I'm starting to think "We're gonna win" ...

 

AND...

Things to Consider This Election and Beyond

The stakes are high.  So high, former NY Times columnist Frank Rich gave a startling interview to salon.com.  Should be mandatory reading for those on the Left and the Right.  

"All Over the Map"...and the Internet

THIS makes me uncomfortable.

Romney Family Investment Ties To Voting Machine Company That Could Decide The Election Causing Concern

And THIS makes me laugh.

http://www.romneytaxplan.com/


And, after last night's debate, you're gonna see plenty of THIS

Romney had best get out the "horses and bayonets" because with a Defense Spending Plan like his, THIS is all we'll be able to afford.

Debate Highlight Moment

Romney showed his willingness to say anything to win including lying to the American people about his position on the issues and his sudden departure from his previously hawkish positions on foreign policy and military intervention. President Obama gave him his comeuppance in one entertaining moment. Rachel Maddow called Romney a "shameless shape shifter". It might be funny if it weren't so damn scary.

Binders Full of Broads? Please proceed...

Yeah.  I was offended.  But Romney's debate response to helping women succeed in the work place illustrates his total lack of interest in what was, by that time, no longer a movement.  Women were breaking glass ceilings, albeit slowly.  Somehow, as Governor, he missed that.   

Oh, and, by the way, he LIED about seeking out those women.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Democalypse 2012 - The Second Debate*: Now Including the President - Binders of Women
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

As much as this debate tied my stomach in knots with its lack of decorum, rude gestures, lack of respect towards the Office of the President if not the man.  I longed for it to be over.

Then came the great faux pas.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
10/17/12 in :60 Seconds
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Some things just get better with repetition.

Barack & Mitt Smackdown

Time for levity.

    

Big Bird & the Political Theatre of Presidential Politics

While I was disappointed in the President's debate performance last night, I was also surprised by the over-the-top reaction of the "talking heads" on both sides of the political spectrum.  I actually thought the Democratic leaning press were more critical than the Republican leaning press who seemed elated and relieved.

Before I fell into a stupor, I perked up when Romney said the following:

He said to moderator Jim Lehrer, who works for PBS: “I’m sorry, Jim. I’m going to the stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too. But I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.”  Washington Post  10-4-12

I was surprised he said this.  I was surprised because it was coyly defiant; a slap in the face, really to the moderator and, possibly, many undecideds who grew up on or raised their children on Sesame Street.

While criticisms of Obama's such as "listless" and "he looked as though he didn't want to be there" are accurate, they don't address the substance of the debates.  I heard a politico on NHPR this morning say he thought Romney looked "amped".  A Massachusetts caller who teaches public speaking and body language, thought Romney showed "agitation" while the President appeared "calm".  In the end, it was theatre.

... it seems to me Romney thrived in large part because he abandoned the pretense of honesty. And as it turns out, winning a debate is surprisingly easy when a candidate decides he can say anything and expect to get away with it.

Romney told viewers his proposed $5 trillion tax cut isn't really his proposed $5 trillion tax cut. He suggested he could eliminate a $1 trillion deficit by going after Big Bird. He said his non-existent health care plan protects those with pre-existing conditions when in reality the exact opposite is true. He cited trumped up "studies" from far-right ideologues as if they're legitimate, assuming the public won't know the difference. He said a deficit that's shrunk has actually "doubled."   The Maddow Blog 10-4-12

All in all, it may be best summed up with the following cartoon seen on the internet today.

GOP National brand "a mess"...

If the latest swing state polls are to be believed, President. Barack Obama has New Hampshire sewn up.

He is also significantly ahead nationally.

This morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe,  Chuck Todd asserted  the GOP brand is "a mess" and Romney's campaign is scrambling to spin the increasing loss of support.   Eugene Robinson's op-ed today in the Washington Post addresses the President's ever widening lead in the pending election:

Conservative activist circles are abuzz with a new conspiracy theory: Polls showing President Obama with a growing lead over Mitt Romney are deliberately being skewed 

Romney's campaign is the screwiest I've ever seen.  I think I preferred McCain/Palin's.  At least that was entertaining.  This is just sad.

And to think I voted for Ross Perot in 1992!

Team Coco vs Team Ryan

My husband asked the same question as Conan O'Brien at the end of this video.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

I keep thinking it can't get any worse in the Romney campaign...and then it does.

Paul Ryan Has A Bridge to Sell You

Norah O'Donnell parses the voting and verbal record of Rep. Paul Ryan.. . to his face.

Notice how he pauses and emphasizes her name, "Norah", over and over. She smiles when he tells her she's wrong. He tells her

"Norah, you're mistaken."

I actually saw a "The Good Wife" re-run last night that covered EXACTLY this political tactic!

Best Convention Ever!

I cannot get over the comprehensive inclusion of guest speakers, issues, facts and reminders as to why President Barack Obama is a good president and should be re-elected.  The DNC left no stone unturned,  no problem unaddressed, no member of our society ignored.  It was masterful.

Here's The Obama Diary blog's coverage of newspaper headlines, political commentary, photos and videos of the DNC 2012.  

Enjoy!

The Big Dog Brings Down the House (Oh yes he does!)

                                  President William Jefferson Clinton speaking to the DNC 9/05/12

As wildly anticipated as was the Clinton speech, he did not disappoint.  He nailed every single aspect of the GOPs criticisms of the past four years.  And he did it with facts.  

Bill Clinton’s 48-minute speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night was, as FactCheck.org put it, “a fact-checker’s nightmare: lots of effort required to run down his many statistics and factual claims, producing little for us to write about.”

Clinton’s numbers checked out, according to most fact-checking outlets, including Politifact, which has been accused of unfair exaggeration by liberals before. Though he frequently departed from the script, the former president correctly cited the statistics on Obama’s job growth, decreasing health costs since 2010, and the stimulus tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans.  ThinkProgress.com 

By the way, I channel surfed between Fox and MSNBC & NHTV (public television) and the biggest complaint I heard was "He talked too long."  Even the pundits at Fox News could not find anything substantial last night or this morning on which to call him out.  

Michelle O Rocks It

The first night of the DNC was one hit after another. Each speech lifted the listeners with positive message in sharp contrast to the angry speeches of the RNC which I watched every night 7p - conclusion.

Last night's speakers talked about the President: how his work, his legislation, has improved their lives. Instead of the self-aggrandizing focus of RNC speakers, the speeches soared with affirmation. It was POSITIVE and that's what stood out.

Michelle Obama knocked it out of the park. Here's a complete transcript of her speech. http://www.npr.org/2012/09/04/160578836/transcript-michelle-obamas-convention-speech

The Great White Hope

Wow. There just are no words for the display of hubris.

FOX NEWS Analyst Rejects Ryan Talking Points

What is going on here?  Twice in one week during the same event, Fox News person is openly criticizing a spokesperson at the RNC.

In a surprising move, Fox News joined CNN, The Huffington Post, the Washington Post's Wonkblog, and ThinkProgress in publishing a fact-check of the Republican vice presidential nominee's speech, finding that the speech was full of lies and misleading assertions.  Huffington Post 8/30/2012 

Pretty interesting stuff:  "Paul Ryan's speech in 3 words"

FOX NEWS Rejects Christie Speech

This is interesting. FOX NEWS commentator Chris Wallace criticizes RNC keynote speaker, NJ Gov. Chris Christie's self -involved address to the RNC.   Having watched it, I agree.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/29/chris-christie-fox-news_n_1839972.html

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming!

Republicans Ignore Women's Issues at Their Peril

Women on the airwaves are PISSED!  They are all over the moronic comments of Rep. Todd Akin (R: MO) yesterday regarding abortion for "legitimate rape" victims.

The good side of this?  Claire McCaskill, whom most pundits   said was in the "fight of her political career" now has a great chance to win re-election.                                                                                                      **********

Next we have Republican members of the House of Representatives carousing in the Sea of Galilee involving drinking and nudity:

A group of House Republicans were reprimanded last August for taking a late-night swim in Israel's Sea of Galilee that reportedly involved drinking and nudity. As Politico reported Sunday night, a number of Republican lawmakers on a fact-finding trip to Israel were involved in the incident, including Reps. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.), Steve Southerland (R-Fla.), Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). Some spouses, family members, and staffers were also present. According to the report, Yoder took off his clothes before entering the reservoir, which the Bible cites as the place where Jesus walked on water.  Huffington Post 08-20-12

Gotta love those awesome junkets abroad.                                                                                         ********* The Donald weighs in on women in general "not getting what's going on" when it comes to President Obama. In his usual subtle delivery, he states his case:

Can you imagine being married to this guy?  Or working for him?  Every time I hear him speak and look at his hair, all I can think is "What a douchebag."  It's ever so much more descriptive than "asshole".

President Obama is currently giving an impromptu press conference as I type this.  His comment when asked his thoughts on Akin's "legitimate rape" response.

Obama: "We shouldn't have a bunch of politicians - a bunch of whom are men - making health-care decisions for women"  MSNBC  08/20/12

Yeah.  Tell that to Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney, Donald Trump and the GOP in general.  

JUST RELEASED:  NBC/WSJ POLL:   Obama 56% vs Romney 39%  with WOMEN

Romney Ryan...nuff said

It’s here — in Ryan’s views and policy judgments — we find the true ideologue. More than any other politician today, Paul Ryan exemplifies the social Darwinism at the core of today’s Republican Party: Reward the rich, penalize the poor, let everyone else fend for themselves. Dog eat dog.  
Robert Reich "The Ryan Choice"





For more on Paul Ryan's budget:  http://www.barackobama.com/romney/ryan/