Name Party Votes Vote % Romney , Mitt GOP 992,288 69% Paul , Ron GOP 171,830 12% Santorum , Rick GOP 114,560 8% Gingrich , Newt GOP 67,643 5% Uncommitted GOP 61,071 4% Bachmann , Michele GOP 12,299 1% Huntsman , Jon GOP 9,501 1% Roemer , Buddy GOP 4,689 0% Davis , John GOP 4,672 0%

Name Party Votes Vote % Obama , Barack (i) Dem 516,491 88% Wolfe , John Dem 29,459 5% Richardson , Darcy Dem 25,028 4% Ely , Bob Dem 14,176 2%

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/#ixzz1wMoaOhNG

Supporters of Barack Obama point to the overall jobless rate and its slow decline to argue that his economic policies have worked, and just need more time to bring back widespread prosperity.  Opponents point to U-6 numbers and the actual number of net jobs created in his term (hint: less than zero) to argue that Obamanomics has been a failure.  Who has the better argument?  Consider a new analysis from the Washington Post, which shows just how bad the jobs situation has been all along:

The proportion of Americans in their prime working years who have jobs is smaller than it has been at any time in the 23 years before the recession, according to federal statistics, reflecting the profound and lasting effects that the downturn has had on the nation’s economic prospects.

By this measure, the jobs situation has improved little in recent years. The percentage of workers between the ages of 25 and 54 who have jobs now stands at 75.7 percent, just a percentage point over what it was at the downturn’s worst, according to federal statistics.

Before the recession the proportion hovered at 80 percent.

This captures the “missing workers” phenomenon, which the topline jobless rate ignores, and shows how poorly this recovery has performed.  Even if one counts from the beginning of the recovery rather than from the beginning of Obama’s term, we have added 3.087 million private-sector jobs in the last 34 months, for an average of 90,079 jobs added per month — too low to keep up with population growth, which adds around 120,000 workforce-eligible adults each month.  We aren’t even really treading water but falling behind slightly over that period.

As Peter Whoriskey hints, this has significant long-term implications for the American economy and policy, emphasis mine:

During their prime years, Americans are supposed to be building careers and wealth to prepare for their retirement. Instead, as the indicator reveals, huge numbers are on the sidelines. …

The falloff has been sharpest for men, for whom the proportion had been on a slow decline before the recession. The percentage of prime-age men who are working is smaller now than it has been in any time before the recession, going all the way back to 1948, according to federal statistics. The proportion of prime-age [working] women is at a low not seen since 1988.

What happens when this lost generation hits retirement age?  They will not have acquired the wealth needed to retire; some of them might not have acquired the experience needed to support themselves as senior citizens in jobs, either.  We will be facing either a public-assistance bomb or a generation that spent half of its time dependent on their parents and the other half dependent on their children.  Likely it will be a mix of both.

Obamanomics is not working.  The mix of economic and regulatory policy of this administration has been toxic to job creation.  It’s time for a new direction.

Who’s buying the notion that Barack Obama is a fiscal conservative who’s engineered the slowest spending growth since Calvin Coolidge?  Not the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, who gave the argument three Pinocchios in a fact-check yesterday, and not the Associated Press, either.  In a fact-check of their own this morning, the AP’s Andrew Taylor reports that Obama’s “rosy claim” has a lot of problems — with Obama being first and foremost among them:

There’s also the question of how to treat the 2009 fiscal year, which actually began Oct. 1, 2008, almost four months before Obama took office. Typically, the remaining eight months get counted as part of the prior president’s spending since the incoming president usually doesn’t change it much until the following October. The MarketWatch analysis assigned 2009 to former President George W. Bush, though it gave Obama responsibility that year for a $140 million chunk of the 2009 stimulus bill.

But Obama’s role in 2009 spending was much bigger than that. For starters, he signed nine spending bills funding every Cabinet agency except Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. While the numbers don’t jibe exactly, Obama bears the chief responsibility for an 11 percent, $59 billion increase in non-defense spending in 2009. Then there’s a 9 percent, $109 billion increase in combined defense and non-defense appropriated outlays in 2010, a year for which Obama is wholly responsible.

So what’s the real picture?  Spending sharply increased under Obama, and the rate only slowed down due to the influence of a Republican-controlled House:

If one assumes that TARP and the takeover of Fannie and Freddie by the government as one-time budgetary anomalies and remove them from calculations — an approach taken by Holtz-Eakin — you get the following picture:

—A 9.7 percent increase in 2009, much of which is attributable to Obama.

—A 7.8 percent increase in 2010, followed by slower spending growth over 2011-13. Much of the slower growth reflects the influence of Republicans retaking control of the House and their budget and debt deal last summer with Obama. All told, government spending now appears to be growing at an annual rate of roughly 3 percent over the 2010-2013 period, rather than the 0.4 percent claimed by Obama and the MarketWatch analysis.

The argument was always absurd on its face.  The last fully Republican budget was FY2007, which came in at $2.77 trillion.  The last Bush/Democrat budget was FY2008, which was $2.982 trillion.  The FY2009 budget, which Obama signed into law and which was passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress, was $3.517 trillion with a $1.4 trillion deficit.  That’s a year-on-year increase of nearly 18%, and those numbers come straight from the White House website.  If you prefer the figures in percentage of GDP, as Kessler noted yesterday, we went from 20.8% of GDP in FY2008 to 25.2% in FY2009, which is an increase of 22% year on year.

Nor does it get any better.  Using FY2008 as the baseline comparison, FY2010′s budget was $3.456 trillion, an increase of 15.88% over the last Bush/Democrat budget.  FY2011′s $3.603 trillion budget was a 20.8% increase, and FY2012′s projected $3.795 trillion (the White House projection, mind you) is an increase of 27.26% over the last Bush budget — in just four budget years.  An argument that this is a demonstration of fiscal discipline would have to come straight out of the pages of George Orwell’s 1984.

President Obama Job Approval

Coming up June 12th, but you can help NOW!

• Past Troopathon events have raised over $3.6 million for our troops. Last year, Troopathon raised over $500,000 but we’d like to break that total this year!
• Care Packages sponsored through Troopathon are the easiest way to donate to the troops. No running to the store, no confusing customs forms and postal regulations. Simply donate with your credit card and MAF’s team of dedicated volunteers will send the care packages on your behalf. It’s alsotax-deductible!
• Each care package includes a special note written by the donor expressing their appreciation for the sacrifice our troops make. Packages can be sponsored for as low as $25 for a single serviceman, up to $1,000 for a Battalion Pack which will serve up to 60 soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen.
• Troopathon happens on July 12, 2012 at 1PM Pacific time, 4PM Eastern live from the Army Depot in Sacramento, CA. You can view on www.troopathon.org. If you miss the 8 hour broadcast you can still find videos and information on the website right now, leading up to, and after the show.

We’re proud of the success we’ve had in fighting to make America an even greater nation. Unlike those who constantly criticize our great nation and our military men and women, we see a future where freedom and liberty create endless opportunities for Americans and our friends and allies in a more secure world.

I know it's a little late, but well worth it.

The San Francisco Tea Party went to the Redwood City fundraiser for the President's re-election effort. Tickets for the little people started at $38,000 dollars. Enjoy these photos from Jack Wallace, a KSFO listener.

The Fisher Houseis built and staffed specifically for the families of our service members and veterans to stay while their children, spouses or parents are undergoing surgical procedures or working through rehabilitation programs.

Currently, the hospital is unable to supply rooms for families on a guaranteed basis. With the cost of hotel rooms averaging close to $110.00 per night, plus the car rental fee and meals, the majority of families who live outside of the Bay Area are unable to afford to stay with their loved ones through this most difficult time.

Since the VAPAHCS Fisher House opened in April 2006, more than 1,100 families have stayed there free of charge.  The average visit is 22 days, but many families reside there for six months to a year.  One young wife with two small children has been there for eight months.  Her husband, an Army sergeant, lost both legs and was severely brain injured by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq.  When he arrived at the VA in Palo Alto, he was still in a coma. Now he is talking and actively participating in physical and speech therapies.  Because of the Fisher House, his wife and children could stay with him throughout his arduous road to recovery.

Our Fisher House occupancy rate is on average 98 percent. We often need to house guests in nearby hotels because it is full.  Fortunately, we have donated funds that help families pay their hotel bills and offset some of their commuting costs.  However, the Fisher House is much, much more than just a free place to stay.  It also serves as a haven for many of the families.

The wife of an injured Marine, just 21 years old, was eight months pregnant with their first baby when her husband was badly injured in Iraq.  She arrived at Palo Alto knowing no one, but that didn’t last long.  The other families at the Fisher House literally adopted her.  VA ensured she had prenatal health care at Stanford Hospital, where she also delivered her baby.  After her delivery she said, “I had so much attention, there was never a time I was sad or lonely.  I wish everyone could have had the kind of family I had at the Fisher House.  I felt so loved.”

There has been an extraordinary outpouring of support to the Fisher House from the community. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Safeway, Medicore and Target and organizations like the local Rotary Clubs, VFW and Blue Star Moms have given donations of food, money and presents to the families, not only during the holiday season, but also throughout the year.  Many guests come here with very little other than a devotion to their loved one’s recovery.

Alan Armstrong, who works at the Fisher House, says that families frequently express that the Fisher House is a “true blessing.”  The families are appreciative on so many levels.  They can make home-cooked meals for their loved ones.  When the injured service members become ambulatory, they come to the Fisher House and get relief from the hospital atmosphere.  The families talk to each other and offer support that only someone in a similar situation can do.  It even helps them to focus on another’s problems – distracting them from some of their own burdens for a time.

The houseguests have compared the VAPAHCS Fisher House to a 5-star hotel.  “I’ve heard it again and again and again.  From the standpoint of craftsmanship, décor and friendliness, people are just incredibly impressed,” said Mr. Armstrong.  “One of the mothers recently said, ‘I have never stayed in a hotel this nice.  I’ve seen pictures, but never been in one.’” In addition to the quality, of equal importance is the unique sense of comfort and genuine care from the staff and other families at the house; something you would not find in a 5-star hotel.

Another group who are thankful for the VAPAHCS Fisher House is VA staff, particularly our nurses and social workers.  Prior to the Fisher House, staff constantly struggled over how to help these families in need.  Our Hometel was only a partial solution and not one at all for families with children.  The Fisher House has taken a huge burden off of our staff, allowing them to focus all their attention on their patients.  The fact that a nurse on our Spinal Cord Injury Unit made the first donation of $5,000 to build the Fisher House, says a lot about the need. 

Three fundraisers for the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama last night in the Bay Area.

....we don't know if THIS had anything to do with the President's visit, but...

A fighter jet was making low circles around San Francisco's Ferry Building and Embarcadero Center last night.

All the President's men (and women) were in place for face-time - if they could afford the 38 grand for ticket in Atherton.
Later, the President motorcaded to the Fox Theatre for a "people's" visit which cost a mere $4,000.

But the area was filled with Tea Party protestors, too. although you wouldn't know it from the pathetic coverage by the San Francisco Chronicle:

"...Scores of protesters, most of them good-natured, greeted Obama in Redwood City. Among the signs: "The war on drugs is the war on the people," and "Hey Obama, don't deport my mama."

But James Lee, from Occupy Redwood City, came to protest because, he said, "we're most concerned with the amount of money being spent here."

"It should be the people out here who are inside with Obama," Lee said, "not just the people who have the money to be with him."

 

49

 

Sarah Rice / Special to The Chronicle

President Obama greets the crowd after landing at Moffett Field in Mountain View to begin his whirlwind Bay Area fundraising tour with a $38,500-per-person dinner in Woodside.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/23/MNC51OMH6H.DTL#ixzz1vndzGy4g

resident Obama Denounces GOP ‘Wild Debts’: I’m Not an Over-Spender

Mark Zuckerberg's Wife
The SIMPLE
Ruby Wedding Ring

If Mark Zuckerberg's new wife was expecting a MASSIVE diamond on her wedding ring... she was SORELY disappointed.

Just days after the surprise wedding of the century, Priscilla Chan-Zuckerberg took her brand new ruby rock on the road... flashing her piece during a lunch date with a friend in Palo Alto, CA yesterday.

According to reports, the $20 BILLION Facebook honcho -- who has a reputation for not caring about excessive displays of wealth -- designed the ring himself.

It's unclear how much the ring cost... hopefully not much... 'cause his Facebook stock has been sinking like Natalie Wood ever since it debuted on Friday.

• 

  Couch Surfing For Fido

• 

  Conservative Teen Threatened

• 

  Sugar Eats Away Brain Power?

My friend Katie Green has suffered a loss today..and so has the country.

HERO OF THE WEEK - DON GREEN

Tuesday May 22, 2012 - We remember Katie Green's Granddaddy, Don Green, a true hero. He passed away yesterday afternoon at age 96.

Read more...

ANNALS OF THE ONE PERCENT: Obama Bundler Corzine Snagged $8.4 Million in Year Before MF Global Collapse.

Likely response: “But … but … Bain!”

CURL: Hillary Clinton will be the 2012 veep candidate

Campaigns are not won on attack ads alone.  A candidate for any office has to roll out a positive vision of their agenda, even when running against a failing incumbent.  Alternately, a campaign can do a little of both in the same spot, and that’s what Team Romney tries to do in the new ad rolling out today, “Day One”:

You want positive?  The tone of the spot is upbeat, optimistic, and colorful, and it spells out Romney’s priorities for his presidency — jobs, the economy, energy, and more jobs.  Competitive? The spot hits Obama on every point: approving the Keystone pipeline, reversing Obama’s policies on taxes and spending, and most importantly, replacing Obmacare with something that works without blowing up an already-disastrous entitlement overhang.  It’s a smart, well-produced ad that challengers can run more effectively than incumbents in any cycle.  Don’t forget that Barack Obama ran on similar Day One promises in 2008, made effective by essentially running against George Bush more than John McCain, including closing Gitmo and imposing bars on lobbyists serving in his administration.  How did those Day One promises turn out? Er ….

I’m sure we’ll see a similar ad in this cycle from Team Obama eventually, although it might be difficult to put an upbeat, positive spin on continuing the status quo while depicting it as a change.  That’s the tough part of running for a second term.

 The Vetting - An Exclusive - Breitbart.com

Who needs government, even for road maintenance?

This happened in Maui, Hawaii:

“Anyone still wondering how their tax dollars are going to be wasted, here is your answer: $4 million for a job that private business can do for free in 8 days. Government contractors are already drooling after the insane profits they will be making off of overpriced stimulus deals.”

How?  “So Slack, other business owners and residents made the decision not to sit on their hands and wait for state money that many expected would never come. Instead, they pulled together machinery and manpower and hit the ground running March 23. Watch the volunteers repairing the road »

And after only eight days, all of the repairs were done, Pleas said. It was a shockingly quick fix to a problem that may have taken much longer if they waited for state money to funnel in.”

Government said it was a two year project costing tens of millions—average citizens did it for $4 million in eight days.  Now you know how much money government wastes.  Want to find waste?  Look for the union label.

ON LOVITZ: People are calling me a Nazi for thinking I already pay my fair share of taxes.

Feds Got $439M in 2011 Bonuses

• 

• Database of federal workers' salaries shows many received huge bonuses, while senior executives have six-figure paychecks.

• VIDEO: Claims of Big Bonuses for Federal Workers
• Senate Democrats Reject House Budget Plan
• Auto Union Slams Obama Budget as 'Attack on Middle Class'

President Obama tops Republican Mitt Romney in a head-to-head matchup, according to the latest Fox News poll, which finds American voters feeling more positive about the economy.

Obama would have an advantage of 46 percent to 39 percent over Romney, if the election were held today. Three weeks ago the candidates were tied at 46 percent each.

The national poll, released Wednesday, shows the president’s lead is just outside the poll’s margin of sampling error.

Click for the full poll results

About a third of voters say they are “extremely” interested in the election. Among just that group, Romney tops Obama by 50 percent to 44 percent.

Overall, each candidate’s party support is strong: Most Democrats back Obama (88 percent) and most Republicans support Romney (84 percent).

Among independents, 34 percent back Romney, 29 percent support Obama and more than a third are undecided or say they won’t vote (36 percent). Last month, independents broke for Romney by 46 percent to 33 percent.

From Rasmussen Reports...

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Mitt Romney earning 47% of the vote and President Obama attracting 46% support. Four percent (4%) would vote for a third party candidate, while another four percent (4%) are undecided.

Matchup results are updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). See tracking history.

In the key swing state of North Carolina,Romney has opened an eight-point lead over the president. In a recent radio update for the WOR Radio Network, Scott Rasmussen points out that for now the national polls matter more than Electoral College guessing games.

Nationally, 51% of voters trust Romney more than Obama when it comes to handling the economy.  But voters still trust their own economic judgment over either candidate’s.

Fifty-three percent (53%) believe the federal government has done a poor job regulating the financial industry. In fact, by a 2-to-1 margin, Americans believe that more competition and less regulation are better for the financial system than more regulation and less competition. As Scott Rasmussen notes in another radio update, Americans want accountability more than regulation. If  JP Morgan loses big, Americans want to make sure the right people pay the price. And they want to be sure that the nation’s taxpayers are not stuck with the tab.

David Keene: Romney Supporters Targeted by Obama Politicos.

Easy, Obamanistas.

Two can play this game.

One of the BIGGEST Whistleblower Stories Yet!!!

Wednesday May 16, 2012 - Thank you to our listeners who blew the whistle on this. You MUST watch this video report. Words don't describe this.

Read more...

WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Remember when Occupy Wall Street was sweeping the nation? “The media branded it the left’s answer to the Tea Party, the start of a grand national mobilization; depending on who you ask, half of America once supported the OWS protestors, double the amount who back the Tea Party. The Huffington Post even launched a separate page devoted entirely to coverage of OWS. How the mighty have fallen. . . . OWS has essentially fallen apart. It is not a significant presence on the streets; it is not a significant presence in Democratic Party politics; it is not a significant presence in the national conversation.”

OWS was never mighty. It was always a bubble full of media hot air, and it collapsed when its actual behavior damaged it to the point that even the media’s best effots couldn’t keep it inflated, at which point the press started pretending it had never existed. . . .

via Instapundit

If a left-wing president were to lose the New York Times, there would be good reason for him and his operatives to flip out. President Obama hasn’t lost the New York Times; he has merely “lost” a new poll by CBS/New York Times taken five months before the election. It shows him trailing Mitt Romney 46-43, and trailing among women by 46-44. And he hasn’t “lost” that poll in any strong sense; Romney’s lead is within the margin of error

Apparently, though, this “setback” was enough to cause the hyper-sensitive Obama operation to lash out at the Times. According to a campaign spokesperson, the poll used a “biased sample.” The sample was biased, according to Team Obama, because the Times had used the same sample in April. That, of course, wouldn’t make the sample biased. Politico reports, however, that according to the Obama camp, the group surveyed in April had produced an “outlier” result in which Romney led its man.

Team Obama’s complaints are without merit and border on the ridiculous. First, the April CBS/New York Times poll showed Romney and Obama in a dead-heat; Romney was not ahead. And this finding was not out of line with other polls. Fox also showed a dead-heat. Quinnipiac had Obama up by 4 points, NBC/Wall Street Journal by 6, and CNN by 9. But Gallup had Romney ahead by 5 points and Rasmussen had him up by 3. Thus, nothing in the April results suggested that CBS/New York Times should not re-poll the group that showed the candidates tied.

Second, there is nothing wrong with re-polling the same people. In fact, doing so can be useful in seeing how a major event (here Obama’s flip-flop in gay marriage) has affected the race. As a Times spokesperson patiently explained:

Um, not so good, according to the newest polling numbers.

via Instapundit

#NARRATIVEFAIL: CBS Poll Shows Romney Leading Among Women. If you look at the full results, it’s Romney 44, Obama 42 among women. What’s more, that’s a big improvement for Romney since last month, when it was Obama 49, Romney 43. So apparently this whole “War Against Women” narrative hasn’t played too well for them. . . .

From the LIBERAL New York Times/CBS News poll today.

NYT/CBS poll: Romney 46, Obama 43

254 Comments »

Oh my.

Star Trek geeks like me are thrilled to read this news today: Progress In Quantum Teleportation. “Since 1997, researchers have been able to quantum teleport photons with a major record being set by researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China in Shanghai. In 2010, that team successfully teleported a photon over 16km. Now that same team has released new findings, in which they claim to have teleported photons nearly 100km, or over 60 miles.”

Newsweek finally goes where none have gone before

May 13, 2012 4:31 PM by Jazz Shaw

484 Comments »

Shark jumped. Bridges burned. Bread toasted.

Jeremiah Wright claims Obama ally offered $150,000 bribe in 2008 to shut up

148 Comments »

That didn't take long.

Washington Post Romney Hit Piece Implodes

50-State Tax Friendliness Survey

The Kauffman Foundation and Thumbtack.com have released United States Small Business Friendliness. Here is the Tax Friendliness map:

Have you seen the movie "Atlas Shrugged"? It was amazing, thought-provoking, and stimulating.

The story, writen by Ayn Rand, the libertarian icon, is about a powerful Railroad executive and her struggles to help her business survive while society crumbles around her.

My friend Matthew Marsden plays her brother James Taggart.

Now there is an fabulous opportunity to join the cast as an extra in the new film "Atlas Shrugged 2" Instructions below. Please tweet and Facebook this.

http://blog.atlasshruggedmovie.com/2012/05/be-extra-in-atlas-shrugged-part-2.html

Looks like Tuesday was a bad day for Barack Obama, Democrats in general, and particularly the unions.  Three states held primaries, and in each, voters rejected positions and/or candidates associated with all three, in embarrassing vote totals.  Let’s start with the least significant of these outcomes, the Democratic presidential primary in West Virginia, where an inmate in federal prison ran a novelty primary challenge to Barack Obama — and came within 20 points of winning (via Polipundit)

Read the rest of this super encouraging news, giving hope to all of us for REAL CHANGE in November right here.

"It’s one thing to squat in your darkened basement scribbling word salad messages to the demons in your head. It’s quite another to carefully craft an oversized protest sign intended for public display at the next Occupy protest. But many of the Occupiers could not seem to keep the two behaviors distinct, and the result can only be seen as evidence for major thought disorders among some of the protesters. Occupy Wall Street: serious protest movement, or manifestation of brain malfunction."

Zombie's assimilation, collation, and collection of photos from Occupy L.A.

Well worth examining, so read more here.

President Obama invited the new French president to the White House. And political experts are eager to hear what comes of a meeting between the world's most prominent socialist....the new President of France.

The Wise Bros.

CHANGE: “Carville: Democrats Will Rule Washington for 40 Years.”

– Headline, US News & World Report, April 26, 2009.

“Carville: ‘Wake Up’ Democrats You Could Lose.”

– Headline, Breitbart TV, last night. More at theDaily Caller.

RELATED: “Obama’s awful, terrible, catastrophically bad day.”

Instapundit.com

Drill It, Dam it, Log It: How To Fight Eco-Tyranny In America

By our own: Brian Sussman

Read more...

A New Jersey roofer jumped into a vat of nitric acid solution to save a co-worker who had fallen 40 feet through a roof and into the tank, fire officials said.

Rob Nuckols, 51, was working on the ground floor Monday morning at Swepco Tube LLC when his colleague Martin Davis plunged into the vat of diluted acid and became fully submerged, officials said.

He jumped into the vat and was waist-high while he and three others pulled Davis out, Clifton Fire Chief Vince Colavitti told The Record of Woodland Park ( http://bit.ly/Jsf7II). The vat contained a 40 to 70 percent nitric acid solution used for cleaning metal tubing.

Rescue workers arrived after five minutes, cut Davis out of his clothes and sprayed him with water to limit burns, Colavitti said. Nuckols had already rinsed himself off.

Davis is in critical condition with a broken rib, punctured lung, and burns on his legs and side, a relative said.

Nuckols was treated for burns on his legs and abdomen. The three other roofers were taken to hospitals but there was no sign that they were seriously injured.

The men were working for Gar Con Enterprises of Flemington. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it was investigating and looking into both companies.

An employee at Swepco said the company had no comment, and Gar Con did not return calls.

Dealing Crack? There’s an app for that too!

Read more...

The first USA TODAY/Gallup Swing States Poll since the GOP settled on a presumptive nominee shows big challenges for each side: Mitt Romney in generating enthusiasm and a personal connection with his supporters, and Barack Obama in convincing Americans he should be trusted to manage a fragile economy.

The president and the former Massachusetts governor start their head-to-head contest essentially even among registered voters — Obama 47%, Romney 45% — in the dozen battleground states likely to determine the election's outcome. That's closer than the lead of 9 percentage points for Obama in the Swing States survey in late March.

But the poll also finds a reversal in what has been a key GOP asset in the five previous battleground surveys taken since last fall: an edge in enthusiasm among voters. For the first time, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting — a shift from a 14-percentage-point GOP advantage at the end of last year to an 11-point deficit now.

That drop is driven by Republicans who describe themselves as moderate or liberal, about a third of the party, even though the candidate widely viewed as the most moderate in the GOP primary field is poised to be nominated. Just 7% of moderate and liberal Republicans now say they are extremely enthusiastic, down from 24% in January and compared with 34% of conservative Republicans who feel that way.

• Ad Time for Video Critical of Comments on bin Laden?

  

  Veterans group behind video accusing the president of politicizing bin Laden raid may purchase ad time

  • VIDEO: Vets Group Criticizes Obama's Comments

  In the wake of a warm conservative reception for a web video trashing the president for “spiking the football” on the anniversary of Osama Bin Laden’s death, the conservative group Veterans for a Strong America plans to gather Navy SEALs and Special Forces operators to criticize the White House during the 2012 campaign. “We’re looking to [put together] a coalition, to field SEALs and operators that want to come out publicly,” executive director of Veterans for a Strong America, Joel Arends, tells BuzzFeed. “I’ve had a lot of discussions with former SEALs and current SEALs. I’ve been talking to operators...

President Obama's First Serious Girlfriend Said He Had a Great "Sexual Warmth" But "Didn't Have a Black Bone In His Body"

Read more...

Dumbass.

(Click image for larger view).

What not to wear as an anarchist. This protester was trying to break a Bank of America window in Seattle during the May Day protests Tuesday, but check out his shoes. Photo: Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com.

Um, someone didn’t get the anarchist memo on what to wear for a day of vandalizing.

Sure, the guy pictured here trying to smash a bank window during Seattle’s May Day protests has the standard-issue anarchist outfit: Black  jacket, black pants, black face-hiding thing.

But look closer. There’s the tucked-in lavender shirt. And the red headband. Probably forgivable, because anarchy is hard work and sometimes your one good black shirt is in the laundry.

But then you get to the shoes … and what the frack is that? It’s a pair of Nikes! That swoosh is unmistakable. (No word on what the guy on the left was doing, but he probably wasn’t a protester).

What makes the irony especially rich is that this window-banger also targeted Niketown while wearing his nice-looking Nike sneakers

Despite threats to shut down banks, schools and offices as punishment for "economic inequality" nothing of the sort took place. The Occupy Everything crowd wanted MILLIONS to participate but "the people" did not rise up and revolt.

Hundreds of protestors in New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland did turn up. But what were the people in the streets REALLY saying?

An end to income inequality? A call for Communism? Socialism? A chance to run wild in the streets and commit crimes?  All of the above yesterday in Oakland and San Francisco where violence took place, but the MESSAGE from the Occupy Everything crowd was last in the flash bang of police weapons. The rallies did not have the same drawing power as last year for the Occupiers, or even the half dozen years ago May Day rallies for immigration reform. 

There was some violence. Anarchists and punks did manage to do damage to the people they claim to represent, as well as attacks on the police.

And there are questions to be answered about the thugs in San Francisco's Mission district. Residents want some answers from the left-wing government leaders who some say allowed the violence to go unchecked.

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Brant Ward / The Chronicle

Police officers are hit with paint after they tackled one protester and held him down on Broadway Street. Hundreds of activists and Occupy Oakland members converged on downtown Oakland, Calif. for May 1st marches and protests.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/01/BA671OBO28.DTL#ixzz1tiUf6J2L

• Download complete trend

RCP Polling Results

Polling Data

I am taking to the streets of liberal San Francisco this morning for a series of live reports on the antics of the Occupy Whatevercrowd...and it promises to be a weird and strange day.

The Occupy Whatever people are asserting that "millions of people throughout the world - workers, students, immigrants, professionals, houseworkers, employed and unemployed alike - will take to the streets to unite in a General Strike against a system that doesn't work."

From San Francisco to New York, general strikes are being called, even by the writers and journalists charged with covering these events. Media bias? What's that?

Tune into KSFO 560 AM in San Frnacisco for my live coverage.

"Fasten your seat belts, we are in for a bumpy ride"  Bette Davis, All About Eve, 1950