This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win. He feels like optimism, and Obama — who once owned the word "hope" — seems petulant, divisive, and ungrateful.
ADDED: On love and revenge, read Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech on Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize:
Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.AND: Here, for comparison, is Barack Obama's speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, over which we will puzzle forever. What was it for? He didn't mention revenge, but he did mention King and he did mention love:
The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached – their fundamental faith in human progress – that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.
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192 comments:
Romney 300+
I WAS incredibly sad all week. This speech has lifted my spirits.
I was sad after the Sandy photo-op, press orgasm, Christie love-in, and Bloomberg endorse for the Treasury job in 2nd term.
Now, I can feel the victory.
BUT, NATE from NYT says no. So, I am anxious. I cannot eat or sleep till Tuesday. Thank god, I have already voted.
Money.
They are putting on a brave face but liberals must have a deep wound that will take a long time to heal. Even if President Obama is reelected.
For people who voted for Obama in 2008 and swap their vote, they could be voting for the love of revenge.
What size was that stadium and how many people does it hold?
Not visually appealing, that's true.
I wonder how Romney arrived and if office buildings on his route had to vacate and close all their blinds.
You mean threats of rioting and killing Romney voters if they (the Dems) lose isn't optimism?
Yep. It's lines like that -- delivered with obvious sincerity -- that moved me from voting against Obama to voting for Romney. He's really impressed me in the last few months.
Note that all of the Obama implosion (aka incredibly shrinking campaign) over that time could only have strengthened my "anti-Obama" stance. It was up to Romney to bring me around to actually supporting him.
And it feels great -- this will be the first Presidential election since I voted for Bill Clinton over George Bush, Sr -- Forgive me. I was young. -- where I will go into the voting booth feeling good about who I'm voting *FOR* and not against.
There are a lot of people who buy into the bullshit paradigm that Republicans are an evil, terrible threat and who swallow unquestioningly every bad thing that anyone ever says about Rs and rejects any good thing that Rs say or do. We will find out how many of them there are on Tuesday.
Only one of these men sounds like an incumbent.
I voted for Bill Clinton over George Bush, Sr -- Forgive me. I was young
No forgiveness needed. Clinton was a better candidate, and in some ways, a better president.
Clint--yes, that has been my experience as well. I voted against Obama in 2008, and started out voting against him in 2012, and I was not thrilled with Romney during the primary season. But I have come to find him a deeply impressive person over the last few months and was honored to cast my vote for him.
The best revenge ...for what?
Obama is more mentally ill than ungrateful.
Here is the best ad I have seen yet.
It is an ad with a young/pretty/smart woman kicking a chair and saying she has had enough.
Check it out on the main page of YouTube.
I'm sensing a lot of Obama fatigue, at least I'm personally feeling it.
My favorite president has been G HW Bush. The first Bush POTUS. Romney reminds me of him: gentleman, caring, and family guy. He will bring back the US glory. Vote for Romney today. I already did it last week. Do not wait. PLEASE.
Here is the full campaign rally video. It was brilliant on Romney's part to assemble all those who is who in the R party. I am sure he would have welcomed any Dems who wanted to join and he in fact did -- I saw Arthur Davis there. There was a Reaganesque line in the speech which Romney delivered perfectly and I forget now. This rally ought to seal the deal for us.
Of one thing I am certain: Romney will govern in a way that will make a genuine conservative pull his hair out by the roots. So no love there. But revenge, or better yet, pure white hot hatred of Obama? Yeah, that's my voting motivation.
Obama's going for the Dumb Vote.
"A disturbingly large number of people get a great deal of their news and views from Mr. Stewart’s show and similar outlets, and they operate politically along the same model as the show, which is to say they substitute banalities for analysis and posturing for thinking. Understanding, for example, the real substantive differences between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama on taxes takes a good deal of work. Because the Dumb Vote is not willing or able to do the work, things unfold like this: Barack Obama complains that Mitt Romney plans to give “tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires and corporations,” Jon Stewart turns that into something in the approximate form of a joke, and the Dumb Vote har-hars about it, nodding its collective head at its own pseudo-insight. If you happen to complicate that view with an incongruous fact — for example, that Barack Obama proposes to reduce corporate tax rates — then the discussion just moves on to another joke: binders full of women, Mormon polygamy, whatever."
Just an incredibly angry and divisive campaign. And I thought hope and change was a lousy campaign.
"Revenge!"
Imagine four more years of this. It boggles the mind.
"Revenge! Revenge!" It's all French Revolution up in here.
I wish I shared your optimism, Althouse.
Romney can't even repeat one line from Obama without purposefully misrepresenting it. Not going to miss seeing this guy's face everyday.
This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win. He feels like optimism, and Obama — who once owned the word "hope" — seems petulant, divisive, and ungrateful.
Has Ann tipped her hand and admitted for whom she has voted for or will vote for?
How is that a misrepresentation garage?
Voting is the best revenge assumes there is revenge to vote for.
What else could it possibly mean?
“This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win.”
Maybe.
I hope so.
But Ohio remains intransigent.
garage mahal said...
Romney can't even repeat one line from Obama without purposefully misrepresenting it. Not going to miss seeing this guy's face everyday.
11/3/12 11:42 AM
Misrepresenting what? Do tell.
Living well is the best revenge means nearly the same thing... you're getting revenge on someone or something by living well.
Regarding Michael Moore's classless bottom feeder ad:
Kevin Williamson has this to say:
"It is only in that kind of emotionally based, information-free environment that something like Mr. Moore’s vulgarity can thrive. I would not say that it’s likely to change minds, because minds are not what is at work here. Think about the rhetorical structure of Mr. Moore’s ad and its strategy. The point of the ad is to argue that Republicans are engaged in “voter suppression” because in some states they have insisted on such straightforward integrity measures as asking for a legitimate photo identification card for voters, or purging felons and other ineligible voters from the electoral lists. Mr. Moore, being a crafty rhetorician, never presents an argument that these measures are unwarranted or unfair; he simply assumes the sale, knowing that the not-very-bright among us will be giggling at the prospect of old ladies using foul language, and therefore unable to think critically about the implicit argument of the advertisement — because they are, simply put, not smart enough to giggle and think at the same time."
Michael Moore: The official Democrat/progressive party mascot.
It is sometimes scary how Ann captures my view of things. How can I match up with a socially liberal college professor chick?
I realize it is subjective, but President Obama does come across as a dark, bitter and mean.
"But Ohio remains intransigent.."
Maybe that's why Obama isn't travelling to Ohio and shutting down businesses and disrupting people's lives and risk pissing them off.
I have felt that way about Obama ever since his inauguration and that minister's poem about how white people would finally be reeducated (I can't remember the exact words but there was praise for red people, brown people, yellow people; but those nasty white people would finally be forced to be made right). He has been abrasively divisive all along. I can't handle another four years of a president who outright hates a portion of the population. If he wins, I am going straight to the doctor for an apathy pill. I can't handle four more years of his bitter divisiveness and class warfare.
Obama is his own worst enemy. Biden is his second.
The best revenge ...for what?
For the economy, for the country, for anything bad that has happened in your life. The Obama campaign has not been able to defend its economic record, or give us a map for the next four years. So their campaign is all about getting people to hate Mitt Romney. And thus shift the blame from Obama to Romney.
What happens, of course, is that people hate both of them, and stay home.
At the high school, kids started booing Romney when his name was mentioned. So the Obama campaign has demonized Romney, poisoned his name, to where you have antipathy to a guy who's never been President, and hasn't been governor in a decade. You hate him for existing. He's evil.
But that's not enough. So Obama's plea: "No, no, no, don't boo. Vote. Voting is the best revenge." He's got to turn all this anger and resentment that he has created against Romney into votes for Obama. "Take revenge on the demon I have created for all the bad stuff that has happened during my presidency and vote for me!"
"Romney can't even repeat one line from Obama without purposefully misrepresenting it. Not going to miss seeing this guy's face everyday."
I saw Obama's speech, garage, Romney didn't misrepresent one damn thing. But you sure do. All the time.
I get the feeling Obama likes our bad economy. It's revenge.
Ann,
Obama has always been "divisive, ungrateful, and petulant." You should go back to 2007/8 and do an in-depth look at his campaign, so that you can see how badly you misread him.
I worked at General Electric for thirty years and Romney reminds me of the GE people. Those in management were extremely smart, tactful and courteous people, they were competent and got the job done. GE is well known for producing a lot of future CEOs who eventually wind up running other companies. Romney reminds me of those people.
What did Romney do that we need to get revenge for? Maybe Romneycare? I want revenge for Clinton, Barney Frank, Pelosi, Reid, etc who forced the housing bubble and are most responsible for this recession. So there is that, but I don't think that's what he meant.
"This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win. He feels like optimism, and Obama — who once owned the word "hope" — seems petulant, divisive, and ungrateful."
Again, like a broken clock, but at least right this time. Apparently you only see Romney as the new Obama, like fashion, a feeling that's new, and only better because it's different.
This is not what recommends Romney over Obama, and I wish the intelligentsia would start acting intelligent. You guys are supposed to teach us less bright ones how to think. We already know how to feel.
"Voting is the best revenge" is a direct quote, garage. You got something, like context, or they cut the clip, or something? Or is this your usual, despicable, transparent bullshit?
"The best revenge ...for what?"
The best revenge for the 1% screwing you over.
The best revenge against those who war on your lady parts.
I get the feeling Obama likes our bad economy. It's revenge.
11/3/12 11:54 AM
Remember, globally, Americans as a whole are the 3%. It's unfair that even average people have so much more than people in Central America or Africa. We need to be taken down a notch - or two, or three.
In early Soviet Russia, former royalty, propertied peasants, anyone who had hired other people to do work, landlords, or anyone with significant unearned income were deprived of citizenship and rights. Called "former persons", they suffered at the hands of a government dedicated to punishing them. Millions were starved to death, tortured, and shot. The revolutionaries wanted revenge.
It's a progressive thing.
The best revenge against those who wouldn't just let him finish his waffle.
I think Dreams above has it nailed.
Romney is just one of those very smart pragmatist types who will be a great chief executive.
Other than class warfare character attacks, the left has nothing on this guy. No scandal. No problems with character. No track record from his time as Governor of MA as a wild eyed conservative crazy.
His best line from yesterday was where he said he's going to take office and not waste time blaming his predecessor.
Kill the Kulaks!
"This is not what recommends Romney over Obama, and I wish the intelligentsia would start acting intelligent. You guys are supposed to teach us less bright ones how to think. We already know how to feel."
I'm afraid the intellectual in his safely cocooned environment is free to endlessly ruminate on things and never push up against hard consequences.
This is why we have still have people who believe in socialism, or "progressivism".
They say the real lessons in life are learned in the marketplace and battlefield.
But Ohio remains intransigent.
Romney drew 30,000 at a rally last night in Ohio (according to Westchester's fire chief).
"Remember, globally, Americans as a whole are the 3%. It's unfair that even average people have so much more than people in Central America or Africa. We need to be taken down a notch - or two, or three."
That's why those explaining how you're supposed to be so angry talk about relative wealth and don't mention all of those who would view you as obscenely wealthy.
It wouldn't be *useful* to put it in a realistic perspective.
"The best revenge for the 1% screwing you over. The best revenge against those who war on your lady parts."
I assume that's right.
This guy changed the tone, just like he promised. He took it right into the gutter.
Revenge for what? FOR WHAT?!
I think this guy is filled up with Anger.
Jim Messina just tweeted the following:
"The Romney campaign's message today is revenge, ours is the President's plan for the middle class. I'll take that contrast any day."
Uh Jimbo, your guy is the one who angrily said the voters need to take revenge yesterday.
Remember, globally, Americans as a whole are the 3%.
Yes, and the reason is....economic freedom. Which the current president (and people like him) would like to take away. In the interest of "FAIRNESS" of course.
But the end result will be our own poverty - our own declining prosperity.
You cannot make the rest of the world rich by impoverishing America. And you cannot make the lower income Americans richer by impoverishing our own rich.
...ours is the President's plan for the middle class
Obama's plan will subjugate the middle class to government. They will be wards of the state. Already, his 'recovery' has replaced the lost higher paying jobs with lower paying (part-time) jobs. Yikes!
"Voting is the best revenge" is a direct quote, garage
Right. And what is Romney quoting? Not that, of course. Romney lies about everything. Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy.
If it wasn't clear already, it is painfully obvious via this campaign season:
The United States has not had a president for the last four years.
It will be good for the US to have a president again.
From a facebook friend:
No matter who wins, it'll be about a week before the banks close and soldiers take to the streets.
I refer, of course, to Veterans' Day.
"Right. And what is Romney quoting? Not that, of course."
I went back and listened to it again. I have no idea what you're claiming.
What punishment will we receive when Obama wins, because we openly supported Romney?
I know I'm not looking for revenge, it's nothing personal against the President.
He could move next door next January, and his kids could hang out with mine.
How does the one in power seek revenge, you only seek revenge when you actually lost something?
"Right. And what is Romney quoting? Not that, of course. Romney lies about everything. Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy."
Nothing you just said makes a bit of sense, including the part about you not missing him. Unless you're leaving the country for the next four years . . .
Obama is a broken,little boy. Surrogate grand parents are no substitute fora real dad. Barak is actually raging against the dad he never had, with talk about "revenge" and "Romnesia". The presidency is too important to leave up to someone with daddy issues. Its painfully obvious to those who bother to look at this point.
At the high school, kids started booing Romney when his name was mentioned
This phenomenon is shameful. On Halloween I had a couple of teenagers give me attitude about my Romney yard sign, and I wanted to ask, "What exactly the hell does your little fourteen year old mind base that on? You know dick about anything!" Also, the yard sign was pulled up overnight and thrown in the street, presumably by teenagers. [Or union sheet metal workers, who knows.] Anyway, it's truly unfortunate that so many young, undeveloped minds know next to nothing about Romney, other than HE'S A BAD, BAD MAN whom we should HATE, HATE, HATE.
"At the high school, kids started booing Romney when his name was mentioned."
Many kids, and all liberals, are stupid and that's why one should never let them run things.
garage mahal said...
"Voting is the best revenge" is a direct quote, garage
Right. And what is Romney quoting? Not that, of course. Romney lies about everything. Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy.
11/3/12 12:30 PM
Methinks you're going to wait until January 2021 to not miss this guy.
@garage
Romney lies about everything.
Oh, the delicious irony of that statement from that source!
Early voting lines in Florida were wrapped around the block. Were all those people waiting to vote for more of the same? My gut tells me no.
Also, the yard sign was pulled up overnight and thrown in the street, presumably by teenagers.
Electrify the sign.
Zaaap
Teenagers don't like to work, of course they're going to boo Romney.
------
Actually no, most teens want is a job, so they have things like a car and cell phone.
Methinks you're going to wait until January 2021 to not miss this guy.
This Tuesday evening. That's when it ends.
Obama could very well still win but he's got the sound and look of a loser these days.
"How does the one in power seek revenge"
Renee, history is full of examples of those in power who took revenge on their enemies.
It doesn't make for terribly cheery reading.
Obama will focus on many strange climate-change and global-health related to abortion around the world. He must be stopped now.
I doubt garage will explain himself. What possible response could there be?
I guess the word "revenge" means something different to garage than it does to the rest of us. "Hugs and kisses" or "fluffy puppies" or something.
How dare Romney make it sound like Obama said something bad.
Thats a good point, obama is doing exactly what some losing football teams do on the field. Late hits, roughing the passer, real boneheaded plays because they are frustrated and know they are losing. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
Ann, I really enjoy your blog. You have quirky interests, and your head works very well. Of course, it's a female head. So it works very differently from mine. But then, you cannot enjoy women as much as I do and not appreciate the mystery of that.
I generally regard the "undecideds" as low information emotional voters, and it's infuriating that so much depends on getting the support of such people. However, you are in a different league.
My reactions to what you often write about politics run the gamut, from "Christ, this gurl can't break free from her middleclass hippie roots" to "holy shit, she's giving us a window into how this stuff plays out".
My mind was made up about The Lightbringer when he sent the Winston Churchill bust back to the UK. He just reeks of revenge. And everything he has done since has been all about class warfare and smugly declaring that the rich can afford to pay a little bit more....as if he, or anyone, has the right to make such a statement about someone else.
Libruls are riven with such feelings. It's their principle animating emotion. As another earlier commenter said, it's just so French Revolution.
Here's an example of brain-dead libruls giving us their views from atop the barricades of revenge. They're not all that far from lopping off heads.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WHw32bv9BQ
One of the ways I decide about politicians is to imagine what would happen if they were granted unchecked power. It's a very useful exercise, and Dear Leader wouldn't come out well. Joe Lieberman, for example, would do very well, even though he often supports legislation that I do not. I always thought Ed Koch would use absolute power well. Patrick Moynihan, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Reagan, Romney, Ryan and Sarah Palin would all be wise with absolute power.
It's hard to find a modern prog you can trust with power because they are so certain that they have the moral superiority. The ends justify the means because the ends are oh-so worthy.
I'm befuddled by the fact that it took Libya to shut the door for you, but, somehow, I knew you'd come to this point sooner or later. I really did.
--Krumhorn
....
But Romney isn't an enemy?
Every four years, we have an election for President. We have a Constitutional Right to have an election. There are no 'enemies' in the democratic process.
Heh.
Obama drew 4,000 people in Cleveland last night at the same place where he drew 80,000 in 2008.
Romney drew 30,000 in Westchester last night.
Garage,
If Obama is going to win, why is he talking about revenge?
Why are his supporters threatening violence?
Wy are his supporters threatening to assassinate Romney?
Do you think that votes happen in a vacuum? Meaning, if Romney leads a swing state by 6 points that Obama carried last time, and solid blue states that Obama carried by double digits are now within the margin of error, how likely is it that. Obama will increase turnout in Ohio (which he needs to maintain the 1% the polls have him at right now there)?
Polls are a starting point, but turnout filters the opinion polls into reality.
Obama attracted just 4k to a rally in Cleveland, where he attracted 80k 4 years ago.
Whereas Romney is drawing 30k at his venues.
Why do you think turnout will favor Obama enough to win?
Don't distract garage. We're waiting for his explanation of how Romney is lying.
garage's tears feed me.
If you have not already seen:
Picture worth a 30,000 words.
"seems petulant, divisive, and ungrateful."
That's because he has been exactly that for 4 long years.
Don't be surprised if this little dichotomy drops a couple extra states in the Romster's lap.
Maybe more.
EMD said...
I voted for Bill Clinton over George Bush, Sr -- Forgive me. I was young
No forgiveness needed. Clinton was a better candidate, and in some ways, a better president.
Like Hell he was, anything the Lefties want to blame on Dubya was wished off on him by Willie (same if the Living Redwood had won FL).
He took the Reagan economy and gave us subprime mortgages. He took the end of the Cold War and gave us 9/11.
"Romney can't even repeat one line from Obama without purposefully misrepresenting it."
Of course, neither can Obama himself repeat one line of his own without purposefully misrepresenting it... so really not much difference there.
Don't distract garage. We're waiting for his explanation of how Romney is lying.
At this point it would be a complete waste of time. Besides, I agree anyways, voting is the best revenge. Especially against a party that will do whatever they can to make voting difficult. And if you look at Florida right now, it's backfiring.
"At this point it would be a complete waste of time."
No, it wouldn't. But you can't explain it. Because there's nothing behind your comment. Romney was right and you're full of shit.
I can't share the optimism, because I just can't see how the electoral numbers ultimately work out in Romney's favor. This post over at Outside the Beltway (which features three bloggers there) and the discussion there reflects the scenarios I see as most likely.
I would like to be wrong; a good meal of crow would be mighty tasty in this case!!! And I will do my bit here in Iowa in Tuesday (and my husband already did, in early voting on his way out of the state to the East Coast). But I'm just not seeing it--or, here in Iowa, even feeling it.
So, in summary, garage mahal insists that Obama did not say voting is the best revenge,because that would be a horrible thing to say/think, but he agrees with the sentiment anyway.
That is one of the better examples of progressive ability to avoid dealing with cognitive dissonance I've seen in quite some time.
What's going on in Florida, other than Romney leading by well outside the margin of error?
Yeah, I'm afraid come Wednesday Obama will still be President and garage will still be a fuckstick.
The best revenge ...for what?
For the economy, for the country, for anything bad that has happened in your life.
How about for screwing up security so bad in Benghazi that four Americans, including an Ambassador, got killed by terrorists?
Wait, that would be a vote for Romney, wouldn't it.
"I'm befuddled by the fact that it took Libya to shut the door for you, but, somehow, I knew you'd come to this point sooner or later. I really did."
You have to understand that half of what Republicans talk about doesn't work on me.
I am a liberal on the social issues. I have to put that aside to vote for the Republicans.
I distrust both parties. It's not as if I'm in some state of confusion and having difficulty clarifying. That's where you are having trouble understanding me.
I will vote, but I don't have to like anyone at any point.
On a purely selfish note, I will be very glad when this election is over. For one thing, we could have quite legitimately chosen to change our residency upon buying the new house a couple months back. But our current house (which isn't on the market yet) is in a swing state, so we didn't. We didn't even register a car in Delaware so there'd be no confusion--which means we paid something like 3x the premium we would have had to pay on the homeowners insurance out there simply by bundling in insurance on a car into the policy. Holy, moley, who knew what a big difference THAT would make!!! Dang. So it'll be good to change residency, register a car, and have that policy rewritten by the time the next installment is due.
I will vote, but I don't have to like anyone at any point.
This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And ditto on most of the rest of it, too.
Takin' one for the team, rcommal. Admirable.
I don't understand the debate over accuracy of what Romney is saying. His ad shows Obama making the statement. It was just a stupid off the cuff statement by Obama. If Obama had not run such a negative and deceptive campaign, I might have some sympathy for him about Romney taking advantage of a stupid off the cuff comment, which probably meant nothing.
I can't stand either party on the social issues.
In a long campaign the true tone of each candidate seeps out whether it's intentional or not.
Reagan was a genuinely sunny upbeat man, Romney is a genuinely serious man, Obama is a genuinely petulant man.
There's no debate, K.C. I don't know why garage does what he does. It's like political Tourette syndrome.
The revenge for Obama is validating his identification with the father who abandoned him as opposed to the "typical white people" who raised him and gave him the chance to harvest all his affirmative action goodies.
He is the ultimate ungrateful hipster dofous with a huge sense of entitlement. That is why they love him.
Yeah, I'm afraid come Wednesday Obama will still be President and garage will still be a fuckstick.
Obama's remark was in context of Romney's ridiculous Jeep ad lies. Which will probably seal his coffin in Ohio, where it is not going over well. You're lashing out at the wrong person.
Pretty funny, in retrospect, all the crazy Benghazi lies spewed by Republicans, and now they're wimpering about "revenge"? You guys really do live in alternate reality.
It always goes back to the mother.
Wow, garages mother must be sick about that.
:)
"The non-violence" practiced by men like Gandi and King" may not be "practical...in every circumstance."
Is this what lurks behind those dead eyes of his?
This statement is just one of many that Obama has made that show what he really thinks.
That is why they have to backpedal all the time.
When you see the real Obama you get a taste of what a nasty unpleasant un-American person he really is deep in his heart.
"You didn't build this business you typical white people so cling to your guns and religion while I put out an executive order to force Catholic Convents to fit all the nuns for diaphragms. I won!"
Nope.
Romney wins Tuesday, and here's why:
Obama's revenge remark is inreference to his upcoming loss. He knows it.
The preference cascade is hitting now, but too late to show up in the polls using rolling averages and polls of polls. But the indications are appearing.
Obama pulled money/campaign assets out of Florida. Romney is leading there now by 6 points. Romney is within the margin of error in WI, PA, OH, NV, and IA. Obama won most of these states with double digits.
Obama attracted barely 4k to a rally in Cleveland, after attracting 80k there 4 years ago. Whereas Romney drew 30k.
The early voting returns show Obama is cannibalizing his certain voters to try to build a big lead...but Romney is gaining on that early vote using GOTV efforts on marginal voters, some has a much bigger reserve of solid votes coming on Tuesday. Obama is running tens of thousands votes below the early vote 4 years ago, in vital swing states.
Threats of violence from Obama supporters.
Increasingly shrill statements of false bravado from people like garage, passive-aggressive hostility from harrogate and phx, near-hysteric rewriting of history of the bush presidency from AF and Jake Diamond...
Obama is campaigning in states that should be solid blue.
Romney is campaigning in PA, buying ads in MI.
Romney's campaign is not one to flail....and all these other indications support the notion that Romney is battling now for a stronger mandate, and to extend coat tails to have a better Congress to work with...for instance, Sherrod brown was seemingly cruising to victory less than a week ago, now the race is a tie.
And all the polls that show a tie or Obama lead depend on democrats voting at or above 2008 levels.
Is there anything to indicate democrats are equally as enthused as 4 years ago?!?!?
Anything at all?
No.
Finally, Romney's relaxed demeanor and obama's petulant demeanor say it all. Obama knows he lost, but...no, Obama knows he lost, period. He doesn't even have any hope for a miracle at this point. He's just going to do all he can to make the victory as painful for Romney as he can, even if that means stirring up riots that gets Americans hurt or killed.
"The non-violence" practiced by men like Gandi and King" may not be "practical...in every circumstance."
Is this what lurks behind those dead eyes of his?
Original Mike: I promised Ruth Anne, and believe me, no way am I crossing that lady.
(OK, I'm half kidding--and of course there was more to it than that.)
It seems more and more lately to me that to make a liberal, you start with a conservative and add in severe daddy issues.
"I am a liberal on the social issues. I have to put that aside to vote for the Republicans."
One of the people I called (sounded like a young-ish woman) announced that she'd voted already and had voted for Obama "because I like gay people."
I'm not a wit for I would have replied, "I like gay people to have jobs."
That's what liberal "social issues" are worth. Everyone gets to announce that they "like" gay people and go on about a war on women's lady parts or how they care about minorities.
What is more important? That some random lady in Nevada votes to let people know she "likes" gay people or that gay teenagers, while they face all the other challenges in their lives, can find jobs?
What does it take to say "I like black people" when unemployment among urban youth is impossible, but a person votes for the "social" issue instead of the economy?
What is liking someone worth?
To get a conservative you start with a liberal and add growing up.
And if you look at Florida right now, it's backfiring.
Right. That's why the latest poll from the Tampa Bay Times (which supports Obama) has Romney 51%, Obama 45%.
The enthusiasm just isn't here for Obama. I voted Thursday at a predeominantly black polling station. There were about 25 people in line. The workers told me it had been like that since early voting started last Saturday. That's not very good for a demographic that Obama needs to turn out big.
Meanwhile, over at the station I would normally use, the line has rarely been under 200 people, and has frequently been over 300. A lot of blacks (spurred on by their churches) turned out last weekend. But all week long it's been lily white. I don't think those folks out in Winter Garden and Ocoee are looking for four more years.
Yeah, I'm afraid come Wednesday Obama will still be President and garage will still be a fuckstick.
Well, Obama will still be president Wednesday, whether Romney is President-elect or not.
And Garage will still be a fuckstick whether Romney is President-elect or not.
Hope you're right, Nathan. Four more years of economic stagnation will be very damaging to this country.
I stand corrected, Matt.
That's a rhetorical question of course, because what "liking" people is worth is jack shit.
People need a better economy. The people who are hurt the worst are minorities or whatever sort. The people who are hurt worst are teenagers who's unemployment will impact their hireability for years, even after the economy improves.
And which teens are hurt the worst of all? Urban youth and gay teenagers... anyone already vulnerable is hurt worst of all.
Vote for jobs if you like gay people.
Anything else is just serving your vanity.
garage mahal said...
Obama's remark was in context of Romney's ridiculous Jeep ad lies.
You'll just parrot whatever Jim Messina spouts, but the actual transcript of Obama's remarks proves that you are once again posting total bullshit.
Obama's "revenge" remark came in the midst of his standard idiotic claim that a new Santa sack full of benefits for the middle class could be financed by having the "wealthiest Americans" pay "a little bit more."
Your candidate peddles nothing but resentment and envy based on lies. Except when he refuses to address an issue at all, that is.
I want to vote for the guy who will have an easier time getting the House to raise the debt ceiling. Which one is that?
Remember, globally, Americans as a whole are the 3%. It's unfair that even average people have so much more than people in Central America or Africa. We need to be taken down a notch - or two, or three.
Not going to argue what that means, but I've been looking for an opportunity to show this cool video:
Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years
I cued it at the replay, but what this shows is Incomes (x) and Lifespans (y) for 200 countries over 200 years. As incomes rise, lifespans rise too. The visual representations treat each country as a bubble that rises or falls (larger the bubble, larger the population). The higher it rises, the higher the lifespan. The farther to the right it goes, the higher the income.
What you see is a convergence in the upper right corner (maximum health and wealth) of the majority of the world's population. There are some bubbles that haven't risen (countries devastated by AIDS, civil war), but globally most of us seem to be in the same area.
You'll just parrot whatever Jim Messina spouts, but the actual transcript of Obama's remarks proves that you are once again posting total bullshit.L
Except Obama was in Ohio, speaking to Ohioans, and brought up the fact that some workers in Ohio were worried about their jobs after Romney's pitiful lies about their jobs being moved to China.
@Peter Hoh,
I dunno. But if you're worried about the US
credit rating, you should probably vote for the guy who has a plan based on something other than quantitative easing.
@garage: Team Obama is doing what they always do when Obama gets caught saying what he really believes...
They're "struggling to explain the [off the cuff] revenge remark" IOW lying.
Except Obama was in Ohio, speaking to Ohioans
So whatever Obama says, regardless of the words preceding it, if he's in Ohio he's referring to Romney's Jeep ads?
Got it.
@AA RE: rational voting decisions - nothing is perfect. I get to look at a ballot in Missouri.
For Senate:
McCaskill (D)
Akin (R)
Dine (L)
Peter, I'd rather vote for the candidate that makes it less likely to need to raise the debt ceiling. Romney.
@madison man,
Maybe I'm wrong.
But looking at it with the most non-partisan view possible, I can't see a single sign moving in obama's direction right now.
Can you?
The best spin I could possibly put on the current situation might be that things are moving fast enough for Romney to win.
But the speed of preference cascades, not to mention likely bad dem turnout modeling, each separately negate that argument neatly, IMHO. Combine them, and Romney wins in a cakewalk.
"This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win."
If this clip neatly embodies why you believe Romney will win, this post neatly embodies why your belief is likely to be wrong.
BUT, NATE from NYT says no.
N8 Ag is wrong
The enthusiasm just isn't here for Obama?
Dems lead early voting by 100k+
So much for that enthusiasm gap.
@mtrobertsattorney: "The non-violence" practiced by men like Gandi and King" may not be "practical...in every circumstance."
Is this what lurks behind those dead eyes of his?
____________________________________________________
Peaceful surrender of power by the bourgeoisie is possible, if it is convinced that resistance is hopeless and if it prefers to save its skin. It is much more likely, of course, that even in small states socialism will not be achieved without civil war, and for that reason the only programme of international Social-Democracy must be recognition of civil war, though violence is, of course, alien to our ideals. -- V. I. Lenin, 1916
Hey Garage--I don't know much about the mechanics of Florida voting; maybe you do. When it says that Democrats have cast their votes, what does that mean? How do they know these people are Democrats? Are they registered that way? Do they come in through the blue door? Do they necessarily have to vote for Obama if the Miami Herald refers to them as Democrats? I'd like to know more about whether you're making a point or just think you're making a point.
Obama is playing off of the old saying that "Living well is the best revenge," but it's a particularly poor choice of words.
"Living well is the best revenge" is telling you *not* to seek revenge. Instead, you should focus on positive things that can actually improve your life. It's an anti-revenge saying!
"Voting is the best revenge" doesn't have the same twist. You certainly could cast a vote as an act of revenge, and by saying "No, no, don't boo -- vote" you give the impression that voting is something similar to booing. Instead of being anti revenge, the new statement is just advice on how to get revenge effectively.
A second reason why the quote is so damaging is that Obama looks so sour when he says it. It would be interesting to look at video and figure out when Obama started looking unhappy all the time. I didn't like him in 2008, but I thought he was a very good looking man -- fresh faced, positive, possibly a little self regarding, as though butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Now he just looks mean. Has there been a single picture of him in the last two years that you could credibly put "HOPE" underneath in bright primary colors?
Really Ann, you are living in your own private Idaho. Romney is not gonna win.
Cant wait to talk to yall on wednesday!
Barack Obama's final desperate attempt this weekend to hang onto his job appears to be to convince the remaining gullible undecided voters that he has been the hero of the middle class and Mitt Romney will be their enemy.
Unfortunately the middle class already have four years of Barack Obama's "defense" to refer to. And here is what Obama has done for the middle class in the last four years:
The average middle class salary has declined by over $4,000 per year.
The average middle class driver is spending $2,500 per year more for gas.
The average middle class worker's company supplied health care is costing them $1,500 more each year.
The average middle class family is spending twice as much for groceries.
There are literally millions and millions of middle class "workers" who have lost their jobs and have given up looking for new jobs. You probably know some of them. I do.
The average middle class man, woman and child owes the federal government $20,000 more in debt repayment.
So right now, today, as compared to four years ago, President Ladyparts "defense" of the middle class has cost millions their jobs, and has cost the average middle class person approximately $10,000 in hard dollars they have to spend today.
If you are wondering why you are finding it so much harder to make ends meet today, the answer is two words.
Barack Obama.
Don't let him "defend" the middle class another four years.
Please. I can't afford it.
Obama does look bad. But I think he is just worn out from the campaign. I would not attribute it to a belief he has lost the race. Because, as bad a president as Obama has been and would be in the second term, I think he still thinks he might be able to squeak through and be reelected. God help us if he is correct.
Do they necessarily have to vote for Obama if the Miami Herald refers to them as Democrats?
Heh,
Looking very definitely as if "revenge" is becoming another "You didn't build that"
garage mahal said...
Yeah, I'm afraid come Wednesday Obama will still be President and garage will still be a fuckstick.
Obama's remark was in context of Romney's ridiculous Jeep ad lies.
No, it wasn't.
garage,
More importantly, are these just normal Obama voters shifting their vote from election day to early voting, or are they marginal voters inspired by GOTV efforts? All indications so far is that Obama is merely shifting voters, but Romney is actually getting marginal voters out, and saving his normal voters for election day.
Most importantly, how does this current gap compare to 4 years ago?
If Democrats were doing as well or better than last election, don't you think they'd say so?
Someone armed with knowledge (rather than just talking points, like you), would know that McCain actually won the votes cast on election day in 2008, but Obama set up an unsurmountable lead in early voting...but is underperforming everywhere on early voting this year.
100k isn't much when you consider Florida has a voting eligible population of more than 13 million, and even a 50% likely voter screen still produces 6.5 million votes.
Since Romney currently leads by 6%, it will take much more than 100k vote lead going into Tuesday for Obama to stay ahead.
In any case, "Obama will win because he managed to run out the clock on Benghazi and general voter dislike/distrust on the economy" is hardly a victorious-sounding battle cry.
But I guess if that's all ya got, garage, I can't blame you for sticking to it.
Yes. Because the first thing people think of when they think of Mitt Romney and the White House policies of 2000-2008, is Love.
I voted for Romney. Why? One word: Benghazi.
" You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin' "
(from Nancy Sinatra, These Boots Are Made for Walkin')
Re Forida voting, I was visiting family in S. Florida (Palm Beach County) just before the 2010 election. I accompanied them to early voting, the lines were out the door and around the block at both early voting centers where we went. At the time, I thought no one is going to stand for hours in the exceedingly warm FL sun to vote the status quo. And I wasn't surprised when the Republicans won big in FL in 2010. More of the same may be going on here. We'll see.
Mitt Romney was president from 2000-08?
Somebody should tell the Obama campaign. I think that could be a winning issue, if only b/c of the 22d Amendment.
Chip S.,
it's the same policies he's advocating. Do you really think a different face makes it that hard to figure out?
" master cylinder said...
Cant wait to talk to yall on wednesday!"
Deal ! What time ?
I get up most days at 4:45 California time.
"garage mahal said...
"Voting is the best revenge" is a direct quote, garage
Right. And what is Romney quoting? Not that, of course. Romney lies about everything. Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy."
I hate to break it to you, garage, but....
" harrogate said...
Chip S.,
it's the same policies he's advocating. Do you really think a different face makes it that hard to figure out?"
Which policies are those? The ones that Obama hasn't already implemented, like drones and Gitmo ?
I doubt you could describe policies that Bush authored. The collapse began in 2006 when the Dems took the Congress. Look at the charts !
it's the same policies he's advocating.
Well, let's see. If he adds an expensive new entitlement, and if he lets Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy billions in bad mortgages that banks are pressured into making, if he fails to control illegal immigration effectively, and if he invades Iraq, then I might have to agree with you.
But I'm supporting him b/c I expect him to reform entitlements sensibly and roll back Obamacare.
Garage: " Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy."
Are you moving overseas for the next four years?
Even though I would have voted for ANY Republican candidate I was not a fan of Romney's until the past 2-3 weeks and after seeing this ad, now, for the 3rd time, his fundamental decency is so obvious, so apparent, that I, too, would 'crawl over ground glass' to vote for him;
'Him' as a decent person, not just 'him' as the Republican candidate.
Luckily, I don't have to because I early voted on Friday! ;)
Michael K...Ill see ya in the am Central time.
Garage: " Nothing new. And like I said, I'm not going to miss this guy."
I interpret garage's statement as a direct threat to the candidate.
Perhaps the Secret Service should prick up its ears.
Althouse: "I will vote, but I don't have to like anyone at any point."
Exactly, the President is an employee, not a contestant on DWTS.
"Revenge": where your neighbor has two cows while you have only one, so you poison his cow so that you're both even.
*That* kind of revenge.
11/3/12 6:53 PM
Michael Barone, a long-time analyst who knows just about all the precincts in the country, calls it big for Romney: 313-223 in the Electoral College.
Barone is a conservative but he is also a cautious analyst. His prediction reinforces my optimism.
What a disgusting feeling of ressentiment Obama projects. The mask is truly off now.
Garage: "The enthusiasm just isn't here for Obama?
Dems lead early voting by 100k+
So much for that enthusiasm gap."
LOL
The dems are down a full 6% in voter turnout advantage from 2008.
Dems tend to vote early and republicans generally have the edge on election day turnout. This is why it's critical for dems to build up large margins prior to election day (which they did in 2008) and which they are not in 2012.
The question is not: are the dems leading in early voting? Since they always do.
The question is: are the dems leading in early voting in sufficient numbers to overcome the republicans election day turnout advantage?
The answer at this time is no.
Here's a "safe for liberals" link (since we know that the left is loathe to go anywhere their views are not continuously massaged and validated.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/politics/article/Obama-seems-to-have-early-vote-lead-in-key-states-4005497.php
snip: "Florida:About 3.9 million people have voted, and 43 percent were Democrats and 40 percent were Republicans. For years ago at this time, Democratic early voters had a 9 percentage point lead over Republicans."
furious_a: ""Revenge": where your neighbor has two cows while you have only one, so you poison his cow so that you're both even.
*That* kind of revenge"
There is an analogous and oft told joke in the Middle East which speaks to the Arabs and their mentality which derives more pleasure from tearing you down to their level as opposed to lifting themselves up to yours.
Perfectly appropo to the current democrat party and it's envious and revenge-minded membership.
By Romney jumping on Obama's comment of revenge, this goes to show that Romney has nothing positive to say about his entire run for president. Right now the world is aghast at Romney's joke about global warming and this is what they focus on? Pathetic and sad and a sure sign of a loser. After all the lying, (“We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.”)spinning, flip-flopping and pandering, I'm not surprised Romney chose this. The man has not one original bone in his body. Every move he made was dictated off of what Obama has said or done. (And he tells Obama attacking him is not promoting an agenda. HA!) Voting for Obama will be the best revenge on having had to listen to Romney's bullshit for the past six years. I can not wait to not see this man's fake, hollow smile, and his smug, snarky attitude towards a world that has passed him by years ago. A world that he truly does not understand.
creeley23: "Barone is a conservative but he is also a cautious analyst. His prediction reinforces my optimism."
I'm betting that Rove and Barone and couple other well known prognosticators have been provided the internal polling that the Romney camp has in hand.
Otherwise it would definitely seem to be out of character for Barone to go out on a limb.
I could see Rove doing some "battlefield" prep (within reason since he too has been very slow to move to the "Romney is in the lead" column) but not Barone.
He is reknown for his cautious approach.
Not so craftygirl: "By Romney jumping on Obama's comment of revenge, this goes to show that Romney has nothing positive to say about his entire run for president."
LOL
You're new here, aren't you?
You'll find the environment a little more "challenging" for your standard issue lefty talking points than, say, the comments section at yahoo or dailyKos.
LOL
Not so craftygirl: "Voting for Obama will be the best revenge on having had to listen to Romney's bullshit for the past six years."
LOL
Remember: garage told us that obama's "revenge" comment involves Jeep production.
morongirl has lost track of the latest lefty meme!
Not surprising really.
BTW, why have you been listening to Romney for 6 years?
What exactly was it that Romney was saying in 2009 that so upset you?
LOL
Another BTW, is it really a smart thing to bring up a discussion regarding to understanding "this world" when it was obama who spent almost 900 Billion dollars for his "shovel ready" stimulus package and admitted 2 years later that there really aren't any "shovel ready" jobs?
LOL
Yeah.
obama.
He really "gets it"......
Too funny.
You know why I think Romney is going to win? I have an algorithm.
Dragojerk: Obama had to start somewhere to dig us out of the monumental Bush failure. And it's working, slowly but surely.
Everything the Romney camp has ever done or said. LOL
Romney not mentioning Bush but keeping his policies. LOL
All the Benghazi comments but not a peep from Romney or Ryan. I won't even dignify that.
And here's another: 30,000 LOL
"There's no question that this was Romney's biggest rally of the campaign -- but just how many people turned out is unclear in this hard-fought state in which public polls show Romney narrowly trailing President Barack Obama. The campaign announced that 30,000 people attended, but Secret Service sources said just 15,000 went through metal detectors. And local law enforcement counted the crowd at 18,000."
Seriously though, for an intelligent blog, I have never seen so much derision and hate in a comments section. Hard not to get caught up in it.
o Romney's bullshit for the past six years
I'll have to give you credit for listening to Romney in 2007. Did you bug his phones?
"Seriously though, for an intelligent blog, I have never seen so much derision and hate in a comments section. Hard not to get caught up in it."
Par the course around here. There are a few decent commenters but most of them are as hostile as you'll find on the right blogosphere. Also, you'll see lots of commenters confusing your dissent with "trolling" (showing they possess certain ironic digital illiteracy, among other things).
But more and more, the content and tone of the site posts themselves, actively invites this sort of behavior.
craftygirl said...
By Romney jumping on Obama's comment of revenge, this goes to show that Romney has nothing positive to say about his entire run for president.
You're a poor listener. Romney's positive message was the very next line: "I want you to vote for love of country."
Even someone voting for Obama could respond positively to that message.
Seriously though, for an intelligent blog, I have never seen so much derision and hate in a comments section. Hard not to get caught up in it.
Unfortunately, you did get caught up in with your very first post, right in line with all the hate and venom spewed by the likes of harrogate, garage, et al.
So...How long do you think it will take you to get over the bitterness, rage, and despair of getting your ideology defeated Tuesday?
Faster or slower than Obama?
too bad your juxtaposition is based on falsehoods! the echo chamber continues
So...
No one can come up with any trends that look good for Obama, then?
So, Althouse is voting against the petulant, divisive, and ungrateful candidate, and voting *for* the one with the 47% video. Got it.
Althouse logic!
I think that craftygirl is Jim Messina.
(And I'm halfway serious about that.)
You know why I think Romney is going to win? I have an algorithm
You may need a de-fibulator after your happy ending.
What a pathetic gaggle.
Many of you have taken your own ideology, wrapped it within mellifluous diction, sprinkled a liberal dash of snark, pointed your thinly veiled "objective" rhetoric toward one or more of opposing view; then sat gazing at the black and white image of your prideful zing...thinking you're somehow part of an elevated exchange.
You are not insightful. You don't see what others can't. You just use proper grammar to spew the precise rantings of the most unhinged members of the electorate. This is the gooey film at the top of Fox News and MSNBC's opinion shows. Nothing more. Get over yourselves.
And EMD: No one need "bug his phones" to hear Romney in 2007. He was running for President. He was as audible then as he was in 2011. It's why his whole "coming in to save the day" schtick makes little sense. He's running 'cause he wants to be president. The challenges facing the country don't matter. We aren't where we were in 2006 when he decided to run the first time.
"This clip neatly embodies a reason why I believe Romney will win." It's just a stupid, cheap sound bite. As a law professor I would expect you to be swayed instead by reason. If, in fact, you can be, you should read Nate Silver's predictions. You may not like them, but they should inform your expectations for the outcome of the election.
Nathan Alexander
You're not a very good reader, as I admitted getting caught up in the hostile comments.
I think your projecting a bit. The only true bitterness, rage, and despair I feel is when I read comments like yours.
chickelit
What ever Romney purported after is only given lip service because he is refuting Obama. It has nothing to do with his own thinking.
Sixxis311
Thank you. As we learned from this election, people tend to forget what happens in politics the day before, so I understand it's hard to remember 6 years ago.
I agree that Obama "revenge" comment will sink him, galvanizing the many Americans who don't understand figures of speech.
"As a law professor I would expect you to be swayed instead by reason."
A whole lot of us feel your pain.
Explain the figure of speech Schmidt.
"Whatever" is the best revenge, may imply forgoing revenge in favor of whatever "whatever" is (living well, voting), but it absolutely requires that there BE revenge to be gotten against someone who deserves it.
Who is the enemy? There has to be an enemy, even if what a person does is get their revenge by living well.
By expressing his general class-warfare us-against-them ethos Obama stepped in something Romney could easily use.
Romney has been attacked for similar things. The context for what Obama said is more intact than Romney's remark about 47% (who can't be swayed by messages about their income taxes because they don't pay any.)
There is a figure of speech: "Living well is the best revenge."
It means *don't* take revenge.
That's what he meant.
There should be no one surprised by Obama's rhetorical change. The ideology he subscribes to exploits differentials and gradients for positive effect. It has been demonstrated time and again that manipulating emotional states is highly effective at gaining concessions. The natural progression for his kind is from advocating for redistributive change to fomenting retributive change.
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