2012 Presidential Election - The Ups and Downs

[dalem]

The top columnists resent being used as campaign tools.

This is one of the many interesting things about this campaign for me. Most of the MSM journalists are lefties, and the standard NYT-WAPO brand of editorialists and pundits are leftists, and all of them are reflexively in the tank for any Democrat and all the moreso for their socialist Boy King Obama. There is no doubt that they are fellow travelers and have and will carried a lot of water for a crystal clear failure.

But.

Their egos are huge and they hate to be lied to, even by "their" president, and I can see them getting tired of being used as spear carriers for a flailing Obama.

I don't know if there's a rabbit in the boat moment coming for Obama, but if there is, I wouldn't count on the MSM to automatically shield him from it at this point.

-dale

[astralis]

JAD,

The RNC is no better, but the Romney campaign org is as tight as Obama's. Neither cares what people like Murdock think about how they run their campaigns. Both are poll driven right down the center. Romney has been on vacation and he needed it. By week's end, we'll see some fireworks.

the fundraising for both campaigns has been impressive; i didn't think there would be a machine that could do a better job than obama, but romney has done so there.

talking points wise, those, both campaigns have not been impressive to date. obama keeps shifting slogans and attack angles on romney; for his part, romney has been purposefully, annoyingly vague and evasive in his platform...which has bitten him when he recently, ah, 'changed his perspective' on whether or not the ol' Obamacare mandate is a tax, directly contradicting his own people.

[Doktor]

So you have a candidate A who shifts slogans and perspective and candidate B changes perspective, where as candidate A is known evil.

Go out and vote. If you dare.

[JAD_333]

This is one of the many interesting things about this campaign for me. Most of the MSM journalists are lefties, and the standard NYT-WAPO brand of editorialists and pundits are leftists, and all of them are reflexively in the tank for any Democrat and all the moreso for their socialist Boy King Obama. There is no doubt that they are fellow travelers and have and will carried a lot of water for a crystal clear failure.

But.

Their egos are huge and they hate to be lied to, even by "their" president, and I can see them getting tired of being used as spear carriers for a flailing Obama.

I don't know if there's a rabbit in the boat moment coming for Obama, but if there is, I wouldn't count on the MSM to automatically shield him from it at this point.

-dale

The rabbit in the boat moment for Obama will be when his smoke and mirrors effort to detract attention from the poor economy and the weak jobs numbers turns out to have no legs. Offhand I can think of 3 deviant lines of attack that won't hold up: Romney the tax dodger; Romney the rich guy and Romney the vulture capitalist. And today Obama added a 4th: Had the rich paid higher taxes all along we would be better off today.

[dalem]

And we still have Obama unable to point to anything he's done that's succeeded.

What if this sudden "secret bank account" thing was supposed to be their October surprise? Wouldn't that be funny if they've reached the bottom of their ammo can already?

-dale

[JAD_333]

JAD,



the fundraising for both campaigns has been impressive; i didn't think there would be a machine that could do a better job than obama, but romney has done so there.

talking points wise, those, both campaigns have not been impressive to date. obama keeps shifting slogans and attack angles on romney; for his part, romney has been purposefully, annoyingly vague and evasive in his platform...which has bitten him when he recently, ah, 'changed his perspective' on whether or not the ol' Obamacare mandate is a tax, directly contradicting his own people.

No argument there for the most part. I don't think Romney coming late to the GOP consensus that the ACA penalty is really a tax has any substantive bearing on the debate re the economy or who is best suited to be president. (One can still argue what it is. It's a penalty-tax in my mind, since I'll never have to pay it come what may.)

[JAD_333]

And we still have Obama unable to point to anything he's done that's succeeded.

What if this sudden "secret bank account" thing was supposed to be their October surprise? Wouldn't that be funny if they've reached the bottom of their ammo can already?

-dale

Dale:

Well, he could always trot out all the alleged offshore hedge funds Romney is supposed to have invested in one by one--sort of 'hedge fund of the week'. :)

But you may be right about his getting to the bottom of the ammo can re Romney's personals. It may be by design. Pollsters say the crucial polls are the ones just before the conventions, never mind the spikes immediately afterwards. So, yes, if that's true, now's the time for Obama to let loose the dogs of war.

But this time around the conventional wisdom may not play out. The country is so tuned into the monthly job numbers that as they go, so may the election. We have 3 more months of job reports to go (assuming October's will come too late to affect the election). I'm betting the numbers will creep up slightly month over month, but not enough to get unemployment under 8%. Even if September's report hits 100k (20K more than June), the story will be that's it's a drop of 50% from last September.

[JAD_333]

If Obama loses, he has a ready excuse, and it's not the economy.


BBC News - Romney beats Obama by $35m in June fundraising

Romney beats Obama by $35m in June fundraising


Mitt Romney's presidential campaign increased its fundraising lead over President Barack Obama in June, official figures show.

Mr Romney and the Republicans raised $106m (£68m), $35m more than Mr Obama and the Democrats, who raised $71m.

Both camps raised more than in May, when the Romney bid took in $77m and the Obama camp $60m.

The totals exclude millions raised by independent groups that support each candidate.

The Obama campaign released its June numbers in an email to donors.

"If we lose this election, it will be because we didn't close the gap enough when we had the chance," the email says, issuing another call for donations.

Mr Obama's campaign has been regularly warning supporters that he is in danger of becoming the first sitting president in history to be outspent by his opponent...

[dalem]

As long as he loses. He wearies me. He's exactly the kind of guy I despise in Real Life, AND he's a shitty president.

-dale

[zraver]

And we still have Obama unable to point to anything he's done that's succeeded.

Not unable, unwilling, they could point out how under Obama the EPA has claimed the right of interventionist regulatory authority to every inch of American soil with its new wet lands guidance policy. He could point out how massively he has increased the number of 100k a year federal employees...

Obama has had successes, for example OBL. However he overplayed that when it happened and brining him back from the grave to metaphorically parade his pickled head won't accrue him much benefit. Obama's biggest problem is he is a coward. Bush's positive legacy is Africa, Obama's is gay rights but he wont push it. The right isn't going to vote for him anyway so he needs to be hammering on the moderates who are much more likely to be swayed. Ditto on marijuana, student loans and a number of other areas where he has taken action many see as positive but he won't so the election will remain centered on the economy. In a country where a landslide is a 3% spread n vote counts every vote he could sway on social issues would be a vote he is not going to get talking only about the economy.

Social issues are Rommney's weak link, as a Mormon he has a religious code that prevents moderation in a lot of areas.

[Blademaster]

As long as he loses. He wearies me. He's exactly the kind of guy I despise in Real Life, AND he's a shitty president.

-dale

So are the Republicans and the Tea Party. They are the shittiest congresspeople. Even more shittier than you give the current president credit for. I am hoping that the Tea Party and the Republicans who caved to the Tea baggers lose. They wear me. They are exactly the kind of guys that I despise in real life.

[dalem]

So are the Republicans and the Tea Party. They are the shittiest congresspeople. Even more shittier than you give the current president credit for. I am hoping that the Tea Party and the Republicans who caved to the Tea baggers lose. They wear me. They are exactly the kind of guys that I despise in real life.

Okay. I was being quite serious - Obama is exactly the kind of lefty-liberal-overeducated arrogant ignoramous that I want to slap silly in the Real World. I've met and known a dozen like him and disliked them all to one degree or another.

It's weird, getting to the age where I can actually look at the POTUS than think "yeah, I knew/know guys like that".

-dale

[astralis]

JAD,

looks like some of the fellas at slate are thinking along the same lines...

The Obama campaign is looking to paint Mitt Romney in the image of fictional corporate raider Gordon Gekko. - Slate Magazine

[JAD_333]

JAD,

looks like some of the fellas at slate are thinking along the same lines...

The Obama campaign is looking to paint Mitt Romney in the image of fictional corporate raider Gordon Gekko. - Slate Magazine

Asty:

Two thoughts: 1. David Weigel more or less nails it. 2. Average guys like us can figure out what's going on without help from commentators.

Good article. Thanks.

[JAD_333]

So are the Republicans and the Tea Party. They are the shittiest congresspeople. Even more shittier than you give the current president credit for. I am hoping that the Tea Party and the Republicans who caved to the Tea baggers lose. They wear me. They are exactly the kind of guys that I despise in real life.

Some one has to do the dirty deed. :) You know, I agree with you--I mean on the bona fide Tea Party members in Congress. I think the rest of the Republicans on the Hill--those who still believe compromise and bipartisanship is possible--fall into a different category. Altogether it sucks for liberals.

I think your view of the situation fails to take into account the fact that we're finally broke after 70 years of social engineering. It's over for now; we can't borrow or tax ourselves to keep going like we were. Some people see it because they've always hewed a conservative line; others take longer to see it because they want to keep on as before. You hate what you're seeing now in Congress, but it was inevitable and someone has to do the dirty work. The Tea Party has always existed in one form or another, sometimes under a banner, but most times as a disparate group of citizens who always think that way. Today is their day because they are especially riled up, and with good reason. But you can count on one thing, the Tea Party will quiet down and Congress on both sides of the aisle will begin to work together to consolidate and clean up the good things that came out of the past 70 years. It's a cycle we're in, and we've been there before.