It's Time to Face the Music

I can hardly bring myself to blog about Donald Trump, as you may have noticed.  I agree with practically everything Kevin Williamson wrote about him last week:

He is unfit for any office, morally and intellectually.  

A man who could suggest, simply because it is convenient, that his opponent’s father had something to do with the assassination of President Kennedy is unfit for any position of public responsibility.  

His long litany of lies — which include fabrications about everything from his wealth to self-funding his campaign — is disqualifying.  

His low character is disqualifying.  

His personal history is disqualifying.  

His complete, utter, total, and lifelong lack of honor is disqualifying.  

The fact that he is going to have to take time out of the convention to appear in court to hear a pretty convincing fraud case against him is disqualifying.

There's more.

Truth is, there are quite a lot of things about Hillary Clinton that should disqualify her as well, but they don't.

I loathe Trump.  He's boorish and crude.  He's as far from the Ronald Reagan archetype as any candidate can be.

That being said, he is going to be the Republican nominee and any attempt to derail that through a third-party run or a brokered convention will be doomed to failure and will only ensure to elect Hillary, in my opinion.

Despite George Will's conviction that Trump can't possibly win, and Josh Gelernter's third-party scenarios, I think that at this point, Republicans must unify behind Trump. Certainly nobody wants to, but reality bites.

All the talk about Mitt Romney coming in to save the day is simply garbage. He ran and didn't win, he didn't want to run this time, and he's not going to save you now. And he's the only one with a ghost of a shot.

If America wanted a successful businessman to save the day, we should have elected Romney when we had the chance, but we didn't, and we aren't going to do it now.

I had dinner with friends recently who tried to make the case that as offensive and boorish as Trump is, as president Trump will likely surround himself with people smart enough to do the job that Trump himself can't do.  Trump may be ignorant of the responsibilities of presidential office, but maybe they're right.  Maybe he'll appoint the right people.  It's the only hope we've got.

We are in for a long, miserable campaign and God only knows what after that.  I long for the days when we had class and grace in the White House but those are so far behind us now I don't think we can redeem ourselves.

Perhaps I will unplug from the internet for a few more months...

Liberal Logic 101

Liberal Logic 101:

It is acceptable to ridicule a child if that child is from a Republican or a conservative family (see:  Trig Palin, Willow Palin).

As part of its year-in-review show, MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry welcomed a panel of comedians to ridicule Mitt Romney, his family, and their adopted black grandson. One panelist poked fun at Kieran Romney’s appearance compared with the rest of the family by mockingly singing “One of These Things Is Not Like the Other” as the others laughed along. 

Meanwhile, comedian Dean Obeidallah joked that the Romney family photo “sums up the diversity of the Republican party . . . they found the one black person.”

On the other hand, if it's a liberal family, the mocking of children that are "different" is not considered.

Reminder:  Progressivism is the party of tolerance.

Live-Blogging Election Night 2012

I'll be live-blogging the results tonight; it'll be more of an open-thread sort of affair.

SCROLL FOR UPDATES

I've purposely avoided projections, predictions, and much poll analysis.  There's enough of that to go around and certainly by many more expert than this little blogger.

Allahpundit has a great post on electoral math you should read before the night gets started.  The bottom line:

If all of the above is too complicated, here’s a much simpler way to understand Romney’s task. Assuming Obama wins Nevada, all he has to do to win the election is take the big four in the Rust Belt and midwest — i.e., Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. That would put him at 271. Romney must win at least one of those four states to have any chance of victory. If he doesn’t, then he’d have to win every other battleground state — Nevada included — or else.

So.  Catch your breath and check back in a bit.

Update:  Oh, look:  Via Professor Jacobson, via PJ Tatler via Politico, a handy poll closing map!

Update 2:  Drudge is trolling.  Do not be alarmed.

I'm not going to pay attention to exit polls or projections.  I'm not going to get freaked out by every rumor.  I'm going to wait for solid results.  

Remain calm.

6:10 (CST):  Indiana flips for Romney, it seems.  Fox is calling to for Romney.  Virginia is still to close.  Kentucky is also in the Romney column.   No real surprises yet.  Mr. SIGIS and I both are on pins and needles.

6:35:  I frankly do not understand why this election is so close.  How in the world...

At any rate, right now FOX has the electoral count at 24 to 3 for Romney.  Romney has picked up West Virginia.  Still waiting on Virginia and Ohio - the big ones.

6:40:  Romney just picked up South Carolina.  Electoral count is now 33 to 3.

6:45:  Twitchy is reporting threats of looting if Obama loses.  Stay calm, America.

Reports on Twitter are that lines in Florida are still extremely long.  It's going to be a long night.

6:50:  I'm hearing on Twitter that many in Virginia are still in line and that they are delaying calling the state until the top of the hour for that reason.

6:55:  Romney picks up Georgia and 16 electoral votes bringing the count to 49  - 3.

I'm watching Fox who reports that 51% of those polled trust Obama over Romney on handling an international crisis.  WTH?  Because he did such a good job with Libya?  #fourdeadAmericans.

7:00:  I'm getting tired of the "too close to call" phrase.  I'm stressing out on Florida right now which I was pretty sure would go to Romney but is still very close.

Fox is however, calling Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Maine, and Connecticut for Obama.

Romney gets Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

The count is now Romney 71 and Obama 79.

The map right now:

Meanwhile, Bill O'Reilly is spreading doom and gloom saying Bomber-Jacket-Obama won points for loping around with Chris Christie on Hurricane Sandy relief.  He would have us believe that the American public is so gullible they forgot all about Libya and four dead Americans because Obama made pretty pictures in the media acting concerned in New Jersey.

Are you serious?

For the record, I disagree with everything O'Reilly just said.  Get the hook.

7:10:   Romney gets Tennessee - not a shock.

Virginia is still on hold because they still have long lines in both Democrat and Republican areas.  Rove thinks this is a good sign for Romney based on the counties he's looking at.

I'm still nervous about Florida.  Very close.  And it looks like Connie Mack lost there.  Not a good sign.

7:25:   For comparison's sake, here is the 2008 electoral map:

Still waiting on those all important swing states right now.

Fox is calling Arkansas for Romney (+6 votes).  Current electoral count is now Romney 88, Obama 79.  No surprises yet.  Nerves on edge.

7:35:   Ted Cruz wins Texas!  That's good news.

Democrats win the CT Senate seat.

7:45:   PA Senate goes to Bob Casey (D) over Tom Smith (R).  No Senate takeover for Republicans it seems.  The path to repeal ObamaCare just got a lot more difficult.

Okay, latest calls:

Obama gets Michigan (+16), and New York.

Romney gets Texas (+38), Louisiana, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska (at least four of the five electoral votes, that is).

The map now:

Still waiting on big swing states.

8:05:   It seems that Elizabeth Warren will win in Mass.  That's just astounding.

Still long lines in VA.

I'm watching the FL returns on the Secretary of State page and it's literally back and forth. 

They're still counting.

8:15:  Damn.  Obama gets Pennsylvania.   How in the world could a coal state vote for a President with such a profound war on coal?

Then there is THIS:

8:25:  Fox calls Wisconsin for Obama.  We lost Paul Ryan's own state.

I'm drinking now.

Liz Cheney:  "It feels like deja vu in so many ways."  No kidding.  She's still holding out hope for Romney.

The electoral map is currently tied at 153.

And the first take-back of the night:  Elizabeth Warren may not have won her race just yet.

8:40:   Mourdock loses in the Indiana Senate race.

We're screwed.

Florida is still literally flipping back and forth.  It should not be this close.

It's down to Ohio.  And Florida.  Rove sees Florida in Obama's corner right now by 22,000 votes (yet Gary Johnson has 38,000 votes right now.)  Rove still sees Florida going Romney's way but very, very close.

Reports are that Romney is leading in Virginia.  #holdingmybreath

8:50:   I'm afraid that everyone in Florida who voted for Gary Johnson, knowing he couldn't win, gave this election to Obama.  It's come to this.

Meanwhile, in Virginia, Romney is still looking good, and he is looking steady in Ohio.

And yes, Elizabeth Warren wins the Mass. Senate race after all.  Bah.

8:55:   Obama wins New Hampshire.  Plus four.

"Live free or die."  The irony is not lost on me.

The next batch of state closings are coming up which I am now anticipating with dread.

9:00:  Here we go.

Obama is leading Iowa but too soon to call.  He's also leading Nevada, but still too soon.

Romney wins Utah.  Shocker.  He also wins Montana.  Texas.

Brit Hume:  We are a center-right country.  Of the moderates, a lot of them "are actually liberals."

Looking at the Sec. of State page, Florida is looking like Obama.

Fox calls Missouri Senate for Claire McCaskill - 55% to 39%.  Akin blew that one.

Mike Pence wins as Indiana governor.

Palin is on Fox:  "This is a catastrophic setback for our economy," and cites sequestration, Supreme Court justices that will be appointed, and the debt.

9:15:   Obama gets New Mexico (+5).  Electoral count is tied at 163.  Rove is still positive for Ohio.  Megyn Kelly asked Rove if he's "feeling pessimistic" and Rove spews numbers and statistics, refusing to admit the horror of the electoral map.

Romney has to win Virginia, Florida, and one other state, says Rove, IF Romney wins Ohio.  Meanwhile, Florida voters for Johnson have given America over to Obama.

9:30:  Florida still to close to call.  Ohio leaning Obama.  Virginia leaning Romney.

Peggy Noonan:  "There is a subdued feeling to this if you are a Republican or a Conservative this evening."  Understatement of the night.  "Subdued" isn't exactly what I'm feeling.

After all this money and all this time we end up right where we were with no change at all.

Oh lord and now Fox puts Gibbs on there?  Good lord.

All this and Robert Gibbs, too?  I don't think I can stand it.

9:40:   Colorado is too close to call.  Of course it is.

Romney wins Arizona.

Many on Twitter are questioning the early Wisconsin call.  Romney is still leading there.  Will that one come back?

9:50:   Stacy McCain has updated his headline:

His late update:

UPDATE 10:05 p.m. ET: You’ll excuse my failure to report numbers from Ohio, but if Romney can’t win Florida, Ohio is moot and the numbers aren’t looking too encouraging in Florida right now.
UPDATE 10:25 p.m. ET: Obama wins Wisconisn.

Doomed.

We are waiting on Virginia and Florida.  The panhandle is still not in and it usually goes Republican.

The map now:

They are using the "R" word for Florida.  They have an automatic recount rule there if the vote is within a certain range.

9:50:  Minnesota goes to Obama.  Plus 10.

9:55:  And it gets better.  Susan Estrich is on.  They haven't pulled her out since the last election.  Any minute now they'll make us listen to Obama.  I'm pulling the plug then.

Looks like Romney is going to get North Carolina but they haven't called it yet.    Florida is still looking like Obama.  90% of the votes are in and he leads by 36,000.

Fox now calling North Carolina for Romney (+15).  Fox calls Idaho for Romney, too.  Obama gets the state of Washington and Hawaii.  And BREAKING NEWS:  California to Obama.

The electoral count is now 244 to 193 in Obama's favor.

Doom.

10:00:   Fox calls Missouri for Romney.  Count is now 244 to 203.

Protein Wisdom:

The mainstream press once again bought Obama the election. Which will buy him 4 years of an imperial presidency with nothing to stop him.
End of country.
Time to maybe start a new one, I think.  Because I’ll be goddamned if my family is going to work to pay for other people’s shit; and I most certainly won’t live in a post-Constitutional police state — at least, not without putting up whatever resistance I can.

As Bride of Rove said in the comments, "Who is John Galt?"

10:10:   On a related note, from Instapundit:

READER ZACH WHITE EMAILS: “If Obama is reelected, good hardworking people should give up and go Galt. The tipping point is the 2012 election. Will the makers finally succumb to the takers? It’s pointless to think that if America reelects the most unqualified disastrous president in recent memory, we should stand our ground and continue fighting. it’s a signal that marxist free-lunchism and free birth control for everyone trump economic well-being and prosperity in the minds of the masses. Give up. Go Galt. Protect what few assets you have left, and start to hunker down for the coming storm. 

Read the rest.

10:15:  Fox calls Ohio for Obama.

And we are done.

Florida is now moot.  As is Virginia. 

And so we are done and America as we know it is done.  Make no mistake about that.  Those of us that work and have jobs will now be working to support 50% of the country who does not work and will never be compelled to work.  Free phones, food stamps, and single pay health care will now be the order of the day.  Generational debt, economic stagnation, and a total lapse in national security.

Iran and al Qaeda must certainly be celebrating tonight.

I'm truly scared for my country, my family, and the future. 

This blog is going dark for a while. 

It is over.

Monitoring Debate Three

I'm not live-blogging but I'm watching and will weigh in.  We just returned from a retirement party for a good friend and I'm being observed tomorrow ...  so ... I'm not live blogging.

In this first segment, the moderator is letting Obama run the show and Romney is lucky to get a word in.  And Obama is misrepresenting a lot of things.  I'll have to get the transcript because I'm late getting in on this one.

I did like Romney's line:  "Attacking me is not an agenda."  Good one.

Update 1:  Hmph.  I'm interested in the time clock on this one so far.  So far this seems like The Obama Show.  Is Romney here?

America's role in the world?  Romney  - American must be strong, America must lead.  To do that you must improve the economy.  We have to strengthen our military long-term.

Tehran!  The silence of the president was a "big mistake" he says.

Obama says America is stronger now than when he came into office, but this is not true.  The low information voter will believe this.

Obama is trying to make the case that our relationship with Israel is stronger than ever but it's not working.  He says we've cut our oil imports because we're drilling so much more at home but this, too, is a lie.

Falling back on this tired and unproven rhetoric shows Obama's weakness.
That said, now Obama blaming Bush.  #Fail.

Romney pounces by lining out his plan to make America energy independent.

We can get down into the weeds but right now, Romney is very much in command of the facts and winning.

Update 2:  Obama is interrupting a lot.  Romney seems in command of the facts and not at all flustered by Obama's blustering.  

Bob Schieffer challenges Romeny:  "Where are you going to get the money," to run your agenda?

Romney:  Well, Obamacare is a good start!  Hell, yeah.  And he plugs the Tenth Amendment.  States do a much better job with this, he says.

Rick Perry is pleased.

WTF?  Obama says we "need to be thinking about space."  Didn't he cut that?

Update 3:  It seems to me that Schieffer is letting Obama run the time and the tone of this debate.  "We have these things called 'aircraft carriers,'" Obama says to Romney.  Very condescending.

Obama vows that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon.  He says he supports Israel in a conflict with Iran.

Romeny:  "We will stand with Israel."   On Iran:  a nuclear capable Iran is not acceptable. Romney vows that a military option is "a last resort" only after every other option has been exhausted.

Where are the questions on Libya?

Update 4:  WTH?  Obama says he hasn't "apologized" to other nations? Is he not aware of YouTube?

Update 5:  Romney scores on the issue of Obama's apology tour.  You skipped Israel, Romney notes, and they noticed.  Romney hit a nerve it seems.  Obama's reaction is thin skinned.

Schieffer lobs a hypothetical question at Romney who declines to play the game. He prefers to stick to the real issues.  #Score.

Still, where are the Libya quesstions?

Update 6:  As much as Obama blathers about "keeping America safe," I wonder what the family of Chris Stevens has to say about that.

Latest timekeeper has Obama up four minutes on speak time.  Shocker.

The twitter feed reports that the general public is bored with this debate and foreign policy.   Can this be true?

I'm wondering when Obama says we need "to do nation building at home," do any of these "bored" people wonder how he is going to pay for it?  Why Obama's economic policies are absolutely crippling "nation building at home"?

Ah.  Bob Schieffer just noticed that Romney is also in attendance at this debate with a question about "divorcing Pakistan."

Smh.

Update 7: Romney supports drone strikes "entirely."

Libya questions, anyone?

Update 8:  Oh please, baby!  Obama says Al Qaeda is weaker and "does not have the same capacity" to attack America that they used to.  I, respectfully, disagree.

Ask, well,  almost anyone.

Obama is rambling about cheap Chinese tires and saving jobs.  Is anyone talking about Libya yet?

DID I MISS IT?

Update 9:  Hmm.  The look on Obama's face as Romney calls China a "currency manipulator" is almost as if he's impressed; a student in class.  It's like he's never thought of this before.

Romney is in command of this question.

Romney's business acumen is showing here.  Obama's lack thereof is also showing.

Update 10:  Obama snarks back about outsourcing "jobs overseas."  - Not the point -

Score to Romney.

...... so glad I'm not live-blogging .... :|

Romney again..."Attacking me is not plan."  Defends his position on the auto bailout and says he disagreed with Bush on the auto bailout.  Obama interrupts.  I guess it's not Romney's turn to say "get the transcript" but he doesn't, exactly.  Obama:  "Let's check the record."  If Schieffer pulls out "the record" here, I'm done.

Update 11:  Obama, "Governor Romney, you keep on trying to airbrush history."  I think he's still talking about the auto bailout but he's pivoted to education, the deficit and griping about "the debt we currently have" without, somehow, mentioning that he is the one who has expanded the debt.

Romeny applies the "food stamp president" label on top of Obama's other economic failures.  Romney is coming off as very sincere that people not being able to find jobs "in a nation as prosperous as ours" is "a tragedy."  Very sincere and empathetic.

The end.

Closing.

Obama first.

Obama is pointing at the camera and says Romney wants to "take us back" to the old days where people at the top don't have to play by the same rules. He says he wants to bring jobs back to our shores (but his policies dont show that) and reiterates that the wealthy need to pay more.  His current meme is "nation building here at home" and that through tough times, "we always bounce back."

Romney:

He wants "to see peace," and wants to make "the world a safer place."  He "wants to make sure we get this economy going," which includes a track to a balanced budget.  He promises 12 million new jobs and getting people off food stamps by providing new jobs.  "This nation is the hope of the earth," he says.

Hmmmm.  Who won?

I'm giving this one to Romney only because so much of what Obama said was not true.  I did not believe his rhetoric on Israel or Iran.  Obama seemed thin skinned to me and defensive.

I think Romney should have pressed more on Libya.

I don't think that this debate will tip the scales in Obama's favor given the current "Mittmentum."  Fact checkers will find much fodder in Obama's statements.  That said, I don't think there is all that much difference is some of Romney's positions and Obama's and if so, the question comes to Israel and Iran, to me.  There is difference there.  Obama has a record on both.  And it's not good.

I give this one to Romney, but barely.

Gallup Showing a Romney Trend

The latest poll from Gallup is out and for the sixth time in a row, Romney is 50% or over:

You can download the complete trend here.

That said, I'm notorious for saying that I don't pay attention to the polls.  Much.  I mean, I don't think that we can dismiss them when they don't report what we want them to, then suddenly applaud them when they do.  I think they're just a snapshot of what is happening at the moment and that is all.

Yet then there are trends.

You can play with the electoral map here.

Rasmussen has it Romney 49%, Obama 47% today.

Donald Douglas breaks down the WSJ/NBC poll here:

Mr. Romney has pulled abreast of the president for the first time all year in the Journal poll, erasing a three-point lead among likely voters that Mr. Obama had in late September and a five-point lead earlier that month. Mr. Romney's surge followed his strong debate performance in Denver early this month and a contentious second debate with Mr. Obama last week. 

Donald rightly points out that this election will probably come down to "state by state efforts to get out the vote."

Doug Ross is feeling pretty good about Ohio:

Ohio represents a make-or-break state for both campaigns. And Hamilton County is the bellwether for the state, if the experts are to be believed. Using the 2010 results, Ohio's old District 1 very well could be a lock for Mitt Romney. And if the old OH-1 results hold, Mitt Romney is going to win Ohio by a very safe margin. I'm not in the prediction business, but I'll put a guesstimate in the comments. 

And making my point that polls really can't be trusted all that much, Clifford Thies reports that Nate Silver has gone apoplectic over the Gallup poll:

Nate Silvers, the New York Times poll guru, has gone apoplectic over the Gallup Poll. It - the gold standard of polls - is an outlier poll, he says. Suddenly, the Rasmussen Poll - that tool of the Republicans - is to be preferred. Oh, wait, not really, as it also is pointed toward a Romney win, although not as strongly. No, the new standard is this: polls that show Obama to still be ahead, they are the gold standard, no, wait, can't refer to the gold standard, I mean, the "consensus," and those that show Romney to be ahead are outlier polls.

I have a friend at work who remains flabbergasted that at this point in the election, and with the economy the way it is, why Romney has not widened the gap by now.  That this race remains close is beyond comprehension to him.  I have another friend who sees conspiracy in all the polls and all the media and believes that Romney HAS in fact pulled way ahead and that these latest polls showing a Romney trend simply reflect what can no longer be hidden.

Keep this in mind, too:

The Rasmussen Reports Senate Balance of Power rankings project that Democrats will end up with 48 Senate seats, the Republicans 47, with five remaining Toss-Ups—Massachusetts,Montana,  Ohio,  Virginia  and Wisconsin. New polling in the Florida Senate race  shows incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson with a five-point advantage. Democratic Senator Maria Cantwellremains comfortably ahead in her reelection bid in Washington. 

If Romney wins the White House he will certainly need the Senate if he intends to repeal Obamacare.

And so it goes, back and forth...until election day.

Live Blogging Debate No. 2: UPDATED

You ready?

Predictions?

8:10:  First question:  Will I be able to get a job when I graduate?  It goes to Romney first.  Romney spends the first half of his time explaining how college should be affordable and the rest about how hard it is to find a job.  Concludes with "I'm going to change that."  He does not answer the question.  I hate that.

Obama's response - applauds the kid for going to college then lists things he wants to do like build manufacturing jobs (how?), improve education, and then touts energy sources of the future and with a straight face says we have to reduce the deficit and quit paying for wars.

Crowley calls Romney back for a more specific answer.  Romney is just blaming Obama for graduates not being able to find jobs but doesn't list specifically how he's going to change that.

First impression?  The tension between the two candidates is trumping the question from the audience.

Why is it so hard for a politician to just.answer.the.question.?

8:15:  Blame Bush.  #Drink.

Question 2:  An energy questions.  Lie #1:  Obama says he has increased energy production.  "Malarkey!"

Oh, he means "clean energy".  Well, last time I checked, I can't fill up my gas tank with wind.

Romney points out that oil production is down on federal lands and has instituted a moratorium offshore.  Romney is for oil, coal, gas, and renewable energy.  "What we don't need is the president keeping us from taking advantage of our coal, oil and gas."  Romney cites Obama's war on coal.

Romney promises energy independence in eight years.

"How in the world Obama said no to [the Keystone Pipeline] I'll never know."  Score.

Romney scores on this one.

Lie #2:  Obama says we're drilling more on public lands than ever before.  BULL!

Obama tries to make the case that Romney has a war on coal.  What the hellllllll?......

Wow.

Romney's comeback - you've cut licenses in half, Romney says.  "Not true" Obama says. Fact checkers will have a field day with this one.

LMAO!  Obama says the price of gas was low when he came into office because we were on the verge of another depression (translate - Blame Bush #Drink).    He's not taking responsibility for where they are now, however.  In essence, he's saying gas prices are higher because the economy is better?  WTF?

8:25:  Romney is determined to answer Obama's lies; Crowley points out it's not his turn.  Romney is trying to be sort of aggressive here.  Points for that.  Holding his ground.

On this tax question, Romney is solid and specific.  After a vague start with that first question, he's settling into his game.  Obama has been thin skinned, I think, and deceptive.  If he has, in fact, been deceptive, fact checkers will get him.

Obama on taxes is interesting.  Is he going to address the 21 new taxes in Obamacare?

8:35:  I wish Romney would nail Obama on the Obamacare taxes here.

Obama pulls out Big Bird.  #Drink.

Crowley wanders into the weeds about what if Romney's numbers don't add up and he doesn't fall for that.  "Of course they add up," he says, and cites his extensive business experience.

Good response.

And for the record, I think these questions are sort of lame.  Now we have an equality in the workplace question.  Is this the biggest issue we have before us?

8:45:  Romney is making a point to tout his business experience in as many responses as he can.  Plus, I think he's doing a better job at showing pathos and compassion than he has in the past.  It's resonating.

On the pay equality question, Obama somehow leaps to health care.  And touts Planned Parenthood.  Planned Parenthood makes women better workers?  What?  What?!  WTH is he talking about?  (And despite what Obama says, Planned Parenthood does NOT do mammograms.)

Moving along.  Next question.

Romney points out to the "undecided voter" asking him how he will differ from Bush by pointing out that he and Bush are different people.  He cites specifics like clamping down on China with regard to trade, a balanced budget which Bush didn't have (and zings Obama at the same time), and on championing small businesses while Bush was a champion of big business.  Clear, specific answer.

He finishes up with a zinger on how Obamacare is killing small business.  SCORE.

Obama laughs.  Of course.

"We came in during tough times."  #drink.

Obama spends half his time hacking on Bush here.  Someone please tell him that Bush isn't running this year.

8:55:  On a softball question asking about his accomplishments, Obama starts with "Osama bin Laden is dead."  #drink.

Touts Obamacare, reigning in Wall Street, created five million jobs and saved the auto industry.  Fact checkers, please?

Obama says he wants to "control our own energy."   Well yes, he's doing that #NoKeystonePipeline

Romney tells the questioner if you re-elect Obama you'll get a repeat of the last four years, which we can't afford.  Romney is listing what Obama HAS NOT done:  immigration reform, reducing the deficit ("in fact he doubled it"), reduction of health insurance premiums ("they've gone up"), and "he created five million jobs after losing five million jobs."  And then hones in on food stamps.    SCORE.

Romney is specific, on point, and winning.

9:00:  An immigration question.  You going to send us back?

We welcome legal immigrants, he says, and need a streamlined, legal policy.  Green cards stapled to diplomas for math, science, trained people.  Stop illegal immigration.  No amnesty for illegals.  No magnets for illegals.  The kids of illegals should have a pathway such as military service to gain status.

They are both screwing up this woman's name.

Obama's response:  everybody wants to come here.  "We're a nation of laws.  We need to fix a broken immigration system."

OMG he really went there.  More agents on the border.   Someone ask him about Brian Terry, please!  Do those agents get guns with bullets or beanbags?

9:05:  Romney sits in his chair making notes on this response.

Candy Crowley asks Romney about self-deportation but Romney chooses to correct Obama's lies about him.  Candy is miffed.

Romney points out that Obama had the presidency and the Congress for two years yet did nothing with immigration reform.  SCORE.

"I'm not in favor of rounding up people and taking them out of this country," says Romney.

Romney nails Obama on the pension question and Chinese investments.  Candy tells Romney to sit down.  Obama is uneasy on the pension question and says, "I don't check it that often; mine's not as big as yours."  The audience laughs.

Next question:  A Libya question.  This should be good.  It's to Obama first.

Who denied enhanced security and why?

9:15:  Obama says as soon as he found out the embassy was being over run he told them to beef up security.  Wasn't it too late then?

Obama chooses to attack Romney's press release on Libya rather than answer the question.  "You don't turn national security into a political issue!"  

Oh god.  "When it comes to national security, I mean what I say."  Oh lord.  The places I could go.

Bin Laden is dead.  #drink.

Romney:  No demonstration involved; it WAS a terrorist attack but it took days for the American people to hear the truth.  And by the way, on that same day, Obama went to Las Vegas.  SCORE.

Romney points out that he should have been tending to national security business rather than campaigning.  Moving on to Iran, Israel and leading from behind.

Crowley asks about Hillary taking responsibility and asks if the buck doesn't stop with him.  #setup

Obama says he was in the Rose Garden the day after the attack and said it was an act of terror and that he would hunt the perpetrators down.  He's offended that anyone would play politics or mislead.  "That's not what we do."  Really?

But he did.

Romney pins him down:  On the day after the attack did you say it was an act of terror?  Not a spontaneous demonstration?

Candy backs Obama, Obama says "get the transcript," the audience applauds.  Romney presses the issue.  Cites Susan Rice going on five talk shows saying it was a spontaneous event.

Wow.  This last question about AK47s calls for a Fast and Furious answer from Romney.

Will it come?

Closing:  Obama - lets get automatic weapons out of the hands of killers and the mentally ill.  What about Mexican drug dealers?

Romney: not in favor of taking guns away.  Automatic weapons are already illegal.

Yeah!  There he goes!  Fast and furious!

Obama gave guns to drug lords who killed their own citizens.  "For what purpose this was put in place, I can't imagine!"  SCORE!!!!!

Double score:  Obama invoked executive privilege in the investigation.  Candy reroutes him back to assault weapons.

That's okay - he got it in.

Obama's comeback?  He's struggling.  He's in the weeds here about community colleges and education.  No comeback on Fast and Furious from Obama.

On the terror/Libya question - in the speech Obama referred to in the Rose Garden, he said:

"No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.  Today we mourn four more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America.  We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act.  And make no mistake, justice will be done."

Yet multiple times after when he was asked, he refused to call it terror.

Semantics?  Same thing?  You be the judge.

On an outsourcing question, Crowley asks who will bring Apple back from China.  Romney says we have to make America more attractive for jobs, cites regulations, lower taxes for business, etc.  Obama concedes that some jobs will never come back and blathers about tax cuts for people who don't need them.

Romney interjects:  "Government does not create jobs!"

Question:  What do you believe is the biggest misconception the American people have about you...".

Lame.

Romney insists that he cares about 100% of the American people, our kids, and says his passion flows from the fact that he believes in God.  Cites his compassion for people out of work and says he saved the Olympics.  #drink.    Romney then wafts off into what we don't have to settle for, thus blowing the chance to paint himself as a human rather than the robot many undecideds think he is.

Obama:  I don't think government creates jobs!  #LIE!  He suddenly believes in self-reliance.  Lightning just struck the White House.

He said it with a straight face, too!

Obama comes out with the 47% comment.    And puts it out of context.

Hmmm.  Who won?  I'm not sure Romney won the Libya Rose Garden question.  Obama's staff (Rice) blamed the video yet Obama says he blamed terror in his speech.  Which is it?  You can't have it both ways. Does your staff not represent you?

I think when you sift through the lies Obama put out there, Romney was more accurate.  Romney was appropriately confrontational without being Joe-Biden-Rude.  Obama was more assertive, but he lied a lot.

Draw.

There Are Two Paths

Powerful.

The Lemonade Stand Metaphor

I watched some of the talking head Sunday shows today.  What is Stephanie Cutter's strategy here?  If you lie and you stick with that lie no matter the proof to the contrary, people will eventually believe you?



I think it's a losing strategy.  She is going to have a difficult time retaining any credibility.

Not to make too much of a small thing, but I thought this piece by Andrew Malcolm was interesting.  It's just one example of a growing number of signs that the Obama campaign isn't living up to 2008 expectations.  Malcolm writes about Obama's Iowa trip last week:

Obama's experienced advance team had a bunch of flubs. That farm family with all the windmills that President Quixote loves to laud turns out to be Republicans and informed reporters after Obama's visit that he sure wasn't getting their votes this time. 

There was the state fair beer tent where Obama bought a round of Bud Lights for everyone, except the guy with the Mitt Romney sign. Great summertime photo op. Except it turns out the Secret Service closed down the guy's tent long before Obama's arrival and the small business owner lost thousands in sales. 

Then there was the caterer who wore a "Government Didn't Build My Business" T-shirt to work the president's event. 

I don't think that trip went exactly as planned.  But, more telling, according to Malcolm's piece,  was Team Obama lumbering past a little girl's lemonade stand in Marshalltown.  The big, black armored bus drove right past the child who "fell to her knees" as Obama drove by.

As Malcolm notes, "spontaneous" stops are often very coordinated, and an important president does have a schedule to keep, but imagine the photo op that would have been.

The story is more a metaphor, it seems to me, of a campaign and a man that is oblivious to real America.

The Romney/Ryan campaign, by contrast, seems the polar opposite of the Obama campaign.  On one side we have demagoguery and negative attacks and on the other side, Romney/Ryan seem to offer the optimism that we can "turn this thing around" as Ryan likes to say.  To be sure, Romney will get his share of attacks in on Obama, but it seems that the Obama campaign is particularly aggressive awfully early.

Shannen Coffin at NRO pointed out that so far Romney has been accused of:

...complicity in the death of a cancer victim, failure to pay taxes owed the United States, wanting to return the American populace to shackles, poisoning the common man with e coli, and, generally, being a very mean white guy who mistreats animals. With his selection of Paul Ryan as vice president, we are reminded that Ryan relaxes by throwing grandmothers in wheelchairs off of cliffs. 

Arguments on policy are one thing, but character attacks are another.  I've never been a fan of that approach.  Love her or hate her, what the media did to Sarah Palin in 2008 was unconscionable.  Don't remember that?  A refresher course from Professor Jacobson is here.

Mark Steyn points out that the addition of Ryan to the Republican ticket has already raised the level of the Obama campaign in that we're no talking about Joe Soptic's wife now, but about Medicare:

Underneath the poseur narcissism, the half-wit demagoguery, and the 13-figure innumeracy is bleak reality: a flatline economy, underwater property, declining social mobility, half the population getting a check each month from the government and with minimum-wage service jobs as the only alternative to long-term dependency. 

If you seriously think this election is about gay marriage or affordable contraception, you’re about to do to America what Gavrilo Princip did to the Habsburg Empire. 

The truth is, nobody cares about Mitt Romney's tax returns, his dog, or his wife's horse.  It's clear that the Obama campaign can't run on his record and so demagoguery is all they have.

I think the American people will see through that.  I think in a debate on the issues, Obama will lose.

Loose Thoughts

I'm trying to get back into the school groove.  I just want to come home every afternoon and take a nap.  I don't, though.  Then I'd be up all night.  I don't remember it taking this long to get back into the swing of things last year,though.  Oh wait.  It's only been a week.  Damn.  Seems like longer.

Since I'm too tired to come up with much original material, lets hit some links that caught my eye.

I broke faith with Peggy Noonan after she waxed rhapsodic about Obama in 2008 but she does have an interesting idea for a new Republican ad:

Republicans should do their own spot, now—one that's comic and sweet. Grandma in the wheelchair is speeding on a downward slope toward a cliff. She looks terrified. Suddenly a young guy who looks like Clark Kent—that is, like Paul Ryan—springs forward, puts his body between the wheelchair and the edge, and stops it. She looks up at him, smiles, touches his face with her hand. He smiles, turns the chair around and begins to push her back to safety. "Romney-Ryan. Trying to get things back on firm ground." 

That's pretty good, I think, except I'd change the catch line to "Romney-Ryan.  We can turn this around."   Something to that effect.  More forceful.

I like it.

Elsewhere, Bride of Rove got a giggle out of me today.  I love it when she gets on those rants:

This is embarrasing. You’ve got Biden setting new lows with the ethnic dialect and crazy-eyed babble speak. Wasserman who has no idea if Democrats are, in fact, part of the party she is in charge of, the head of the Senate accusing Romney of not paying taxes citing a rumor he heard … Holy mother of god, people! Did Romney kill his dog? Obama freaking ATE HIS DOG. 

Her overall point, of course, is that this whole election business has run off the rails and people are acting, as she would say, "sprayed roach crazy."

I can't recall ever seeing this country so polarized.  (I wasn't born during the Civil War - that might have been an exception.)  Obama's class warfare and demagoguery has divided people into the Obama camp, the Romney camp, and the I-Hate-All-Of-Them camp.  There are still some folks who are blissfully unaware of an imminent election but most of them will snap out of that soon as the airwaves become flooded with political ads.

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, about 7% are still undecided.

Speaking of polls, what's up with these polls.  I can't believe it's this close.

It's a good thing I don't pay any attention to polls.  That's damn depressing is what that is.

I can't believe anyone would consider giving this guy four more years, much less "four more beers."

Speaking of that, Politicaljunkimom has this:

This is why they’re travelling with bottles of beer: to make a rather subversive point about Romney’s Mormonism. They could do it with coffee. Or soda. But beer is the most effective way to show how “out of touch” he is while they follow the “traditional All-American home brewing” methods. 

I’m not fooled. But how many would be? What’s next, a reporter pointing out that Romney wouldn’t hold a beer summit (thank God)? Or the usual test pre-election, “With whom would you rather sit and have a beer?” would have to be hypothetical since, you know, Romney doesn’t drink. How far will the media carry this? 

Wonder if he has an Oktoberfest brew?

A friend of mine expressed concern today that there will be a Christian backlash against Romney and Mormonism.  I thought we got past all that when Kennedy was elected but maybe across the country there is still some lingering mistrust.  In this day and age where we're all supposed to be so tolerant of everything, I can't believe Romney's faith would be a big issue, but you never know, I guess.

Pretty heady stuff.  Head over to Andy's Place for a brain break.  I know Michelle Obama has been branded as the second coming of Jackie Kennedy and the epitome of style but I don't see it.  This looks like she made a dress out of the tablecloth on the picnic table.

"A renewed sense of glamour,"?  Nope.  I don't see it.

Finally, Charles Krauthammer reflect on the Paul Ryan pick:

Image. Ryan, fresh and 42, brings youth, energy and vitality — the very qualities Obama projected in 2008 and has by now depleted. “Hope and change” has become “the other guy killed a steelworker’s wife.” From transcendence to the political gutter in under four years. A new Olympic record.

In Peggy Noonan's piece, referenced above, she suggested that Romney-Ryan go against convention and campaign together as the seem to complement and balance each other.  No question that their appearances last weekend were dynamic.  I don't think they'll do it, but Ryan's presence next to Romney adds a vitality to Romney that he sometimes otherwise lacks.

More Krauthammer:

Ryan’s importance is enhanced by his identity as a movement conservative. Reagan was the first movement leader in modern times to achieve the presidency. Like him, Ryan represents a new kind of conservatism for his time. 

I think we'll be watching Paul Ryan for years to come.

And that's just fine with me!

The election is still months away and much will unfold between now and then.  The debates, for one.  That'll be interesting.

Hang in there folks.  As will I.

It's Time For a Little R and R!

I've donated to the Romney campaign twice.  The first time was when the ObamaCare ruling came down from the Supreme Court and the second time was today.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one!  The Hill:

Spokeswoman Andrea Saul announced on Twitter that the campaign has raised over $1.2 million since announcing Ryan as the vice presidential candidate early Saturday.

I think that conservatives are happy with the pick!  And I think that those who were holding back will now be on board.  Like the good professor:

I just donated to the Romney-Ryan campaign.  And in case you were wondering, maxed out. For the first time in my adult life I was proud to do so.

Around the web:

Hot Air has posted three fabulous Ryan videos, including the entire announcement event today.  I've listened to Ryan's speech three times now.  But especially refreshing (and just plain amazing) is this one of Ryan smacking Obama's health care bill:



Is this man ready for prime time?  You bet he is.

Pundette is thrilled; she has fireworks, too.

Yes, I'm happy. Paul Ryan is the guy who understands the urgency of putting the brakes on our national hurtle toward the fiscal cliff, and hence, is Obama's natural enemy.  

Michelle Malkin is very relieved; see her post (with links) here.

Robert Costa blogged about the rollout this morning noting:

The chemistry between the pair was evident, but what really made an impression was the reaction of veterans and suburban moms to Ryan. He doesn’t enthrall on the stump, but he connects. They don’t all know him well, but they like him, and they are excited.

I'd have to disagree on that "doesn't enthrall" thing;  I was enthralled this morning.  I found it refreshing to listen to a speech that was not filled with uhhhms, and uh, uh, uh staggers; one that showed humor, good nature and optimism.  Ryan seemed confident and happy to me.  Enthralling?  Yes, because I saw flashes of what is to come.

I'm not one of those who keeps looking for "the next Reagan."  There was only one Reagan.  I am, however, always looking for the bright leaders of the future.  I saw that in Marco Rubio early on (after being tipped off to him by Stacy McCain.)

I see it in Paul Ryan, too.  I was hoping, in a way, back in August that he would run.  As it turned out, I think we have the perfect ticket.  Or near perfect.

One of my favorite tweets that I saw this morning (sorry I didn't screen cap it and can't credit the tweeter) was after Romney announced Ryan as the next president.  The tweet was along the lines of "So you're changing roles?  Because if you are, that's okay with me!"

Charles Krauthammer reacts to the rollout today:

“Now here are the Republicans four years later saying, ‘well, you had your shot at charisma with this idea of hope and change. It’s not hope and change. It’s a dismal, sort of declining America. We have the ideas. We have the policies. We’re willing to risk on them. We are willing to lead on them, lead from in front. 

“And that’s what I think shifts the whole debate. It is a dynamic one about future, ideas and change. Change is now on the side of Republicans, where as it was on the policy of this side of the Democrats in 2008. And they can make a coherent case of that as we heard Ryan doing in his introductory remarks.”

Be sure to check out Doug Ross's post on the best reactions to the Ryan selection; especially rich is Ryan Lizza who notes that Paul Ryan is "light on experience."  Yes, well, we knew that was coming.

For my part, for today, I'm not going to read any negative lefty attacks today.  (Team Obama started attacking Ryan before Ryan's speech was over.)  There will be plenty of them and there will be time for that in the days to come.

Just for today, I'm going to bask in the optimism and the return to American values that Romney/Ryan will be serving up in November!


(Memeorandum is all about the pick today; many links and much more there.)

Romney and the NAACP Ad

So, what do you think about this ad?



I'm at cross purposes with it.  We all know the NAACP received Romney for the most part with reservations.  He even got boo'd when he said he'd repeal ObamaCare.  There was the occasional polite applause.

The lefties are upset with this ad because it seems to show the NAACP giving Romney support and applause, a standing ovation, even.  Horrors!  A black person might support a Republican?  OMG!

As far as ads go, I think Romney ought to hire the guy who was doing Rick Perry's ads; while Perry didn't make it, he had some really great ads!

But, having seen Runaway Slave, and having read books by black conservatives like Deneen Borelli, Marvin D. Rogers, Mason Weaver, and Star Parker, I know there is some black support for Romney and I think it's growing.  I don't think Obama will get 95% this time.

What do you think about the ad?  Is it "open and transparent"?  Is it deceptive?  Does it work?

Romney-Rice?

Bill Kristol, who famously favored Sarah Palin, is "reading the tea leaves" and thinks Condi Rice might be on Romney's short list:

Rice wowed the crowd—and seemed to impress Mitt Romney, who was standing beside her—when she spoke in a featured role at a Romney campaign event two weeks ago in Park City, Utah. Rice is qualified, would be a poised (if novice) candidate, and would complement Romney in terms of area of expertise, gender (obviously!), and life experience. Rice offers an unusual combination of being at once a reassuring pick (she served at the highest levels of the federal government for eight years) and an exciting one. 

What's more, while the other VP possibilities have decent but middling favorable/unfavorable ratings(and are mostly unknown), Rice's favorable/unfavorable, according to a Rasmussen poll a couple of months ago, is a pretty staggering 66-24. Rice has said she's not interested—but Dick Cheney said he wasn't interested at this point in 2000. 

Adding fuel to the fire, Daniel Halper reports that Condi is sticking her toes back into political waters and raising money for ShePAC:

But, no, Rice is not (yet) throwing her hat in the ring. The email did not indicate that she had changed her mind--and that she would now accept the vice presidential slot on the Republican ticket if Romney were to offer it. What's more, it was a mass email, surely sent to many, many folks. 

Instead, Rice is going political, and fundraising for "ShePAC, a new group that is working to Support,Honor & Elect conservative women, to talk about these ideals," as Rice describes.  

This email does illuminate an important fact, however: Condoleezza Rice is now seeking to be a part of election politics. And seeks some sort of role this election cycle. 

Whereas before, certainly since the Bush administration (and, one could argue, while even in the administration, since her job was strictly not political), Rice strayed from politics, usually at more than an arms length. But now she wants in. 

What do you think?

The ObamaCare Verdict Live-Blog

Here we go.

As we wait for the long anticipated Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare here are some links you might be interested in.

Legal Insurrection is on the story and will be updating.  Professor Jacobson's analysis is always spot on.

ScotusBlog will have the ruling immediately at their live blog site here.

Tabitha Hale outside the Supreme Court and offers this picture of the chaos outside:

Stay tuned for updates.

Update 1:  More coverage at CSPAN.

Ed Morrissey has an open thread up at Hot Air.  His prediction?

 I think there’s still a decent chance that the court might uphold it, but a slightly better chance that the whole thing will get tossed, more out of convenience than anything else, but the mandate will still be the key. 

The only prediction I'm making is that the ObamaCare ruling will be the last one.  There are other rulings to come in like the Stolen Valor case.

Update 2:  Here come the opinions.

Alvarez case:  the decision of the Ninth Circuit is affirmed.  Stolen Valor is unconstitutional but Congress may be able to do a new law.

Update 3:  Mandate is unconstitutional via Fox.

The opinion is authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Wait:  SCOTUS blog says the individual mandate survives as a tax.  Everyone is trying to figure it out.  The mandate may have been struck down in the commerce clause but struck down as a tax.

Don't panic yet.

Update 4:  It appears that the mandate survives; Chief Justice joins the left side of the court on the mandate.  The law will stand.

The law will stand.

Well, this buts Romney in a difficult position, doesn't it?  One of his campaign points is that he will repeal ObamaCare on day one.

Update 5:  Obama will speak within the hour on the decision.  I won't be watching that one.  Sorry.

Professor Jacobson has a pep talk.

Update 6:  There will be a lot of parsing to come.  I'm no legal expert by any means.  But it seems to me that what they've said is that if you don't buy insurance then the government can "tax" you.  The government can mandate that you buy insurance and if you don't, they can tax you.  Can't we repeal taxes?

You want to read the decision?  Here it is.

Let's find some more informed commentary.

Shannon Bream broadcasting from the steps of the Supreme Court, says that the Court holds that Congress cannot penalize states by taking away their Medicaid funding, under the ruling if the states refuse to accept the new influx of new Medicaid patients..

Statement from Mitch McConnell:

“Today’s decision makes one thing clear: Congress must act to repeal this misguided law. Obamacare has not only limited choices and increased health care costs for American families, it has made it harder for American businesses to hire. Today’s decision does nothing to diminish the fact that Obamacare’s mandates, tax hikes, and Medicare cuts should be repealed and replaced with common sense reforms that lower costs and that the American people actually want. It is my hope that with new leadership in the White House and Senate, we can enact these step-by-step solutions and prevent further damage from this terrible law.”  

Nothing yet from Romney.

Update 7:  On Twitter, Michelle Bachmann:

Ed Morrissey:

So what now?  Mitt Romney and Republicans can now run on repeal as a big issue in the campaign.  They should emphasize the tax argument when they do, because this tax hits everyone.  The ruling may alleviate some of the bad polling the ACA has received, but probably not by much.  It’s going to remain deeply unpopular for the next few months.  On top of that, the decision to uphold the law also means that the fight is still on over the HHS contraception mandate.  We can expect the Catholic bishops to keep up the pressure on the Obama administration’s attempt to define religious expression for the purpose of controlling and limiting it — and we can probably expect the challenge to it to reach the Supreme Court, too. 

 Eric Cantor has announced that the House will vote (again) to repeal the health care law on July 11.  For all the good that will do.  Why bother?  The Senate will laugh and throw it back.

Update 8:  As the folks at SCOTUSBlog parse the opinion, Amy Howe notes that "those subject to the individual mandate may lawfully forgo health insurance and pay higher taxes, or buy health insurance and pay lower taxes."

It seems to me now that the thing to do is to defeat Obama in the fall and take the Senate.  That's never been more important.

For the record, the stock market is currently tanking.

Update 9:  Check out this "calculator" at WaPo to see how ObamaCare will affect you.

Current Drudge screenshot:

Certainly this all becomes a political issue now.  ObamaCare is the largest tax in American history.

Via Twitter, the Romney campaign says they've raised over $100,000 since the ruling came down.

Update 10:  Juan Williams:  "We live in very partisan political times."  That's why they pay him the big bucks to comment on Fox News.

Awaiting comments now from John Boehner and Mitt Romney.  I won't be covering Obama's comments.  You can find that on your own if you're so inclined.

Via Twitter:

Exactly!

Update 11:  Lots of reaction at Memeorandum.

Update 12:  So much for civility in discourse.

Marco Rubio on Fox:  "You don't have to buy health insurance but if you don't you're out of compliance and you have an IRS problem."

Jeffery Lord says this could be the beginning of a political revolution:

Obama…who adamantly insisted the individual mandate was not a tax…has now been saddled by the Supreme Court as the taxer-in-chief.This in fact can be a huge potential victory for -- Mitt Romney.This is Romney's moment to lead the charge against tax increases, in this case the ultimate insult -- a tax for simply drawing a breath. A tax mandated by the Supreme Court and propagated by his opponent.

Still awaiting comments from Romney.

Update 13:  Ann Coulter tweets:

And VP contender, Bobby Jindal:

Romney in his speech now vows to repeal ObamaCare.

"What the court did today was say that the court does not violate the Constitution."   Romney says the law is bad law and raises taxes on the American people by $500 billion dollars and cuts Medicare by $500 billion dollars.  Romney says up to twenty million Americans will lose their current insurance under ObamaCare and that ObamaCare is a job killer.  "Most troubling of all is that ObamaCare puts the federal government between you and your doctor."

Romney wants to keep in place pre-existing conditions coverage.  He also vows to help lower the cost of health care and health insurance.

"This is the time for the American people to make a choice," he says.  Are you comfortable with more deficits?  Bigger government?  Or do you want to return to a time when consumers make their own choices in health care.

If we want to get rid of ObamaCare we have to get rid of Obama, he says.

"We must replace ObamaCare."

Romney took no questions.

The stock market is -135.51 right now.

I'm going to sign off here for now.  We've still got the Eric Holder contempt vote today so maybe there will be some nugget of fun today.

Do no be disheartened.  Regroup and reload.  We have the ballot box in November and like it or not, your best shot right now is Mitt Romney.  Get involved and do whatever you can to support Romney and get him elected.

Retake the Senate.

Never give up.