Deviling the Details
As a CEO, they say Mitt Romney’s terrific.
His and Paul Ryan’s budget plan is ultra-scientific.
But when it’s down to brass tacks,
Don’t even bother to ask,
Because he ain’t coming forth with specifics.
Day: September 11, 2012
Obama Gets Three-Point Bump from Dem Convention
3
Percentage-point bump in voter support President Barack Obama received immediately after last week’s Democratic National Convention, rising to 50% from 47% before the convention, according to Gallup. He now leads Mitt Romney by six percentage points.
State, Local Governments’ ‘Secret Austerity’ Maintaining Recession
Ben Polak and Peter K. Schott make a compelling argument in the New York Times that this recession differs from the preceding two downturns because of under-employment by state and local governments:
Without this hidden austerity program, the economy would look very different. If state and local governments had followed the pattern of the previous two recessions, they would have added 1.4 million to 1.9 million jobs and overall unemployment would be 7.0 to 7.3 percent instead of 8.2 percent.
Why is this happening? One possibility is that we are witnessing a secular change in state and local politics, with voters no longer willing to pay for an ever-larger work force. An alternative explanation is that even though many state and local governments are constrained not to run deficits, they can muddle through a standard recession without cutting jobs. But when hit by a huge recession like that of 1981 or the latest one, the usual mix of creative accounting and shifting in capital expenditures cannot absorb the shock, and jobs have to go.
Romney Burdened by Bush Legacy
Mitt Romney is not a great candidate; Barack Obama is a better one. But without the Bush legacy, Romney would be leading this race. His problem is that except among staunch conservatives, Bush has so hurt the GOP’s brand that Romney doesn’t look like the fresh economic fix-it man that Republicans want to portray him as. Instead, it’s all too easy for Democrats to paint him as George W. Bush the 3rd, just as they painted John McCain as George W. Bush the 2nd.
— Peter Beinart, writing in the Daily Beast.
Robertson Recommends Conversion to Islam to Deal with Recalcitrant Wife
Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her.
— Christianist Comedian Pat Robertson, on the 700 Club, jokingly giving advice to a viewer about dealing with his wife, adding the man “can’t divorce her according to the Scripture, so I say: move to Saudi Arabia.”
Race Essentially Unchanged After Both Coventions
49% to 48%
Margin in the presidential race after the conventions with President Obama edging Mitt Romney among likely voters, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. But among a wider sample of all registered voters, Obama holds an apparent edge, topping Romney at 50% to 44%, and has clear advantages on important issues in the campaign when compared with his rival.
Romney Campaign Showing Signs of Desperation
It is becoming clear that if President Obama is reelected, it will be despite the economy and because of his campaign; if Mitt Romney wins, it will be because of the economy and despite his campaign.
— Charlie Cook, writing in the National Journal.
Wrong Jeb, Your Brother Did Not ‘Keep Us Safe’ – Not on 9/11, Not When He Invaded Iraq Based on False Intel and Not When He Crashed the Economy on His Way out of Town
At the Republican National Convention in Tampa last month, Jeb Bush diverged from the prepared remarks on his teleprompter and attempted to rewrite the history of his brother’s disastrous years as president:
JEB BUSH: I’ve been so blessed to be part of a family that has committed its life to public service. My grandfather and father have been incredible role models for me and served our country honorably. And my brother, well, I love my brother. He is a man of integrity, courage and honor. During incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe. So Mr. president, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies. You were dealt a tough hand, but your policies have not worked.
With the exception of his assertion that he loves his brother, nearly everything in Jeb’s statement is a lie — and the biggest lie is his assertion that George W. Bush kept the nation safe. A few weeks before the attacks on 9/11, for starters, George Bush dismissed and then ignored a warning from the CIA that Osama bin Laden was determined to strike inside U.S. borders. When the attacks came, 11 years ago today, the president allowed himself to be ferried from one secure spot to another, leaving command and control of the United States in the hands of his recklessly incompetent vice president, Dick Cheney.
