Well, there is a more recent example of Obama calling for wealth to be "spread around," but nobody wants Joe the Plumber back in the spotlight.
And likely motivating Democratic-leaning voters more than his own. A number of Democrats not quite happy with Obama and may not be juiced about voting for him may very well now be offended enough to show up to vote against Romney. Also, check this out: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/barr...-not-presidential-ol5e2mheS1CCY~Jau2ZmLw.html
Mark McKinnon, former Bush and McCain campaign strategist On September 12, 2012 The media should not rush to write off Mitt's campaign http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-on-the-pundits-rush-to-bury-romney-ryan.html On September 19, 2012 Alright, now I have no idea how Mitt is gonna win this one. And by the way, I hate him. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...-why-time-is-running-out-for-mitt-romney.html
Peggy Noonan's WSJ article yesterday was devastating as well. Time for an Intervention What should Mitt Romney do now? He should peer deep into the abyss. He should look straight into the heart of darkness where lies a Republican defeat in a year the Republican presidential candidate almost couldn’t lose. He should imagine what it will mean for the country, for a great political philosophy, conservatism, for his party and, last, for himself. He must look down unblinkingly. And then he needs to snap out of it, and move. He has got seven weeks. He’s just had two big flubs. On the Mideast he seemed like a political opportunist, not big and wise but small and tinny. It mattered because the crisis was one of those moments when people look at you and imagine you as president. Then his comments released last night and made months ago at the private fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla. Mr. Romney has relearned what four years ago Sen. Barack Obama learned: There’s no such thing as private when you’re a candidate with a mic. There’s someone who doesn’t like you in that audience. There’s someone with a cellphone. Mr. Obama’s clinger comments became famous in 2008 because when people heard what he’d said, they thought, “That’s the real him, that’s him when he’s talking to his friends.” * * * And so a quick denunciation of what Mr. Romney said, followed by some ideas. The central problem revealed by the tape is Romney’s theory of the 2012 election. It is that a high percentage of the electorate receives government checks and therefore won’t vote for him, another high percentage is supplying the tax revenues and will vote for him, and almost half the people don’t pay taxes and presumably won’t vote for him. My goodness, that’s a lot of people who won’t vote for you. You wonder how he gets up in the morning. This is not how big leaders talk, it’s how shallow campaign operatives talk: They slice and dice the electorate like that, they see everything as determined by this interest or that. They’re usually young enough and dumb enough that nobody holds it against them, but they don’t know anything. They don’t know much about America. We are a big, complicated nation. And we are human beings. We are people. We have souls. We are complex. We are not data points. Many things go into our decisions and our political affiliations. You have to be sophisticated to know that. And if you’re operating at the top of national politics, you’re supposed to be sophisticated. I wrote recently of an imagined rural Ohio woman sitting on her porch, watching the campaign go by. She’s 60, she identifies as conservative, she likes guns, she thinks the culture has gone crazy. She doesn’t like Obama. Romney looks OK. She’s worried about the national debt and what it will mean to her children. But she’s having a hard time, things are tight for her right now, she’s on partial disability, and her husband is a vet and he gets help, and her mother receives Social Security. She’s worked hard and paid into the system for years. Her husband fought for his country. And she’s watching this whole election and thinking.You can win her vote if you give her faith in your fairness and wisdom. But not if you label her and dismiss her. As for those workers who don’t pay any income taxes, they pay payroll taxes—Social Security and Medicare. They want to rise in the world and make more money. They’d like to file a 1040 because that will mean they got a raise or a better job. They too are potential Romney voters, because they’re suffering under the no-growth economy. So: Romney’s theory of the case is all wrong. His understanding of the political topography is wrong. And his tone is fatalistic. I can’t win these guys who will only vote their economic interests, but I can win these guys who will vote their economic interests, plus some guys in the middle, whoever they are. That’s too small and pinched and narrow. That’s not how Republicans emerge victorious—”I can’t win these guys.” You have to have more respect than that, and more affection, you don’t write anyone off, you invite everyone in. Reagan in 1984 used to put out his hand: “Come too, come walk with me.” Come join, come help, whatever is happening in your life. You know what Romney sounded like? Like a kid new to politics who thinks he got the inside lowdown on how it works from some operative. But those old operatives, they never know how it works. They knew how it worked for one cycle back in the day. They’re jockeys who rode Seabiscuit and thought they won a race. * * * (there's more)
There's always a chance. Obama could make some horrible gaffe or we could have an economic panic. At the same time the MN Twins could make an incredible run in the next two weeks sneak into the playoffs and win the World Series.
generally, i would agree, but this is OVER. it's now just a matter of damage control for the republican party.
It's like a 20 point lead with 7 minutes left in the 4th qtr. It looks pretty bleak but stranger things have happened. This enough time left to pull of something. So long as Romney is within 2 or 3 points, he is within reach.
Take nothing for granted. There are two things that can help Mitt. And what's interesting is that we're not really talking about them (and neither are republicans) but you know behind the scenes the right is workin' it. voter suppression & dark money super PACs This is what the right is now relying on to win the election. Romney is mearly a place holder now. The right doesn't care who the candidate is as long as they win. And this is how they will do it in their minds We know that three major swing states are fighting huge voter suppression laws as we speak, PA, FL & OH. There's more, but these are the big three. And then there's this group True the Vote (based in Houston) that promise to disrupt and question anyone they think shouldn't be voting. These people are CRAZY!!!!! And we haven't seen the unleashing yet of millions of dark money from the PACs. TV is going to flooded with these ads, especially in the 11 or so battle ground states. it's far from over gary
all the damage has come from his own mouth, and he's defended it. the dems don't even need to go after him. romney will probably screw up again before the debates. even if he doesn't, obama will wipe the floor with him. i think mitt is gonna have a meltdown during the first debate. he might even cry. mcmark, i know you are girding yourself for some crazy catastrophe, but relax. it's done.
The Republican Party has a HUGE demographic problem, and as far as I can see, they are still in denial about it. Netcraft confirms: the Republican Party is dying.
It is more like Romney is down by 7 with 5 minutes left-- but it is a game in which his team has been trailing all game, against one of those Jeff Van Gundy defense/slow pace opponents that don't give you much of a chance to build momentum, and where Romney just commtted a few turnovers in a row. The relatively modest point differential is the least of your worries at this time.
In some of the tracking polls Romney even has a small lead, but the more common trend is coming out of the big polls like yesterday's NBC/WSJ poll with O up 5 or today's Pew poll with O up 8. An interesting distinction is that Rasmussen, for example, does auto-call polling; one is polled by a bot. Obama is always lower in these polls. Gallup and the larger polls (networks, major newspapers, etc.) rely only on live conversations, a much more reliable method. Or, as someone put it in some headline here or elsewhere yesterday... Obama leads among humans; Romney leads among robots.
