Mitt Romney pulled even with President Barack Obama in a Reuters/Ipsos poll at 43%

Don’t look now, but the polls are shifting. According to a Reuters new poll, Mitt Romney, the GOP nominee, and President Barack Obama are now tied at 43% a piece. These are worrisome numbers for an incumbent polling so far under 50%. Romney has the opportunity to wow the crowd and after Paul Ryan’s and Condi’s speech last night the Romney numbers will only increase. In next week’s Democrat National Convention Obama is going to have to explain the poor economy and another week of poor first time unemployment filing up 370,000.  The prior week’s figure was revised up to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported.

Republican Mitt Romney pulled even with President Barack Obama in a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Wednesday, getting a boost from his party’s nominating convention in Tampa this week.

In a four-day rolling poll, Romney and Obama were deadlocked among likely voters at 43 percent each. That was an improvement for Romney from Obama’s two-point lead on Tuesday and four-point lead on Monday.

“There is movement toward Romney, which is traditional for a convention,” Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said. “It’s small and the change is incremental, but it’s been moving the last couple of days.”

As reported at The American Thinker, Mitt Romney’s speech tonight is expected to draw 40 million viewers. If he does reasonably well, he might end up getting a nice 6-8 point bounce in the polls and put pressure on the Democrats to match or do better. That is hard to believe seeing that it is going to be a negative anti-Romney Convention, far from the Hope & Change” of 2008. Also, the August 2012 unemployment numbers are due out the Friday following the DNC Convention.

Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. Out, Florida Appeals Court Orders New Judge for Zimmerman Murder Trial of Trayvon Martin

Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr., is out …

An interesting situation just occurred in the George Zimmerman murder trial. A Florida appeals court granted Zimmerman’s attorneys request and ordered that a new judge be seated to preside over the Zimmerman murder trial in the death of Trayvon Mrtin. The 5th District Court of Appeal determined that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. could not be impartial due to past actions and statements with regards to defendant George Zimmerman. Judge Lester wrote a scathing decision with regards to Zimmerman’s second bond hearing where Lester made the prejudicial comment that Zimmerman, “manipulating the system for his own benefit.” Mark O’Mara, the defense attorney for George Zimmerman previously filed a 17 page motion disqualifying Judge Lester from this case. O’Mara asserted that the judge and court “departed from its role as an impartial, objective minister of justice” and should therefore be removed from the case. It would seem that the appeals court has agreed. Lester is out.

YOU’RE OUT

A Florida appeals court has granted George Zimmerman’s request for a new judge to oversee his trial for second-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting.

A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal found that Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester Jr. cast doubt on his impartiality when he wrote in his July 5 order setting $1 million bail that Zimmerman showed “blatant disregard for the judicial system” and that he was “manipulating the system for his own benefit.”

I have to admit this decision came as a surprise, although it was the correct one. The Zimmerman-Martin case has been more political than it has been judicial since the outset. However, made this will be the sign that the murder trial will now be based on evidence and the rule of law rather than emotions, misrepresentations, media bias and those with an agenda fanning the flames of racism.

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Speaks to the RNC to Standing Ovations … ““The challenge is real, and the times are hard, but America has met and overcome hard challenges before.”

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice received a standing ovation as she spoke to the crowd at the Republican National Convention. As stated at the WSJ, Condi have a moving address to delegates at the Republican convention, broadly criticizing President Barack Obama’s record without ever mentioning him by name. The former Sec. of State knows that America needs leadership and not a President like Obama who leads from behind. Wow, what a speech by Condi. For some one who does not like public speaking and does not want to be involved in politics, her performance was so well done one would have thought she was running for Office in the near future. All that and never used a teleprompter during speech.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have the experience and the integrity and the vision to lead us – they know who we are, what we want to be and what we offer the world.

Ms. Rice gravely described the challenges facing the country while at the same time, still sounding optimistic about the nation’s future.

“The challenge is real, and the times are hard, but America has met and overcome hard challenges before,” she told the delegates.

America, she said, “has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. But … It took leadership, and it took courage, and it took belief in our values.”

That was her lead-in to the GOP ticket.  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, she said, “have the integrity and the experience and the vision to lead us. They know who we are. They know who we want to be. They know who we are in the world and what we offer.”

Full speech can be read HERE. Some excerpts from tonight’s speech:

Indeed that is the question of the moment- “Where does America stand?” When our friends and our foes, alike, do not know the answer to that question – clearly and unambiguously — the world is a chaotic and dangerous place. The U.S. has since the end of World War II had an answer – we stand for free peoples and free markets, we are willing to support and defend them – we will sustain a balance of power that favors freedom.

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan understand this reality — that our leadership abroad and our well being at home are inextricably linked. They know what needs to be done. Our friends and allies must be able to trust us. From Israel to Poland to the Philippines to Colombia and across the world — they must know that we are reliable and consistent and determined. And our adversaries must have no reason to doubt our resolve — because peace really does come through strength. Our military capability and technological advantage will be safe in Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s hands.

Condi discusses energy independence and the economy. Both play greatly into foreign policy and security.

We must not allow the chance to attain energy independence to slip from our grasp. We have a great gift of oil and gas reserves here in North America that must be and can be developed while protecting our environment. And we have the ingenuity in the private sector to tap alternative sources of energy.

And most importantly, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will rebuild the foundation of American strength – our economy – stimulating private sector led growth and small business entrepreneurship. When the world looks at us today they see an American government that cannot live within its means. They see a government that continues to borrow money, mortgaging the future of generations to come. The world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny. That is not the America that has inspired others to follow our lead.

Then came one of the best lines of the night.

And on a personal note– a little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham – the most segregated big city in America – her parents can’t take her to a movie theater or a restaurant – but they make her believe that even though she can’t have a hamburger at the Woolworth’s lunch counter – she can be President of the United States and she becomes the Secretary of State. Yes, America has a way of making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. But of course it has never been inevitable – it has taken leadership, courage and an unwavering faith in our values.

Romney Gets 5% Bounce in Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research Poll in 9 Battle Ground States

One Day RNC Romney Bounce …

One day after the beginning of the Republican National Convention and it appears that Mitt Romney has received a convention bounce. Romney received a 5 point bounce in his favorable rating according to data presented at a Wednesday breakfast sponsored by The Hill at the law offices of Holland & Knight.

Romney had a 43-percent favorable and 44-percent unfavorable rating in nine battleground states heading into the convention, according to an average compiled by Real Clear Politics.

A survey conducted by Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research in nine battle ground states Tuesday evening found Romney’s favorable rating among likely voters had jumped to 48 percent. His unfavorable rating dipped to 39.

Wilson said the polling data indicated Romney’s image has improved after a day of action at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s speech had the biggest impact of the convention so far, and was more than twice as popular as Ann Romney’s remarks on Tuesday, according to the poll.

Twelve percent of respondents rated Christie’s speech as their favorite, compared to five percent who favored Romney’s, according to the poll.

What would one expect but a bump when the Ann Romney and Chris Christie speeches drew 23 million viewers.It was not just Ann and Christie, the GOP governors were awesome last night and Mia Love became an over night Republican rack star.

An estimated 22.3 million people tuned in to watch the first full night of the GOP convention last night, according to Nielsen, the ratings company. That was an increase of 800,000 viewers on the same night of coverage four years ago in St. Paul, Nielsen said.

It just shows how wrong and skewed the liberal media is as the Politico reported that Chris Cristie’s speech was a flop. Really? Sorry Politico, you have no idea what you are talking about. I am sorry if it was not a typical Christie town hall type meeting where he is screaming at the media or calling someone an idiot. The Keynote speech was intended to speak to the Independents. Screaming and brow beating Obama, who Christie never once mentioned his name, would have accomplished nothing. we know Obama is a failure, Christie’s job was to convince Indies why they should vote for Mitt Romney.

There is no mistaking what a successful keynote speech for Chris Christie would have looked and sounded like. There would have been an electric reaction from the crowd in the convention hall. It would have been followed by waves of effusive media commentary about how people had just heard the future of the Republican Party.

Judged by these standards, there is also no mistaking what the New Jersey governor delivered instead: A prime-time belly-flop, one that notably failed to clear either of those two high bars

16 Year Old Larissa Huntsman Missing Since 8/24/12 Near Las Lomas, CA

16 year old Larissa Huntsman has been missing since Auguts 24, 2012. She was last seen walking off the campus of Las Lomas High School in Las Lomas, CA at about 1:00 pm. Huntsman appears to have left shcool on her own and there are no signs of foul play; however, she has a medical condition that requires her to take medication daily. It is believed she is not currently taking her medication.

Description of Missing Person:
•Name: Larissa Huntsman
•Age: 16
•Height: 5’3”
•Weight: 125 pounds
•Hair: Brown
•Eyes: Brown
•Last seen wearing a blue v-neck, blue jean shorts and blue sneakers.

Anyone with information about Huntsman’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Walnut Creek Police Department at 925-943-5844.