By Kristen Soltis, on Thu Apr 12, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET  Having weathered the tense, topsy-turvy contest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney now moves into the next chapter of the 2012 campaign. But how that next chapter reads is yet to be determined.
The departure of Rick Santorum from the race has sparked debate about how much Romney will need to “fire up the base” as he moves forward in order to turn out very conservative voters in November. Yet as voters grow increasingly frustrated with both parties, it is disaffected voters and disappointed independents who will be most decisive in this coming election. 
The great news for Romney is that, no matter how you slice the electorate into target groups, the economy and jobs are the top issues on voters’ minds. This is not an election that will be decided on social or cultural issues. Despite Democrats’ efforts to turn fundamentally economic and fiscal issues into cultural issue wedges, the election will not hinge on issues like free contraception or funding for Planned Parenthood.
Read the rest of…
Kristen Soltis: Does Romney Still Need to Court Conservatives?
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Apr 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  You know what’s really funny?
Well….um…..shoot. I was thinking of something really funny and now it’s gone.
Huh.
It’s on the tip of my tongue….give me just a minute……
…well……..I think it started with the letter “r” and was a humorous story that happened recently.
It had something to do with….um….Doggone it.
It may have started with the letter “b” and happened when I was a child.
Well, anyway, I had a good laugh to myself about it and if I think of it again I’ll try to share it on Facebook.
Or at least share what letter it starts with.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Apr 12, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
As we close in on the 2012 NFL Draft there are many mock drafts getting made up. Here are a few to mull over. [Walter Football]
Here is an amalgamation from USA Today. [USA Today]
Here is Don Banks’ fifth go at predicting the draft. [Sports Illustrated]
One of the coolest mock drafts I’ve seen. Very nice job by the creator. [Chris Steuber]
Astute observation by Adam Schefter. [Twitter]
Mike Wallace not planning on signing the tender by the Steelers. [Pro Football Talk]
By Artur Davis, on Thu Apr 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  Ira Shapiro’s recent work on the late seventies, “The Last Great Senate”, has the gift of good timing. It hits bookstands during a time when its thesis–that Washington was occupied by political giants, moderates, and thoughtful deal-makers until far-right Republicans dragged it into the mud–is the conventional wisdom du jour. As a narrative, the book also reads well, which is no small accomplishment, given its dive into the nuts and bolts of policy battles that are only dimly recalled: Jimmy Carter’s conservation initiatives and his failed stimulus are not exactly the stuff of lore. As Shapiro reminds, there actually was an ample amount of substance and rigor in many of those debates, and the quality of the fight seems, in Shapiro’s telling, richer than our current sound-bite clashes.
 Click on the book cover to order To be sure, there is much that is admirable about this book from one of the most credentialed public policy lawyers in DC. It’s worth asking though, whether Shapiro’s underlying theory of senatorial decline and right-wing liability really holds up as a description of the last thirty odd years. Two threshold criticisms: first, the supposed dark ages after 1980 contain a lot more bipartisan accomplishment than Shapiro acknowledges. While his epilogue makes a nod to a series of eighties era achievements, including a refinancing of Social Security, a work-over of Title VII, tax reform, immigration reform, and the patent protection that enabled the generic drug market, it’s a run of success that Shapiro seems to dramatically understate and which is at odds with his premise. If Shapiro is right about the sources of dysfunction, a Republican lurch to the right and the surge of cut and slash ad wars sponsored by conservative cash, the eighties should have been one long pattern of gridlock. The fact that they weren’t gives Shapiro’s case fits that he doesn’t really address.
Read the rest of…
Artur Davis: Seventies Night on Capitol Hill
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Apr 11, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Life if like… [comic]
I’ve always been curious how boomerangs work. [Yahoo! Answers]
This guy plays by his own rules. [picture]
And then The Masters got awkward. [gif]
Once a Pizza Hut, always a Pizza Hut. [picture]
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Apr 11, 2012 at 2:31 PM ET MUST VIEW: An animated protrayal of the GOP horse race. As an actual horse race. Helps get you ready for the Derby. [Slate]
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Apr 11, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Having teenagers is a gift.
Not necessarily a gift that I would have picked out for myself. For example, like brides-to-be pick out for their bridal registry.
More like a sort of gag gift. That gets a knowing laugh at a party when opened but not as big a laugh as you’d hoped.
Because you begin to realize it’s not really a gag or a gift. So you put it in the corner and hope your spouse will know what to do with it and put it away for you. And not tell you where it is.
But you find it and after ignoring it many times you decide one day pull it out and read the instructions. And realize unlike most gifts, it doesn’t come ready-made.
The gift depends entirely on how much time you spend working on it. Like a Rubik’s Cube. You never figure it out.
But working on it makes you a smarter person—while simultaneously reminding you how incredibly dumb and limited you are. And makes those watching you play with it–your teenagers–realize they don’t have to be that smart or talented or together to make it in this world.
And they love you (and learn a lot) by watching you try–in front of them.
And they –your teens–are amused that you try to teach them the secrets of the Rubik’s Cube while daily failing to figure it out…And shocked when you get mad at them for not listening.
After all, why should you be mad? You’re playing with your gift.
By Jeff Smith, on Wed Apr 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  Kansas played like Santorum last week.
They were outmatched, but they came from behind and almost made a game of it.
Time after time in the last 5-6 minutes, they had a shot to pull within five points and really make it a nailbiter (think MI, OH, IL).
And yet, every time they had a shot to get close and throw the outcome into doubt, they blew it – missed layups, errant passes, unforced turnovers.
 Kind of like Santorum’s errant foray into contraception before the MI primary, his inability to make the ballot in VA or field full slates in Ohio or Illinois, his inexplicable and time-consuming trip to Puerto Rico in advance of Illinois.
When Kentucky hit the big trey w/ just under a minute to play, it was the nail in the coffin.
You just can’t give a team that’s more talented, deeper, and steadier than you so many chances to put you away. Similarly, tonight was probably the nail in the coffin.
Read the rest of…
Jeff Smith: Has Rick Santorum Maxed Out?
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 10, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET Yoni Cohen of Forbes magazine wrote a great piece about the cleantech revolution proceeding in Israel, with an interview of my two friends and colleagues, Jack Levy, Me’ir Ukeles and Glen Schwaber:
Cleantech Investing In Israel, The Startup Nation
Israel is the “ Start-Up Nation.” The tiny country has more scientists, engineers, and start-ups, per capita, than any other nation in the world. Numerous Israeli firms have been acquired by leading multinationals including Google, IBM, and HP. Other Israeli start-ups have gone public; more than 50 Israeli firms are listed on the NASDAQ alone.
Israel is also a hotbed of cleantech entrepreneurship. According to a new report from the Cleantech Group and WWF, Israel is the second most innovative country worldwide for cleantech. (Denmark ranked first). “Coming Clean: The Cleantech Global Innovation Index 2012” finds that Israel leads the world in creating cleantech companies and has produced a disproportionate number of high-quality firms.
Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) is the leading cleantech venture capital firm in Israel. To learn about Israeli cleantech innovation and ICV’s strategy and investments, I spoke with the firm’s three founding partners: Jack Levy, Meir Ukeles, and Glen Schwaber.
Q: Israel is often described as the “Start-Up Nation.” Why?
A, Jack Levy: Per capita, we have by far the most start-ups, particularly in cleantech. Although Israel is 60-plus years old, the country’s private sector is really young. Its roots are in the 1980s and 1990s. A lot of the dynamism in the economy really comes from that. Another driver is the military experiences that young people go through, which gives them great responsibilities, great opportunities, and a can do attitude. But the driver that is most important and hardest to replicate is cultural, the perspective that failure can be one step along the way. America shares that perspective, but there are plenty of other cultures where a fear of failure keeps very talented people from taking risks or leaving larger organizations to start enterprises. Israel has a risk-taking culture. A lot of it comes from the fact that the downside is not as strong. If you fail, you’ll try to learn from that failure and keep going. People won’t hold your failure as a strike against you.
Q: In what areas is Israel strongest in cleantech innovation?
A, Meir Ukeles: At Israel Cleantech Ventures, we focus on areas that make sense in Israel for venture investing. Generally these are areas where Israel has very strong roots, in traditional energy and water industries. Israel is a dry country with a lot of sunlight and, up until recently, no domestic fossil fuel resources. Not surprisingly, technologies for solar, water efficiency, water treatment, water reuse and, in the last 10-15 years, desalination, have pretty deep roots. Call that one bucket.
The second bucket are startups that draw on technology innovation and intellectual capital out of what would be called traditional technology industries: semiconductors, power electronics, communications, and wireless in particular. There has also been some innovation in energy storage, a lot of which over the years was funded by or benefited from research and development done in the military and in the defense establishment and then, in the last 20 years, has been a hotbed of more traditional venture-backed, for-profit activity. There is a lot of innovation that comes from those roots and finds its way to the biggest problems of our era: resource efficiency, resource imbalances, and the environmental footprint of consumption.
The third bucket is from pockets in which Israel’s traditional industrial base has a lot to contribute. Chemicals are one area where there is a lot of competence, some of which flows to the water industry. Other aspects go to agritech and green fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Apr 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET “Funny awkward” or just “awkward”
Sometimes when I’m out and see someone I know out of the corner of my eye, I just don’t have the energy to say hello… so I pretend I don’t see them. And hope they don’t see me.
We are likes two ships passing in the dark of night (or light of day, really).
Sometimes, though, I’ll see them catching a quick glimpse at me. But also choose not to say hello because they are preoccupied with something and don’t have the energy or time to speak to me.
Once I know they have seen me and not said hello, I get uncomfortable. There is a chance they have also seen me see them and know that I failed to say hi when I had the chance.
So, I slyly “pretend” to have just seen them and act surprised (like I’m spotting them for the first time) and say hello. They–in return–act like they are just seeing me for the first time and say hello.
But what if their “fake first time hello” is less enthusiastic than mine? You can’t help but wonder if that be considered a slight? Or just life as it is in our hurried world? It’s the latter, of course.
That’s when I feel the whole exchange is “funny awkward.”
And when that happens, I admit, there’s a part of me that wants to point out that I did notice they saw me about a minute ago and could tell they didn’t want to talk to me.
Just so I know that they know…that I knew.
But I don’t. Because that would be just plain “awkward.”
And probably the last time we’d ever pretend not to see each other in public again…. before pretending to see each other for the first time and striking up a conversation.
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The Recovering Politician Bookstore
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Having weathered the tense, topsy-turvy contest for the Republican presidential nomination, Mitt Romney now moves into the next chapter of the 2012 campaign. But how that next chapter reads is yet to be determined.
