Month: August 2012
Chair from Nowhere
In Tampa would come a mystery speaker from somewhere.
Speculation was rampant; we expected drama and flair.
But when he appeared, my word!
It was theater of the absurd —
A doddering Clint Eastwood lecturing an empty chair!
Republican Lie Fest Failed to Attract Repeat Viewers
-41%
Drop in viewers for the second night of the 2012 Republican National Convention, versus 2008. While some blame the lack of Sarah Palin for the decrease, the first night’s viewership was 4% higher than four years ago, indicating that in fact, people came, saw, left, and didn’t want to come back.
Romney Didn’t Mention Afghanistan or Iraq in Acceptance Speech
Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned. … Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney’s silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we’re fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it?
— William Kristol, writing in the Weekly Standard.
Al Gore Favors Abolishing the Electoral College
I really do now think it’s time to change that. It’s always tough to amend the Constitution and risky to do so, but there is a very interesting movement under way that takes it state by state, that may really have a chance of succeeding.
— Al Gore, telling Current TV that he now believes the presidency should be decided on the popular vote and not the Electoral College, a dozen years after he lost the razor-close presidential race in 2000.
The Romney Campaign Says That Of All the Lies In Paul Ryan’s Convention Speech, the Only One That Worries Them Is His False Claims about the Janesville SUV Plant Closing
Last week, Romney pollster Neil Newhouse told reporters that the Romney campaign believes its candidates can lie to voters with impunity.
“Fact checkers come to this with their own sets of thoughts and beliefs, and we’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers,” he said. He told a reporter later that fact-checking had “jumped the shark.”
One particularly vivid display of the campaign’s strategy of disregarding the truth was in the speech delivered by Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan at the convention. Reporters have identified a half dozen or so false statements in the speech, including:
Lying Liar Newt Gingrich Lies About Liberals Lying
The greatest challenge in American politics and government is that liberals lie better than conservatives tell the truth.
— “Professor” Newt Gingrich, fresh off his lectures at “Newt University,” on “Morning Joe,” where he was asked what advice he’d give to the Romney campaign.
#Eastwooding Takes Twitter By Storm
As some folks on Twitter put it, this is why we love the internet. #eastwooding is on fire on Twitter. Please forgive the sloppy photo editing (I was in a hurry to bring these to you) but you get the idea…
