By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  Romney should be calling all of his bundlers and soliciting money into Santorum’s campaign to make sure Santorum stays alive. Otherwise Newt may well win Florida and then all bets are off.
In 2002, a few well-informed individuals supporting the re-election campaign of Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) understood that he probably couldn’t get to 50 percent against John Thune and that he’d probably attracted as many indies as possible, but that Libertarian Kurt Evans could potentially draw an extra point or two from Thune’s right flank. A few of these aforementioned individuals apparently organized a last minute effort to boost Evans, who ended up garnering 2,500 votes as Johnson edged Thune by 520 votes.
The dynamics are slightly different in a primary but the principles are the same. Santorum’s approximately 10 percent in Florida/nationally are essentially off-limits to Mitt in a contested primary, unless somebody like Huntsman is the sole alternative. To win Florida, Mitt must prevent the conservative bloc, currently split between Newt and Santorum, from coalescing behind Newt. So Mitt must keep Santorum in the race. The best way to do that is money. And Mitt (and his homies from the real streets of America) have nothing if not mad benjamins.
It might seem crazy but it’s perfectly legal and it’s what Romney’s people should be quietly communicating to their most sophisticated (and cynical) bundlers.
And hell, we’re in the post-Citizens United age, so one of those bundlers – if his creative juices are flowing – could just decide to start his own PAC and just start running positive ads for Santorum in Florida to boost Santorum’s #s there. Eliminate the middleman(ager) – that’s the Bain way, right?
In sum, to borrow some Bain-style jargon: for Romney, in the absence of a very unlikely Santorum surge, the marginal benefit of an extra dollar spent boosting
Santorum is higher than another dollar spent attacking Newt or another dollar spent trying to boost Romney.
(Cross-posted, with permission of the author, from Politico’s Arena)
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET  Are the eyes truly the window to the soul?
I think they are.
About 5 years ago a book came out titled, “A Hand To Guide Me: Legends and Celebrities Celebrate the People who Shaped Their Lives.”
It had a picture of Denzel Washington on the cover. (See below).
This book had an important impact on me.
I never bought the book, or the book on tape.
Never borrowed it from a friend to read. In fact, never once opened the book. Never even ever touched it.
 But I would stare at it every time I’d go to the book store, which was at least once a week. This went on for nearly six months.
What did I stare at? Denzel Washington’s calm, humble and yet assured look. Not seeming assured with confidence– but rather assured with integrity.
I love this picture and decided I wanted to live my life in such a way that if the eyes are truly the window to the soul, one day I could transmit through my eyes the same calm and peaceful soul Denzel Washington appears to in the picture.
I’m still working on that…and will be for years to come. Many days I feel my eyes look less like a composed and serene Denzel and more like the frenzied, fearful, vacant eyes of the protagonist in the movie Eraserhead.
But I try. It’s a goal. And a good one. And I got if from a book. With a picture of a man who’s soul spoke to me.
Through his eyes.
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET Desire for Self improvement fades with age.
Maybe completely.
Younger version of me: Was obsessively trying to improve myself.
I used to spend a lot of time trying to pinpoint faults, flaws and quirks in my personality and try to correct them. I’d scan the Web reading up on a variety of mild but annoying maladaptive behaviors, take online tests, reading up on how to eliminate such unwanted traits and try to seek to remove them from my personality. And often having some success.
Older version of me (now): It’s hard to describe but basically I don’t …… I dunno know….really care much anymore about self-improvement.
I am still all for improving myself but only if it doesn’t take any real effort or concentration.
If I identify some weakness, bad habit or maladaptive behavior, it’s not from taking an online quiz. I tried recently and didn’t even finish reading question #2 before quitting and mumbling to myself, “Really?! You really want to do this now?”
And if I do become convinced I have some undesireable traits, instead of working mightily to be rid of them, I find myself saying things like, “It’s all good.” What does that even mean? I think it means, “I’m too lazy to do anything about whatever you’re complaining about. Here’s a quarter. Call someone who cares. I’m cool with my little quirks.”
And get this! A younger friend asked me about a bad habit he had to give up and asked me what would I do. I gave it about 2 seconds of thought and said, quite seriously, “Instead of fighting it….or trying to “stop” doing it, why don’t you try ’embracing it.” I was serious.
I wish I cared enough about self-improvement to finish this paragraph on an interesting and perceptive note, but I really don’t.
Sorry. It’s all good!
By Jason Grill, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET 
There is no doubt Republican presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) has a great following. He has thousands of motivated volunteers, a bunch of money, and a message that is resonating with many including the 18-25 demographic. He never panders to any audience or anyone. He has enormous crowds chanting “President Paul! President Paul! President Paul!” He has been a success in the early primary and caucus states and has a strong organization going forward. He has a seat at the reserved table of Republican presidential politics.
So what is the problem? When asked by ABC reporter Terry Moran if he sees himself in the Oval Office, Paul answered “Not Really.” Do you think Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, or Newt Gingrich think this? Ron Paul and his campaign team believe they can go all the way to the Republican convention and garner enough delegates to either win or play a major role. At this point, Paul has not really attacked frontrunner Mitt Romney choosing rather to go after other rivals in hopes to make it a mano e mano race with Mitt. Most observers and pundits view a Ron Paul nomination as an impossibility at this point, but see the Paul candidacy and movement as something that could alter the Republican convention and platform moving forward.
 So is Ron Paul a prophet or can he really become President of the United States? In my opinion, if he “really” wanted to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January of 2013, he would run as a third-party candidate. His foreign policy message gives the hawkish Republican establishment hives. His social values and civil rights message excites some Democrats. His libertarian philosophy makes the young voters of this country do cartwheels.
Read the rest of…
Jason Grill: If Ron Paul Wants to Be President, He Should Run with Third Party
By Jason Grill, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 4:00 PM ET  Jason Grill: Rebuttal #10
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5; Artur Davis’ First Response; Michael Steele’s Rebuttal #6; The RP’s First Defense; David Host’s Rebuttal #7; Zack Adams’ Rebuttal #8; Artur Davis’ Second Response; Rod Jetton’s First Response; Ron Crandall’s Rebuttal #9]
Looks like this issue has almost been completely hashed out. Interesting responses and creativity throughout this entire debate on the RP.
Now, since I am charged with the late two-minute drill, let’s talk football:
Is it Tebow Time?
The Facts…
The Great: Career College Passing: 661 Cmp, 995 Att, 9285 Yds, 88 TD. Career College Rushing: 692 Att, 2947 Yds, 4.3 Avg, 57 TD, Heisman Award Winner (2007), BCS National Championship Winner (2007, 2009), 1st round NFL draft pick.
The Good: 8-6 as an NFL starting QB and 1-1 in the NFL playoffs.
The Bad: 18th QB scoring in Fantasy Football in 2011 (This is important to millions including me), ranked 32nd QB in passing yards (1,729), ranked 28th QB in overall rating (72.9), and ranked 34th QB in completion % (46.5) in 2011.
Tim Tebow is one of the best college QB’s of all time, but he is a below average NFL QB. Tebow will only continue to have a winning record in the NFL if his team’s running game and defense are great. In 2011, Denver finished 4th in the NFL in rushing and 6th in total defense.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Jason Grill Rebuts
By Rod Jetton, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET  Rod Jetton’s First Response
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5; Artur Davis’ First Response; Michael Steele’s Rebuttal #6; The RP’s First Defense; David Host’s Rebuttal #7; Zack Adams’ Rebuttal #8; Artur Davis’ Second Response]
While Jonathan is right that we can’t say with certainty when a fetus is a life, science is finding out that a fetus is viable at a younger and younger date with each new medical advance. I had a very good progressive female friend who was strongly pro-choice and would debate the subject with me vigorously. After she was married and decided to have children she had a sonogram.
She had a photo of a hardly recognizable fetus and she pointed it’s heart out to me. She stopped drinking, took extra vitamins and lived the healthiest lifestyle I had ever seen her live.
I didn’t bring it up, but she told me the whole pregnancy experience had made her think about abortion in a whole new way. She still believed a women had a right to control her own body, but the thought that that fetus might be a living person who could survive caused her to re-evaluate her position.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Rod Jetton Responds
By Artur Davis, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 2:30 PM ET  Artur Davis‘ Second Response
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5; Artur Davis’ First Response; Michael Steele’s Rebuttal #6; The RP’s First Defense; David Host’s Rebuttal #7; Zack Adams’ Rebuttal #8]
He underscores why Tebow’s brand of religiosity has lasting political relevance. The Focus on the Family ad is so effective because it attacks the pro-choice movement in one of its strongest places–abortions related to medical risks for the mother or fetus. Typically, the pro-life cause has dodged this line of attack in favor of a focus on abortions as a fallback when birth control fails, or abortions deep in the third trimester.
That the ad works so well, that it did not even strike many of its viewers as intensely political or even anti-choice, is an adman’s dream. And that’s no slight to Tebow or his mother; its actually a nod to the power of their testimony. But as Zack Adams appreciates, the ad is an argument for restricting or even criminalizing a different choice than Mrs. Tebow made. It’s not a plea for compromise; its a plea for codifying the value of unborn life even in the most morally complex, scientifically ambiguous context. With r espect to Jonathan, calling it something less than that probably understates what the Tebows and Focus on the Family meant to say.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Artur Davis Responds
By Michael Steele, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET  Michael Steele: Rebuttal #6
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5; Artur Davis’ First Response]
I’ve always been fascinated by the symmetry between football and faith.
Every great football saga ever told (or at least made for TV) has this underlying storyline about faith: faith in one’s self, faith in God, faith in your team.
So I find it particularly curious and somewhat appealing that Tim Tebow has been able to bring this connection into focus better than any other football player in recent memory.
But of course, folks act like this is something new. Players have been “giving thanks to God” and “taking a knee” in prayer long before Tebow stepped on the field or made a commercial.
So what’s different?
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Michael Steele Rebuts
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET “Membership Has Its Privileges.”
Oh, yes it does!
I am now a Speedy Rewards Card Club Member. Just received my “membership card.”
I have no idea what the criteria is, how many apply and are rejected, but I was offered membership on the spot without references, an interview, or even a short bio.
I had never given Speedway service station/convenience store much thought before….but I am awfully impressed with their judgment, perceptiveness, and obvious rigorous standards for from the membership selection committee. I look forward to membership festivities, camaraderie and friendships sure to develop for new “club members.”
These Speedway folks know quality when they see it. Well….and I guess I like to think I do too. I now put Speedway right up there with Costco as one of the great American retail chains.
(Full Disclosure: I am a Costco Wholesale “Executive Member” Black Card holder.)
By Artur Davis, on Mon Jan 23, 2012 at 11:30 AM ET Artur Davis: Response #1
[The RP’s Provocation; Artur Davis’ Rebuttal #1; Rod Jetton’s Rebuttal #2; John Y. Brown, III’s Rebuttal #3; Ron Granieri’s Rebuttal #4; Robert Kahne’s Rebuttal #5]
A couple of observations based on what others have said:
Rod Jetton and Ron Granieri ask the plausible question why Tim Tebow has engendered so much buzz when religiosity and good works in the sportsworld are pretty common; Dirk Meneffee at CBS’ NFL Today asked a similar question on air, in response to Terry Bradshaw’s rave about how Tebow is providing inspiration to a hero starved culture. It’s a sore subject, by the way, in some sectors of the African American community, who recall Reggie White and a host of other black athletes who aided young people and celebrated their faith every bit as enthusiastically as Tebow without the fame or the credit.
We’ll save for another day a foray into the differences in how black and white athletes are covered by the media ( Robert Kahne sort of goes there in his observations about the lack of acclaim for Cam Newton, whose rookie season only produced more passing yards than any rookie QB in NFL history, and who is a superior quarterback and athlete to Tebow, but has received a fraction of the attention that Tebow has garnered–then again, Tebow wins games, and in improbable, breathtaking ways, a characteristic that has eluded Newton at the professional level). I do think, however, that Tebow’s faith has garnered more interest than his predecessors because it seems to have a larger worldview around it than just sports. As Rod Jetton recalls, Reggie White was unabashed about his faith, even practiced as an associate minister, but if memory serves, Reggie White never ventured into the secular realm of public policy. Similarly, when Kevin Durant, the single best player in the NBA today, opens his post game interviews by thanking God for giving him the opportunity, it seems heart-felt, and often touching, but it is as apolitical as it could be. Tebow follows a bolder path–he made an ad promoting the pro-life cause; he endorses abstinence; and he comfortably appears in conservative forums like Mike Huckabee’s and Sean Hannity’s programs on Fox News.
Read the rest of…
The RPs Debate Tim Tebow: Artur Davis Responds
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