http://nation.foxnews.com/clint-eastwood/2012/02/06/clint-eastwood-i-am-certainly-not-affiliated-mr-obama
com

WASHINGTON--Clint Eastwood's evocative Super Bowl ad-- "Halftime in America"--made for Chrysler, with no pictures of cars--was not intended to covertly boost President Barack Obama, the actor said Monday.

Eastwood told Fox News O'Reilly Factor producer Ron Mitchell:

"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain.

"If any Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it."

Fox News contributor Karl Rove said Monday he was "offended" by the ad and accused the Obama's "political minions" of "using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising."

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Obama team had nothing to do with the ad at the Monday briefing.

Q Did the White House or the campaign have any role in the creation of that ad, or advising on that ad, or consulting on the ad?

MR. CARNEY: No.

Q Were you pleased with the ad?

MR. CARNEY: It was news to me when I saw it. Look, I think --

Q Do you consider it an in-kind contribution from Clint Eastwood?

MR. CARNEY: I mean, the answer to your question, Roger, is no. The ad points out, I think, what is significant -- a company that has rebounded obviously wants to sell more cars, and that's what advertising is about. But it does point out a simple fact, which is that the automobile industry in this country was on its back, and potentially poised to liquidate three years ago, and this President made decisions that were not very popular at the time that were guided by two important principles: One, that he should do what he could to ensure that 1 million jobs would not be lost; and two, that the American automobile industry should be able to thrive globally if the right conditions were created, and that included the kinds of reforms and restructuring that Chrysler and GM undertook in exchange for the assistance from the American taxpayer.

He was not willing to allow -- did not believe it was necessary to allow the American automobile industry to collapse and disappear. And so he made the decisions he made, and believes they were the right decisions.

The Republican National Committee memo about delegate selection in the Tuesday vote in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri....click below.....

DELEGATE COUNT

73 Mitt Romney

WASHINGTON--First Lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hit Florida this week, as this key battleground state has been and continues to be lavished with attention from the White House and the Obama re-election forces in official and political events.

The Obama team 2012 organizers set up shop early in Florida and were dug in as most attention turned to the run up to the Republican primary last week. The president, first lady and vice president have all been in Florida since December for political and government events.

At this stage, the travel schedules of the president, vice president and Mrs. Obama and other administration figures are set --to a degree-- with an eye towards the November election and battleground 2012 states.

Florida is a key battleground in 2012 as it was in 2008, when Obama beat John McCain 51.03 percent to 48.22 percent. And remember 2000, when former President Bush, with the help of hanging chads, beat Al Gore 48.85 per cent to 48.84 percent

GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney won last Tuesday's Florida primary; his ground game overwhelmed his three rivals. Still, Romney only had five full time staffers in Florida and they have been shifted to other states for now. If Romney gets the nomination--as is likely--his Florida effort will be bolstered because the Republican convention is in Tampa next August.

According to the Obama campaign, as of last week there were 194 State of the Union Watch Parties ranging from Key West all the way to Pensacola; nearly 3,000 trainings, planning sessions, house parties, and phone banks and more than 4,500 one-on-one meetings.

The campaign also opened 11 campaign offices across the state--in key markets--including Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

The Obama team has a major asset in Democratic National Committee Chairman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who represents a south Florida district.

Obama unveiled his proposals to bolster tourism at Disney World outside of Orlando last month. He returns to Florida on Feb. 22 and 23 for official and three fund-raising events in Coral Gables and Orlando.

Orlando is the home of the 2012 NBA All-Stars game; basketball star Vince Carter hosts the Orlando fund-raiser the day before the game.

On Monday, Biden landed in Tallahassee for one official and two campaign events. The government event is aimed at students and their parents who foot the bill for college. Biden and Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter discuss soaring college costs at Florida State University. In December, Biden talked about the collegiate price tag at a high school in Neptune Beach.

Biden has two fund-raisers in Tallahassee on Monday afternoon, a high-end event at the home of attorney Don Hinkle and the other in the Challenger Center, where tickets run from $44 to $1,000.

Mrs. Obama, in two Florida swings in a month, is touching all the major demographic groups: Hispanics, evangelicals, and women.

On Jan. 26, Mrs. Obama was in Tampa for a Latino event connected with her signature "Let's Move" healthy eating drive and in Sarasota and Palm Beach for fund-raisers.

This week, Mrs. Obama is marking the second anniversary of "Let's Move" in a four state swing, touching down in Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida, where she will be on Friday and Saturday.

In southern Florida, Mrs. Obama is holding a townhall in Homestead and then head to Orlando to have dinner with a family. She travels north of Orlando to a mega-church in Longwood the next day for a big faith based event connected with "Let's Move." She caps the day at Disney World for an event with athletes.

Last Tuesday--Jan. 31--Romney celebrated his victory at the convention center in Tampa. Last Friday, Feb. 3, about a dozen Hispanics in the Obama administration came to Tampa for a White House hosted Hispanic Community Action Summit at The University of Tampa.

WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle will host a dinner Feb. 29 at the White House to honor representatives of troops who served in Iraq and their families.

The First Couple dinner comes as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the Pentagon told it was still too risky to throw a parade for soldiers as long as some military remain.

The White House said the dinner is "an expression of the nation's gratitude for the achievements and enormous sacrifices of the brave Americans who served in the Iraq War and of the families who supported them --- will include men and women in uniform from all ranks, services, states and backgrounds, representative of the many thousands of Americans who served in Iraq. The White House has been working with military and civilian leaders from the Department of Defense on this tribute, and will release more details regarding the dinner when they are available."

WASHINGTON--Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns hosted fund-raisers in Indianapolis over the weekend, to tap into the pockets of folks in town for Super Bowl XLVI. The Obama Saturday night event featured Bears Coach Lovie Smith.

President Obama did not use this election year Super Bowl to throw a White House bash as he did in 2011, with the family watching the game without inviting celebs and pols.

"Looking forward to catching some of the big game tonight. Wish the Bears weren't watching it from home, too. -bo" Obama said on his campaign Twitter account.

Last year, First Lady Michelle was criticized, mainly from right wing critics, because of the White House Super Bowl menu, which included bratwurst, kielbasa, cheeseburgers and deep-dish pizza. Mrs. Obama--who marks the second anniversary of her "Let's Move''health eating campaign this week--never has nixed junk food, she just preaches moderation.

The Indianapolis Star and Politico's Mike Allen reported that the draws for Obama donors also included Obama campaign manager Jim Messina and Reggie Love, Obama's former personal assistant who played football and basketball at Duke University. Donation ranged from $250 to $2,500 to be a co-host.

The Star reported that Romney's campaign was holding an event Saturday "at the Indianapolis Colts Grille. Special guests include New York Jets owner Woody Johnson; Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan; Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder; and Tagg Romney, Romney's eldest son.

"Tickets for the Romney event range from $100 for an individual younger than 40 to $2,500 for an individual to attend a VIP reception. People who raise $10,000 get one more thing: the right to call themselves an "event co-chair."

WASHINGTON--After victories last week in Florida and Nevada, GOP White House frontrunner Mitt Romney continues his rumble with chief rival Newt Gingrich as they head into more votes Tuesday in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri and Saturday in Maine.

Colorado, Minnesota and Maine are caucus states; Missouri holds a "beauty contest" vote with delegates not selected until March 17.

To recap Nevada: Romney won a decisive victory. Gingrich held a rare election night press conference in Nevada to vow again to stay in the contest until the August GOP convention in Tampa. Quitting the race, Gingrich said, is a Romney "fantasy."

The official Nevada certified results, according to the Nevada Republican Party:

Romney 50.0%
Gingrich 21.1%
Paul 18.7%
Santorum 9.9%

The Romney team highlighted in a victory memo that Romney would have won big "even without" Mormon voters, who made up about a quarter of caucus voters.

Nevada memo from the Romney team:

Mitt Romney won among conservatives, Tea Party members, women, men, low income, high income, etc.

Mitt Romney won a majority of "very conservative" voters (51%). He defeated Newt Gingrich (40-31%) among strong Tea Party voters. He won 48% of the vote among evangelicals (48 - 27%) over Newt Gingrich.

Like Florida, Mitt Romney won handily among voters who said electability was the most important quality in a candidate.

Like Florida, Mitt Romney won handily among voters who said the economy is the top issue.

LDS voters make up 26% of the caucus votes. Even without the LDS votes, Mitt Romney still would have won decisively (by 17 points).

While Mitt Romney won a majority of the LDS vote, he won among Protestants, Catholics and everybody else by wide margins.

CNN Political Director Mark Preston is reporting that Donald Trump will endorse GOP White House hopeful Mitt Romney on Thursday. This comes after some speculation on Wednesday that Trump may back Newt Gingrich. Trump will make the announcement in Las Vegas in advance of the Saturday caucus.

UPDATED.....

Click below for Obama campaign memo from Stephanie Cutter followed by a reply and a memo from Andrea Saul and Amanda Henneberg of the Romney campaign....

Chicago Sun-Times Abdon M. Pallasch reports on Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, in Chicago on Tuesday discussing the May NATO and G-8 summits in the city.

His story is HERE.

Excerpt: "The agenda for 50 countries coming to Chicago in May for the NATO and G-8 summits includes Afghanistan, arming NATO for the future, and partnering with more countries around the globe, White House officials said Tuesday.

TAMPA, FL.--Florida primary winner Mitt Romney, a Mormon, won the Catholic vote in Florida-over Catholic rivals, according to the exit poll.

The exit poll showed the Republican primary electorate was 58 percent Protestant, 32 percent Catholic and 7 percent Jewish.

Romney was backed by 42 percent of the Protestants compared to 36 percent for Gingrich; he was supported by 56 percent of Catholics to 30 percent for Gingrich.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Mitt Romney grabbed a Florida GOP primary victory Tuesday with a strong ground game, vastly improved debate performances, a stepped-up attack on Newt Gingrich's Freddie Mac ties and a psychological operation designed to get under the former speaker's skin.

With 99 percent of the precincts reporting, Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, thumped Gingrich 46 percent to 32 percent, with former Sen. Rick Santorum at 13 percent and Rep. Ron Paul at 7 percent.

Buoyant at his victory rally in the convention center here, flanked by his wife, Ann, and four of his five sons, Romney alluded to the bitterness of the closing days of the Florida campaign in his victory speech and said the fight will only make Republicans stronger in November to take on President Barack Obama.

"As this primary unfolds, our opponents in the other party have been watching. And they like to comfort themselves with the thought that a competitive campaign will leave us divided and weak," Romney said.

"But I've got some news for them: A competitive primary does not divide us; it prepares us. And we will win.

"And when we gather here in Tampa seven months from now for our convention, ours will be a united party with a winning ticket for America."

Gingrich in Orlando primary night -- standing behind a podium with a sign that said "46 states to go" -- said he'll be nominated in Tampa, though the path for him to get 1,144 delegates grew narrower with Romney's win, earning him 50 Florida delegates.

"It is now clear that this will be a two-person race between the conservative leader, Newt Gingrich, and the Massachusetts moderate," Gingrich said.

Romney's landslide will make it harder for Gingrich to raise money. There is no debate until Feb. 22 in Arizona for Gingrich to try to repeat his debate knockouts that helped him clinch the South Carolina primary.

As in Florida, Nevada is suffering from a housing market collapse, and Gingrich has yet to come up with a better answer than "historian" for what he and his firm did to earn $1.6 million from Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage firm.

Exit polls showed that Romney's strong Florida debates -- contrasted with Gingrich's lackluster showing -- mattered; 86 percent said the debates were a factor in their decision.

A gender gap -- make that chasm -- opened in Florida, perhaps a delayed reaction to a former Gingrich wife saying in an interview just before the South Carolina vote he asked for an "open marriage'' while he was having an affair. Romney won 51 percent of females, compared to 29 percent for Gingrich.

By Florida the Romney team activated a "Psyops" or psychological operation against Gingrich aided by a number of present and former congressmen who served under Gingrich when he was Speaker and who knew how to push his buttons.

A Romney spot launched on Friday was potent, featuring simply a clip of then-NBC anchor Tom Brokaw's newscast about Gingrich's ethics scandal while Speaker.

The Romney Florida operation learned from the 2008 primary here, where Sen. John McCain beat Romney by five points. The seeds for the 2012 Romney Sunshine State win were planted in June, when the campaign opened a Florida headquarters in Tampa to start work on a ground game that overwhelmingly delivered on Tuesday.

With the large number of Florida voters casting early and absentee ballots this year-- some 600,000 -- a Romney staffer told me that projections showed that Gingrich woke up Tuesday already in the hole.

The Romney team made a huge effort -- not matched by any of their rivals -- to identify their voters and lock in their early vote -- immunizing themselves, to some degree, from the last-minute attacks that marked the nasty closing days of the campaign. They started contacting 470,000 Florida Republicans who regularly vote early in mid-December -- when Romney's rivals only had the resources to concentrate in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina

Illinois Democratic House hopeful Ilya Sheyman led fourth quarter fund-raising in the north suburban 10th congressional district.

Money raised, as of Dec. 31, 2011:

Ilya Sheyman....... $180,000
Brad Schneider.... 134,000
John Tree............ 101,000

TAMPA, FL.--The Obama team raised $68 million in the last quarter of 2011 and
released its latest list of bundlers on Tuesday--its elite fund-raising corps of people who raised at least $50,000 tapping their networks to get people to donate to a candidate.

The GOP White House hopefuls have refused to make public their major donors--and front-runner Mitt Romney has an elite finance committee, just as President Barack Obama does.

The $68 million total comes from money collected for the Obama 2012 re-election campaign based in Chicago and the Democratic National Committee in Washington. The two groups as a practical matter function mainly as one when it comes to fund-raising to re-elect Obama.

The bundler list, current to Dec. 31, 2011, the latest available is at http://www.barackobama.com/pages/volunteer-fundraisers-Q4

From the Obama 2012 campaign: "In the 4th quarter of 2011, $68 million were raised to help reelect President Obama. 583,000 donors gave to the campaign in q4, 200,000 of whom had never given before, even in 2008. The average contribution this quarter was $55, and 98 percent of our contributions were $250 or less."

Sun-Times front page Jan. 31, 2012

Updated with Gingrich reaction...

CLEARWATER, FL.--Newt Gingrich's spokesman shrugged off Tuesday a federal lawsuit filed in Chicago alleging the GOP White House hopeful used the 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger" the rock group Survivor at events without permission.

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday, "It is my understanding that the band wants $200,000 because someone played their song.

"That's one expensive concert ticket."

The lawsuit was filed Monday by Chicago-born Frankie Sullivan who wrote the song with Jim Peterik "in the music room of Peterik's west suburban LaGrange home at Sylvester Stallone's request in late 1981, four years after Survivor was formed. Stallone was looking for a theme song for "Rocky III," the Sun-Times reported.

The Chicago Sun-Times story is HERE.

Planning for the May NATO and G-8 meetings in Chicago is ramping up: On Tuesday, two White House advisors--Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Senior Director for European Affairs--hit Chicago for a series of briefings on the substantive foreign policy issues the global leaders will be discussing. The White House said the trip is also to "ensure the Summits highlight Chicago as the best of America and support our national security goals."

Rhodes and Sherwood-Randall will be meeting with the Host Committee, the large consular corps and local journalists.

Meanwhile, teams from Washington--the "planning task force" --have been working on the physical planning--venues for events, etc. The summits' main meetings will take place in the McCormick Place complex but there will be a variety of related events--including probably head of state spouse programs--at other sites.

More background: Most of the focus so far in Chicago has been on logistics because of the potential for large numbers of protestors and local concerns about the costs that the city may be saddled with--though federal dollars are expected to cover a lot of the bills. Worried about protestors, downtown and Michigan Avenue business owners were warned recently to step up security in May. Mayor Rahm Emanuel--who as President Obama's former chief of staff arranged for Chicago to host the NATO and G-8 sessions-- has tangled with the City Council and outside groups over some of his security plans, seen as overly restrictive.

In April, Emanuel is also bringing to Chicago the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, where former awardees come to the city for an international three-day event called "Speak Up, Speak Out for Freedom and Rights."

Locally, Emanuel created a Chicago G-8 and NATO Host Committee at the non-profit World Business Chicago to be the lead in working with NATO, the G-8, the White House, the State Department and local business, cultural, education, neighborhood and other groups. Chicago has a big diplomatic, or consular corps, one of the largest in the nation with representatives from 76 nations running missions in the city.

How the arrangements are being made, from the White House: "The White House is working in collaboration with NATO and Chicago's Host Committee on the planning of the G-8 and NATO Summits to be held in Chicago this May.

"Over the next several months you'll see officials from Washington, Brussels and Chicago visiting one another's respective cities for consultations in support of the Summits.

"One such visit is occurring today, when Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Senior Director for European Affairs, will be in Chicago to consult with the Host Committee and local Consular corps. Mr. Rhodes and Ms. Sherwood-Randall will exchange views with these groups on how we can best work together to ensure the Summits highlight Chicago as the best of America and support our national security goals. Mr. Rhodes and Ms. Sherwood-Randall will also speak to a small group of journalists covering the Summits to talk about the significance of hosting the G-8 and NATO Summits to U.S. foreign policy.

"At last year's G-8 Leaders Summit in Deauville, France, President Obama joined other heads of state and government from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, Canada, Russia, and the European Union. During the two-day Summit, the President and other Leaders agreed to closely cooperate on a wide range of key global priorities. We look forward to hosting these leaders in the United States and discussing a similarly wide range of priorities this year.

"Meanwhile, America's relationship with our NATO Allies is a cornerstone of our engagement with the world, and enhances both our security and the democratic values that we share. At a time when we have dealt huge blows to al Qaeda and are winding down our wars abroad, the Chicago Summit will advance goals that the United States shares with NATO: achieving our objectives in Afghanistan; reforming NATO so that it has the capabilities it needs; and strengthening partnerships beyond NATO's borders."

NATO run-up to Chicago summit: In Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said at a press conference, "in Chicago we hope to announce the interim capability for our missile defence system.

"In Chicago we will also make clear our enduring commitment to Afghanistan, which remains our top operational priority. Afghanistan is moving in the right direction. Transition to Afghan security lead is on schedule and is making steady progress."