After Iowa, Republicans Face a New Landscape

At New York Times, "After Iowa, Republicans Face a New Landscape."

WATERLOO, Iowa — The leading Republican presidential candidates scrambled to take command of a new landscape on Sunday after Tim Pawlenty abruptly ended his campaign and a three-way race began taking shape to find a nominee who can emerge as the strongest challenger to President Obama.



While Gov. Rick Perry of Texas had hoped to turn the contest into a two-man duel with Mitt Romney, he starts by facing Representative Michele Bachmann, whose weekend victory in the Iowa straw poll reordered the top tier of candidates. On the second day of his announcement tour, Mr. Perry sent a subtle message: making his first Iowa appearance in her hometown, but not taking her on directly.



While Mrs. Bachmann, Mr. Perry and Mr. Romney each have emphasized cutting attacks on Mr. Obama, they now face the need to begin drawing distinctions with one another and set up what could be a long and hard-edged campaign for the party’s nomination.

More at that top link.



Plus, I suspect Los Angeles Times is straining a bit here, trying to spin a different angle: "Perry overshadows Bachmann's Iowa victory."

Tim Pawlenty Ends Presidential Campaign

I just clicked on The Other McCain and saw this: "Tim Pawlenty Quits!" While the news could probably use a couple of exclamation points!!, I'm not surprised. The GOP field is getting crowded with Rick Perry's entry into the race, and as we saw from the debate the other night, Pawlenty was hoping for the knock out blow against Michele Bachmann and he failed miserably. She held her own and made Pawlenty look a Republican Mario Cuomo. Bachmann went on to win Iowa and that had to be like a right upper-cut landing on Pawlenty's chin. He's down.



See also Legal Insurrection and New York Times (via Memeorandum).

Governor Rick Perry Throws His Ten-Gallon Hat in the Ring

Some folks have criticized Rick Perry's timing , but I'd say it's one heckuva campaign launch (and so does Nikki Haley). Perry seems both amicable and capable, and the record of job creation in Texas would be a huge asset against Obama in the general election. But that's about all I know, so more on Perry later. A interest group sent me the YouTube below, FWIW, "Keep Conservatives United Aiming To Even Playing Field For Bachmann."



And at New York Times, "Promising Better Direction, Perry Enters Race," and "Money No Obstacle as Perry Joins G.O.P. Race."

Butter Cow

Robert Stacy McCain's really enjoying himself! "The Butter Cow Is SEXY!

More from ABC News:

Sarah Palin at Iowa State Fair

I wish I was there!



See Daily Caller, "Palin at Iowa State Fair: I’m still undecided on 2012" (at Memeorandum).

RELATED: At The Other McCain, "Herman Cain Speaks at Iowa State Fair."

'Both Gingrich and Paul have a nasty demeanor of a sort that, I think, will never make it to the White House...'

That's Althouse on the performance last night of New Gingrich and Ron Paul. And that's funny, because it's those two who I chose to blog on as well. (I've met Gingrich personally, and I've mentioned before, he's a terrible people-person. Ron Paul? I've never met him. But, well, he's just crackpot all around.)



See, "The Iowa Debate."



Previously, "Ron Paul at GOP Debate: 'There Was No Al Qaeda in Iraq'," and "Newt Gingrich at GOP Debate: 'Put Aside the Gotcha Questions'."

Ron Paul at GOP Debate: 'There Was No Al Qaeda in Iraq'

I almost fell on the floor listening to this guy. There used to be some kind of rule for excluding marginal candidates from these debates, and the organizing committees should have invoked it for Ron Paul years ago. What a disgrace:

See Sacremento Bee, "Paul and Santorum clash over US-Iran relationship."



Anyway, a big write up at NYT, "8 From G.O.P. Trade Attacks at Iowa Debate."

Newt Gingrich at GOP Debate: 'Put Aside the Gotcha Questions'

I'm actually watching this right now, as I got home a little after 9:00pm PST. This exchange between Chris Wallace and Newt Gingrich was pretty intense:

More at the Des Moines Register, "Gingrich accuses debate moderators of ‘gotcha’ questions." And also at Los Angeles Times, "Gloves come off in second GOP presidential debate."



I'm watching, so more later ...

Mitt Romney Heckled in Iowa

This gets pretty heated, especially after 2:00 minutes at the clip:

See Legal Insurrection, "Obama campaign tactics against Romney already surface."



More at London's Daily Mail for the details, "Mitt Romney shouts at heckler as he remains in pole position for president nomination ahead of GOP head-to-head debate."



EXTRA: Robert Stacy McCain's on the ground in Iowa, "Mitt-Mania In Des Moines." Also at Memeorandum.

Obama's Path to Reelection Narrows

Well, thank goodness.



From Ronald Brownstein, at National Journal:

Newly released state-by-state approval numbers for President Obama suggest that in 2012 he could face fewer options for assembling an Electoral College majority and increased pressure to capture racially diverse states. As a result, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida, among others, appear to be evolving into critical battlegrounds on the campaign map.



The polling results, released earlier this week by Gallup, underscore both the stability of each party’s Electoral College base and the shifting roster of swing states that could decide the 2012 contest.



In all, the compilation shows that Obama’s approval rating exceeds his disapproval rating in states with 301 Electoral College votes--well down from his 365 total in 2008 but still enough to win. That total, however, includes North Carolina, where Obama’s approval and disapproval ratings are virtually even, and Georgia, where Republicans remain skeptical that he can seriously compete, despite signals from his reelection campaign that it intends to. If those two are removed from the list, the states in which Obama’s approval number exceeds his disapproval rating provide exactly 270 Electoral College votes, the bare majority needed to win.

Nice.



Image Credit: The People's Cube.

Robert Stacy McCain Covers Mitt Romney in Iowa

See: "Mitt Romney Comes to Des Moines, Attracts Massive Media Coverage."



And a Romney campaign ad, "Civility":

RELATED: At New York Times, "With Return to Iowa, Romney Heeds Call of G.O.P. Strategists."

Democrats Doubt Barack Obama's Reelection Chances

At Telegraph UK (via Theo Spark):

President Barack Obama is facing mounting doubts within his own party about his re-election prospects, with fellow Democrats beginning to ask if Hillary Clinton would have made a better president.

I coulda told you that!

'Always Proud' — Sarah Palin Bus Tour Rolls Into Iowa

Here's the new video from SarahPAC, "The SarahPAC One Nation bus tour Rolls On!":

And at CNN, "BREAKING: Palin bus tour to roll into Iowa" (via Memeorandum).

Palin's re-emergence in Iowa just hours before the debate is a reminder that the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee intends to remain part of the presidential discussion as long as possible, despite being largely dismissed by party insiders.

No doubt. In fact, it's getting pretty crowed in the Hawkeye State.



RELATED: Robert Stacy McCain continues his reporting, "Iowa Notebook: Romney Coming to Town; Pawlenty and the ‘Plausible Chance’ Trick."

Republicans Holds Four of Six Contested Seats in Wisconsin Recall Elections

William Jacobson warns not to celebrate just yet: "The Wisconsin Recalls Are Not Over." And he's right. Next week's recalls in Wisconsin will be crucial for control over the Senate. But I think a little celebration is in order. Don't you just love this screencap from the Los Angeles Times below. And I swear that Democrat on the right looks like she's wearing a shirt that reads, "Union Thug." Ha, ain't in the truth! And at the Times' article, "Parties seek clues for 2012 in Wisconsin recall election results."

William has more at Legal Insurrection, "“I can see 2012 from my house”," and "The Battle of Wisconsin was not Democrats’ finest hour."



RELATED: Don't miss Chicago Boyz, "This is What Democracy Looks Like." (Via Memeorandum.)

Texas Hotties for Rick Perry!

And of course, Robert Stacy McCain is on the case!



See, "Young Minions of the Sith Lord of Texas."

Also at the Des Moines Register, "Rick Perry to make Iowa speech on Sunday." And at Politico, "Rick Perry to make 2012 intentions clear Saturday."

RSM Covers Herman Cain in Iowa

I commended Robert Stacy McCain the other day on Twitter, thanking him for his excellent coverage of the run-up to the Ames straw poll.



And now he's got some more great blogging, on the Herman Cain presidential campaign. See "Sioux City: Herman Cain Begins Iowa Bus Tour With Noon Speech to Jewish Group," and "Denison: Overflow Crowd Hears Herman Cain Slam Obama: ‘That’s Not Leadership!’"

Check for updates at The Other McCain.

Newsweek Publishes 'Queen of Rage' Hit-Piece Cover Shot of Michele Bachmann

Go check Michelle Malkin's report, "The Conservative Crazy Eyes Cliche & Other Stupid MSM Photo Tricks."

She's got a larger image of this wild --- and wildly inappropriate --- cover photograph of Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. The key passage:

Rep. Bachmann is unabashedly conservative, willing to take both parties’ leaders to task, passionate about her work, popular with grass-roots activists on the Right, committed to reining in the size, scope, and power of government, and yes, expressive. For all this, she must be destroyed.

Also:

Disseminating unflattering photos of conservatives isn’t journalism. It’s Alinskyite narrative-shaping.

This comes of course as Michele Bachmann has rocketed to frontrunner status in Iowa. See Rasmussen Reports, "Iowa Caucus: Bachmann, Romney and Paul on Top." The poll samples likely causcus participants and has a 4-point margin of error. It's looking good for Bachmann.



RELATED: At the Other McCain, "Liberal Head-Explosion Warning VIDEO: Michele Bachmann Testifies for Jesus."

Asian Markets Fall in Monday Trading After U.S. Downgrade

At New York Times, "Asian Markets Fall Despite Efforts by Policy Makers."



But see Los Angeles Times, "No rush from U.S. Treasuries, as yields fall while Asian stocks slump":

U.S. Treasury bonds' status as a haven seemed intact in Asia on Monday, as yields fell despite Standard & Poor's downgrading of Uncle Sam's credit rating on Friday.



It may have helped Treasuries that Asian stocks were broadly lower, as some investors bailed out ahead of European and U.S. equity trading.



The 10-year Treasury note yield slid to 2.50% in late Asian trading, down from 2.56% on Friday.



Shorter-term yields also fell. The two-year T-note dropped to a record low 0.26% from 0.29%.

More at that link above, and see, "What the U.S. debt-rating cut may mean for markets":

If investors dump Treasuries, where would the money go?



They don’t have a lot of options if they want to keep their money in something relatively safe.



The bond markets of other countries still rated AAA -- including Germany, Canada, France, Finland and Australia -- are far smaller than the U.S. debt market. The appeal of Treasuries in part is their great liquidity, meaning it's easy for investors to instantly buy or sell bonds.



What’s more, Europe has its own worries: The continent’s government-debt crisis has worsened in recent weeks, with investors now fearing that Spain and Italy could be forced to seek European Union bailouts, following the paths of Greece, Ireland and Portugal over the last 15 months.



Some investors are likely to run to gold, another classic haven. Gold has been streaking this year, rising 16% year-to-date through Friday, to $1,648.80 an ounce.



Haven’t Treasury interest rates been falling lately, anyway?



Yes. Investors have been pouring cash into Treasury securities since mid-April, driving interest rates down, as global economic growth has faded. The rate on the 10-year Treasury note, a benchmark for mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates, fell as low as 2.40% last week from 3.59% in mid-April.



Because worries about the economy have only worsened in recent weeks, many analysts believe that any jump in Treasury rates related to S&P’s downgrade could quickly bring a torrent of buyers into the market, happy to snag higher yields.



“The fundamentals of U.S. and global growth are weakening, and that’s a fertile time to be in Treasuries” as a haven, said William O’Donnell, head of Treasury-bond strategy at RBS Securities.

RELATED: At CNBC, "No Chance of Default, US Can Print Money: Greenspan" (via Memeorandum).

Rick Santorum's Family Off Limits to the Media

Robert Stacy McCain continues his coverage of the Iowa campaign: "Rick Santorum’s Iowa Barn Party." And here's Robert on some of the Santorum campaign's press rules:

Karen Santorum with her two oldest daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth. Right after I took this photo, Santorum’s press aide told me that the family are “off limits” to the media. But, of course, I’m just a friend of Lisa Graas, right? It’s not fair to treat me as “media.”

A beautiful family.

Related: At the Des Moines Register, "Santorum: Credit downgrade another example of Obama’s ‘epic failure’ in leadership." And from the Ames Tribune, "Santorum: Iowans 'can have a profound impact'."

And see New York Times, "Republicans Jockey as a Big Week Begins in Iowa."

Michele Bachmann: 'President Obama is Destroying the Foundations of the United States Economy'

Via The Other McCain, "VIDEO: Bachmann Demands Resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner."

Also at Gateway Pundit, "Michele Bachmann: “I Call on President Obama to Demand Resignation of Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner” (Video)," and "Geithner Flashback: “There’s No Chance US Will Lose Top Credit Rating” (Video)."