2012 election pregame

dtolman · 2012-10-03T06:41:59.000Z

If this is the best the Romney campaign could uncover for an October surprise, its pretty pathetic.

Oghier · 2012-10-03T07:00:28.000Z

JeffL:

So, what is the long game here? Let’s say the GOP wins. They lower taxes on millionaires, and the average voter loses their home mortgage deduction, and other deductions, and their tax bill goes way up. The average voter realizes they’ve been screwed…

How do you think Fox news would report that series of events? Consider that much of their base consumes no other form of journalism.

The long game is, continue to lie and count on religious fundamentalists to continue voting against their economic interests.

JeffL · 2012-10-03T07:04:36.000Z

Yeah, I think most people who follow politics closely (i.e. very few of the voting public) understand the President has very little direct impact on the economy, though they get more credit than they deserve when it is good and more blame than they deserve when it is bad (as a rule.) Heck, Obama hasn’t even had a budget approved since he’s been in office IIRC.

That’s why it doesn’t really matter a tremendous amount what, e.g., Romney says he’d do in terms of taxes: Congress will never put together and pass a tax bill that does things like get rid of the mortgage deduction.

Telefrog · 2012-10-03T07:09:38.000Z

WarrenM:

That reminds me of what I really dislike about the debates … nobody actually answers the questions. They treat each question as a cue to begin their next talking point. It doesn’t matter what was asked, they’re just going to regurgitate whatever line they’ve memorized for slot #4 or whatever. Pointless, really.

Great article about this today at NPR.

What he found was that when a politician answered the health care question with a health care answer, viewers could recall the question and thought the candidate was likable, honest and trustworthy.

When the politician pivoted a little bit and answered the illegal drug question with a health care answer, viewers could not recall the question — but they didn’t penalize the politician at all. “Listeners thought he was just as honest, trustworthy and likable as the guy who actually answered the question,” Rogers says.

It was only when the politician answered the terrorism question with a health care answer that people could actually tell. “Everyone noticed, and they thought he was a jerk,” Rogers says.

This led Rogers to the conclusion that people are capable of detecting dodges — but only if they’re egregious. They don’t seem capable of detecting subtle evasions.

Rogers believes this is because we have limited attention, and most of the time when we’re watching debates, we spend that attention on social evaluation — Do we like this person? Do we trust this person? — and only generally monitor content.

It’s only when the speaker is wildly inconsistent that some deep mental wire is tripped. “It raises some flags, and we direct our limited attention to assessing whether this person is doing something unusual by failing to answer the question and offering an egregiously different answer,” Rogers says.

This, Rogers believes, is why politicians can get away with dodging questions as much as 70 percent of the time.

Woolen_Horde · 2012-10-03T07:49:20.000Z

dtolman:

If this is the best the Romney campaign could uncover for an October surprise, its pretty pathetic.

WAIT ONE SECOND. OBAMA IS BLACK??? THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Houngan · 2012-10-03T08:37:02.000Z

dtolman:

If this is the best the Romney campaign could uncover for an October surprise, its pretty pathetic.

Yep, cue the sad trombone. In other news, we have a clip by Ryan saying that 30% of Americans want to be on welfare.

HuffPost – 2 Oct 12

WATCH: Ryan Claims '30 Percent Want Their Welfare State'

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, share a similarly dim view of a very large portion of Americans, according to previously unrep...

Jason_McCullough · 2012-10-03T08:57:50.000Z

At least Romney’s number had partisan plausibility. Ryan appears to be one of those people who thinks everyone is actually conservative, the Democrats just keep winning because they steal it, or the Republican candidate isn’t conservative, or something.

Starlight · 2012-10-03T11:50:14.000Z

LMN8R:

Yikes, what did I do to start seeing Romney ads on this board??

You’re breathing, right?

Woolen_Horde · 2012-10-03T15:13:40.000Z

Holy Shit. Obama has a 50-point lead over Romney with Latinos. Safe to say he’s got an even larger lead with blacks. Wonder how he’s doing with Asians?

Telefrog · 2012-10-03T15:20:10.000Z

The lead for Obama among latinos isn’t surprising. Romney all but told them to vote for anyone but him by constantly insulting them and putting his foot in his mouth.

Jason_McCullough · 2012-10-03T16:33:28.000Z

Yeah, the GOP just completely gave up on Hispanic outreach after Bush and went back to the same-old same-old.

Juan_Rayo · 2012-10-03T19:39:43.000Z

Romney won the debate, easy.
Wth emperor, I expected more from you!

Andy_Bates · 2012-10-04T15:42:28.000Z

charmtrap:

If you sat down at a bar and started pouring out your problems to Mitt, he’d run down everything you were doing wrong with your life and give you a 10-point plan to fix it, but he wouldn’t just be a pal and commiserate with you. When that kind of empathy is missing, it’s obvious and it can’t really be taught, I don’t think. It’s one of those things you either have or you don’t.

I’m amazed that some people want a President who can “be a pal and commiserate with you,” instead of one who can give you a ten-point plan to fix your life. Which do you think this country needs more: empathy, or practical solutions?

Hugin · 2012-10-04T16:25:44.000Z

Andy Bates:

I’m amazed that some people want a President who can “be a pal and commiserate with you,” instead of one who can give you a ten-point plan to fix your life. Which do you think this country needs more: empathy, or practical solutions?

I’d like a ten point plan to fix my life where the ten points actually were workable and not just what I wanted to hear.

Houngan · 2012-10-04T16:29:34.000Z

Hugin:

I’d like a ten point plan to fix my life where the ten points actually were workable and not just what I wanted to hear.

Mitt Romney’s Ten Point Plan for Personal Prosperity

Be successful
Eat whatever you want
Don’t exercise
Be extremely fit
Be rich and intelligent
Don’t study
Live in a big house
Pay no mortgage
Have your children educated by the best teachers
Pay no taxes

You’re welcome.

Starlight · 2012-10-04T19:05:54.000Z

Andy Bates:

Which do you think this country needs more: empathy, or practical solutions?

Empathy. With a fiat currency, the problem is the “practical solutions” crowd.

charmtrap · 2012-10-04T19:12:48.000Z

Andy Bates:

I’m amazed that some people want a President who can “be a pal and commiserate with you,” instead of one who can give you a ten-point plan to fix your life. Which do you think this country needs more: empathy, or practical solutions?

I was saying that hypothetically. I’d prefer that a president have both. The problem with Romney is that he doesn’t seem to have either.

charmtrap · 2012-10-04T19:51:20.000Z

This is kind of hilarious. Democratic state senate candidate in Maine is attacked for playing an assassination rogue in World of Warcraft:

POLITICO

Candidate hit for World of Warcraft

The Maine GOP slams a state Senate hopeful's "bizarre double life" as an online role-playing gamer.

Equis · 2012-10-04T20:35:24.000Z

charmtrap:

This is kind of hilarious. Democratic state senate candidate in Maine is attacked for playing an assassination rogue in World of Warcraft:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82043.html#ixzz28O80mQ2f

She should have played a priest.

ShivaX · 2012-10-04T22:16:03.000Z

I’d vote for her based on that alone.