Style AND Substance
Posted by Michelle Moquin on October 17th, 2012
Good morning!
So, we all watched the presidential town hall debate last night. Presidential Style – who’s got it? And I’m not talking “style over substance”. Although president Obama exuded both in my opinion.
When I speak of Presidential Style, I’m talking strictly style from a sartorial point of view. I’m going to get a little snarky this morning. Why? Because it is my blog and I can do what I please. And…the stylist in me is stroking the keys this morning. :)
Okay…from a style point of view, the first thing I noticed on Romney was his suit. Any well-dressed man with any sartorial sense or elegance, would know that a single back-vented jacket is just wrong (But then why would I expect him to know how to dress when his policies are just plain wrong too?), not to mention single vents are a sign of cheap tailoring. The jacket gets crumpled in the back while sitting, and no one wants to see your bum (nice or not:) through the back vent should you be shoving your hands into your pockets. And we know Romney’s hands are always in his pockets because he is constantly filling them.
Double vents please or no vent at all – keep the single vents to riding horses please – that is good style. But then being able to afford good style doesn’t mean you have it. Romney is proof of this.
Now the president, donning a double back-vented jacket is classic, stylish and sophisticated – beautiful style when tailored properly, costlier to manufacture. When a gentleman sits down on a stool the vents drape to both sides leaving them hanging freely – no chance of wrinkles or creases here. Gracefully slip your hands into your pockets, the bum stays stylishly covered and the style integrity of the back vents is not lost.
Compared to Romney, whose suits shouts “salesman” (And FYI: A LSOS Salesman), it is so obvious out of the two, which man has style and substance, Obama is a sartorial stud, and all that we expect in the attire of a man of presidential status.
I could say more about the style of the evening, but hey, the political animal in me is taking over – let’s get on with the day’s write.
Obama-Romney Debate Won By President (VIDEO)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — President Barack Obama stepped onto the stage here on Long Island ready to brawl. Within moments, he had called a Mitt Romney assertion “not true” and ridiculed his opponent’s five-point plan as a one-point plan — that one point being that the wealthy play by one set of rules, while everyone else plays by another.
It was a very different Obama from the one who barely showed up for the first debate. “Very little of what Governor Romney just said is true,” Obama said early in the debate. During the first debate, Obama looked down at his notes or his shoes while Romney spoke. Tonight, he turned away from the audience early to squarely face Romney while directly attacking him.
Romney gave it back to the president, as the two stood nose to nose, each looking as if he’d rather be swinging at his opponent than debating him. “That wasn’t a question, that was a statement,” Romney told Obama early on, attempting to assert the dominance he won by default in the last debate.
It’s easier to lose a debate than to win one. Romney was able to unambiguously win the first debate because Obama so clearly lost. Tonight’s debate went to Obama, but not by as wide a margin. “If you were scoring it on points, Obama wins on points,” arch-conservative Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News. Laura Ingraham and Joe Scarborough took to Twitter to ratify Krauthammer’s view.
The result is a race that is at once clearer and just as uncertain. It’s clearer because both candidates crystalized their vision of their opponent. For Obama, Romney is an out-of-touch plutocrat who invests in China and pays a lower tax rate than you, has a “sketchy deal” for you, and is more extreme than George W. Bush.
For Romney, Obama is simply a failure, and the sluggish economy is the evidence.
The lines drawn, it remains to be seen whether Obama will be tossed out of office for his inability to spur more economic growth — a potentially fatal consequence of an obsession with the deficit that predates even his election — or whether the remaining undecided voters give Obama a second term, reasoning that he did as well as possible under difficult circumstances largely brought about by policies Romney wants to restore.
Tonight, Obama won clear points on a range of issues, from pay equity and contraception access, to immigration and China policy. Despite a disadvantage on Libya going into the debate, one of Obama’s most decisive knockdowns came when Romney thought he had the president cornered on the issue. After spending weeks hammering the Obama administration for mishandling the crisis that took the lives of four Americans in Benghazi, Romney once again fumbled the facts.
The president had just reminded the audience that on the day after the attack, he called it an act of terror and pledged to bring justice to the attackers. Obama also handed his opponent a huge opportunity by conceding for the first time that he took full responsibility for the attacks that took place on the anniversary of Sept. 11. But Romney chose not to press Obama on a perceived intelligence failure that caused the attack — something the administration has struggled to explain — but instead challenged the president on semantics.
“I think it’s interesting the president said something, which is on the day after the attack he went in the Rose Garden and said this was an act of terror,” Romney said, then turning to the president. “You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack, it was an act of terror? It was not a spontaneous demonstration, is that what you are saying?”
“I want to make sure we get that for the record,” Romney continued, his eyes widening. “It took the president 14 days before he called it an act of terror.”
To this, Obama responded, “Get the transcript,” but moderator Candy Crowley was quick to fact-check Romney. “He did, in fact, call it an act of terror,” she told Romney, to which the president quipped, “Could you say that a little louder, Candy? Terror.” The moderator did, however, point out that in the days following the attack, the administration indicated it was due to protests over an anti-Islamic video.
Still, in one of his most heated moments of the night, Obama delivered a sharp response to Romney for accusing the White House of playing politics with the crisis. The crowd applauded Obama loudly, breaking the rules, and Twitter went over capacity.
“Romney is fumbling through a question on Libya that he should be owning,” Scarborough tweeted, contributing to that brief collapse. “Considering how badly the Obama administration handled Benghazi, I’m surprised by Romney’s jumbled response to the Libya question.”
Obama also succeeded at getting under Romney’s skin. The surprisingly warm Romney of the last debate was clearly ruffled, as he ignored questions from the town hall audience to re-engage arguments that had just ended. The crowd audibly gasped early in the debate at one Romney brush-off of the president, according to the pool report.
And Romney blundered by making reference to his 47 percent remarks during his closing statement, promising that he would look out for 100 percent of Americans. That gave Obama the opening he needed to mention what Romney said he thinks of nearly half the country, and it gave Romney no chance to respond.
But the Romney campaign made the main — and perhaps only — point that it needs to make: The economy is rotten. It’s a message Romney delivers persuasively and effectively. And it happens to be true.
Following the debate, the Romney campaign blasted out , “There are jobs that aren’t coming back.” He was referring to low-wage jobs that have gone to China, but the Romney camp clearly sees an opening.
Romney is also seizing on Obama’s argument that gas prices are higher now because the economy is doing better. “According to Barack Obama, everything’s good in the Middle East, everything’s good at home. The reason you’re paying $4 gas is because everyone’s making so much money,” said Stuart Stevens, Romney’s campaign manager, mocking Obama in the spin room. “If you ever want to hold up evidence that you know absolutely nothing about economics or about gas prices, I think that would be the perfect answer.”
The impact of the first debate on the polls was almost instantaneous. A host of national polls showed Romney enjoying a significant bounce, closing Obama’s lead and even gaining a slight advantage in some surveys. But while the GOP nominee successfully portrayed himself as an able leader and saw his favorability ratings climb, key swing states continued to project a narrow lead for Obama.
Romney’s advantage in the first debate came from his willingness to untether his comments both from reality and from his previous positions. He did so with authority and a certainty that gave the assertions the air of validity. What he said was true because he said it was true.
When it came to his 20 percent across-the-board tax cut, for instance, he insisted that it would not add to the deficit, despite the obvious fact that that is what tax cuts do. Otherwise they’re not tax cuts.
“What I’ve said is I won’t put in place a tax cut that adds to the deficit,” Romney said. “So there’s no economist [who] can say Mitt Romney’s tax plan adds 5 trillion [dollars] if I say I will not add to the deficit with my tax plan.”
Obama called out Romney early and often for inconsistency or untrue assertions, cutting off Romney’s most successful prior tactic. Romney backers tried to paint the more aggressive Obama as desperate. “He tried to do a somewhat charmless version of Joe Biden, but I don’t think it worked particularly well,” Stevens said. “When you saw a different Al Gore [in 2000] in every debate, I think people find that disconcerting. One thing they want in a president is a steadiness and a dependability. They see a person one week ago and they see a different person tonight, and they think, what’s next?”
Boca Raton, Fla., is next, on Monday evening.
“The Thrilla in Boca may decide it all,” tweeted Scarborough.
*O*B*A*M*A*W*I*N*S*!*
Readers: With the election this close it is good the polls are close too. If Obama was way ahead in the polls, no doubt, people would get lazy and think it’s in the bag and not show up at the polls to vote. As it is now, many are despondent, so we need all to make it to the polls this November.
And it you can vote early, do so. My suggestion is that if you are voting absentee, mail in your vote early – at least a week before the day of the election. If it is only a few days before, don’t mail it, carry your vote in and deliver it by hand.
Teresa, Brittany, Clark, Jennifer, Lucy, et al: I’m not sold anymore that white women are as dumb as a box of rocks. They know what they’re doing, and what they’re doing is voting color, more specifically, they’re voting white. Because nobody can be that stupid. They’re using whatever excuse they can to vote white – they wait for whatever reason comes along, and they ride it, voting white. That’s the 33% in the middle – just looking for an excuse to vote white.
Zen Lill: With the election near, it appears that your day slipped by me. So I wish you now a very Happy Belated Birthday! I HOPE you had a wonderful day!
Got to run- peace out.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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October 17th, 2012 at 11:41 am
The Disease That Bald Men Should Watch Out For
For a man, a bald head may be a sign of maturity, wisdom or even masculinity, but it might also be a sign of something else—something much worse.
According to a new study, a bald head could signal a higher risk of developing prostate cancer.
LOSING YOUR HAIR, LOSING YOUR HEALTH
In the study, men being referred for prostate biopsies were asked to describe how bald they were by ranking their pattern of hair loss using a five-point scale.
Zero meant no baldness…1 meant a minimally receding hairline…2 meant a little bald spot on the top of the head…3 meant a large bald spot on the top…and 4 meant no hair on top of the head. (For a visual scale, see the accompanying illustration.)
The researchers found that the more bald that a man was (the higher he ranked on the scale), the more likely it was that his biopsy would come back positive—showing that he had prostate cancer.
In fact, men with minor baldness—a minimally receding hairline, level 1—were twice as likely to have prostate cancer as men with full heads of hair (level 0)…and men with the most severe baldness—no hair on their heads, level 4—were almost three times as likely to have prostate cancer, compared with men with full heads of hair.
THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
To learn more, I called the lead author of the study, Neil Fleshner, MD.
Keep in mind that it’s unknown whether baldness causes prostate cancer. This study showed only an association. Why?
Dr. Fleshner’s theory is that being hypersensitive to a hormone that’s partly responsible for the development of male sex organs and masculine characteristics, dihydrotestosterone, may be what both stops hair growth and prompts the development of prostate cancer, because some prior studies have hinted at a link between the hormone and baldness.
BALD & BALDING MEN SHOULD BE EXTRA-CAUTIOUS
I asked Dr. Fleshner whether he thinks that men should get screened for prostate cancer the minute they start losing hair, and he said that it’s not necessary, because most men start losing hair in their 20s and prostate cancer is rare among men in that age group. When healthy men should start getting screened for prostate cancer is, of course, a controversial topic.
If you already get a regular screening, such as a PSA test that detects the level of a prostate-specific antigen in the blood or a rectal exam, during which a doctor uses a gloved finger to feel for abnormalities in the texture, shape or size of the gland, then continue getting screened, said Dr. Fleshner.
A high PSA score or an abnormal rectal exam almost always requires further testing. But if your PSA score is on the borderline, assessing your level of baldness might be helpful.
If you’re fully bald or balding, you may want to be extra-cautious and ask your doctor to monitor you more frequently or more intensely (doctors can also perform further tests, such as ultrasounds or biopsies of prostate tissue), he added.
Whether you get screened or not, if you’re bald or balding, be on the lookout for symptoms of prostate cancer, such as trouble urinating (difficulty starting a urine stream and/or decreased force of the urine stream) or the presence of blood in your urine or semen.
Source: Neil E. Fleshner, MD, clinical head, division of urology, University Health Network, Toronto, and professor of surgery, University of Toronto. This study was presented at the American Urological Association’s annual meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.
October 17th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Michelle, I agree whole heartedly with your statement that white women are voting white. My family lies to others and sometimes probably to themselves.
They claim they are voting for Mitt because he has business experience, but when I point out that it is not the kind that anyone would want to run a Country they say “give him a chance.”
Nothing I say will deter them. They say he is anti woman but they then say they don’t think he will be as bad as the Dems say when he gets in office.
It is as you said they are voting white. Me and my oldest sister see through the crap, we are voting Obama/Biden and dem all the rest of the way.
Thanks for you input. You are our Idol.
Lisa
October 17th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
OOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE!
I said yesterday that the state of the race could be different after last night’s debate, but nothing really changed. All that did change was that the president woke up from his first debate performance and finally acted like he wanted re-elected. However, as our post-debate analysis points out, the fact checkers had a field day with the president’s stretching of the truth.
CNN, MSNBC, CBS all conducted polls after the debate last night and they all came to the same conclusion. Whether it was a focus group of undecided voters or a regular poll, the respondents all said that Mitt Romney won the night on the economy, the most important issue of this election. Sure, the governor misfired on Libya and flubbed the obvious opening, but like Democrats have been pointing out wrongly for weeks, Romney and Ryan have been ‘politicizing’ a non-issue, so it’s safe to assume no one cares about Libya, right? The president’s answer still leaves more questions unanswered, to be quite frank.
Next Monday is the last debate, but I have the oddest feeling it won’t matter. The voters have made up their mind and the latest gains by Mitt Romney are real. It’s going to be a tight one, folks.
As always, our offerings are below: Wall-to-wall post-debate coverage and analysis from our team of writers, plus former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
Talk to you all tomorrow,
– Adam Tragone, Managing Editor
October 17th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Hafa adai
Guam had it motorcycle helmet law repealed. Since then many cyclists have died from crashes that crushed their skulls.
The main adversary to the law was Arthur “Bill” Neilsen. He was known as “the godfather of the motorcycle community.”
The island is mourning the loss of Harley Davidson owner Bill Neilsen, who died after he crashed on his motorcycle while heading home early this morning in Dededo.
Police are still investigating the cause but confirm he was not wearing a helmet. Neilsen for years had publicly spoken against legislation that would reestablish the law making it mandatory for all motorcyclists to wear helmets.
Neilsen was 67 years old. An autopsy performed this afternoon shows Neilsen died of a skull fracture and a brain contusion. If he had been wearing a helmet, he might be alive today.
What was the first comment after an article was written concerning the accident. – “I just hope the legislature doesnt try to force us to use helmets now.”
====================
The ignorance of some people is simply beyond the imagination. If they want to risk their lives by not wearing a helmet, let them do it. But to force the government to not protect the lives of unknowing motorcyclists is unconscionable.
Peter
October 17th, 2012 at 3:29 pm
We will know shortly: Town hall lies, moderator bias and the presidential race
Dear Fellow Conservative,
President Obama was clearly better in the second debate than in the first.
His supporters can take comfort in his energy, aggressiveness, and determination. He was far stronger than in the first debate.
But although Obama improved stylistically, he was profoundly dishonest on the substance.
Romney was strong but not quite as good as in the first debate. He missed a huge opportunity on Libya, a big opportunity on energy, and several smaller opportunities.
He was also forced to be argumentative and pushy by moderator Candy Crowley’s constant intervention on behalf of Obama.
Click Here to Read Full Article »
Sincerely,
Newt Gingrich
October 17th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
I am proud to be a Latina who will cast a ballot to keep the bigots at bay for four more years in the White House.
I work with most whites who think that I got my position because of Affirmative action, when it is clear they got theirs because of the color of their skins. I trained most of them and they are pathetically less skilled in their areas than most Latinos that I know with those skill sets.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:35 pm
obama to crowley – “get the transcript” mmmmm Crowley just happened to have the Rose Garden “transcript”? Facts in front of her and she still didn’t get it right. Planted, question, planted response from obama – who’s on obamas payroll – looks like candy just might be.
Americans duped again, by the obama handlers and candy this weeks puppet.
Expect more of the same next week. Had enough yet? Let’s get that monkey back to the jungles of Kenya where he belongs.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:37 pm
How did Obama know Crowley had the transcript for the Rose Garden speech in front of her? Did she have the transcripts for the speech at the UN or the response on The View and Univision? Was this a set up? Obama’s reaction to the suggestion that he was misleading brought back the memory of Clinton’s similar denial.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Vick:
Oh boy. It’s a conspiracy. They are out to get us.
I can see it now.
“Candy. This is Barack ”
“Take a copy of the transcript to the debate. I what you to have it there when Romney challenges my Rose Garden Speech, pull it out and say its not true.
Where do you get your imagination. its just wonderful.
And now we have Gingrich chiming in, a two time divorcé who served divorce papers to his wife while she was hospitalized, who criticized Clinton of infidelity while boning his staff assistant.
When recycled gas bags like Newt, ranting about without offering any credible alternative to American, the party will never be taken seriously. We have rejected this man before and we will reject him again. The party of NO is turning into a religious party; it will meet the fate of all religious parties.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:40 pm
Maybe Newt destroyed his marriage, but he sure as hell didn’t destroy America like that coon, Obama is trying to do. Maybe you should pull your head out of you ass and try using your brain–that is if its not too far brainwashed to still be able to think.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
George, Stalin accurately called people like you … ‘useful idiot’
October 17th, 2012 at 3:43 pm
George, why are you defending the spook, are you one? Once
again you fail to address the article and launch into a verbal attack against
the messenger.
The party of NO? If you had the facts you would know that republicans cannot stop anything the Dem’s do without the help of some dem’s.
Not one dem’s voted for Obama’s budget plan. When asked to produce a budget so Congress can determine how much to spend the Dem’s, thru Reed, refuse to do so.
Why do you find Religion so frightening? Religion is not attacking you, you are attacking it. How can anyone who does not believe in God or Religion be scared of something they do not believe in?
October 17th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
I fear that your enthusiasm is legitimate as far as the President’s performance but that the President’s performance is not going to change much as far as voting.
Over the past 4 years, I have discovered that many people I thought were well-educated, thoughtful and fair-minded, have a hatred for Obama for two reasons: (1) They believe he wants to take their money away and give it to poor minorities; and (2) They do not want an African-American President.
Those voters are intractable, and they are Republicans and Democrat and Independents. And, the loyal GOP voters are intractable. So, how does the President get past what is, according to most polls, a virtual tie? From the undecided voters? From the voters who stayed home for the 2010 mid-term elections?
The percentage of undecided voters has decreased over the past few weeks, and is now, at the most 6-8%.
And, the post-debate focus group interviews on CNN are an embarrassing display of the vacuity of these undecided voters.
This “debate” with the undecided voters, obviously primed with questions, because few of them could ask the question without haltingly reading the words from their pieces of paper, revealed nothing more than the fact that Romney has an extremely elevated, and unjustified, view of his accomplishments and value, and Obama needs to have his back against the wall before he will be forceful about what he believes and what he has accomplished.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
I wish everyone will give the President a break. Can he have a bad day? He’s got the burden of all the problems our country faces on his back. Stop expecting him to be perfect all the time!
October 17th, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Thank you for your insight and intelligence. America is awake. Despite the enormous collusion of radicals to overthrow this government, we can’t wait for Nov.6th to oust this fraud president.
Then how about canceling the Democratic party for inflicting this crime against humanity in purposefully not vetting O as a candidate. Or….maybe they did know in their own quest to destroy America and turn us into a radical Muslim country.
That by the way is the real amnesty O is talking about. He wants to bring in radical Muslims who will then get into our political system and vote to instill sharia law. We are only one election away from that happening.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:49 pm
Yes, good point there, George. Who could have ever guessed that Romney would ever bring up an issue that has only dominated the airwaves for over a month, every single night; has forced Hillary to take the heat, and finally, (when he realized howher mia culpa made him look as if he were hiding behind the skirts of the Secretary of State), has forced Obama to man up to where the buck really stops. Who could have guessed.
And those ad hominem arguments against Gingrich? They prove to us that you can only attack the man because you find his arguments impregnable. Poor dear.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Romney’s belief in a double standard for taxation is appalling. Someone who makes $20 million a year should pay far more taxes than someone who makes $50K. The backbone of this country is the middle class. He will destroy it, given the chance. If he revered America as much as he claims, he would not stash his money in foreign countries.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Romney is only out for the 1%. Witness from his own mouth. Not only that he wants to cut taxes on dividend incomes and interests – meaning he wants to pay even less tax than what he is paying now.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
MR. ROMNEY: Yeah, I — I certainly do. I certainly do. I — I think it’s interesting the president just said something which is that on the day after the attack, he went in the Rose Garden and said that this was an act of terror. You said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror. It was not a spontaneous demonstration.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Please proceed.
MR. ROMNEY: Is that what you’re saying?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Please proceed, Governor.
MR. ROMNEY: I — I — I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Get the transcript.
MS. CROWLEY: It — he did in fact, sir.
So let me — let me call it an act of terrorism — (inaudible) —
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Can you say that a little louder, Candy? (Laughter, applause.)
MS. CROWLEY: He did call it an act of terror. It did as well take — it did as well take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.
MR. ROMNEY: This — the administration — the administration — (applause) — indicated that this was a — a reaction to a — to a video and was a spontaneous reaction.
MS. CROWLEY: They did.
MR. ROMNEY: It took them a long time to say this was a terrorist act by a terrorist group and — and to suggest — am I incorrect in that regard? On Sunday the — your — your secretary or —
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Candy —
MR. ROMNEY: Excuse me. The ambassador to the United Nations went on the Sunday television shows and — and spoke about how this was a spontaneous reaction.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Candy, I’m — I’m happy to —
MS. CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me — I —
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I’m happy to have a longer conversation about foreign policy.
MS. CROWLEY: I know you — absolutely. But I want — I want to move you on.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: OK, I’m happy to do that too.
MS. CROWLEY: And also, people can go to the transcripts and —
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I just want to make sure that —
MS. CROWLEY: — figure out what was said and when.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: — you know, all these wonderful folks are going to have a chance to get some — their questions answered.
MS. CROWLEY: Because what I want to do, Mr. President — stand there for a second, because I want to introduce you to Nina Gonzales, who brought up a question that we hear a lot, both over the Internet and from this crowd.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:54 pm
Pretty soon you’ll have to get a real job George, rather than blogging for the O team.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
I have this working theory that I use when trying to assess people. I expect others to act as I would in any given situation. So I would expect to treat me with respect in a debate for something as important as the Presidency.
I expect people to be honest and tell the truth, and back up their statements with facts, because I try to behave this way. I don’t always succeed but I try.
The President got caught short when his expectations came face to face with reality, and Mitt Romney acted like a bully and lied every chance he got.
I believe that much of the shortcomings of President Obama’s 1st term were caused by his belief that the Republicans in Congress would in the end do the right thing for the people of the country, BECAUSE that is what President Obama would do.
I keep hoping he will wake up and see the writing on the wall. Maybe he has, and this is the 1st day of a new President, one who will expect the Republicans to do nothing but lie and obstruct any activity that this President or any Democratic member of the government would try to do for the American People.
I am, at heart, an incurable optimist.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:56 pm
You could tell Romney felt defeated when he fell into the same robotic repetition of the Karl Rove GOP game plan… they’ve all along had only one: obstruct everything, sabotage the economy, blame the president and his party, and capture the flag….
That the sabotage didn’t fully work is proof you can only do so much with the economy even if you take out all the stops
October 17th, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Obama was FANTASTIC last night. Who knows why he was terrible the first debate? After all, he is President of the United States and may have been dealing with problems we do not know about. But he was himself last night – and Candy Crowley was superb with her fact-checking.
And kudos must be given to VP Biden, whose terrific performance in the VP debate last week opened the door for Obama. He showed Obama that you can expose lies in a charming manner, which Obama did. I believe Obama will be re-elected but all his supporters have to continue to work really hard to make sure that happens.
October 17th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Here’s what’s important about this election:
Mr. Romney, already paying a lower tax rate than many middle class workers, wants to lower his taxes and the taxes of his millionaire-billionaire friends even further.
Romney has embraced Ryan’s budget, already passed by the GOP House, that would reduce Romeny’s 14% federal tax rate to 1%. President Obama wants to increase his own taxes and those of other millionaires to rates similar to that paid by people who go to work eevery day.
As a result of our overall system of taxes, Romney pays 14% of income gains in total taxes (fed, state, local, indirect corporate) while a minimum wage worker pays over 30%of wages in total taxes (fed, state, local) .
Unfair, yes. But worse still is the that it would damage our economy further. (Mr. Obama said this at the Denver debate. Was anyone listening?)
See the brilliant third graphic down at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/88200571@N05/ showing how the favored tax treatment of wealthy investors is sabotaging are economy.
[The Great Depression followed a huge Republican tax cut for the wealthy resulting in the top 1% accumulating 40% of the nation’s wealth. That’s exactly what happened before our current Great Recession. Coincidence?]
“An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailments of all republics.” – Plutarch, Greek historian, about 2000 years ago
October 17th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Earnie, Give the poor guy a break. This is all he can qualify for. (-:
October 17th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
I agree George. Can you say PARANOID?
October 17th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Oh boy. It’s a conspiracy.
***********************
Nope, you see IF you watched it. She said so.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Read, then listen to the Rose garden speech George, then you may catch on.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
George, I think you belong with the Michelle blog nigger loving crowd.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Put Romney in. All prices will decease back to 2002 levels.
There will be no inflation. Dusty, you never cease to amaze me.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
What’s the matter george. I post the truth and you just go nuts. See big-boy, you too can look this up. “If you know how”
October 17th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Larry, Of course it was a set up also a set up that Barack gets the last question so he can voice his 47% without a Romney rebuttal. She also interupted Romney when Romney was explaining Fast and Furious
October 17th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Larry, It sure looked like a setup to me, Larry. Within nanoseconds of Romney’s mentioning Obama’s denial of terrorist action, both Big Candy and Little Barry leapt in unison upon him.
I’m sure that Barry’s handlers had thoroughly searched through every Obama utterance regarding the Benghazi fiasco, from the time it happened until two weeks later when the coverup was no longer working – to find something which could be spun into a rebuttal.
Both of those two were ready to pounce, which they did simultaneously!! How can one highly ambiguous mention of “terror” in the Rose Garden explain away the next two weeks of lies about the incident? What a shameful excuse for a “moderator”—her performance belies the meaning of the term.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
I was wondering the same. I know that the media is in the tanl for Obama! But everywhere? Even the 3 Democratic state heads that vote twice for Obama in out of state elections.
Heck, that’s as bad as the guy who voted 72 times for Obama in Vegas in 2008. Are the American poeple going to allow Obama to cheat & lie?
October 17th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
I agree Jack, entirely. Great analysis.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:06 pm
Larry, He gave it to her when he returned the questions.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
I was thinking the same thing, sort of. I was thinking, no one has mentioned this terror attack remark the next day by the president; we have heard NOTHING about it from any news media of which I am aware. Then, suddenly, Crowley hones in on the facts of this little known exchange?
Why was she reading this the night before the debate? Come on, folks, it hits you in the face. Not even to mention that this collusion between the President’s team and the moderator was over a matter so significant to the President that Crowley felt compelled to abandon her role as moderator and insert herself into the debate on Obama’s side, only moments later (after it was over) to correct herself.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:07 pm
A young man by the name of Jeremy asked the first question at last night’s debate. After the debate he told an interviewer that he was somewhat swayed by Mitt Romney’s business experience, but Barack Obama’s “youth of America” rhetoric hit a “soft spot” and appealed to him more.
He’s voting for Obama. This young man’s comment demonstrates why the “feel good” generation is having more difficulty settling in to adult life than their parents and grandparents. Being drawn to what makes them feel good often puts them on the wrong path.
For instance, how many college graduates can’t find work because they hold $100,000 degrees for which there are few jobs? A young man I know majored in Russian Studies. When I asked why he chose that field he said: “Because it’s cool.” Two years out of school, he has a cool degree, but no job.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:08 pm
After Porky the partisan joined the argument (on Obamas side naturally) and offered her opinion, and Obama started to ag her on…..and the crowed joined in clapping for Obama………….
Romney knew it was no use persuing this futher. Him alone fighting Obama, the moderator and the crowed. He did the right thing by dropping it. The TV audience caught this gang-bang and chalked up a win for Romney. In my opinion.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Gena, I too have seen this. Political science deg. Total joke when it comes to finding a job
October 17th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
I hope what you say is true. We know all politicians bend the truth but to lie about something that everyone has to be aware of since Rice was on just about all of the Sunday news shows and the administration’s claims were covered on most of the major outlets.
Are they stupid or do they think Americans are so stupid that enough will believe this. They must think Romney’s 47% is closer to 57%.
October 17th, 2012 at 4:10 pm
Dusty, Maybe, he qualifies for a Community Organizer opening.
October 17th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
Hey thanks Mischa, this seems to be the one year everyone remembered, so I am out every night this week, and I forgot to tape debate, will try to catch it on youtube now!
Luv, Zen Lill
October 18th, 2012 at 9:33 am
Deb, some of those articles in Michelle’s blog about mother daughter relationships are misleading. It is certainly true that one needs to be a mother first and friend second.
Especially during the formative years. But as you said, once they’re fully mature there’s no reason to believe that an adult friendship can’t develop as well.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:43 am
In my voting life Repubs have held POTUS for 28 of 40 years which is 70% of the time. I have watched a steady erosion of the economic, intellectual, educational and moral of the foundation of my country in that time.
What about accountability over the longer term as opposed to one year of a Dem admin? I can’t believe that the American public is so fickle as to renege on something so fundamental as an historic election after one measly year (or two if we talking mid-term elections) If this is the case the Hamiltonian view that the ignorant masses couldn’t be trusted to choose their leaders is surely validated.
I know historically there has been retrenchment after a new admin comes in, but maybe the times we are in call for some more introspection and patience.
I’m not crazy about alot of what this admin has produced, as they constantly move toward right wing positions all the while the right says “No!” There is no spirit of leadership or compromise from the right. If the people embrace this political point of view, the depth of my despair and faith in essential intelligence of my fellow citizens will be heavy.
October 18th, 2012 at 9:50 am
Zen Lill, we didn’t forget your birthday. We couldn’t get in to say Joyeux anniversaire zen Lill, vous êtes le plus à vos plus fidèles fans français.
les filles de zen Lill.
Ma Qin et tous
October 18th, 2012 at 9:51 am
Unlimited Contributions:
The groups empowered by those decisions — nonprofits, super PACs and trade associations — spent $300 million in the 2010 midterm election, just shy of the record amount spent in the 2008 presidential year. The 2012 race has already seen $300 million spent.
Obama was one of the first public opponents of the Citizens United decision. In his State of the Union address just days later, he denounced the ruling, predicting that it would “open the floodgates for special interests.” He called for “Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.”
October 18th, 2012 at 10:09 am
Zen Lill, this french girl couldn’t get in either. Happy Birthday Zen Lill. We love your exercises and wish you would start up that column again.
Te voir celui-ci
October 18th, 2012 at 10:11 am
I couldn’t agree with you more. A lot of boomer kids were raised in rigid, heirarchical, emotionally cold families. I think the conscious motivation is probably a desire to GIVE our children more warmth and intimacy than we got. But I think the unconscious motivation is to GET the love we felt deprived of.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:14 am
My poor worn-out mother was only in my life for the first 19 years. I think she made her transition when she knew I had the abilities to fend for myself.
Forty-five 5 years later I learned that she never lived with her parents from the time she was a baby. She had no skills with which to mother me: so I hung out with those miracle Other Moms.
I finally had my daughter at age 30 my African American Mom from next door then grew me up on growing kids up. I’ve had a lotta fun with my daughter and son, but for the first 30 years I remained their mother first.
I was always a tom-boy and I guess at 66 I still am, so understand that I honestly can’t relate to my 36 year old daughter’s frantic girl-culture! Please accept my apologies for any offense because I just can’t help it: I do label them “Victoria’s Secret Girlz”.
I’m talking about the tiaras, implants, weaves airbrushed makeup; (GIRDLES AGAIN???) and their obsessive attention on who is saying/doing what! Maybe I never got girleyfied.
October 18th, 2012 at 10:22 am
But of course I keep my big mouth shut- I learned that from Thumper’s Mother! The times my daughter and I spend an hour or more together we thoroughly enjoy each other.
Pundits might could even call us “Friends, With Limits”.
Deb