TPM reports that the Romney campaign is cutting way back on advertising, buying only California TV ads so far in advance of the Feb. 5th “Super Tuesday” races.

The only possible way to read this dramatic ramp-down of effort is that the Romney campaign seems to be giving up. In combination with McCain’s receipt of Schwarzeneggar’s endorsement and his likely receipt of the lion’s share of Giuliani and Huckabee voters, the Romney campaign may have concluded that there is simply no conceivable route to victory remaining.

UPDATE: Romney may be running more ads than previously reported, but the lateness and narrowness of the ad buy indicates a significantly more selective and targeted approach than we have grown to expect from Romney.  As Romney is in large part self-financed, this sudden care with money indicates a significant decrease in Romney’s own confidence level.  Expect Feb. 5 to be Romney’s “last stand”.

Via Memeorandum. OK, this is truly despicable. ABC is acting as if Bill Clinton said that the US should just slow down it’s economy in the fight against global warming. This while the reality is that Clinton actually said something very different. Take a look at the quotes yourself, and how the media interpreted it, and then you can conclude whether they did this on purpose or… well, or on purpose. (more…)

This is Jimmie’s first post for PoliGazette. Welcome Jimmie!

Good God, how is this happening in our own back yard?

It was lunchtime in one of Haiti’s worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. With food prices rising, Haiti’s poorest can’t afford even a daily plate of rice, and some take desperate measures to fill their bellies. Charlene, 16 with a 1-month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country’s central plateau. (more…)

In 2007 the man who likes to present himself as a “moderate” was the most liberal Senator of all. He moved to the left in 2007 with 2006, as did Hillary Clinton (who moved to 16th place on the list of most liberal Senators). This reinforces my belief that Centrist and moderate bloggers are wise not to endorse Obama… as long as they care about actual policies and not just the tone of debate that is. (more…)

Army suicide rates have spiked since 2002, reaching a record level.  Equipment continues to degrade under the constant deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And with over $500 billion per year being spent on the DoD, the military seems incapable of spending it on the right things. (more…)

Nicholas Kristof wrote quite a thought-provoking column for the Spiegel called “The Dynastic Question.” It all, as should be obvious, revolves around the question whether it is or isn’t a problem that if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, four people out of two families will have held the highest office in 28 years. A problem… or not? Kristof doesn’t answer the question as such, but he believes that there should be an honest debate about this issue. (more…)

Perennial leftist gadfly Ralph Nader is preparing to tilt at yet another windmill with another presidential run. Added to the prospects of third-party challenges by well-funded pseudo-libertarian R0n Paul and/or self-funded moderate Michael Bloomberg, this presents the possibility of an outright circus in the 2008 general election that may eclipse even the carnival atmosphere of the primaries. (more…)

Dutch TV detective Peter R. De Vries has solved the Natalee Holloway case. Natalee’s family can finally have closure. (more…)

This is exactly the sort of thing I’ve been fearing - and expecting - from the Democratic party - the foolish idea that western nations should throttle back on economic and technological development to fight the will-o’-the-wisp of climate change:

Former President Bill Clinton was in Denver, Colorado, stumping for his wife yesterday. (more…)

I’m very happy to announce that yet another mighty fine blogger has agreed to co-blog at PoliGazette.

Jimmie is not a politician. He doesn’t even work in politics. Actually, he works in law enforcement and has returned to school for his degree in music so he can get his teaching certificate so he can teach choral music in one of America’s fine public schools. None of this makes him an astute observer of politics or current events. (more…)

As an admirer of Barack Obama, I am disappointed to hear of his possible connections to the white-hating, anti-Semitic group Nation of Islam. It seems that NOI members have held and in some cases still hold important advisory positions in the Obama camp.

Obama has denounced the extremism of NOI, but to Obama’s critics this may be seen as merely further evidence that Obama’s moderate approach is merely an opportunistic sham. (more…)

The following quotes from last night’s debate are exactly what’s - economically at least - wrong with Senator John McCain. When I read this, I thought I was reading a speech given a Dutch Laborite, not by a member of the American Republican Party; and not just a member, but a member who could actually win that party’s nomination. (more…)

In the aftermath of a possibly stolen presidential election, Kenya is teetering on the brink of open ethnic conflict, potentially approaching genocide of the same type and scale as in 1994 Rwanda. Undermining a key U.S. ally and symbol of ethnic cosmopolitanism, Kenya’s growing instability has the potential to further inflame an already devastated Africa.

I’m in agreement with Dan Abrams (!). The media have no excuse not to give Hillary the attention she deserves, nor is it as equal a race as they pretend it is. The latest polls clearly show that she’s leading in all major Super Tuesday states, and not by 1 or 2% either. Watch the video below the fold. (more…)

The New York Times reports that the country that served as an example of all the other African countries, Kenya, has now fallen victim to ethnic cleansing. The top American diplomat said that, although there’s ethnic cleansing going on, it’s not (yet) a genocide. (more…)

The Federal Reserve has yet again acted: first it cut short-term interest rates with 0.75%, now it cut it with 0.5%. This means that the short-term interest rate is 3%. By doing this, the Fed hopes that people and companies are inspired to spend (bigtime), which may then help the US avoid a recession. (more…)

A lot of people are saying Hillary already has it sewn up. Look at the comments here.

Of course, this is all based on polls, and we’ve seen how surprisingly wrong polls can be, any which way, come election day.

Meanwhile, this from my brother in Denver:

M. [his daughter] and I stood in line in the cold for almost three hours this morning for a chance to hear Barack Obama speak at the University of Denver. The crowd was huge — probably well over 12,000 people. (more…)

If you’re like me, every half-hour or so you find yourself wondering: “who have Barbara Mikulski and Jim McCrery endorsed”? My friends, I have your salvation. The Hill has a handy list of endorsements from members of the House and Senate here. I recommend thehill.com generally for an excellent mix of politics and policy, but nothing so helpful as this.

Resume partisan infighting in 3… 2… 1…  make party split now!

Hmm

Sources: Senior Obama staffers rejected proposal for their candidate to sit with Clinton at State of the Union.

Leading Democrats wanted rivals to sit together for the sake of party unity.

Clinton was willing, but Obama chose to sit with newly-minted supporter Ted Kennedy. (more…)

According to Rasmussen, yes. “McCain now leads Clinton 48% to 40%. He leads Barack Obama 47% to 41%.” Does this mean that the argument Obama supporters use - that he’s better able to beat McCain - is factually incorrect? Well partially yes, but I have to say that these numbers are quite irrelevant. We won’t know what’ll happen until people actually win the nomination and then campaign on a national level and for all voters. Take the poll, therefore, with a grain of salt. But it is an indicator that McCain may be hard to beat for the Democrats, regardless of who the nominee is.