For every time someone calls a black woman strong, 5,000 others will call her angry. When you’re a strong black woman and the wife of the first black president, you’re going to get called angry more often than not. Michelle Obama has fallen victim to the angry black woman label thanks to a new book written by New York Times writer, Jodi Kantor . In the book, Kantor tells of The First Lady having issues with President Obama’s top advisers. Michelle Obama was interviewed by Gayle King where she refuted those claims. Obama told King, “I guess it’s just more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here. That’s been an image people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I’m some kind of angry black woman.” Mrs. Obama also stated that she has no real contact with Obama’s staff. “If there’s communication that needs to happen, it’s between staffs,” she said. “I don’t have conversations with my husband’s staff.” For more on the story, head over to Black Voices . RELATED POSTS: Happy Birthday Obama: 50 Things You Might Not Know! 12 Black Couples Who Make It Last [PHOTOS] President Barack Obama Spotted Singing With Justin Bieber [VIDEO]
Are Democrats salivating at facing the guy winning – or at least perceived, by the media, to have the best chance of winning – the Republican presidential race? Yes, Rush Limbaugh says. The radio host is one of several prominent Republicans who believe the party would stand a better chance with a less vanilla candidate – and Democrats know it. Rush Limbaugh: Dems Want Romney! “The Democrats are afraid of any candidate they have sought to destroy. You can start with Sarah Palin, you can move on to Santorum. Any – any conservative who shows any interest – the Democrats set out to destroy,” he said. “That’s who they’re genuinely afraid of. They are not hammering Mitt Romney at all, and (Democratic strategist) Donna Brazile let the cat out of the bag. Don’t doubt me.” Do you agree with Limbaugh’s point? Makes you wonder if Ron Paul were leading polls, how the White House and other prominent Dems would react.
Dixville Notch has cast its ballots in the New Hampshire primary. If the tiny village is anything like the rest of the state (which it’s not), this is gonna be close! Voters in the hamlet famed for casting the first ballots in the US’ first primary found themselves in a 2-2 tie between Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman. Coming in second with one vote apiece were Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul . For the Democrats, President Barack Obama received three votes. The nine residents who cast their ballots in Dixville Notch at daybreak include three registered Republicans, two registered Democrats, and four independents. Those voters also represent the town’s entire population. Talk about turnout!
‘I’m in because he brought the troops home,’ read one poster in the Obama campaign office in Manchester. By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Sway Calloway Obama supporters in New Hampshire Photo: Getty Images MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — “I’m in because we are the change we’ve been waiting for.” “I’m in because I want my grandchildren to know what polar bears are.” “I’m in because the power is in the voice of the youth.” Those are a few of the handwritten signs penned by volunteers for the Obama 2012 re-election as part of a “Why Are You In?” wall aimed at inspiring them to get out the vote during Tuesday’s (January 10) primary. While most of the attention has been focused on the squabbling among the Republican White House hopefuls in the Granite State, as in last week’s Iowa caucus , the Obama team here has been hard at work training volunteers, making calls and reaching out to the state’s legendary independent voters and committed Democrats to remind them to come out on Tuesday. It’s part of an effort to keep the president’s supporters fired up and ready to go for the general election in November, and 19-year-old volunteer Kathieya Odiah said the chance to see how a campaign works has been eye-opening. “The Obama campaign is basically about having volunteers and having a grassroots campaign, so when we have volunteers come in we always have them make posters and notes about why they come here for Obama,” said Odiah, one of a number of Quinnipiac University students who will spend several weeks of their winter break working for Obama 2012. She pointed to one of the signs she wrote, “I’m in because he brought troops home,” explaining that she felt strongly about the president ending the war in Iraq. The Manchester office, the largest of seven such locations around the state, has housed hundreds of volunteers over the past few months, and during a visit from MTV’s Power of 12 team on Tuesday afternoon, young volunteers were sprawled on couches, on the floor and across several rooms as they clutched their call sheets and reached out to remind voters to make it to the polls before they closed at 8 p.m. Her friend and fellow volunteer, Long Island, New York’s Morgan Farra, 20, said she’s in because the president has helped make college affordable for students like her by increasing the number of Pell grant recipients by 3 million so far. “It’s really important to me because if you don’t have an education, you’re missing out on one of the greatest experiences of your life,” she said. Inspired by the unprecedented grassroots campaign run by Obama in 2008, 19-year-old Natalie Deduck said she has been putting in the 10 to 12-hour days at the Manchester office because she knows the importance of starting early and strong in order to rally the troops again. Jameson Cherilus, 22, is typical of the office’s volunteers. He started his day around 8 a.m. outside an elementary school, where he held up signs for the president and reminded primary voters that Obama was on the ballot before hitting the office for a long day of phone calls. “I’m here because President Obama supports small business,” read another sign that shouted out Flanders Fish Market in East Lyme, Connecticut. “It’s been pretty hard getting my … friends involved in the campaign [because] they honestly don’t understand how important it is to start now even though it’s only January,” said Odiah about the challenges she’s faced while making calls in Manchester and speaking to her peers about what she’s doing. “We have to explain to people that we need to start now. [Once] Republicans choose who they’re going to have for their candidate, they’re already going to have half of the votes. … Yeah, [Obama’s] going to win the primary, but this is a dry run. This is our way of knowing this is what it’s going to look like in November. It’s hard.” MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos New Hampshire Primary Sparks Youth Conversation
‘I think the young vote’s got to get out and be more informed,’ said one first-time voter. By Gil Kaufman, with reporting by Sway Calloway A young Republican presidential supporter outside a polling station in Manchester, New Hampshire Photo: AFP CONCORD, N.H. — On a blue-sky, unseasonably not frigid morning in the Granite State, young voters came out early to the Green Street Community Center in the shadow of the gold-domed state capital to cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation Republican primary on Tuesday (January 10). MTV’s Powerof12 caught up with them and found out what issues were on the minds and why they were motivated to hit the polls early. Andrew Judd, 19, was feeling good about his first voting experience, confident that his ballot could make a difference in the outcome. “I normally would say I don’t have a chance at affecting anything, but the results in Iowa state that seven votes could make a difference,” he said, referring to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s eight-vote margin over former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in last week’s Iowa caucus . “If I’m one of those seven, then I’m making a big difference.” Judd said he definitely kept an eye on the ever-fluctuating polls in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s vote, watching as leading candidate Romney saw his 40-plus percent margin slip into the low 30s as the numbers for congressman Ron Paul and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman crept up. But even if his candidate of choice doesn’t make the cut, Judd said he will still come out to vote again in the general election. Though she was also excited about her first time voting, Emily Flanders, 18, was a bit disappointed that some of her friends sat the primary out. “I think that they still think that they can complain about the government, but they don’t have the right to if they’re not going to vote,” she said. It wasn’t the same story for Amelia Dickinson, 18, one of several politically active students from nearby St. Paul’s School, an Episcopal boarding school, who stepped into a voting booths in the center’s gym and check a box behind a red, white and blue curtain. As she did, one of her teachers, Grant Edwards, looked on with pride as he watched his charge take the lessons she had learned in his class and put them to work. “I was really looking forward to it [voting],” said Dickinson, who spent last semester studying the various campaigns for a new-media and culture class and is currently examining the candidates’ views in a practical politics course. “It was a nice way to go about voting for the first time with all the information.” Rather than letting the polls affect her vote, Dickinson said she focused on watching the various debates and studying the candidates’ beliefs, ultimately deciding that her values lined up with Santorum’s as she tried not to get distracted or swayed by Romney’s momentum in pre-primary polls. “I hope people actually look into what they’re saying,” she said, also promising that she would be back in the general election regardless of Tuesday’s outcome. Yet another first-timer in Edwards’ class, 19-year-old senior David J. Chester, said he absolutely thinks the nation’s 45 million young voters can help impact the 2012 election. “But I think the young vote’s got to get out and be more informed. You’ve got to know the policies the candidates are running … you’ve got to take time and research what it is you like about the certain candidates,” he said. Taking advantage of the state’s open primary system, Chester cast his ballot for Barack Obama . “Hopefully, if you get a large support base for the Democratic Party and Obama, it will hopefully start a snowball effect and more people will hop on the bandwagon when they see how many people came out and still voted for Obama even though the focus is on the Republican candidates,” he said. MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos New Hampshire Primary Sparks Youth Conversation
One young voter described the choice this year as between ‘freedom and tyranny.’ By Gil Kaufman Ron Paul Photo: Getty Images MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — “They call it the Department of Education … Let’s put an end to the Department of Indoctrination!” That kind of sentiment was flowing like extra-hoppy craft beer on Sunday night at Manchester’s only brewpub, Milly’s Tavern. It was the site of the “Slam Free or Die” poetry open-mic event in honor of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul. And while the sentiment onstage was often dripping with elegantly worded sarcasm, the boots on the ground had plenty of sobering thoughts on the suddenly surging candidate who refuses by play by his party’s staid rules. Nearly a week after the Iowa caucus , Congressman Paul’s rivals continued to take digs at one another in an attempt to win over traditional GOP voting blocs and prove their family values bona fides. Libertarian Paul’s pull with younger voters, meanwhile, was inspiring the kind of enthusiasm that motivated his followers to drive in from as far as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., to attend the slam and volunteer in the Granite State in the lead-up to Tuesday’s primary. A common theme among the Paul faithful who spoke to MTV News for the channel’s ongoing Power of 12 series was a disappointment with the Obama administration and a feeling that the promises of change touted four years ago have not come to fruition as they expected. “I think there were a lot of disillusioned voters in ’08 who thought Obama would be a good solution to the problems presented by Bush,” said Pericles Niarchos, 26, who like the 50 or so other Paul-ites in the bar was firmly focused on the poetry rather than the nail-biting Steelers-Broncos NFL playoff game being shown on the bar’s flat-screen TVs. “And after the last four years, we’ve seen the wars extended, we’ve seen [the terror detention center at] Guantanamo Bay remain open … the war on drugs continues on, we see bailout of the corporate elite that started under Bush. So, a lot of those supporters … [feel] Dr. Paul has a consistent record on these issues.” Niarchos, who recently completed a history degree with a political science minor from Drexel University, is among those who drove in from Philly to volunteer for the campaign, and he had a lot of issues on his mind. But one of the foremost was the various overseas military entanglements that are taking young lives and, he said, bankrupting the country. As to what it is about Paul — at 76, the oldest candidate in the running — that is speaking to teens and twentysomethings, Ryan Kuch, 24, said it is concerns about the economy and the libertarian call for a society that is “bottom-up … organic … people doing things, rather than top-down … people in Washington deciding what we should do to stimulate the economy.” Plus, he said, alluding to Paul’s non-interventionist theory of foreign policy, it’s his generation that will continue to pay for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, long after they are over. And not just with higher government debt but with issues like post-traumatic stress disorder and physical wounds that won’t heal. “Dr. Paul’s message seems to be more about sincerity and that you should be free to determine your own future,” said Niarchos. “A lot of young people today feel like they’re growing up in a world where they’re no longer free to determine their own future. They’re living in a set amount of circumstances that are being defined by older generations who don’t really understand what we’re going through. What our perspective is on the world is, what we want and what our values are … in my whole lifetime I don’t think the U.S. has been at peace for more than four years, and it’s really refreshing to see someone who advocates that so thoroughly.” “We need a cranky old president who keeps his money in a mattress,” said one poetry slam reader. Another read a piece entitled “Upholding Miserable Everywhere,” in which he selectively quoted the candidates in their own words. “I’m reciprocal,” he said, reiterating former Utah governor Jon Huntsman’s line . Another lamented that he missed the recent televised GOP debate because he was being arrested backstage after trying to “occupy” the event, and yet another referred to the various politicians as “New Hampshire’s deadbeat uncle,” who only comes around every four years when he needs something. What’s fascinating about Paul’s followers is that this poetry slam is not an isolated, election year event. They say that this is what Paul’s people do: They get together and lament the economic inequities of Pell grants, the tyranny of government’s tentacle-like reach into our pockets, the worthlessness of the Fed continually printing more money, the stifling of entrepreneurship by overzealous regulation and benefits of a free market system in the same way their peers discuss fantasy football stats. Emily O’Neill, 23, a member of the National Guard and self-described “misfit and contrarian” and “1920s feminist” who works in human resources in Washington, D.C., said the first time two Paul supporters meet each other, the opening topic is how they discovered their political icon. Dressed in cherry-red high heels, a gray skirt, ruffled white shirt and blue blazer, the New Boston, New Hampshire, native said she planned to wave signs and make calls on behalf of her candidate on Monday (January 9). “Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s not about left versus right,” she said. “We all agree on freedom and more government is not working. We’re less prosperous now than when we started off even a decade ago … people now want their freedom. Especially young people. This is the Internet generation. We can go online and find the answers and find out who the politicians are who are complete hypocrites. We know the truth so there’s no kidding us anymore.” Along with her friend Josh Luedtke, 26, a Roanoke, Virginia, reservist who just returned from his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, O’Neill said she might typically have been a Mitt Romney supporter. But not this time. “I came to the conclusion that what other people do, as long as it doesn’t hurt me, doesn’t affect me,” said Luedtke, who sported a red, white and blue Paul campaign T-shirt emblazoned with the word “liberty,” as well as a baseball hat that reads “Dysfunctional veteran … Leave me alone.” Inspired by the Occupy movement and the grassroots nature of Paul’s latest campaign, O’Neill said young voters are feeling motivated to get involved and be part of a new solution. “I hope that the difference between [the election of] 2008 and 2012 is that in 2008 young people came out and said, ‘We want the government to give us things.’ And in 2012, young people are going to come out and say, ‘We want the government to leave us alone.’ ” As for his peers who might be considering sitting this election out because they don’t like the options, Luedtke said they have two choices. “Freedom and tyranny. You can either vote for Ron Paul and take hold of your future with a government that is going to leave you alone … or you can choose tyranny and vote for anyone else.” Romney has a decisive lead in New Hampshire, where he’s polling at more than 41 percent, followed by Paul at 17 percent, which is not surprising given that 40 percent of the state’s voters describe themselves as independents. MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos Barnstorming The Iowa Caucus With Andrew Jenks
MTV’s Power of 12 is on the scene as Republican candidates fight to be Mitt Romney’s runner-up. By Gil Kaufman Rick Santorum Photo: Andrew Burton/ Getty Images If you stayed up late awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus last week, there’s a good chance you’ll get to bed earlier this Tuesday when New Hampshire voters head to the polls for their presidential primary. While former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney slid out of the Hawkeye State with a razor-thin eight-vote victory over suddenly surging contender former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum , polls indicate that the leading GOP candidate will face much-weaker competition in his own backyard. Romney is polling at 40 percent in the state, which means that the real scramble this time will be for second place. Though Romney managed to emerge from Iowa with a win (barely), despite not spending much time there in the run-up to Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation contest, it was the roster of those below him that helped shake up the contest. Left for dead months ago after failing to climb out of the single digits, traditional family-values conservative Santorum nearly managed a huge upset but is unlikely to pull another January surprise in New Hampshire, where the large population of independent voters — who make up 40 percent of the electorate — can cast ballots in Republican primaries. His anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage fire-and-brimstone message may not resonate with Granite State voters the way Libertarian Ron Paul ‘s small-government outlook could. In fact, according to CNN, not only is New Hampshire the least-religious state in the nation, but a 2008 poll found that 55 percent of Republican primary voters believed that abortion should be always or mostly legal. Also, New Hampshire is one of the few states in the country where gay marriage is legal. Paul, whose pull with young voters helped propel him to a strong third-place finish in Iowa, could cement his status as a serious contender with a second-place finish. At press time, he was polling around 17 percent, edging out Santorum at 11 percent. With a win clearly off the table, even a runner-up finish was looking less likely, though, for former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. The most-liberal conservative in the remaining field made a calculated risk by avoiding Iowa and betting the farm on New Hampshire, where he’s spent much of the past six months. But after crowing that he was certain he’d win the state in recent weeks, Huntsman began lowering expectations in the days leading up to the vote, when his poll numbers failed to rise above 7 percent. Like Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Huntsman already began setting his sights on the next contest in South Carolina (January 21), while Romney is hoping to solidify his hold on the leader spot and fend off the rest of the pack as the primaries head to Southern states, where Evangelical voters could play a bigger role in boosting Santorum. While the GOP contenders continue to rip each other apart in the scramble to come out on top after primary season, they also have been hitting President Obama very hard on his policies in their stump speeches. Though Obama does not face a primary battle on Tuesday night, he is running a robust campaign in New Hampshire, where his team is trying to get as many supporters out to the polls to vote as possible in order to shore up the commander in chief’s sagging support in the state. No matter what happens, MTV’s Power of 12 will be there to chronicle what’s on the minds of young voters and bring you their reactions to Tuesday night’s vote. MTV is on the scene in New Hampshire! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses, and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the presidential election season. Related Videos Barnstorming The Iowa Caucus With Andrew Jenks
Obama Returns To Bush Plan for Cutting U.S. Troops In Europe — SFGate/Bloomberg Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — The Obama administration plans to revert to a Bush-era plan to cut the number of U.S. Army combat brigades in Europe in half as part of the Pentagon budget cuts to be announced within weeks, U.K. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said. The decision is a retreat from the administration’s previous determination,… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : War News Updates Discovery Date : 06/01/2012 08:15 Number of articles : 2
Sarah Palin weighed in on the race for the White House last night. You were dying to hear from her, we know. You’re so welcome. Appearing on Fox News’ Hannity , Palin, who hasn’t endorsed a Republican candidate in the 2012 campaign, offered general praise for the field after Tuesday’s Iowa caucus results , reserving the red meat for President Barack Obama. Sarah Palin on Hannity “My concern is for the GOP candidate who wins this primary as they go forward to face the Obama presidential ticket machine and really the thuggery that is involved in that,” Palin said, segueing to John McCain’s endorsement of Mitt Romney . “I believe that Senator McCain, in his endorsement of Mitt Romney, Senator McCain and I, we’re the only ones in America who have ever had to face that Obama presidential ticket machine and all that it encompassed,” she added. “What it encompassed, you know, this unscrupulous, gimmicky scheme that it was.” “Senator McCain, evidently has chosen Mitt Romney as the one to be the most prepared to face this thuggery, this scheme that someone’s going to have to face.” Is Romney the best prepared? Or the most electable? Do you wish Palin would have run for President herself? Or that she’d go away forever? Share your thoughts with us.
QUOTE OF THE DAY Michele Bachmann: “President Obama and his socialist policies must be stopped. …America is and does remain the greatest force for good America has ever known. …The people of Iowa have spoken with a very clear voice, and so I have decided to stand outside. …We must rally around the person that… our party selects to be the standard-bearer.” VIDEO OF THE DAY Outstanding! And much needed… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Katy Pundit Discovery Date : 04/01/2012 08:47 Number of articles : 2
