U. N. Ambassador Susan Rice Under Attack

A group of 97 House Republicans sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Monday, saying that U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice misled the nation about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, making her unfit to be a candidate to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The letter, organized by South Carolina freshman Jeff Duncan, said Rice's "misleading statements" about the attack that led to the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans "caused irreparable damage to her credibility both at home and around the world."

It was the latest GOP effort to single out Rice for the mixed signals sent out by the administration in the immediate aftermath of the September attack in Benghazi. Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham have led criticism in the Senate, saying Rice is unqualified and untrustworthy and promising to block her nomination if Obama picks her to take over the State Department after Clinton steps down.

Election 2012-Did Education Matter?

Election 2012 has finally been completed. The final tally of electoral votes marked 332 for President Barack Obama and 206 for Governor Mitt Romney.  The media is having a field day and analysts are examining the data in every possible way.  I stumbled upon some information from the U. S. Census Bureau-American Community Survey. It collected information on  the best and worst educated states measuring the per cent of residents over 25 with college degrees and matched the winner of the states' electoral votes.  Here's how the states voted:

Best Educated States: Voted for President Obama

Massachusetts (39.1)
Maryland (36.9)
Colorado (36.7)
Connecticut (36.2)
Vermont (35.4)
New Jersey (35.3)
Virginia (35.1)
New Hampshire (33.4)
New York (32.9)
Minnesota (32.4)


Worst Educated States: Voted for Gov. Mitt Romney (except Nevada)

West Virginia (18.5)
Mississippi (19.8)
Arkansas (20.3)
Kentucky (21.1)
Louisiana (21.1)
Alabama (22.3)
Nevada (22.5)
Indiana (23.0)
Tennessee (23.6)
Oklahoma (23.8)


Got any thoughts on this data?

Memory Lane: Obama's First Four Years

Well, Election 2012 is history and Republicans are still scratching their heads figuring out "how Romney lost". I'd rather focus on President Obama's hard won, meticulously planned and executed victory. He put his faith in a diverse coalition of African Americans, Latinos, young people, women and white folks. He maintained a superior ground game that found likely voters, persuaded them to his side and turned out the vote, despite voter suppression efforts. The President asked for four more years so that he could finish the job he started. Many folks do not know or may not remember what Barack Obama accomplished during the first four years. The list is long, impressive and well worth a second look.