I know of quite a few conservatives that were holding out for Newt Gingrich in the 2008 election. It now appears there will be no such candidacy.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday he could have been a contender, but has no regrets about skipping the race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

Does the Left Value Truth? by Dennis Prager.

There are conservatives who lie and there are liberals who lie. Neither blue nor red has a monopoly on truth-tellers.

However, unless one denies that there are distinctive values on the right and on the left -- a proposition that no serious liberal or conservative would deny -- how much truth is valued may be different for the right and the left.

If you haven't heard, Rush Limbaugh has created quite a stir lately.

The left wing media watchdog group Media Matters for America recently "reported" that on his "September 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq 'phony soldiers.'"

Leftist bloggers and other Democrats fell for the "report" hook, line, and sinker, and have been going absolutely berserk ever since.

Of course Media Matters played a little trick on John Q. Liberal and cut the interview/transcript short. Within seconds of where Media Matters cut the broadcast short, we clearly see that Rush was actually talking - literally - about the phony soldiers the Left holds so dear; the Jesse MacBeths of the world.

John Gibson lays out the rebuttal nicely...

Context is everything, folks. Finish listening before you pass judgment.

Hat tip: Johnny Dollar's Place

Needless to say, there isn't much surprising about my Candidate Match Game results.

1) Mitt Romney
2) Mike Huckabee
3) Fred Thompson

(Check out theConservativeManifesto.blogspot to see the screenshot of my results.)

Play the game, I'm interested to hear with whom you're matched.

The city of San Francisco is truly becoming more pathetic with each passing day. The latest from San Fran-freako is that the city has denied the Marine Corps permission to film a commercial.

"San Francisco is, once again, the center of a controversy over how city leaders treat the U.S. military. This time, it involves an elite group of Marines who wanted to film a recruitment commercial in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

The tension has been building in the two weeks since the city turned away members of the Silent Drill Platoon, and it boiled over Monday afternoon at a meeting of the San Francisco Film Commission.

The U.S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon performed Monday morning in New York's Times Square. They filmed part of a recruitment commercial through the start of the morning rush hour -- something they could not do in San Francisco on the anniversary of 9/11.

"It's insulting, it's demeaning. This woman is going to insult these young heroes by just arbitrarily saying, 'no, you're not going to film any Marines on California Street," said Captain Greg Corrales of the SFPD Traffic Bureau.

Captain Greg Corrales commands the police traffic bureau that works with crews shooting commercials, TV shows and movies in the city. He's also a Marine veteran and his son is serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

He says Film Commission Executive Director Stefanie Coyote would only allow the Marine's production crew to film on California Street if there were no Marines in the picture. They wound up filming the empty street and will have to superimpose the Marines later.

"Ms. Coyote's politics blinded her to her duty as the director of the Film Commission and as a responsible citizen," said Captain Corrales.

We asked Stefanie Coyote why they're not allowing the Marines to shoot on California Street. She wouldn't answer our questions.

Which is surprising to me, I thought San Franciscans were very open about their distaste for the military. As the article points out, the city has a history of anti-military sentiment.

Captain Corrales and several other Marine veterans came to the Film Commission Monday afternoon. They see this as just the latest insult along with the city blocking the USS Iowa from docking here, banning the junior ROTC from high schools, and trying to ban the yearly Blue Angels air show.

Not to mention, as Jonathan points out, S.F. city council member Gerardo Sandoval's statements early last year in which he stated "I don’t think we should have a military."

I tell you, those NorCal lefties don't know what they're missing when it comes to my Marine Corps' Silent Drill Team. It is in (dis)honor of Ms. Coyote and her leftist cohorts that I bring you this beautiful video.

Hat tip: Crush Liberalism

Below is GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's bold letter to the Washington Establishment. I urge conservatives to take note.

To my friends and fellow Republicans,

Throughout our country’s long and remarkable journey, there have been "inflection points," critical moments when political, economic, military and other forces converged to alter the course of our history.

We are at one of those inflection points today.

Forces of globalization, the rise of major new economic powerhouses such as China and India, and the emergence of radical Jihad have created a "perfect storm" that will change the course of our nation. We face unprecedented challenges in securing our borders, protecting the American family, and ending America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Our actions today will determine which course America will take. Will America remain the world’s economic and military superpower, able to preserve peace, progress, and prosperity? Will our children and grandchildren grow up with the same opportunities that have been our birthright for over two centuries? Will our uniquely America culture – a culture of family, patriotism, faith, and freedom – remain our foundation and lead a stronger America into the future?

I believe the American people can rise to these and every other challenge ahead of us. Yet, at this extraordinary moment in our nation’s history, our government is failing us. Washington is busy pointing fingers, assigning blame, and spending too much money. There is too much talk and too little action.

The blame, we must admit, does not belong to just one party. If we’re going to change Washington, Republicans have to put our own house in order.

We can’t be like Democrats – a party of big spending. We can’t pretend our borders are secure from illegal immigration. We can’t have ethical standards that are a punch-line for Jay Leno.

When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses.

It’s time for Republicans to start acting like Republicans. We have to remember who we are: We are not Big Government Republicans. We are not Washington Republicans. We are Change Washington Republicans. Democrats are not the change Washington needs. We are the change Washington needs and it’s time for Republicans like us to stand for that change again.

There is not a single challenge America faces that we can’t overcome with the innovation and passion that has always been at the heart of the American people. If we change Washington, I believe America can achieve anything.

It’s time for change in Washington and that change must begin with us.

Sincerely,
Mitt Romney

Hat tip: The Virginian Federalist

Texas Rainmaker makes a great point in his post entitled "Irony of the Day."

Columbia University continues to ban the U.S. military Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) from campus because "the U.S. military remains closed to openly gay personnel."

But the same Columbia University is hosting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose country executes homosexuals.

I asked a staunch liberal cohort of mine her thoughts on this irony. She told me that she sees it as two separate issues; Ahmadinejad's case is one of free speech, where as the case of military representation on campus is about not allowing gays to serve.

Interesting.

I, however, see these issues as quite similar. The University in essence refuses to allow ROTC on campus because the US military is an organization that actively discriminates against open homosexuals who wish to serve - or who wish to come out while serving. Institutionalized discrimination, one could call it.

Iran, as we know, is a nation with a government that actively discriminates against - and worse, executes - open homosexuals who wish to do nothing more than live. As a nation's government is also an institution, one could also call this institutionalized discrimination.

There-in-lies Columbia University's double standard.

Am I wrong?

As expected, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is causing quite a stir today.

One of the many interesting points he made during his appearance at Columbia University this morning -- aside from stating Iran does not want its own bomb, or that Iran does not want to attack Israel -- was that Iran has no homosexuals.

"In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who has told you that we have it."

Is it that you don't have any homosexuals, Mr. Ahmadinejad, or is it that the persecution of homosexuals in your country is so great that they are often too afraid of governmental repercussions to be "out" in Iran?

As some of you have undoubtedly heard or read, a young woman was arrested at gunpoint Friday after walking into Logan International Airport wearing a sweatshirt that had a circuit board affixed to the front with green LED lights and wires running to a 9-volt battery.

Star Simpson - an MIT freshman, secretary of MIT's Electrical Research Society, and member of the swim team - has been charged with possessing a hoax device.

Star Simpson, 19, was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and approached an airport employee in Terminal C at 8 a.m. to inquire about an incoming flight from Oakland, according to Major Scott Pare of the State Police. She was holding a lump of what looked like putty in her hands. The employee asked about the plastic circuit board on her chest, and Simpson walked away without responding, Pare said.

Outside the terminal, Simpson was surrounded by police holding machine guns.

"She was immediately told to stop, to raise her hands, and not make any movement so we could observe all her movements to see if she was trying to trip any type of device," Pare said at a press conference at Logan. "There was obviously a concern that had she not followed the protocol ... we may have used deadly force."

Simpson was arrested, and it was quickly determined that the device was harmless.

"She said it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said. "She was holding what was later found to be playdough."

However, it's not Ms. Simpson's stupidity that warrants my rant on this beautiful Sunday afternoon... it's her lawyer.

Defense attorneys are truly some of the dumbest smart people this country has to offer.

"I would characterize it as almost being paranoid at this point," Schreiber said of authorities' response.

He said Simpson had gone to the airport to meet her boyfriend. "She was there for legitimate purposes," Schreiber said.

Folks, I couldn't make up this level of idiocy if I tried.

Paranoid? Are you kidding me? Ms. Simpson was lucky she wasn't shot to death for her ridiculous stunt and her genius lawyer thinks the reaction by those entrusted to protect us was paranoid?

I often wonder, do defense attorneys actually believe the crap that comes out of their mouth? Or is it just part of the job?

Unbelievable.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney recently took it to the GOP, pointing out many of the opposition points conservatives have had with current GOP leadership.

Courting party faithful Saturday, Republican Mitt Romney promised to return a wayward GOP to its core principles...

"Change must begin with us," Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, told activists as he challenged a GOP reeling from excessive spending and embarrassing scandals to "put our own house in order."

...

Trying to stand out from the crowded field, Romney is bluntly confronting problems plaguing the GOP in his new stump speech, fresh television ads and an open letter to party leaders. He is seeking to tap into anger among Republicans about the country's direction even as one of their own, President Bush, sits in the White House.

In a blistering critique of Republicans, Romney argued that Republicans share the blame with Democrats for the nation's woes. He bemoaned excessive spending, insecure borders and ethical lapses. "When Republicans act like Democrats, America loses," he said.

Indeed.

"Things that Republicans normally stand for have been pushed to the side, and I think Mitt wants to get us back on track," said Jim Gerchow, 61, a small-business owner from Sturgis, Mich., who so far isn't backing a candidate.

Does anyone remember Jesse Macbeth?

Macbeth was the turd who posed as an Army Ranger and Iraq war hero - claiming to have committed numerous war crimes - and found himself an actual hero in the eyes of the anti-war movement for his "courageous" outspoken nature.

Problem was, Macbeth was and is a fraud.

Yesterday, Macbeth was given a five month prison sentence for his disgraceful antics.

A Tacoma man who falsely claimed he was a decorated war hero when he took the stage at demonstrations held in opposition to the U.S.'s role in Iraq was sentenced this morning to five months in prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Jesse MacBeth, 23, was also sentenced to three months in a halfway house after his release and three years of probation.

MacBeth claimed that he was an Army ranger who killed more than 200 people, many at close range, including some as they prayed in a mosque. He spoke at an anti-war rally in Tacoma and appeared in a 20-minute anti-war video that circulated widely on the Internet.

In reality, MacBeth made it through only six weeks of Army basic training and never set foot in Iraq.

Conservative bloggers exposed MacBeth in May 2006, destroying his credibility and embarrassing the Seattle company that produced the video about his exploits.

A good ending to a pathetic story.

If the title of this week's article of the week doesn't entice you, I don't know what will!

Explaining Liberal Thinking In A Single Column by John Hawkins.

Liberals love to think of themselves as intellectual and nuanced, but liberalism is incredibly simplistic. It's nothing more than "childlike emotionalism applied to adult issues." Very seldom does any issue that doesn't involve pandering to their supporters boil down at its core level to more than feeling "nice" or "mean" to liberals. This makes liberals ill equipped to deal with complex issues.

Today I realized that I haven't posted any "bizarre" stories lately. Surely Nebraska's longest-serving member of the Legislature suing God warrants such a label.

Nebraska Democratic State Senator Ernie Chambers has decided to go straight to the top in an effort to stop natural disasters from befalling the world.

Chambers filed a lawsuit against God in Douglas County Court Friday afternoon...

There are a couple ironies here - besides the obvious.

1) Mr. Chambers is an atheist 2) Mr. Chambers is filing suit because he is worried about restrictions on frivolous lawsuits

Awesome.

The Senate today voted in favor of condemning MoveOn.org's recent - and now infamous - General "Betray Us" attack ad.

The 72-25 vote condemned the full-page ad that appeared in The New York Times last week as Gen. David Petraeus, the top military commander in Iraq, testified on Capitol Hill. The ad was headlined: "General Petraeus or General Betray Us? Cooking the books for the White House."

Of course this aggravated the nutters over at Daily Kos; one the Left's most popular blogs (not to mention one of the top ten most popular blogs in the world).

The Democrats just passed a Republican resolution condemning the MoveOn ad that called General Petraeus a biased figurehead 72-25.

Do the Democrats even know who votes for them anymore? Don’t they understand that if they continue to [p!$$] off the die-hard Democrats, the MoveOn Democrats, they are going to continue to lose elections?

The Republicans have won for 20 years by rallying and paying off their base. The Democrats absolutely refuse to do the same. Small wonder they haven’t won big in a while.

I’m a MoveOn Democrat. I approved that message. And it’s becoming clear that the Democrats in Congress don’t speak for me. Let the primary challenges roll.

There you have it folks. Die-hard Democrats should be unwilling to pass a resolution condemning the despicable attack on our top commander in Iraq.

Hat tip: Little Green Footballs

The Conservative Manifesto will be on hiatus for a few days as I travel to New Hampshire on business.

"I think the best social program is a job."

-- Ronald Reagan, Trevose, Pennsylvania, 1980.