New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Slicing Like A Hammer

More info and background at Hot Air and Ace.

Can I Claim Credit For This?

Last night, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell delivered the Republican response Barack Obama's State Of The Union speech. The chosen local was the House of Assemblies in Richmond.

Not quite a town hall setting but it still had the desired effect. Yes. It was my idea.

The transcript of McDonnell's speech can be found here.

Gov. Bob McDonnell Will Respond To Barack Obama's State Of The Union Speech

LINKED BY: Bob at The Camp Of The Saints.

Not even a week into his new job and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is about to be in the national spotlight. He'll be the Republican response to the State Of The Union speech. The style of the setting helped take away from any of the substance.

A word of advice to Gov. McDonnell:

Please give your response in front of a town hall type event. Consider Gov. Bobby Jindal's response from last year. After Obama's speech of cheers and applause, Jindal's response in an empty room seemed hallow and out of place.

It might be easier to give the speech without the interruptions of applause. But the perception on TV across the nation will be better received. The segue from Congress to a town hall filled with supporters won't be as abrupt and the energy in the room will be noticed on TV.

It's a sad fact but appearances matter. It's a campaign speech. No one is running but the values and ideals of the Republican party. The audience will help punctuate key issues in your speech. Lower taxes, yea! Smaller government, hooray! Letting people keep more of their own money to create jobs, *thunderous applause*. It will help devalue what the liberal pundit will say after the speech. When he comes on to tell the viewers what you really meant to say and proceed to get it all wrong because. . . Well, most pundits on the networks are liberals and get everything wrong to begin with. Your response will be no different.

Think of it as canned laughter for a sitcom. The jokes are there and most people get them. The prerecorded laughs help to highlight gags to someone who isn’t paying much attention.

Need A Table With Sturdy Legs?

"Dirty" Deeds

Some nick-names are earned.

This is no exception.

Where In The World?

This Just In

State Sen. R. Creigh Deeds is in at the Democrat Nominee for Governor of Virginia. Mostly because Terry McAuliffe was deemed the 'carpet bagger' of the bunch. And it was easier to spell out 'Deeds' with a marker on the palm of a hand than 'McAuliffe' was.

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He must have made three of these videos to be ready to post. On second thought, only two videos after seeing how Moran was showing in the poll numbers.

And They Claim To Be Pro Growth

Funny how the three democrats running to be Governor of Virginia all claim to be for job growth. But when an actual chance for them to prove how pro-job they can be, they balk.

we must focus more on bi-partisanship and less on ideology," he said. Natural gas exploration is fine, but oil should be off limits in Virginia waters -- a position already backed the General Assembly, [Terry McAuliffe] he said.
. . .
Another Democratic candidate, former Del. Brian Moran of Alexandria, also took the green route, but wants no drilling offshore.
. . .
"That's why Creigh [Deeds] is fighting right now in Richmond to create jobs in alternative and renewable energy, which will put Virginia on the cutting-edge of job creation," she said.

Drilling for oil will help provide jobs immediately. Short and long term jobs will be filled for Virginia. When the entire infrastructure is based on burning fossil fuels, turning away from that is like steering a luxury yacht with a paddle.

To put energy in it's simplistic form, it's what can you burn for the longest and the hottest. Right now, like in the past, that is fossil fuels. Wind stops blowing for the wind turbine and corn is harvested only once a year inducing natural shortages with bio-fuel. Drill, baby, drill.

With Cuba drilling off the coast of Florida, why not Virginia? I would put up the safety and environmental record of any US company to those of the Cuban Roughnecks.

With the market falling every time Obama speaks, it's time to strengthen the dollar by creating much needed jobs in Virginia's private sector.

Thanks to

It's Fun To Watch--Now

You know the feeling you get watching two football teams that you don't like play each other. You root for injuries. Watching the Democrats gear up for the run at the Governor's office this year is like that.

Given McDonnell's expected strengths, some Virginia Democrats may decide to support the Democratic candidate who they think has the best chance to defeat him. But Democratic activists are divided about whether Terry McAuliffe, Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (Bath) or former delegate Brian Moran stands the best chance against McDonnell.

So, to help Democrats figure out what the opposition is thinking, Virginia Notebook spent a day asking randomly selected Virginia GOP leaders which Democratic candidate they fear most as an opponent.

Here are some of their answers. Yes, these are Republicans, so Democrats will have to decide whether the answers reflect a bit of reverse psychology.