Welcome to Monday Morning Politics – the place to catch up on the political stories from the weekend!

Almost every Monday I compile some of the political stories from the past weekend and put them in one place for all to see – and also offer some personal commentary!

Today I take a look at a super rich politician, I share the results of a poll, I check out who is on the ballot in Montana, I look at what Palin wrote, I write about Essmann getting out, I mention the “sweet 16” who applied for a job in Helena, I talk about signs signs everywhere a sign, I let everyone know that the flim-flam man is heading east, and I wish a very happy birthday to one of my old bosses!

Super Rich Mitt:

We all knew that GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was wealthy, but I never imagined he was super rich.  The Associated Press reported,

Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama.  Then double that number.  Now you’re in Romney territory.

Romney is “1,800 times richer” than us regular folks… and, if elected, would probably be the first President to have a Swiss bank account.

There’s no way Romney (and other millionaires) understand the hardships that face regular people…

Speaking of Romney:

GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is the first Presidential candidate to make the ballot in Montana.  Romney filed the paperwork to be on the Montana ballot January 20.

Romney does have some organization on the ground here in Montana.

You can check out other legislative and non-legislative filings in Montana HERE.

Gingrich Preferred:

A new poll from Gallup tells us, “Republican registered voters nationally continue to prefer Newt Gingrich over Mitt Romney for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, with no sign in Gallup Daily tracking from Jan. 22-26 that Gingrich is giving back any of his recent gains.”

I’m mostly hearing from Republican faithful that Romney is too liberal for many, that he has a tendency to flip-flop…

In 2007, Romney defended his sons’ lack of military service by saying they were serving their country by helping get him elected and serving their country by taking a recreational-vehicle tour to all 99 Iowa counties.  He lost me with those comments.

Palin:  Cannibals in GOP Establishment Employ Tactics of the Left

Former Alaska Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin posted her thoughts about the GOP Presidential primary on her Facebook page.

I am not all that excited about the GOP candidates and if voters are not that excited, they may stay at home.  That would be good for President Obama.

Essmann out:

Friday afternoon the Associated Press reported that Montana State Senator Jeff Essmann dropped out of the Republican primary for Governor.

He was a long shot at best – mostly because he entered the race late.

One interesting piece of information from the AP was that Essmann said he would return donations.

Heading East:

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer will give the keynote address at the 2012 Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner in…Virginia.  The event is scheduled for February 11.

Back in April 2008, I wrote,

Schweitzer kind of reminds me of George C. Scott, who played Mordecai Jones in the 1967 movie, “The Flim-Flam Man.”  The synopsis tells us that Mordecai was the master of back-stabbing, cork-screwing and dirty-dealing-dealing.

So, the speech should be entertaining…

Jesus gets a hearing:

Congressman Denny Rehberg announced a hearing has been scheduled in the U.S. House about the Jesus statue on Whitefish Mountain. Read the Rehberg press release HERE.

People should not mess with Jesus…

Political Practices: Sweet 16

Lee Newspapers is reporting that 16 people have applied for the position of political practices commissioner.  As noted here on The Western Word, the deadline was Friday.

Best of luck to all the applicants…

O’Hara’s Billboards (Part II)

Back in November, I first mentioned Montana GOP Governor Candidate Jim O’Hara painting billboards of each county’s courthouse to get attention for his campaign.  Today the Great Falls Tribune is reporting, “O’Hara’s campaign may get a big boost this week.  He expects to appear on “The CBS Evening News” in a feature segment hosted by Steve Hartman either this Friday or Feb 10.”

Hartman does the “On the Road” part which usually airs on Fridays and it’s one of my favorite segments on the CBS Evening News. 

Happy Birthday:

First he was my Secretary of Defense, then my Vice President.  Happy 71st birthday to Dick Cheney.