Hillary v Trump: A Race to the White House

The two candidates vying to be the next President of the United States could not be more different.

Donald Trump is a brash and bold businessman who promises to go against the political 'establishment' and make 'America great again'.

Hillary Clinton is a seasoned politician, the first female candidate from a major party, with the slogan 'stronger together'.

Al Jazeera's James Bays takes a look at the style each candidate used in their recent party conventions.

US Election: Obama and Romney in Frantic Dash for Final Votes

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The two men who would be president presented their closing arguments to the American people on Saturday, as they embarked on a frantic three-day dash for the finishing line in what is poised to be one of the closest contests ever seen in the United States.

After months of speeches, dozens of diner visits, hundreds of thousands of commercials and, by one estimate, $6 billion spent by the campaigns and outside groups, the race is still too close to call.

Mitt Romney promised Americans that under his leadership the country would rediscover its greatness, after languishing under Barack Obama for four years.

Under a slogan of “Real Change from Day One” – a deliberate dig at the president’s winning mantra from 2008 - the Republican contender said that his rival’s “big government” policies had failed.

“If there is anybody who fears the American dream is fading away, I have a message for you: America is about to come roaring back,” he said at his first rally of the day in New Hampshire, one of the closest swing states.

“President Obama is offering excuses, I am offering a plan. He is asking Americans to settle [for what they have got]. But Americans don’t settle, we dream, we aspire and we achieve great things.”

Mr Romney is now the candidate offering a sense of hope, prosperity and unity, while the president is visibly on the defensive.

“I will not just represent one party, I will represent one nation,” Mr Romney said. » | Alex Spillius, Portsmouth, New Hampshire | Saturday, November 03, 2012

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Ann Romney Republican National Convention Full Speech 2012, Talks About Women, The Economy, and Husband Mitt
Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, gave a much-anticipated address to the Republican National Convention on Monday night. There, she spoke of her marriage to Mitt Romney, their family and battles with her multiple sclerosis and breast cancer. She defined why she felt her husband was the leader that America needs at this time in terms that humanized and personalized the Republican presidential nominee.

"I want to talk to you tonight not about politics and not about party," Ann Romney began. "Tonight, I want to talk to you from my heart about our hearts."

Ann Romney said she wanted to talk about the love she has for Mitt Romney, their children and their grandchildren. She also said that she wanted to talk about the love of average Americans, men and women, who labor in anonymity.

"I have seen and heard stories of how hard it is to get ahead now," said Romney. "You know what? I've heard your stories." She said that the women of America feel the burden of America's economic struggles.

"I love you women," exclaimed Romney. "You are the ones that have to do a little bit more and you know what it's like to work a little harder during the day to earn the respect you deserve at work. And then you come home at night and help with the book report because it has to be done."

"You are the best of America," Romney said. "You are the hope of America. There would not be an America without you. Tonight, we salute you and sing your praises."

Ann Romney said that it is the women of America who feel the bad economy the most. She said that there was another way for America's women. "We're too smart to know there aren't easy answers but were not dumb enough to know there aren't better answers," Romney said to applause.

Ann Romney said that her battles with MS and cancer mean her marriage to Mitt Romney is a real marriage and not a "storybook marriage."

She praised her husband's morals and leadership, and ability to work with Democrats -- noting that it was not necessary to agree with him to know he is a strong leader. "No one will work harder, no one will care more and no one will move heaven and earth to make this country a better place to live," said Ann Romney to a standing ovation.

"I can tell you that Mitt Romney was not handed success — he built it," said Romney. She also talked about her husband's business background as a personal mission to help others:

This is important — I want you to hear what I'm going to say: Mitt doesn't like to talk about how he helped others because he sees it as a privilege — not a political talking point. We are no different than the millions of Americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. They don't do it so that others will thank them. They do it because there is no greater joy. Give and it shall be given unto you.

"This man will not fail," Ann Romney concluded. "You can trust Mitt."

Newt Gingrich All But Concedes His Campaign Is Over
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: CONCORD, N.C. — Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich all but conceded Wednesday that his White House campaign is over.

He said he expects Mitt Romney will be the nominee and called on the party to unite behind the former Massachusetts governor.

“You have to at some point be honest about what’s happening in the real world as opposed to what you would like to have happened,” Gingrich told supporters at a suburban Charlotte, N.C. restaurant the morning after Romney swept primary contests in five states.

“Gov. Romney had a very good day yesterday. You have to give him some credit. He’s worked for six years. He put together a big machine ... I think I would obviously be a better candidate.”

But Gingrich said GOP voters didn’t agree, and that he would begin working to unite the party. » | Mitch Weiss | Associated Press | Wednesday, April 25, 2012

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US Election 2012: Rick Santorum Drops Out of Race

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rick Santorum dropped out of the US presidential race today, clearing the last remaining obstacle for Mitt Romney to seize the Republican nomination.

Trailing badly in the polls and facing the prospect of a humiliating defeat in his home state of Pennsylvania, Mr Santorum used Gettysburg, the site of the bloodiest battle of the American civil war, to announce his withdrawal.

"We made the decision to get into this race at our kitchen table against all the odds and we made a decision over the weekend that while this presidential race is over for me - and we will suspend our campaign effective today - we're not done fighting," he said.

While he used his brief appearance to attack President Barack Obama, the one-time candidate did not offer any endorsement of Mr Romney, who faces an open road to the Republican nomination.

The former Pennsylvania senator said he had "tried to be a witness" to the struggles of America's middle class and a voice for social conservatives.

"Even when they said we couldn't win, we were winning because we were touching hearts and raising issues that frankly a lot of people didn't want raised," he said. Read on and comment » | Raf Sanchez | Washington | Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My comment:

Rick Santorum is a handsome man who speaks eloquently. Pity is that he is too conservative, too religious, and too frozen in time. Were he to loosen up a little, and leave some of his ante-diluvian ideas behind him, he'd be a very serious contender for the White House. One can only wish him well even if one is relieved that he is out of the race. – © Mark

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TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le républicain Rick Santorum jette l'éponge : Le candidat ultraconservateur suspend sa campagne pour l'investiture républicaine, laissant la voie libre au favori Mitt Romney pour devenir le candidat qui affrontera Barack Obama en novembre. » | AP/Newsnet | mardi 10 avril 2012

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Santorum macht Weg für Romney frei: Das Rennen der Republikaner um den Herausforderer des amtierenden US-Präsidenten ist so gut wie entschieden. Rick Santorum verkündete am Dienstag seinen Rückzug. Jetzt wird Multimillionär Mitt Romney gegen Barack Obama antreten. » | aar/fab/Reuters/dpa/AP/AFP | Dienstag, 04. April 2012

Pa. Poll: Romney Opens Lead in Santorum's Backyard

USA TODAY: Fresh from his triple victories earlier this week, Mitt Romney has now opened a lead in Rick Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania.

The survey released today by Public Policy Polling shows Romney has a 42% to 37% lead among likely GOP primary voters -- a 17-point jump for the former Massachusetts governor in the last month. The Pennsylvania primary is April 24.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania congressman and senator, has dropped six points over the same period. The Pennsylvania poll shows Romney has made gains among evangelical voters, Tea Party supporters and voters who say they are "very conservative" -- three groups that have consistently supported Santorum. » | Catalina Camia | USA TODAY | Thursday, April 05, 2012

Mitt Romney Scores Primary Hat-trick as He Steps Up Campaign
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Mitt Romney won resoundingly in the Wisconsin primary and two other contests tonight, all but stamping out the embers of the Republican primary even as he lit the flames of his general election campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor completely ignored his Republican rivals as he claimed victory, elevating himself above his party's nominating process to focus instead on President Barack Obama, whom he accused of engineering a "Government-Centred Society" at the expense of American individualism.

Casting himself as the champion of "free people and free enterprise", Mr Romney sought to marshal both businesses and families against the President's model of interventionist government.

"In Barack Obama’s Government-Centred Society, the government must do more because the economy is doomed to do less," he told a cheering crowd in Milwaukee. "When you attack business and vilify success, you will have less business and less success."

Mr Romney attacked the Democratic incumbent as an "out of touch liberal" and vowed that if elected he would help build "the greatest America we have ever known, where prosperity is grown and shared, not limited and divided." » | Raf Sanchez | Washington | Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Obamaville

Marco Rubio Endorses Mitt Romney

Santorum: No Regrets about "Taking On" Reporter

Read the article here | Lucy Madison | Monday, March 26, 2012
TELEGRAPH – BLOGS – TIM STANLEY: For his own good, Rick Santorum should be bound and gagged in public » | Tim Stanley | Tuesday, March 27, 2012

My comment:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rick Santorum is a kook. The USA, the world cannot afford a president like him. He'll turn the clocks back at worst, and cause a major conflagration at worst. Keep him OUT of the White House! – © Mark

This comment also appears here

US Election 2012: Rick Santorum Calls Mitt Romney 'Worst Possible Republican' Nominee

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Rick Santorum attacked rival Mitt Romney on Sunday calling him "the worst Republican in the country to put up against Barack Obama" as the former Massachusetts governor looked on pace to clinch the Republican party nomination.

Santorum told voters that Romney is "uniquely disqualified" to be theRepublican's presidential pick and urged his supporters to stand with him even as he faces an increasingly improbable pathway to the nomination, despite an easy victory in the Louisiana primary the night before.

With all Louisiana precincts reporting, Santorum captured 49 percent of the vote to 27 percent for Romney. Newt Gingrich, was far back at 16 percent, followed by Ron Paul with 6 percent.

Although the victory gives Santorum bragging rights and 10 more delegates, it does not change the overall dynamics of the race. The former Pennsylvania senator still dramatically lags behind Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in the battle for delegates to the party's August nominating convention in Tampa, Florida. » | Monday, March 26, 2012

US Election: Republican Candidate Rick Santorum Wins Louisiana Primary

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Rick Santorum remporte la primaire de Louisiane

LA PRESSE (CANADA): L'ultraconservateur Rick Santorum a remporté samedi la primaire républicaine de Louisiane (sud), donnant un coup d'accélérateur à sa campagne face à Mitt Romney, qui reste néanmoins favori pour affronter Barack Obama en novembre.

Selon des projections diffusées par les chaînes de télévision américaines après la fermeture des bureaux de vote, l'ancien sénateur de Pennsyvlanie (est), grand défenseur des valeurs chrétiennes et familiales, a remporté 50% des suffrages, contre 26% au multimillionnaire Romney.

Il engrange ainsi un 11e État dans la course à l'investiture républicaine pour la Maison-Blanche, mais compte toujours à son actif deux fois moins de victoires que son rival modéré Mitt Romney.
Dans un courriel adressé à ses partisans dès l'annonce de sa victoire, M. Santorum a qualifié «d'historique» le scrutin de Louisiane.

«Romney a fait une campagne intensive ici en dépensant beaucoup d'argent, mais les Louisianais ne se sont pas laissés impressionner par les mensonges et la campagne négative: ils ont voté pour un authentique conservateur», a estimé M. Santorum, reprenant l'accusation de l'aile droite du parti républicain pour qui M. Romney est par trop modéré. » | Susan Finch | Agence France-Presse | La Nouvelle Orléans | samedi 24 mars 2012

US Election: Rick Santorum Advert Compares Barack Obama with Iranian President
In a new campaign advert released by Republican candidate Rick Santorum, Barack Obama is compared to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and bleak consequences are depicted for a future with Mr Obama as a re-elected President.

Read the short article here | Saturday, March 24, 2012

Gingrich: It's Obama's Fault People Think He's Muslim
CBS NEWS: PORT FOURCHON, La. - Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich suggested Friday that President Obama is to blame for perceptions among his detractors that he is Muslim.

"I have said publicly several times that I believe Obama is a Christian. He went to a Christian church for over 20 years. He was listening to the sermons. The fact is I take him at his word," Gingrich said told reporters in Louisiana the day before the GOP primary here.

"But I think it is very bizarre that he is desperately concerned to apologize to Muslim religious fanatics while they are killing young Americans, while at the same time going to war against the Catholic Church and against every right-to-life Protestant organization in the country. I just think it's a very strange value system," Gingrich added.

Then, asked whether it concerned him that many people continue to believe Obama is Muslim, Gingrich replied, "It should bother the president. Why does the president behave the way that people would think that? You have to ask, why would they believe that? It's not because they're stupid. It's because they watch the kind of things I just described to you. When you have every bishop in the Catholic Church say this administration's at war with their religion, you don't think that has an impact?" » | Sarah Huisenga | Friday, March 23, 2012