The Republican Nomination For President: The Race For The Race For The White House

If Karl Rove is acting like a newlywed on a honeymoon, it’s no wonder: The proverbial Brain behind the most unpopular U.S. president in modern history, a man who feared he was on the verge of being charged with a felony in 2006 for his role in the Valerie Plame case, has a new lease on life. After reinventing himself as the resident political guru on two of Rupert Murdoch’s media platforms, Fox News and The Wall Street Journal op-ed page, Rove shocked everyone last year by putting together a political-action committee, American Crossroads, that, along with its sister organization, Crossroads GPS, raised $71 million to support Republicans during the midterm elections. The two groups spent nearly $25 million on 30,000 TV ads to attack Democrats and support Republicans, helping Rove’s party take sixteen of the 30 House and Senate seats in races where American Crossroads invested.

It was high-fives all around for Rove’s old crew. Without him, “we never, ever, ever would have been able to make the gains we made, which were historic,” says Mary Matalin, the onetime aide to former vice-­president Dick Cheney.

“I concentrated some people’s attention,” Rove offers.

He’s just getting started. As he positions himself as Republican kingmaker in 2012, Rove is trying to make sense of a post-Bush party, one riven by ideological schisms and splintered into a dozen or more potential Republican nominees. To take back power and reestablish his dream of a permanent Republican majority ­(“Durable,” he now corrects. “I never said permanent”), Rove must carefully negotiate a new media world revolutionized by Sarah Palin and bring order to a restive party upended and realigned by tea-­party populists, who view Rove as the elitist Machiavellian who once played them like a Stradivarius for George W. Bush. But with W. down on his ranch in Texas, the Brain needs a new body to inhabit. And that body, he’s decided, is the Republican Party itself.

It’s early yet, and Rove is keeping his cards close and his options open. When I ask him which of the prospective candidates is the purest ideological heir to Bush, he won’t answer. “I don’t think that’s the right question,” he says, waving it away. But later, in an unscripted moment worthy of Palin, Rove does tell me about his dream candidate, a would-be “incredible” president of the United States, the one person he’d support without reservation, if only this man were running for the White House. Somebody who would set the world aright for Karl Rove.

Name of Bush. Jeb Bush.

ATLANTA — Georgia is the latest state to propose legislation that questions whether President Barack Obama was born in the U.S., joining 10 other states who have measures that want more proof before his name is put on the 2012 ballot.

Even though Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed Obama's citizenship, his birth certificate has been made public and courts have rebuffed challenges, the so-called "birther" issue hasn't gone away.

Georgia Rep. Mark Hatfield, a Republican, said he still doesn't know if Obama is eligible to serve as president, and 92 of his GOP colleagues and one Democrat support the bill introduced Monday.

"Most people feel it's an issue to a significant enough portion of our population that it needs to be addressed by the state," Hatfield said. "It is, in a sense, a response to ... the sitting president and his inability or unwillingness to release his original birth certificate."

So-called "birthers" have contended since 2008 that Obama is ineligible to be president. They argue he was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland. They have also not been satisfied with the "Certification of Live Birth" Obama has released, which is a digital document.

Hatfield's bill would require a certified copy of Obama's original birth certificate be provided.

University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock said the issue was likely more about politics.

"It could be that this individual really does doubt that Barack Obama was born in this country, despite evidence to the contrary," he said. "There are also people who think we have never sent astronauts to the moon. Or, the legislator may not have any real qualms, but figures this may play very well with his constituency in the district back home."

A handful of states, including Georgia, have proposed similar bills since Obama was elected, but five more states joined them during the current legislative session.

How does Huckabee, who has been on the national stage for four years now and who may be the front-runner for the GOP nomination if he decides to run, not know that Obama wasn't raised in Kenya? The statement that Huckabee's spokesman just gave to ABC News doesn't address this question:
"Governor Huckabee simply misspoke when he alluded to President Obama growing up in ‘Kenya.’ The Governor meant to say the President grew up in Indonesia. When the Governor mentioned he wanted to know more about the President, he wasn’t talking about the President’s place of birth -- the Governor believes the President was born in Hawaii. The Governor would however like to know more about where President Obama’s liberal policies come from and what else the President plans to do to this country -- as do most Americans."

The problem here is that Huckabee didn't just say that Obama was raised in Kenya -- he made specific reference to the Mau Mau Revolution, claiming that Obama, by virtue of his upbringing, would have a very different understanding of it than Westerners. That's much different than accidentally saying "Kenya" when you meant to say "Indonesia."

And the birther issue is a red herring. This story isn't about whether Huckabee specifically subscribes to the view that Obama wasn't born in the United States; maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. The issue here is that Huckabee has just demonstrated that his main critique of President Obama's foreign policy is rooted in a belief that is demonstrably and laughably false. What other objections to Obama's policymaking does Huckabee have that are based on beliefs like this?

Former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer (R) will announce Thursday he will explore a bid for president, according to a top Republican source.
Roemer is already scheduled to head to Waukee, Iowa, for a forum hosted by the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition on Monday. He will announce an exploratory committee on Thursday at the Baton Rouge bank he runs, according to WAFB-TV.

Pretty big deal.

Pretty big deal.

From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Romney 3.0 …: Mitt Romney’s speech in New Hampshire Saturday night was a preview of the primary -- and possibly general election -- campaign he wants to run in 2011 and 2012. Romney avoided talk of social issues and focused on economic ones (“I know how jobs are created and how jobs are lost”); he made New Hampshire a priority, mentioning the state by name 14 times (“We liked New Hampshire so much, we may just decide to play a double header”); he emphasized American exceptionalism (“I don’t apologize for America because I believe in America!”); and he differentiated RomneyCare from ObamaCare by using the federalism argument (“One thing I would never do is to usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover”).

*** … vs. Romney 1.0 and 2.0: This, in short, is Romney 3.0. Romney 1.0 was the socially moderate businessman who won election as Massachusetts governor in 2002. Romney 2.0 was the socially conservative presidential candidate who ran to John McCain’s and Rudy Giuliani’s right on abortion, stem cells, and illegal immigration in 2007-2008. And Romney 3.0 appears to be the repeat presidential candidate who will focus more on the economy and his business record than on social issues. Yet as the New York Times’ Zeleny writes, Romney’s transformation also applies to his appearance. “Mr. Romney is trying to present a more relaxed image to combat impressions that he is unapproachable and stiff. He has not been seen in a necktie for months... He turned up in the pit area of the Daytona 500 last month, mingling with race car drivers while wearing a Bass Pro Shops shirt. And last week, Mr. Romney, who put his wealth four years ago around $200 million, walked into Tommy’s Barber Shop in an Atlanta strip mall for a haircut.” More