Fred Thompson's Exit

Dong, dong. After staying in the race for longer than I expected, Republican Fred Thompson has officially withdrawn from the race for the GOP nominee. At the age of 65, Thompson, probably best known for his role on NBC's Law & Order, dropped out of the race after a string of less than hopeful finishes in early primary and caucus races, which resulted in the loss of money.

It was back in early 2007 when Thompson began to toy with the idea of running for president. After asking to be released from his television role, Thompson announced his candidacy in the late summer. A move made successful by politicians like Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, seems not to have worked out so well well for the former Tennessee senator.Though he appeared committed and seemed to have a decent support group he just wasn't able to make any head way. Was it because of where he stood on certain issues, or was it the lack of looking like he was aware of the world around him?

But even with Thompson no longer in the race, the GOP nominee is still wide open to all candidates and that mostly includes John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and Mitt Romney. Whether any will benefit from him, none have yet to receive any endorsement upon Fred Thompson's exit.

Petty Quarrels

With it being election year, many Americans are sharing their opinions with where they stand with the candidates. But of course it’s not just campaign supporters, protesters, or bloggers voicing their thoughts, the press are also making themselves heard. And perhaps this week no journalist did a better job than Associated Press reporter Glen Johnson. Republican candidate Mitt Romney was speaking at a South Carolina Staple’s store when Johnson interrupted the politician when he stated that he did not have lobbyists running his campaign.

Johnson challenged Romney, saying that the candidate did in fact have lobbyists running his campaign- pointing out that Ron Kaufman (Romney senior advisor) was a lobbyist. "Did you hear what I said? Did you hear what I said? ... I said I don't have lobbyists running my campaign. He's not running my campaign,” said Romney shooting back. The quarrel continued to go back and forth, reminding me of hearing heated disagreements when I was in U.S. History. Romney later invited Johnson on his chartered plane, saying he would explain the campaign structure to him.

So what does this mean for Romney? Well odds are this story is just going to die out with every other problem or insult Romney has faced. And with McCain and Huckabee supposedly leading in South Carolina, Romney knows there are more important issues to worry about than petty quarrels.

Beating Around the Bush

With 2008 being such a big year in politics it is certainly no secret that this marks the final year for the Bush administration. With “Change” being the center of the campaigns for the candidates running for the presidential nominees, especially for Barack Obama, it seems to shed some negativity on President Bush.

In the beginning of his first term in 2001, President Bush led the country through the hardships following 9/11 (hope this doesn’t sound like a Giuliani placement). The response to the terrorist attack result led to the War on Terror- something that for many only sounded good at the time. This is probably the biggest of all the problems people have with now with the government. But here’s something many have to try and remember, the Government has a list of how many troops it needs and where they need to be stationed and it’s your sons and daughters “volunteering”.

Another problem the Bush administration faced was the immediate response or lack of to the aftermath left by Hurricane Katrina. So when the levees that believed to be supportive fail and you decide not to evacuate and you end up finding yourself on the roof of your house in a flood, who do you blame? The officials in D.C., and that’s only because you don’t want to blame yourself.

NBC News’s Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory sat down with President Bush during his trip to the Middle East. He asked the President his thoughts on the candidates running for change for the country. Bush replied saying it’s something he would do if he was running today. And indeed he’s right; any candidate following a race from any moment in history is looking to change the course of the previous administration. Gregory also asked the president if he regretted not having caught Osama bin Laden. The president responded with the note that he isn’t out of office yet.

We can’t look at President Bush’s approval rating and just assume he’s failed this country as a leader, only the history books of tomorrow can tell us whether or not he was a Lincoln, a Johnson, a Roosevelt, a Kennedy, a Ford, or even a Carter.

I may not understand everything when it comes to politics, but I’m doing my best to deepen my understanding of the world around me- plus I haven’t taken Government class yet. But I do know one thing. Just because President Bush’s approval rating is low, it doesn’t mean there’s not someone on his side. And who’s to say you know what the right choice to make is. Plus, the president has a number of advisors telling him what the best decision to make is, and maybe the negative response to those decisions is why some of Bush’s advisors are “retiring”. Whatever the future holds for Mr. Bush, and whatever future generations think of this time in history, has yet to be told. But right now in the present, maybe some of us could step back and stop beating around the Bush.

New Hampshire Primary

The New Hampshire victories for John McCain and Hillary Clinton may be yesterday’s news it’s a new post for the blog. Republican candidate John McCain made a surprising leap ahead of Mitt Romney and Iowa Caucus winner Mike Huckabee. McCain’s win over Romney comes as a surprise as it had been believed that New Hampshire voters were leaning towards Romney. The Fox News Network hosted the Republican Forum on Sunday evening, and afterwards gathered some feedback from a group of viewing voters. When one woman was asked about whether or not she supported Mike Huckabee she responded by saying she was voting for a president and not a pastor. This raises the question as to whether or not Huckabee can gain enough support from voters who are not for him because of his religious background.

It would seem that on the Democratic side that Hillary’s tears won her enough votes to beat Iowa winner Barack Obama. But there are actually three possible reasons as to why Hillary won the primary.

1. Voters agree with what she says.
2. Her misty eyes won support.
3. A vote for Hillary is a vote for Bill.

And following the second stop on the campaign trail this Election Year, Democratic candidate Gov. Bill Richardson announced his withdrawal from the race. But while Richardson has yet to announce his endorsement for another candidate, former presidential runner John Kerry announced his endorsement for Obama.

And that’s the report on the New Hampshire Primary.

Quite Serious

Pigging out on pizza, not having the time to exercise, this is how far Hillary Clinton is willing to go when it comes to winning the support of voters. And get this, she’s even allowed her 27 year old daughter Chelsea to speak when it comes to gaining supporters. I know, wow! In case you’re not sure of what it is I’m talking about I’ll do a quick recap.

Earlier today Hillary was speaking to a group of undecided voters when she began tearing when speaking about her campaign. Stating that running for president wouldn’t be easy if she didn’t passionately believe it was the right thing to do. Well thank goodness she’s dedicated, but in my opinion her watery eyes had about as much of an affect on me as an episode of The Young and the Restless- and that's none. She also added how some people think elections are a game and that it’s about who’s up or who’s down. Well first off she’s down, and I don’t think elections are a game. I mean once you look past the finger pointing and slams the candidates give each other the whole thing is quite serious.

Iowa Caucuses

Well the first big day of Election Year has come, and Iowans made sure they were out to support their candidate. Over an hour into the beginning of the caucus, Mike Huckabee became the projected winner for Republicans, while a little later Barack Obama became the projected winner for the Democrats.

But while these two candidates were celebrating their victory, two Democratic candidates, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd decided to pull out due to their low numbers. And while all eyes have been on Iowa, Rudy Giuliani left the Hawkeye State and headed down to Florida to get a much early start on winning the vote there.

And now the candidates are making their way to New Hampshire, for the Primary that will take place on January 8. And that’s the report from the Iowa Caucuses.

Only the Beginning

It’s just two days until the beginning of the Iowa Caucus, and after a year of much anticipation we’re finally here. Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Barack Obama currently lead in the polls for their own parties according to the Des Moines Register. However these numbers don’t represent everyone in Iowa, so numbers can still change. And after all this is only the beginning.