Mitt Romney just released his new book, which discusses ways to revive America’s greatness, and he has been making appearances on the TV circuit.

Romney discussed the “temptations of populism,” which is something that has become too prevalent in the GOP and is a worrisome trend. Far too many republicans are scornful of people who went to elite universities and live in places like manhattan, boston, san francisco. They are so willing to reject intellectualism that they embrace ignorance as a virtue and flock to politicians like Sarah Palin, who don’t know much but come across as “authentic.”

Of course, conservatives have legitimate complains against ivy league institutions, since they have become the de facto incubators of modern liberalism. But this does not mean that we should shy away from the importance of knowledge and rigorous intellectual analysis of various policy issues.

I think both Mitt Romney and Mitch Daniels are solid fiscal conservatives who are highly intelligent and successful. We need more people like them in the GOP.

I know Sarah Palin is extremely popular among the conservatives, and this diary will probably arouse a lot of strong feelings.

I consider myself a conservative independent, not aligned with either party but do vote GOP almost exclusively. Although the liberal media was a bit too harsh on Palin, I cannot bring myself to support her if she chooses to run for president.

First, Palin does not have the intellectual weight to be president. Her knowledge of the issues is juvenile at best, and based on her interviews and speeches, there is no evidence that she thought deeply about the most important issues of the day, with perhaps the exception of energy. Basic questions like, “What books and papers do you read?” or “What supreme court cases do you disagree with?” are not gotcha questions but rather extremely basic queries. Palin’s inability to answer those last year were deeply troubling.

Many conservatives have compared Palin to Ronald Reagan. The only thing they have in common though are that they were both once governors of western states. Unlike Palin, who quit her job after 2 years, Reagan served 2 FULL terms as governor of California. More substantively, Reagan spent the period from 1975-1980 writing and talking about a plethora of issues, ranging from taxes, government regulations, detente, etc. He read voraciously and was constantly thinking about the issues, carefully honing his conservative worldview. Palin, unfortunately, has not shown such devotion to the issues. Rather, since quitting her job, she has gotten involved in a silly fight with David Letterman, verbal sparring with Levi Johnston, and wrote a book that attempts to blame all of her problems on the McCain campaign.

If she really wants to run for president in 2012, she has A LOT of work to do. She needs to read and study more, stay away from silly bickering, and take responsibility for her failures. Yes, she’s different from most politicians and can be a breath of fresh air. But just like Obama, she has very little substance.

The most recent Gallup poll has Obama leading between 7 and 10 among likely voters. Although it’s not impossible to overcome such odds, with less than 2 weeks to go, the polls are not shifting in our favor. McCain is still running a lukewarm campaign, and the RNC and 527′s are just sitting around. What would need to happen in order for McCain to actually win? This is getting demoralizing.

With two weeks to go before the most important presidential election since 1980, where is the hard hitting ads that the GOP is known for? At this time in 2004, the Bush campaign has already defined Kerry as a weak indecisive liberal who is unfit to be commander-in-chief. And now, Obama is running circles around us, and the McCain camp is grasping at straws. The ads are weak at best, the message is muddled, and so far there has been no October Surprise.

What the F*CK is going on here! I’m just getting really angry at the utter incompetence of our side.

I still can’t believe no one on this board has written about Colin Powell’s appearance on Meet the Press tomorrow. He is most likely going to endorse Obama, a move that will make the news for at least 3-4 days, thereby getting everything else off the news cycle. Just as McCain is coming back, this will be a devastating blow for his campaign. Can McCain recover? Is two weeks enough time?

Jay Nordlinger wrote down a list of 43 observations on last night’s debate, over the national review’s corner. Unfortunately, he thought McCain’s performance was mediocre. First, stylistically, McCain came across as angry, grumpy, and old. Obama was crisp, articulate, and dare I say, looked presidential. Nordlinger also confirmed my earlier observation that even in terms of content, McCain missed crucial opportunities. His description of John Lewis’ words as “hurtful” made him look incredibly weak and unpresidential. Obama’s retort that the American people don’t care about “our hurt feelings” was brilliant and strong. Second, McCain fell into the Ayers trap by mentioning him but failing to make the case that Obama shares radical views and lacks the judgment to be president. Obama merely responded that he will not have Ayers in his White House and McCain was left spluttering. Overall, McCain’s performance, both visually and verbally, fell flat. He stuttered a lot, mispronounced words, and came across as rushed and angry.

After McCain loses to Obama, I think the GOP will regret not picking Rudy or Romney. Either of those two men would have TORN Obama in the debates. The GOP needs to stop nominating people simply because they are war heroes or it’s their “turn.” Nominate the man who is best qualified, believes in conservative ideals, and can beat the liberals.

All the insta polls showed that Obama won by a large margin. Why is this the case? It’s because McCain treated Obama as an acceptable equal and gave him way too much respect. Instead of calling him a socialist who doesn’t share mainstream American values, McCain limited his critiques to some policies but did not go for the jugular. Instead of pointing out how Obama’s blank slate means that we have no idea what he really believes in, McCain treated Obama as a fellow seanator, worthy of respect. Because Obama comes across as an acceptable alternative, voters will prefer Obama due to the economic crisis. McCain’s campaign advisors are incompetent fools who don’t know how to win. It is a sad day for America when Obama wins, but unless an October surprise happens, he is our next president.

Yes, he did better than the last two debates. But given how dismal his past performances were, that’s not saying much. He did do well in the beginning but began slipping and also missed several CRUCIAL opportunities.

First, he never attacked obama’s “cutting taxes for 95% of Americans” lie. Obama has repeated that so many times without rebuttal that most people actually believe it. McCain should’ve made the argument that his so-called “tax cuts” are mere government handouts to people who don’t pay federal income tax.

Second, McCain was PATHETIC on the Ayers issue. Bob Schieffer gave him a perfect opening for McCain to expose how radical Obama and his friends are. Instead, he gave an incoherent response about how the American people will make the judgment on Ayers. UNBELIEVABLE. McCain just doesn’t know how to go for the jugular.

Third, McCain looked downright angry and annoyed, even sighing loudly into his microphone, ala Gore 2000. This came across as really petulant and unpresidential.

As I said in my previous entry, McCain needed a performance similar to Reagan in 1980 or Clinton in 1992 to really change the dynamics of the race. He failed miserably. All the polls show that Obama won the debate by a LARGE margin, and his favorables have actually increased.

Unless there is an unprecedented development that happens in the nex 3 weeks, Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States.

I’m hearing from several reliable sources that Colin Powell will endorse Obama soon. If this happens, it is pretty much over for McCain. What a dismal campaign. Nothing has gone right this year.

With the way the race is looking, unless McCain obliterates Obama in tomorrow’s debate, ala Reagan 1980 or Clinton 1992, or if there is a devastating October Surprise, Obama will be the next president.

So how should conservatives deal with this? One possible silver lining is that if he moves too far to the left, regarding taxes or social issues, republicans will regain congress in 2010 and be set up nicely for victory in 2012 with a REAL conservative presidential nominee. Clinton heavily raised taxes in 1993 and lost congress in 1994. Only when he moved to the center and signed republican proposals, was he able to win in 1996 (along with Newt overreaching).

So although we should work hard to get McCain elected, let’s also look to the long-term.

I’m so frustrated with McCain’s incompetence. Are his advisors freaking morons?

He said yesterday that he doesn’t “give a damm about the washed-up terrorist,” when referring to Ayers and said that he only cares because Obama lied about it.

Why the f*ck isn’t McCain making the case that Obama and Ayers share the same radical socialist values, which is why they’re friends and worked together on boards? Given the evidence, this is an easy argument to make, and more voters need to know about it. McCain is running a muddle, incoherent, and weak campaign, and with 3 weeks left to go, he needs to get his act together.

Once again, the GOP is paying the price for not nominating Rudy.

I think McCain’s biggest problem is not his campaign staff or even the financial crisis. Rather, it’s his lack of authentic conservative principles on a number of issues. His entire campaign is built on his biography, record of service, and a clarion call for putting country first. I’m afraid that unless he shifts course drastically, he will lose on November 4th.

In an election year when the democrats nominated the most radical presidential candidate in U.S. history, McCain is acting like barney fife. He is unable to articulate bold conservative principles like Reagan on taxes and role of government, or even Bush on the war on terror. The GOP base could have nominated Rudy, a man who used conservative principles to revive NYC after three decades of liberal mismanagement, or Romney, a smart conservative ex-businessman. Rather, they rejected those men because of single issues like abortion or mormonism.

I sincerely wish McCain prevails and hopes that he wakes up and smells the coffee. But if he loses, I think the GOP also needs to reassess itself.

I think McCain’s biggest problem is not his campaign staff or even the financial crisis. Rather, it’s his lack of authentic conservative principles on a number of issues. His entire campaign is built on his biography, record of service, and a clarion call for putting country first. I’m afraid that unless he shifts course drastically, he will lose on November 4th.

In an election year when the democrats nominated the most radical presidential candidate in U.S. history, McCain is acting like barney fife. He is unable to articulate bold conservative principles like Reagan on taxes and role of government, or even Bush on the war on terror. The GOP base could have nominated Rudy, a man who used conservative principles to revive NYC after three decades of liberal mismanagement, or Romney, a smart conservative ex-businessman. Rather, they rejected those men because of single issues like abortion or mormonism.

I sincerely wish McCain prevails and hopes that he wakes up and smells the coffee. But if he loses, I think the GOP also needs to reassess itself.

I hate engaging in conspiracy theories or being too optimistic. After all, Obama is leading comfortably, and it’s his race to lose. Nonetheless, something seems bizarre with the campaign. It almost seems too quiet and subdued, like a calm before the storm. I was talking about this to a good friend of mine who is an obama supporter, and he felt the same way. He’s convinced that there will be an october surprise that will hurt obama. It could be a foreign policy development or shocking ads that damage obama’s campaign. I really don’t know. And of course, this is purely speculative, but my guts are telling me the sh*t is going to hit the fan in about a week or two.

There’s a lot of doom and gloom among conservatives, especially among the readers on national review corner. Many are saying that McCain blew it by not exposing Obama as an ultra-liberal radical. Now I agree that McCain’s delivery was less than impressive, and Obama did come across as presidential. Moreover, McCain missed some chances to land body blows.

However, after looking back at tonight’s debate, I think the main problem was the format, more specifically Tom Brokaw’s performance. It is well-known that Brokaw is a liberal, and it is absurd that in a supposedly town-hall debate, where anything should go, Brokaw picked the questions himself! The questions were so bland and generic that I’m not quite sure how McCain could have attacked Obama on Ayers, Wright, Rezko, etc. If he had brought up those people gratuitously, it could backfire massively. In a sense, broad policy questions regarding the economy benefit Obama because he’s running against the incumbent party and can blame everything on Bush and McCain. Unless the moderator asks questions that are more specific and have a moral/values component, it would have been very difficult for McCain to cripple Obama. This is why the Saddelback forum was such a huge boost for McCain. Rick Warren’s questions exposed Obama as liberal, weak, and not ready to lead.

I think the McCain campaign already knows this, which is why they’re focusing the energy on stump speeches and ads. There is no way the liberal moderators will ask questions that can potentially damage the Messiah. You can count on that.

I’ve been extremely down the past 2 weeks, as Obama’s lead over McCain continues to grow. Yet, I have this strange feeling that Steve Schmidt and the other strategists, may be saving the most devastating attacks for later this month. Schmidt is a brilliant and aggressive strategist, so i have a hard time believing that he’s just sitting there, not willing to attack Obama. It’s been way too quiet on the McCain front. Maybe I’m being too optimistic. We’ll have to wait and see what unfolds.

Dear Senator McCain,

I’m going to be honest. You were my third choice in the GOP primaries, behind the great Rudy Giuliani and the brilliant Mitt Romney. However, this presidential election is a choice between two men, two competing visions, and I have every intention of voting for you on November 4th.

Although this sounds like a cliche, this election is the most important, at least since 1980, when Reagan beat Carter and put this country on a path to greatness. The differences between you and Obama are stark, not merely in terms of age and experience, but more importantly, in vision, values, and character. The thought of having a president who espouses socialist views and weakness abroad, sends cold chills down my spine.

It is in this context that I write to you, for I am DEEPLY concerned with your conduct of this campaign. You had a brilliant August and early September, when you successfully characterized Obama as a vapid celebrity. However, in the past 2 weeks, with the financial crisis and your mediocre debate performance, you have slipped, and rightfully so.

Let me offer some free advice. First, STOP focusing on earmarks. Yes, I hate wasteful government spending, but that is not the reason why we’re in this crisis, and more importantly, the American people simply don’t care about it at this point. Second, start aggressively attacking Obama on TAXES. You need to argue that obama’s “tax cuts” are simply freebies given out to people who already don’t pay taxes, and that his tax increases on businesses will cost people jobs, due to higher costs of maintaining a business. Start hammering away on this, and force Obama to give specific rates on his new taxes. Will the capital gains rate go from 15 to 20 percent, or as high as 28? Will he really get rid of the social security payroll cap, which will add an additional 12% to people’s tax burden? McCain needs to get on the ball ASAP. And McCain must make it clear that the reason why we’re in this mess is due to government regulations of lending companies that were promoted by DEMOCRATS. Rush has a great video on this, where back in 2004, all the leading dems were saying that fannie and freddie are doing absolutely fine. McCain should run ads on this.

Finally, start running against the democratic congress. Bill Clinton did a great job on this in 1996 by comparing Dole to the unpopular Gingrich. Start asking the American people if they really trust giving obama a blank check, with an ultra-liberal congress led by pelosi and reid, giving him every tax increase and government program that his heart desires.

Senator McCain, please get on the offensive now, before it’s too late. The future of our contry is at stake. We can’t afford 4 years of Obama’s socialist policies.