Summary: NBC’s Chuck Todd writes that if the object of 2012 Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney’s May 12 health-care speech was “to put the health issue behind him, then the address was an ‘un-Mitt-igated’ failure.” Research conducted at the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics under the direction of Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D., suggests that Massachusetts’ health law, enacted during Romney’s tenure as governor, may be the least of his problems as he vies for the Republican nomination in a crowded GOP field. In short, Romney lacks the personal charisma to sway non-base voters, as measured by the Personal Electability Index for presidential contenders, developed at the Minnesota-based political psychology research unit. … One-year retrospective: One year ago today, on May 12, 2010, Aubrey Immelman announced that Independence Party-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner scheduled a press conference at Stop Light Bait in St. Cloud, ahead of the weekend’s Minnesota’s fishing opener.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: President George W. Bush rejected a plea from Israel in 2008 to help it raid Iran’s main nuclear complex, opting instead to authorize a new U.S. covert action aimed at sabotaging Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, according to the New York Times.

  ::  Read Comments (0)

Summary: As Minnesota 6th Congressional District constituents ring in the New Year, they can look back on the historic election year of 2008 with some measure of pride in the knowledge that their representative in Congress made a strong showing (of sorts) in several “Year in Review” lists. That’s no easy feat, considering the U.S. House of Representatives has 435 members, each vying for attention.

  ::  Read Comments (0)