Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin finally makes, or at least announces, her decision on the election. She remained quiet on the topic for most of the election season, leaving hope for some of her constituents that she might run, and this late in the game, her silence was announcement enough for most. However, Palin released a statement anyway on Wednesday.

“After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for president of the United States,” said Palin in a statement on her decision.” As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision.

When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.” During a radio interview on the “Mark Levin Show” shortly after she released her statement, the radio host asked if Palin would run as an independent candidate.

In response to the question she said, “I would assume that a third party would just guarantee Obama’s reelection, and that’s the last thing the Republican party can afford. So the consideration for a third party is not there, no.” “My decision is based upon a review of what common sense conservatives and independents have accomplished, especially over the last year,” Palin explained.

“I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office — from the nation’s governors to congressional seats and the presidency.” The former vice presidential nominee added, “Know that by working together we can bring this country back — and as I’ve always said, one doesn’t need a title to help do it.”

On the “Mark Levin Show”, she elaborated, “Not being a candidate really you’re unshackled and you’re allowed to be even more active.” Rick Perry, the Texas governor who is still barely holding on to front runner status, released a statement after Palin made her announcement. He said, “Sarah Palin is a good friend, a great American and a true patriot.

I respect her decision and know she will continue to be a strong voice for conservative values and needed change in Washington.” Palin’s announcement comes just days after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stated again that he is not going to run for President, despite the constant media speculation to the contrary.

It seems that much to many Republicans’ disappointment, the current field of contenders is who they will have to chose from come January.
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States are now clamoring to move the Republican primary up early, leaving the traditional first states left in the dust. Florida Republican presidential primary is likely going to be held five weeks earlier than normal, moving the primary to January 31, 2012 instead of early March.

The Florida GOP has selected the early date by a vote of 7 to 2, according to GOP insiders. This move is in violation of Republican National Committee guidelines. It also upsets the traditional standards that allows the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to be the first primary states in every presidential election.

Although Florida may be sanctioned by the RNC, Florida’s Republican officials seem to be looking past any punishment. They believe by moving up their primary, they will be the fifth and deciding primary of the season. Early primary states are upset by Florida and other states leapfrogging moves.

Arizona had previously announced that they were moving their primary up to the same day as South Carolina’s primary. South Carolina has asked that the Republican National Convention be moved out of Florida where it is scheduled. New Hampshire is also unhappy since they have a state law mandating that the state have the first primary in the nation.

Officials in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada have already said that they will be moving their contests. When Chuck Todd played this out on MSNBC last week, he anticipated that the Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the season , would be moved to Jan. 5. But by the time this all shakes out, it could end up being worse.

As CNN’s Peter Hamby tweets this morning: “NH Sec of State does not rule out holding New Hampshire primary this year. As in, 2011.” This means those potential candidates that are still lingering in the dust better start to announce their candidacy if they are interested. Yes, I am talking to you Sarah Palin, Chris Christie or even Mr. Huckabee.

The chance to build up a campaign was just shortened by a month.
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President Obama unveiled his deficit reduction plan on Monday and his tone was widely different. Gone were the days of Obama holding out an olive branch to the Republicans. Obama, finally, took aim and fired.

In his plan, Obama clearly stated that millionaires and billionaires would have to begin to pay their fair share of taxes. He promised to veto any legislation proposed by the super congress that cut Medicare and did not include raising taxes for the wealthy. “This is not class warfare.

It’s math,” Obama declared, anticipating Republican criticism. He also called out Speaker John Boehner for his approach in earlier Bush tax cut debate. Boehner had stated that Obama would have to make some concessions. After concession after concession, Boehner and his party refused to budge, taking the same approach that they criticized Obama for taking.

The president’s proposal would focus on upper-income taxpayers, called the “Buffet Rule” after billionaire Warren Buffet has vocalized his low tax rate. The plan would also target tax loopholes and subsidies. Most of the cuts in Medicare would hit health care providers and not beneficiaries.

Although some benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, however far less cuts that the GOP proposes. His cuts also include $1 trillion over ten years from the troop withdrawal in the Middle East.

The deficit-reduction plan represents Obama’s longer-term follow-up to the $447 billion in tax cuts and new public works spending that he has proposed as a short-term measure to stimulate the economy. The new proposal also inserts the president’s voice into the legislative discussions of a joint congressional “supercommittee” charged with recommending deficit reductions of up to $1.5 trillion.

Defending his emphasis on new taxes rather than only spending reductions, Obama said: “We can’t just cut our way out of this hole.” Republicans reacted exactly as expected. They used talking points about tax increases destroying jobs, but did not provide any real substance. Boehner said exactly as Obama thought so, calling it “class warfare.”

“Veto threats, a massive tax hike, phantom savings and punting on entitlement reform is not a recipe for economic or job growth or even meaningful deficit reduction,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “The good news is that the Joint Committee is taking this issue far more seriously than the White House.”

Sounds nice from the right, but it is wrong. There are easy charts and facts that show when we had a higher tax rate; we had a hell of a lot more jobs. So, I am not sure why Republicans keep up with this myth, but so many people believe it. Trust me—in the words of George Bush—read my lips—taxing the rich will NOT cause any job loss.

The rich have had this awesome tax cuts for 10 years, and we have just lost jobs. So, this rationale is illogical.

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Labor Day was predicted by many as the day Sarah Palin would announce if she would run for president in 2012, but it seems as if Palin is holding back until the right moment, if there is a moment at all.

Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska who also ran for Vice President in the 2008 election, has had a busy few months, that of someone looking to run for election in 2012. But on the other hand, who wouldn’t want to make tons of money from speeches, book signings, and appearances along the political trail.

Jim DeMint, Senator of South Carolina, believes that Palin is simply trying to stay involved in American politics and state her opinions without actually immersing herself completely in the race.

Senator DeMint hosted a political forum on Labor Day, where the leading GOP Presidential candidates all made appearances. DeMint told CBS, “It doesn’t appear that she [Palin] is going to run. She’s done a lot, I think, to engage the American people and stir things up, which we really needed to do, to get American citizens more involved in the process. It made a big difference in the last election. My hope is it’ll make an even bigger difference in the next election, as people take back their government.” Others suppose that Palin’s recent actions are actually preparation for her to enter the race. Karl Rove said,” a scheduled next week that looks like that of a candidate, not a celebrity,” in regards to her tours and speeches she will be making in the next several months.

Palin herself is still unsure about her status in the race but insinuated she may join the race by fall when she made a speech in Iowa this past week, where she stated her five step plan for job creation. But whether Palin is running of not, there have been predictions if she even has any chance of winning the election.

Among her supporters is the Tea Party, which would be happy to see her run, as well as the 600 people who showed up to support her on Labor Day in Concord, New Hampshire. This was twice as many that showed up for Romney, which illustrates that Palin may have a chance against some of the other contenders.

Although Palin is not officially a candidate yet, she is showing to have enough support to place her in third place behind Rick Perry and Romney in a CNN/Opinion Poll taken this week. But according to many polls that are examining a hypothetical race between President Obama vs. Palin, she does not look as if she has a chance to beat the President in a one on one race.

According to a CNN Opinion Research poll, 55% of registered voters would vote for President Obama in 2012, and only 41% for Palin, with 4% undecided. A CNN Opinion Research poll also showed that only 7% of people think Palin could win against the President. President Obama released the American Jobs Act this week, which could change the face of the whole election.

If all things go as promised within the year, the president could look at another reelection. On the other hand if things don’t go as planned, Palin could have an easier time gaining support if she does decide to enter the race and her five-step plan is attractive to voters.

Whether Palin will run or not will most likely surface within the upcoming weeks. Until then, the crowd will remain anxiously waiting.

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Although it is already September and the presidential election is just 14 months away, Sarah Palin has still not announced if she intends to join the Republican field of candidates. The former governor of Alaska and reality TV star spoke to tea party activists on Saturday in Iowa. She did not make any major announcements but did appear to lay some groundwork for a potential campaign bid.

“This is why we must remember the challenge is not simply to replace Obama in 2012. The real change is who and what we will replace him with,” Palin said in a rural area south of Des Moines. “Folks, you know it’s not enough to change the uniform.”

The audience of about 2,000 supporters from all over the country erupted into chants of “Run, Sarah, Run!” Palin gave no response to the chant and did not mention the candidacy in her 40 minute speech.

Palin talked about her experience as the governor of Alaska and stated she confronted powerful corporations, instead of coddling to them like the current administration. Although she did not specifically name any from the GOP field, she did say that Republicans are also to blame for repaying campaign donations with perks. Similar to what Texas Governor Rick Perry has been accused of in recent weeks.

“There is a name for this. It’s corporate, crony capitalism,” she said. Asked later if she was referring to Perry, she said it was to all GOP candidates. “I want all of our GOP candidates to take the opportunity to kill corporate capitalism that is leading to this cronyism that’s destroying our economy,” Palin said, while in a crush of hundreds of supporters asking for autographs and posing for pictures.

Palin also said her remarks should not be construed as a campaign address, telling reporters: “It was a thank-you-tea-party-Americans speech.” Palin reported she would announce any potential political plans late in September. However, her speech in Iowa and another speech in New Hampshire have fueled speculation.

Her speech on Saturday was also different because of instead of criticizing only; Palin actually offered a plan on how she would boost the economy. She proposed expanding oil drilling and loosening regulations on it. She called for pared down business regulations. And she suggested eliminating the corporate income tax.

“It’s not just fear of a double-dip recession, and it’s not the shame of a credit downgrade,” she said. “This is a systemic crisis due to failed policies and incompetent leadership.”

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While Sarah Palin is leaving us all guessing about her political future, Texas Governor Rick Perry may be cemented his. After his evolution comments last week, among other controversial remarks, the GOP presidential candidate is not backing down.

Although it often seems that Sarah Palin has no plan to enter the GOP presidential field, Karl Rove believes she will. The former governor of Alaska claims she has not decided whether she is going to run or not and promises to make a decision in September.

Former George W. Bush advisor Karl Rove spoke on Fox News on Saturday morning. He believes that Palin will enter the race, citing her schedule as the reason for his belief. Rove stated her upcoming schedule looks more like that of a ‘candidate’ than a ‘celebrity’.

“This is her last chance,” Rove said on the broadcast. “She either gets in or gets out after this visit next week. I think she gets in.”

Palin released a new video highlighting her Iowa travels just last week. Entitled “Iowa Passion,” the ex-Vice Presidential candidate profiles Iowans who explain why she is “a normal person just like every one of us.”Palin is set to appear in Iowa on September 3, serving as the keynote speaker at the Tea Party of America’s “Restoring America” event.

Meanwhile, Rick Perry is busy campaigning on his anti-evolution stance. Last week, during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Perry told a woman and her son that he regarded evolution as “a theory that’s out there” and one that’s “got some gaps in it.”

In South Carolina on Friday, Perry continued to express doubt on the theory of evolution. When a woman in South Carolina congratulated him for his remarks, Perry replied “Well, God is how we got here. God may have done it in the blink of the eye or he may have done it over this long period of time, I don’t know. But I know how it got started.”

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The Obama Campaign may be fighting back against the Tea Party Republicans who have hijacked any sort of meaningful dialogue. An Obama adviser went on the offensive on a television appearance while the President had a heated exchange with a tea party activist.

Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs went on MSNBC on Tuesday. Gibbs, who now serves as a re-election advisor for the president, criticized Republicans, saying that they must decide whether they’re going to “swear allegiance to the tea party” or work with Democrats to create jobs.

He advised Congress to “pay attention to creating jobs again.” He also suggested that some Republicans “do not want to see this economy get better” because they know continuing misery will likely improve their election prospects.

Gibbs says Obama favors a number of moves to help businesses step up hiring. He says “the president is not focused on keeping his job, most of all. He’s focused on creating jobs for the American people.” He reported that Congress likely will be asked to continue payroll tax relief.

Looking ahead to 2012, Gibbs said, “We’re not running against George W. Bush.” He added, “But many of the policies that got us into the mess that we’re trying to dig out of now, are the same policies that the frontrunners for the Republican nomination seek to go back to.”

Meanwhile in Iowa, the tea party confronted Obama about vice president Joe Biden’s remarks earlier in the month comparing the tea party to terrorists. “He said we were acting like terrorists,” Iowa Tea Party activist Ryan Rhodes said, confronting the president after the Decorah town hall as Obama worked a rope line of audience members. “What we stand for is limited government and a balanced budget,” Rhodes continued.

“First of all, in fairness to this gentleman who raised a question, I absolutely agree that everybody needs to try to tone down the rhetoric. Now, in fairness, since I’ve been called a socialist who wasn’t born in this country, who is destroying America and taking away its freedoms because I passed a health care bill, I’m all for lowering the rhetoric.”

Obama later countered that Biden was making the point that almost failing to raise the debt ceiling was irresponsible. “He wasn’t objecting to the balanced budget amendment, he was objecting to us almost defaulting,” Obama said. As Rhodes persisted, and Obama continued to shake hands, the president added, “It doesn’t sound like you are interested in listening.”

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President Barack Obama launched a three-day bus tour, speaking in town hall meetings through Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, but he emphasized that he is not campaigning yet. Obama, however, spent his speeches focusing on jobs and the economy while criticizing the GOP field of potential nominees.

The President criticized the Republicans for their uniform opposition to any deficit-cutting compromise involving new taxes. “That’s just not common sense,” Obama told the crowd at a town hall-style meeting in Cannon Falls, Minn. “You need to take a balanced approach,” he insisted.

Obama spoke about last week’s GOP presidential debate where all eight of the candidates said they would refuse to support a deal with tax increases, even if tax revenues were outweighed 10-to-1 by spending cuts. Obama didn’t mention any of the candidates by name, and prefaced the remark by saying, “I know it’s not election season yet.”

At another town hall meeting, Obama was questioned about his health care reform and used the opportunity to take a shot at Mitt Romney.”You’ve got a governor who’s running for president right now who instituted the exact same thing in Massachusetts,” Obama said, referring the requirement for nearly everyone to carry health insurance. “This used to be a Republican idea,” Obama said. “It’s like suddenly they got amnesia.”

Obama also criticized the anti-government message that the Republican Party embraces. “When you go to the National Parks and those folks in the hats, that’s government,” Obama said. “As frustrated as you are about politics don’t buy into this notion that somehow government is what’s holding us back,” he said.

Obama began his speech at the town hall meetings by criticizing Congress, accusing lawmakers of putting politics ahead of the country and calling on voters to tell them to cut it out. “You’ve got to send a message to Washington that it’s time for the games to stop, it’s time to put country first,” Obama said.

“I want everyone to understand here, I’m not here just to enjoy the nice weather; I’m here to enlist you in a fight,” he said. “We are fighting for the future of our country. And that is a fight that we are gonna win. That is a promise that I make, with your help.”

Not everyone was pleased with Obama’s town hall meetings. Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus and a few dozen protesters showed up in Cannon Falls. “We won’t stand idly by while he uses our hard-earned tax dollars to spin his failure to put America back to work,” Priebus said.

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Former governor Sarah Palin continues to stoke the fires of speculation on her possible presidential bid. She reported that she will attend the Iowa State Fair this week, fueling the ‘will Palin run?’ ongoing debate.

Palin is believed to attend the fair on Friday, though a specific date has not been set. She is bringing her “One Nation” bus tour to Iowa, although she is not scheduled to speak at the fair. All the other Republican presidential candidates will debate on Thursday night in Iowa and then participate in the Ames Straw Poll on Saturday. Many are scheduled speakers at the state fair, including likely front runner Mitt Romney.

“We are very happy to jump back on the bus for another leg of our ‘One Nation Tour’! We accept with gratefulness an invitation to meet folks at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this week. The heartland is perfect territory for more of the One Nation Tour as we put forth efforts to revitalize the fundamental restoration of America by highlighting our nation’s heart, history, and founding principles,” Palin wrote in an email to supporters.

In her e-mail, Palin said “prudent Americans” live within their means, including “seeking affordable participation in more community events, local patriotic parades, and traditional all-American venues like state fairs.” She went to say she was “excited to try some of that famous fried butter-on-a-stick, fried cheesecake-on-a-stick, fried twinkies, etc.”

“I’ll enjoy them in honor of those who’d rather make us just ‘eat our peas’!” she said, in a dig at President Obama.

By attending the event, Palin is conveniently ensuring that her name will be in the news this weekend. Texas governor Rick Perry is also closer to announcing his decision. Although he will not be attending the debate, he will be in Iowa on Sunday after trips to New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Palin, who stated she still has not made a decision regarding her political future, is scheduled to return to Iowa over Labor Day weekend. She has indicated she would make a decision by September.

Palin also released a new video on her political action committee’s web site on Wednesday. Palin narrates the 55-second film, titled “Always Proud,” which features footage of corn fields and the Iowa State Fair set to an inspirational soundtrack.  “A writer observed, we grow good people in our small towns with honesty and sincerity and dignity,” Palin says in the video.

“And I know just the kind of people that writer had in mind. I grew up with those people. They’re the ones who do some of the hardest work in America, who grow our food and run our factories and fight our wars. They love our country in good times and bad — and they’re always proud of America.”

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