So what's the state of the Union? Ballin', apparently.

Call me crazy, but this completely took me by surprise. Up to this point, every other State Of The Union by Obama had been the same. Passive. Timid. Vanilla. He said the right things, but you could tell that his heart wasn't completely there. The passion was missing. It always felt like he was holding something back. Well, ladies and gents, based off of his latest SoU, wave goodbye to the old Obama, and say hello to.......well, older Obama. Yes, at this latest SoU, Obama seemed like the Obama we knew back in 2008. Full of energy. Passionate about his words. Not taking s**t from nobody! Seriously, for the first time in the better part of three years, Obama seemed to be in his element. I think that the main reason that he's gotten his swagger back is because he seriously sat down and took a look at his competitors. He realizes that, hey, he's pretty much got this one in the bag. Honestly, this motley crew of GOP hopefuls is nothing short of a gift from God to Obama. If the Republicans had JUST ONE legitimate, viable candidate, they would have mopped the floor with #44. Years of backstabbing and being general all around dickheads to the man had given the GOP a golden opportunity to reclaim the White House. But much like the 2008 New England Patriots, they lost once it came to crunch time. But I digress. Tonight, Obama was in his zone. He was able to able to pat himself on the back for the first time in a while, mentioning how he took out Osama Bin Laden and Gaddafi, and saved the auto industry. Not to mention his record of job creation. What really impressed me was his proposal of giving tax breaks to companies that don't outsource jobs. That is something that will give more companies reason to stay in America, and thus will create jobs for Americans. My favorite aspect of the evening, though, was Speaker of The House John Boehner, seated behind Obama (next to Joe Biden). Throughout the entire evening, he looked like a man who just watched his favorite football team lose. He was angry, no two ways about it? Why was he so mad, you ask? Simple. He knows what Obama knows about the GOP candidates, and he knows there's not a damn thing he can do about it. The snowball has been rolled off the top of the mountain. It's going to take a miracle to slow this mother down. Dickstein, out.

And then there were 4

The GOP field has, once again, been shaved of deadweight. Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry have both officially dropped out of the race. Both announced the news earlier in the week, and it wasn't a moment too soon. Each of them was doing absolutely abysmal in the polls. Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign was a lost cause from the day he announced his candidacy. Let's face it, he never had a chance. Huntsman brought experience, good ideas, and a history of sensibility and bi-partisanship with him to the table. All of this, of course, completely took away any chance he had of gaining the nomination. In the GOP, they're not looking for sensibility. They want right-wing jargon. If you can't supply that, you best be movin' on, compadre. Huntsman was banking on winning in more moderate states, but as New Hampshire proved, he was inept at even that. Rick Perry's story comes with a bit more intrigue. It is a story of astronomical heights to sub-ground lows. A roller-coaster, one could say. When Perry entered the race over the summer, he immediately became the frontrunner in the race. Basically, the GOP was just too overjoyed by the fact they had another option besides Romney, so they were temporarily blinded to the fact it was Rick Perry. Eventually, the voters sobered up and realized who Perry was, and things went nowhere but downhill from there. His history of inability as governor of Texas came up. His memorable gaffes and regrettable campaign videos became an issue. Soon, Rick Perry was at the dead bottom of the GOP polls. Like a political M. Night Shyamalan, he started out on a high, started to slow down, and soon just became an embarrassment. Dickstein, out.

Racism: The New Campaign Strategy

It looks like the hot, new trend in the GOP presidential race is to be overtly racist. Now, everyone already knows about Ron Paul. Back in the day, he had circulated a newsletter called the Ron Paul political report. Some of the stories published in the report said very offensive things about gays, Jews, and African-Americans (for example: Suggesting that the Rodney King riots only stopped because black people needed to collect their welfare checks). This was largely dismissed as a non-story. Not only was this back in the 90's, but Ron Paul didn't even write it, and it only happened a couple times. People were buying that for a while. But, wouldn't you know it, this actually was NOT an isolated incident! New findings (dug up by The New Republic) are coming out that show that, hey, these sort of remarks happened ALL THE TIME in Ron Paul's newsletters! A direct quote: "We don't think a child of thirteen should be held as responsible as a man of twenty-three. That's true for most people, but black males ace thirteen who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary, and culpable as any adult, and should be treated as such." Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. When this sort of thing happens over and over again, you know that something is up. It doesn't matter that you didn't write them; the statements were published in a newsletter THAT YOU CIRCULATED! The fact that these statements weren't nipped in the bud right after they started proved that Paul really had no problem with them. It is shocking that people cultishly worship this man. It doesn't matter what one's political views are; what should matter is that this man is clearly a racist. People need to stop playing politics and stand up for what is right. But wait. Apparently, racism IS right in the GOP! Enter Newt Gingrich. During a GOP debate in South Carolina on MLK Day, Gingrich was asked by Juan Williams (who is black): "You recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic, and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can't you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly, to black Americans?" Without skipping a beat, Gingrich responded, "No, I don't see that." Cue thunderous applause. The audience was literally standing up from their seats. Wait, since when is that a cue to give a standing ovation? If any standing was to be done, it should have been to make a beeline to the aisles. But no, these people gave this man a standing ovation for saying that black children should be employed as janitors. Every day, the GOP is trying to shed it's image as the party of white by showing just how inclusive of other races it is. Yet something like this happens. A man says that youth of a certain race should aim to be janitors, and the crowd goes BANANAS. Frankly, it's pathetic that these 2 men are even on the ballot. Dickstein, out.

Racism: The New Campaign Strategy

It looks like the hot, new trend in the GOP presidential race is to be overtly racist. Now, everyone already knows about Ron Paul. Back in the day, he had circulated a newsletter called the Ron Paul political report. Some of the stories published in the report said very offensive things about gays, Jews, and African-Americans (for example: Suggesting that the Rodney King riots only stopped because black people needed to collect their welfare checks). This was largely dismissed as a non-story. Not only was this back in the 90's, but Ron Paul didn't even write it, and it only happened a couple times. People were buying that for a while. But, wouldn't you know it, this actually was NOT an isolated incident! New findings (dug up by The New Republic) are coming out that show that, hey, these sort of remarks happened ALL THE TIME in Ron Paul's newsletters! A direct quote: "We don't think a child of thirteen should be held as responsible as a man of twenty-three. That's true for most people, but black males ace thirteen who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary, and culpable as any adult, and should be treated as such." Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. When this sort of thing happens over and over again, you know that something is up. It doesn't matter that you didn't write them; the statements were published in a newsletter THAT YOU CIRCULATED! The fact that these statements weren't nipped in the bud right after they started proved that Paul really had no problem with them. It is shocking that people cultishly worship this man. It doesn't matter what one's political views are; what should matter is that this man is clearly a racist. People need to stop playing politics and stand up for what is right. But wait. Apparently, racism IS right in the GOP! Enter Newt Gingrich. During a GOP debate in South Carolina on MLK Day, Gingrich was asked by Juan Williams (who is black): "You recently said black Americans should demand jobs, not food stamps. You also said poor kids lack a strong work ethic, and proposed having them work as janitors in their schools. Can't you see that this is viewed, at a minimum, as insulting to all Americans, but particularly, to black Americans?" Without skipping a beat, Gingrich responded, "No, I don't see that." Cue thunderous applause. The audience was literally standing up from their seats. Wait, since when is that a cue to give a standing ovation? If any standing was to be done, it should have been to make a beeline to the aisles. But no, these people gave this man a standing ovation for saying that black children should be employed as janitors. Every day, the GOP is trying to shed it's image as the party of white by showing just how inclusive of other races it is. Yet something like this happens. A man says that youth of a certain race should aim to be janitors, and the crowd goes BANANAS. Frankly, it's pathetic that these 2 men are even on the ballot. Dickstein, out.

Expect The Unexpected

The New Hampshire primaries are officially over, and it's safe to say that everyone was taken aback by an outcome that nobody saw coming. In the first primary of the season, the state's famously independent voters shocked the world when they voted Mitt Romney in as the winner with 39.3% of the vote. Ron Paul finished a not so close second, with 22.9%, and Jon Huntsman came in third with 16.9%. The event was a huge failure for Huntsman, who bypassed Iowa to focus more on New Hampshire. He had hoped he could appeal to the independents with his, well, let's be honest, logical ideas. But, unfortunately, no matter where he goes, Huntsman will never be able to shake his official title as "the other Mormon guy". Most people just see him as mini-Mitt, which is a shame, because Huntsman is actually the much more viable candidate. But that's neither here nor there. Continuing with the results, Rick Perry's meteoric fall from grace was exemplified perfectly here, with the former GOP frontrunner garnering only (i kid you not) .9% of the vote. Speaking of frontrunners, how did Newt Gingrich do? The man who even had the cojones to declare himself the frontrunner must have done pretty damn well, no? No is right. The Fig Newton finished fourth, just a few votes ahead of Rick Santorum, with 9.4%. Now it would seem that Gingrich's rise to fame and glory is over, just like every other GOP candidate who surged ahead of Romney at one point. The real shocker of the night came when it was found out that Michele Bachmann, the absolute joke from Minnesota who withdrew from the race a good amount of time before the primary, actually won .1% of the vote. That's right. 349 people voted for someone who wasn't even on the ballot. Hoo-boy. That aint good for the Republicans. But, hey, this is just the first of many primaries. While it is ridiculous to think that Mitt Romney will lose, expect to see a bit of a mini-surge from Gingrich, who is popular among Southerners. Also expect Huntsman to get absolutely ripped apart by the South. It's not an issue of "if" at this point, just an issue of "when". Dickstein, out.

Frenemies

Who remembers the GOP primaries in 2008? History tells us that Mitt Romney and eventual nominee John McCain, the senator from Arizona, were engaged in a battle of epic proportions. Words were said, mud was flung, and feelings were hurt. It seemed pretty darn apparent that these two men wouldn't exactly "forgive and forget" or "let bygones be bygones" after the whole process was through. But, wouldn't you know, that's exactly what's happening. Sort of. In a weird way. In case you hadn't heard, McCain recently endorsed his ex-bitter rival in the race to become president of the United States in 2012. Said McCain: "Obama can run [from Romney], but he can't hide." Romney returned the compliment, calling John McCain a "great friend" and a "hero". As I've mentioned on this blog countless times, Romney has all but gained the GOP nomination, despite the fact that his own party hates him. The rest of the field is just that weak. McCain's endorsement is just a testament to this. It just goes to show the complete disarray this party is in when two men who hated each other 4 years ago can magically become buddy-buddy. And the smoke screen these guys are putting up is fading fast. On stage at an event in New Hampshire, Romney and McCain looked visibly awkward to be near one another. They made almost no eye contact, and shared one of the stiffest and most forced hugs this side of the Mississippi. To be blunt, it seemed like they didn't want anything to do with one another. And this is probably the case. But McCain knows that no other Republican candidate is electable. So he'll bite the bullet and support the guy he hates. I have no witty ending for this post. Dickstein, out. 

Iowa Caucus? More like Cry-owa Mock-us! Ladies, am I right?

First, let's get the real shocker out of the way: Mitt Romney won the Iowa Caucus. I know. I could hardly believe it myself. No, the real surprise of the event was that he only won by 8 BLEEDIN' VOTES! And guess who his runner up was? Yep, you guessed it! Former Pennsylvania Senator and current Google phenomenon Rick Santorum. Oy vey. Rick Santorum, the man whose campaign was not just considered a long shot, but actually something of a joke, lost the Iowa Caucus by merely 8 votes. This tells us something about the the Republican party, and those who vote for them. This shows just how little they want to elect Romney. Caucuses are supposed to give us something of an idea as to who is strongest in the polls. They're supposed to give clear pictures as to who voters are excited about. Clearly, they are not excited by Romney. Let's be real for a second: He was very nearly beaten by a man whose only political attribute is that he's a raging homophobe. Republicans aren't acting like they want to wholeheartedly back Romney; they are acting like they're stuck with him. Which they are. Some of them have already accepted this fate. Don Lutz, an Iowan who considers himself a "Newt guy", says he will vote for Romney simply because he doesn't want his vote to be wasted. That is not the voter attitude a campaign is looking for. I suggest Romney change his campaign slogan from "Believe In America" to "You're Stuck With Me Whether You Like It Or Not". Dickstein, out.