"I'll just say that I've released my tax returns. That's been a policy I've maintained consistently. I think the American people deserve to know where you get your income from. But I'll leave it up to you guys to chase it down," he told reporters.
As I understand it, it is a requirement of anyone running for President to release their income tax returns, I assume to prove they're not receiving large amounts of unreported cash from lobbyists. Clinton has not offered an official comment on Obama's challenge, but her campaign reportedly said that she would do so when she obtains the official party nomination.
Interesting dodge. I think it's fascinating to watch Obama dance around the Clintons - it is clear that he is handing the one-two punch all they can handle, and looking good while doing it. They're still neck and neck on the delegate count, but the Clinton machine is showing signs of rust.
The next few days are pretty busy for the Democrats, with contests in Washington state, Louisiana, Nebraska, the Virgin Islands, and Maine. Obama hit all four states, while Hillary tapped Bill and Chelsea to help her cover them. Click the link to see more details about what's at stake in all of these races.
Now, to the Republican side. The CPAC convention didn't disappoint on its first day, with huge speeches from both Romney and McCain.
Romney
This is one of the best speeches I've heard (not that I've heard that many), and seems to have won almost universal praise from moderates and conservatives alike. Full transcript here. Some key excerpts:
As I said to you last year, conservative principles are needed now more than ever. We face a new generation of challenges, challenges which threaten our prosperity, our security and our future. I am convinced that unless America changes course, we will become the France of the 21st century—still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world, no longer the superpower. And to me, that is unthinkable. Simon Peres, in a visit to Boston, was asked what he thought about the war in Iraq. "First," he said, "I must put something in context. America is unique in the history of the world. In the history of the world, whenever there has been conflict, the nation that wins takes land from the nation that loses. One nation in history, and this during the last century, laid down hundreds of thousands of lives and took no land. No land from Germany, no land from Japan, no land from Korea. America is unique in the sacrifice it has made for liberty, for itself and for freedom loving people around the world." The best ally peace has ever known, and will ever know, is a strong America!
I've said it before: America doesn't conquer, it liberates.
What is it about American culture that has led us to become the most powerful nation in the history of the world? We believe in hard work and education. We love opportunity: almost all of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who came here for opportunity—opportunity is in our DNA. Americans love God, and those who don't have faith, typically believe in something greater than themselves—a "Purpose Driven Life." And we sacrifice everything we have, even our lives, for our families, our freedoms and our country. The values and beliefs of the free American people are the source of our nation's strength and they always will be!
The threat to our culture comes from within. The 1960's welfare programs created a culture of poverty. Some think we won that battle when we reformed welfare, but the liberals haven't given up. At every turn, they try to substitute government largesse for individual responsibility. They fight to strip work requirements from welfare, to put more people on Medicaid, and to remove more and more people from having to pay any income tax whatsoever. Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is a culture-killing drug—we have got to fight it like the poison it is!
This is the root problem in our country: liberalism. Romney does an excellent job of explaining how liberalism is in direct contention with everything that made America great.
Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That is the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life and eroded morality. Some reason that culture is merely an accessory to America's vitality; we know that it is the source of our strength. And we are not dissuaded by the snickers and knowing glances when we stand up for family values, and morality, and culture. We will always be honored to stand on principle and to stand for principle.
In many trends, America follows Europe (specifically, England). We should see what's happening to them and put a stop to it before we follow too far.
And finally, let's consider the greatest challenge facing America—and facing the entire civilized world: the threat of violent, radical Jihad. In one wing of the world of Islam, there is a conviction that all governments should be destroyed and replaced by a religious caliphate. These Jihadists will battle any form of democracy—to them, democracy is blasphemous for it says that citizens, not God shape the law. They find the idea of human equality to be offensive. They hate everything we believe about freedom just as we hate everything they believe about radical Jihad.
YES!!! When was the last time you heard an elected politician actually say the words 'jihad' or 'Islam'? Seriously, stop and think about it. When was it? It's been years since any of them have had the courage to do so. Political correctness holds way too much weight with politicians, and it's to the detriment of the American people - if we can't even say the words, how can we possibly do the actions?
Soon, the face of liberalism in America will have a new name. Whether it is Barack or Hillary, the result would be the same if they were to win the Presidency. The opponents of American culture would push the throttle, devising new justifications for judges to depart from the constitution. Economic neophytes would layer heavier and heavier burdens on employers and families, slowing our economy and opening the way for foreign competition to further erode our lead.
This is no secret, and will become even more prevalent as the general election draws nearer.
And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play. About this, I have no doubt.
I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.
Again, no secret. This is McCain's one saving grace with his base. This is one of the highest priority issues at stake in 2008.
It is the common task of each generation—and the burden of liberty—to preserve this country, expand its freedoms and renew its spirit so that its noble past is prologue to its glorious future.
To this task… accepting this burden… we are all dedicated, and I firmly believe, by the providence of the Almighty, that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the earth.
This was an excellent speech from start to finish. I just wonder why he waited until dropping out of the race to speak this way! If he'd been saying these things for the past three months, I have no doubt that he would be the clear front-runner. These are the things that conservatives and Republicans have been waiting to hear from a leader for years. It's incredibly frustrating that only now, at the exit sign, does Romney finally give it to us.
McCain
McCain spoke just hours later. Full transcript here. His was a very mixed reception, with about as many boos as there were cheers. To his credit, he stood before the storm and took the shots, admitting there were differences between him and his base (the first time I've heard him do that). He offered a number of promises that, if his record actually backed them up, should have made conservatives happy. Unfortunately, most appear to be unconvinced. After all, it's easy to say the words on the campaign trail, but completely another thing to stick to your guns when the pressure is on. The sentiment seems to be: how can we trust you? You've burned us before, so what's stopping you from burning us again? Actions speak louder than words, and McCain's actions over the past few years have essentially negated the words we're hearing now. Maybe he will carry through with these promises. Maybe he will govern conservatively. Maybe he will be true to his base. But maybe he won't...
GOPUSA sums it up this way:
On Thursday, both former Gov. Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain addressed the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). For Romney, CPAC set the stage for his emergence as a presidential candidate. At last year's CPAC, Romney came away as the winner of the presidential straw poll. This year, it was the stage for his farewell address. For McCain, who skipped last year's CPAC, Thursday's speech was his first attempt to make nice with a conservative base he will certainly need if he hopes to win in November.
How did the two men do? It was a tale of two speeches -- one set a tone for what conservatism is all about, the other focused on a set of statements emphasizing that Hillary or Obama would be worse than voting Republican.
How true. If that's McCain's best campaign pitch, it has a slim chance of working against Hillary. After all, Hillary's got so much baggage and negative association that this might persuade a lot of fence-sitters to support McCain. But, people would much rather vote for something than against something, so it's a risky card to play. If Obama wins, McCain is completely sunk.
Some other points of interest:
President Bush attempts to rally the Republican party around whoever the nominee will be against the Democrat opponent.
I've also heard various spins about how McCain's only real hope of bringing the conservative base into line is by picking a big-name conservative VP. Romney, Bill Buckley, Rick Santorum, and others have been suggested. It'll be interesting to see what he does.
James Dobson, one of the biggest Christian leaders in the country, endorses Huckabee. Formerly a Romney supporter, this is a big endorsement for Huckabee (and a continued sign of the distrust of McCain among the core base), even if it comes too late to help.
The nation thinks all politicians suck. Both President Bush and Congress have set new lows in their approval ratings:
It's almost as if people can barely stand the thought of President Bush and Congress anymore. Bush reached his lowest approval rating in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday as only 30 percent said they like the job he is doing, including an all-time low in his support by Republicans. Congress' approval fell to just 22 percent, equaling its poorest grade in the survey. Both marks dropped by 4 percentage points since early January…Bush's acceptance by his own party is at bottom in the AP-Ipsos poll. Just 61 percent of Republicans gave Bush positive reviews; his previous low was 65 percent last month. Only 28 percent of them expressed strong approval. About one in 10 Democrats and three in 10 independents gave Bush positive marks.
I think this is caused by three things: first, the constant drumbeat of horror, doom, and gloom by the MSM in the run-up to the election. They did precisely the same thing in 1992 to help Clinton beat the elder Bush, so it's no surprise. Second, there really are some causes for concern, but they are primarily the result of idiot government 'help'. The mortgage crisis, for example, was inspired by Congress, who pressured lenders into making risky loans to give more people a shot at the American Dream. When those risks became reality, Congress now wants to step in and trash the economy some more, despite the fact that many of those who are 'in trouble' are simply being irresponsible! Third, our nation's leaders are, quite simply, hopelessly out of touch with the American people.
There's my two cents.
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