Biden keeps up criticism, says Romney’s business past doesn’t qualify him to be president

(Jim Cole/ Associated Press )-Vice President Joe Biden looks up at the menu during a campaign lunch stop at a diner in Peterborough, N.H., Tuesday, May 22, 2012.

(Jim Cole/ Associated Press ) - Vice President Joe Biden greets firefighters at the fire department station in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, May 22, 2012.


By Associated Press, Published: May 22

KEENE, N.H. — The presidential campaign debate over Republican Mitt Romney’s tenure at a private equity firm is going down the drain.

Vice President Joe Biden argued Tuesday that Romney’s experience doesn’t make him any more qualified to be president than it does to make him a plumber.


“That doesn’t mean that private equity guys are bad guys — they’re not,” Biden said at New Hampshire’s Keene State College. “But that no more qualifies you to be president than being a plumber. And, by the way, there’re an awful lot of smart plumbers. All kidding aside, it’s not the same job requirement.”

Romney argues that his business experience with the Boston-based firm Bain Capital makes him best suited to fix the economy and create jobs.

Biden’s fourth trip to New Hampshire this year was an acknowledgment of the state’s battleground status in the upcoming election.

Though he briefly criticized Romney on social issues such as contraception and touched on Romney’s lack of foreign policy experience, most of his speech was devoted to echoing what Obama has been saying this week — that Romney’s success making money for investors at Bain Capital is not reason alone to be elected president.

The Romney campaign has called such criticism a distraction, an affront to free markets and a misreading of the firm’s success. The campaign released a Web video last week featuring workers from an Indiana company that benefited from Bain’s involvement.

Democrats have been focusing on the companies that Bain took over only to close them or let them fail. In addition to running ads and Web videos, the Obama campaign has been sending Biden to battleground states to press the issue.

In New Hampshire, Biden argued that when companies fail, it costs taxpayers in unemployment benefits and costs businesses that end up paying into a fund that helps laid-off workers recover their pensions. Like Obama, however, Biden stopped short of criticizing profit-making in general.

“That’s their job. It’s legitimate. But folks, making money regardless of the consequences for the workers at the companies they acquire or the communities that get wasted is another question,” he said.

Biden said voters have an easy choice between what he described as the Obama administration’s “commonsense approach” to a Republican philosophy that he asserted advocates “no rules for the big guys” and “no accountability when the fail.”

“We will not go back to the ‘50s on social policy, to the Cold War on foreign policy, and the policies of our last administration on our economic policies,” he said. “We will not do it their way again.”

Biden said the economy is recovering, pointing to a chart showing job growth during Obama’s tenure as president.

“That doesn’t mean a lot of people aren’t still hurting, and we’re determined to change that,” he said. “We’ve made important progress, but there’s much more to do. But progress you can measure, just look at the chart. Progress that cannot be denied. Progress you can see.”

The Romney campaign dismissed Biden’s argument.

“Vice President Biden today claimed the Obama administration’s economic progress ‘cannot be denied,’” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement. “He must not be talking to the millions of Americans who are suffering from declining incomes, fewer jobs and skyrocketing household costs in the Obama economy.”


 

 The Associated PressVice President Joe Biden gestures while speaking to students and educators about student loans during a White House Briefing on College Affordability last week in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Taxmageddon

I do not know much about Tax increase or decrease. Can some one tell me  how to look at this?

Allen West

If Congress fails to act, January 1, 2013, will be Taxmageddon, a massive $494 billion tax increase that the Congressional Budget Office predicts will lead to recession. SHARE the facts on your wall if your think we're Taxed Enough Already.

VP Biden Questions Romney's Qualifications for President

Vice President Biden in Keene, NH

Washington, DC
Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Vice President Joe Biden told supporters today in Keene, New Hampshire that Mitt Romney’s experience at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he co-founded, doesn’t make him qualified to be President.
"That doesn’t mean that private equity guys are bad guys, they’re not,” he said. “But that no more qualifies you to be president than being a plumber. And, by the way, there’re an awful lot of smart plumbers. All kidding aside, it’s not the same job requirement.”
The Vice President held a chart which showed private sector job creation since December 2007 during his remarks. He later compared the Republican Presidential candidate's economic proposals with those enacted by President Obama. “We will not go back to the ‘50s on social policy, to the Cold War on foreign policy, and the policies of our last administration on our economic policies. We will not do it their way again.”
The event took place at the Young Student Center at Keene State College. This trip was the Vice President's fourth trip to New Hampshire this year. He was last in the Granite State in Exeter in April where he spoke about the Obama Administration's tax policies. Earlier this year, it was reported that the Vice President would campaign mianly in six battleground states prior to the fall election: Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Earlier in the day, the Republican National Committee released a new web video "Empty Promises: College Costs Still Rising" ahead of Vice President Biden's campaign event at Keene State College. According to the RNC, the Vice President will be visiting a state with the "highest student loan debt in the nation, where the average undergraduate owes $31,048. Despite talking about rising college costs for four years, students have seen their tuition bills rise every year President Obama has been in office."
Former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign, also held a conference call with reporters today to talk about the Vice President's campaign stop in the state.

Updated: Tuesday at 5:42pm (ET)

Conference Celebrates Successes of Small Businesses

National Small Business Week Conference

National Small Business Week Conference

Washington, DC
Monday, May 21, 2012

The Small Business Administration (SBA) hosted a conference focusing on the impact made by small business owners and American entrepreneurs.
Business leaders discussed how small businesses are good for the long-term health of the economy.
Speakers included SBA Administrator Karen Mills, AT&T Executive Vice President Cathy Martine, Mobile Medical International Corporation President and CEO Rick Cochran and Permac Industries President and CEO Darlene Miller.

Marco Rubio in 2016?

By Reb.ecca Kaplan

I am  posting these here instead of in politics because he has been with Mitt Romney, and there is the question of 2016

Updated: May 11, 2012 | 4:24 p.m.
May 11, 2012 | 4:23 p.m.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. speaks about foreign policy, Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at the Brookings Institution in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Whether or not he is picked as Mitt Romney’s running mate, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is beginning to look and sound like a contender for president himself — in 2016.
The young charismatic senator on Thursday was the main attraction at a gathering of Iowa business leaders in Washington, introduced to the crowd by fellow Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a political heavyweight in the state that traditionally votes first in the presidential primaries.
Grassley said he didn’t know whether Rubio would agree to be Romney’s vice-presidential pick if asked, but said that if he does, “It’s not going to be based upon a Republican candidate for president making that call. It’s not going to be based on doing something good for the Republican Party.  I know Senator Rubio [and] he’s only going to do it because America calls.”
For 45 minutes, Rubio proceeded to lay out his vision for the country in the kind of speech a presidential candidate might deliver on the campaign trail. He spoke in the language of big ideas — about the importance of reforming the tax code and regulatory rules, reducing the national debt, transforming the educational system to better suit the changing economy, and reforming the Medicare program without hurting people like his mother, who receives the benefit.
“The American example is powerful, and as I stand before you today, there’s still nothing to replace it,” Rubio told about 150 members of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. “If America declines, there’s no one to take our place. There’s no other country on this planet prepared to be what we once were. If we decline, who rises?
“I have no doubt that this generation of Americans will do what every generation of Americans before us has done. We will confront these problems, and we will solve them. I have no doubt about that.”
Rubio has added other presidential-campaign style activities to his calendar. He is scheduled to appear on May 19 at the Silver Elephant Dinner in Columbia S.C., the state GOP’s annual fundraising dinner.  And his political action committee has been active in the Indiana and Ohio Senate races among others.
Jay Byers, the chairman of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said the organization invited Rubio to speak because he was the first choice of many of its members. “His national prominence is what sparked the interest of many of our member. Senator Rubio is a rising star in politics, and it isn’t a secret that he’s been showing up on the short list of vice-presidential candidates. He will be someone that Iowans and so many others should be watching.”
His speech to the group was notably clear of the biting partisan rhetoric of the 2012 presidential campaign. “You deserve better than that,” he told the crowd. The only hint of partisanship was his criticism of President Obama’s rhetoric, though Rubio never mentioned the president by name. Neither did he mention Romney by name.
“The greatest thing we can do for the world is be American. Be exceptional. Continue to be a place where we don’t divide people against each other. Continue to be a place where we don’t tell people the way for you to climb the economic ladder is for me to bring him down; the way for you to be better off is for me to take money from this guy and give it to that guy,” Rubio said. “That’s what the rest of the world does and it doesn’t work. People get on boats and climb fences to get out of countries like that.
“And you know where they come? They come here. Because we’re not that way. We should never be that way.”
Rubio also invoked some GOP talking points when he asserted that Democrats proposed a bill to prevent a hike on federal student-loan rates that was solely designed to make Republicans appear uncaring to the plight of students.
After his remarks, members of the group asked about Rubio’s views on immigration and the new version of the Dream Act he has proposed. His would allow children of immigrants brought to the United States illegally to remain in the country if they go to college or serve in the military.  Unlike Democratic versions of the bill, however, it would not provide a path to U.S. citizenship.
“Their claim is not a claim on our laws,” said Rubio, comparing those affected by his proposal to refugees and their situation to a humanitarian problem. “Their claim is a claim on our conscience, and if we want to, if we feel compelled because of the humanitarian cause, we can address it.”

Rubio Comes Out Swinging at Obama at S.C. GOP Dinner

By Arlette Saenz

May 19, 2012 11:16pm

  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., doled out attacks on President Obama tonight in a high-profile speech before South Carolina Republicans, laying out aggressive criticisms of the president as he called him the most “divisive figure” in American politics.
“The president and his party’s view of America’s government and our lives is a failed one. It hasn’t worked. His ideas that sounded so good in the classrooms of Harvard and Yale haven’t really worked out well in the real world,” Rubio said to applause at the South Carolina GOP’s Silver Elephant Dinner at the state fairgrounds here. “They get frustrated. They can’t win on their record, and so they’ve chosen to go down a different road, one that I think is destructive, counterproductive, and very unfortunate.
“For all the policy disagreements that we may have with the president, it is hard to understate how much he inspired people across this country four years ago, with his promises to unite America and lift it up,” Rubio said. “The man who today occupies the White House and is running for president is a very different person. We have not seen such a divisive figure in modern American history as we have over the last three and a half years.”
Rubio, whose parents emigrated to the United States from Cuba, described the drive that Americans possess, calling the United States a nation of “go-getters” and sharing the story of his own father, who worked as a bartender as he struggled to provide a better future for his children.
“When I get to speak at events like this on Saturday nights, it causes me to reflect a little bit. Five decades ago, my dad worked on Saturday nights, too. Except his job was that of a bartender. He stood behind the bar night after night, not just five decades ago, but for decades, working hard on behalf of his family and his children,” Rubio, a father of four, said.
“The very purpose of their lives was to give us the chance to do all the things they never could,” he said. “How come I have come to do things that he never did? How come he stood behind the bar and tonight I stand behind podium? Why am I here with you today? There are a lot of reasons. Because they worked hard and they sacrificed. Because they encouraged us to dream. Because I worked hard myself. Because God blessed us.”
Throughout his speech, Rubio shifted between talking about the promise of a brighter America and the urgency with which Republicans should address this 2012 race, insisting they work to send a Republican to not only the White House but also both chambers of Congress.
“As frustrated as sometimes we may get with the leadership of our own party on one issue or another, the logical home of the limited government, constitutional Republican principles of our nation is the Republican Party. The logical home for the defense of the free enterprise system is the Republican Party,” Rubio said. “It is the only organization in modern American politics that is still capable at this moment of driving forward these concepts and these principles that are so important for our future and require us to unite behind it with a sense of purpose and focus unlike any we have had in our lifetimes. This election will decide in so many ways what kind of nation we will leave our children and our grandchildren. ”
But missing from his speech were any direct references to the presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney or the vice presidential spot for which many believe Rubio is being considered.
South Carolina politicians, from Gov. Nikki Haley to Sen. Jim DeMint, heaped praise on the young Florida senator before he hit the stage to speak, lauding him as being capable of providing a bright future for the Republican party.
“He’s the future of the Republican Party, like Tim [Scott],” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said in a speech.
Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who was elected in 2010, told ABC News before the speech that Rubio’s youth and diversity adds to the DNA of the Republican Party and he would be a great addition to any GOP ticket.
DeMint, who endorsed Rubio in his 2010 Senate race, introduced the Florida senator as being a “voice for freedom that can inspire America once again to do those things, to follow those principles that made us great.”
Rubio returned the adulation as he charmed the South Carolina crowd by telling them how important the endorsement from their popular junior senator was in his senate race.
“If Jim DeMint had not endorsed me, I would not be a member of the U.S. Senate today,” Rubio said.
Rubio follows in the footsteps of former presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who headlined the dinner in 2011. While he has yet to express overt interest for a spot on the GOP ticket this fall or any desire to run in 2016, Rubio has picked up his appearances to key political groups whose opinion could help his future in politics.
In April, he showed off his foreign policy credentials by delivering a speech at the Brookings Institute. One month later, he wooed a group of Iowa business leaders who gathered in Washington, D.C., and his trip to court South Carolina Republicans this weekend ramped up more speculation about the 40-year-old senator’s political ambitions.
The South Carolina Republican Party hyped Rubio’s appearance at the event, creating a glossy program and name tags bearing a photo of Rubio taken during his 2010 Senate campaign.

Sen. Marco Rubio Speaks at South Carolina Republican Fundraiser

South Carolina Republican Fundraiser

Sen. Marco Rubio Speaks at South Carolina Republican Fundraiser

South Carolina Republican Fundraiser

Marco Rubio

Washington, DC
Saturday, May 19, 2012

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who has been mentioned as a possible running mate with Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, was the keynote speaker Saturday at the South Carolina Republican Party Silver Elephant fundraising dinner.
The Senator called the President Obama one the most “divisive” and “destructive” political figures the country has ever seen. “The president and his party’s view of America’s government and our lives is a failed one. It hasn’t worked. His ideas that sounded so good in the classrooms of Harvard and Yale haven’t really worked out well in the real world,” the Senator said. “They get frustrated. They can’t win on their record, and so they’ve chosen to go down a different road, one that I think is destructive, counterproductive, and very unfortunate."
“For all the policy disagreements that we may have with the president, it is hard to understate how much he inspired people across this country four years ago, with his promises to unite America and lift it up,” he added. “The man who today occupies the White House and is running for president is a very different person. We have not seen such a divisive figure in modern American history as we have over the last three and a half years.”
Senator Rubio was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. Other speakers included Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint from South Carolina as well as state Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly.
The 45th annual event took place at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds in Columbia.

9-Year-Old Food Critic Shakes Up School Lunches

By Alyssa Newcomb

May 23, 2012 4:40pm

 

                                                        (Image Credit: neverseconds.blogspot.com.es)

The lunches served at one primary school in Scotland were not always healthy or palatable, which prompted amateur food reviewer Martha Payne, 9, to start a blog.
“They’re a wee bit small and sometimes they’re not very nice either,” she told the BBC about her school lunches.

With a little help from her dad, the aspiring writer started a blog called Never Seconds.
(check out her blog) Her first post on May 8 showed a picture of that day’s school lunch — a small cheeseburger, two potato croquettes, three cucumber slices and a popsicle.

“You don’t really get much vegetables,” she told the BBC.

Martha rates each meal on taste (she calls it the Food-o-meter) and health, while she keeps a tally of  mouthfuls, courses, price and pieces of hair. (She hasn’t found any since she started the blog.)

After Martha’s blog got international attention, her father met with the school council, which announced all students would be allowed unlimited servings of fruit, vegetables and bread.
The difference was immediately clear on Martha’s blog. The days of a few sad droppings of corn were over.

“For the first time ever I have seen at lunch cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrot and cucumber shreddings,” Martha wrote on May 15.

The blog captured the attention of celebrity chef and healthy school lunch crusader Jamie Oliver, who sent the student a tweet of encouragement and later a signed copy of his book.
“Keep it up!” Oliver wrote.

“Thanks Jamie, I do intend to keep it up!” she replied.

GUNS, GUNs, GUns, Guns, guns

Stand Your Ground

Gun God

Guns Are Us

Welcome to Florida



Flip Flop Mitt



God Guns and Congress

Cartoons GOP War on Women

Mandatory ultrasounds for women

Davida and Goliathphant

Under My Thumb

  


Talking Trash



Politics of the Pill



Never Worked A Day In Her Life

Campaign Ads Obama vs Romney

New DNC Web Video: The Bane of Romney's Existence

Hotline's Veepstakes Power Rankings

Your Favorite Vice, Fourth Edition: Better Safe Than Sorry

CAMPAIGN 2012

 

Updated: May 18, 2012 | 11:11 a.m.
May 18, 2012 | 6:00 a.m.

Mitt Romney's campaign reminds us of a corporation -- inherently risk-averse and unlikely to act without careful consideration. An adviser's recent comment that Romney's ideal running mate would be an "incredibly boring white guy" seemed to underscore that fundamental thought process.

(PICTURES: Possible VP Picks)

Now, as the presumptive nominee, the veepstakes vetting is getting underway in earnest. It's up to Romney's team to make a pick that doesn't harm the ticket, conveys gravitas, and steers clear of too much controversy. Given those factors, the short list is narrowing dramatically. With that in mind, we rank the potential Republican vice presidential candidates as Romney's team sees them today, given our reporting and analysis.

(Arrows indicate who's trending since our 1st, 2nd and 3rd editions of Veepstakes Power Rankings.)

			Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (previous ranking: 4) Portman is precisely what Romney is looking for in a running mate: smart, experienced, well-respected, baggage-free and prepared to govern. But perhaps Portman's greatest strength is that he doesn't possess any glaring weakness, making him a natural fit for Romney's ultra-cautious campaign. It's no wonder Portman has dominated the buzz in recent weeks. The senator from Ohio is a safe, solid pick who reinforces Romney's strengths and, as a bonus, could help him carry a critical battleground state.
			Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (previous ranking: 7) Jindal is the rare candidate who satisfies both major schools of thought on a VP pick. The school that argues for an exciting, outside-the-box candidate wouldn't mind the nation's first Indian-American governor, and the school that argues for a serious policy wonk would be thrilled with one of the GOP's leading voices on issues like education reform. And despite the fact that he endorsed Rick Perry in the primaries, Jindal is serving as a top Romney surrogate, which tells us he's at least a little interested.
			Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (previous ranking: 2) No candidate has been hurt more by the Republican Party's Sarah Palin experience than Rubio. It's not that he has anything to hide (heaven help you with the Florida press corps if you dare suggest as much), it's that the stories that got big play in Florida haven't made it to national papers in D.C. If you're a Hotline reader, you've heard about earmarks and the house he shared with Rep. David Rivera. Romney's campaign doesn't want to spend its first few days as a complete ticket explaining away Rubio's history in Tallahassee. He could bring all the excitement in the world, but it probably won't be enough to overcome the GOP's hesitancy.
			Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (previous ranking: 1) Chemistry means something in Boston, where the same team has surrounded Romney since his 2002 gubernatorial bid. Romney and Ryan seemed to enjoy an instant rapport on the trail in Wisconsin, and if Romney is going to be tied to a controversial running mate, he'd much rather fight a battle over fiscal issues than social issues. Still, the inherent risk of picking Ryan seems to run counter to Romney’s brand of play-the-percentages pragmatism -- and we can't help but note that even Republicans like Sen. Dean Heller are now voting against Ryan's controversial budget.
			Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (previous rank: 8) Of all the candidates who insist they're uninterested, we believe Pawlenty the most (save Susana Martinez, who put herself at odds with Romney's immigration stand this week). But a Romney campaign defined by its emphasis on loyalty will take a long look at Pawlenty, one of the few VP prospects who enjoys an authentic relationship with Romney. Plus, in an election that could be decided by Rustbelt battlegrounds, it couldn't hurt to have a guy capable of matching VP Biden's blue-collar appeal.
			The Wild Card (previous rank: 10) Remember the history: Geraldine Ferraro, Dan Quayle, Jack Kemp, Dick Cheney, and Palin -- presidential candidates don't mind going outside the conventional short list to find a running mate. We think someone not on this list is more likely to get the nod than the following four contenders, whether it's someone from the business world or someone with political experience.
			Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (previous rank: NR) Daniels seemed to strike his name from these lists last month after offering an unenthusiastic endorsement of Romney, but a joint appearance in Indiana recently revealed what looked like a genuine, mutual admiration between the two men. Romney pointed to Indiana as a model for the nation, and it isn't lost on Republicans that Daniels is in many ways the ideal reenforcer of Romney's image: a serious, sober politician who prioritizes fiscal issues over social issues and won't become a distraction.
			New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (previous rank: 5) Despite his persistent popularity in New Jersey and rock star status within the Republican Party, Christie doesn't appear to be a popular pick for Romney, for one simple reason: His big personality (and penchant for off-the-cuff commentary) would overshadow the ticket. He says it best himself: He's not a No. 2. There's an upside to that outspoken personality, though: If Romney wants an attack dog for his VP, there's no other top-tier candidate who could match Christie's pitbull blood.
			Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (previous rank: 3) Rush Limbaugh may have effectively torpedoed any chance McDonnell had at the No. 2 spot when he reignited the "war on women" narrative -- an explosive distraction that McDonnell's résumé would bring front and center. Beyond that, the governor's own struggles with a Republican Legislature seemingly determined to tack hard right isn't helping matters. McDonnell is still popular in the key swing state of Virginia, but the drawbacks are mounting.
			New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte (previous rank: 6) Perhaps Romney's best option if he wants to bring gender balance to the ticket, Ayotte got buzz when she appeared alongside Romney during his first trip to New Hampshire as the presumptive nominee. But few insiders believe she'll make the short list.

On The Bubble : Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño.

Photos (top to bottom):
Portman: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Jindal: AP
Rubio: Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP
Ryan: Freddie Lee/APPawlenty: AP
Daniels: AP
Christie:William B. Plowman/APMcDonnell: Steve Helber/AP
Ayotte: Charles Dharapak/AP