2012: Is it too early?

We will do it just once this year and many people say it is too early but Presidential Politics is beginning to heat up.

ROMNEY- “While splitting his time between a new home near San Diego and a place on New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, the former governor is also logging hours in three other places critical to a presidential run: Washington, New York and the campaign trail. … Romney has also retained the support of most of his top aides and advisers from his past campaign. He holds regular reunion gatherings with them and will invite his former team to his lake house next month for a summer cookout. Such consultants and operatives most likely will form the nucleus of a 2012 race, and no other potential candidate has such an infrastructure-in-waiting in place.”

Rink Rats predict a Romney, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal ticket in 2012 – where is Sarah Palin? Don’t look for her until 2016.

Rink Rats also predict Vice President Biden will leave the ticket in 2012 and Hillary Clinton will be the VP candidate along with President Obama. Why you say.... a 2016 race of Hillary vs. Sarah is in the works. Laugh now, but put this in your hard disk drive. America will be ready for an all women Presidential race in 2016.
The Republicans will win a majority in the House this fall but they cannot beat Obama in 2012.

STATEMENT FROM FORMER VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY - “As many of you know, I have dealt with coronary artery disease for decades, suffering my first heart attack in 1978 at age 37. … A few weeks ago, it became clear that I was entering a new phase of the disease when I began to experience increasing congestive heart failure. After a series of recent tests and discussions with my doctors, I decided to take advantage of one of the new technologies available and have a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) implanted. The LVAD is a small implantable pump that improves heart function and will enable me to resume an active life. Last week I underwent surgery at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute and had an LVAD implanted. The operation went very well and I am now recuperating. I am grateful for the wonderful care that I have received over the years at George Washington University Hospital, and that I am currently receiving at Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute. I also want to thank all of you who have included my family and me in your thoughts and prayers.”

SPORTS BLINK - ESPN.com, “Chasing the Bear,” by Rick Reilly in St. Andrews, Scotland: “I used to think Tiger Woods would pass Jack Nicklaus' 18 majors like a highway rest stop, but now I'm starting to wonder. He has 14, but he's 34 and aging like the portrait of Dorian Gray. … Most great players don't win majors past 40. … If we agree on the 40 thing, that leaves Woods with, more or less, five and a half years left in his prime -- 22 more majors. He's played 52 majors as a pro and won 14 of them, so that's about one in every four. Twenty-two chances to win five? For the old Tiger, a bunny layup. For the post-fire-hydrant, porn-star-plagued, gross-national-product-of-Peru-divorce-settling Tiger, a little harder.” Rink Rats predicted this a few weeks ago.

Congratulations to Louis Oosthuizen for winning The Open Championship, Rink Rats pick Ian Poulter finished 60th.

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE won last week's Major League Baseball All-Star game 3-1, and POLITICO's Daniel Strauss notes: “According to an analysis by University of Minnesota professor Eric J. Ostermeier, who writes the Smart Politics blog, a National League victory in the Midsummer Classic has preceded every election with double-digit GOP House gains since 1950. ... Since 1948, every time the Republicans have gained at least five Senate seats, the National League has won.”

DOES ANYONE CARE – The Tour de France ends July 25, the drug, ego plagued event has lost many followers this year.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week for: Cindy King, Nelson Mandela, Kathleen Turner, Pavel Datsyuk…Go Red Wings!, Don Henley, Patrick Pugliese…famous goaltender, Don Imus, Alison Krauss.

500 MILLION FRIENDS -- WashPost's Cecilia Kang: "Facebook is expected to say this week that it has reached 500 million users." We all need to get a life, seriously.

WHO REALLY LOOSES? - This week, the SEC settled its fraud case against Goldman Sachs for $550 million (4 days worth of Goldman's 2009 revenues), without the banking giant having to admit legal wrongdoing or fire any senior executives. On the same day, Congress passed a financial reform bill that left Wall Street's too big to fail banks bigger and more powerful than ever. Also gaining power: Tim Geithner, who continued to carry Wall Street's water by letting it be known behind the scenes that he opposes making Elizabeth Warren head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Elsewhere, a federal appeals court ruled that uttering a fleeting expletive on TV wasn't obscene. If only an appeals court could do something about the obscenity of the Supreme Court allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns.

LAME DUCK MAYOR - Antonio Villar of Los Angeles broke his elbow in a bike accident this past weekend. Reports say he biked into a pot hole.

Next week: Our monthly finance report and travelling in the Eastern Sierras.

Until next Monday, Arrivederci.

Claremont, CA
July 19, 2010