Sarah Palin Asks For Money to Make Her Presidential Decision, Unknown Republican is Now an Unknown Non-Candidate, Rick Perry Does not Know Que . . .

And Political News that Just Keeps on Coming

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is refusing to say whether or not she will enter the race for the Republican nomination for President, but that doesn’t stop her from asking for money.

Alaska Republican Sarah Palin is “on the verge of making her decision of whether or not to run for office” – and her backers should write a check right away, a letter from her political action committee says.

On the positive side, we now have the reason why even a large number of Republicans no longer support Ms. Palin’s bid for high office and would vote against her if she ran.

Another Republican has joined former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty in dropping out of the race for the Republican nomination for President.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) told the Detroit News that he will drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

News reporters hailed this astounding development, the astounding development being the news that Mr. McCotter was even running for the Republican nomination.

Politicians are not the sleaziest class of people, despite what anyone believes.  The sleaziest person in the world at this time has to be Mr. Larry Flynt, an adult magazine publisher

Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt "is putting GOP Presidential candidate Rick Perry in his crosshairs ... he'll be offering up to $1 million for anyone who can prove Perry has had an illicit sexual liaison," TMZ reports

Really, this sets a bar so high (low?) no current or would be elected official can even come close to.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry demonstrated his profound ignorance on one of the most important issues of the day, the supremacy of eastern North Carolina BBQ over every other type.

According to "Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue," in 1992 when Perry was a promising Texas politician but not yet governor, he tried some Eastern North Carolina barbecue from King's of Kinston, which was served at the Republican National Convention in Houston.

"I've had road kill that tasted better than that," Perry was quoted as saying.

The Dismal Political Economist has lived in eastern North Carolina (a long time ago) and like everyone else (except Mr. Perry) he regards eastern NC BBQ as the holy grail of  “Que”.  He can think of nothing else that Mr. Perry might say or do that would disqualify Mr. Perry more for higher office than the above statement.  Even if Mr. Perry puts mayonnaise in his cole slaw that action would not be more horrifying that his opinion on Carolina BBQ.

In North Dakota the Democrats released a poll that showed they would be competitive in the upcoming Senate race in that state.

The Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group survey showed the likely GOP Senate nominee, freshman Rep. Rick Berg (N.D.) with 44 percent. Another 40 percent of respondents preferred a Democratic candidate

Unfortunately it turns out the poll was conducted in the Land of Oz, apparently by the Scarecrow just before the Wizard gave him brains.

Remember how his comments on Social Security were supposed to harm Texas Gov. Rick Perry in the state of Florida, with its large retiree population.  Well a new Quinnipiac poll is out for the state and here is what it found.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a small lead over the Republican presidential pack in Florida with 28 percent, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 22 percent, but Perry tops Romney 31 - 22 percent if Sarah Palin doesn't run and leads Romney 46 - 38 percent in a two- man face-off, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Pundits who thought the Social Security comments would hurt Mr. Perry simply do not realize that Republican primary voters are a different species from regular voters.  They hate Social Security as a “New Deal, Socialist, Communist, Atheistic Program” even as they collect on it.

Voters in Florida, with the nation's highest concentration of senior citizens, say 58 - 33 percent that it is "unfair" to describe Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme," as Perry has done. But among Republicans, the only ones allowed to vote in the state's crucial primary, 52 percent say that is a fair way to describe the nation's retirement system.

So a week or so from now let’s see how the polls shake out after yet another Florida debate and after yet another attack by Mr. Romney on Mr. Perry’s position on Social Security (and what was regarded by the professional pundit class as a bad debate performance by Mr. Perry).   Will anything change?