Did you see the frenetic diatribe from V.P. Joe Biden in prized swing state Ohio the other day? Going into almost Howard Dean scream mode, Biden worked himself into a lather making up stuff on how Republicans, the rich, and Mitt Romney don’t think the middle class “dreams” about becoming millionaires or president of the United States.

Seriously.

Drama Joe:

At a campaign stop in Youngstown, Ohio, today, Vice President Joe Biden lit into Republicans and their presumed presidential nominee Mitt Romney for what he described as a failure to understand the plight of the middle class.

“I resent when they talk about families like mine that I grew up in. I resent the fact that they think we’re talking about envy: it’s job envy, it’s wealthy envy; that we don’t dream,” an impassioned Biden told a crowd of manufacturing workers.

“My mother believed and my father believed that if I wanted to be president of the United States, that I could be, I could be vice president! My mother and father believed that if my brother or sister wanted to be a millionaire, they could be a millionaire! My mother and father dreamed as much as any rich guy dreams!

“They don’t get us! They don’t get who we are!” he yelled before the crowd, drawing loud applause.

Biden was referring broadly to Republican criticism of the administration’s push for higher taxes on wealthier Americans and expanded investment in federal programs aimed at boosting low- to middle-income families.

What a crock.

Biden was so into his theatrics while yelling he didn’t even notice a fly landing on his head.

Last night, FOX News’ Bill O’Reilly jumped all over Biden’s rant. He asked what the beef is from the Obama administration:

O’Reilly – “Bottom line: This is all a bunch of garbage. The class warfare the Obama administration is peddling is bogus.”

Vice President Joe Biden's private water-front residence sits on four and a half acres in Wilmington, Delaware.

● Like a laser, Mitt Romney keeps steering the political conversation back to what Americans want to know. Today, Romney for President has released a positive new television ad titled “Day One.” The ad will air in four key battleground states: Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia.

Mitt Romney has outlined a bold agenda to spur economic growth and create jobs. On his first day in office, he will approve the Keystone pipeline, introduce pro-growth tax reforms, and repeal Obamacare.

Day One (See Spanish version here.):

Mitt Romney has a vision for America. It is an America driven by a growing middle class. An America that lets free enterprise work. An America where education, hard work, and living within our means are valued and rewarded.

We can restore America’s greatness — beginning on day one with President Romney. Let’s make that vision a reality.

Seeing our Vice President resort to purple face class warfare to hawk Obama’s trillion and a half dollars per year deficit-socialist-beg-China spending and obfuscating Obama’s utter economic failure is another jolting reminder. America – time to break into a run… in a different direction.

Biden and Barack must go.

Help Governor Romney turn America around by donating here.

› Jayde Wyatt

◆

Today Bret Baier’s fourth installment of veep series Running With Romney aired on FOX News. Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) was the topic:

McDonnell joined America’s Newsroom this morning to weigh in on the visit. “We’re excited,” he said. “[Romney’s] talking about jobs and energy, and I want to be there to help him.”
[...]
He added that the only thing he can do is help the voters see who should be the president, because 30 to 35 percent of the Independent voters in Virginia will determine the outcome of the election.

McDonnell plans to help Romney in the next six months by talking about jobs, energy and taking care of America’s veterans.

“Mitt Romney is the guy to do it,” he said. “If we don’t convince people that he’s the best one for jobs with an 8.2 percent unemployment rate and debt reduction with a $15 trillion debt, we’re not going to have a stronger country going forward. So, that’s the role that I’m playing right now.”

(emphasis added)

Part 4- VA Governor Bob McDonnell

Previously aired segments:

Part 1 – Sen. Marco Rubio

Part 2 – Sen. Rob Portman

Part 3 – Congressman Paul Ryan

► Jayde Wyatt

MittRomney.com has set up a way for voters in all 10 of the Super Tuesday states to pledge that they will vote for Mitt on Tuesday. Send these links to voters in their respective states.

Oklahoma: http://mittromney.com/forms/oklahoma-pledge-vote

Tennessee: http://mittromney.com/forms/tennessee-pledge-vote

Virginia: http://mittromney.com/forms/virginia-pledge-vote

Vermont: http://mittromney.com/forms/vermont-pledge-vote

Alaska: http://mittromney.com/forms/alaska-pledge-vote-mitt

Idaho: http://mittromney.com/forms/idaho-pledge-caucus-mitt

Massachusetts: http://mittromney.com/forms/massachusetts-pledge-vote

North Dakota: http://mittromney.com/forms/north-dakota-pledge-caucus-mitt

Georgia: http://mittromney.com/forms/georgia-pledge-vote

Ohio: http://mittromney.com/forms/ohio-pledge-vote

Did Mitt just get another endorsement? Read more…

Well, the final results aren’t final yet . . . but it’s clear that Romney won this important swing state’s caucus, and won it big. (Update . . . Romney did get just over 50%, but the entrance poll results have just been revised this morning, so much of what you see quoted below is somewhat off from what the linked poll says NOW. Sorry, I’m not going back and re-calculating things at this point).

He’s got 43% of the vote with 43% of precincts reporting, but the results of Clark County (Las Vegas) as not coming in as fast as expected. Don’t fret though Romney fans, Mitt will win a majority of the votes and I’m guessing he’ll be somewhere between 52-55% of the total vote when all is said and done. If things track as closely as they are in the entrance polls, Clark County should go for Mitt by over 60% (and they’ve nailed the non-Clark County…rest of NV…percentage at 43%, exactly how the real results have turned out)

Debunking the “Romney won Nevada because of the Mormon factor” myth:

Yes, Mitt dominated among LDS voters with 90% choosing Romney, BUT (and it’s a very big “but”), EVEN IF NOT A SINGLE MORMON WENT TO VOTE, ROMNEY WOULD HAVE WON THE STATE WITH A 42%-26% margin over Gingrich.  Romney won Catholics 52%-19% over Newt and “White Evangelical/Born Again” by a solid margin of 46%-26% over the former Speaker.

Debunking the “See, the poor won’t vote for Romney” myth:

On CNN’s coverage tonight, the anchors/pundits seemed to be getting as much mileage as possible out of the fact that the only economic demographic that Romney did NOT win was those that make $30,000 or less (which were only 10% of the voters in NV last night).  They were trying to tie this to Romney’s “I’m not concerned about the very poor” comment and even went on to conclude that this “underscores the fact that blue-collar workers, who you can’t win without their support, do not see that this is a guy that will fight for them.”  SERIOUSLY?!?!?  I realize that these pundits aren’t statisticians, but it’s pretty straightforward to figure out why he didn’t win this demographic.  First off, he hardly “lost” this demographic.  Paul and Newt both got 31%, and Mitt got 30%, a virtual 3 way tie for first.  Secondly, the age of the voter is VERY determinative of income when looking at your youngest age group especially.  Voters aged 18-29 were only 8% of the vote (quite similar to the 10% in that income of $30K or less), and Paul won that group 40% to 39% over Romney.  Paul has been wining the young college-aged voters in almost every state . . . it’s his base and he’s definitely turning out this group of folks that do not typically vote in a GOP primary.  Good for Paul. But these college kids are a HUGE portion of the “makes less than $30,000 year” group, and I don’t think anyone would consider college kids “the very poor,” they are just in a temporary low-income stage of their lives.

“Strong Moral Character;” Mitt good, Newt Very Very Bad:

In perhaps the most revealing entrance poll finding, those that felt a candidate having “Strong Moral Character” was their number one trait they sought in a President, Mitt got 54% of the vote … Newt got 1% of those voters.  No, that is not a typo, ONE PERCENT (Paul got 32% and Santorum got 13%).  Looks like Nevada voters are pretty good judges of character, eh?  THIS IS WHY YOU’RE LOSING NEWT!! YOU BLAME MITT FOR YOUR LAGGING VOTE TALLIES, BUT YOU NEED TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR BUDDY!

Debunking the “Strong Conservatives and Tea Party voters don’t like Romney” myth:

Like New Hampshire and Florida, Romney, once again, won self-identified conservatives and supporters of the Tea Party in Nevada.  This time though, he won A MAJORITY of these groups.  Romney beat Newt 54%-21% among conservative voters and 50%-23% among Tea Party supporters.  Yet I still see pundit after pundit say that Romney still has a lot of work to do to appeal to conservatives (while they “obviously” love Newt).  CAN THEY NOT READ A POLL?!?  Among “very conservative” voters he Mitt still won 49%-24% over Newt, and even beat him 39%-30% among those “strongly supportive of Tea Party.”  Some narratives are hard to kill, but when a state in the Northeast (NH), Southeast (FL), and West (NV) all show Romney winning conservatives and Tea Party supporters I think it’s proof positive against that media meme. The real take-away/new-media-narrative should be that Newt has work to do to appeal to as many conservatives as Romney has been.

Odds and Ends:

The Economy was the number one (even by a majority) issue on voters minds, and Romney carried these voters by 62%.  By an even larger margin, the candidate quality of “Can Defeat Obama” was number one, and Romney absolutely dominated here with 73% of the vote.  WOW!  ”Right Experience” was the top quality to only 15% of voters, but Romney cleaned up here too with 55% (Rick Santorum pulled in a whopping 1% here).   Romney also continues to dominate the Suburbs winning with 69% there; historically this is a key demographic for winning a general election.

Turnout Issue:

Newt and some liberals keeps saying that Mitt’s trying to suppress turnout in order to win.  When we look at the field compared to 2008, however, I don’t think it’s any surprise that turnout is lower.  Last time around there was much more diversity, and much more famous personalities in the field.  You had a Pro-Choice candidate with strong personal appeal/popularity in Rudy Giuliani, War Hero John McCain, popular actor Fred Thompson, and folksy former pastor Mike Huckabee in addition to Mitt and Paul all in the race this far into the process.  Substituting character-challenged Gingrich and personality/experience-challenged Rick Santorum in place of Giuliani, McCain, Thompson, and Huckabee is beyond even comparing apples and oranges. They all had more money and organization that either Newt or Rick too and that is how turnout is driven. Like all of Newt’s complaints/excuses, this one rings hollow as well.

CONGRATS MITT AND NEVADA!! ANOTHER GREAT WIN FOR ROMNEY!!

Newt Gingrich is petulant that his poll numbers are plummeting due to his record being vetted via political ads in Iowa. He admitted today that it took him two weeks to “get his legs” under him to respond… (Turtle appendages?)

It’s becoming a habit for Gingrich to lash out by swinging a weapon most conservatives loathe – the class warfare axe. The former ethics-sanctioned Speaker of the House is repeating the line that Mitt Romney would “buy the election if he could.”

Yesterday, while stumping in Atlantic, Iowa, Governor Romney responded:

Mitt Romney Denies Gingrich Claim That He’d ‘Buy the Election’
Jan 1, 2012 5:50pm

ATLANTIC, Iowa — Mitt Romney today pushed back on claims launched by Newt Gingrich accusing him of wanting to “buy the election” if he could, saying that this election is being driven not by money, but by message.

“Let’s see, Speaker Gingrich I think announced that he raised 10 million this quarter and he ought to be proud of that. We’re working hard to raise funds as well. This is an election, however, that’s not being driven by money raised — it’s being driven by message, connection with the voters, debate and experience,” Romney said during a press conference at the Family Table diner in western Iowa.

“I think that those are the features that are driving the campaign so far and I think they probably will be through the entire process,” he said.

(emphasis added)

A reminder…

Mitt Romney and wife, Ann, donated $1 million to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games and Romney donated to charity his salary for three years of headaches and labor as President and CEO.

Romney generously did not take a salary for four years of work serving as Governor of Massachusetts.

What was Gingrich doing during that time?

Taking $1.6 million lobbying for Freddie Mac.

During the months leading up to the 2010 mid-term elections, Romney fervently worked to end the Obama domination in Congress. It’s hard to put a price on the hours Romney was gone from home and the miles he traveled criss-crossing the nation (flying coach) to stump for GOP candidates. His Free and Strong America PAC also gave generous donations to many conservative hopefuls.

Romney is a doer.

What was Gingrich doing leading up to that time?

Sitting on a couch with Nancy Pelosi.

Yakking.

Gingrich pontificated from time to time as a FOX News contributor and hawked his wares/ideas. Even though he wasn’t tied to a 9-5 job, I guess we should give him a pass for not putting forth much effort to help candidates during mid-terms. After all, he did have the arduous responsibility of scouring the jewelry cases at Tiffany’s.

There is also the little matter of Newt relaxing on a two-week cruise in the Greek Isles shortly after announcing his presidential candidacy – a development that prompted his campaign manager and half a dozen senior advisers to throw in the towel.

Gingrich is now crying “Pearl Harbor!” because he didn’t put in the planning and hard work to get his name on the Virginia ballot.

And, don’t forget – it was just a couple of weeks ago that Gingrich slammed Romney for his private-sector work at Bain Capital creating tens of thousands of jobs for Americans.

Class warfare? A cheap, leftist swipe.

Buy an election? No, Newt.

Romney is earning it.

Voters in Le Mars, Iowa, flock to meet Mitt Romney on his final campaign ahead of the caucuses. Dec 31, 2011 (Photo by Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

Here’s video of Mitt and Ann speaking in Atlantic, Iowa yesterday:

UPDATE on VA Atty Gen Ken Cuccinelli’s ballot legislation: NO GO

Read more…

While Newt Gingrich considers joining Rick Perry’s lawsuit against the Virginia GOP to be allowed on the VA ballot or to be allowed write-ins (because they failed to qualify), Mitt Romney’s attention to details and organization allows him to move full steam ahead in the Old Dominion State:

Mitt Romney Announces Virginia Leadership Team
Dec 29, 2011

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today announced additional members of his Virginia leadership team. The additional members join Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Delegate Chris Peace, and Delegate Barbara Comstock as members of Mitt Romney’s leadership team.

“Virginia is one of the most business friendly states in America and these Virginia leaders understand we have to make jobs our number one domestic policy priority,” said Mitt Romney. “The Virginia Founding Fathers understood the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation and I am pleased these Virginia leaders are standing with me to bring the common sense of our Founders back to the nation’s Capital. I am committed to getting our economy moving again and creating jobs across the country. With the help of my hardworking leadership team, Virginia can be a leader in our nation’s economic recovery.”

Click on VA map to enlarge.

Announcing additional members of Mitt Romney’s Virginia leadership team, Romney for President Virginia Chairman and Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling said, “The team Mitt Romney has assembled in Virginia has been working hard to spread his pro-growth message, reaching out to voters and laying the groundwork for victory in November. These additional members of our team will strengthen our efforts in the state. Virginians expect our next president to reverse the failed policies of Barack Obama and enact policies that will get our economy growing again. Mitt Romney has demonstrated throughout this campaign that he understands how the real economy works, and he has put forth a detailed plan to create jobs. That’s the kind of leadership our nation desperately needs, and we are proud to support him.”

(emphasis added)

Romney’s Virginia Campaign Chairs:

State Chairman Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
State Co-Chair Delegate Chris Peace
State Co-Chair Delegate Barbara Comstock
State Co-Chair Delegate Tag Greason
State Co-Chair Delegate Dave Albo
State Co-Chair Delegate Jackson Miller
State Co-Chair Delegate John Cosgrove
State Co-Chair Delegate-elect Mark Dudenhefer

Romney’s Virginia Steering Committee:

Tom Foley – 1st Congressional District Chairman
Jack Wilson – 4th Congressional District Chairman
Linwood Cobb – 7th Congressional District Chairman
Mike Ginsberg – 8th Congressional District Chairman
David O’Kelley – 2nd Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Jane Ladd – 3rd Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Bill Flanagan – 4th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Wayne Ozmore – 4th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Dolores Switzer – 5th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Fred Anderson – 6th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Marie Quinn – 7th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Adam Tolbert – 9th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative
Brian Plum – Republican Party of Virginia Treasurer
Brandy Dyke – State Central Committee Representative
Anna Lee – State Central Committee Representative

Now, that’s organization!

After putting this article together yesterday, I learned that Atty Gen Ken Cuccinelli intends to introduce emergency legislation in Virginia that would allow Gingrich and Perry to get their names on the VA ballot.

It’s very revealing that two men who are running for the highest office in the land, who bloviate about their ‘supposed’ excellent qualifications, couldn’t get their acts together to follow the rules to qualify for the ballot in Virginia. In Gingrich’s case – this is the state he resides in, for Pete’s sake! And, the Gingrich campaign likened Newt’s failure to qualify to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, no less:

Newt Gingrich’s campaign director said the presidential candidate is viewing the setback in Virginia, in which he failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the state’s primary, as an “unexpected setback” similar to the attack on Pearl Harbor. .

“Newt and I agreed that the analogy is December 1941,” campaign director Michael Krull wrote on the Gingrich Facebook page

Now, that’s zany.

These are telling clues voters should pay attention to. A candidate who uses soaring rhetoric or knows historical facts doesn’t mean they have the knowledge, organization, and discipline to implement results.

The 2012 presidential election is too important to take a chance on a candidate who is unorganized, misses important details, and is unable to follow through.

Mitt Romney has the right vision for America and the knowledge, experience, organization, and follow through to move our nation away from Obamafail toward ‘shining-city-on-the-hill’ success.

At least for now…

Cartoon by Bob Gorrell, Dec 27, 2011.

► Jayde Wyatt

We’ll kick off the week with news from The Old Dominion State…

Could a Romney endorsement from Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell be in the near future?

Mitt Romney will be joining his friends Gov McDonnell and Lt. Gov Bill Bolling this Wednesday (Oct 26th) to help thank Fairfax GOP volunteers supporting VA legislative races. Voters will be choosing all 140 General assembly members next month, as well as several municipal/school board races.

A media availability session is also scheduled with McDonnell and Bolling:

“It helps [Romney] to attach himself to a very popular Governor such as Bob McDonnell, who might be considered for a vice presidential nomination next year,” says George Mason University Public Policy Professor Mark Rozell.

Rozell says it’s also good for McDonnell.

“Bob McDonnell has been more clear than most of the usually cited names about his availability to be a vice presidential nominee” says Rozell.

“It’s no surprise to me that he’s attaching himself to Mitt Romney on this trip to Virginia right now,” he adds.

The appearance also comes a week after a swing through the state by President Obama. Rozell says both trips emphasize how important Virginia may be in next year’s election.

A spokesman for the Governor says McDonnell will not make any endorsement in the Presidential race until after the statewide elections in Virginia next month.

But the spokesman says, “the Governor knows Romney very well and greatly respects his success in the private and public sectors and the positive campaign he is running.”

(emphasis added )

When McDonnell was running for governor, Romney backed him with money and shoe leather. He did the same for Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and Attorney General hopeful Ken Cuccinelli. Here’s a look back at Romney stumping for McDonnell on October 28, 2010, along with Bolling and Cuccinelli (the day after Obama was in Virginia campaigning for McDonnell’s rival, Creigh Deeds):

As you know, all three candidates were elected last November. Now, Lt. Gov Bill Bolling serves as Romney’s campaign chairman in Virginia.

Click here to listen to high praise from Bolling as he speaks with radio host Scott Lee about Gov Romney on a recent podcast (Oct 22, 2011 – discussion on Romney begins @ 5:29).

“I will tell you personally, frankly, on a personal level, I’ve gotten to know Governor Romney pretty well over the last four years. He’s one of the finest men, one of the finest people I’ve ever met in my life. And, I think having someone like that – that you know and trust – in that awesome position of responsibility [president of United States] means a lot.”

“I’ve known a lot of people in politics over the years and I will tell you, I’ve not known anyone that I admire and respect more than I do Governor Romney. I have absolute confidence in his ability to lead the nation and do it effectively.” – VA Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling, Romney Campaign Chairman, Virginia

► Jayde Wyatt