"Political analysts are saying Mitt Romney is having trouble generating enthusiasm among Iowa voters. Now, ladies and gentlemen, you know you have a problem when the people in Iowa find you dull."---Conan
- I read a good piece from someone (can't recall now who it was) who likened these surges to musical chairs. I like the metaphor. As we leave Iowa, it appears Santorum found a chair and Bachmann didn't. Moreover, Santorum's 2nd place finish in Iowa helped him raise over a $1 million. He needs the cash to continue running. The bigger states like Florida are expensive when you have to blanket them with ads.
- I was hammering the Iowa caucus for several weeks now questioning its value. I think I will take some of it back. It does one thing well. It whittles the number of candidates down. With Bachmann leaving yesterday and Perry reconsidering, that leaves the Republicans with less candidates to consider. I think that's a good thing. Hopefully, after either New Hampshire and South Carolina in the coming weeks, we should have more peels falling off the onion and a viable candidate will emerge.
- But one fact appears clear. Romney's win shows the GOP Republican base still does not trust him. He can't crack 25%. If he emerges as the candidate, they'll support him, but with a degree of reluctance. Yet, it appears the Republican elite are supporting him. Politico
- Newt's beginning to sound a tad desperate to me. He has a history of "going off" when the stress gets to him. It's another reason why I wouldn't want to see this guy as president.
- One more report from yesterday's blog. It was reported Chaz Bono is looking to add a penis to his body. Hey, I'm not one to question what he wants to do with his body. That's his business. If it makes him happy, more power to the guy. And since he feels he's a guy, then he should add a package. I do, however, have a suggestion for him. He should look to Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Both regions are full of dicks.
- One more bit of entertainment news: The 2011 top selling album was Adele, 21 followed by Michael Buble's Christmas. Lady Ga Ga came in third with Born This Way. Lady Antebellum's Own The Night rounded out the top 10.
- Still too early to tell, but there appears to be some good economic and jobs news. ADP reported that private sector jobs surged by 325,000 last month. Unemployment claims fell to 372,000 last week. But this unemployment number is still way to high. In addition, factory orders rose 1.8% in November and auto sales rose 10.3% in 2011. Also, truck sales have been rising again from 47.3% as a percentage of new car sales 2009 to 51.2% in 2011. MSNBC
- But, then there's this news. Boeing announced it will be shutting down its Kansas plant laying of over 2,000 workers. And Macy's announced it will be closing five stores and four Bloomingdale's stores for underperforming. Those closings will affect almost a 1000 employees. And it appears Kodak is heading toward bankruptcy. Kodak has been sturggling for years to survive the switch to digital photography. They decided to go into the printer business, but that flopped. USA Today and NY Post
- Well, it didn't take long for Herr Keith Olberman to start feuding with his new bosses at Current TV. He has a long history of being unable to hold on to a job. It appears the straw that might have broken the camel's back was Olberman's refusal to anchor the Iowa Caucus for the network. This guy's the biggest jackass on TV. MSN and Hollywood Reporter
