ARE YOU READY FOR SOME POLITICS? Today’s Super Bowl is set to be a pretty intense one between the Giants and the Patriots, but let’s face it, we’re also tuning in for the ads. And according to POLITICO, tonight we are going to be bombarded by a storm of political ads. One of the latest issues to become a political football (ba dum tsss) has been abortion, given the widespread controversy this week over Planned Parenthood and the Komen Foundation. And now the FCC has ruled that one station has the right to refuse to air an anti-abortion ad during tonight’s game.

On Monday’s The Five, Greg Gutfeld responded to a Democratic National Committee ad calling Newt Gingrich the “original Tea Partier.” “The original tea partier, as you know is [Rep.] Ron Paul,” Gutfeld observed, “not Newt Gingrich. ” “Can you stop right there?!” Eric Bolling exclaimed.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney‘s less-than-stellar interview with a persistent Bret Baier continues to provide fodder for the candidate’s opponents. While former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman‘s Fox-fueled attack focused on fact-checking Romney, the DNC’s new web video is pegged to the candidate’s clear exasperation at Baier’s tough questioning, making the case that this is a running theme for Romney.

When I first read that the DNC had released another ad beating the dead horse that is the “Mitt-flopping” narrative, my first thought was that they really need to call the guy who made this ad, which breaks fresh ground in the campaign against Mitt Romney. Then, I caught a bit of the ad on Hardball, and was shocked to see the ad make cheap use of an old Ronald Reagan clip. I was even more shocked to learn that I’m apparently the only one who cares.

How is your Monday going so far? Probably a little sluggish given the post-holiday weekend bloat that comes with late November, right? Well take heart knowing that however tough your Monday currently looks, it’s likely going much better than Mitt Romney‘s day. Not only is he dealing with yesterday’s Union Leader endorsement of Newt Gingrich, what’s worse for the New Hampshire resident is Fox News’ proper portrayal of this as a “major snub.”

Judging by the latest effort put out by the DNC, it appears that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is still very much considered to be President Obama‘s most challenging foe in the 2012 general election. Mitt Vs. Mitt is the latest effort to portray Romney as an individual who appears to have been unwilling to stand on principles on a number of hot-button issues: reproductive rights, economic stimulus, even the legacy of Ronald Regan, at least as he’s portrayed in the following campaign.

On Monday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney‘s presidential campaign released an ad that has come under fire for its dishonest use of an out-of-context quote from President Obama. The Democratic National Committee has released its own ad in response, entitled “Romney: Deceive America,” which highlights the media coverage of the Romney campaign’s unapologetic deception, but which fails to challenge the Romney ad’s central premise.

Ralph Nader, Cornel West and 45 other “distinguished leaders” have joined forces in search of a “recognizable, articulate” candidate who could pose a challenge to President Barack Obama as he campaigns for reelection. Never a content Democrat, Nader says it’s “very unlikely” that he will run himself, and that this challenge is not meant to hinder Obama’s chances of reelection. “I just want all these liberal, progressive agendas to be robustly debated. Otherwise, there will be a de facto blackout of their discussion,” he told the Washington Post yesterday.

Ready for a trip down Memory Lane? Face the Nation held an interestingly anachronistic debate today on the Obama jobs program between former RNC chair Ed Gillespie and former DNC chair Terry McAuliffe, where the two quarreled over the optics of President Obama’s vacation and Congress’ obstinacy in passing a jobs bill. Host Norah O’Donnell led the discussion, wherein the two agreed the time for talk was over, but, predictably, differed on who exactly was doing the useless talking.

Rep. Allen West has outraged a good number of people in the media with his infuriated email against DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, in which he calls her “vile” and “a coward” and a number of other colorful epithets. The email was so venomous, it seems some that may agree with the sentiment hesitate to support it. Take, for instance, Bill O’Reilly, who argued today that the exchanges between the two were “nasty” and “personal” and that Rep. West “hurt himself” by not explaining himself more publicly.

Mitt Romney makes it official today, delivering a campaign announcement in Stratham, New Hampshire at noon. According to an advance copy of the speech obtained by Politico, the Republican will argue that he’s a
“serious man for serious times,” an effort, analysts believe, designed to separate the former Massachusetts governor from the “sideshow” atmosphere surrounding other current and potential GOP candidates. “When President Obama was elected, we wondered what it would be like to elect a president with no experience, and now we know,” Politico’s Mike Allen quotes a senior Romney adviser. “Mitt Romney, from a lifetime spent in the private sector, has the skills and the ability to lead an economic turnaround.”

It’s a general rule of thumb that whenever a politician says something negative about their opposition, they better not be guilty of the same thing, otherwise they would end up looking incredibly foolish.

On the heels of reports that the Democratic National Committee is eyeballing Robert Gibbs as the next DNC chairman, the White House Press Secretary fielded a volley of questions on the subject at today’s White House briefing. Accustomed to the wiggle room that Gibbs often builds in to his responses, reporters pressed Gibbs, amid laughter, to nail down his denial. He ably complied, responding that he has had no talks with anyone, anywhere, regarding the DNC chairmanship, and that he’s happy where he is.

It appears that Rahm Emanuel‘s White House exit may be one of the first in a series for the Obama administration. According to Politico, the Democratic Party is looking into leadership negotiations that could land current DNC chairman Tim Kaine in the White House and spokesman Robert Gibbs in the Party’s top post.

Whenever a major political party tries to “rebrand” itself, aesthetically, it inevitably ends in disaster. Last time it was GOP.com, but to prove the graphic failure is bipartisan, the Democrats have come up with a new logo, and a new slogan (“change that matters”). An exasperated Bill Maher tried to help out the party by offering some new slogans, like “fighting for you (to a point)” and “we got Lisa Ling‘s sister out of Korea.”

With the midterm elections looming and the Democrats looking to take more losses than many predicted just a few months ago, DNC chairman Tim Kaine bravely joined Jon Stewart on The Daily Show last night. Stewart has been a consistently vocal critic of the Democratic Party’s political efforts and was not reluctant in sharing his criticism to the former Governor of Virginia and current party chair. The segment opens with Stewart plainly stating “you’re in trouble dude,” and gets more entertaining from there.

A new ad, promoting a book by GOP Reps Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, has been eliciting some interesting reactions from fellow travelers. Former GOP Congressman and Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough torched the “Young Guns” on his show, re-dubbing them “The Young Turds,” and leading a veritable Friar’s roast of the ad by his panel.

We reached out to the Democratic National Committee to see if the Young Guns would fare any better with the opposition. The results might surprise you.

The DNC has just released a new ad on the economy, hinting at the bright future Democrats are securing for Americans currently and reminding voters that Republican policies “got us into this mess.” Whose Republican policies? George W. Bush, the president from two years ago. Miss him yet? Democrats are hoping for a resounding “no” on that question.

In preparation for what’s likely to be a vicious batch of midterm elections this November, the Democratic National Committee has launched The Accountability Project. The DNC intends for it to be a “project to hold Republican candidates accountable”–and they want your help!

As coverage of the current oil spill crisis continues to dominate the media, the Democratic National Committee is gearing up to refocus national attention back on health care. Yesterday, the DNC released a new ad entitled “We Can’t Afford To Go Back,” which is set to air on national cable television next week.

Chris Matthews has some serious questions about the Democratic propaganda machine. If Barack Obama managed to pass the cornerstone legislation of his presidential campaign with health care and was enormously popular when elected, where is the Democratic party to back him up when Republicans attack his policies?

Larry King has been on a roll lately. Between confirming David Paterson’s blindness to calling Johnny Weir “fierce” and getting Toyota President Akio Toyoda to admit his fears of not being considered compassionate enough, Larry King Live has made for some must-see TV. Yesterday was no exception, with DNC Chair Tim Kaine and RNC Chair Michael Steele meeting for the first time in quite a while after circling each other on the cable news rounds for months to discuss the health care reform, Jim Bunning’s pseudo-filibuster and business as usual in Washington.

After releasing a pretty inclusive list of the Top 25 Right-Wing Journalists in America, Daily Beast columnist Tunku Varadarajan took on the other half of the aisle, putting together a list of the most powerful and influential American liberals.

To commemorate the first anniversary of the signing on Obama’s stimulus bill, DNC chair and former Virginia governor Tim Kaine made more television appearances in one 24-hour cycle than it felt like he had during the entirety of his tenure before today. After waiting for so long, what did Kaine bring to the table at Fox and Friends, Morning Joe, and American Morning? The gameplan for victory Rachel Maddow gave him the night before.

Democrats are launching a new website and online video campaign aimed at Sarah Palin‘s “lies” about health care reform, encouraging the use of Facebook as a primary battleground. “Quit makin’ things up!” the spot’s voiceover insists.