A FEW THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR
The following piece was produced through the Huffington Post's OffTheBus. Edited by Richard Riehl and Denise Wheeler. Reported by Kirsten Anderson, Ken Bank, River Curtis-Stanley, Jodi Lampert, Julie Pierce, Debbi Plummer, and Theresa Weathers.
A Thanksgiving message from Mitt that doesn't sound presidential....well, almost: In an email to supporters yesterday, Mitt appealed to the turkey in all of us: "To all my friends here in America, please be safe, and enjoy the blessings of the season." As for the rest of you, especially Huckabee, a pox on your turkey!
Fred's vision for the land of opportunity: In an interview for "Money and Politics," Fred Thompson finally explained why he wants to cut corporate taxes. "In a growing economy people have an opportunity to make a determination for themselves as to how far they want to go economically." In Fred's America poor folks should stop complaining and invest in the stock market.
Gravel's virtual remedy for being ditched: Mike Gravel may have had his butt kicked off the debate stage, but he's happily kicking butt in the interstellar world of Halo 3, the XBOX game. He even admitted in this YouTube feature that he goes under the name "GivemehellGravel" and his weapon of choice is the energy sword. Let's hope he doesn't bring any Grunts back with him when he comes back through the slipspace portal.
Mitt's Iowa campaign gets corny: Mitt's campaign co-chairman, New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, was asked about Huckabee's rise in Iowa polls and said he has always "viewed Iowa as being a place where they pick corn and New Hampshire being a place where we pick presidents." Romney responded to angry Iowans by distancing himself from Gregg, "Well it sounds like a New Hampshire senator to me." The next sound we'll hear is Mitt singing in an Iowa cornfield, "Oh What a Beautiful State!"
United they stand, at least when it comes to a strike: Clinton, Obama, Edwards and Richardson announced they won't cross picket lines for the CBS-sponsored debate in L.A. in Dec. if the network's news writers go out on strike. None of the candidates disavowed their studio exec donors, but Richardson issued the best rational of all: "Supporting workers' rights is more important than anything I will say at the debate."
Another Rudy Flippiani flashback: After coming to Obama's defense for admitting to past drug use, Rudy hopes to drum up some tolerance for his own past shenanigans. Yet when he was running for the Senate he attacked Hillary for playing Billy Joel's allegedly pro-drug song "Captain Jack" at a campaign event. He obviously forgot which cape he was wearing when he defended Obama. We can't wait to see which cape he dons next.
Fred's polls more telling than him: While stumping in Iowa, Fred Thompson said his often-dour demeanor simply reflects his seriousness about the issues facing the country. "I'm just Fred," he said, and the image that's served him through a successful political career won't be changing. Hey, at this time of year it's the thought that counts.
....................................................................................................
If you've got tips for OffTheBus's Roadkill team, please send an email to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com with "Roadkill" in the subject line. If you're interested in joining our team and helping put together this feature, send an email to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com with "Roadkill volunteer" in the subject line.