Dems' 2010 Prospects Start to Dim

Chrysler ad a political football

(NEWSER) - God bless America ... and the Chrysler bailout ... seemed to be the message that left football fans misty-eyed after Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl Chrysler ad. It's "halftime" in America, and we're all pulling together for a brighter economic future, says the gravelly-voiced star. But Eastwood was opposed to the bailout that made the Chrysler turnaround possible, and now the ad has become a political football as Dems score points with it and the GOP tackles it, notes ABC News . “Saving the American Auto Industry: Something Eminem and Clint Eastwood can agree on," crowed White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer on Twitter, referring to Eminem’s Chrysler ad during last year's Super Bowl. "Powerful spot," chimed in Obama re-election strategist David Axelrod. But George Bush's political maven Karl Rove snapped that he was "offended" by the ad, which he argued was orchestrated by the administration to paint a rosy future. More»

Indiana governor says US must be 'pro-growth' instead

(NEWSER) - President Obama may be bullish about the state of the union, but he shouldn't be, said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels in the GOP response. Obama was elected to fix the nation's financial problems, but he's only made them worse, said Daniels. "When President Obama claims that the state of our union is anything but grave, he must know in his heart that this is not true." ( International Business Times has the text.) Highlights:

• “The extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly safe pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature, is a pro-poverty policy. It must be replaced by a passionate pro-growth approach that breaks all ties and calls all close ones in favor of private sector jobs that restore opportunity for all and generate the public revenues to pay our bills."

The public doesn't like either, but they get election wins anyway

(NEWSER) - Back in 1951, a political analyst came up with the theory that at any time in America there’s a Sun Party, which drives the agenda, and a minority Moon Party that shines by reflecting its rays. But these days, “we are living in the era of two moons and no sun,” writes David Brooks of the New York Times . “Neither party has been able to rally the country behind its vision of government.” More»

...until day after 2010 midterm elections

(NEWSER) - More bad Solyndra press for the Obama administration: Emails released yesterday show that the Energy Department pushed the struggling solar company to delay announcing employee layoffs until after the 2010 midterm elections. On Oct. 25 of that year, Solyndra’s CEO sent the agency an email explaining that layoffs would be announced in three days because the story was "starting to leak" and journalists were asking questions, the Washington Post reports. But on Oct. 30, a Solyndra investment adviser sent an internal email noting that the Energy Department was pushing "very hard" for a delay to Nov. 3. "Oddly they didn’t give a reason for that date," he wrote. More»

If you're more partial to Mel Gibson films, you might be a Republican

(NEWSER) - Not only are lefties and righties split on their politics and what kind of food they like —they're split on their entertainment choices as well. A recent poll for the Hollywood Reporter finds that a whopping 45% of Tea Partiers consider a celebrity's politics before paying to watch his or her movies, compared to 35% of Republicans and 20% of Democrats. Among the differences between the parties:

• Democrats are more likely to go to the theater: On average, they have seen 5.7 movies in a theater in the past six months, compared to less than four for Republicans.
• Democrats don't like Charlton Heston: Many have avoided films starring the National Rifle Association president. They're also not a fan of Mel Gibson: 36% have avoided his films. As for Republicans, about 40% try to avoid Sean Penn and a whopping 60% reject Michael Moore.