Just How Deep Is The Rabbit Hole In America?

Worldwide, financial watchdogs are barking for banks to restructure and hold more capital. This, of course, beats and batters a bank’s bottom line. As a result, investors are put off. Can you blame them? The robust returns of the past have been hurt badly. Let’s face it, buying bank stock just ain’t what it used to be.

Simultaneously, trading fees are falling. Deals are drying up. The huge salaries within the industry have become a liability since taxpayers were forced to provide banks with billions in bailout bucks. And scandals are, it seems, uncovered every week. Let’s face it, being a bank just ain’t what it used to be, either.

As a result of all this, banks are contracting and handing out pink-slips to employees.

“Of the 29 [major] banks, from Europe’s biggest bank HSBC to U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley,” according to Reuters, ” just over 83,700 net jobs have been lost since 2009.”

In the same article, Reuters reports that since early 2011, “major banks have announced some 160,000 job cuts since early last year and with more lay-offs to come as the industry restructures, many will leave the shrinking sector for good as redundancies outpace new hires by roughly two-to-one.”

Recall back in September when Bank of America announced it was chopping 16,000 jobs by year end and perhaps as many as 30,000 before the ax swinging stopped.

And today, the Telegraph is reporting “Barclays could slash as many as 2,000 jobs from its investment banking arm as part of a broad restructuring of the company.”

That is about 10% of Barclay’s full-time investment banking workforce.

So, the story is that thin profits, restrictive regulation, scarce deals and soiled reputations have forced the banking industry into contraction.

It makes sense. But could there be more going on here?

Let’s consider a few things.

Major countries outside of the West—China, Russia, India, Iran and others – have decided to do oil transactions outside the petro-dollar system. This is significant. America’s economy and the bankster’s profits are directly tied to the petro-dollar transaction. We know Bush, taking orders from the banksters, turned the rule of Saddam Hussein into rubble because he side-stepped petro-dollars. The message was clear—do oil deals with petro-dollars or be purged from power. But that message was apparently missed by Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi. He side-stepped petro-dollars in his oil transactions, too. And so, just last year, our current presidential-puppet, again on behalf of the banksters, had Gaddafi hauled out into the street and shot like a dog—a public execution being a rock solid exclamation point, don’t you think?

And now we have Iran. You’ve been told they have nukes. No, sorry, they are developing nukes. They have enough material for 10 missiles. No, sorry, it is probably more like six weapons. Israel, or more specifically the Zionists, are screaming that we only have six months until boom day. Others claim it is several years. Still others, typically those not receiving bankster payoffs and funding, state Iran is developing nuclear power but not developing weapons.

Do you see the point? Is Iran developing nuclear weapons? We just don’t know. But we do know Iran is selling oil outside the petro-dollar system—just like Iraq and Libya did. Could the “Iran is getting nukes” story be just that—a story, an excuse—to ratchet up public opinion in the West, so the banksters can tell Obama to force Iran back onto petro-dollars or it will be destroyed?

Jump quickly back to Iraq. In 2000, Iraq starts conducting oil business outside the petro-dollar system. In 2001, we have the “terror attack” of 9/11 and Iraq is immediately linked to the terrorists. The claim is weak and has troubling gaining traction. What happens next? In 2002, Bush starts his anti-Iraq chest-beating tour because—suddenly—there are reports of WMD within Iraq. Unfortunately, the public buys this tall tale and by 2003, America is in Iraq.

Isn’t this similar to what is happening now regarding Iran? Is the West and Israel really worried about a nuclear threat? Or is it that the banksters are pissed at Iran for cutting into their profits and they mean to make them pay, one way or the other?

But what does this have to do with global bank layoffs and contractions?

Well, in defiance of all the chest-beating, the countries doing oil deals outside the petro-dollar system are still doing oil deals outside the petro-dollar system. And apparently they mean to keep doing them because Russia has stepped in and said it will protect Iran.

By the way, if you didn’t know, the Russian debt owed to the Rothschild web of banks is paid in full. Russia is now ranked third in the world, behind Japan and China, as they possess approximately $277 billion in reserves. By contrast, we owe $16 trillion.

So, are we seeing the world’s largest banks contract and layoff people all over the world because of bad economic times? Or, could it be that much of the world has decided that it is time to close the books on the banksters? Perhaps it is only horrific economic times in Europe and America—countries controlled by the banksters. After all, China, Japan and Russia have money. Europe doesn’t. We don’t.

Could it be that the bailouts here in America were a scam—a theft perpetrated by our lawless federal government — to take our money and give it to the banksters because they are feeling the squeeze? Perhaps the endless banking scandals are the result of the banksters perpetrating fraud because they are desperate for cash. Could it be that there is a movement—official or unofficial—by non-Western societies to hurt the balance sheets of the banksters to bring them down?

Think about it. To stay in control the banksters need just two things. They need debt as money (the federal reserve note, our dollar) and they need everyone using it. They control the Federal Reserve so printing money, that is, “reserve notes” is a snap. But what good is the ability to print debt-dollars if no one is going to use them? You also need demand.

As for world demand for the debt-dollar, that is what the petro-dollar system was designed to do—make the world use “dollars” to sell and buy oil—create an artificial demand. And if anyone rejects it, like Iraq and Libya, then the banksters use the US military to remind these forgetful folks of the importance of petro-dollar transactions.

But if that demand falls off, where can they go? They really can’t turn here. They just robbed us. That is what the “financial crisis” was all about. And because the banksters and the politicians that they own have destroyed our economy as well as our retirement accounts, it will take decades for that wealth to be re-acquired – if it ever is. No, from a bankster’s perspective, America is just about used up.

So, if the outside world knows the American peasants have been plucked clean, then they also know it is now their money the banksters seek. And if they realize this and they want to stop it, then it makes sense to not do petro-dollar transactions, regardless of the threats.

So what do you think–just how deep is this rabbit hole?

Is rejecting the petro-dollar really a movement, organized or not, to rid the world of the tyrannical behavior from elite banking families like Rothschild, Rockefeller, Morgan, Soros and their lesser known associates? We know Russia paid Rothschild in full, wiped their hands clean and walked away. Putin has bad-mouthed the NWO in numerous speeches. He has also said he will step in to protect Iran if necessary. Additionally, if you read between the lines or if you can escape the propaganda bubble, you’ll discover much of the griping in the Middle East is directed at Zionists, not Jews. They are different. Could it be that much more of the world than we know is actually against the NWO — or at least against the banksters promoting it?

Could it be that folks in Asia or Russia actually know what is going on and are taking action, while you and I and all the American peasants sit on our hands and look through the wrong end of the telescope? How embarrassing would that be?

Might our country ultimately be saved then, not by its flabby, selfish, ignorant and unmotivated citizens, but by an outside world that has decided to do what America will not—save itself. We, as a people, were given the Constitution, the stated right to confront tyranny and remove traitors, and yet, we fail again and again and again to use it. How else do you explain the freedom of Bush, Clinton, Obama, Boehner, McCain, Reid, Pelosi and every other political scoundrel, when we all know they really should be jailed for treason? Unfortunately, it seems the modern American would rather carry a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag than do some actual treading upon. Sadly, to the rest of the world, we probably look pretty foolish.

Even more bizarre, could America’s salvation from bankster and political corruption actually come from countries—China, Russia, Iran, etc. — that we have been indoctrinated to demonize? Could wonderland be this strange?

Nah.

Clearly, the bank contractions and layoffs are just a sign of tough times.

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It’s Inevitable…

Did you hear the food stamp presidency is confirmed? That’s right, crusaders, it is official.

A new report put out yesterday by the U.S. Census Bureau proves American households on food stamps increased in 2011 by about 10 percent over 2010.

But the good news isn’t just related to household participation.

Individual participation, a different statistic than household participation, has increased every year since Obama took office. The 33. 5 million participants during fiscal year 2009 jumped dramatically to 40. 3 million in 2010 and surged again to 44. 7 million participants in 2011. As of August 2012, there were 47. 1 million individual food stamp participants.

Can we expect it to improve?

Unless you’ve been hibernating, you know the “fiscal cliff” is looming. What you may not realize is that both parties—if you believe there are two parties—can actually benefit politically by allowing automatic tax hikes and spending cuts to occur. Think about it. What side can you blame if, because they can’t reach a deal, the tax hikes and spending cuts occur automatically? Perhaps you’ve heard select individuals from both sides floating this idea in the press.

Remember, too, Obama called off his EPA Army prior to the election to keep energy related headlines out of the papers. But don’t think for a second that Lisa Jackson wasn’t developing more regulations. When these are unrolled more plants will close and energy prices will increase. There are pending gasoline regulations that will raise the price at the pump, too. Obviously, these things will further extract money from your wallet.

And because the Federal Reserve continues to flood the economy with dollars, the little money you have left—after shelling out for gas, utilities, taxes and life—will be worth even less.

As you might expect, all this will make for a terrific 2013. And if you can successfully budget your way through all that, you get Obama-care in 2014.

So, as the peasants continue to get steam-rolled by an abusive and lawless federal government, the question of whether food stamp participation will rise becomes a rather silly one, yes?

The better question is: when will you be signing up?

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Mainstream Media And The Illusion Of Reality

Did you hear about the news clip CNN ran late last week? The footage, supplied by Reuters and picked up by CNN, was of a Palestinian man injured by recent missile strikes conducted by the Israelis. A crowd gathers around the injured man, lifts him and hauls him away.

Except it was a staged event.

And hopefully by now you know that the mainstream media (MSM) basically ignored the Benghazi story and the scandalous deaths of four Americans for over a month prior to the election. Perhaps you recall earlier this year when NBC got caught selectively editing the 911 emergency call during the Trayvon Martin circus.

Of course, this slice and dice game, the intentional manipulation of details, is nothing new. Thankfully, more and more Americans are learning the secrets and tactics of today’s media.

The fact is the establishment media is owned by just a handful of companies—Comcast (NBC); Newscorp (Fox, Wall Street Journal, NY Post); Disney (ABC, ESPN); Viacom (BET, MTV, Nick Jr); Time Warner (CNN, Time, HBO); CBS (60 Minutes, Showtime).

According to Businessinsider.com, that’s down from about 50 companies since the early 1980’s. As a result, virtually all the news you hear or see comes from these six sources. And Obama is supporting further contraction.

These companies decide not only what stories you will hear but how loud the message will be and when you will hear it. Worse, this “news” isn’t presented with objectivity, a critical element of genuine journalism. There is spin, opinion and rhetoric woven into the stories. And, as the CNN and NBC examples prove, important details are often intentionally fabricated or lifted out of stories to further persuade the American peasants into particular outlooks or opinions.

In today’s America, all our politicians and most major corporations and institutions work with media consultants, interact regularly with media big-shots or dedicate resources to maintain media departments. By the time any given message reaches you it has been evaluated, changed and polished at numerous editorial levels. Factors such as when the message is delivered and how often it will be repeated have been meticulously considered. In a very real sense, you are seeing and hearing exactly what they want you to see or hear, when they want you to hear or see it.

The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists. – J. Edgar Hoover

Even the most rabid news junkies, if they rely predominantly on the mainstream media, are actually still in the dark. These readers may possess incredible detail relating to any particular narrative but all that minutia is worthless if the story is a fabrication from the start. What good is it to know, for example, that protestors were outside the Benghazi consulate at 7:30 PM, if protestors were never really there at all?

That the media giants have moved from objective reporting into developing, shaping and managing public opinion is bad enough. But because politicians must have their support, the media has become an active participant in American politics. They are no longer watch dogs holding politicians accountable. At best they are cheerleaders rooting for one side or the other. At worst, they are actively engaged, intentionally slanting or editing details to help bring about victory. One can make the argument that the mainstream media has now won, or has been a significant factor in determining the winner, of the last two elections.

You can, with a high degree of confidence, call the mainstream media a propaganda press.

What can be done?

Well, if we want our country back, crusaders, the dismantling of the propaganda press is a fight we must win. Stop buying most of your newspapers and cancel most of your subscriptions. The propaganda press deserves neither your time nor your money. Stop watching or severely limit your exposure to network and cable news and the “morning” shows. MSNBC and CNN are struggling badly right now because viewership is down big time. Boycott the products of advertisers that use the propaganda press when you can. If you can let them know why you’re doing it, even better. Damage advertising dollars and you will force change.

Currently, the internet is our most valuable tool. The media (and their politicians) know this. Do not allow them to control it, for any reason — especially “national security.”

Use the web and expose yourself to “alternative” media and writers. Consider going beyond just reading. Help them do what they want to do — spread legitimate information. Assist them, if you can, with financial donations, or story leads or supporting materials.

You can introduce into your reading news from sources outside America. You will be surprised — and sometimes horrified — at what you will learn about your country from people who view America from outside our limited media bubble.

And most importantly, use your brain — think for yourself.

(For more ownership detail of television, print and telecommunications visit HERE.)

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Is There A Darker Side To The Patraeus Scandal?

The idea that retired General David Patraeus has been suddenly “caught” in an affair so scandalous it warrants his resignation is preposterous. Men and women of power and celebrity have entourages. They have groupies. A little bump and grind is one of the perks of power.

The guy is a retired career military man. He was the Director of the CIA. He was a man of power, a man with personal connections. He was a man with government resources at his disposal.  Do you actually believe this kind of man is going to resign because of an affair?

Behind the curtain, propagandists constantly use the “sex scandal” and “lone gunman” story to explain events. So predictable is this, it is laughable. That the American sheeple buy into these manufactured soap operas time and time again, is just sad.

What about Paula Broadwell? She is not just some freelance writer that landed a man of elite power for a biography. We know she is a West Point graduate. She has a master’s degree in international security. She has active-duty military experience. Have you seen her? She’s fit and ripped. She once considered joining the FBI. There’s little doubt she has an active role within the military or intelligence community.

And Jill Kelley, the “victim” of threatening emails, is more than a Florida socialite. She got an appointment as honorary Korean consul in Florida. It seems she regularly hobnobs within the Florida political circles.

And what about the other top dogs that have recently been put down? The casualty list includes Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette, US Army General Carter Ham, Brigadier General Jeffery A. Sinclair, and US Navy Commander Joseph E. Darlak. Did you know about them?

On October 27, ABCnews ran a story about Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette getting yanked off an aircraft carrier patrolling the waters of the Middle East due to an investigation regarding “inappropriate leadership judgment”. Conveniently, no other details were provided.

On October 31, the DOD issued a press release regarding General Ham’s departure. In it, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, felt compelled to say that “The speculation that General Carter Ham is departing Africa Command due to events in Benghazi, Libya, on [Sept. 11,] 2012 is absolutely false,” he said. “General Ham’s departure is part of routine succession planning that has been ongoing since July.”

And it was reported by CBS that on November 2, Commander Darlak was relieved of duty for throwing a big bash on his big boat.

Hearings began November 5, against Brigadier General Sinclair. RT.com ripped him up big time in a piece dated November 6, hinting he is a power-crazed sex fiend. In fact, so serious is this that the AP reported “Eugene R. Fidell of Yale Law School expects the case to lead to a reduction in rank and forced retirement for Sinclair.” Apparently, Sinclair’s fiendish sexual behavior is just too sick and twisted for a jail cell. No, it is much better to force his retirement and have him prowl the population.

So, we have a General close to Benghazi announce a “routine” retirement. We have a Rear Admiral patrolling waters in the Middle East removed for an “inappropriate leadership” investigation. We have a party animal that turned his ship into Animal House. We have a sex fiend and now we have Patraeus, the unfaithful husband. All unfolding within about six weeks.

Is all this just an unconnected series of events or is this an orchestrated purging?

Well, let’s think it through. What type of activity warrants the removal of a General, Admiral, Commander and a CIA Director?

A fight over entitlement policy at a White House dinner party? A fight is a good start. But you need to push yourself a little more. How about a fight over power and influence within the top levels of our government and military?

Now we’re getting somewhere.

And to whom do all these men answer? The Commander-in-Chief, of course, the supreme ruler himself.

So it seems President Obama may have purged some top military men and his CIA Director. But why?

Benghazi?

Perhaps. Four Americans are dead. Something went horribly wrong. There is talk of gun-running. There is also talk that the Benghazi annex was actually a CIA take and torture facility, pardon me, detain and question facility. There is also the story that Ambassador Stevens was killed accidentally during a false flag kidnapping. Obama was going to “rescue” the Ambassador in October to pump up Americans for their vote. Whatever the real story, Benghazi was scandalous. Is Obama, as a good guy, dumping Petraeus and the others — cleaning house, so to speak — because of ineptitude and incompetence? That story works. Obama lovers will buy into that.

The great thing is you can flip it, too. The administration has been ducking the issue for two months. Maybe the false flag kidnapping is closer to the truth. Perhaps Obama is the bad guy and it was his dreadful mistake(s) regarding Benghazi that led to the deaths and he feels to survive politically, he needs to purge the men that know the details. That story works. Obama detractors will buy into that.

Either scenario works, doesn’t it? Is it A or B?

And it is that choice, A or B, that is the best indicator that all this probably has very little to do with Benghazi.

It is the classic presentation of false choices. You’re dedicating your time trying to solve for A or B, but you forget that A and B were presented to you as your choices, so you do not explore option C. Or option D.

Shall we go there?

If Benghazi has nothing or very little to do with the purge, what else could be the spark? We know the combatants are Obama versus some military men. Could Obama’s power have been threatened? Could these military men have concluded that Obama’s unconstitutional ways and his lawless government have gone too far? Perhaps, as part of their oath to protect America, they were conspiring to remove Obama from power. But before they met with success Obama discovered the plot and the purge began. In short, was there an attempted coup d’état?

Outrageous? Not really. Do you actually think America is immune to the struggle over power? American presidents and elite political leaders — Lincoln, Garfield, JFK, King, Malcolm X, RFK and others — have been and will continue to be assassinated. And if you actually believe the absurd “lone gunman” scenarios the propaganda press slaps on each and every one of these assassinations, stop here and re-join the herd of sheeple at the barn because you are part of the problem. The destruction of political rivals is part of the power game.

Politics is just as dirty in America as any other country. It is probably worse given the country’s global stature. The only difference between the American political power struggle and those of other countries is that the media in America is a vast propaganda machine. It is an active player within the struggle for power.

Ultimately, a coup is just as credible a scenario as the “Benghazi purge” or the “series of random events” scenario. It is actually more credible if you admit to yourself the media is participating in the power struggle for America and therefore it has a vested interest in distorting details, spinning events and keeping you in the dark.

And by the way, you can flip this “topple Obama” scenario, too. What if Obama, Petraeus and the others are all actually on the same team? That would mean there is another team, somewhere within the military and intelligence community, that is initiating these scandals to try to bring them all down. If this is the case, then this team seems to be making progress.

Is the Petraeus scandal and the recent military purges the result of  Obama removing incompetent men? Or is Obama at fault and he is purging men with direct knowledge of his miss-steps? Is Benghazi, although a real event, being used as a side-show to hide Americans from the fact that there is a very serious and dangerous internal struggle for power occurring within their government? Or, as the media portray it, is the downfall of a General, Admiral, Commander and CIA Director just unrelated events that happen to occur within six weeks of each other?

Which scenario do you think Russia, China, Israel, Britain and the rest of the world believe?

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Obama Orders Institutionalized Private Sector Spying

As is his habit to avoid public outcry during the work week news cycle, on Friday, October 26, the supreme ruler signed another executive order giving Big Brother more authority to stick his nose into your life.

The Homeland Security Partnership Council will allow the Department of Homeland Security to infuse itself into local government and private enterprises thus creating a spy network that will allow snort and sniff behaviors within schools, community groups, local institutions and businesses.

The purpose of this order is to maximize the Federal Government’s ability to develop local partnerships in the United States to support homeland security priorities…to use resources more efficiently, build on one another’s expertise, drive innovation, engage in collective action, broaden investments to achieve shared goals.

In street language this means Homeland Security will use private sector expertise (sales and marketing databases, membership lists, security cameras, etc) to support “homeland security priorities” (spying on citizens) and will spend money (broaden investments) to do it. Note that the order actually states the phrase “engage in collective action.”

The idea that records from Amazon or Walmart, private clubs, banks, churches, hobby shops, schools, shopping mall stores and so on will now be tied into Homeland Security is creepy stuff.

And check out this nugget, “”[W]e must institutionalize an all-of-Nation effort to address the evolving threats to the United States,”

The government is going to institutionalize domestic spying using private sector resources. This should send a shiver down your spine. Think on it for a moment. How many discount cards do you or your spouse have? How many times do you provide your zip code, or phone number, or email address when you purchase something? And don’t forget all your financial transactions. All of it now in the hands of government.

There are no requirements for evidence, charges or warrants. They get your information simply because they declare they do. No matter how you slice it, monitoring phone calls and emails and compiling what, where and when a citizen buys something is not the role of a constitution-based government. This is serious stuff.

But it is not surprising.

Just this year, the government has passed a law that allows the supreme ruler to select citizens for detention or assassination. He must have this ability for “national defense”, don’t you know. In February, conducting protests too close to a government official or event (conveniently the distance isn’t defined) was outlawed.

In March, the supreme ruler signed an executive order giving himself the authority to take over all national resources (water, food, industry, etc.), again, as long as he says it is for “national defense.” And during the summer, Big Brother declared he could appoint more government officials without confirmation hearings. There are more examples but you get the point. It has been a good year for tyrannical government.

Big Brother is out of control, crusaders. Open your eyes. The police state is here, the clampdown is occurring. The question is when will you admit it to yourself?

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Dealing With The Post-Election Blues

The election loss hurt, yes? Many of you poured your heart and soul into it. Dedicating that much time and emotional commitment into something without getting a payoff is painful. I know of a conservative writer that was so emotionally devastated that she announced yesterday she is unplugging her keyboard and walking away. And just this morning, I received an email from a conservative blogger that has made a similar decision. His blog will go dormant as of today.

Clearly, Mitt Romney and the defeated Republican congressional candidates are not the only casualties of this fight.

Your frustration and sense of loss is understandable.

How can we have four years of 8% unemployment, three consecutive $1 trillion deficits, $6 trillion added to the national debt and the man in charge actually keeps his job? How can you have a majority of people claim they are against Obama-care yet the individual most responsible for it, gets re-elected? It is bewildering.

Even seasoned professionals were at a loss. Yesterday, a national conservative voice was lamenting we had lost our country.

And Sean Hannity promoted the idea that government is only a piece of your life therefore, deal with it and move on. The problem with that is Hannity has a nice six figure job. For the near future, regardless of who is president, he can still buy his steak, take his luxury vacations, keep his kids in private school and pay his mortgage. Many of us cannot.

Government is indeed only a part of everyone’s life. The problem is Big Brother is becoming a larger part of everyone’s lives and he is oppressive by nature. Four more years is a long time to worry about paychecks. And if the day arrives when Hannity is forced from the airwaves by a government that chokes off free speech, he has less to fear because he has accumulated his millions. Frankly, given his financial situation, he has a lot of nerve promoting the idea we should let this defeat roll off our shoulders. From a man that makes his very living from advertising dollars generated by our listening ears, the idea is as hypocritical as it is insulting. Yesterday, I was forced to turn him off.

But Hannity isn’t–and will not be–the only one calling for restraint. It is now, while you are exhausted and empty, when you can expect more attacks. A herd of RINOs, the Left and all manner of talking-head opportunists will try to re-sell the “anti-conservative” narrative. You have heard it before—that conservatives must re-think their positions or the tea party is too radical or it is destroying the Republican party and so and on. This is guaranteed. The propaganda press will see to it. But do not be fooled. It is a tactic. This is what they do. And Obama and the Democrats are likely to push some initiative or make a political play. You are an enemy and you are tired and vulnerable and they will try to turn the screws.

It is because these bugs will come out of the cracks that you know conservatives are on the right path. We are still a threat. Merely flip the coin, crusaders, and you will see the other side.

Yes, we lost the 2012 presidential election. But, we have not lost our country. That may happen but it did not occur Tuesday. Consider we had a “Massachusetts moderate” as our presidential candidate. Some will claim that establishment Republicans coordinated that — forced Romney upon us, so to speak. Perhaps. But it is irrelevant. And here is a critical point–we don’t have a conservative candidate ready yet. We are just three years-old. To think we could just insert a candidate into the presidential race is naive. A run at the presidency is the big time. And to be successful, certain requirements must be met.

First, a candidate must be identified and elected to office. This is not as easy as it sounds. Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock and other “tea party” candidates demonstrate this.

Once elected, they have to serve some time. Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and many others were not ready for the 2012 presidential race. Michelle Backmann and Rick Santorum went for it. Each had a few powerful moments but ultimately, most of you would agree, neither was ready. However, lots of these folks will be ready for 2016. Still, even after seasoning up a bit, these politicians must also want to run for president. Some do and some don’t. Developing a presidential candidate takes some time. But that doesn’t mean conservatives can’t throw their weight around while we wait.

And we have. As a candidate, Romney knew who was buttering his bread. He put on the conservative suit during the primaries. It just didn’t fit real well. Romney did his best so do not fault him. But a RINO or a moderate is not a conservative. Our language just doesn’t roll off their tongues in meaningful and persuasive ways. You can bet because of this some conservatives and libertarians stayed at home on election day. Unfortunately, when you’re playing a game for national power you need every single vote. And that brings us to the next point—our opponent.

Contrary to the ill-informed, Obama is no beginner. He may not have the career longevity of some of the ancient statues still in Washington, but he is no amateur. Team Obama is a political machine. They are politics every day, every hour and every minute. They play to win. You don’t get to the national level of power if you don’t play for keeps. Remember that Team Obama beat RINO McCain badly in the 2008 election and yet, our young movement almost bested them. Obama has an ego and no doubt, he felt secure going up against moderate Mitt representing a novice movement. One can argue this is the reason, or part of the reason, Obama failed to prepare for the first debate. But when he took a thumping, and our enthusiasm soared, Team Obama took notice. So, too, did the lame-stream media. And that is another consideration.

Our opponent in this election was helped considerably by the propaganda press. They wanted Obama to win and they acted that way. And like the two political parties, the media has been around a long time. They are veterans that know how to exploit every awkward comment or twist any vague concept. If you need proof, just ask Romney, Bachmann, Akin, Mourdock, Allen West and any other conservative what damage the bent and biased media can do. The media is also capable of hiding or spinning any events that hurt their candidate. Obama obviously benefited from this.

Yes, we lost. But not all is lost. The fact is, fighting against the bully pulpit and the Obama political machine and a heavily biased media is an uphill battle for the most seasoned politician. Our movement is only three years-old. We have had just two elections—2010 and 2012—and yet we have shaken Democrats and establishment Republicans to their core and we have rattled the pillars of power.

Yes, we lost this election. But just like Bunker Hill, Gettysburg and Normandy were all battles within a larger war, so too this election. The war we fight is the restoration of a constitutional America. Defeating Obama was one of many battles we will be required to fight. We are a young movement—enthusiastic and idealistic—and this loss hurts.

For now, step back if you need to, treat your wounds and re-charge your soul. Do not listen to the mocking from the Left. Disregard their teasing. Ignore any “advice” spewed forth by the propagandists about our political positions. Our tactics need a little improvement and our leaders need a little seasoning but our goal—a return to a constitutional America—is beyond reproach.

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Congratulations President Obama. So Now What?

  As of 11:45 pm, with Ohio called for the Obama-Biden ticket, while the states of Virginia, and Florida remain too close to call, President Obama has received 290 electoral votes and secured himself a second term in the White House.  For myself, as Editor-in-Chief of White House 2012, I am quite humbled and even embarrassed by the wide disparity in the projections which I presented, and the actual results.  And as an American I am disappointed.  I am disappointed by the fact that our nation will be hindered by a spender-in-chief who has done his best to change the American way instead of doing his best to preserve the American way.

Yet despite the disappointment and even the fear over another four years of Barack Obama, I remain cautiously optimistic that not even Barack Obama can destroy what it means to be an American.  This nation is greater than any one person and it is not defined by any one man.  So while I have lost some faith in the political process, I have not lost any faith in our nation.

Now it is up to President Obama to deal with the divisions in our nation… divisions which I firmly believe he has largely been responsible for.  His divide and conquer strategy of class warfare and his attempts to pit Americans against each other in order to win reelection, now puts him in the unenviable position of having to bridge the existing divide.  His inability to do so will make his victory a hollow one and the mission of his next four years as President impossible.

Not only does Barack Obama become the first President reelected with a smaller Electoral College vote than he was elected with, he also faces an an American electorate and Congress that is probably more divided than it has ever been since the Civil War.  After orchestrating one of the most divisive and empty campaigns in recent history, how he will pivot and try to create goodwill will be interesting.  And even more interesting will be how quickly he can do it because he  must work fast.  With a fiscal cliff only weeks away, true leadership is required.  His lack of leadership has brought us to this cliff and so far there is no indication that it will be able to avoid it.   But hope springs eternal.

So tonight I congratulate our President.  His campaign put together a brilliant ground game.  His Party increased its margins in the U.S. Senate.  And except for a loss of seats in the House of Representatives and possibly even the popular vote, he won and there is no denying it.  But did America win?  And what does his victory mean?  Will it mean more of the same that has gotten us into an economic crisis so severe that it is considered a national security threat?

I don’t know the answers to these questions but I do know that President Obama’s win tonight leaves us with more questions than answers and more uncertainty than certainty.

Romney Holding a Slim Lead in North Carolina: See Live Results

  North Carolina should not be this close for Romney but so far with 46 of 100 counties reporting, Romney is holding a 3.4% lead.  With losses in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, it will be tough for Romney to reach 270 electoral votes without North Carolina.  it looks like Romney will win North Carolina but it is way too close for comfort and an sign that Romney is underperforming.

Obama/Biden (DEM)		1,744,768	47.68%
Romney/Ryan (REP)		1,869,393	51.08%
Johnson/Gray (LIB)		35,617	0.97%
Write-in		9,816	0.27%

For updated results of the race in North Carolina click here

Current Electoral College Totals

1:06 am EST

Poll Closing Times and Guide To Watching Election Night

The following is a schedule of the times that polls close in each of the states and the District of Columbia. Keep in mind that many states are in between time zones. This means that polls in certain parts of these states close an hour earlier than in other portions of each state. However; the networks and their cable affiliates can not by law, officially call a state for any candidate until all the polls in that state have closed. The times indicated here reflect the time when all polling sites in each state have officially closed.

In addition to these closing times, White House 2012 offers a timeline which includes when each state will probably be projected for Governor Romney or President Obama and it also provides an estimated running total of the Electoral College vote that each candidate probably will have at the top and bottom of each hour.

Throughout the day, the networks will be conducting exit polls. By law they cannot reveal what the results of these polls are. However; once voting has stopped, the networks can start using these exit polls to make their projections. If there exit polls did not show a clear a winner in a state, that state may not be called right away. In this election, expect that to be the case in several states. The following timeline offers a prediction of approximately when each state will be called.

Of course there is a very good possibility that in several states, a combination of irregularities and extremely close vote totals could prohibit them from being projected for hours, days or even weeks. If the race is actually as close as we are being led to believe by the mainstream media in places like Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, and Ohio, it could be a long night. However, Wh12 believes that most states will be called promptly and that the longest delay we may see in the official projection of a state will be an hour or an hour and a half. And the two most likely states for such a delay are Ohio and Wisconsin, where the election could actually be as tight as predicted.

7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time:

At 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the first 6 states and 60 electoral votes in the presidential election could be called. Unless there is a surprise result in the works, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and South Carolina should quickly be called for Governor Romney, while Vermont is quickly called for President Obama. Media outlets probably will not be quick to call Virginia. That may not happen till some time around 8:00 pm. But if the official returns show Romney with a lead in certain key districts within Virginia and their exit polls showed similar trends throughout the state, Virginia could be called relatively quickly. If it is, expect it to be a very good sign of who will win the election. An early projection for one candidate or the other here would be a good sign that whoever won is running much stronger than expected, not just in Virginia but nationally as well.

Obama 3 / Romney 44+ (not including Virginia)

Possible Surprises:

If Virginia is called for Romney within a half an hour of 7:00, it would be a clear indication that the race in Virginia was not quite as close as some expected and a sign of just how inaccurate polling has been due to their use of 2008 turnout models, a decision which significantly underestimates Romney’s strength. It would also be a sure sign that Romney is probably doing far better nationally than most analysts thought possible.

7:30 pm Eastern Standard Time:

On the half hour, polls close in North Carolina, West Virginia and Ohio. Expect West Virginia to be called for Romney about one second after the polls close there. North Carolina may take a little longer. If it is called before 8:00 pm, that will be another sign of a strong night for Romney.

Obama 3 / Romney 49+ (not including Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio)

The Ohio Factor:

Based upon White House 2012’s analysis and projection, if Romney wins Ohio he is certain to win the election. If he does not win Ohio, Romney still has a good chance pulling a victory off. That said, unless exit polling from throughout the day indicates a much stronger than expected show of support for one candidate or the other, the networks are not likely to call Ohio for at least an hour.

If Ohio is called early for Obama, it could be a sign that Romney is underperforming. It would also indicate that Obama may be benefiting from a last minute surge that could possibly play out in other battleground states in the region, such as Iowa and Wisconsin.

If Ohio is called early for Romney, start playing Hail to the Chief for him. Not only would a quick call of Ohio for Romney mean that he is running much stronger than he was expected in Ohio but nationally as well. Furthermore, according to the White House 2012 analysis, President Obama can not win the Electoral College vote without Ohio in his column.

8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time:

At 8:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, the results of 17 states and 172 electoral votes are to be determined. The only surprises that could possibly occur within this set of poll closings exists in Florida, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.

Obama 99 / Romney 92+ (not including Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio)

Pennsylvania:

In Pennsylvania the surprise could be that it is not called for President Obama within a half hour of 8:00 pm. If it is not called for the President by 8:30 pm, it will be another sign that the election is much tighter than anticipated in a state that should be solidly behind the President, and that he is in trouble. While Pennsylvania should ultimately go for President Obama, in the small outside chance that it goes to Romney, the election will over and so is the presidency of Barack Obama. Given the certainty in how the bulk of other states are going, it is impossible for Barack Obama to reach the 270 electoral votes he needs to win reelection without Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes in his column.

New Hampshire:

New Hampshire is suppose to be close and while most polls give President Obama a slim lead there, White House 2012 is confident that these polls are over-estimating Democrat turnout by incorporating the 2008 turnout models into their 2012 polls. This is a main reason why WH12 believes Governor Romney will ultimately win New Hampshire. The only surprise here will be whether or not New Hampshire is called quickly for Romney. If Romney is having a better night than expected, New Hampshire will be called for him within 15 or 20 minutes. If President Obama happens to win New Hampshire, all this will actually mean is that Romney may not win with the electoral landslide that WH12 anticipates.

Florida:

Here again, an early call for either Romney or Obama will be quite telling. In addition to proving the race is not as close as we have been led to believe, if it goes to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney is in trouble. If it goes to Romney, the night is not over, but the fat lady will be warming her vocal chords up to offer a a final musical tribute the Obama years. The only real surprise in Florida will be whether or not it is called for Romney early. If Florida is called for Romney within a half hour of polls closing, consider that to be further indication of Romney outperforming expectations nationally and a good sign that he will be President-Elect before the night is over.

Late Call in North Carolina and Virginia:

During the 8 o’clock hour, if North Carolina and Virginia had not yet be called for Romney, they will be. If Florida, Ohio and New Hampshire still have not been projected for either candidate, late projections for Romney in Virginia and North Carolina would bring his total electoral vote count to 120. At this same point, President Obama will have 99 electoral votes.

Obama 99 / Romney 120+ (not counting Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio)

8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time:

No race here. Arkansas should be called for the Romney-Ryan ticket before the clock hits 8:31 pm.

Obama 99 / Romney 126+ (not counting Florida, New Hampshire and Ohio)

Late Calls from Ohio, New Hampshire

Somewhere between 8:30 and 9:00 pm, unless exit polls indicated that Romney was running much stronger than expected and the networks already called them, Ohio and New Hampshire should be projected for Romney.

That would leave us with;

Obama 99 / Romney 148+ (not counting Florida)

9:00 pm Eastern Standard Time:

**Romney declared the winner sometime during this hour**

13 states and 153 electoral votes will be determined during the 9 o’clock hour. 60 of them are likely to go to president Obama and at least 83 will be won by Mitt Romney.

Obama 159 / Romney 231 (not including Florida and Wisconsin)

Watch Out For Wisconsin and Michigan:

Both of these states have long been considered solid blue states for the Obama-Biden ticket but in the closing days of the campaign they have become much closer than Democrats had anticipated. White House 2012 believes Wisconsin will be won by Romney. The big surprise here is may be whether or not it is called for Romney quickly. A quick decision in Wisconsin for Romney’s will most likely mean that if he has not yet been declared the President-Elect, he will be within the hour. If Barack Obama wins Wisconsin this may only mean that Romney is not winning a landslide victory in the Electoral College, but he will still be on track to winning.

Michigan should not be much of a contest. While Romney may poll far better than most polls indicate, President Obama should still pull this state out in his favor. Again a late call of Michigan for him means the election is too close for comfort for President Obama and that a sign that he is underperforming nationally. A quick call of Michigan for President Obama simply means that Romney is still on target to reach the 270 votes he need to win the presidency. If Michigan happens to be called for Mitt Romney, he will officially become the President-Elect.

Late Call in Florida and Wisconsin Puts Romney Over the Top

Florida may not be called until some point during the 9 o’clock hour, probably towards the top of the hour. Exit polls may convince networks that his lead is strong enough to allow the networks to project Florida before 9:00 pm but if they haven’t they will now, and that will give Romney the 260 electors votes to the President’s 159.

At some point during this hour, Wisconsin will also be called. If it goes to Romney as WH12 projects, that will give Romney 270 electoral votes and make him the President-Elect.

Obama 159 / Romney 270

10:00 pm Eastern Standard Time:

Montana and Utah will be called quickly for Mitt Romney. Nevada and Iowa may take a little longer to but at some point during the 10 o’clock hour, expect all 4 states to go to Mitt and for Romney.

Obama 159 /Romney 291

11:00 pm Eastern Standard Time:

No surprises here and each state will be called quickly.

Obama 237 / Romney 298

12:00 am Eastern Standard Time

Alaska which Barack Obama has never been competitive in, goes for Romney and is called as soon as the polls close.

Obama 233 / Romney 305

First Exit Polls in Ohio Show It May Be Tough Going for Romney

Some of the first exit polls being released by Fox are showing that Romney is winning working class whites by 55% to President Obama’s 43%.

While  exit polls usually underestimate trends, if Romney was on a clear path to winning the Buckeye State’s 18 electoral votes, these numbers should be better for him.  These early figures are by no means conclusive but if anything they confirm that the race is close.  A clear sign that Romney was headed to a victory in Ohio would be that he was winning this demographic by at least 15%.  He is not far off that mark and as indicated previously, these numbers are probably understating Governor Romney’s lead with this demographic.  But so far, depending upon which side of the aisle you’re in. all signs are that the election may be too close for comfort for Republicans or Democrats.

Key Early Counties To Watch Tonight For Signs of How the Election Will Go

     If the election turns out to be as close as predicted in the battleground states, many states will not be called for one candidate or the other for hours.  In the case of one of the most critical swing states… Virginia, although polls close there at 7 pm EST, if exit polls from throughout the day and actual returns are very close, we may not know who won till maybe 10:30 pm … some 3 and a half hours after polls have closed.

But signs of who may ultimately win the presidential election can still be found by looking at the returns of several key counties in a handful of early states.  Here are some of the counties in the earliest state closings of the evening which typically act as electoral bellwethers, and what to look for to get an idea as to how things are shaping up for Romney and the President.

7 p.m. Eastern – VIRGINIA:

• Prince William County

2004: Bush 53–47     2008: Obama 58-42

Obama 93,386 to McCain 67,589

If Prince William County shows Mitt Romney trailing Barack Obama, Romney is in trouble.  If he trails the President by more than 2% here, he probably will have no chance of winning Virginia and he will probably be underperforming in many other battleground states.

• Loudoun County

Obama 54-46

Obama 74,607 to McCain 63,328

Romney needs to reverse these numbers if he is going to win Virginia.  If he can not trounce President Obama in Loudoun County, he can not win the presidential election.

7:30 p.m. Eastern – OHIO

These counties will help tell us if President Obama is underperforming. In order for President Obama to be on track to win Ohio, he must produce pluralities that are large enough to discount the pluralities that Mitt Romney will receive on other counties.  If the President is not beating Romney in these counties by  30% or more in Cuyahoga, 25% or more in Franklin and Lucas counties, and 5% or more in Hamilton County, than he is in trouble.

• Cuyahoga (Cleveland):

2004: Kerry 448,503 vs. Bush 221,600 (+226,903);

2008: Obama 458,422 vs. McCain 199,880 (+258,542) (69-30)

• Franklin (Columbus):

2004: Kerry 285,801 vs. Bush 237,253 (+48,548);

2008: Obama 334,709 vs. McCain 218,486 (+116,223) (59-40)

• Hamilton (Cincinnati):

2004: Bush 222,616 vs. Kerry 199,679 (+22,937); Bush 52.5 – 47

2008: Obama 225,213 vs. McCain 195,530 (+29,683) Obama 52-47

• Lucas (Toledo):

2004 Kerry 132,715 vs. Bush 87,160 (+45,555);

2008: Obama 142,852 vs. McCain 73,706 (+69,146) (65-34)

8 p.m. Eastern : FLORIDA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, PENNSYLVANIA

FLORIDA:

• Pinellas County

2004: Bush 49.6 – 49.5           2008: Obama 54 – 45

If Obama is to have any chance in Florida, he must come within at least 5 percentage points of Mitt Romney.  The President will not need to be ahead of Romney here, but if he can limit Romney’s lead in Pinellas County, the President will be underperforming and is not likely to see him defeat Romney in the final numbers.

• Hillsborough County

2004: Bush 53 – 46     2008: Obama 53 – 46

If he is to be competitive in The Sunshine State, Romney needs to produce at least a 5% plurality over the President in Hillsborough and that is cutting is close.  To really feel confident about which way Florida will go, Romney should optimally lead Obama by as much as 8%.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

• Hillsborough County

2004: Bush 51 – 48     2008: Obama 51 – 48

If we get news that Romney or Obama are leading the other by 3% or more here, it may not be an accurate measure of national trends and the final popular vote but it will certainly be a sign of which way New Hampshire will go.

PENNSYLVANIA:

• Chester County

2004: Bush 52 – 47.5  2008: Obama 54 – 45

Romney needs to take Chester County by 7% or more if he is to win Pennsylvania.  Anything less than that will make the race too close to call and likely a win for President Obama.

• Bucks County (Philly Suburbs, north)

Obama 54-45

178,345 to 149,860

If Romney has any chance to win Pennsylvania, he needs to win Bucks County or hold President Obama to a 4% lead or less.

• Delaware County (immediately southwest of Philly city)

Obama 60-38

170,949 to 109,766

President Obama will be in trouble if he does not win Delaware County by at least 55%.

• Montgomery County (northwest of Philly)

Obama 60-39

249,493 to 163,030

If President Obama does not see at least a 10% lead over Mitt Romney here, than the race in Pa will be too close for comfort for him.

• Westmoreland County (Pittsburgh suburbs)

McCain 58-42

96,786 to 69,004

Romney needs to win this County by 15% or more to be in the running for Pennsylvania’s electoral votes.

For a detailed look at signs to look for on election night and poll closing times, visit White House 2012’s Election Night Guide

Below the poll closing times you will find a White House 2012 timeline which includes when each state will probably be projected for Governor Romney or President Obama and it also provides an estimated running total of the Electoral College that each candidate probably will have at the top and bottom of each hour.

The Moment: Mitt Romney’s Closing Message… See the video

    This election is about something bigger than ourselves. This is our time to choose our nation’s future. With Mitt Romney’s leadership, America will come roaring back.  (See the video below)

That is one of the closing messages Mitt Romney is offering on this final day of campaigning in the 2012 presidential election.  It is a message of optimism and hope that offers a stark contrast to President Obama’s closing message of blame and “revenge”

In 2008, Barack Obama sold most American’s on his promise of hope and change but four years later, most voters have seen that President Obama does not have a positive, optimistic vision for America.  His vision is a nation divided by class, envy, and blame.  And despite the evidence of the fact that Barack Obama’s blank checks and handouts have been doing more harm than good, his entire presidential campaign promised four more years of the same failed policies.

That is not the American way.  Americans do not stay down and they do not sustain failure.  They learn from their mistakes, and correct the wrongs of our past in order to create a better future.

That better future is not possible with four more years of a President who seeks to change the American way and to enact policies that create more problems than they solve.

Voting for Barack Obama is like praying for Hurricane Sandy to swing around and hit the East Coast again.  So the choice is clear, do you want a nation that remains under water, or do we want to take the high road and support a presidential ticket that seeks to preserve the American way, not destroy it.

Obama and Romney Tied In First Returns Out Of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire

    As is the tradition, the people of this isolated village in the Northeast corner of New Hampshire provide us with the first Election Day returns as they gather at their polling place in the The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel and cast their votes just after midnight.  And as if on cue, the voters of the small unincorporated, Coos County village saw 5 ballots cast for Barack Obama and 5 for Mitt Romney.  it was the first time in the Notch’s history that neither major Party candidate received a plurailty.

In 2008, the voters of Dixville Notch gave then Senator Barack Obama an overwhelming victory over Republican presidential nominee John McCain.  Back then Obama received 15 votes to McCain’s 6.  This time around, the tie vote seemed to only confirm everyone’s worst nightmare about this year’s presidential election being extremely close.

While Dixville Notch’s early returns are seen as about as reliable an indicator of the national election results as Punxsutawney Phil is of an accurate weather forecast, the historic tie gave anxious Americans little reason to expect an early decision in the presidential election on Tuesday night.

As intriguing as the vote total may be, what I find even more interesting is the fact that since 2008, the population of Dixville Notch has been reduced by more than half the size it was in 2008.

By law, no polling place can announce results until 100% of the registered voters have had the opportunity to cast their ballots.  So by mutual accord, all voters in Dixville Notch agree to show up and vote at midnight so thet election officials can be certain that every eligible voter has cast their ballots.  So we know that there was a 100% voter turnout in town.  Which leads me to my question which is, what happened to the other 11  people who voted in 2008?  Did the Obama economy wipe out more than half the population of that town?

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President Romney: Candy Crowley’s Freudian Slip

  Candy Crowley is known for jumping the gun on her conclusions.  In the presidential debate she moderated she even took sides as she interjected herself in to the debate by claiming President Obama did call the attack in Benghazi an act of terrorism, even though he didn’t.  But today, on her Sunday morning CNN talk show, Crowley accidentally let slip the phrase “President Romney”.  Crowley quickly corrected herself but before backtracking, did she let the cat out of the bag making with a slip of the tongue that used a phrase she was subconsciously thinking about an accidentally substituted for the title that she meant to give Governor Romney?  Probably not, but it was good practice for Crowley who in less than 48 hours, will have to get use to saying “President-Elect Romney”.

The Pennsylvania Pivot: Closeness of Race in PA Proves President Obama is in Trouble

While many polls and the members of the media reading them have led us to believe that this Tuesday’s presidential election is going to be one of the closest in history, what we are witnessing is probably the most misleading narrative since the Chicago Daily Tribune got caught touting the headline “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” even though the results were actually the other way around.

Back in 1948, the tables were reversed though.  As that election approached, Newsweek polled 50 key political journalists on which candidate they thought would win.  That October 11^th  issue of  Newsweek reported that all 50 of those journalist covering the election believed Dewey would win.

On Election Day, the polls indicated that President Truman had cut in to Dewey’s lead significantly.  Still though,  most all media sources continued to believe that second time Republican presidential nominee, New York Governor  Thomas Dewey, would win by a landslide.   Then came election night.

As results poured in, despite  the fact that Truman was ahead in the popular vote, broadcast journalists were still convinced that Governor Dewey was going to win the presidency in the Electoral College. It wasn’t until 4:00 am the next morning that Truman’s victory became an undeniable conclusion.  Then at 10:14 am, Governor Dewey conceded the election to President Truman.

64 years later a similar surprise is in the works and no place is that more evident than in Pennsylvania.

While White House 2012 continues to project that Barack Obama will ultimately win the Keystone State, the race in Pennsylvania is proving to be increasingly close.  A few weeks ago, Pennsylvania was not in play.  As was the case with much of  of the rest of the Northeast, Pennsylvania was so solidly behind the President  that neither President Obama that neither he nor Mitt Romney spent much time or money on campaigning in the state.  But ever since the first presidential debate, an undeniable tide started sweeping the nation.  For Barack Obama it is a receding tide that is sweeping his reelection hopes out to sea.  For Mitt Romney it’s a rising tide that is lifting his electoral boat high on the seas as a gentle breeze fills his sails and propels him to victory.  That tide is so high that now only hours before Election Day, the once dark blue state of Pennsylvania is purple with increasing flashes of red showing through.

Still, the Obama campaign would like us to believe that this is not true.  Instead they would rather we ignore the fact that a little more than a month ago President Obama held practically a ten pont percent lead over Mitt Romney but now, two days before the election, that lead is anywhere from 4 percentage points to non-existent as some polls have the race a tie in Pennsylvania.  To help convince us that this disappearance of the President’s lead is not real, Obama surrogates are calling Romney’s recent decision to campaign  in Pennsylvania an act of desperation.  Chief Obama strategist David Axelrod claims that it is a last ditch attempt by Romney to find electoral votes in Pennsylvania because he get find them in places like Ohio, Florida, or Virginia.

Other Obama surrogates claim that Romney’s campaign activity in Pennsylvania is all a head fake designed to force President Obama to waste time and money in a state in Pennsylvania instead of a state like Iowa or Wisconsin or Colorado.

Either way the Obama-Biden ticket wants to paint Romney’s new focus on Pennsylvania, they’re wrong.  If they were right, Mitt Romney would not be investing money in a new ad buy there and he would not be spending valuable and increasingly rare time campaigning there.  And if the Obama-Biden ticket was so sure that they were winning Pennsylvania, they would not be increasing their own ad buys in the state and they would not be have the campaign’s chief surrogate, former President Bill Clinton, making 4 campaign stops in Pennsylvania on the day before the election.

The truth is that Mitt Romney is not trying to get Pennsylvania’s electoral votes because he needs to make up for his inability to get them from other states.  He is campaigning in Pennsylvania because the polls show that his electoral map has expanded and that the opportunity to win more states have increased.  At the same time, just the opposite has occurred for President Obama.  In fact, President Obama’s shrinking electoral map has made Pennsylvania one of three state’s that he cannot win reelection without.

The other two must wins for the Obama-Biden ticket are Ohio and Michigan.

As shown in the chart below, White House 2012’s election projection finds that based upon the likely results in other states, President Obama has only 3 paths to victory and each of those 3 combinations requires winning Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan.

Unfortunately for the President, as Election Day approaches not only is he finding himself having to fight for Pennsylvania, he continues to see himself in a tight race in Ohio and in Michigan, the third state that is a must win for him, the Obama-Biden ticket is also seeing the race tighten up.

So despite claims to contrary by Team Obama, the pivot to Pennsylvania in the closing days of the election reflects a real shift in the election.  Mitt Romney is still unlikely to win the state, but the mere fact that President Obama is threatened there means that he is in trouble.  It also means that just as was the case in 1948, the potential for some big surprises in the form of an electoral landslide for Romney that few others aside from Dick Morris, Michael Barone, and White House 2012, have predicted.

NY Daily News Endorsement of Romney is a Clear Sign that Obama’s Base Has Eroded

   “The presidential imperative of the times is to energize the economy and get  deficits under control to empower the working and middle classes to again enjoy  the fruits of an ascendant America. So The News is compelled to stand with Romney.”

   And with that, the traditionally liberal oriented Daily News which endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, endorsed Mitt Romney for President in 2012.

The endorsement is probably meaningless in terms of its effect on the final result in the election, especially the expected result in New York City which The Daily News covers. Few if any committed voters in the New York tri-state area will be changing their minds based upon this endorsement.  First of all, millions of people in this area are homeless, or without power and busy throwing their belongings in to garbage bags and dragging them to the curb as they try to salvage their flooded homes.  So many of them are not seeing or hearing about the endorsement and those that might, probably won’t be convinced to change their minds because of it.   But while the endorsement may not make a difference, it is still an important verdict.    It is further evidence of a national sentiment which is not being accurately measured in most state and national polls.

Polls which are basing their results on the 2008 turnout models are giving President Obama an overwhelming and undue edge by assuming that voters are as excited by and as enthusiastic with Barack Obama as they were in 2008.  That model does not accurately gauge the sentiments of voters who four years later are disappointed by Barack Obama and as seen in the opinion of the liberal editorial board of the Daily News, that disappointment even exists among the President’s base.

Ultimately, an incumbent can not run away from their record.  President Obama has done his very best to run away and hide from it, but like his own shadow, he has not been able to distance himself from it.  And it is that record which The Daily News based its decision on.

The Daily News dedicated more than half of their editorial outlining the failures in President Obama’s record, including his two centerpiece legislative agenda items… the economic stimulus packages and Obamacare.  And when it comes to the promised hope and change that Barack Obama rode to victory in 2008, The Daily News points out that very little changed and hope under Barack Obama has become a distant memory.  This point is made most apparent in their describing the process that Obama used to pass healthcare reform as a partisan mess.

The Daily News put it this way;

“R.I.P. and never to be resurrected — Obama’s promised bipartisanship.”

Meanwhile, the editorial board of the News did not base their decision entirely upon a desire to vote against Barack Obama.  In their editrorial they offered numerous reasons to vote for Mitt Romney.  They write;

“Critically, he has tailored his policies to create jobs, jobs, jobs.

The centerpieces of Romney’s plan call for spending restraint and rewriting  the Internal Revenue code to lower rates by 20%. He would make up much of the  lost revenue by eliminating deductions and loopholes that have made the tax  system a thicket of strangling complexities. On its own, paring the personal and  corporate rules to the basics would catalyze business and consumer spending.”

The endorsement goes on to praise Romney for his energy plan, Medicare proposals, immigration strategy.  In other words, even The Daily News sees Romney as candidate solid enough to vote for and not as a protest vote against Barack Obama.

No, the Daily News endorsement won’t change the minds of many voters and possibly not even any voters at all.  But with two days to go till the election, it doesn’t matter.  As demonstrated by the liberal Daily News, even the President’s base is finding it hard to honestly say that the last four years have been a success and they finding it even harder to say that another four years of the same will be any more succesful.   Most moderates, independents, Libertarians, Republicans and conservative have known that for quite some time now.  But it is becoming more and more obvious that even many Democrats and liberals are accepting that.  Such is not a recipe for victory for Barack Obama.  It is a winning formula for Mitt Romney

The polls are not picking up on those conclusions.  Instead the liberal hacks and leftist manipulators of numbers like Nate Silver over a the New York Times are trying to convince us that Mitt Romney has about an only 20% chance of winning.  If they truly believe that, than they are far less intelligent than I have until now known liberals to be.

More realistic indications of the national sentiment are reflected by those like Michael Barone, one of the most prominent and less partisan political analysts in the nation.  Barone projects a Romney win in the Electoral College with 315 electoral votes.   White House 2012’s own projection is close to Barone’s, with two exceptions.  While Barone projects Romney will take Pennsylvania and lose Nevada, White House 2012 believes Romney will take Nevada but lose Pennsylvania.  We will defer to Barone’s expertise on the issue but a more likely outcome is that the Romney-Ryan ticket will win neither Pennsylvania or Nevada.  But fear not.  Such a result would still produce a Romney victory in the Electoral College with 295 electors. Of course if this is the landslide that both Michael Barone and White House believe we are headed towards, Governor Romney could win both and seal the deal with a 321 to 217 Electoral College win.

Either way, the writing is on the wall.  The momentum remains behind Mitt Romney in these closing days of the campaign and as President Obama continues to wreak of desperation on the campaign trail, a cool and confident Mitt Romney is seeming more and more and presidential on the campaign trail as he continues to win over over undecided voters and energize his base.

So while The Daily News endorsement of Mitt Romney will not change the outcome of the election, it confirms that there exists a negative sentiment of President Obama that has even spilled over to liberal partisans who despite trying quite hard to find any excuse to support their ideological standardbearer, can’t find any.