No Time, Bibi!
In a busy campaign, what’s an incumbent to do?
Should he make foreign policy or give a TV interview?
When it comes to Israel,
The prospect is dismal,
So he’d rather go on the “View” than meet Netanyahu — wouldn’t you?
Month: September 2012
GOP Paraphrase: ‘The President Has a Clear Advantage with the Auto Bailout’
A kick in the balls.
— A longtime Ohio Republican strategist, quoted by CNN, characterizing President Obama’s advantage on the auto bailout for the Romney campaign.
Romney Thinks Campaign Still in ‘Early Stage’
Frankly at this early stage, polls go up, polls go down.
— Mitt Romney, quoted by ABC News, apparently not aware the election is 41 days away.
A Romney Loss Could Affect GOP for a Decade
If Romney does lose this year, blame will quickly shift to the Republican presidential nominee himself, his shortcomings, and his ability to articulate a conservative vision for the country. And the fallout from a Romney loss has the potential to reverberate through the Republican Party for a decade.
— Reid Wilson, writing in National Journal.
Andrew Sullivan Suggests That If Obama Wins a Second Term, He Could Become ‘The Democrats’ Ronald Reagan’
Andrew Sullivan writing in Newsweek:
At this point in 2004, one recalls, George W. Bush was about to see a near eight-point lead shrivel to a one-state nail-biter by Election Day. But one thing that has so far, in my view, been underestimated is the potential impact of a solid Obama win, and perhaps a Democratic retention of the Senate and some progress in the House. This is now a perfectly plausible outcome. It would also be a transformational moment in modern American politics.
If Obama wins, to put it bluntly, he will become the Democrats’ Reagan. The narrative writes itself. He will emerge as an iconic figure who struggled through a recession and a terrorized world, reshaping the economy within it, passing universal health care, strafing the ranks of al -Qaeda, presiding over a civil-rights revolution, and then enjoying the fruits of the recovery. To be sure, the Obama recovery isn’t likely to have the same oomph as the one associated with Reagan—who benefited from a once-in-a-century cut of top income tax rates (from 70 percent to, at first, 50 percent, and then to 28 percent) as well as a huge jump in defense spending at a time when the national debt was much, much less of a burden. But Obama’s potential for Reagan status (maybe minus the airport-naming) is real. Yes, Bill Clinton won two terms and is a brilliant pol bar none, as he showed in Charlotte in the best speech of both conventions. But the crisis Obama faced on his first day—like the one Reagan faced—was far deeper than anything Clinton confronted, and the future upside therefore is much greater. And unlike Clinton’s constant triangulating improvisation, Obama has been playing a long, strategic game from the very start—a long game that will only truly pay off if he gets eight full years to see it through. That game is not only changing America. It may also bring his opposition, the GOP, back to the center, just as Reagan indelibly moved the Democrats away from the far left
Ryan’s Advice for Getting off Welfare: ‘Don’t Simply Feed Fish’
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Steve Benen at MaddowBlog:
He’s Still Got It! George W. Bush to Keynote Cayman Islands Investor Conference 5 Days Before Presidential Election
From James Carter, grandson of Pres. Carter, who was also instrumental in releasing Romney’s secret “47 percent” video, via Buzzfeed:
The timing of the conference could land awkwardly during an election season that’s been marked by speculation about Mitt Romney’s finances, particularly his offshore investments in tax havens like the Cayman Islands.
Tea Partiers Take Note: Romney Praises His Own Jack-Booted, Socialist Government Takeover of Healthcare in Massachusetts
[Don’t] forget — I got everybody in my state insured. One hundred percent of the kids in our state had health insurance. I don’t think there’s anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record.
– Mitt Romney reminding swing voters, most of whom view him as a cold-blooded plutocrat, that as governor of Massachusetts he instituted Romneycare, the conservative Heritage Foundation’s individual mandate requiring everyone to buy health insurance — the same mandate that, under the brand “Obamacare,” Romney’s tea party base views as jackbooted socialist authoritarianism.
Samuel L. Jackson to Young Voters in Obama Ad: ‘Wake The F*ck Up!’
Funding for the ad is funded came from the Jewish Council for Education & Research, a super PAC that also funded this ad featuring Sarah Silverman.
New Ad Mash-Up: Romneybot Vs. The Stench
This new Democratic National Committee presents a mash-up that pits two of the various versions of Mitt Romney who have appeared during the campaign over the past year in a debate. It’s RomneyBot, the often lifelike droid persona, versus “The Stench,” the plutocratic Romney who says what he really thinks to other oligarchs in quiet rooms.
Transcript of the ad:
