The General American Politics Thread

[TheGerkuman]

Wait, wait. The moderator was called Raddatz?

Edited October 13, 2012 by Gerkuman

[Solkia]

What they didn't show is after the debate, Paul Ryan grabbed onto Raddatz so Biden had a chance to use Special Beam Cannon.

[xJvilous]

no one posted it (?) so it I took the chance.

[Patticus]

The topics for the Foreign Policy Debate, the final encounter for Obama and Romney before election day (coming the Monday after this one), have been announced:

Moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS News has announced the 5 topics:

1. “The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism,”

2. “Our Longest War—Afghanistan and Pakistan,”

3. “Red Lines—Israel and Iran,”

4. “The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World,”

5. “America’s Role in the World.”

The candidates will have two minutes each for an answer before six minutes of discussion during each segment.

What might possibly happen during that debate can already sort of be predicted, probably (spoilered in case of massive wrongness):

Romney's going to blather on about ignored requests for increased security in Libya during the first topic, and Obama will probably respond with something about the Republican-dominated Congress voting down requests which the president previously endorsed to increase funding for their security, likely ignoring the fact that an almost equal number of Republicans and Democrats voted them down.

Obama will have a distinct advantage in the Afghanistan discussion, but might be vulnerable on the Pakistan front if Romney either tries to personally take credit (as he has previously said he would) for bin Laden's killing, or try to separate Obama from the killing by praising the soldiers involved and perhaps implying it would've happened no matter who was president (as well it might).

On Israel and Iran, Romney's obviously going to paint Obama as an Israel hater, also bringing up the Israeli leader's noted partisan preference for him. Obama might in return bring up Romney's embarrassing trip to Israel to make him appear foolish, un-presidential and unqualified for the job of ruling the world. Romney will likely struggle if asked what he would do if the red line on the bomb turns out to be more accurate than US intelligence agencies believe and Iran acquires a nuclear capability within a couple of months of their inauguration. Ryan might have given us a glimpse at the blunder that might befall him there if he implies another sticky decade-long ground war would be preferable to a nuclear-armed Iran.

On China, I have a feeling its rise in the manufacturing sector, and those self-rated currency issues, will come up. Romney will be all "I'll be tough on cheating China," to which I hope Obama responds with Romney's continuing investment links with the country and Mitt's blatant hypocrisy therein, and maybe questioning whether he'd rather have a devastating trade war with them instead.

In the final segment, hell, who knows what might happen there. Romney might be a bit more gung-ho in his attitude there, assuming he doesn't whip the puppy dog eyes out and pout his lower lip while saying, "All I wants is more jobs at home, mister." Meanwhile, Obama will probably want to say something like while America should be less active in terms of boots on the ground, it ought to be as willing as ever to provide support wherever it is truly needed (as in Syria) via finances, arms sales, supporting nascent democratic organizations etc.

[turbojet]

And this is where Obama will have trouble.

[Tornado]

This one is going to be nasty for Obama if Romney is is willing to let his guard down on China in order to go on the offensive for everything else.

[Patticus]

Is Obama really in that much danger? I thought foreign policy would be the one area where he could claim Romney's scalp (figuratively speaking).

[turbojet]

Although the administration did send troops to Turkey today to assist them with Syria, I am not holding my breath. Obama is a neo-realist in terms of foreign policy. He sees no evil among states. He strives for balance of power. This is something you cannot articulate to the American people.

Obama will have a distinct advantage in the Afghanistan discussion, but might be vulnerable on the Pakistan front if Romney either tries to personally take credit (as he has previously said he would) for bin Laden's killing, or try to separate Obama from the killing by praising the soldiers involved and perhaps implying it would've happened no matter who was president (as well it might).

[Patticus]

Well, that's that then, thanks for clearing it up for me Turby... but that's not going to stop Romney from playing with it during one or both of the upcoming debate nights.

[Solkia]

lol turby

[turbojet]

So there is this youtube ad by For America talking about the unemployment rate and how it stayed over 8 percent for Obama after 43 months which is longer than 11 previous Presidents combined. So I began reciting in my head the 11 presidents before Obama.

11. Little Bush

10. Chubby Chaser Clinton

9. Daddy Bush

8. McRonald

7. The Carter

6. Built Ford

5. Tricky Dick

4. Little Big Joke

3. The guy that had sex with Maryln Monroe before she sung him happy birthday

2. Eisenhower power

1. Insecure Truman

Now if you know anything about these Presidents and the time periods they were in, and if you know anything about the current economic climate, laugh at the sheer audacity of For America for even suggesting this as remotely valid.,

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Okay, hearing from our two most politically savvy members about Obama going to be in trouble in the upcoming debate makes me worry about the election.

So...hopefully there's something to hope for? Any good news? Chances of Rommey actually becoming president? Kinda on edge here guys...

[Patticus]

Conservative* Super PACs rarely seem concerned with little things like "accuracy" or "facts." Their only goal is to terrify people into voting for Mitt Romney.

*I know Democrat ones do the same thing, but the post isn't about those.

Okay, hearing from our two most politically savvy members about Obama going to be in trouble in the upcoming debate makes me worry about the election.

So...hopefully there's something to hope for? Any good news? Chances of Romney actually becoming president? Kinda on edge here guys...

The Bad News: A bad show on Tuesday will probably blow the race wide open, and then we'll see lots of "Romney leads in polls" headlines between now and November 6th, regardless of the foreign policy debate's winner or loser. Also, Romney's campaign team knows Obama's not going to just lie down any more, and is probably arming him with contingency zingers, "facts," and maybe even some hastily penned "specifics" on the mystery economic plan, against which Obama may have precious little in the way of a pre-planned defense.

The Good News: Obama has seen the tape of his performance, they've probably shown him the late night comedians digging into it too, so he and his advisers know what they need to do to rectify that problem. They're already talking in interviews with the major networks about him coming out swinging on Tuesday. So, he won't take Romney's shit any more, that's great, but you shouldn't expect a 'black Biden' on Tuesday either. I doubt he'll let anything pass him by this time though.

The problem for both candidates is that the town hall format is a very different environment to that of the presidential first or intimate second debates. The trick for both candidates will be not to over-prepare (despite the 3-4 days of preparations they're undergoing), it'll be for them to be themselves and communicate effectively their plans and other things. Romney, clearly not in the habit of being himself (he's at least 3 different people every week), and being even less in the habit of clearly communicating specifics on his economic plan, could find himself in a pickle there. Obama needs to be prepared no matter which Mitt turns up, and I think he might be, given that his speeches lately have noted those changes.

[Stacy]

I am the only Ryan who thinks comes across as a coke head, he's snorting his nose all the time during that debate with Biden?

[Patticus]

He comes across as being quite the twat when he visits the homeless shelter, too:

The operator of a soup kitchen in northwestern Ohio blasted the Romney campaign on Monday after vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan and his family were photographed cleaning dishes on the premises.

Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society in Youngstown, told the Washington Post that the Romney campaign did not ask for permission before entering the soup kitchen. He said he worried his faith-based apolitical organization could lose funding if it appeared the charity favored one of the political candidates.

“It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it,” Antal explained. “They showed up there, and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”

“The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate,” he added. “He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”

During Ryan’s appearance at the soup kitchen on October 13, he briefly talked with volunteers before donning an apron and cleaning some large metal pots. Antal noted that the dishes were not dirty. The soup kitchen had already closed down for the day.

http://www.rawstory....he-did-nothing/

[Autosaver]

Patticus, get in here!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU_RSbB3s-4&feature=inp-lt-ype-95

[-Robin-]

Obama is looking a lot more powerful and confident than in the last debate.

[Autosaver]

Romney is acting like a cry baby on stage. I laughed when the Moderator had to shut him up.

[VO.SUPER]

Did Romney just label the Chinese as terrorists?

[-Robin-]

That stoicism.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Joshua

[Johnny Boy]

Damn. Obama didn't mess around tonight.

[Sami]

So if I vote Romney, do I get binders full of women too?

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

Obama had to step it up tonight after he shamefully lost in the first debate. Glad he knocked Romney back. Don't trust him what so ever.

[Patticus]

Initially my thoughts were that it was pretty closely tied debate for both candidates, thanks to Romney's continued performance and Obama's renewed vigor, with the president edging it on numerous subjects (with the timely help of moderator Crowley; just watch Fox News latch onto that one!). I'm thinking the polls may reflect this, perhaps with a minor boost for Obama.

I'll be very happy if it is viewed by next week as a big win for the president as some in the press corps. are saying it is, but I'm having trouble seeing it as that right now. Maybe I just need a shot of optimism from Joe Biden in the morning.

I have a feeling that a lot of people will have agreed wholeheartedly with Obama when he turned to Romney and told him to his face that his politicizing of the Libya killings last month was deeply offensive. That was such a badass moment. One negative thing about Obama tonight perhaps was that he didn't bring up Mitt's terrible jobs record during his tenure as Massachusetts' governor, when the state fell to 49th in the union on job creation, something Mitt has been claiming he knows how to do for years.

[Autosaver]

The moment where Mitt Romney "lost" the debate.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Autosaver