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And Here’s Mitt Romney – The “Ideal” Teapartier

Mitt Romney is the ultimate politician, although he will be the first to tell you that he “lived his life in the private sector.” I call him the ultimate politician because he has mastered the hustle of knowing his audience and pandering to them to get their vote. And like it is for any politician, votes are the number one priority, so telling your audience what they want to hear is a sure way to get them to nod in your direction.

Well – now he’s catering to the Teaparty. Speaking in South Carolina on Saturday, Romney told the audience (some were teaparty members) that he is the “ideal” teaparty candidate, as he tried to cast doubt on the Teaparty’s present favorite candidate, Newt Gingrich.

“I recognize that the speaker has a big lead here,” Romney said of Gingrich in a press conference in South Carolina. “But I think as people take a closer and closer look, they’ll recognize that I reflect more effectively the positions which they hold on key issues.

“I think Tea Partiers may have listened to the first debate where we discussed the speaker’s compensation from Freddie Mac, for instance. And he said, I think he said that he got $300,000 from Freddie Mac and it was to work as an historian. And as time has gone on we find out it’s $1.6 million and he worked as a spokesman for, in providing support for Freddie Mac,” Romney said. “I think as tea partiers concentrate on that for instance, they’ll say, wow, this really isn’t the guy that would represent our views.”

The tea party, Romney said, is “anxious to have people who are outside Washington coming in to change Washington, as opposed to people who stayed in Washington for 30 years.”

“And I believe on the issues, as well, that I line up with a smaller government, a less intrusive government, regulations being pared back, holding down the tax rates of the American people, maintaining a strong defense, and so many Tea Party folks are going to find me, I believe to be the ideal candidate,” Romney said. “I sure hope so.”

Because of his constant drive to be accepted by all political factions and and his inability to stick to any one position, Romney has gained the status of flip flopper: skilled in the art of moving from one policy to another at the drop of a hat.

Imagine for a moment, a Romney administration making the dreaded announcement that America will go to war with Iran. Most assuredly by the next week, while the troops are in the air flying to drop the first bombs, Romney decides that war may not be the answer to Iran afterall, only to change his mind once again the following week.

Leadership…not!

S And P On A Downgrade Rampage

On Friday, the rating agency, S&P downgraded the United States credit from AAA to AA+. A move the agency claims was necessary because of the constant political battles fought in Washington by the two political parties. Then today, S&P added even more to their downgrade list. CBS reports;

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Monday downgraded the credit ratings of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt.

The agency also lowered the ratings for: farm lenders; long-term U.S. government-backed debt issued by 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses, which are used to execute trades of stocks, bonds and options.

All the downgrades were from AAA to AA+. S&P says the agencies and banks all have debt that is exposed to economic volatility and a further downgrade of long-term U.S. debt. Their creditworthiness hinges on the U.S. government’s ability to pay its own creditors.

Ten of the country’s 12 Federal Home Loan Banks also were downgraded from AAA to AA+. The banks of Chicago and Seattle had already been downgraded earlier to AA+.

After receiving the first downgrade in the history of the nation, the politicians joined together and attacked S&P for its decision. On the Sunday talk shows, the suggestion was made that S&P should not be trusted, because of their long history of misleading information. Politicians also criticized S&P for what they called, a “$2 trillion mistake,” in the agency’s math when they decided to downgrade America’s credit to AA+ status.

But regardless of what the talking points are in Washington, and the criticism of S&P, one thing the agency said is correct, and reflects the unfortunate nature in Washington. S&P called out the parties involved and criticized their failure to compromise, as the main force responsible for their downgrade decision.