While international affairs has not been one of the chief hallmarks of either his presidential bid in 2008 or the efforts he has been making to run for the Republican presidential nomination again in 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took aim at one of President Barack Obamas major foreign initiatives.
In an op-ed released Friday, Romney argued that the Obama teams efforts to pass the START treaty on a fast track were misguided and that more consideration and review would lead to the treaty going down in defeat This week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once again said that her current office would be her last political position. Asked about her future plans during a trip to Bahrain, Clinton said that she did not expect to be a presidential candidate down the road and would probably return to advocating for children and women when she left office Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is crossing the country promoting his new Christmas book, making appearances in California. He said he was considering making another run at the Republican presidential nomination
Missouri is always one of the battleground states in each presidential election and John McCain beat Obama there in 2008 by the skin of his teeth. A new poll released on Thursday by Public Policy Polling, a firm with ties to the Democrats,showed Obama could be in trouble there. The poll had Huckabee beating Obama in Missouri, 49 percent to 42 percent; Romney led Obama 47 to 41. Other Republican candidates did not do so well -- former U.S House Speaker Newt Gingrich led 45to 44 percent and Obama beat former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,46 percent to 43 percent No surprise on this one but PPP found that Obama was crushing all of the possible Republican candidates in Massachusetts. That includes Romney who trailed Obama by 9 percent. Obama routed the rest of the field, beating Huckabee, Palin and Gingrich by more than 20 points Having made three previous bids for the presidency, former Ambassador Alan Keyes could be thinking about launching a fourth. Keyes took aim at Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana in a column published on Friday, accusing the two possible Republican presidential candidates of wanting to call a truce on the culture war
National conservatives continue to talk up the possible presidential bid of U.S. Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana. In recent days, Pence has received warm words of encouragement from conservative favorite U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and former presidential hopeful Gary Bauer Gingrich will be heading to a key primary state for the holidays. The Spartanburg County Republican Party in South Carolinas upcountry will be hosting Christmas with Newt on Dec. 16 ... Conservative New Hampshire activist Ovide Lamontagne, who came close to winning the Republican U.S. Senate nomination earlier in the year, will continue to be active in politics. He is forming the Granite Oath PAC and promises to be active in the New Hampshire primary. First up: a fund-raising event for former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania which is scheduled for January 2011. Santorum has been one of the more active possible presidential candidates, hitting New Hampshire and South Carolina seven times each
Another week, another book by a presidential candidate coming soon to stores near you. Keep an eye out for The Courage to Stand: An American Journey by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty who has his eye on the 2012 Republican nomination. The book comes out in January. Pawlenty was helped by Mark Dagostino, who served as a ghost-writer to pen My Life Outside the Ring by professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan Is former New York Gov. George Pataki going to make a bid for the White House? Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who is close to Pataki, is saying that Pataki, who passed on running for the White House before, isin for 2012 ... Former Libertarian Party Vice Chairman Lee Wrights is seriously considering a bid for his partys nomination. Wrights has assembled the nucleus of a campaign team including veterans of a number of Libertarian campaigns in Texas, North Carolina and Illinois.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
