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President Obama Finished More Strongly in Deep South Than Any Other Democratic Presidential Candidate

November 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment
300px Seal Of The President Of The United States Of America.svg President Obama Finished More Strongly in Deep South Than Any Other Democratic Presidential Candidate

President Obama Finished More Strongly in Deep South Than Any Other Democratic Presidential Candidate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Judging from President Obama polling well in some red states like South Carolina, Georgia and narrowly losing North Carolina in the presidential election, some parts of the Deep South aren’t as Red as you think. President Obama finished more strongly in the South than any other Democratic presidential candidate in three decades. The Washington Post said that underscores “a fresh challenge for Republicans who rely on Southern whites as their base of national support.”

Washington Post:  ”Obama won Virginia and Florida and narrowly missed victory in North Carolina. But he also polled as well in Georgia as any Democrat since Jimmy Carter, grabbed 44 percent of the vote in deep-red South Carolina and just under that in Mississippi — despite doing no substantive campaigning in any of those states.”

“Much of the post-election analysis has focused on the demographic crisis facing Republicans among Hispanic voters, particularly in Texas. But the results across other parts of the South, where Latinos remain a single-digit minority, point to separate trends among blacks and whites that may also have big implications for the GOP’s future.”

I would also add that the Republican Party also has another problem — moderates have been squeezed out. It is also quite clear that they won’t get 25 percent of the black vote, but as Henry Barbour (nephew of former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour) said, the party has to figure out how to appeal to those black voters who share their core beliefs. At the same time, the race-baiting from the GOP has to stop if they want to appeal to black and Hispanic voters.

President Obama Finished More Strongly in Deep South Than Any Other Democratic Presidential Candidate
Filed Under: Barack Obama, Presidential Election, Race in America Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Right-Leaning Chicago Tribune Endorses President Obama, Slams Mitt Romney as “Astonishingly Willing to Shift Positions”

October 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
7189681531 439da6f4fb m Right Leaning Chicago Tribune Endorses President Obama, Slams Mitt Romney as Astonishingly Willing to Shift Positions

Right-Leaning Chicago Tribune Endorses President Obama, Slams Mitt Romney as “Astonishingly Willing to Shift Positions” (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

Chicago Tribune endorses President Obama:  For the second time in its history, the right-leaning Chicago Tribune endorsed a Democratic candidate for president — President Obama a second time. The 165 year old newspaper lauded President Obama’s careful projection of military power abroad and pragmatism, not expected from a rookie president, as the ”dominoes toppled” as the economic quagmire unfolded. The Chicago Tribune editorial reads:

Four years ago, when we endorsed Obama’s run for the White House, we said he would act with decisiveness and intellectual rigor. Ironically he has shown those attributes most where Americans might have expected them least.

[...]

And Mitt Romney? He projects himself as a sure-handed chief executive, a proven leader who solves problems. He has, though, been astonishingly willing to bend his views to the politics of the moment: on abortion, on immigration, on gun laws and, most famously, on health care.

As a governor, his signature issue was the deal he cut with Democrats to extend health care — and a health insurance mandate — to all citizens. Romneycare was the Massachusetts model on which key elements of Obamacare were modeled. Yet Romney won’t acknowledge he is, in effect, the godfather of the national health care plan he vows to repeal.

His proposals to achieve a balanced budget, and to begin reducing taxpayers’ huge debts, rest on questionable math and rosy assumptions.

The paper slammed Mitt Romney as shifting positions and “astonishingly willing to bend his views to the politics of the movement on abortion, on immigration, on gun laws and, most famously, on health care.” I wonder what reason John Sununu will give for the Chicago Tribune endorsing a black president a second time around?

 

Right Leaning Chicago Tribune Endorses President Obama, Slams Mitt Romney as Astonishingly Willing to Shift Positions
Filed Under: Barack Obama, Chicago News, Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Novelist Jay McInerney: Obama Deserves Second Term Because “Disappointed but Not Yet Betrayed Us”

October 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment
300px Obama Portrait 2006 Novelist Jay McInerney: Obama Deserves Second Term Because Disappointed but Not Yet Betrayed Us

Novelist Jay McInerney: Obama Deserves Second Term Because “Disappointed but Not Yet Betrayed Us” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since the Israelis, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are trying to influence the presidential election, I guess it follows that the Brits should be expected to take a position as well. The Guardian’s Jay McInerney says President Obama deserves a second term.

Jay McInerney on Obama: The best we can say about Obama’s foreign policy record is that he’s not George Bush, that he managed to end the absurd and unjustified war in Iraq. His escalation of the war in Afghanistan has been a failure – every foreign power to invade Afghanistan has been humiliated in the end. Sarkozy took the lead in rallying Nato to aid the Libyan rebels, and Obama’s failure to aid the Syrian rebels seems increasingly like a betrayal of his stated ideals and a failure of leadership.

And yet… the symbolism of an African-American president is still incredibly potent, even after four years. (Yesterday I spotted a poster in the window of a barber shop in the largely African-American South Bronx – a portrait of Martin Luther King under the caption “The Dreamer” beside a portrait of Barack Obama; caption: “The Dream”.) He remains the most charismatic of world leaders. One gets the sense of a man who is comfortable in his skin, comfortable with his place in the world, of a man who generally means what he says, and says it elegantly. It’s hard to get any sense of the personality of Mitt Romney, who seems like a robot with excellent hair.

Obama may have lost some of his mystique, and disappointed many of us, but he hasn’t yet irrevocably betrayed us, or his ideals, and he will probably get another chance to fulfil some of the great expectations of 2008.

While I have always been tepid on the Obama presidency, the alternative is not is not attractive in my opinion. Mitt Romney, who was Massachusetts “vacationer-in-chief” cannot tell us with a straight face how his proposals will help the middle class, much less what tax loopholes he plans on closing. The comments left by readers of McInerney’s article, mostly written by Americans, are interesting, some insulting. Here’s a sampling:

–I’d have been more impressed by Obama if he were a socialist, but the chances of a socialist President being elected in the United States is even slimmer than the chances of a socialist being elected as Prime Minister in the United Kingdom. He’s a centrist, and on home turf at least he poses little or no threat to most of the citizens and residents of the U.S. The same may not be said of Romney and Ryan, who are a frightening pair, and who are likely to do a great deal of damage inside and outside the U.S. The best I hope for these days is a President who will do little harm, and Obama is the only candidate who fits that description.

–Obama is a nobody. I voted for him, and now I am sorry that I did. He hasn’t accomplished anything in four years, nothing, nada. I look forward with enthusiasm to getting him and his people the hell out of DC. Go back to Chicago and be nothing again for all we care. Our mistake.

–The only good thing about him is he isn’t as bad as the other.

–John Edwards might have been good.

–You only have to look at the alternative to see that Obama must have a second chance.

–He’s done a great job of not being a Republican President. And whilst I’d love for America to be run by a bona fide leftie, we all know that’s never gonna happen.

–If Obama wins he keeps out the guy who’s backed by misogynists, racists,homophobes, evangelicals, and other assorted nutters. That’s the best we can hope for from a US election. Always vote for the least worst option.

–When an electoral system allows a choice between 2 options, then it’s enough to say “at least he’s not Bush” or “Romney will do more harm”.

–American politics is fundamentally dead – no President can fix the damn place – even if a left-centre politician gets the keys to the White House as Obama did, the inherent nature of modern American politics handcuffs him.

Rupert Murdoch sent the following tweets:

Novelist Jay McInerney: Obama Deserves Second Term Because Disappointed but Not Yet Betrayed Us
Filed Under: International News, Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Mitt Romney Continues to Close Gap in Swing States But Is It Enough to Beat Obama?

October 13, 2012 by 2 Comments

Though Mitt Romney continues to surge in both national and swing state poll, Nate Silver now gives him a 38.9% chance of winning the presidential election. That’s good news for President Obama at this juncture but he has to come with guns blazing at the debate next week. Some of Joe Biden’s spirit needs to rub off on him.

“The only really good news for Democrats is that Mr. Obama had built up a large enough cushion that he could withstand a lot of damage without becoming the underdog. The forecast model still has him clinging to narrow leads in Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nevada, states that in some combination would give him 270 electoral votes.”

The Week: Is Romney taking over in the swing states?

Filed Under: Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

President Obama To Wealthy Donors: Last Days of Reelection Campaign Not About “Clinging On to An Office”

October 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment
8051267396 cc912979e4 m President Obama To Wealthy Donors: Last Days of Reelection Campaign Not About Clinging On to An Office

President Obama To Wealthy Donors:  Last Days of Reelection Campaign Not About “Clinging On to An Office” (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

President Obama told a group of donors at his second fundraiser in Los Angeles on Sunday that his reelection campaign isn’t about “clinging on to an office. It’s not about power. It’s not about perks. It’s not about winning. It’s about can we sustain over the next 30 days and then over the next four years … the sense that there’s something about this country that allows everybody to get a fair shot.” Um, so does that explain his horrible presidential debate performance? Bill Clinton made the case for his reelection better than he has. He should have learned a valuable lesson from Clinton — you have to govern from the middle as a centrist, which he has failed to do.

Comparing 2008 to 2012, he said it was “kind of cool to be an Obama supporter” four years ago. Some who supported him early could “go around saying I told you so.” But now, as then, “there are times you have to grind it out.”

[..]

“There are times during the course of a presidency when you are so focused on policy and Congress and data and analysis. And yet one of the wonderful things about the presidency is that at least once a day you’re reminded, that’s why you do it,” he said.

Wrapping up he said, “We’re not finished yet. And I’m a big believer in closing the deal.” “You will see me working as hard as I’ve ever worked for the next three years” he continued, before correcting himself – “the next 30 days. It will seem like 3 years. And then you’ll see me working as hard as I ever had for the next four years.” Source

Well, let’s see how he will close the deal. Sorry if I am coming across a little cynical but I am. One debate doesn’t derail one’s chance at the presidency, but there are signs that it could. For example, former president George H. W. Bush looked down at his watch during a debate with then-candidate Bill Clinton and went on to lose. Al Gore sighed loudly and looked disinterested during his race against George W. Bush and lost. John Kerry said he was for the war, then he wasn’t and got lost in his own mess and was defeated. President Obama should be walloping Mitt Romney in the polls with a month to go. He’s not and I hate to say it, but Mitt Romney could win this thing.

Here’s the latest tracking poll on the state of the presidential race:

President Obama To Wealthy Donors: Last Days of Reelection Campaign Not About Clinging On to An Office
Filed Under: Barack Obama Tagged With: , , , , , ,

US Consumer Confidence Jumps to Highest Level Since February, Wonder What Romney Thinks?

September 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Associated Press reports US consumer confidence is at its highest level since February:

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.3. That’s up from 61.3 in August, which was revised higher. And it’s the highest reading since February, when the economy added 259,000 jobs.

Filed Under: Latest News, Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Obama Continues to Widen Lead Over GOP Rival Mitt Romney Still Stung from 47 Percent Insult

September 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Obama continues to widen lead:  Here are the latest polls for today, with President Obama widening his lead in battleground states as Mitt Romney continues to face skepticism over his 47 percent insult, even though he’s singing another tune, that he’s for the 100 percent. Right. When donkeys fly. It should be noted that Ohio Gov. John Kasich is critical of Mitt Romney’s comment saying,

Here are the today’s swing state polls (will be updated as needed throughout the day):

Florida: Romney 48%, Obama 44% (Caddell/McLaughlin)

Florida: Obama 49%, Romney 46% (We Ask America)

Michigan: Obama 52%, Romney 38% (Detroit News)

New Hampshire: Obama 47%, Romney 40% (YouGov)

North Carolina: Obama 46%, Romney 46% (YouGov)

Ohio: Obama 47%, Romney 44% (Caddell/McLaughlin)

Pennsylvania: Obama 48%, Romney 42% (We Ask America)

Wisconsin:  Obama 52% to 45% in a new poll from (Public Policy Polling)

Filed Under: Polls, Presidential Election Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Republicans Growing Nervous Over Mitt Romney’s Vagueness on Policy Issues

September 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
7761056528 afd176cfd5 m Republicans Growing Nervous Over Mitt Romneys Vagueness on Policy Issues

Republicans Growing Nervous Over Mitt Romney’s Vagueness on Policy Issues (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

COMMENTARY:  Republicans are in a quandary again about Mitt Romney. This time they are growing skittish over his vagueness about tax reform and other policy issues. We have called out Mitt Romney on a number of issues, but some have accused The Hinterland Gazette of being partisan, leaning towards the Obama administration. That’s not the case. We believe Mitt Romney’s vagueness on tax reform, releasing his tax returns, Bain Capital tenure, tax cuts, Medicare and Medicaid reform, and other issues will be his downfall come Election day. I can’t wait to watch the debates and see Obama demolish him for his “multiple choice” stance on a myriad of issues.

Too many red flags are popping up where he and his running mate are concerned. Simply saying you will take care of the middle class isn’t enough, unless you are running for class president, not the presidency of the United States of America.  To put it simply, Mitt Romney, despite his vast wealth, isn’t ready for prime time. We are seeing another Bob Dole campaign all over again. It had disastrous effect then and will have far worst results this time around. Reuters has an interesting article about the Kerry-ization of Mitt Romney for not mentioning the war in Afghanistan in his acceptance speech. The blowback, fallout or whatever you want to call it has only just begun.

“If you don’t start telling people what you believe — if you really do, in fact, believe in anything — and if you don’t start telling people, yes, these are the tax exemptions that we’re going to get taken care of … unless you have somebody that’s willing to do that, Romney’s going to lose,” said conservative Joe Scarborough on his MSNBC show Monday. “The Romney people think they can run a Bob Dole campaign, a John McCain campaign … Republicans do not win by running these types of campaigns.”

“The Romney campaign continues looking schizophrenic,” wrote Matt Lewis in a Daily Caller blog post about the candidate’s “secret” tax plan. “This is problematic. … [T]he possible long-term damage to the already-weakened Republican brand could be incalculable.” Source

No-one should be surprised that Mitt Romney started preparing for the October presidential debates in August. That’s because he is running on vagueness and has to study like crazy to sound half-way presidential. If you ask me, his running mate is a far more credible presidential candidate than he is. Rick Santorum said it best during the primary season, “Mitt Romney is the worst candidate to run against Barack Obama.”

Obama’s poll numbers will continue to increase because Mitt Romney hasn’t proven himself to be a viable presidential candidate. Talking in circles isn’t going to get him the 270 Electoral College votes he needs to seal the deal. I wish he had learned from his debacle of a debate with Ted Kennedy in 1994, during which he was labeled as ‘Mr. Multiple Choice’ for flip-flopping on the issues. No one seems to really know where he stands because one day he’s saying he likes parts of Obamacare and the next he’s saying he’ll implement his own plan. Go figure, but this isn’t behavior becoming of a potential president.

Republicans Growing Nervous Over Mitt Romneys Vagueness on Policy Issues
Filed Under: Mitt Romney Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mitt Romney’s GOP Convention Acceptance Speech Ranked Lowest Since Bob Dole’s Acceptance Speech in 1996

September 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Um, I guess the Republican National Convention didn’t mean much for presidential nominee Mitt Romney — he didn’t get much of a bounce in the polls. Actually, Americans ranked Mitt Romney’s GOP convention speech the lowest since Bob Dole’s acceptance speech in 1996, according to a new Gallup Poll released  Monday.

Following the Republican National Convention in Tampa, 40 percent of voters said that they were more likely to support Mitt Romney for president, compared with 38 percent who were less likely — a net impact of +2. Source:  Politico

You will recall, Bob Dole didn’t win in 1996. Add Paul Ryan’s speech chock full of lies and Clint Eastwood’s empty chair debacle, Mitt Romney is no closer to the finish line than he was before the convention. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Romney’s acceptance speech this year scored low by comparison to previous convention speeches going back to 1996. Thirty-eight percent of Americans rated the speech as excellent or good, while 16% rated it as poor or terrible. The 38% who rated the speech as excellent or good is the lowest rating of any of the eight speeches Gallup has tested since Bob Dole’s GOP acceptance speech in 1996. Source:  Gallup

GALLUP CHARTS:

mitt romney acceptance speech Mitt Romneys GOP Convention Acceptance Speech Ranked Lowest Since Bob Doles Acceptance Speech in 1996

Mitt Romney’s Acceptance Speech at GOP Convention Ranks as Low as Bob Dole’s in 1996 (Chart Credit: Gallup)

gallup poll mitt romney acceptance speech Mitt Romneys GOP Convention Acceptance Speech Ranked Lowest Since Bob Doles Acceptance Speech in 1996

Mitt Romney’s GOP Convention Acceptance Speech Ranked Lowest Since Bob Dole’s Acceptance Speech in 1996 (Chart credit: Gallup)

Filed Under: Mitt Romney Tagged With: , , , , ,

Ann Romney Claims Poverty In Early Years, Says Desk was a Door Propped Up on Sawhorses

August 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
5447030021 017c130512 m Ann Romney Claims Poverty In Early Years, Says Desk was a Door Propped Up on Sawhorses

Ann Romney Claims Poverty In Early Years, Says Desk was a Door Propped Up on Sawhorses (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

Ann Romney feigns poverty during speech at Republican National Convention, says: “Our desk was a door propped up on sawhorses. Our dining room table was a fold down ironing board in the kitchen.” Um, that’s while they both had stock portfolios. So much for poverty. Under Mitt Romney, she said Massachusetts schools were the best in the nation. Could someone please fact check her statement. Ann Romney closed by saying, “You can trust Mitt. He loves America. He will take us to a better place, just as he took me home safely from that dance.” Excuse me while I throw up. So much for Barack and Michelle Obama hating America so much that they wanted to lead it as president and first lady. No, just trust Mitt, he has our backs — like his sidekick Paul Ryan.

To be fair, Ann Romney delivered a good speech and tried to paint her husband in as humane as possible. Don’t know if it worked, since Mitt Romney says “I am who I am,” channeling Popeye. I actually think she overshadowed her husband quite a bit and we are no closer to liking Mitt Romney than we were yesterday morning. I am no big fan of Mitt Romney, but Ann Romney is a likable person.

Here’s an interesting take from The New York Times;

Ann Romney is so gifted at politics, she may actually make her husband look a little bad. Their personality gap — her ease, his discomfort — has been evident in most of the many joint interviews they have given television reporters.

But it really stood out during her bold, boisterous testimonial to him at the Republican convention on Tuesday night. She was electric — when Mitt Romney came to her side at the end, he somehow sapped the energy from the moment.

From Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speech writer:

“Ann Romney was stunning, sweet, full of enthusiasm, a little shy, a little game for the battle. Her speech was fine. … I have just spent the past two and a half days talking to people who’ve known Mitt Romney well for ten, twenty and thirty years, even more. They love him, and in all their conversations they say either literally or between the lines, ‘If only you knew him like I do.’ It is their mantra. They mean it, and they are so frustrated. … [I]really is a bit of a mystery. If he’s so good why can’t his goodness be communicated? …
Ann Romney Claims Poverty In Early Years, Says Desk was a Door Propped Up on Sawhorses
pixel Ann Romney Claims Poverty In Early Years, Says Desk was a Door Propped Up on Sawhorses
Filed Under: Ann Romney, Mitt Romney Tagged With: , , , ,
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