Let's Get It On: First GOP Presidential Hopeful Creates Exploratory Committe: Herman Cain

The 2012 presidential race has officially begun, and it's Herman Cain who is stepping up to set up an exploratory committee, when is the first step that a potential candidate takes before the official campaigning starts:

ABC News’ Rick Klein reports: Talk show host and businessman Herman Cain yesterday announced that he’s forming a presidential exploratory committee, with an eye on challenging for the Republican nomination in 2012.

On ABC’s “Top Line” today, Cain – the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza – said he’s planning to use the coming months to determine his support among voters and donors.

He said he’s “confident” that he could defeat President Obama.

“Yes. If I didn't think I could -- if I didn't think I could win the Republican nomination, No. 1, and if I didn’t think that I could beat, in a political competition, President Obama, I wouldn't be doing this,” Cain told us.

“I had a new acquaintance ask me: Was I arrogant enough to be president. And my response was, I am confident enough to be president. So I am confident that -- after we go through this exploratory phase where we are going to test the amount of voter support, we're going to test the amount of financial support that I would be able to garner -- after I go through this phase and the decision is yes, trust me, I'm running to win. Not for a consolation prize.”

In the interview, he, also, praised President Obama for his speech last night Cain said that Obama "said the right things" and set the right tone like a leader should do.

He briefly went through some of the things that he would do, if he was elected:

He also outlined some of his ideas for stimulating the economy, including making tax rates permanent, lowering corporate taxes and capital gains, and extending a payroll tax holiday for employees and employers.

“We can re-strengthen our national security, we can really get a handle on the immigration problems and we can really do something about cutting federal spending. That's where I'm going to focus on as I go forward in evaluating whether or not I am going to make a final decision to run for president,” Cain said.



He is definitely going to be going into the race as an underdog. Most Americans don't know who he is much less what he stands for, but as Obama proved in 2008, that doesn't mean anything.

He has executive experience as a former CEO for Godfather's Pizza, which will be a blessing and a curse. It'll be good in the fact that people will know that he knows what he's talking about, when he talks about the economy, and the economy is still the number 1 issue and concern for the electorate.

On the other hand, the Left will try to brand him as a big-business fat cat, who will only look out for other fat cats and not the "little guy". They will say that his policies as being "gifts" to CEO and to Wall Street. Unfortunately for the Democrats, this type of name calling is not really working anymore.

He could be an interesting candidate and someone who could come up from behind to win it all.

Check out Cain's exploratory website here.

H/T to Ed Morrissey

Kay Bailey Hutchison Becomes First Incumbent to Announce That She Won't Run For Re-Election in 2012

Kay Bailey Hutchison has become the first incumbant to declare that she won’t be running for re-election in 2012:

""This is the time to go," she said in an interview.

Hutchison made her announcement at noon in an open letter to Texans. In the letter, Hutchison said she wanted to live "full-time in Texas with my family" and was "forever grateful for the privilege of working for you in the United States Senate."

In the interview, Hutchison said she is proud of her record but "now is the time for a new person to come in."

I have known since 2006 that I would not seek another term," she said. "I just wanted to announce it in my own way in my own time."

Hutchison said the time was right because her junior colleague, Sen. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio, has become a national figure. She said she had not reconsidered her decision after Republicans made gains in the 2010 midterm elections, leaving her in line for the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee in 2013.

Hutchison becomes the first incumbent senator up for election in 2012 to make a retirement announcement. Her decision will set off a wild scramble for the Senate seat the Dallas Republican first won in a 1993 special election against interim Sen. Bob Krueger, D-New Braunfels. She said she wanted to give the large field of potential successors plenty of time to run for an open seat.

She has no plans to run for public office, again, but she won't rule out running sometime in the future. She didn’t endorse anyone but reserves the right to do so before the primary. She, also, said that, unlike her promise to resign her seat in last election’s Texas gubernatorial race, she won’t change her mind this time.

She has been a great Senator from the great state of Texas for almost 20 years. She will be missed.

Rueters: Can NJ Gov Christie Overcome Weight to Become Legit Presidential Contender?

Even though, he has denied that he is running for president again and again and again, a reporter from Rueters still questions whether New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) can overcome his obesity to become president or not:

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a rising star of the Republican Party seen as having a shot at a White House run, raising questions whether his obesity could impede his chances.

Now, I'll admit that this article does a pretty good job of making their case without being too biased, but the fact that they brought it up is a bit questionable. Someone's weight has nothing to do with how good of a president they could be. It's a cheap shot.

If fact, the reporter admitted that going after Christie's weight has backfired, when opponents have tried to go after his girth:

Referring to Christie's size may have backfired on former Governor Jon Corzine, whose 2009 campaign ads showed unflattering images of Christie and accused him of "throwing his weight around."

"That was seen as a desperation move in New Jersey," Galen said. "The fact is that Corzine tried an ad hominem attack against Governor Christie and Corzine is now a private citizen and Christie is now governor of the state."

It's not like we haven't had overweight presidents before. Taft was very fat, and Teddy Roosevelt was a bit hefty, too.

Considering that a recent pollhas Christie not just ahead of every other GOP hopeful in a hypothetical field but he is the ONLY one to actually be beating Obama in a hypothetical one-on-one race, it doesn't seem to be hurting him at all.

So, if it has backfired to go after his weight before and polls show that he's not hurting in the polls in the slightest, why mention it?

Ron Paul: 50/50 Chance That He'll Make Another Run at White House

The rise of the TEA Party may have emboldened Rep. Ron Paul to run for president in 2012. In a recent interview, Paul said that there a 50/50 chance that he'll throw his hat in the ring:

Republican Rep. Ron Paul, known for bucking his party in favor of his libertarian principles, says there's a chance he'll make another run for the presidency.

"I'd say it's at least 50-50 that I'll run again," Paul told the New York Times in a profile of the 75-year-old congressman. His decision will reportedly hinge in part on how the economy fares.

The article went on to Ron Paul some credit for the rise of the TEA Party, which holds many of the same libertarian values and beliefs that he does:

Paul won less than 2 percent of the vote in his 2008 Republican primary presidential bid, but he won a dedicated fan base that supported him strongly online and financially. He is often credited for spawning the Tea Party movement, which swept into office this year more congressmen that hold his stringent libertarian views on issues like fiscal policy, including his son, Sen.-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Even though he get that far in the 2008 race, the fact that his more libertarian style was the catalyst that resulted in the birth of the TEA Party helped him tremendously politically. After the successes that TEA Party this past election, he will receive leadership positions in the next Congress:

The validation the Tea Party gave to Paul's views may have helped him secure the chairmanship of the House Domestic Monetary Policy Subcommittee, according to reports. As leader of that congressional panel next year, Paul will have oversight of the Federal Reserve. While he's written a book entitled "End the Fed," Paul said last week he will "not right up front" push to abolish the central bank.

How he performs in these leadership positions will ultimately determine, whether he will run or not. However, he is already 75 and would be 77, when he would potentially take office. That would be 5 years older than McCain would have been, if be had been elected in 2008. He'd be 81 at the end of his potential first term. I don't think that America would vote for anyone that old for a first term. In the end, I don't think that he'll run, and if he does, he won't get much further than he did before.

Shocker: New Poll Shows Only 26% of Americans Believe Obama Will Be Two-Term President

This shocker of a poll came out late last night. Could they have been trying to bury this bad news? Obama, please read and head. America is talking to you:

The midterms not only dealt a big shock to the Democrats, but also sent a message to President Obama. According to the new POLITICO "Power and the People" poll, only 26 percent of the public believes he will now be re-elected as President in 2012.

This difference of expectations could mislead the president if he is listening to the Beltway chatter – right here in D.C. he may just find a lot of comfort in this assessment by insiders , and that may lead to actions that don’t fully adjust for the sea change that has occurred among the general public.

This big difference can partially be explained by the different ways that the two groups see the economy and the world today. Seventy percent of D.C. elites admit that they have been affected less than the average citizen when it comes to the economic downturn. The elites see the Tea Party as purely a fad (70 percent). In contrast, those who say that the President will not be re-elected see the country as headed in the wrong direction by 82 percent, the economy in the wrong direction by 81 percent and overwhelmingly want repeal of healthcare at the top of the agenda. Among the quarter of the public that sees his re-election as probable, they see the economy turning around by nearly 3 to 1. They are the outliers of the electorate, suggesting that the President has a lot more work to do to get back on track for a second term.

It'll be definitely be big-time trouble for Obama, if he listens to the Washington Democratic leadership. Both Pelosi and Reid seem to be clueless, when it comes to knowing what mainstream America is thinking. They both staying in the leadership positions, even though they lead their party to historic losses.

If Obama has any shot at all to becoming a two-termer, he must move to the center, just like Clinton did after 1994 mid-terms.

Good News: Alvin Greene Mulling Over 2012 Presidential Run, Releases Comic Book

Put this in the ridiculous file:

Alvin Greene, the quirky former South Carolina Senate candidate, added additional hype to his potential bid for president earlier this week when he upped the likelihood of a run from "I'll have to see," to "I'm seriously considering."

Not everyone is excited about the idea of this scenario.

"I am at a loss for words to describe this new development," wrote S.C. Senate Democratic Caucus director Phil Bailey according to the Columbia Free Times.

But it's possible that Bailey and other Democrats will be able to save their words, because Greene is hinting that he might not mount a campaign affiliated with their party.

"I don't know which party I'll run in as a candidate," he told the Times. "I'm thinking about that."

I honestly don't know what to say. He is obviously addicted to the spotlight and the attention, now. He received a small taste of it this past election, and now, he wants more. Another possibility, is that he is crazy. He definitely didn't seem all there in a few of his interviews.

To see some of this comedy gold click here for his interview with MSNBC's Olbermann and O’Donnell.

I fully expect see more comedy gold like this coming over the next year or two, if Greene does decide to throw his hat into the race.

But wait!!! It gets even better:

Like most candidates in the planning stages of a presidential bid, Greene has recently published a book, though it doesn’t follow the traditional biographical format. He promoted the book to reporters during his election night party in Manning.

The book, titled “Alvin Greene – Ultimate Warrior,” is a comic book and aims to re-frame portions of the candidate’s biography that appeared in the press throughout his campaign.

Instead of being involuntarily discharged from the Army for lacking the skills necessary to remain a serviceman, as the Associated Press reported, in the comic-book version Greene is pushed out for trying to expose that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

And while official reports allege Greene had shown pornographic material to a college girl on the University of South Carolina campus, the comic-book version instead shows Greene being set up by a shadow government because he was a threat to the military industrial complex.

Greene indicated to Free Times that there might be more literature about him to come.

“The preliminary comic book is out,” Greene says. “So maybe [another book will] be something in the nature of like the Ultimate Warrior again or something.”

Alvin Greene has really become a parody of himself. Hasn't he? This guy definitely needs to be checked in to the Rubber Room Hotel, if he really believes what he put in his comic book.

No one takes him seriously anymore. Hopefully, the media has learned better and will totally ignore him this go around, but then again, they always do like a train-wreck.

Is Sen. Liebermann Running As a Republican in 2012?

Liebermann is still not sure if he will run as in 2012. Will it be as a Democrat? Independent? Republican?!?.

Lieberman, who had $1.4 million through June 30, said he was unsure whether he would run in 2012 as a Democrat or an independent.

“Or a Republican,” Lieberman jokingly added. “I have all sorts of options.”

He was, more than likely, joking, but it would be interesting.

With Obama's Poll Numbers Tanking, Hillary Clinton Keeps Her Election Team On Stand-by

Over the last few weeks, Obama has been hitting new record lows approval number almost every day. His stimulus bill was very unpopular and getting more so everyday as it's ineffectiveness has become well known, and Obamacare and Cap-and-Tax are heading in the same direction. With all of this negative momentum, Hillary is quietly keeping the bulls-eye on Obama for 2012:

Hillary Clinton says running for office isn't on her "radar," but she still has an eight-person political team and sports two overflowing campaign war chests.

Her team transformed the former Democratic White House contender's massive campaign debts into a $3 million mountain of political cash, according to federal fund-raising records through the end of June.

Clinton's failed presidential bid is now $1 million in the black, and her old Senate campaign committee has $2.1 million in the bank, much of it transferred in from the presidential account.

With his numbers falling faster than a mobster swimming with cement boots on, Hillary is keeping the possiblility of another run at the White House within grasp. I don't blame her Obama's blood is starting to get into the water, and she's looking to take advantage, if given the chance. Her ambition is well-known, and I don't believe for one minute that she ever has taken her eyes off that prize. Obama's "Team of Rivals" are going to implode, if things continue as they have.