"I'd love to see Joe get in the race." - Former Vice President Dick Cheney, expressing support for a 2016 run for president by Vice President Joe Biden.

President Obama must have been feeling his oats when he asked himself, "What can I do today with all the power I possess. I know: I'll shake up geography teachers and mapmakers and also gig Republicans in the process." So he decided to rename Mount McKinley, North America's tallest peak, which had borne the name of former Republican President William McKinley since 1896. He chose "Denali", an Athabascan name favored by Alaska natives. The move coincided with Obama's first trip to the 50th state, other than a refueling stop. He stirred up a hornet's nest in McKinley's home state, politically potent
Ohio.

"There is still a lot of monkey in us. throw anything into our cage and we will give it serious consideration." - Will Rogers.

Hillary Clinton must be using the same speechwriter as President Obama. At a sparsely attended campaign rally in Cleveland, the Democratic candidate compared Republicans to "terrorist groups" on women's issues. Obama recently said Republicans and others opposed to the Iran nuclear deal he champions were "making common cause" with Iranian hard-liners who call for "death to America."

Somebody needs to tell a well-known national figure it's time to tone down the name-calling. The hotair.com website reports House Speaker John Boehner, in a private fundraiser in Colorado, called Sen. Ted Cruz, a fellow Republican, a "Jackass." In July Cruz called Sen. Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, a "liar." Shouldn't the target of such language be Democrats?

"The government has not only hundreds but literally thousands in Washington to see that nobody can personally tend to his own business." - Will Rogers

Who does President Obama think he is: Donald Trump? At a Democratic fundraiser in Las Vegas he called opponents of his agenda "crazies." His White House flacks had to walk back the slur, saying Obama might have been "a little flip" with his rhetoric.

Last year Jeb Bush said he would run for president only if he could "do it joyfully", observes blogger Keith Koffler. "But then along came Donald Trump and his crazy-high poll numbers," he adds. But as Bush lagged in the polls, he plodded along, calling himself a "joyful tortoise." As Trump's attacks on him get harder, Jeb is acting more like a "snapping turtle."

"There is nothing as easy as denouncing. It don't take much to see that something is wrong, but it does take some eyesight to see what will put it right again." - Will Rogers

Two presidential candidates, Democrat Bernie Sanders and Republican John Kasich, have won a dubious endorsement by another contender. Deez Nuts (a fake candidate, did you guess?) gave thumbs up to the Socialist U.S. senator and Ohio's governor. Nuts actually is 15-year-old Brady Olson, who lives in the key caucus state of Iowa.

Politicians disdain "getting down in the gutter" in defending their views, but Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., isn't at all shy about wading into a battle over sewers. Inhofe, a foe of excessive environmental protection laws, is raising a stink about a new EPA clean water rule which he says gives the agency power to regulate sewers and stormwater systems. Inhofe can smell a case of overregulation if anyone can.

"This stock market thing has spoiled more appetites than bad cooking." - Will Rogers

Something's got to be done about the boobs in New York City -- not the ones in Times Square but those in City Hall. The mayor and his cronies should worry less about topless exhibitionists and be more concerned about the city's real problems. Meanwhile, cops on the beat are enjoying taking selfies with the "painted ladies."

Former President Bill Clinton had to celebrate his 69th birthday without his wife and daughter. Hillary was campaigning and Chelsea was vacationing in Italy. Bill had to settle for dinner with Bon Jovi and eight others (gender unreported) in East Hampton.

"You can get your name on a button easier than you can get it on the letter box in front of the White House." - Will Rogers

Yelp.com has launched a promotional effort to include among its reviews those of federal agencies. Republican president candidate Carly Fiorina seized the opportunity to critique the Transportation Security Administration. Fiorina, former HP CEO, began: "The TSA spent $160 million of your taxpayer dollars on body scanners that have a 96% failure rate." From that point her review really got tough.

"If Iran is to acquire a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it." - Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., joining powerful Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. in stating he will oppose the Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran in next month's vote.

"There is one thing no nation can ever accuse us of and that is secret diplomacy. Our foreign dealings are an open book - generally a check book." - Will Rogers

Oldtime politicians used to kiss babies to get votes. Billionaire Donald Trump gives kids rides in his helicopter. How is he going to report that to the Federal Election Commission?

Who's calling who what? Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., says Hillary Clinton is the target of a "witch hunt." The FBI is investigating the transmission of classified information on her personal email account while she was secretary of state.

"Elections are a good deal like marriages; there's no accounting for anyone's taste." - Will Rogers

It appears Democratic leaders are so worried about Hillary Clinton's loosey-goosey handling of top secret classified information on her personal email server they're desperate for a replacement. Even Al Gore's name has surfaced. Buzzfeed News reports the "old gang" is getting together to weigh the former veep's chances. "A member of Gore's inner circle asked to be quoted 'pouring lukewarm water' -- not, note, cold water -- on the chatter," said the left-leaning blog.

Some say Hillary Clinton could go to prison for exchanging top secret classified information via her personal email server. The Daily Caller fostered that scenario by publishing a photo of Hillary wearing a black-and-white-striped top in a public appearance.

"There is nothing as easy as denouncing. It don’t take much to see that something is wrong but it does take some eyesight to see what will put it right again." -- Will Rogers

Referring to the field of Republican presidential candidates, and especially the current frontrunner, former White House Economist Austan Goolsbee said, "it has been a long time since we've had a very thin-skinned person in the White House. He's overlooking his former boss, President Obama.

While Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy has been fighting climate change, her incompetent agency was responsible for the release of millions of gallons of toxic chemicals from an abandoned gold mine in Colorado. So she apologized. Big deal. A private polluter would not get off that easily.

"As our government deteriorates, our humor increases." - Will Rogers

Political odd couple: Socialist Rep. Bernie Sanders, running as a Democrat for president, says he agrees with rebel billionaire Donald Trump on the dangers of big money in politics. On a Sunday TV talk show he said billionaires pouring money into campaigns is a "disaster for democracy." Trump has said that he's "not doing what's right for a man that gave me a million dollars to run for office and I owe him." Not that that's likely to happen.

The Fox News televised Republican debate drew a record audience of 24 million viewers and the exposure was especially helpful to Carly Fiorina. The former corporate executive was dubbed the winner of the early debate and as a result she said she had received "an uptick in support generally", including financial support. She agreed many voters didn't know who she was before the debate.

"Politics has got so expensive that it takes lots of money to even get beat with nowadays." - Will Rogers

President Obama and his family are out of Washington until August 23, vacationing in a fabulous 7,000-square-foot home at Martha's Vineyard. For anyone interested in having this place for their very own getaway, it's for sale at $22 million.

“I’m the only one to separate Siamese twins, the only one to operate on babies while they are still in their mother’s womb and the only one to take out half of a brain, although you would think if you go to Washington that someone had beat me to it,” neurosurgeon Ben Carson at Republican presidential candidates debate.

"So many Republicans have promised things and then didn't make good that it's getting so a Republican promise isn't much more to be depended on than a Democratic one, and that has always been the lowest form of collateral in the world." - Will Rogers

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie tells us about his sex life ("I'm a Catholic, but I've used birth control, and not just the rhythm method") but front-running Democrat Hillary Clinton won't even tell us her position on the Keystone pipeline.

Rick Perry learned a lesson about the current presidential campaign the hard way. As Donald Trump continued to rise in the polls, Perry kept hammering away at him. Trump got the prime position in the Fox News-Facebook debate. Perry didn't make it into the top 10. Guess those glasses he started wearing didn't make him any smarter after all.

"Lord, the money we do spend on government. And it's not a bit better government that we got for one-third the money twenty years ago." - Will Rogers.

In observance of the 80th anniversary of the death of Will Rogers on August 15, 1935 in a plane crash in Alaska, during August PolitiQuips will include quotes from this phenomenal philosopher-humorist.

President Obama wants you to know he's really serious about global warming. He is even going to theAlaskan Arctic to push his agenda to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Ironically, the Daily Caller reports, the presidential jet taking him there and back will emit lots of that gas. Air Force One will emit about 354,585 pounds of CO2 just for the leg from Washington, D.C. to Elmendorf Air Force base in Alaska, a refueling stop.

"You got to sorter give and take in this old world. We can get mighty rich, but if we haven't got any friends, we will find we are poorer than anybody." - Will Rogers

Pre-debate pronouncements:
"I'm going to push back, and push back hard." - Rick Perry.
"I think I'm a nice person. I really do. I'm not looking to take anybody out or be nasty to anybody. - Donald Trump, who added, "I've always counterpunched."
"I'll be showing up with my big-boy pants on." - Jeb Bush