the most important election of your lifetime: 2012 american general election thread

i kind of think that "i understand the question, but rather than answer it directly, i'd instead like to talk about the way certain stories and questions are privileged over others by the media and how that limits the discourse" is a perfectly acceptable response to an interview question.

― 10. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – Tom Cruise (contenderizer), Sunday, May 13, 2012 1:41 AM (51 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha no it isn't

it's perfectly annoying and insufferable tho

Maybe if it was a contributor questioning the point of the story (as was done on other programs on MSNBC that day, or at least Alex Wagner), as opposed to some Romney supporter unsure about how to respond to the negative press by shouting about how he's going to PUT THE MEDIA ON TRIAL!

wrt to this particular point, i don't care what side of the political fence he's on, or whether or not he imagines he's pulling some tiresome "gotcha". i didn't see anything so terribly impertinent in his response, myself, but he clearly intended to challenge the interviewer. i figure it was her call, and i don't object to her decision to snub him. he asked for it.

that said, i wish more interviewees, when asked about dumb shit like this - even if they've previously agreed to be asked about it - would take the "you know, let's talk about something else" route.

He seemed to be acting as if this was a "gothcha" surprise attack when she indicated that that was what he had been invited on the show to discuss. And she wasn't going to let him pretend for all the viewers that this was another MSM blindside attack.

― nickn, Sunday, May 13, 2012 2:46 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM

http://www.mittromney.com/issues/gun-rights

As president, Mitt will work to expand and enhance access and opportunities for Americans to hunt, shoot, and protect their families, homes and property

it's funny, but it's also true

in fact, one could say it's kind of lol but mostly sad

would totally vote for candidate who would work to expand my opportunities to hunt and shoot my family

Mitt Romney now holds a three point national lead over President Obama according to the newest NYT/CBS News poll. The poll found that 46 percent of registered voters say they would choose Romney while just 43 percent say they would back Obama. This represents a small drop in support for Obama compared to last month when the same poll found the race perfectly tied at 46 percent each.

http://elections.firedoglake.com/2012/05/15/romney-holds-small-national-lead-in-nytcbs-poll/

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/a-30000-foot-view-on-the-presidential-race/

I shake my head in amazement and wonder how Silver can write paragraph after paragraph full of stats and equivocations, week after week.

don't worry, Roseanne's gonna save the day!

he's a numbers machine, Alfred!

If only you would let her, Shakes.

Yeah, Shakey - stop stopping Roseanna from becoming president!

I think it's major-party stans who expect the prez to SAVE them, because HE IS THEIR ROCK STAR

Speaking of rock stars:

Barr moved several people in Saturday's audience when she teared up talking about her modest roots.

There is little mention that Barr, who spends most of her time on a $1.7 million, 46-acre macadamia nut farm in Hawaii, is among the wealthiest of Americans. She's done little in-person "barnstorming" outside of a near-constant stream of Twitter postings. She told The Chronicle that airplane travel makes her sick.

She's the FDR of the Green Party

Not as much fun as that Slate thing where all the Republican candidates ran an actual horserace, but pretty neat nonetheless. I'm sure "the model" is fairly reliable; inputting the numbers is a guessing game:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/2012-election-predictor/

sorry to be so cynical about Barr's candidacy guys

GOP Superpac's plan for expensive nasty ad attacks on Obama:

“The world is about to see Jeremiah Wright and understand his influence on Barack Obama for the first time in a big, attention-arresting way,” says the proposal, which was overseen by Fred Davis and commissioned by Joe Ricketts, the founder of the brokerage firm TD Ameritrade. Mr. Ricketts is increasingly putting his fortune to work in conservative politics.

The $10 million plan, one of several being studied by Mr. Ricketts, includes preparations for how to respond to the charges of race-baiting it envisions if it highlights Mr. Obama’s former ties to Mr. Wright, who espouses what is known as “black liberation theology.”

The group suggested hiring as a spokesman an “extremely literate conservative African-American” who can argue that Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/us/politics/gop-super-pac-weighs-hard-line-attack-on-obama.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120517

that ad!

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m464sfoVlO1qa9bmvo1_250.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m464s48mM31qa9bmvo1_250.png

The ad plan proposal says this:

“Our plan is to do exactly what John McCain would not let us do: Show the world how Barack Obama’s opinions of America and the world were formed,” the proposal says. “And why the influence of that misguided mentor and our president’s formative years among left-wing intellectuals has brought our country to its knees.”

But also this:

Lamenting that voters “still aren’t ready to hate this president,” the document concludes that the campaign should “explain how forces out of Obama’s control, that shaped the man, have made him completely the wrong choice as president in these days and times.”

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/05/17/us/politics/super-pac-storyboard.html?ref=politics

Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

Uhhh...

this surely isn't going to succeed.

The insular right-wing bubble trying to foist their paranoia on everyone

That storyboard is totally... something.

Medium shot directly into a beautiful little home on a beautiful little street... BO enters from the left, rapidly pushing a gurney... he looks to us and gives us "that grin."

Soccer mom, hopeless and lost, in utter despair.

Surely the 2008 election would have gone the other way had anyone known about this rev wright fellow

Should we have KNOWN?! Perhaps there is no more important question.

It would have been better if a snake came out of the egg

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/05/joe-ricketts-man-behind-new-super-pac-loves-corporate-welfare

He owns the Chicago Cubs and they need taxpayer dollars. He's probably glad Obama is a White Sox fan and not a Cubs fan.

Joel
He should spend that $10M on a pitcher.
The Tick and Marino Eccher like this.
31 Minutes Ago from slate.com · Reply

LOL!

Mr. Obama misled the nation by presenting himself as what the proposal calls a “metrosexual, black Abe Lincoln.”

if anything keeps me on the side of Obama (his warts and all), it's the sheer utter repulsiveness of his loudest right-wing opponents.

xxp in related news, George W. Bush and Tea Party fan Curt Schilling is also out trolling for taxpayer $$$

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7938433/curt-schilling-video-game-company-asks-rhode-island-more-help

Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling asked Rhode Island for additional help to save his video game company Wednesday, prompting state leaders to consider whether the firm is viable enough to justify further investment.

Schilling, an ESPN baseball analyst, briefed Gov. Lincoln Chafee and the state's Economic Development Corp. board in a closed-door session.

Following the meeting, Chafee would not say what Schilling is seeking from the state. The governor said the question before state economic development officials was, "How do we avoid throwing good money after bad?"

Schilling declined to answer questions, saying only: "My priority right now is to get back to my team."

Concerns about 38 Studios' financial health arose when it failed to make a scheduled $1.1 million payment to the Economic Development Corp. on May 1.

The business was lured from Massachusetts in 2010 after Rhode Island offered a $75 million loan guarantee that state officials said would help bring hundreds of jobs and millions in tax revenue.

free markets for thee, government cheese for me!

"the face of a hauntingly unemployed american"

Not quite evil sheep level trainwreck, but it promises to be a fun ad

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/05/here-is-a-line-of-gop-candidate-butt-plugs-.html

ow

BO with Russian. EXISTING STOCK.

BO walks the famed walk from the Oval Office to the residence, colonnades on the left. It is at first a cocky, self-assured walk. As he walks toward us, however, the cockiness lessens and he literally gets shorter and shorter, ending up just 2-3 feet tall as he walks past camera on the left.

the left!

So in addition to cliched rightwing PAC stuff we have Romney himself saying stuff that Democratic cheerleader blogs like Washington Monthly correctly point out is absurd(Romney is now pointing out that Clinton was a fiscally smart Dem and Obama isn't--but neglecting to mention that Clinton raised taxes on the rich). But does this stuff even make it into inside the beltway op-eds or network tv or website homepage headlines? Probably not, but neither does Greenwald and others' coverage of civil liberties.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_05/the_clinton_doctrine_revisited037423.php

x-post- Hannity on Fox and others disappointed in Romney not emphasizing Rev Wright stuff.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/05/18/hannity_wright_and_the_dreams_of_the_gop_base.html

i just got an email from sarah jessica parker!!!