Objective review of the US 2012 Presidential and Congressional general campaign

[Karl Henning]

We've hit that moment in the election when people begin to lose their minds. Case in point, within minutes of the jobs report, Twitter filled with Republicans claiming the books were somehow cooked, the numbers aren't real, etc.

RTWT here.

[Karl Henning]

If only all political endorsements were like this.

http://www.youtube.com/v/p34r8gsQjJs

(* home-crafted chortle *)

[Todd]

Hard not to allow that Romney won this weekly cycle.

Indeed.  I'll be keenly interested in seeing how Romney approaches the foreign policy debate.  A lot of neocons jabbering in his ear have led to some truculent statements, so he needs to backpedal some so as not to sound too aggressive.  Presidents almost always have the advantage in this area, Gerald Ford obviously being an exception.

On the unemployment numbers, people always squawk when they don't go their way.  Here's the thing, though: the unemployment rate is still 7.8%.  Republicans can throw in the old Democrat chestnut about underemployment, too, to keep this very much alive, because as an issue, it's still the most pertinent one of all.

[ibanezmonster]

If only all political endorsements were like this.

That would be great.

[ibanezmonster]

Signs/bumper stickers in my area:

Obama:
1. a car at my school (anything political I hear coming from students is pro-Obama)
2. a black guy in my neighborhood (which mainly consists of old white people)

Romney:
too many to count. I must have seen at least ten on my drive to the gym today, which is less than 15 minutes away. There are several amusing anti-Obama signs around.

One is in a gas station (this was shown on the Central Florida news)- "if Obama is reelected, he will have inherited a mess" slightly clever, I suppose. The other one (huge sign) is "America was built by God, not by socialism. etc..." 


So... Romney: old white people; Obama: college students and black people?...

[CriticalI]

"America was built by God, not by socialism. etc..." 

Was the "etc." part of the sign?

[ibanezmonster]

Was the "etc." part of the sign?

No, I forget what it says. Probably vote Romney or something.
I think in my area, if I had to give a number, Romney signs/bumper sticks outnumber Obama signs/bumper stickers by around 10 to 1. A normal place, I'd assume, would be pretty much even.

[Daverz]

Biden/Obama 2012!

[snyprrr]

Uncle Joe really looking creeeeeeeeepy ,... would make great republican!!

[Mirror Image]

Biden made Ryan look like a scared little girl. I loved it. But the debate had many classic Biden moments like the big smiles and laughs. I think Biden knew he had it in the bag the moment Ryan made his opening remarks. He's just the all too typical Republican: eyes like a goblin full of hatred for all things middle class, the never-ending smirk of a jackal, and completely unemotional and cold like that of a slithering reptile. Biden, by comparison, was just an ogre who was ready to be released from his shackles so he could destroy everything in his path. Love that guy.

[Wendell_E]

Uncle Joe really looking creeeeeeeeepy ,... would make great republican!!

Gee, I don't know.  Sitting next to the zombie-eyed granny-starver, he look quite normal to me.   

[Gurn Blanston]

Biden made Ryan look like a scared little girl. I loved it. But the debate had many classic Biden moments like the big smiles and laughs. I think Biden knew he had it in the bag the moment Ryan made his opening remarks. He's just the all too typical Republican: eyes like a goblin full of hatred for all things middle class, the never-ending smirk of a jackal, and completely unemotional and cold like that of a slithering reptile. Biden, by comparison, was just an ogre who was ready to be released from his shackles so he could destroy everything in his path. Love that guy.

Well, your verbiage is a bit OTT, but I agree with the sentiments. Hard to blame Joe for laughing when he did; hell, I was laughing too. 

[Karl Henning]

The horse-race in debate performance so far:

1. Romney
2. Biden
3. Ryan
4. Obama

Several lengths separate 3. and 4.

[Brian]

The low point for Paul Ryan was surely this:

Q. Are you sometimes embarrassed by the tone of your campaigns?
Biden: I'm sure there are things both of us regret in campaigning.
Ryan: [delivers a 60-second attack ad]

[Mirror Image]

Well, your verbiage is a bit OTT, but I agree with the sentiments. Hard to blame Joe for laughing when he did; hell, I was laughing too. 

I couldn't help but to laugh too. I think many thought that Paul Ryan was going to win the debate. I heard many tales about how Ryan prepped and did his homework, but I'm afraid in a setting like this with someone like Biden, everything you may have studied for just flies out the window. Biden being Biden, aggressive as hell, wasn't going to allow a snake in the grass like Ryan to run over all him. No sir, just the opposite!

[springrite]

I did some early work for the Biden Presidential Campaign ages ago which fizzled out. But always liked him.

I won't say I miss the campaign thing in the US anymore. With age and experience, and having done some work in the area, I know how every word, gesture, etc. are planned and staged. The rolled up sleeves of Obama (worked great), the pointing to someone in the audience (actually pointing at an angle to the camera, works to some extent for just about everyone), the pulses which usually comes not as a result of thinking about the answer but just before answering a question you have the perfect answer prepared (again, planned and designed), certain wordings, etc. There is no heart. There is a goal and a bunch of professionals help prepare the actor for the show.

"Who am I? What am I doing here?" Well, that must be the exception. And we laugh about it.

[Todd]

1. Romney
2. Biden
3. Ryan
4. Obama

Can't disagree with that.  I only got to watch the first half or so of the debate, but I came away with some valuable knowledge. 

1.) No one offered credible plans for dealing with the long term fiscal realities this country faces.  (That was probably covered in great detail in the second half.)

2.) Paul Ryan is aggressive, which can be good, but he's a chump on foreign policy and should have held back.  It's rarely a good idea to challenge someone of Biden's experience in that area.

3.) Joe Biden has some kick-ass dentures.  I sure hope I can afford some that nice when the time comes.

4.) Martha Raddatz is a hard ass.  Good for her.

The debate was far more lively and entertaining, and two-sided, than the first Presidential debate.  It will be intereting to see how much Romney changes his foreign policy stance for next week's debate. 

[snyprrr]

Good for me: I just deleted my Post!

[Karl Henning]

4.) Martha Raddatz is a hard ass.  Good for her.

. . . the take-charge, un-Lehrer-like moderator . . . .

[Daverz]

The low point for Paul Ryan was surely this:

Q. Are you sometimes embarrassed by the tone of your campaigns?
Biden: I'm sure there are things both of us regret in campaigning.
Ryan: [delivers a 60-second attack ad]

I thought the low point for him was when he was cornered on his unworkable budget numbers.  He had nothing.

I knew Ryan was not the policy genius he's made out to be, but I was still surprised by how completely substanceless he was in the debate.  I think this is a guy who never developed intellectually after his teenage Ayn Rand phase.

1.) No one offered credible plans for dealing with the long term fiscal realities this country faces.

We did get some incredible plans from Ryan.

3.) Joe Biden has some kick-ass dentures.  I sure hope I can afford some that nice when the time comes.

I thought the smiling was too much at first, but as the evening wore on I thought they should have just played Yakety Sax while Biden kicked Ryan's ass around the table.