There—I said it.  Sue me.

Okay…in all seriousness, it happens every December: one of the most pathetic and sorry examples of Political Correctness out there.  I’m referring, of course, to the effort to suppress Christmas in the public square—to the point of not even saying “the C word”.

When I was younger, we were worried about “X-mas”.  Now…“X-mas” is technically much ado about nothing.  Its roots are pretty interesting: see, as it turns out, the “X” isn’t really an “X”.  It’s actually a Greek “chi”…which was often used by ancient Christians as shorthand for “Christ”.  (“Chi” is the Greek for “ch”….)  So…it’s perfectly okay.  I mean, at least people read it aloud as “Christmas” (for the most part).

Nowadays, we have to deal with “Happy Holidays!”

To be clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with “Happy Holidays!” in and of itself.  It’s the secular-progressive oddball who makes it a point to drop “holiday” instead of “Christmas” that makes it so cringe-worthy.  “I’m going home for the holiday.”  “Have a good holiday.”  “We’re having a holiday gift exchange.”  And here’s my favorite: “We’re setting up the holiday tree.”

I’m sure you’ve heard by now of the Governor of Rhode Island who made it a point to set up a “holiday tree”, not a Christmas tree.  Despite the outcry, he’s holding firm, asserting that he’s being “tolerant”.  Fox News’ Jesse Waters caught up with him…and at first the governor tried to explain himself.  But when Jesse asked, “So…what’s the holiday?”—he ran off.

A few years ago, Disney had a cartoon called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.  An awesome show, based on a classic character.  Except the Christmas episode wasn’t a Christmas episode.  It had Santa, the elves, the presents, the snow—everything but the word “Christmas”.  Instead, it dropped “holiday” to the point of parody.

Now, in theory, “Happy Holidays!” is supposed to cover all the bases: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Three King’s Day, Ramadan, New Year’s Eve…and maybe Boxing Day.  Still…the tree, St. Nick, the elves, the eggnog, the wreath, the lights, the presents—they’re all things traditionally associated with one holiday, in particular: Christmas.  And…as Glenn Beck noted, heaven forbid (religious invocation!) our culture starts calling the Menorah…a “holiday” candelabra!

Next, here’s my favorite euphemism for Christmas: “Season’s Greetings!”  First time I saw that on a card, I just scratched my head, and thought, “Okay…that’s weird.”  It doesn’t even sound right…it’s like something that belongs in a tongue twister.  Fortunately, you only see this on “official”, professional stuff—you know, things that aren’t really supposed to be “cheery”.

But the winner for “Most Pathetic ‘Christmas’ Euphemism Ever” goes to…“Winter Solstice”.  Atheists love dropping that.  And in case you’re wondering, it’s not via cheerful greetings—no “Happy Winter Solstice!” or “Have a good Winter Solstice!”  Nope…here’s what the atheists have:

“At this season of the winter solstice, may reason prevail.  There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.  There is only our natural world.  Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”

Feel the warmth, people.

Anyway, these chronic Scrooges have an annoying tendency to self-righteously display this glorified “Bah, humbug!” next to public Nativity scenes.  Of course…you never hear of them setting up, near a Santa-and-sleigh, a plaque reading: “There is no Santa Claus and Reindeer don’t fly!  Santa Claus is but myth and superstition that keeps children from thinking critically about objective reality.”

Nope.  Instead, they go after faith—constantly accusing it of “hardening hearts”.  Inasmuch as the typical atheist spokesman is a smug, obnoxious brat who rants and whines whenever he’s challenged…that’s a pretty amusing accusation to make.  And of course…there’s the plaque, in the first place.  What are they trying to do—announce to the world how militant and childish they are?

They won’t even say “Happy Holidays!”

(By the way…I know Canada has a “Winter Solstice” festival.  They’re welcome to it—they’re nice folks, over there; the intent’s probably different.)

You get the idea.  Look, I don’t know about you…but I’ll keep my Christmas—as Christmas.  Call me “intolerant”—but I like what I like.

So, Merry Christmas, everyone—and a Happy New Year!

WINNERS:
Vladimir Putin –
Former Russian President turned Russian Prime Minister turned Russian Presidential Candidate Vladimir Putin is pretty much a shoe-in to become Russian President Vladimir Putin again. Although everyone knew it was going to happen, Putin was formally nominated as the United Russia party’s nominee for the presidency this week. Putin is more popular than ever now in Mother Russia. His “campaign” should be more like one big four month pre-victory tour of adulation across the country.

Occupy Blank -
I hope I’m not being too premature in calling this, but it seems like the Occupy movement’s message is finally, FINALLY coalescing into something effable. My contacts in the various Occupy locales are for the first time verbalizing one unified message, which could be paraphrased as “we need to remove corruption from our elected officials and return the government to the people”. That’s a far cry from the fractured, envious, and self-serving tripe that they’d been shoveling for the past two months (although, with comically short memories, they unanimously insist this always has been and always will be their one and only rallying cry). This new (or at least newly articulated) message, if it sticks and becomes Occupy’s mantra, is one that America can and will support.

THE PEOPLE’S WINNERS – Senators Marco Rubio and Chris Coons
Republican Senator Marco Rubio from Florida and Democratic Senator Chris Coons from Delaware are modeling the kind of bipartisanship that candidates often talk about, politicians often pine for, but is seldom seen in Washington. The AGREE Act is an attempt to get past the finger pointing and blame gamesmanship to actually get something done… therefore it’s doomed from the start. Still – kudos to Senators Rubio and Coons for having the right mindset.

LOSERS:
Jon Corzine –
Former US Senator Jon Corzine is going to testify before his former colleagues about the mess he helped make of MF Global whether he wants to or not (he doesn’t). It isn’t as if there is no professional courtesy among politicians. They tried asking him nicely. The House Agriculture Committee had issued an informal request, which Corzine ignored completely. So now they’re asking not-so-nicely by issuing a subpoena. Testifying before his former peers in this federal investigation is not going to be a comfortable situation for Corzine. I can’t imagine he’s got anything to say that will help to repair his image.

Herman Cain –
Another woman, another allegation, another scandal for Herman Cain this week. This is the guy who was poised to be the next President of the United States of America just last month. Now, his name is synonymous with infidelity and inappropriate behavior. It was OK for Bill Clinton, but it won’t work so well for Cain with a Republican crowd. Either Cain is a real letch who should be jettisoned or he actually is the victim of a vast, Left-wing conspiracy and he’s being unfairly kicked to the curb. In either case, he’s a loser this week.

Tampa Bay -
St. Petersburg, Florida is the saddest city in the country and neighbor Tampa isn’t far behind at #4 according to Men’s Health magazine, clearly a source of expertise on the subject. The rankings — based on suicide rates, unemployment rates, the percentage of households using antidepressants, and the number of people who say they feel sad “all or most of the time” -indicate that sunshine, beaches, and a lower cost of living don’t necessarily produce happiness.

THE PEOPLE’S LOSER – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s Office
A teenager attending a speech by Kansas Governor Sam Brownback this week tweeted that he “sucked” to her 61 followers on Twitter. Brownback’s communications manager, Sherriene Sontag-Jones got a hold of it and called the girl’s principal demanding an apology, setting off a deserving firestorm of criticism. All Sontag-Jones managed to communicate to the world at large is that she’s not much of a communications manager. On the bright side, the teenager who started this whole mess reportedly went from 61 Twitter followers to 12,000 and counting overnight.

Great suggestions for the People’s Winner & Loser this week. Put your recommendation for a People’s Winner or Loser of the week in the comments below and your suggestion may appear in next week’s column. The rules are simple – you may nominate any person or group from the world of politics for a winner or loser, but your recommendation must be based solely on something they did, didn’t do, or had done to them during the prior 7 days.

(White House photo)

As reported by The Guardian last week, a two-tour Iraq War veteran was shot in the face by police during the Occupy Oakland protests. The victim, Scott Olsen, 24, was listed in critical condition when he arrived at Highland Hospital. A few days later,  it remains uncertain whether Olsen was the victim of a rubber bullet or a tear-gas canister. What is certain, however, is that police fired upon the crowd he was in at point-blank range. According to recent reports, he has lost the ability to talk due to brain damage caused by the impact.

Video evidence shows that despite what the police department is saying, the protesters were nonviolent in the moments leading up to the incident. After the unprovoked attack by police, Olsen had been blown to the ground, spilling blood on the pavement. Bystanders immediately attempted to get him to safety, however, police decided it was both lawful and ethical to launch a flash grenade into the crowd, right near Olsen’s prone body.

In the days since, OccupyMARINES have made demands for accountability in the wake of this heinous display of power by the police. In addition, it’s reported that Olsen will indeed undergo surgery in an effort for his recovery. A $5,000 reward has been offered for the identity of the police officer responsible for this tragedy.

Meanwhile, it looks as though Internet super sleuths Anonymous may have sniffed the perp out. According to Daily Kos, the officer being accused is not with the Oakland Police Department at all, but is Officer Bergstresser with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Emergency Service Unit, a highly militarized unit specializing in inflicting severe harm on peaceful protesters.

We can only hope that justice is served, quickly, and deliberately. Had this been done by anyone but the police, they’d already be looking at attempted murder charges, or at the very least criminal negligence. How telling it is that not even the cops who saw the scene take place will come forward to do the right thing.

Okay.  Fortunately, there are no GOP debates this week—freeing me to discuss this issue.  Let’s look at this in a reasoned, rational manner…and address four common arguments of those who call themselves “pro-choice”:

“You don’t care about those poor, low-income women who’d be forced to raise a child on their own!”

You’ve probably heard this straw man in about…99.99% of discussions involving abortion.  Frankly, people who rant like this either don’t know or don’t care about an alternative we like to call…adoption.

If the mother can’t take care of the child—she should simply give it up through adoption.  There’s certainly enough demand for such “unwanted” children.  If you look at the statistics—and compare the number of couples who want to adopt but can’t, to the number of babies aborted…you’ll see what I mean.

“Hey, you have no right to talk to me about abortion—you’ve never been in that situation!  You men will never get pregnant!  You pro-life women have never been forced to make that choice!”

Okay…calm down.

Feminist icon Susan B. Anthony was once confronted with a similar argument.  See, Susan was a strong believer in traditional family values—something most women’s lib groups never bring up.  (Abortion and leftist values took over feminism with the rise of Margaret Sanger—whose true motives for founding Planned Parenthood involved eugenics.)  The opponent claimed that Susan had no right to lecture him on such, since she was single.  Susan’s reply?  By that argument, people who were never slaves have no right to speak out against slavery!

As for pro-life women never having faced “that choice”…have you ever heard of Jane Roe?

“You pro-lifers just want to suppress women’s rights with your imposed standards of morality!”

Sure we do.  That’s why pro-life groups such as Feminists For Life exist.  That’s why Alice Paul, who wrote the original draft of—you’d better sit down—the Equal Rights Amendment…labeled abortion as “the ultimate exploitation of women.”

And then…there’s Susan B. Anthony again.  Susan was hard-core pro-life.  Revisionists may try to work around this, saying, “Oh, back then, the process was harmful to the mother.  It isn’t now.  If she were alive today…she’d have been with us!”

Alas, they can’t work around this:  In a July 8, 1869 article of her magazine The Revolution, Susan called abortion, in no uncertain terms, “child murder”, saying: “No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed.”  (She later noted, in that same article, that “thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to commit the crime.”  Translation?  Abortion is, really, psychological exploitation of women.)

Oppressors, all?  Probably not.

“Okay—you believe abortion’s wrong.  Great!  Just don’t make it illegal—you have no right to impose your values on me!”

News flash: we don’t just believe it’s morally wrong.  We believe that it’s murder.  Accepting that premise—I’m sorry, but…if we’re to hold murder as simply a matter of “personal morality” and “individual choice”…

Well, you get the idea.  Somehow, I doubt even the most ardent libertarian (or liberal, for that matter) would argue that we shouldn’t “impose” the belief that murder is wrong, and should be illegal.  Indeed, Ron Paul himself has noted that, as important as personal liberty is to him—and boy, is it important to the good doctor!—innocent life is even more important.

Sorry, but the moment you accept the premise that the unborn are alive…arguments of “personal morality” and “individual choice” become irrelevant, and invalid.

Someone wrote, last week, “People simply spout off without first thinking about what it is they are inferring.”  My response: “Indeed….”

(For more on this debate, I highly recommend Randy Alcorn’s Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments.)

Winners:
Occupy Wall Street –
Somehow a dozen goofy college kids hanging out in a park near Wall Street has developed into a well-financed Left-wing answer to the Tea Party. You might think that Occupy Wall Street’s attempt to overtake the Brooklyn Bridge was a failure, but it was not. There’s nothing a radical Leftist enjoys more than suffering a little police brutality for the cause, especially when the video is recorded and immediately uploaded to YouTube. If the list of proposed demands posted on the group’s website – a list that includes free college for everyone, world-wide debt forgiveness, and the criminalization of credit reporting agencies – fairly represents the goals of the organization, then this could be one long occupation.

People Making $250,000 – $999,999
Senate Leader Harry Reid and the Democratic leadership have scuttled President Obama’s Job Bill because it places too high a burden on people earning more than $250K but less than $1 Million per year. Their solution in this election year is to shift that burden exclusively to individuals earning more than $1 Million. Senator Charles Schumer of New York sounded more like one of his Republican colleagues than the Democrat that he is when he commented “…it is hard to ask more of households that make $250,000 or $300,000 a year. They are not rich.” The more politicians twist the definition of middle class, the poorer I get.

Rick Perry –
Presidential hopeful Rick Perry allegedly pulled in $17 million in fund raising in less than two months. That’s not a bad total for a guy whose campaign has been perceived as faltering lately. Perrry’s ability to bring in big donor money may change the minds of many primary voters who just want a candidate who can win.

Sarah Palin –
She’s out. Officially. Now that she’s formally out of contention for the Republican Presidential nomination, Citizen Palin can continue to toy with the media and say whatever comes into her head with impunity. Life is good when you’re rich, beautiful, and unencumbered by any sort of accountability to the voters or the party.

Losers:
Eric Holder –
Attorney General Eric Holder got caught in a lie. These things happen from time to time. But Holder got caught lying to Congress while under oath. There’s enough documentation to dispel any hopes Holder might have of disputing the allegations. His only hope is for President Obama to decline Republican requests for an investigation. Obama, however, is just a year away from re-election and surely doesn’t want a “protected his cronies” tag hanging over him throughout the campaign. Things do not bode well for Holder.

Van Jones –
Van Jones was until recently a top White House adviser in charge of creating ‘green jobs’. His plans cost the Federal Government huge sums of money and produced no tangible results. Now he has taken up the role of behind-the-scenes agitator, simultaneously attacking the Tea Party and organizing the anti-Wall Street protestors into some semblance of order. Unfortunately for Jones, Vice President Joe Biden denied all knowledge of him on a radio interview with Tampa station WLFA on Tuesday. Either Jones made no impression on the VP during his tenure at the White House or Biden is intentionally distancing himself from the former adviser.  In either case, Jones belongs in the Loser column this week.

Hank Williams Jr. –
Hank Williams Jr. is reportedly toying with the idea of running for Congress. If that’s true, he picked a bumpy way to start his political career. His comments -– which really weren’t quite as bad when heard in their entirety as they were made out to be by the select sound-bites paraded out ad nauseam on TV -– displayed a naivety that won’t score him many political points. More unfortunate than Williams’ comments was ESPN’s knee-jerk reaction: to remove his wildly popular “Are You Ready for Some Football” theme song from Monday Night Football. Tennessee may have lost a congressional candidate for next year, but the rest of us lost a Monday night tradition.

Winners:
African Americans
Until 2008, America had never even had a serious African-American contender for president (with all due respect to Jesse Jackson – I just calls ‘em like I sees ‘em). Now not only do we have a sitting president of African descent, but with the sudden surge of Herman Cain in the polls we’re looking at the very real prospect of having two Black candidates go head to head next November. Even if Cain’s bid falters in the Republican primaries (which it probably will), just the potential for such a matchup is major progress. With this kind of headway for minorities, could 2016 offer the first realistic woman (with all due respect to Michele Bachmann – I just calls ‘em like I sees ‘em) or Latino (can you say Marco Rubio?) candidacy?

Chelsea Clinton
It seems like Chelsea’s been everywhere lately. Wherever she goes and whatever she does, the press fawns all over her. Maybe it’s the Left-leaning media’s fervent hope for the next Kennedy-esque Liberal political dynasty. Maybe it’s a latent instinct from her days as the first daughter, when she was unilaterally declared off-limits. For whatever the reason, the young Ms. Clinton is getting a lot of press coverage lately and it’s all good.

Fiscal Conservatives
A Liberal is pretty much a Liberal, but there are two distinct types of Conservatives – Fiscal and Social. Social Conservatives are primarily concerned with limiting abortion, keeping drugs illegal, restoring Christian culture, and that sort of thing. Fiscal Conservatives don’t care if you sell Satan-brand crack cocaine out of your back alley abortion clinic as long as government spending and taxes are kept to a minimum. The surprise ascendency of Herman Cain has shifted the balance of power within the party toward the Fiscals, at least for now.

LOSERS:
Skeptics
The Left has managed to sneak a new word into the political lexicon – denialist. A denalist is essentially anyone who would doubt what the Liberal Intellegetsia says to be true. When you control the language, you control the argument. Skepticism is acceptable. Denialism is not. The Left has brilliantly manipulated the language to marginalize anyone who doubts Al Gore’s climate change dogma, lumping them in with those who would challenge the reality of the moon landing and Bigfoot chasers. Now that the precedent is set, those who would dare to question Darwinian Evolution will surely be targeted next. Tolerance for the views of others is a high virtue, unless the other in question is a denialist.

Bev Perdue
When a relatively unknown (outside of their home state) local politician makes national headlines, it’s either because they did something spectacularly well or incredibly bad. History tells us that the latter occurs far more frequently than the former. Unfortunately for North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, her off-the-cuff response to a questioner at the Rotary Club was just boneheaded enough to get picked up by Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh, dozens of other assorted talking heads, and about a gagillion bloggers.

In case you missed it, the honorable governor, a Democrat, suggested that Congress suspend the 2012 elections to focus on fixing the economy. Kind of like the scene in Star Wars when Chancellor Palpatine needed emergency powers, which he would surely relinquish voluntarily once the immediate threat had been handled. Whether she meant it in earnest or in jest remains the subject of intense debate. Either way, Perdue now finds herself in the unenviable position of being the Right’s newest poster child for big government.

The Boston Red Sox
It isn’t political, but pulling off the worst September swoon in the history of Major League Baseball by blowing a 9 game lead and missing the playoffs puts the Sox on the losers list anyway.

Herman Cain
Cain was by far the biggest winner a week ago. So of course his enemies are coming out in droves to try to pull him down. Professional big mouth Janeane Garofalo is leading the charge, essentially stating that all Republicans are racist and that Cain is just a token. In her words, the support for Cain is nothing more than the Republican Party’s insincere attempt to say “Look, this is not a racist, anti-immigrant, anti-female, anti-gay movement. Look we have a black man.” As the threat of Blacks actually voting Republican increases, it won’t be long before the “Uncle Tom” accusations start flying.

Winners:
The political winner of the week this week? No doubt about it: Herman Cain. Cain shocked… well, everybody by winning the Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida. To say Cain won the straw poll is to understate just how overwhelmingly he dominated. Cain, who is not among the top tier of Republican candidates in the national polls, garnered 37.1% of the votes cast by the 3,500 or so Republican faithful in the straw poll. He alone earned more votes than the second and third place finishers. Rick Perry, who schmoozed the poll electorate with a free breakfast, got 15.4% of the vote. Mitt Romney, who did not actively campaign for the honor, came in third with 14%. Rick Santorum and Ron Paul were in a virtual tie with 10.9% and 10.4%, respectively. Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsmann, and Michele Bachmann were all in single digits.

Runner Up honors for the winner of the week  go to Florida Governor Rick Scott. Scott’s austerity measures are exactly what he promised when he campaigned for office last year, but they’ve still proven unpopular in his home state. His speech to the Presidency 5 voters on Saturday, however, was extraordinarily popular with the audience. A national stage seems to have suited Scott extremely well. In future years, we may look back on this very speech as the launching point for the next step in Scott’s political career.

Saudi Arabian women also came up pretty big this week. According to King Abdullah, women will be allowed to vote and even run for office in the future. It’s like they’ve moved into the early 20th century all of a sudden. Now if they could just legally drive a car.

Florida scored pretty big this week, hosting the Republican debate, the Presidency 5 Straw poll, and moving up their primaries. The Sunshine State managed to grab some major headlines this week that didn’t involve the words “hurricane,” “scandal,” or “man-hunt”.

Losers:
No one lost more political capital this week than Rick Perry. Perry’s worked the straw poll voters hard this week. Maybe too hard. Maybe they reacted to his salesmanship by rejecting him in the polls. Or maybe his schmoozing had no impact and the voters chose their man without regard for campaign tactics. In either case, getting less than half as many votes as Cain in the straw poll just a few days after floundering in the most recent Republican debate was a pretty solid kick in the teeth to Perry’s hopes.

Who was the big Winner in the Republican debate this week?

But the real winner of the Republican Debate, the biggest victor of the night had to be MSNBC. Not only was it the only program on the network that was watched by more than 7 people last week, the debate brought in an entirely new demographic for MSNBC. Conservative viewers probably had to check their channel line up to find out where MSNBC is on the dial. (I know, there hasn’t been a TV with a dial for 30 years. It’s an expression, all right?) The MSNBC commentators were subdued compared to their normal state of near-apoplexy. Even Al Sharpton and Chris Matthews gave the appearance of being almost reasonable.

Who was the big Loser in the Republican debate this week?
The MSNBC commentators were unanimous in picking Michele Bachmann as the big loser. I think the sun began to set on her campaign long before the debate started, at exactly the moment that Rick Perry threw his hat into the ring.

To me, the big loser of the night was Jon Huntsman. Huntsman showed that he doesn’t belong among the serious contenders. He actually brought up the divisive issues that I expected the commentators to throw at the candidates. His attempts to differentiate himself by driving a wedge between the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives served no one’s interest, except maybe the Obama Reelection Campaign.

For a more detailed analysis of the debate, check out Eric Blake‘s column here.

Who were the big Winners & Losers in the whole President’s Job Speech / No Republican Rebuttal kerfluffle?
Nobody. Not really. Sure, President Obama came off looking kind of weak and irrelevant. It was a momentary victory for the GOP, or at least for those who enjoy seeing the president fail. But in the long run, this will be a non-issue. No one will remember or care about it by next November.

(Photo: U.S. Army)

Winners:

Ron Paul - The mainstream media has gone gaga over Ron Paul in recent weeks with a favor that haven’t shown any Republican since John McCain‘s pre-candidate maverick days.

The Libyan People – Well, all of them not named “Gadhafi”, anyway. With no transition plan in place and some serious fighting still ahead, Libya is not in the Promised Land just yet. But they’re on the road and I’m sure they’re close enough to smell the freedom.

Marco Rubio – Many observers think Marco Rubio is the great hope for the future of the Republican party. Latino, likeable, and a Reagan conservative – Rubio has the tools to be a serious contender for the Presidency at some point in the future. Now he can add “saved national treasure Nancy Reagan from a nasty fall” to his increasingly impressive resume.

Vegans – Bill Clinton has made the transition from President to Elder Statesman look easy. After a few early bumps and a stint as “Angry Old Man”, Clinton’s (apparently genuine) bond with George H.W. Bush has lifted both men in the estimation of the country. His latest cause is a heart-healthy diet free from red meat. Since Vegans tend to be very Liberal (why is that, anyway?), they couldn’t ask for a better spokesman than the popular former President.

Losers:
Karl Rove – I understand that it must be hard to fall out of the limelight. Really, I do. But trying to reinsert yourself by making bold predictions about Sarah Palin’s future aspirations isn’t going to work. Leave that to the experts, like your humble Camp Campaign reporter, who is nearly certain that Palin isn’t running for anything.

Jon Huntsman – Lashing out at everyone who is polling better than you is the last reach of a desperate candidate. It won’t help you and it’s bad for your party.

Maxine Waters – People in U.S. Representative Maxine Waters’ home district are jobless and hurting. They’re mad and they want some relief. They want answers. They want some of that long promised hope. Waters’ solution? Yell about the Tea Party. Somewhere in Washington there must be a clock that says we’ve moved from the time to blame every one of the world’s ills on George W. Bush to the time to blame the Tea Party for every bad thing.

Losers:
Rod Blagojevich – Two is not Blago’s lucky number. His second trial ended with him becoming the second former Illinois Governor in the last 5 years to be convicted and imprisoned. Maybe he and fellow disgraced former Governor George Ryan can share a cell.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer – Dyer’s decision to lump humanitarians handing out food to the homeless – without a permit (GASP) – in with Osama Bin Laden and the Unibomber has aroused the ire of “Anonymous,” a mysterious group of hackers. Anonymous has now set its disruptive sights on Orlando, which probably means that Disney soon takes a hit. If that’s the case, Dyer is soon going to learn a valuable lesson in Central Florida politics: “If Disney ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

Winners:
The People of Iowa – Regardless of your politics, if you’re a resident of Iowa you’re being showered with attention from the 2012 candidates right now. Memo from the other 49 states: it must be nice to feel wanted.

Michele Bachmann – I’m still not on the Bachmann bandwagon, but there’s no doubt that she is riding a political high right now. Even as the press turns less friendly to her, she’s rising in the polls and garnering a significant following that will result in a political windfall in one form or another down the road.

Mormons – Harry Reid, Mitt Romney, and now Jon Huntsman are all in the news this week in a largely positive, or at least neutral, light. When the word “Mormon” repeatedly appears in the news without the words “polygamy” or “cult” anywhere in sight, it’s a good week for them. Plus, two of the three have the potential to move up in the world of politics in the coming months and years.

Bristol Palin – The 20-year-old, initially famous only for being the pregnant, unwed daughter of a Vice Presidential candidate, has done quite well for herself recently. She finished third on Dancing with the Stars, despite the fact that she can’t dance. Now she can add “Best Selling Author” to her resume, despite having no previous writing credits to her name or compelling story to tell.