Romney Going for the Muslim Vote

It appears we may have our clearest line of distinction between Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney. The former went on Jewish TV and said the Palestinians are an 'invented people.' At about the same time, Romney, a Michigan native, asserted that Islam is not inherently violent.

Via the Des Moines Register:

Mitt Romney responded today to a call for a tougher stance against Muslims by saying that most Muslims are peaceful people who deserve respect. 

The issue came up during a question-and-answer session at a campaign stop here this morning. A man rose from the audience, claimed he had many Muslim friends, but said, “I have never heard one Muslim condemn Islamic jihad or terrorism. I see Islamic jihad as one of the greatest threats to America and the western world. Are you going to continue to give Islam and Islamic jihad in this country a pass like everybody before you continues to do? The only people that call Islam a religion of peace are the Muslims, and they are the most violent religion in the world.”

Something tells me that if it comes down to Newt and Romney, Rep. Allen West will get behind Newt.

h/t Weasel Zippers

Video: Obama Decided not to take Out US Drone in Iran

When it was learned that a US drone was downed in Iran, the logical questions asked by most clear-thinking Americans was, 'Why didn't we destroy it?' It appears we have our answer.

Obama was reportedly given three separate plans for doing so and declined to accept any of them.



h/t GWP

Apparently, the drone landed safely in Iran without damage:

Newt calls Palestinians an 'Invented People,' Palestinians Respond

One of the knocks on Newt Gingrich is that he's undisciplined. Consequently, he says and does things that leave people either cheering or scratching their heads. How else can one explain his willingness to sit on a love seat with Nancy Pelosi for an ad on climate change? Recently, Newt referred to the Palestinians as an 'invented people.'

Before getting to the Arab response, here is the video via MediaIte:

Apparently, the Palestinians consider Newt a racist after those comments.

Via CNN:

Senior Palestinian leaders on Saturday strongly criticized comments by Republican presidential frontrunner Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians are an "invented" people, calling the comments ignorant and racist.

Top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said the Gingrich remark was "the most racist statement I've ever seen."

Erakat, who has negotiated in talks with Israel and the United States, said the remarks show "how really despicable things can get" in American politics.

"Such thinking should be an alarm and concern for the world," Erakat said.
Gingrich made the comments in an interview that aired Friday with The Jewish Channel, a U.S. cable channel.

Apparently, in the minds of the Palestinian leadership, hating the Jews is not racist.

h/t Weasel Zippers

Video: Rick Perry Draws another Blank, Gets a Lifeline

This is what we call compounding the problem. If Rick Perry hadn't had that 52 second blank spot in a debate, this probably wouldn't be newsworthy but he's developing a bit of a reputation here. The good news for him this time is that others around him knew who he was referring to when discussing Barack Obama's two 'activist' Supreme Court appointments, even if Perry could not remember the names. During the debate, no one knew what Perry had in mind so no one could help him. Mitt tried when he suggested the third agency Perry would cut was the EPA but that wasn't it.

This time, Perry was able to say 'Mantamayor,' which helped get him a lifeline.

Nonetheless, these types of faux pas will be magnified for Perry more than anyone else and he can't do this if he hopes to get back in the race.



h/t Hapblog

Video: Ron Paul Catering to Truther Vote

It is a very short jump from what Paul espouses here to believing that the Bush administration brought down the World Trade Center on 9/11. It's talk like this that leads one to believe that Paul is a truther himself but knows admitting it would be political suicide. Many of his followers believe that.

To cut the Pauliens a very small modicum of slack, there are things like the way the Oklahoma City bombing was handled and the cover-up of Able Danger, a program that allegedly identified Mohamed Atta one year before 9/11, that should cause Americans pause but those things were far more political in nature and involved webs of deceit that would implicate powerful people. They did not hide an American plot to bring down our own buildings.

Watch Paul serve his lemmings a big slice of red meat, a bottle of A-1, and a bib.

Via CBS:



h/t Weasel Zippers