Romney barely beats Ron Paul in a state where he bested him 52% to 18% four years ago.
In Romney's defense, Maine used to be a part of Massachusetts, and the Bay State's failure to defend Maine during the 1812 war led to a lot of resentment. Maine chairman: Romney wins caucuses www.politico.com
The Smartest Man in America asks if Paul can pull an Iowa when all of Maine is finally counted, and says (in essence) “probably not.”
The silver lining for Paul: he may win most of the delegates.
I suppose one could argue that winning the popular vote did nothing for Al Gore, but in the game that is the nomination process I would say that the popular vote victory is the one that counts.
At least that's what I would say in February. In April, or later, the answer might be quite different depending on the facts on the ground. Could Ron Paul Still Win Maine? fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com
"President Barack Obama discredited the Goldstone Report critical of the way the Israeli military fought a war against Hamas in Gaza in December 2008.
He supported a United Nations resolution Israel accepted regarding the Jewish state’s handling of the Gaza flotilla in 2010; he made a middle-of-the-night phone call last year to get Egyptian authorities to rescue Israeli Embassy employees trapped by an angry mob; he provided Israel with two loan guarantees totaling $5.78 billion; he gave Israeli products what amounts to most favored nation status in the face of calls for a boycott of Israeli goods; and he enhanced Israel’s missile defense."
Back when I would get a 98% on the exam, my mother would ask what happened to the other two points, but she'd never accuse me of getting an F. Touting Obama’s Jewish Creds | The Jewish Week www.thejewishweek.com
This is what victory looks like:
"After weeks of absorbing attacks, President Barack Obama abruptly announced Friday that religious employers will not be mandated to offer free contraceptive coverage for workers. It was a backtrack, to be sure, but one that elicited three mostly positive press releases from the center, left and right for a White House besieged on birth control.
The first thumbs-up came from liberal Planned Parenthood, which called the decision to create “an accommodation” to the concerns of church officials fair and acceptable. The second came from the head of the Catholic Health Association, Sister Carol Keehan, a moderate who said the revised plan “protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions.”
The third, and arguably most important, came from the office of New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dolan, an energetic and effective leader of the anti-contraception charge, blessed the effort if not the result.
He called the move a “first step” but avoided the confrontational tone he’s adopted since the policy was released last month."
The initial translation of this seemed to be "we won't endorse that, but we're gonna stop making much of a fuss."
The Likely GOP response seemed to be: Initial bluster, followed by amnesia.
Since the announcement was first made, there are indications that things might play out a bit differently, but this will be only be a measure of whether the GOP and the Church understand that “he who fights and runs away will live to fight another day.” Birth-control compromise to be announced by White House – Carrie Budoff Brown www.politico.com
Dissecting the Dolan letter, which is mostly a casserole of red herrings.
Dolan: “We have grave reservations that the government is intruding in the definition of who is and who is not a religious employer,”
Gate: No, actually, the Feds just expanded it to apply (at its widest interpretation) to pretty much any employee who leads a religious organization, conducts worship services or important religious ceremonies or rituals or serves as a messenger or teacher of its faith.
But that still does not cover hospital or universities.
The Dolan letter raised concerns about how insurance companies will recover their costs of providing “objectionable services,” such as contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. Dolan said “This lack of clarity is a grave concern.”
Gate: Actually, the insurance companies will recover it by laughing all the way to the bank, since providing coverage for contraceptives reduces their costs, as providing such coverage costs them far, far less than paying for childbirths.
The Dolan letter raised concerns about whether Catholic or other individuals who work for secular employees would be able to get an exemption and not be covered.
Gate: What nonsense. If a Mormon on food stamps doesn't want to use his benefits to buy coffee, he need not do so; he need not get a special exemption from the government. Archbishop Dolan attacks Obama's birth-control compromise as not enough www.nypost.com
The Senate GOP: Why Settle for The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight when you can have the Corleones running things efficiently? Nick Spano pleads guilty to tax felony: I did not pay www.LoHud.com
The Grisanti family gets stomped in a manner so brutal that it can only be compared to what is being dome to Buffalo in the proposed reapportionment.
Perhaps the Senator, who has shown rare courage in his job, was showing it in life as well, but one can't help thinking that this is a story that screams "there must be something more to this." The wife of Sen. Grisanti punched during gala Friday night www.buffalonews.com
With the exception of the push for "Tier Equity," (which, in context, looks like it was thrown in for the sake of appearances), the really striking thing about most of the legislation aimed at sweetening NYS public employee pensions is how much they would increase the mountainous disparity between the pension benefits of those currently in the system, and those who will join it in the future.
Calling Larry Littlefield! State-worker unions push pension boost www.nypost.com
When did fighting accountability become a "progressive" cause? Final week of school duel www.nypost.com
Goldberg channels Gatemouth. Bashar al-Assad's IT Department Studied Under Mel Brooks www.theatlantic.com
I am surely going to fry in hell. Senator says life begins at ejaculation www.globalpost.com