? Are our neighborhoods safer? Are we economically better off? The answer is a resounding No!"

"The reasons I chose the Republican party is because the values and principles of the Republican are similar to mine."

Only one African American was given the opportunity to address the convention during prime time -- former Maryland governor Michael Steele.

He spoke for about 10 minutes Wednesday ahead of Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Rudolph Giuliani, who all lost out to John McCain in the party's primary, and briefly touched upon the color of his skin.

"The ideal of a colorblind society is worth fighting for because each man, woman, and child is an individual and not a member of some hyphenated class or group," he told the convention.

But when asked about the lack of black representation, Steele admitted to the Washington Post: "It's hard to look around and not get frustrated."

The Maryland delegation, a state whose population is 29 percent black, did not have any other African American in attendance.

Other visible minorities, most notably Hispanics, were given the chance to address the convention, but not during the time when it was being broadcast live on local television.

The Republicans were the first party, however, to elect a governor of Indian heritage.

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, the son of Punjabi immigrants, is a rising star in the Republican party, but was forced to miss the convention in order to coordinate the state's response to Hurricane Gustav.

McCain get-together may be a tryout

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-mccain22-2008may22,0,4355425.story

McCain get-together may be a tryout for running mate
At least three high-profile Republicans, including Mitt Romney, will join the Arizona senator at his Sedona cabin for Memorial Day.
By Maeve Reston
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 22, 2008

When he escapes to his retreat outside Sedona for Memorial Day grilling this weekend, Arizona Sen. John McCain will have some high-profile company -- at least three Republican politicians widely viewed as potential running mates.

Among the guests invited to McCain's cabin are former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who campaigned with McCain recently in New Orleans.

McCain strategist Charlie Black insisted the gathering would be "purely social" and had "nothing whatsoever to do with the vice presidential selection process."

"Wouldn't it be difficult to interview people for vice president with the other competitors there?" he said.

McCain's aides have been silent about when McCain might choose a vice presidential candidate. And though McCain has said he's narrowed his list to about 20, he has said he will not reveal their names to spare them embarrassment if they are not chosen.

Playing down the significance of the weekend, Black noted that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have hosted similar events when other presumed contenders, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, have spent the day at McCain's secluded Hidden Valley Ranch.

McCain has invited nine couples this weekend, including Black and his wife. Black declined to name the other guests.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, former EBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman and FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Frederick W. Smith are also expected to attend, according to campaign and Republican sources who asked not to be named when discussing the guest list.

Republican pollster Whit Ayres said he expected McCain to look for a "next-generation governor" from a battleground state who would be seen as "a good potential president."

Several Republican strategists said McCain's campaign had an interest in fueling running-mate speculation to draw attention to the campaign, which has been overshadowed by the Democratic presidential contest.

Some political analysts also said there would be advantages for McCain to name a running mate early. A partner on the trail could help McCain raise money as he tries to catch up with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who has raised significantly more. McCain's poll numbers are also expected to drop when Obama becomes McCain's lone opponent, and news about a running mate could help counter that.

Republican consultant Scott Reed, who ran Bob Dole's presidential campaign in 1996, said it was "extremely early" for McCain to be doing public tryouts. Serious interviews would likely come after the top candidates have been vetted by lawyers and accountants, Reed said. But he acknowledged a key component in choosing McCain's running mate would be determining compatibility. The weekend, Reed said, "is a perfect way to see how people really are, how they interact with other people."

The most crucial test of chemistry may be with Romney, who is seen as one of the strongest potential candidates to join a McCain ticket. When they were rivals for the GOP nomination, McCain was at times disdainful of the former CEO's experience and qualifications to be president, dismissing him as a "manager," not a leader.

Their personalities could not be more different. McCain is irreverent, temperamental and loquacious; Romney is straight-laced, even-tempered and disciplined.

But having Romney, 61, on the ticket could help McCain with the religious right and conservatives. Romney courted the party's conservative activists assiduously during his presidential campaign.

"I think Romney is the favorite of most who are one circle removed from McCain," said Vin Weber, a Republican lobbyist who supported Romney in the primary. "But no one knows what the innermost circle -- McCain, Cindy, [advisor Mark] Salter, [campaign manager Rick] Davis, Black -- are thinking."

Campaigning with them recently, McCain has lavished praise on Crist, 51, and Jindal, 36. Both men could provide a youthful presence on the ticket.

Crist is hugely popular among Republicans and Democrats in Florida. His eleventh-hour endorsement of McCain is credited with helping the senator clinch Florida's January primary and put him in position to win the nomination.

A former state attorney general and state lawmaker, Crist is more affable than ideological and is viewed with suspicion by conservatives. He has built a reputation as a consumer advocate and environmentalist who also backed prisoner work crews and opposed abortion.

Picking Crist, whose approval rating hovers around 70%, would all but assure a McCain victory in a state the GOP must win to gain an Electoral College majority.

A spokeswoman for Crist said McCain called him personally to invite him and his girlfriend, Carole Rome, a Miami businesswoman, to the weekend getaway.

Jindal has been considered a rising GOP star since he was elected governor in October. Before winning -- making him the nation's first Indian American governor -- Jindal served two terms in the House.

Choosing Jindal could appeal to younger voters. But he may be regarded as too green to be second in line to the presidency, particularly when the McCain campaign's central line of attack against Obama is that he is too inexperienced to be president.

maeve.reston@latimes.com

Times staff writers Janet Hook and Peter Wallsten contributed to this report.

Top ten McCain Vice Presidential picks

http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2008/05/a-heartbeat-awa.html

May 16, 2008
Top ten McCain Vice Presidential picks
Daniel Finkelstein

McCain needs to pick his partner very carefully. A heartbeat away from the Presidency matters more when the heart in question will be 72 at the time of the inauguration. Here are some of the suggestions:

1) Tim Pawlenty

The Governor of Minnesota is at the top of many pundit's lists. The Springsteen fan likes to emphasise his working class roots and has managed to win twice in a traditionally Democratic state. He's renowned for his personal and rhetorical skills and liked by left and right. The one to watch.

2) Joe Lieberman

Connecticut Senator Lieberman bridges the political divide. A former Democrat, he still supports most of their policies but is also in favour of the Iraq war. He's made presidential and vice-presidential runs before and is an old friend of John McCain. The two Senators were together on the recent UK trip of McCain's and were frequently see yukking it up. But age is a big, big issue. Lieberman is 66. Together the ticket will add up to 138 years of experience.

3) Mitt Romney

McCain and Romney fell out several times during the Republican nomination race. But they've been cozying up of late and Romney has been spotted fundraising with McCain in the west. The worse the economy gets, the higher his chances. His impeccable financial credentials are his strongest card. He would make McCain seem more conservative (probably - Romney is, ahem, flexible). This would help with the base but would it put off independents?

4) Condoleezza Rice

The dream ticket for some. The nightmare for others. The Secretary of State's race and gender would boost the Republican argument that they're not just a party for white men. Condi speaks five languages and would provide some much-needed foreign policy clout. The odds of selecting her might have been higher if Clinton had wrapped up the Democratic nomination. But no-one would sneeze at this option. So what's not to like (if you are a Republican)? In a word - Bush. McCain's presidential bid won't fly if he is tethered to the President. And wouldn't Condi do just that?

5) Charlie Crist

Also a popular option. The popular Governor of Florida might bring the swing-state with him, and he's not even a Bush. The Times has written before about the likelihood of him making VP. He appeals to both independents and more conservative Republicans. A possible snag? He's single and has been forced to repeatedly defend his sexuality. Or is that a snag?

6) Bobby Jindal

The Governor of Louisiana, his name's cropped up several times recently. He's made waves with ethics reform in his homestate. The child of Indian immigrants, he'd add some diversity to the ticket and, at just 36, years old, he's half McCain's age. He also has a strong background in healthcare.

7) Sarah Palin

A former Miss Congeniality, the young Alaska senator has made quite a splash. The first female governor of her state, she might help bring women into the fold. And her strong support of family values and pro-life views will appeal to Republican voters who might be alienated by McCain's more maverick opinions.

8) Colin Powell

The former Secretary of State is a much-loved and well-respected moderate. But his denouncement of the Iraq mission may make him less appealing to McCain. Another catch? He's advised Barack Obama on foreign policy and praised him heavily in the past. An endorsement isn't out of the question.

9) Haley Barbour

The Governor of Mississippi would help secure the South. He's been head of the RNC and no-one could quibble with his conservatism. Knows everyone in politics but there is one large cloud hanging over his head. A series of Katrina-related ethics violations were alleged last summer. McCain might decide to steer clear.

10) Mike Huckabee:

If he really wants to propitiate the base, McCain should go with Huckabee. The former Arkansas Governor scored surprisingly well during the nomination campaign, taking Ohio, Kansas, Louisiana and West Virginia. And McCain would get two for one. Huckabee's bound to bring celebrity endorser Chuck Norris along for the ride. On the other hand, the guy doesn't even believe in the theory of evolution.