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| “I can’t get my head around this.” |
For Romney, a day of scattered campaign messages
September 15, 2012 12:21 am
By Karen Tumulty / The Washington Post/Post Gazette
PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- For a campaign that has been so proud of its discipline and focus, Mitt Romney's message Friday was exceptionally diffuse.
In the morning, he was bantering with television personality Kelly Ripa about his guilty pleasures, that he wears "as little as possible" when he sleeps and that he's "kind of a Snooki fan."
By afternoon, he was standing in pouring rain, his hand over his heart, starting his Painesville rally with a moment of silence for the four Americans killed this week in Libya.
These were the discordant messages the Republican presidential nominee offered at the end of a trying week, in which he struggled both to sound the right tone about protests sweeping the Middle East and to get a foothold in battleground states that will decide the November election.
Mr. Romney's pre-taped appearance on "Live!," the television show hosted by Ms. Ripa and former New York Giants star Michael Strahan, was part of the candidate's continuing effort to show his softer side to female voters -- a group with whom he is struggling to connect.
On the New York set for a show scheduled to air Tuesday, Mr. Romney gushed about Nicole Elizabeth "Snooki" Polizzi, the potty-mouthed star of the MTV series "Jersey Shore." He marveled: "Look how tiny she's gotten. She's lost weight. She's energetic. Just her spark-plug personality is kind of fun."
But coming at a moment of international crisis, as U.S. embassies in the Middle East were beset by anti-American protests, the interview brought shudders from some Republicans who fear that his campaign is running aground in its final stretch.
"I can't get my head around this," said John Weaver, a former strategist on Republican John McCain's 2008 presidential campaigns. "What is their message? What is going on here? This is not a complicated race against Obama."
Mr. Romney's campaign defended its decision to do the Ripa interview, with advisers pointing to moves by the Obama campaign Tuesday that they said were impolitic on a national day of Sept. 11 remembrance: President Barack Obama did a radio interview with a Miami deejay nicknamed "Pimp the Limp" and raised money in Las Vegas.
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Desperation is setting in and even the Republican base is starting to question - Did Romney ever run anything correctly? He's for all sides of all issues. He’s not Obama - and that’s not enough to win an election.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Romney could pretend to be somebody else - but who? He has already played a dozen different personas. How much of a repertoire does he have?
Well, Mitt's got nothing on Kevin Spacey.
ReplyDeleteThat was a treat and no, it is never over. The players just change chairs. What is the date on that clip?
DeleteThe primary process has been a disaster for the Republicans. Why do they continue it? All it does is allow the media to pick their candidates.
ReplyDeleteThe process is stupid beyond belief.
Bush, McCain, Romney. Maybe gasoline will go to $5 gal. See if that helps.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it with the British royals? One week we have a prince bottomless and the next week, a future queen, topless.
ReplyDeleteHillary Clinton seems to be going through a hair and makeup crisis. I guess that is better than her stand up comedy skits.
ReplyDeleteThen there is our leader of 57 states. The genius.
ReplyDeleteSeptember 11th turned out to be just another day on the Obama-Biden campaign website: A fundraising memo from first lady Michelle Obama, a pitch for gay rights including a rainbow-colored American flag, and a campaign picture under the headline "Photo of the day--September 11th, 2012."
ReplyDeleteOh, there were two tweets to commemorate the 9/11 attacks, but finding them was hard.
By comparison, the Romney-Ryan campaign features two blog entries, one from Mitt Romney and the other from Paul Ryan, and a 9/11 news release. The Romney campaign homepage featured a tweet and Facebook note about 9/11.
The president's homepage had no 9/11 mention. Instead, it led with a blog note from Michelle Obama. "I know we've been asking a lot from you lately. What I'm asking today is easy--but critical if we want to win this election. Please take a moment to commit to vote, and get at least one other person to do the same,” she wrote.
Obama forgot about 911, but his new best buds in the ME didn’t.
Who da thought? Imagine no one even noticed.
ReplyDeleteThe chilling report by The New Century Foundation, called The Colour of Crime [PDF], shows in unflinching statistical detail, that in the USA:
Blacks are seven times more likely than people of other races to commit murder, and eight times more likely to commit robbery.
The single best indicator of violent crime levels in an area is the percentage of the population that is black and Hispanic.
Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.
Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Forty-five percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic. When whites commit violent crime, only three percent of their victims are black.
Blacks are an estimated 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against a white than vice versa, and 136 times more likely to commit robbery.
Blacks are 2.25 times more likely to commit officially-designated hate crimes against whites than vice versa.
Meanwhile, over here in Our Country (UK) the pattern appears to be much the same:
Blacks are 5 times more likely to commit violence against the person.
Blacks are 4 times ‘more likely’ to commit sexual offences.
Blacks are fifteen times ‘more likely’ to commit robbery.
Blacks are over six times ‘more likely’ to commit fraud and forgery.
Blacks are over twice as likely to commit criminal damage.
Black are five times ‘more likely’ to commit drugs offences.
Source: The UK Government
I would be more interested if they had put at least two more variables into the study: Income, and Education.
DeleteThen we could compare, say, higher income, and/or College Educated Blacks vs Lower Income, and/or HS Dropout Whites.
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DeleteThe post-convention surge that is often anticipated by both political parties in polling data appears to currently benefit President Barack Obama, who leads Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney by 11 points among likely voters in the Keystone State, 50% to 39%, with a margin of error +/- 4%.
ReplyDeletePennsylvania Democrats are more consolidated behind Obama, with 77% in favor of Obama and 13% in favor of Romney, while Republicans are 18% in favor of Obama and 71% in favor of Romney.
The voters provided their opinion of the President, with a 56% favorable/40% unfavorable rating.
Most disconcerting news for the pubs - even Rasmussen is showing Obama pulling ahead in Florida. Obammie wins Fl, and you can piss on the fire, and call in the dogs; the hunt is over.
DeleteWhat we need is for Quirk to interview each candidate on his Q-Questions-U program.
ReplyDeleteGet to the bottom of this Dick and Dick campaign.
......
Hillary really is freaking out lately. I think Huma is playing around on her.
......
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/09/14/why_romney_will_win_115452.html
Dick Morris of course has it right.
Dick Morris is a stooge.
DeleteBought and paid for by Rupert Murdock.
Murdock is a man with an agenda.
His own poll, done and paid for by FOX News has Obama up by 5%, nationally.
So FOX News has ignored its own poll in its' shows.
As does Mr Morris.
Love that monkey! Could smile at you and take your money at the same time.
ReplyDeleteAnd, look at this great news -
ReplyDeleteSTUDY: Sex Makes You Smarter, Causes Brain Growth...
Cheer up!
In a poll the other day, 54% Opposed the Repeal of Obamacare.
ReplyDeleteAdmittedly, this was during the "bounce" period of the Democratic Convention, but it forces Romney to reassess one of his biggest talking points - the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Romney must be a very arrogant man. He cannot be taking advice from a political advisor unless he is using McCain.
ReplyDeleteArrogant is a description that is benevolent to Mr Romney.
ReplyDeleteRCP has Obama up in Ohio, by 4.2%.
In Florida by 1.3% while Rasmussen has Obama up by 2% there.
In Colorado RCP has Obama up by 3%
Nevada, Obama by 3.3%
New Hampshire, Obama by 4%
Of the swing toss-ups Romney is only up in North Carolina by 4.8%, RCP.
For Romney to win, he has to carry those swing States where he is behind, today.
DeleteOhio and Florida the most pressing.
No GOP candidate has ever won, while losing Ohio.
I wonder how much longer they can keep Ohio, New Hampshire, and Nevada in the "toss-up" bin.
DeleteAs long as possible, or the race loses viewer attention, with those States out of the mix, Romney and the GOP quickly fade into the arena of political irrelevancy, taking the ratings with them.
DeleteNo one in TV Land, from Rupert Murdock to Al Gore, wants that.
True, dat.
DeleteActually, the demographic that's keeping Romney alive is the "Over 65" crowd.
ReplyDeleteObammie needs to get Bubba doing some "Ryancare/Medicaid/Nursing Home ads.
You didn't build that?
ReplyDeleteWho said, "95% of your life is settled if you're Born in America?"
hint: It wasn't Barack Obama
Link
DeleteThe Financial Times reports...
ReplyDeleteTens of thousands turn out for anti-Putin protest
By Catherine Belton and Courtney Weaver in Moscow
Can this be considered a "Big Win" for President Obama's foreign policy with regards Russia ... ???