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

'obama takes more vacations than the guy on the bizarre food show' --a real joke that just happened

To be 100% fair, Mitt's fortune was also created by being the son of a really rich guy. Who actually did make his fortune by doing good business and running a company right and all that kind of thing, as far as I can tell.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, August 29, 2012 8:04 PM

I mean, the contrast between Mitt and George is just bizarre, such a sad commentary on our nation's moral decline or something. Not that I'd be rushing out the door to vote for George Romney, but sort of amazing that no such person seems to exist today, or any GOP that would actually give him the time of day. Oh well.

― Doctor Casino, Wednesday, August 29, 2012 8:05 PM

It's interesting to contemplate how automotive history, Michigan history, and perhaps American history might have been very different had one George Mason not died unexpectedly young. He was the CEO of American Motors Corp.; had he lived longer, AMC (itself a recent merger of Hudson and Kelvinator/Nash) was about to merge with (also recently-merged) Studebaker-Packard, creating a new company with those four automotive brands, with Packard's James Nance as CEO. Instead, Mason died, his #2 man George Romney took over, and completely changed course as AMC chairman. The Studebaker/Packard merger was axed within a week, as were deals to buy Packard engines and transmissions (Packard itself would be gone within a few years). Then he discontinued their own Hudson and Nash marques, and nearly all of AMC's weight was thrown behind their economical Rambler small car. The Rambler became a major hit, helping AMC grow fast during the late-1950s recession as the other US automakers slumped with their lineups of huge chromed, tail-finned land yachts. This made Romney popular, and his astute business sense helped him be elected governor of Michigan in 1962 - thus eventually providing a boost to his son Mitt.

One has to wonder if Mitt Romney would have been as sucessful in politics, and whether he'd be the '12 Republican presidential candidate, had George Mason lived another ten years....

Someone upthread said Huckabee had been bumped by the hurricane--guess not.

LOL Huckabee is talking about hanging out with Bono.

Much worse: America through the eyes of Bono.

you'd think she wasn't aware it was under Obama that Bin Laden was captured

Condi Rice looks like she'd rather be tried for human rights violation by the Hague than give that speech.

ya she looks hella nervous

omigod give Tim Pawlenty a sweatshirt and he's a fourth tier comedian on the circuit

I swear her cadences sound like Peggy Noonan.

There's such a disconnect in her last three or four minutes. Does she know who's president?

she shouldve played to her strengths and cheerlead for mccians Syria war

You think Paul Ryan is going to say "baseline" in his speech tonight?

I think he's going to say "That dumb fuck Chris Christie" tonight.

I think he's gonna say 'epistemological'

Tom Brokaw, emphasizing how young Ryan is, just said that "He's 42 years old--meaning Ronald Reagan was into the second year of his presidency when Ryan was born." Not quite.

clem, this is your night!

lmao xp

math

Ronald Reagan was into the second year of his presidency when Ryan was born.

double reverse birtherism

Scott walker cryin like a bitch

I find Ryan's take-charge flourishes ("Let's get this done") a little hard to take.

he looks like a Shriner.

he has sad eyes

watched the Nationals game instead of this

lucky 4 u it's still on

I like the phrase 'my wonderful grandma janet'

they love this guy!

they r losing their shit

whats going on here

no way mitt gets nearly this response

all the speakers pretending like they thought Obama was fun and exciting when he was elected so they can act all disappointed now is p lol

"Before the math overwhelms us all"--you got that, Brokaw?

'before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all'

o no the math it's coming right at us

ha xp

hate the way this guy doesn't pronounce the U in 'regulatory'

omitting the U signifies the depth of our fiscal crisis.

what % of voters does the GOP think are smal business owners, feel like they're over doing it here

I keep un-muting the TV to listen between bouts of D'Angelo and, I dunno, but the crowd looks awfully thin. I don't know if previous campaigns sat 12 million people or if I was younger and more easily impressed by numbers.

hate the way this guy doesn't pronounce the U in 'regulatory'

Save it for the elite snobs, Commie. Why don't you go back to Harvard?

cool bands dude

In view of the speakers so far, and who's still left--the candidate, yikes--I'm sure the right will go completely crazy over Ryans's speech.

Please, please don't drag Led Zeppelin into this.

Wait, did Ryan actually say "I accept the calling of my generation?"

RIP John McCain

his iPod only goes from a to l

why do these speeches last so long

there's nothing in them

they're all exactly the same

Is all he said about Romney was that his taste in music sucks?

just annouced his challenge to christie in '16