October 4, 2012

— Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker columnist, noting his takeaway from the first 2012 presidential debate.

It seemed like Obama would have rather been on a date,
And Romney ‘s rehearsals enabled him to dominate.
But poor old Jim Lehrer
Couldn’t make it any fairer,
So that mean-ass, nasty, lying Mormon won the debate.

Social Networking Can Lead to Changes in Political Views

October 4, 2012 Buck Banks

16%

Of social networking site users say they have changed their views about a political issue after discussing it or reading posts about it on the sites.

Obama Disappointed More than 4,000 Debate Watch Parties Last Night

October 4, 2012 Buck Banks

+4,000

President Obama’s campaign sponsored more than 4,000 watch parties across the country for last night’s first presidential debate, USA Today reports. In contrast, Mitt Romney’s campaign said it had 336 watch party events in a dozen battleground states.

Rubio: Biden the Best Thing GOP Has Going Right Now

October 4, 2012 Buck Banks

No, don’t boo, he’s the best thing we’ve got going, guys.

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), referring to Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that the middle class has been “buried” in the past four years.

Another Way That Obama Blew It

October 4, 2012 Buck Banks

I never would have guessed that you could go 90 minutes and not hear about the ’47 percent’ comment.

— Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), quoted by the Washington Examiner, on last night’s presidential debate.

Romney Won Debate By Lying

October 4, 2012 Buck Banks

Romney won the debate in no small part because he adopted a policy of simply lying about his policies. Probably the best way to understand Obama’s listless performance is that he was prepared to debate the claims Romney has been making for the entire campaign, and Romney switched up and started making different and utterly bogus ones. Obama, perhaps, was not prepared for that, and he certainly didn’t think quickly enough on his feet to adjust to it.

— Jonathan Chait, in New York Magazine, asserting that Mitt Romney’s two biggest pivots to the center in last night’s debate were not true by his own campaign’s admission. Think Progress says Romney misled viewers 27 times last night.

Day: October 4, 2012

No There There With Romney

Romney’s strength is he has no particular ideology. His core belief is that he should be president and that he would know what to do. The particulars…he has no particular belief one way or the other except a generalized belief in business, and that the business of America is business.

— Hendrik Hertzberg, New Yorker columnist, noting his takeaway from the first 2012 presidential debate.

The Ingrate Debate

Social Networking Can Lead to Changes in Political Views

16%

Of social networking site users say they have changed their views about a political issue after discussing it or reading posts about it on the sites.

Obama Disappointed More than 4,000 Debate Watch Parties Last Night

+4,000

President Obama’s campaign sponsored more than 4,000 watch parties across the country for last night’s first presidential debate, USA Today reports. In contrast, Mitt Romney’s campaign said it had 336 watch party events in a dozen battleground states.

Rubio: Biden the Best Thing GOP Has Going Right Now

No, don’t boo, he’s the best thing we’ve got going, guys.

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), referring to Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that the middle class has been “buried” in the past four years.

Another Way That Obama Blew It

I never would have guessed that you could go 90 minutes and not hear about the ’47 percent’ comment.

— Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), quoted by the Washington Examiner, on last night’s presidential debate.

Romney Won Debate By Lying

— Jonathan Chait, in New York Magazine, asserting that Mitt Romney’s two biggest pivots to the center in last night’s debate were not true by his own campaign’s admission. Think Progress says Romney misled viewers 27 times last night.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.