I am beginning to become scared that Romney/Ryan will win. Can smart people please post here and say reassuring things to convince me that he won't?

i dont think 'the media' really has that much effect on peoples votes at this point

Directly, no. But I do think the way you're covered has a more general effect.

unless you count horrible tv commercials as "the media"

Blake Hounshell ‏@blakehounshell
Barely trying. MT @ByronYork: Romney has no public events today. Had one Monday, none Sat/Sun, one Friday, one Thursday

romney givin up

declare bankruptcy

I watched the clips again this morning and, wow, what a difference in confidence, diction, and tone. So this is what speaking to your base does.

Directly, no. But I do think the way you're covered has a more general effect.

Yeah I think the general sense that "this guy's in a tailspin" gets across even to people who aren't paying attention to the outrage-of-the-day.

I don't think stuff like this particularly changes minds but voting is about enthusiasm, not just whether you identify red or blue. If Romney keeps morphing into Mr. Burns/Nixon with the media shitting on him daily it's definitely going to effect his ability to JAZZ people.

I watched the clips again this morning and, wow, what a difference in confidence, diction, and tone. So this is what speaking to your base does.

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, September 18, 2012 10:23 AM (16 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

romdawg has a lil experience pitching rooms full of rich guys

during the bush era conservative pals would say "fuck you" to anyone saying "so y' still like bush?" but a good number just plum forgot to vote in 2004

Maybe amazing is the wrong word.

i dont think 'the media' really has that much effect on peoples votes at this point
--max

Don't believe this at all.

very few people would be so openly flaky as to change party affiliation three months before an election, but they maaaay not buy the t-shirt

not very many undecided voters are watching cable news or reading editorial pages 6 weeks before an election

Willard is saying things that are pretty explicitly unpresidential.

It's true that he's empty on "I'll drone-attack the Jonas Brothers" yuks.

i dont think 'the media' really has that much effect on peoples votes at this point

The US media doesn't cover or affect shit that's worth shit.

i honestly can't fathom someone being an "undecided voter" in the first place. I can see random shades of blue and red debating whether they're actually going to get off the couch, but not in regards to who they'd vote for.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d5/Swing_vote_08.jpg/220px-Swing_vote_08.jpg

yeah i kind of figure anybody who actually says "gee, i dunno" has to be really ignorant and vain. Somebody who says "convince me" with their arms folded.

I personally love the reaction from the frothing right-wing base: "yup, that's right, glad someone's finally saying it out loud." Just as I loved it when the base loved his pick of Ryan. Because everything that excites the base turns off the middle (and, I suppose vice versa, but this isn't the year for that).

Good luck with that strategy, GOP! Tell large swathes of the electorate that they're not worth your consideration, and irredeemably beneath contempt. See how well that plays in a democracy.

Caveat: yeah, as has been said repeatedly, most people who care about politics have long since decided how they're going to vote; there aren't a lot of persuadable people in any case. I'm the first to admit that I'm not persuadable; I have no understanding of the psychology of anyone who IS persuadable, so what the hell do I know about what will change minds?

Last I read, Obama still ahead in several swing states, undecideds down to 2 percent. Aside from Obama's "clingers" in April vs. Romney's "47 percent" in mid-Sept., Obama generalized/snarked in passing, Romney's percentage is implicitly a social map, the perfect opening for refutation (also a vision, rallying some of the troops). Also of course this is another situation where "the media" has to follow viral Netclipz, see how far they go. Also see some conservative sites getting sick of Fox putting the spin 'n' shine on Romney gaffes, with paid contributors/analysts who are also on the Romney payroll.

Again, I don't think anyone saying that the tone of media coverage over the last six weeks might matter--especially to someone playing catch-up--is suggesting that voters will actually change their minds. It's more the enthusiasm level mentioned above. If you're a Republican who wants Obama out, but doesn't like Romney at all and sees his campaign getting hammered every day, that can't help.

and at this point recognizing romneyshambles doesn't require watching cable news or reading opinion pages -- it's the lead story on aol.com

might matter re actually going to the polls, standing in line in November, considering how many Republicans/Reagan Democrates I know who are also working stiffs and/or old.

"Democrates" a typo, not snark

Even Jonah can barely find a silver lining here.

not very many undecided voters are watching cable news or reading editorial pages 6 weeks before an election

― max, Tuesday, September 18, 2012 10:34 AM (49 minutes ago)

maybe not but what about reading newspaper headlines while at the coffee shop or talking to people who are following the race? there's kind of a general noise level about romney not being in control of his campaign and these gaffes are just stocking obama's pantry for the debates. romney is clearly not unflappable in public and I'm wondering what sort of verbal wilding he's going to engage in when face to face with his opponent.

kind of hoping Romney bursts into tears at the debate

kind of hoping Romney bursts into tears flames at the debate

more likely: slight but visible leakage of sawdust/oatmeal (uncooked)

kind of hoping Romney bursts into tears flames america the beautiful at the debate

Romney flames / Ryan tears vs Romney tears / Ryan flames, hmm that is a poser.

(probably the latter, as we'll never hear of Romney again, but Ryan will be back as an "intellectual" / actual pres. candidate)

kind of hoping Romney bursts into tears flames america the beautiful the dance of joy at the debate

Has the debate schedule been set?

Yup

http://www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com/2012-debate-schedule/2012-presidential-debate-schedule/

Hahaha! The final presidential debate is in Boca Raton!

"Governor Romney, a few months ago you were talking to a few folks around here at a fundraiser..."

i'm still scared! i just hate mitt so much.

I just hope Obama brings up Bain bailouts whenever Romney brings up gov't entitlements.

uh Boca Raton is the Democratic heart of Palm Beach County and one of the places whose residents voted mistakenly for Pat Buchanan in '00.

That makes it even better.

lol wondering what voters Romney hopes to woo in Boca Raton.

soon-to-be baptized Jews

Netanyahu-loving ones.

He's got Bush's buddy, Bob Schieffer moderating that last debate.

As moderator, Schieffer will be responsible for formulating the debate questions and following up after the candidates respond. However, Schieffer has described in the past his "golfing friendship" with President George W. Bush "during the 1990s"

http://mediamatters.org/research/2004/10/12/schieffers-statements-raise-questions-about-obj/132062

kind of hoping Romney bursts into tears flames america the beautiful the dance of joy as a pas de deux with rafalca at the debate.

My own hope is that Romney suddenly goes Gangnam Style in the middle of the first debate. (Even though I didn't know what that meant until SNL.)

I watched the clips again this morning and, wow, what a difference in confidence, diction, and tone. So this is what speaking to your base does.

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, September 18, 2012 3:23 PM (2 hours ago)

totally, it's quite striking

also the identification of 'the 47%' with obama voters when LOADS of those people are republicans

I can totally see Romney as the sort who signs up months in advance to sing "The Star Spangled Banner" at baseball's opening day, spends all those weeks practicing, and still flubs the words.

I'm wondering what sort of verbal wilding (Romney)'s going to engage in when face to face with his opponent.

Romney's debate prep team will stuff him like a thanksgiving turkey, but instead of delicious savory goodies, he'll be stuffed full of canned responses to stock questions. This approach works well enough about 98% of the time. Where it gets interesting is when a candidate becomes confused about which canned answer fits the current question, gets a frozen look for about three seconds and then starts to wing it, like Rick Perry.

However, I suspect that Romney won't put his foot into the shit in any obvious way. He'll have pat answers to all the most embarassing questions he's likely to be asked. It mostly comes down to whether or not someone gets really creative in forming the questions and gets him off-script.

I'd just like it if the candidates each had to read aloud the Constitution. Romney's brain would fry in the first sentence when he got to "promote the general welfare".

is Obama considered a good debater? It was hard to tell with that grimacing, snickering somnambulist creeping around last time.

He was less on his game in the primaries, but he held up pretty well against McCain.

http://0.tqn.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/D/O/2/mctongue-pic.jpg