Here We Go Again

Yet another Debate Night open thread.  8 PM Eastern on CNN.

Comments

[sbw]

Hooray! NC State vs. North Carolina. Don't have to watch the debate!

[PaulL]

I love the Debate Show. I hope it isn't cancelled anytime soon.

[Benjamin Franklin]

"I love the Debate Show. I hope it isn't cancelled anytime soon."

Many people stretch heir necks to see the bodies when passing a fatal collision....

[rse]

You can read the LUned essay or not.

But can anyone tell me what an Applied Organizational Studies major is at Harvard?

[Gmax]

about $45K a year, RSE, why do you ask?

[henry]

RSE, don't know for sure but it sounds like the Org Behavior curriculum at CWRU. Group facilitation kumbaya stuff, team building, assess groups not individuals, maintain self esteem of all members as top priority, etc. At Harvard they probably add in community organizing.

[narciso]

FRom this example, I would say it's not good, rse;

http://www.mnsu.edu/programs/aos.html

[Sara]

Santorum is doing great and Romney cleaned Newt's clock on immigration.

[Benjamin Franklin]

How would you phase out FM and Frediemac?

Mitt=sum bullshit

Gingko-Mo bullshit.cz Romney is mo bullshit.

[henry]

Narciso, bingo! I have 5 years of the PhD seminar in this stuff from my CWRU days (required attendance for Mgmt PhD candidates), I wonder if I know any of the professors.

[centralcal]

BRAVO RICK SANTORUM!!!!!!!!!

[narciso]

I can't find the Harvard catalogue, but this
indicates it's Applied Alinsky,

Applied Organizational Studies is a degree completion program designed primarily for working adults that will provide them the qualifications needed to advance in their careers or to change professions. It provides students with education in communication, in critical analysis, and in organizational leadership. These are skills that have been repeatedly identified as highly important in comtemporary society and a shifting economy. This degree is designed for individuals who want to develop knowledge and skills that will allow them to serve and contribute to transforming the organizations of which they are a part, be it their community, church, work, nonprofit or voluntary organization, city, state. The program's design assumes that students have completed Minnesota's general education Transfer Curriculum and at least 60 credits of coursework. It also assumes that students will meet Minnesota State Mankato's undergraduate graduation requirements.

[Benjamin Franklin]

It’s the narrative. Always the narrative. The culprit is always the poor. They take your stuff..

[Benjamin Franklin]

Hey......Where'd everybody go?

[narciso]

The problem is they are taking the wrong end of the wedge, focus on those immigrants who
have committed crimes, and deport them first,
than work to the next level and so on, then you can negotiate some kind of agreement with
those with lapsed visas, good work records,

[daddy]

Ron Paul,

Let's do HealthCare...lets not go to the Moon.

Wolf: Tell me what you meant about people on the moon could apply to be the 51st State.

Newt: 90 percent private sector, 10 per cent Govt is my idea. Says we got their first and I won't be the President who lets China and anyone else get there while we decline.

Mitt: It's a goofy idea. We have to say no to this kind of spending.

Newt: I thought the idea of this campaigning was to learn about the States we campaign in. It is possible to do things in the right order.

Paul: Neither you or Reagan balanced the budget.

Newt: Response to boo's.

Rick" Obama just ignored the biggest problem of the big problems we have to do in this country. It is wrong to promise new ideas here in these debates. We are in a different world where we have to be honest about our debt and have bold decisions.

Seems like everybody for the last few minutes attacking Newt.

[daddy]

Lynn from the audience:Her question: What can you do for me?

Paul: We have a Govt created recession. Get Govt out of our lives.

Newt: Repeal ObamaCare, repeal Dodd Frank, equalize Taxation.

Mitt: Both what Ron Paul and Newt said are correct. Let individuals be taxed the same as companies re their Health Care plans.
Obama last night was Groundhog Day--same stuff all over again" Obama talks but doesn't do anything.

Rick: I agree with all 3 guys. The problems is that they didn't use to say or do what they just said. Hits Mitt on Romney Care.

Mitt and Rick seem coming on strong and aggressive tonight. No mellowness from the NorthEastern boys tonight.

[centralcal]

Yay, daddy to the rescue!

[Danube of Thought]

"I won't be the President who lets China and anyone else get there..."

Lemme see...we could shoot down their spaceships enroute, or we could let them set up a colony and then destroy it with the help of our allies the Interstellar Warbats. Then we land, plant our flag and corn and stuff like that.

[daddy]

Mitt,

Sez the residents of Massachusetts like RomneyCare by 3 to 1.

Both Newt and Mitt just disagreed with Ricks' assessment.

Rick: He says Obama will say to Mitt you did ObamaCare in Mass, Top Down Govt mandasted healthcare. We have to defeat that. Mitt RomneyCare gives Obama a pass on ObamaCare, and we have to defeat ObamaCare. Is basically saying nominating Mitt will cause Obama to win the election.

Rick So everybody in Mass is mandated to buy healthcare and if they don't buy it in Mass they have to pay a fine---just like ObamaCare. Really hammering him.

Mitt: "It's not worth getting angry about." then laughs a really creepy laugh., prompting an audience reaction. Sez he is compassionate, and voters will know it.

Rick: No. Governor Romney is factually incorrect. A big in the weeds discussion of RomneyCare. i defer to Jane and TC etc.

Wolf -- Ron Paul who is right?

Paul: They are all wrong.

Newt: Look at Ron Paul as a Doctor. We had a more flexible system in the past. There is a lot to be said for completely rethinking Health Care.

[A Casual Observation]

Call home, Ron Paul.

[daddy]

Trite softball question:

Hispanic gal asks: "Who do you think would be a decent Hispanic from America to be in your cabinet or your running mate?"

At the break Wolf sez: "When we get back a question about your spouse as VP or something like that. If I heard Wolf correctly it may be designed as a question to put Calissta on the spot.

[daddy]

"The question" Why would your wife be a great first lady"

Newt will get asked last I expect.

Paul: She wrote a cookbook. My wife 54 years

Mitt: Breast Cancer survivor. Passionate in helping folks and getting marrried before having babies Applause

Newt: All 3 of the other guys wives here are great. My wife would not necessarily be better than the others. My wife likes music. Written a best seller kids book about America. Brings an artistic flavor.

Rick: My wife is staying home tonight with our 7 kids. She is my here. Neo-natal nurse for 9 years. Then got a Law Degree because of seeing the ethical challenges. Then gave it up to have 8 kids. Wrote a book.

Decent answers all.

[Jane]

Casual,

I'd still like to know what part of Massachusetts Romney made "a pit"?

[daddy]

Wolf: Romney, you criticized Newt for being far from Reagan. Do u claim the Reagan mantle more than Newt?

Mitt: "Of course not." Then on to family history, saying he wasn't involved in those early days like Newt, gives his resume' Salt Lake Olympics, business, and being Governor made me more conservative.

Newt: it is increasingly interesting to watch the Romney attack machine today from 4 different directions all supposedly unorchestrated. Sez Michael Reagan and Nancy Reagan like me. Sez history is being changed by the attackers.

[daddy]

Jane,

Is it true Mass residents like RomneyCare by a 3 to 1 margin?

[Danube of Thought]

After we plant the flag and the corn, we could send a bunch of heavy equipment up there and start sending back huge quantities of lead, tungsten, iron ore, rye, wheat, barley, frankincense and myrrh. The possibilities are endless. Maybe we could get herds of bison going...

Say what you will about Newt, the guy is a visionary.

[daddy]

Rick: Very hard on Cuba and us opening up to Cuba.

Paul Responding to Wolf's question of what would you say to Raul Castro if he showed up in your office? "I'd ask what are you hear for". Applause and laughter. Paul sez the people are getting more and more open to the world.

Mitt: Won't address Paul's comments, sez the President is wrong in Latin America by ignoring it, and he is wrong reaching out to the worlds worst characters, tyrants like Ahmadinajad, etc. Sez Cuban's want freedom and we need to help them get free.

Newt: Mitt was right when he said a policy was correct when I was glad to pass it in as Speaker. Says the Pres can look everywhere and see change is needed except in Cuba.

[Clarice]

HEH! I hope my adventurous grand daughter doesn't get wind of the space colony. It's getting hard enough for me to shlep this old body from the East Coast to Los Angeles.

[Old Lurker]

Some might say grandiose.

[Clarice]

well, OL, Think of it as a new opportunity for green energy.

[daddy]

Palestine question from a Palestinian America.

Mitt: Israel is our ally. He focus's on Israel, not Palestine. Hits Obama for animosity toward Israel.

Newt: "(Wolf--"an invented people?") Yes, they are invented. Says the history. Goes into missiles landing today in Israel from the Palestinian's, Sez that is War. Sez as soon as they give up the rockets Pali's could instantly get peace over there but the Pali leadership says no. Newt sez on day 1 he would make a resolution to make Jerusalem the capitol, not Tel Aviv.

[Jim Miller]

Clarice - In most science fiction stories, moon colonies are places that are easy on bodies, thanks to the one-sixth gravity.

(Once you get there of course.)

[Jane]

Is it true Mass residents like RomneyCare by a 3 to 1 margin?

I don't know anyone who likes Romneycare who pays for their own health insurance. However if you get your health insurance from an employer you may not even notice. Neither TC or Dave rave about Romneycare like I do, but I think they both have employer paid healthcare.

[Clarice]

Yeah, that's the FIne rint--"Once you get there".

[Clarice]

** Fine Print****

[narciso]

What you forgot about your fellow, alumni, '29, Danube;

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/01/science-fiction-authors-agree-newts-moon-idea-isnt-so-crazy/252083/

Yes we'll need a more expansive view of frequent flyer miles for sure,

[Jane]

"Rave" may be the wrong word -

[Jane]

Isn't it "inalienable" rights?

[centralcal]

It's getting hard enough for me to shlep this old body from the East Coast to Los Angeles.

Pheh! You made it to Africa for safari. Sheesh. Old lady - heh - you sure get around girlfriend!

[Clarice]

Actually, Instapundit and Hawking seem to agree the future of humankind seems to depend on colonizing space.

As for me, I'm finding it hard enough to get around one planet.

[MarkO]

Is it over.

Here I place LOL. You know who you are.

[MarkO]

?

[Sara]

Does anyone else think this has been the most substantive debate they've had so far?

[Clarice]

whoa! Heinlein says the ratio was 2 men to every women and gals had a stable of their own and even though 100+ looked ss though they were 30...I'm re-thinking this. Maybe if Amazon prime covered shipping there.

[Sara]

I am a space junkie, but that said, I think we should be putting far more resources into marine biology and exploration. The medical breakthroughs alone coming from the sea are extraordinary.

[MarkO]

Really? A colony on the moon? This is something advanced by a serious, conservative candidate for president of the USA?

Doom. (and the German translation, which I can't find---narc?)

[Jane]

I think Santorum won.

[Frau Zukunft]

Newt used to be a futurist. Remember he wrote the foreword to the Tofflers' 1994 "Creating a New Civilization (The Politics of the Third Wave):

"While I am a Republican leader in the Congress, I do not believe Republicans or the Congress have a monopoly on solving problems and helping America make the transformation necessary to enter the Third Wave information revolution. Democratic mayors like Norquist in Milwaukee and Rendel in Philadelphia are making real breakthroughs at the city level. Some of the best of Vice President Gore's efforts to reinvent government nibble in the right direction (although timidly and without making a decisive breakthrough).

[daddy]

Tell College kids why you are the candidate most likely to beat Obama:

Paul: I Protect Civil Liberties and bring in people in who believe in civil liberties which undermines Obama because he continues wars and i undermine that.

Mitt: We are headed to a Euro social welfare State. I believe we have to have dramatic fundamental change in washington and scale back the size of Govt. To change DC you must do it with people from outside of the system I am the outside, I know how to work from the outside. My experience will be used to get America right. That experience is how I will beat Obama.

Newt: I was in the 2 largest Repub sweeps in American History. I'm running fro my 2 grandkids and want them to look back and see that what we did in 2012 mattered. 2012 means do you want independence or dependence. We can defeat him by a big margin but only if we run as more than a Republican. Slams Obama as destructive and promoting Saul Alinsky.

Rick. I agree with Mitt and Newt this is a big Election---I think I am better than the 2 previous speakers on making this a bottom up nit a top down system. Obama led with manufacturing the other night because they are Blue Collar workers. he is making a ply for those guys and they are the primary focus of my campaign. Those are the guys I am best able to win voting for me.

[daddy]

This didn't post from the next to last question:

Question: "How would youtr religious beliefs effect your decisions as Pres?"

Paul. "It wouldn't effect me. It effects how I live." I would do my job according to the Oath of Office.

Mit: I concur with Ron Paul. I would also seek the guidance of Providence.

Newt: 3 ways it would effect me

1) I agree with Mitt. With such big decisions, I would pray like Mitt said
2) If you are truly faithful, it should diffuse your ife always
3) An increasingly aggressive war against Christianity in this country by the MSM and secular elites, and I would stand up and said we are truly guaranteed religion freedom in this country and I intend to make sure it stays that way.

Rick: Quotes "God Given Rights" from our Founding documents'. Explains what that means. Explains the consequences of if our rights come not from God but from the State, then they can be taken from us by the State. Applause. . Break-time, and a Davos ad on CNN International, and a Euro guy saying Capitalism is outdated and we need Global Government.

[daddy]

"I think Santorum won."

Jane,

Can't disagree. Best I have seem him. I did not notice him having to backtrack or scramble on any of his positions, unlike both Mitt and Newt.

I missed the first part, but from when I came in I thought Rick was excellent. I thought he hit Mitt Romney very well on RomneyCare.

A good enough performance from everyone that I think all 4 guys could actually claim that their guy won it, or at least held his own.

What do the rest of you folks think?

[Frau Untergang]

Verhängnis...

[MarkO]

Didn't see the debate. Did see, however, that Carolina pounded State. It's good to have some order. Next, we've got to stifle FSU.

[MarkO]

Thanks, Frau.

[Captain Hate]

The Wuffies are pretty bad, Mark; and with Yow as the AD I don't see that changing any time soon.

[Jane]

Most of the commenters seem to give it to Rick too, which actually surprises me.

The beginning was pretty ugly Daddy.

[Captain Hate]

What I read by daddy seemed to be pretty civil. Am I interpreting that incorrectly?

[daddy]

"I hope my adventurous grand daughter doesn't get wind of the space colony. It's getting hard enough for me to shlep this old body from the East Coast to Los Angeles."

Clarice,

I don't take you to be a SciFi reader, but in regard to our bodies getting a tad slow, John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" really is a fun and interesting Sci Fi read. You might consider it on your next flight out to the Wolverine where you can regale her on arrival about all the cool aliens your old body (now rejuvenated) just killed and made love to:)

[rse]

Oh FRau. That quote is awful.

[Danube of Thought]

"Newt used to be a futurist."

Damn right. Who among us--other than Newt--could see, on that glorious day back in November of 1994, what the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers signified for the new Republican majority? (Be honest: by the end of that day, didn't you wonder a little bit just what the hell the guy was talking about?)

Look: we've got four candidates. One of them is flat-out nutty. Another is a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty. The other two are prissy, out-of-touch and quite intensely unlikeable.

And we here are supposed to cheerlead for one of them? Start without me....

[Clarice]

HEH, daddy. Actually, I love mysteries and hate sci fi. I have introduced her to Nancy Drew and she's gone nuts over those books, Says it's a "generation to generation" thing.

[Benjamin Franklin]

From comments, elsewhere....

AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS BIEBER CAN ONE OF THESE FUCKING MODERATORS PLEASE CORRECT THE CANDIDATES THAT FREDDIE/FANNIE DON’T ORIGINATE LOANS. ALL THEY DO IS BUY AND SELL LOANS THAT SOMEONE ELSE (A BANK) ALREADY ORIGINATED. THEY CAN’T GIVE OUT LOANS THAT PEOPLE CAN’T REPAY BECAUSE THEY CAN’T GIVE OUT LOANS!

Apologies for the Jesus key, but hopefully the interons may hear this time. This lie is almost as brazen as the birther shit.

[Barbara]

A good enough performance from everyone that I think all 4 guys could actually claim that their guy won it, or at least held his own.

I agree.

I think CNN did a pretty good job of conducting the debate as well.

[Sara]

I think Santorum shined during the section on Central/Latin America. Not so good on Cuba. Thought he sounded like he was getting his facts from the DNC on MA Affordable Care. Not his finest moment.

I think they all did an adequate job. Newt not as good as SC, Mitt much better. I like Paul as a person, and think he had his moments too.

Romney has a new debate coach and I think it really showed.

[Clarice]

DoT, we could sit in a corner and drink martinis until this passes.

[Frau Untergang]

Right on, right on, daddy. You cannot even detect that Scalzi is lefty and close friend of the Talking Points Memo Josh Marshall. blogger. They went to Webb School (Claremont) together.

[narciso]

Well the Chinese don't think the space program is such a crazy notion, among other things;

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/chinas-space-program_n_894479.html

[daddy]

Chinese web is failing over here. See you tomorrow.

Thanks MarkO for the news about the TarHeels.

Bye.

[Frau Federball]

Webb School does not offer a course in anarchy, for shame.

[narciso]

Yes, it's like Charles Stross, crazy Scottish
anarchist, but his Foundry series, James Bond
meets Lovecraft with humor, are always entertaining, the rest of his oevre is utter moonbat.

[Sara]

On the wives, I had to laugh at Ron Paul's I've been married 52?54? years. Full stop. That amount of time speaks for itself.

I thought Romney's love for Ann came through big time.

I thought Santorum's respect for his wife, both for her accomplishments as a mother of 7, came through.

Gingrich sounded like he was describing a secretary he liked and not a true love. Kind of cold fish.

[Jim Miller]

Well, there are science fiction mysteries, even a few good ones. (Though they are hard to write, if the mystery is intended to be a puzzle for the reader to solve.)

Asimov's "Caves of Steel" is pretty good, and I'm fond of Randall Garrett's Lord Darcy stories.

[Rocco]

Well I missed the debate, hope to catch the rerun. But I'm all in with a space colony on the moon. For you Newt!

Good Night

[Clarice]

Niters..

Remember, every day we get a bit closer to November.

[narciso]

And Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series, sort of the picaresque version, of
space opera,

[Danube of Thought]

"DoT, we could sit in a corner and drink martinis until this passes."

Best idea I've heard since Christ was a Midshipman. It's a deal.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Clarice-

Do not let the Wolverine read "Ender's Game", you will never, ever hear the end of it.

Until the sequel has been read.

Truly thought provoking books, designed to question all.

And the third share of the trilogy brings a synthesis to War, Peace, and Anarchy (Alienness).

Read them first, yourself, before the Wolverine gets them, because she will find worse.

[Publius from Idaho]

Frau,

Webb remimds me of eucalyptus. Do they still field a football team?

[Melinda Romanoff]

And I think I've stunk up the place enough with that.

G'night all.

[daddy]

Watching Davos on the BBC. Current panel has Lael Brainard, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs in the administration of President Barack Obama: She just agreed with the BBC moderator that the main problem facing America is not Islamic Terrorism, it is income disparity between the rich and the poor.

Interesting point to note. Guess who mentioned Adam Smith positively? An economist from China.

The focus of Davos in 2012 without question is a loud and clear failure enunciation of the failure of Capitalism.

[daddy]

Moderator ends the comments from the panel by quoting the last Euro minister speaking on the panel who finishes with: "We have to move forward and bring the Welfare State and Democracy together."

Moderator repeats that line; "We have to move forward and bring the Welfare State and Democracy together---that's a great way to end this discussion. Thank you panelists." Clapping, applause.

[narciso]

One of these days they will figure it out, but not this day;

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2012/01/27/wapos-josh-white-cant-figure-out-motive-jihadist-military-site-vandalize

[Jane]

Holy cow Daddy.

[Captain Hate]

This guy has it figured out http://www.therightscoop.com/mark-levin-newt-did-more-for-the-conservative-movement-than-virtually-all-of-his-critics-today/

[Jim Ryan]

I don't care about this POTUS primary anymore. I won't be voting in the Virginia primary. If Santorum were on the ballot, I'd vote and pull the lever for him because at least I wouldn't have to avoid mirrors afterwards. But I cannot vote for Romney or Paul. Newt was a Reaganite, but he's played class warfare, making it impossible for me to vote for him were he on the ballot.

The Senate is much more important now. Sod all this POTUS nonsense. The chance of one of these dorks beating Obama, multiplied by the utility of having one of them in the White House instead of Obama, is an expected utility measurable only by nanometer. Turn your attention to your Senate races. Here Kaine and Allen are tied in the polls and Allen has several credible tea party challengers in the GOP primary. It is more urgent that Harry Reid be unseated than Obama be.

What's happening in the Senate races in your neck of the woods?

[Captain Hate]

Here in Ohio maryrose and I are committed to putting Josh Mandel in place and sending that commie Sherrod Brown packing so he can devote all his time to chasing skirts and providing his fatassed wife with divorce #2.

[Sandy Daze]

Jim - The Senate is Very Important and must be won, the House is very important, and must be retained. But I most strongly disagree with what I understand to be your position re POTUS. To believe there is no difference, or rather a difference that can be measured in nanometers between Voldemort and whomever is the Republican nominee, is just wrong. Absolutely wrong.

ABO-OMG
Sandy

[MarkO]

Dr. K:

What Obama offered the nation Tuesday night was a pudding without a theme: a jumble of disconnected initiatives, a gaggle of intrusive new agencies, and a whole new generation of loopholes to further corrupt a tax code that screams out for reform.

If the Republicans can’t beat that in November, they should try another line of work.

Amen.

[Jim Ryan]

Sandy, one of these GOP bozos would be better than Zero, but when the chance of one of them beating Zero is taken into account, it becomes better to spend time on the Senate, I think. There is garbage coming out of Romney and Newt's mouths, which means crappy chance against Zero and crappy president.

[OldTimer]

I heartily disagree, Jim Ryan. As long as Barry has a podium he will emote his sick dysfunctional view of how the world should operate, which will only serve to further depress our economy and the morale of the country. He will become more strident and unpredictable with a majority GOP Senate and House. Don't forget, he's CiC.

The sociological dementia displayed at Davos is the foundational belief system of every czar and political appointee in Barry's administration, not to mention his obedient prog ministers in Congress.

Obama must go! There shouldn't be so much as a cigarette ash left in the White House when Obama's swept out. And that goes for his czars and talismans, too. Out!

[MarkO]

Novak Djokovic wins semi-final, drops to knees and crosses himslef. Will the racists on ESPN's football show attack him?

[Rick Ballard]

Q4 at 2.8%

That will be revised down but it's already lower than consensus. It also reflects car sales that were super pimped in Nov/Dec by the doubled depreciation offered to businesses which purchased in '11.

Jim Ryan,

I understand your lack of enthusiasm. Governor Romney will need to lease a larger choir of cheerleaders to work over the summer - maybe the Osmonds could do a reunion tour?

I've got North Dakota, Nebraska and Montana as sure flips. Ohio and Virginia will both be interesting but I've been intrigued by New Mexico. It's a cheap seat and worth having.

[centralcal]

I agree with you 100% OldTimer.

[NK]

RickB-- here's a Bloomberg news report about GDP. You can feel the the dissapointment in these young lefty journos; this GDP report is lame, 2012 will be lame, 'Bam will be booted out. Consumer spending is basically flatlined because of lousy wage increases and food and energy inflation. If some numb nutz Repub can explain to voters the reason they are hurting is because the Dems have borrowed $5+Trillion Dollars (on the way the $7TRILLION by the end of 2012) and the Fed has to pay for that by driving down the Dollar. Dollar goes down, Food/Energy go up immediately, consumers are worse off. All because of 2 years of Dem Monopoly 2009-2010. PLEASE can some repub explain that simple concept. From Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-27/economy-in-u-s-grows-less-than-economists-forecast-as-consumers-hold-back.html

[Jim Ryan]

MarkO, I forget who played the clips on the radio, but Tuesdays SOTU was largely a reprise of one of Zero's last SOTU, with only slight rewording of many of the passages; Zero plagiarized his earlier SOTU. There's no there there. Meanwhile Newt's talking about going to the moon and Romney's Swiss bank account, and Romney's lying about Newt's being an anti-Reaganite when Romney himself is on record in this century as declaring that he is a progressive. Sod the lot of them. This is an utter disgrace to the GOP. And Zero's even worse. Is there a year in American history with worse candidates in both parties?

I can't stand it anymore. If Santorum, as boring and indifferent he is, wins in Fla, this will be evidence of a God so loving and so pitiful of us in our debasement that he was willing to tamper with the Diebolds.

[centralcal]

Governor Romney will need to lease a larger choir of cheerleaders to work over the summer...

How right you are Rick. According to the Daily Caller:

At least one Florida resident may support Newt Gingrich, but says the cash is with Mitt Romney’s campaign.

A video circulating on the Internet shows a Florida man with Romney campaign literature at an early voting location in Miami claiming he’s there to support Romney’s bid for president solely because he’s being paid and not because he likes the candidate.

“All of us are being paid,” the man wearing a Romney shirt and holding campaign literature says in the video

[NK]

RickB-- thanks for posting the Commerce report. 2011 GDP 1.7%?!/ The Dems borrowed $1.3 TRILLION in 2011 and we get 1.7% growth? In 2012 maybe 2%. This really sucks. I knew how bad 'Bam and the Dems are, but when you look at the numbers macro, you realize HOW BAD the Dems are. GET RID OF THEM.

[A Casual Observation]

Imo, there were no winnrs and no losers in last night's debate. People who desperately want to believe that there were "gotcha" moments with Newtie are grasping at straws. I continue to wonder why Rick Santorum hasn't gotten out of the race, and Ron Paul continues to star in a sequel to My Favorite Martian.

[Rick Ballard]

"Is there a year in American history with worse candidates in both parties?"

I nominate 1856.

NK,

To the extent that consumers are 'holding back', it's due to the Kendonesian commie bastard in the White House. I would note that the personal saving rate dropped which indicates to me that consumers were making personal transfers to relatives and friends for purchases of bacon and beans.

Food Stamp BOzo is well on his way out.