Dear Gallup: For WHAT is Obama Most Admired, Exactly?

Gallup has issued the results of its annual poll of Most Admired men and women.

I find the results quite depressing and ominous for the future of the country.

My initial response after reading the list was "who in the hell answered this poll?  Where did they get these people?"  Apparently Gallup says that the respondents are equal parts cell phone users and land lines;  they are supposedly from all 50 states, and are all over age 18.  In short, it seems like a fair poll on the surface.  A total of 1031 adults were polled.

And the best we can do is Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?  Seriously?

What, exactly, are we admiring Barack Obama for?  I'd be interested in a follow-up question to the Gallup respondents to see if they can cite one thing that these people did that are truly worth admiration.  Or do they just say "Barack Obama" because he's president?  Or Hillary because she's famous (infamous?).  Are these respondents political at all?  Informed on the issues?  Educated? Just breathing?

What is it that we admire about Barack Obama?

His efforts to get to the truth about the massacre in Benghazi?  Ooops, no.  Not so much.  His attempts to protect his Ambassador to Libya while stationed in Benghazi?  Nah.  Can't be that.

How about his program to sell weapons to drug cartels in Mexico?  Was that admirable?  I don't think the family of Brian Terry would think so.

Do we admire him for his absolutely relentless push to pass Obamacare, a law that is still being deciphered, its faults and foibles still revealing themselves, and the inoperable, poorly written website that accompanies it?  Do we admire him for the amateur roll out of this unworkable, giant new entitlement program?

His commitment to keep education at the state level and keep the federal government out of your child's classroom?  Not even close.

Maybe its his ability to relate to the common man, the little guy, the average Joe on the street.  Hmmm, no, it's probably not that either.

I guess it could be that people admire Obama for his commitment to the privacy of American citizens and his adherence to the Fourth Amendment.  Wait, no..., that can't be it.

His protection of the Second Amendment?  Nope, not that either.

Immigration.  That's it - protecting America's borders and saying no to amnesty.  The idea that immigrants need to follow the laws in place and follow the path to citizenship that millions have followed before.  The protection of American values and culture, the belief in American exceptionalism!  Dang it, no.  That's not it either.  Obama has just vowed to fight for amnesty (probably trying to protect the Democratic politicians on the chopping block this cycle.)

His refusal to bow to foreign leaders?  Nah.  He's done that at least eight times, not to mention chumming it up with dictators.

I don't get it.  Maybe we admire him for his golf game, his lavish vacations and White House parties, his general ineptitude and his arrogance.

As far as Hillary Clinton goes, I see nothing admirable there either.  It was on her watch as Secretary of State that four Americans were murdered in Benghazi, a situation that should never have happened given that the consulate there asked repeatedly for increased security and was denied.

On the Gallup poll Barack Obama gets 16% of the vote; runner-up to him is George W. Bush with 4%.  Hillary is at 15% with Oprah Winfrey behind her at 6%.

I just don't get it.  At best it's a dismal sign of things to come.  If we are to assume that the poll respondents are informed, educated Americans (and there's certainly no evidence of that) then all hope for conservative values in this country is lost.

At best these are people that vote.

Scary.

H/T:  Memeorandum

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.

A Shameful Mess

It seems as if everyone is talking about Benghazi.

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at the kitchen table writing checks and paying bills when my brother breezed through the front door ranting and raving about Obama's seeming dereliction of duty in Benghazi.  He's not one to usually pay attention to such things.

The Benghazi story doesn't feel like Fast and Furious did; I kept thinking Fast and Furious was going to get more traction than it did.  I mean, a murdered border agent, our government walking guns into Mexico, hundreds of dead Mexicans, drug lords, the who mess.  Well, there was a little investigation, a deeply researched book, a fair amount of outrage, but it never caught on with the general public or the "low information voter" like it seems Benghazi has.

One of the most succinct summations of this mess came from Mark Steyn's weekend column:

We also learned that, in those first moments of the attack, a request for military back-up was made by U.S. staff on the ground but was denied by Washington. It had planes and special forces less than 500 miles away in southern Italy — or about the same distance as Washington to Boston. They could have been there in less than two hours. Yet the commander-in-chief declined to give the order. So Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods fought all night against overwhelming odds, and died on a rooftop in a benighted jihadist hellhole while Obama retired early to rest up before his big Vegas campaign stop. “Within minutes of the first bullet being fired the White House knew these heroes would be slaughtered if immediate air support was denied,” said Ty Woods’s father, Charles. “In less than an hour, the perimeters could have been secured and American lives could have been saved. After seven hours fighting numerically superior forces, my son’s life was sacrificed because of the White House’s decision.”

The pain of this father is unbearable.  His son signed up to serve his country, not to be abandoned by it.

Smitty, over at The Other McCain, makes a valid point, too:

This notion of “never leaving a buddy” is pounded into every military head at every rank. Should you hold the privilege of commanding a unit, I perceive it counts double: you neither want to see a buddy left dangling in the breeze, and you really don’t want the anguish of explaining to the world why there was a death within you command.
Which brings us to our current Commander-in-Chief, #OccupyResoluteDesk. I don’t believe the principle of “never leaving a buddy” eluded George W. Bush, say whatever else you will of his policies. In contrast, you have the Obama White House needing to dispute a storythat it sends form letters to families of the fallen. Wow.

This is clearly a concept Obama can't relate to; he's more accustomed to throwing people under the bus.

Then there are those who believe that the whole Benghazi fiasco was a conspiracy theory: that Obama planned for Stevens et al, to be taken hostage whereby he would negotiate some terrific hostage deal (right about the time of the foreign policy debate), the hostages would be freed, and he would waltz into re-election in November.  That might explain the lowered security, but is there enough evidence to support this theory?  I don't know.

Senator John McCain says that it's either incompetence or a cover-up, both unacceptable:

"This is either a massive cover-up or an incompetence that is not acceptable service to the American people," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation." 

McCain said that information that has surfaced since the attacks, which claimed the lives of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, indicates the narrative provided by the White House in the days following was "patently false."

Either way, whatever it is, the responsibility of four dead Americans is Obama's.  The administration clearly does not want this uncovered before the election which is also an indication of culpability.

And what of Hillary Clinton's role?  Did she, in fact, try to get extra security for Stevens and his team?

Even so.  The buck stops with Obama.

It is a shameful mess.  And one that Obama will eventually have to answer for.



(See Doug Ross for some unraveling of this mess.)

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.

"My Number One Priority is to Always Keep our Diplomats Safe..."

#FAIL

The fact that Obama went to Vegas the night news was breaking in America about the murder of American ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens is insane.

Even crazier than that?  Everyone involved knew that Benghazi (and Stevens) was a target and nobody did anything about it.  Oh wait, actually, what they did was stand down:

The former head of a Special Forces "Site Security Team" in Libya tells CBS News that in spite of multiple pleas from himself and other U.S. security officials on the ground for "more, not less" security personnel, the State Department removed as many as 34 people from the country in the six months before the terrorist attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others.

Criminal.

Allahpundit

For some strange reason, despite the obvious jihadist presence in eastern Libya and multiple warnings from different sources that they needed better protection, State seems to have resisted calls for a more robust security presence at every turn.  

The State Department basically says nothing was amiss, that no extra support was requested, and that there was no net loss of personnel after the initial team left in August.

Read more here and here.

Pundette asks the relevant question:

It's incredible to me that no one has been fired over this; Americans, including the US ambassador, were killed. Why the decreased security? Someone has to answer that. Was it just bureaucratic stupidity and negligence, or part of the administration's effort to minimize the threat of terrorism? 

Indeed.

Do we even need to ask what the media would be saying had this happened under George W. Bush's administration?

At least this debacle is distracting us from talking about the last debacle.  The just keep coming.

Let's put it in pictures:

There Are Two Paths

Powerful.

Debate Night Distractions

There is much to blog about in the political realm this week; I hardly know where to begin.

I'm stunned by this report from The Hill:

Had the Navy SEALs captured Osama bin Laden, the United States would have tried him in federal court, President Obama said in an interview published by Vanity Fair.

“We worked through the legal and political issues that would have been involved, and Congress and the desire to send him to Guantánamo, and to not try him, and Article III,” Obama said, referring to the federal courts.

“I mean, we had worked through a whole bunch of those scenarios. But, frankly, my belief was if we had captured him, that I would be in a pretty strong position, politically, here, to argue that displaying due process and rule of law would be our best weapon against al-Qaeda, in preventing him from appearing as a martyr,” he said.

Holy crap, Batman!  I'm just speechless by that.  Federal court?  Seriously? 

Allahpundit isn't buying it for one second:

 Self-serving nonsense, presumably being pushed by O as a bit of election-season candy for the Gitmo critics in his base. See, he still believes in due process, the drone strikes and “kill list” and indefinite detentions notwithstanding.

And on a related note, congressional approval be damned, Obama has ordered the Justice Dept. to move ahead with the acquisition of Thomson son prison in Illinois.  We've been through this.  Andrew McCarthy:

The move is drawing irate responses from key members of Congress, such as Representatives Frank Wolf and Hal Rogers of the House Appropriations Committee, and Pete King, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee. But the question, of course, is whether they will do anything about it. Congress is not without remedies here; it can start slashing money from the Justice Department’s budget and other areas where the administration will feel it. To this point, though, despite serial provocations, they’ve shown no indication of a willingness to do that.

More on that at Memeorandum.

And then, of course, there is the now infamous "race video" which is just disgusting.  Has there ever been a more divisive, race-baiting, class-warfare mongering, pandering president EVER?  Can't think of one.

Oh, and let's not forget about the stonewalling this administration is doing on the Libya investigation.

That's a lot of bad mojo coming out of this administration.  As I said, much to blog about. 

But wait!  There's a debate tonight. 

Yes, I'll be blogging, as will Legal Insurrection (and probably countless others).  I'm not sure why I'm going to subject myself to it, but I intend to try.  Time to dust off my political blogging hat.

A Spontaneous Stop in a Sports Bar?

A few weeks back, on Pundette's blog, PoliticalJunkieMom pointed out how often the press now makes mention of Obama and his affinity for beer:

This is why the Obamas are making such a big deal of the home brew. 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.

Because we couldn't possible elect a president who doesn't like beer, right?   How shallow.

The pandering continues in this report by Mary Bruce who reports on Obama's most recent beer stop:

Rolling to Orlando this evening, President Obama’s bus tour made a surprise stop at a local sports bar for beer and a little college football.
“There he is,” a girl squealed, according to pool reports, as Obama walked into Gators Dockside bar and grill, doing the “gator chomp.”
The president went straight to the bar and ordered a pint of beer before working his way around the room, chatting with patrons as the Florida State vs. Savannah State game played on the TVs.

Are we really to believe that the big black armored bus was rolling down the road when Obama spontaneously saw a sports bar and decided he wanted to stop for a beer?    That the Secret Service hadn't come through and cleaned the place?  That Obama just wanted to catch the game and have a brew?

Sigh.

Okay.

There isn't much the president of the free world does that is quite that spontaneous.

That the press thinks we would be fooled by this transparent attempt to make Romney appear as The Other and Not Normal is pathetic.  It's sad.

I don't care if Obama drinks beer or if Romney doesn't.  Does anybody really vote that way?

I suppose next we'll be hearing about a new Oktoberfest celebration on the White House lawn.

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.

End of Summer, Looking to the Fall

School starts for me on Sunday - summer is over.

We have open house Sunday afternoon and then I'm back to work on Monday.  Doesn't it seem to get earlier every year?

I'm spending this week getting ready to go back to work, hitting those doctor appointments I put off during the school year (and have put off all summer), doing some back to school shopping, and finishing a few books that were on my summer reading list.

Going back to work will be good; it's always overwhelmingly busy those first few weeks but to be honest, the political news cycle has me a little disgusted and burned out right now.  The hate speech, hypocrisy and vitriol (from both sides!) has me more than a little sick and the state of things in this country right now, frankly, has me more than a little frightened.

Emotions are high right now with so much on the line in November.

And for the life of me I can NOT figure out why the polls are even close.  You mean to tell me that half of the country is prepared to turn us over to European style socialism?  That half of the country thinks that Fast and Furious was okay?  That half of the country thinks that this record unemployment was really all George Bush's fault?  Half of the country thinks that big government can just spend us out of the crisis we are in?  That cutting defense and raising taxes is the answer?

Or are there just that many uninformed people out there?  As K. Carl Smith said in Runaway Slave, voter apathy comes in two forms.  Those who don't vote and those who don't care how they vote.

Those people better start caring.  They better pay attention.

You can't vote for Obama just because you think he's "cool" or "hip."

Four more years of Obama's policies will kill this country as we know it; this is the real deal, people.  This is not a drill.  It's time to do your research and pay attention.  Do not rely on the media (or blogs!) to tell you what to do.  Read.  Research.  Look at the issues in an historical context and figure out where you want this country to go.  Look at the future as well as the past.  Read the Constitution.  If you haven't looked at it since your middle school civics class, it's time to read it again.

There's too much on the line.

Meanwhile, I'm going back to my reading list.

I'm still here.  Never quit.

Run!  Run Harder!

Get Ready For Taxamageddon

I heard a caller on a local radio talk show today say "For the life of me I can't understand why anybody would vote to re-elect Barack Obama!"

I've spent the better part of three years trying to figure out why anybody would vote for him in the first place and I've yet to find a liberal who voted for him that could coherently explain to me why they did.  All I get is mushy-feel-good tripe.

All the news around here is depressing today.  The first thing out of the gate this morning I got word that my insurance will be going up between $50 and $60 a month and the co-pay will be increasing as well.  I guess we all saw that one coming.  The closing line of the memo was a reminder that my paycheck will be less than it was last school year.

I love my job.  I really do.  I love teaching.  But this year we'll begin implementing the Common Core State Standards and a new teacher evaluation system which makes is more than extremely difficult to be scored "highly qualified" and now we'll be getting less money for it.  More pressure, less money.  

It's a condition I guess we all better get used to.  Have you read Grover Norquist's piece in American Spectator today?  It's all about "Taxamageddon" and I wouldn't advise reading it with sharp objects nearby. 

Basically, on January 1, 2013 when the tax cuts lapse, some $500 billion will be added to the nation's tax burden.  That doesn't include the ObamaCare taxes that will begin to kick in:

Of the 20 new taxes or tax hikes in Obamacare, four will take effect January 1, including a 3.8 percent surtax on investment income (on top of existing capital gains and dividend taxes) and a 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices, such as wheelchairs, pacemakers, and children’s braces.

After outlining a series of tax hikes vile enough to make one want to jump off a cliff (but do it before the death tax goes up!), Norquist closes with this:

Election Day sits only 56 days from a $500 billion tax hike, and the only way to stop it is to re-elect a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, add at least four Republicans to the Senate, and install Mitt Romney in the White House. Then, through reconciliation, the House and Senate can extend the lapsing tax cuts for one year, enough time to pass a real revenue-neutral, Reagan-style tax reform, like the one outlined by Rep. Paul Ryan, which drops the personal and corporate income tax rates to 25 percent. 

A vote for Obama is a vote for an immediate $500 billion tax hike and the long term continuation of Obama’s downward path toward the fate of Europe.

Which brings me back to the original question.  Why would anybody in their right mind vote for this guy?

Here is a liberal's take on Taxamageddon:

The fact is, once one rips the scales from one's eyes (the scales inserted by the likes of Grover Norquist) one realizes the expiry of the Bush tax cuts especially will lead to a new era of growth. Whatever minor immediate dip in GDP occurs, will be more than corrected for by higher productivity, more jobs and more investments....in labor, not just speculative capital. 

Said liberal babbles on about "al-Qaeda phantoms" and "useless wars" before concluding that the Laffer curve is nonsense and so is a vote for Romney.

The Heritage Foundation has a page dedicated to determining how Taxamageddon will affect you and says:

Taxmageddon falls primarily on middle- and low-income Americans. That’s because, contrary to the President’s rhetoric about “the wealthiest Americans,” 60 percent of the Bush tax cuts went to middle- and low-income taxpayers. The expiration of the patch on the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will cause these taxpayers to pay a tax that was never supposed to hit them, and the expiration of the payroll tax cut is a tax hike almost exclusively on middle- and low-income families.

It's all quite depressing.

Read Norquist's piece if you dare.

And vote Romney.

(Graphic via Heritage Foundation)