The Swing States 2012

[TheGreatGatsby]

I don't put a whole lot of stock in the "polls are close" now. When McCain sealed the deal in 2008, he pulled ahead for a week or so in the RCP Average, and he pulled ahead for a week or so after he picked Palin and the Rep. Convention.

And he likely would have won if the election was held at that time. McCain/Palin had a good lead before the so called financial market collapse and before the media zeroed in on Palin calling the very experienced mayor and governor and bottom of the ticket "inexperienced" while somehow they didn't have those same concerns about the community organizer who was the top of their ticket. We're going to be vigilant against lies and misconceptions this time around ole Joe. Count on it.

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Obama was not asked tough questions by the media and frankly he didn't do that well in the debates despite the media pretending that he did. Palin did do a couple of horrid interviews though. However, Biden said some stupid things. But the bottom of the ticket does not really matter a whole lot.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Obama, frankly, was asked some tough questions, held his own with McCain, and Palen and Biden were fun to watch. The bottom of the ticket was one of several important reasons that cost McCain the election.

 

[Mac1958]

I don't put a whole lot of stock in the "polls are close" now. When McCain sealed the deal in 2008, he pulled ahead for a week or so in the RCP Average, and he pulled ahead for a week or so after he picked Palin and the Rep. Convention.

And he likely would have won if the election was held at that time. McCain/Palin had a good lead before the so called financial market collapse and before the media zeroed in on Palin calling the very experienced mayor and governor and bottom of the ticket "inexperienced" while somehow they didn't have those same concerns about the community organizer who was the top of their ticket. We're going to be vigilant against lies and misconceptions this time around ole Joe. Count on it.

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Boy, for whatever reason, I remember that whole time like it was freakin' yesterday. The big bump after her speech (which was pretty good, pretty dynamic), then the relatively quick realization that there was/is simply nothing else there. Like air being let out of a balloon.

The GOP won't let Romney make that mistake, and I saw an interview yesterday in which he really hammered home the notion that the veep pick needs to be able to run the country immediately. They learned a pretty valuable lesson, at least.

.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

And he likely would have won if the election was held at that time. McCain/Palin had a good lead before the so called financial market collapse and before the media zeroed in on Palin calling the very experienced mayor and governor and bottom of the ticket "inexperienced" while somehow they didn't have those same concerns about the community organizer who was the top of their ticket. We're going to be vigilant against lies and misconceptions this time around ole Joe. Count on it.

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Boy, for whatever reason, I remember that whole time like it was freakin' yesterday. The big bump after her speech (which was pretty good, pretty dynamic), then the relatively quick realization that there was/is simply nothing else there. Like air being let out of a balloon.

The GOP won't let Romney make that mistake, and I saw an interview yesterday in which he really hammered home the notion that the veep pick needs to be able to run the country immediately. They learned a pretty valuable lesson, at least.

.

Nobody's voting on confidence in the VP's executive leadership. If that were true, Obama would be replacing Biden.

Some airheads will find superficial reasons to vote for a ticket based on the VP though.

 

[Mac1958]

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Boy, for whatever reason, I remember that whole time like it was freakin' yesterday. The big bump after her speech (which was pretty good, pretty dynamic), then the relatively quick realization that there was/is simply nothing else there. Like air being let out of a balloon.

The GOP won't let Romney make that mistake, and I saw an interview yesterday in which he really hammered home the notion that the veep pick needs to be able to run the country immediately. They learned a pretty valuable lesson, at least.

.

Nobody's voting on confidence in the VP's executive leadership. If that were true, Obama would be replacing Biden.

Some airheads will find superficial reasons to vote for a ticket based on the VP though.

If that's true, why did Romney spend his entire veep pick answer on the readiness of the VP? I don't recall McCain doing that.

.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Boy, for whatever reason, I remember that whole time like it was freakin' yesterday. The big bump after her speech (which was pretty good, pretty dynamic), then the relatively quick realization that there was/is simply nothing else there. Like air being let out of a balloon.

The GOP won't let Romney make that mistake, and I saw an interview yesterday in which he really hammered home the notion that the veep pick needs to be able to run the country immediately. They learned a pretty valuable lesson, at least.

.

Nobody's voting on confidence in the VP's executive leadership. If that were true, Obama would be replacing Biden.

Some airheads will find superficial reasons to vote for a ticket based on the VP though.

If that's true, why did Romney spend his entire veep pick answer on the readiness of the VP? I don't recall McCain doing that.

.

McCain did say that and they all say that b/c it's what they're expected to say.

 

[Mac1958]

Nobody's voting on confidence in the VP's executive leadership. If that were true, Obama would be replacing Biden.

Some airheads will find superficial reasons to vote for a ticket based on the VP though.

If that's true, why did Romney spend his entire veep pick answer on the readiness of the VP? I don't recall McCain doing that.

.

McCain did say that and they all say that b/c it's what they're expected to say.

Could be. Either way, it's safe to assume that when the pick is announced, "readiness" will be a highlighted issue after the previous debacle.

And while I agree that the veep pick probably won't matter in a big way, I'd be stunned if the pick were not Tea Party-friendly.

.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

If that's true, why did Romney spend his entire veep pick answer on the readiness of the VP? I don't recall McCain doing that.

.

McCain did say that and they all say that b/c it's what they're expected to say.

Could be. Either way, it's safe to assume that when the pick is announced, "readiness" will be a highlighted issue after the previous debacle.

And while I agree that the veep pick probably won't matter in a big way, I'd be stunned if the pick were not Tea Party-friendly.

.

McCain really did what he had to do. 2008 was a very racist year for America. There were going to be droves of people showing up to vote for the black rock star that was Obama. It was his presidency to lose and the media was fond of throwing out terms like historical which was code for we're excited about our (liberal) black guy.

McCain had to stem that tide and make his ticket have historical ramifications. That meant putting a woman on the ticket. I don't think McCain had many choices given that reality. It's why he brought Palin out of nowhere. A double white guy ticket would have been like sending lambs to the slaughter.

 

[JoeB131]

And he likely would have won if the election was held at that time. .

So what color is the sky on Bizarro World?

The point is, the election isn't held on the day that is good for one candidate or another. It's held after a long contest, and I promise you, Romney is a much juicier target for criticism than McCain ever was.

I should also point out that in 9 polls, Obama leads in 5, is tied in one, and the Weird Mormon Robot only leads in three, two of which are really questionable. (Faux and Rassmussen.)

so called financial market collapse

Are you trying to claim there wasn't a "financial market collapse"? Sure as hell looked like one to me. Of course, McCain's reaction to it probably did him a lot of damage, in the area of unforced errors. He tried to paint himself as a guy who was putting politics aside to deal with a crisis by suspending his campaign, but he just ended up looking like an old guy who couldn't multi-task.

before the media zeroed in on Palin calling the very experienced mayor and governor and bottom of the ticket "inexperienced" while somehow they didn't have those same concerns about the community organizer who was the top of their ticket.

You mean by playing the tapes where she made herself look like a complete ignoramus. Now, I don't think Palin is as stupid as most of the left makes her out to be, but she clearly wasn't ready to play the game at that level. Obama, whatever else you want to say about him, was. He went toe to toe with Biden, Clinton and McCain, who between them have about a century of politics, and

We're going to be vigilant against lies and misconceptions this time around ole Joe. Count on it.

Guy, it isn't about what you are going to do. You could get everyone who voted for McCain to vote for Romney, and you'll still lose by about 12 million votes. You need to get people who voted for Obama last time to vote for Romney this time, while keeping people like me who voted for McCain because we couldn't stand Romney in 2008 from switching sides.

Not to mention, because McCain's base skewed older, a lot of them are taking a dirt nap, while 8 million kids who were too young in 2008 are now of voting age after leftist indoctrination in the high schools and colleges.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

^^^

Too much nonsense to bother responding.

 

[JoeB131]

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Obama was not asked tough questions by the media and frankly he didn't do that well in the debates despite the media pretending that he did. Palin did do a couple of horrid interviews though. However, Biden said some stupid things. But the bottom of the ticket does not really matter a whole lot.

Actually, it kind of did.

Biden did (and still) says some pretty silly things. But here's the thing. Obama was 48 when he took office. McCain was 72, with a history of cancer.

So the probablity that Palin might get to the presidency through death was a lot greater than Biden.

Thus, greater scrutiny, and it was pretty clear that McCain blew it.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Obama was able to go through a dozen debates and countless interviews by reporters a lot tougher than Katie Couric without looking like a mindless moron. McCain was way behind in the polls and needed Palin to bump his polling. Palin helped for a few weeks before it became evident how completely clueless she was on national and international affairs

Obama was not asked tough questions by the media and frankly he didn't do that well in the debates despite the media pretending that he did. Palin did do a couple of horrid interviews though. However, Biden said some stupid things. But the bottom of the ticket does not really matter a whole lot.

Actually, it kind of did.

Biden did (and still) says some pretty silly things. But here's the thing. Obama was 48 when he took office. McCain was 72, with a history of cancer.

So the probablity that Palin might get to the presidency through death was a lot greater than Biden.

Thus, greater scrutiny, and it was pretty clear that McCain blew it.

I don't think anybody thought McCain was going to die in 4 years. You don't campaign for president if you're not feeling pretty good.

 

[JoeB131]

Obama was not asked tough questions by the media and frankly he didn't do that well in the debates despite the media pretending that he did. Palin did do a couple of horrid interviews though. However, Biden said some stupid things. But the bottom of the ticket does not really matter a whole lot.

Actually, it kind of did.

Biden did (and still) says some pretty silly things. But here's the thing. Obama was 48 when he took office. McCain was 72, with a history of cancer.

So the probablity that Palin might get to the presidency through death was a lot greater than Biden.

Thus, greater scrutiny, and it was pretty clear that McCain blew it.

I don't think anybody thought McCain was going to die in 4 years. You don't campaign for president if you're not feeling pretty good.

Again. 72 years old, with a history of cancer, in a job that ages people rapidly?

I'm sure Mac felt just fine... it's the rest of us who were seriously worried.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Actually, it kind of did.

Biden did (and still) says some pretty silly things. But here's the thing. Obama was 48 when he took office. McCain was 72, with a history of cancer.

So the probablity that Palin might get to the presidency through death was a lot greater than Biden.

Thus, greater scrutiny, and it was pretty clear that McCain blew it.

I don't think anybody thought McCain was going to die in 4 years. You don't campaign for president if you're not feeling pretty good.

Again. 72 years old, with a history of cancer, in a job that ages people rapidly?

I'm sure Mac felt just fine... it's the rest of us who were seriously worried.

It's not at all what the election was about. The media tried to make it about that unfortunately.

 

[JoeB131]

I don't think anybody thought McCain was going to die in 4 years. You don't campaign for president if you're not feeling pretty good.

Again. 72 years old, with a history of cancer, in a job that ages people rapidly?

I'm sure Mac felt just fine... it's the rest of us who were seriously worried.

It's not at all what the election was about. The media tried to make it about that unfortunately.

It was a valid consideration. Which is the GOP's fault for nominating a 72 year old to start with.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Again. 72 years old, with a history of cancer, in a job that ages people rapidly?

I'm sure Mac felt just fine... it's the rest of us who were seriously worried.

It's not at all what the election was about. The media tried to make it about that unfortunately.

It was a valid consideration. Which is the GOP's fault for nominating a 72 year old to start with.

Yea? Was it the Republicans fault to nominate a 70-year-old Ronald Reagan?

The Republicans are at fault for nominating McCain who was weak; but not b/c of his age. That had nothing to do with it.

 

[rightwinger]

It's not at all what the election was about. The media tried to make it about that unfortunately.

It was a valid consideration. Which is the GOP's fault for nominating a 72 year old to start with.

Yea? Was it the Republicans fault to nominate a 70-year-old Ronald Reagan?

The Republicans are at fault for nominating McCain who was weak; but not b/c of his age. That had nothing to do with it.

Who would have made a better candidate than McCain? Romney?

 

[candycorn]

Obama, frankly, was asked some tough questions, held his own with McCain, and Palen and Biden were fun to watch. The bottom of the ticket was one of several important reasons that cost McCain the election.

In a Presidential Debate, you get asked the same questions so anyone saying the questions were soft for one but not the other is wrong.

You don't vote for the bottom of the ticket. However, the choice you make says a great deal about your judgment. Palin spoke volume's about McCain's whose judgement on that front was flat out stupid.

 

[JakeStarkey]

I agree with the first statement, adding they both held their own.

Indeed, McCain made a monumental error in choosing Palin.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

It was a valid consideration. Which is the GOP's fault for nominating a 72 year old to start with.

Yea? Was it the Republicans fault to nominate a 70-year-old Ronald Reagan?

The Republicans are at fault for nominating McCain who was weak; but not b/c of his age. That had nothing to do with it.

Who would have made a better candidate than McCain? Romney?

Romney absolutely would have been better than McCain; but he would have had his work cut out for him coming off of Bush's economy and due to America's unhealthy fascination with having basically a minority celebrity president.

However, in 08, Obama did not put much meat on the table and someone like Huckabee would have been more of a stark contrast than McCain who was a huge RINO anyways.

Romney is in a much better position in 12 b/c his resume starkly contrasts with Obama's failed policies. And with Iraq not being the issue it was and the economy being front and center; Romney is in a great position this time around. It was a blessing for Romney that he was not the candidate in 08. He is in much better positioned to win the presidency now.