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Governor Romney Roasts Obama At Al Smith Dinner

Nice guys can be funny too.

 

The Politics Of Perception

Of course I have my own opinion about how the latest Presidential debate turned out, and I have listened to and read the words of many pundits on both sides.  I have also talked with several people from both parties here locally and gathered their ideas as well.  In my opinion the outcome had little to do with substance.

My democrat friends who will be voting for Obama think that Romney blew it.  They are high fiving over content that was missed by most viewers.  They of course are drilling down into the sentences and words used trying to find things to spin.

My republican friends are doing much of the same thing.  They have found things either Obama or Candy Crowley said which they are spinning like crazy into a story of lies and cover ups.  I get it .  We want our guy to win and so we will use any bit of evidence we can find to bolster our case.

But as I've said before, most of the people in this country are not fully engaged.  They don't wake up everyday thinking about politics.  They have many other things to worry about and see politics as a game which has very little direct effect on their lives.

Sure the national debt, our deficit budgets, foreign policy and stock market trends do impact everybody, but most people are struggling to pay their mortgage payments, keep their cars running, get their kids through school without incident and then, maybe, have a few minutes to spend enjoying themselves with a ball game and a beer.  They don't need Harvard economists plotting a future they might never survive to see.  They need stuff now.

That's why the democratic strategy has worked so well over the years.  Union workers, welfare moms, out of work dads and kids without jobs love it when they get something for free, now, when they sense that they need it the most.  Lots of people don't really see much change in their lives or a pathway to success.  They see the obstacle right in front of their noses and anybody who can help them today will get their vote.

And this is why the republican strategy has not worked so well over the years.  A guy in an apartment with a low paying job and a car that barely runs does not connect well with men in suits who talk about small businesses, big businesses and how the government should be helping THOSE people.  To the guy with a name patch on his work shirt THOSE people seem to be doing pretty well already.

But Mitt Romney said something the other night which I have not heard talked about much.  I picked up on it immediately during my live Facebook commentary.  He said "our party has been focused on big business too long."  I literally stood up and cheered.  He nailed it.

The republican leaders may have been raised to believe that when big business is successful more jobs are created, the economy improves, government revenues increase and the standard of living of all Americans goes up. And while that philosophy may have some merit it had much more merit in those years when most of the businesses in the world were being started by individuals.

Today however the size and scope of corporations which literally dominate the markets has given them an incredible amount of power.  They now can spend billions of their own money electing the kind of people who will make their world better.  And this fact has not been lost on the average voter.

Romney's comment is not getting any play, but it should, because despite what else they might have said, the politics which will sway voters in the next three weeks will have much more to do with the way each party and its contenders are perceived.

People will not recall exactly what Obama said during the debate unless they are political devotees, but they will keep their impressions of the candidates and which one seems more genuinely concerned about the ordinary person foremost in their minds as they vote.

The republicans might have good ideas and I freely admit that the democrats do too.  But what will really count between now and the election is how people perceive the two parties.  Romney opened the door to changing the perception and his words and his life story (one of unparalleled compassion) should be echoing throughout the blogosphere and pushed in the mainstream media.

"Our party has been focused on big business too long."  Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery and Romney's vision of recovery for America should start right there.

All News Today Is About The Debate, So Here's My Take

First of all thanks to all of you who participated on Facebook last night as we shared our thoughts in real time.  Today the pundits and reporters from across the political spectrum are writing and spinning away about the "performances" last night, choosing to focus on particular moments.  I have a different take on it.

As Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."  While the campaigns and writers for the media will harp on things like Candy Crowley's comments siding with Obama over his rose garden comment about Libya (she has since apologized, and admitted Romney had the better point) most of what counts will not be any specific words spoken, but the impression left by the two men.

Nobody is going to switch their vote from Romney to Obama because Obama accused Romney of being a rich guy.  Nobody is going to switch their vote the other way because of any one line delivered by either of them.  But people will develop an over all feel about the two men based upon body language, demeanor, confidence, perception of honesty, clarity of thought and the little things that we all use, subconsciously perhaps, everyday, to make crucial decisions in our lives.

On that score card it is  my take away that Romney was more engaged with the questions, less preachy, seemed truly interested in finding solutions, brought with him an undeniable record of success in turning around failing businesses and all of this contrasted starkly with Obama.

Obama actually had puffy eyes, a tired kind of look.  He didn't smile much at all in the beginning, appeared to be a bit intimidated and when Romney was talking about how Obama's attempts to fix things were not working, Obama's face revealed that he was fully aware that what Romney was saying was right.

I think that the audience, except for the most devoted supporters of Obama, had to have come away with the feeling that Romney is a sincere man of good intellect and compassion who not only has a desire to help this country, but who also has the skills to get it done.

They will have seen Obama as more the showman, the speaker, the guy with the gift of gab, but without a record of success, without a history of success in anything else and a guy who has been propelled to a job for which he was ill suited in the beginning and now has proven that he was not up to the job.

I believe that though the numbers might not show it for a few days yet, this race is now Romney's to lose.

The Debate: My Take

I chose to listen to the debate on the radio first and watch the replay after hearing the spin. You might be surprised how hearing but not seeing the debate affected the listeners perception.

Biden sounded more confident, more in command and frustrated by what the listener would have concluded was a weak attempt by Ryan to show loyalty to Romney despite his changing narrative on many issues. In my opinion, Ryan had a better grasp of the facts but Biden blew him off as lacking any practical experience which would justify his criticism of Obama's handling of various issues during his first term. W.C. Field's famous line "Go away son, you bother me" came to mind.

But Biden's defense of Obama got out of hand. His zeal as usual sent him spinning off into his own world where the consequences of what he was saying seemed to completely escape him.

It is as if this buffoon and his boss just can't pull their big boy pants on and govern without blaming everybody else for anything that doesn't work out as they dreamed it would. He blamed his own Intelligence services for mis-informing them about Benghazi. He blamed the Joint Chiefs for decisions which have cost lives in Iraq. He blamed President Bush for the last four years of failed economic decisions made by the Obama administration. And he blamed Ryan for showing up at a debate armed with facts rather than coming prepared to play politics.

Like it or not, it is my humble opinion that Biden fired up his base last night by being smug, self-righteous and condescending. He assumed the haughty attitude of John Kerry, the cocky "smart-ass" attitude of Obama and the "you dumb, white hick" attitude universal among the far left which has taken over control of what used to be a solidly patriotic (though misguided) democratic party.

When I later watched the split screen debate my opinion changed little except that I thought Ryan looked timid. No, his words were not timid but don't forget that I have spent over 30 years studying body language, what people are saying with their eyes and judging faces for signs of deception and worry. Ryan showed a smidgin of timidity, as if he was out gunned in the format.

In my opinion Biden did what he was supposed to do, Ryan held his own and I score it a draw except that Romney/Ryan is the team of challengers and in a championship fight the challenger has to win decisively because the holder of the crown gets to keep it unless it is forcibly taken away. Ryan didn't take the crown.

Now, add the spin. Yes Biden was rude. So what? His base is rude and would have expected no less. What was the complaint about Obama's performance against Romney? That he didn't go after him hard enough. To the left we conservatives are dumbass dolts who need to be put in our place. They have no desire to do that with facts but rather by being dismissive and treating us as if we are too stupid to grasp the complexities of their world view. Biden delivered on that score and for that reason scored a tie.

Did he make a bunch of gaffes? Of course he did, but it's Biden and since when has that ever hurt him?

Did Ryan have a perfect night? No. The story of Ryan asking for stimulus money for his state coming on the heels of his complaint about Obama borrowing from China to pay for the stimulus made him look like just the kind of hypocrite that the TEA party types have come to hate. That hurt his ticket among the conservatives who are breaking ranks these days under the stoned out misapprehension that letting Obama win is somehow a victory for their revolution.

But in the final analysis this debate won't make any difference in the outcome of the election any more than the Reds loss in the divisional playoffs makes in the pennant race. The big game is coming still coming up. And what everybody needs to remember is this one thing: We only have two choices, " Obama" or" Not Obama".

Get it?

Posted with Blogsy

And You Wonder Why Ohio Is In Play For Obama?

I know it is hard for conservative patriots in Kentucky in either party to wrap their minds around how anybody in any other place could even consider voting for Obama.  And it is particularly hard to understand how our neighbor to the north, Ohio, could be in play.  Here's the answer.  Those people keep electing THIS GUY who blames the attacks on our consulate in Libya on American foreign policy.

 

Settle Down, I'm Just Reporting What's Out There

Have you heard all the hubbub about Obama's ring?  Well as the story goes he is wearing a ring on his "wedding finger" which contains an arabic inscription which says "There is no God but Allah".  Reports say he has been wearing it since college.  And not all of the reports are from complete crackpots.  Here goes.

Arabic-language and Islamic experts claim the gold band Obama has been wearing on his wedding-ring finger for more than 30 years is adorned with the first part of the Islamic declaration of faith naturally was met with skepticism in some circles, but Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze.com news service published a report citing a Duke professor who confirmed the WND experts’ assessment.

Earlier today, before it published the report, four members of The Blaze editorial team, including Editor-in-Chief Scott Baker, cautiously discussed the Obama ring story in their “Blazecast Rewind” Internet broadcast, without mentioning WND.

TheBlaze.com reporter Billy Hallowell told Baker he spoke with a professor from Duke who read the article, examined the photos and affirmed the conclusion of the WND experts.

“Based on what he saw, he said that this is, essentially, Arabic script on the ring and that it is the first part of the Shahada,” Hollowell said.[WND]

We return you now to your regularly scheduled Idiocracy.

Who Shot First And Aimed Later On Benghazi?

Jake Tapper asked the White House this question and, not surprisingly, they dodged it.

 

All Eyes On Kentucky

Joe Biden and Paul Ryan will meet on stage at Center College this evening for the Vice Presisdential Debate and a whole lot of people will be watching.  Biden is a skillful flesh presser and disarmingly good natured mug.  Ryan is smart, focused and has the modern era conservative talking points down pat.

So here is my prediction.  First, considering how much media attention was focused on the first debate between Obama and Romney, expect the press to begin spinning this against Ryan and for Biden before the last words are spoken.  The words "make up call" come to mind.

Second, Expect Biden to get feisty and expect Ryan to take the bait.  Biden will turn the tables on Ryan by running grandma right up to the edge of the cliff and forcing Ryan to push or pull her.  Biden will come armed with enough ammo to make Ryan either look like a flip flopper or a danger to seniors.

Ryan on the other hand will try to move the discussion off of entitlement reform and onto things like foreign policy where Biden is supposed to have so much experience.  Ryan will try to force Biden to be at odds with the Administration's narrative regarding the Middle East turmoil and Biden will fire back that the Romney/Ryan team are warmonger cowboys just like Bush who broke this country's finances fighting wars and killing kids.

Ryan better be up to the lashing he is about to get.  His prep better have taught him how to be cool and in command rather than boyish and full of ideas that will cost real people real money that they really need to live.

Now, as far as the opposition research is concerned and whether Ryan can effectively use any of it at the appropriate time to inflict some deep political wounds or not, I don't know.

But expect the polls and the rhetoric to turn decidedly toward Obama with Biden getting lots of credit beginning immediately after the debate gets under way.

Moderator Of VP Debate Caught In Conflict With Obama

Let's go back to 1991.  Who was Barack Obama then?  He was not President (2009), he was not a US Senator (2005-2008), he was  not a state legislator (1997-2004), he was not a community organizer (1985-1988).  He was a senior at Harvard Law, and got a cushy job in Chicago where he got paid to write his book.

So why was he a guest at the wedding of Martha Radditz who is scheduled to moderate tomorrow's Vice Presidential debate?  Because he was a friend of the groom, the moderator's husband until 1997.  The Daily Caller has the story about all of that AND the cover up by the left stream media.

President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

After TheDC made preliminary inquiries Monday to confirm Obama’s attendance at the wedding, ABC leaked a pre-emptive statement to liberal-leaning news outlets including Politico and The Daily Beast Tuesday, revealing what may have been internal network pressure felt just days before Raddatz was scheduled to moderate the one and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night.

Both Politico and The Daily Beast jumped to ABC and Raddatz’s defense. The Huffington Post, another liberal news outlet, joined them shortly thereafter, while calling “unusual” ABC’s attempt to kill the story before it gained wide circulation.

Obama "Disdainful" Of Romney

From the Free Online Dictionary:

disdainful adjective contemptuous, scornful, arrogant, superior, proud, sneering, aloof, haughty, derisive, supercilious, high and mighty (informal), hoity-toity (informal), turning up your nose (at), on your high horse (informal), looking down your nose (at)

Now from a report at Hot Air:

When President Barack Obama stepped off the stage in Denver last week the 60 million Americans watching the debate against Mitt Romney already knew it had been a disaster for him.

But what nobody knew, until now, was that Obama believed he had actually won.

In an extraordinary insight into the events leading up to the 90 minute showdown which changed the face of the election, a Democrat close to the Obama campaign today reveals that the President also did not take his debate preparation seriously, ignored the advice of senior aides and ignored one-liners that had been prepared to wound Romney.

The Democrat said that Obama’s inner circle was dismayed at the ‘disaster’ and that he believed the central problem was that the President was so disdainful of Romney that he didn’t believe he needed to engage with him.

So if Obama's people are saying that he is "disdainful" of Romney, in context what does this mean?  Let me save about a thousand words.