We can only conclude our convention coverage with a with a quick trip down memory lane to the Best Finish Evah! Let's go back to 2004 with John Kerry:
DNC CONVENTION DIRECTOR DON MISCHER AIRED ON CNN AS KERRY ENDS SPEECH, HEARD WORLDWIDE:
'Go balloons, go balloons! Go balloons! I don't see anything happening. Go balloons! Go balloons! Go balloons! Standby confetti. Keep coming, balloons. More balloons. Bring it- balloons, balloons, balloons! We want balloons, tons of them. Bring them down. Let them all come. No confetti. No confetti yet.
'No confetti. All right, go balloons, go balloons. We need more balloons. All balloons! All balloons! Keep going! Come on, guys, lets move it. Jesus! We need more balloons. I want all balloons to go, goddammit. Go confetti. Go confetti. More confetti. I want more balloons. What's happening to the balloons? We need more balloons.
'We need all of them coming down. Go balloons- balloons? What's happening balloons? There's not enough coming down! All balloons, what the hell! There's nothing falling! What the fuck are you guys doing up there? We want more balloons coming down, more balloons. More balloons. More balloons'...
From the video, this looks and sounds like a foreshadowing of the Obama stimulus.
I have not studied the 2012 videotape but I am advised that Team Romney managed a balloon drop.
"May I be the first to call you Mr. President?" That line will surely appear in the first paragraph of the oaf Shrum's obituary.
And who can forget the Cheshire-cat grin on the grotesquely broad mouth of the harridan Estrich, as she gloated in the secret knowledge of those early 2004 exit polls?
These memories make it all worthwhile.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | August 31, 2012 at 12:51 AM
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 01:12 AM
Obama sent Eastwood a tweet. He didn't like being mocked.
Posted by: Sue | August 31, 2012 at 01:13 AM
Yes there was a balloon drop, over 100,000 and 500,000 lbs of confetti
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 01:17 AM
For Victory night in our MD District in 1988, I was in charge of overseeing the decorations in the Hall we were having our Victory party in. While others were setting up the tables, TV monitors, and streamers, I volunteered to do the balloons. We only had 700 and it took me hours to blow them all up with the helium bottle. I can't imagine having to do 100,000.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 01:31 AM
Michael Moore: 'Get used to saying President Romney'
White House in panic – 'People should start to practice the words'
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 01:40 AM
Over here in Paris, everybody is talking about the Mitt Romney speech but nobody is broadcasting the Mitt Romney speech.
I suppose if I could read sign language I would get an inkling of what the Mittster said, as every shot of him has the sign language person to the side of the camera doing the gesticulations, but since I don't read sign language I find I am like the other hundred million Europeans, wondering what the hell he said and only getting the filtering from the Beeb or Al Jazirah or Russia Today etc.
Thank you sign language guys for going the extra mile and actually translating Mitt's spoken words for the the deaf and dumb masses. T'is good to know that those who cannot speak or hear know what the Republican Presidential Candidate said.
As for everybody else who can speak and hear and relies on the 800 channels available on broadcast Television, guess we are SOL.
BTW, did you guys know MiTT Romney was Morman?
Posted by: daddy | August 31, 2012 at 01:57 AM
narciso:
Michael Moore is probably getting a Romney movie ready to go into production on Jan. 20. From that same article, it doesn't get more pathetic than Kerry still issuing warnings about getting swiftboated, does it?
Did you click on that Obamanation interactive painting? It's pretty cool. You point your cursor on it, to see an explanation of the particular failure being depicted.
Posted by: JM Hanes | August 31, 2012 at 01:59 AM
JMH
Why are you still awake? Same reason I am?
Posted by: Sue | August 31, 2012 at 02:08 AM
daddy, speaking of sign language, have you heard the story about the deaf preschooler named Hunter who's getting grief from his school because the sign language that represents his name looks to them like a gun?
http://www.examiner.com/article/hunter-spanjer-age-3-asked-to-change-signed-name-because-it-resembled-gun
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | August 31, 2012 at 02:11 AM
only getting the filtering from the Beeb or Al Jazirah or Russia Today
I imagine RT took a rather dim view of Romney's address.
Posted by: Elliott | August 31, 2012 at 02:20 AM
Oops, 500 not 500,000 lbs of confetti.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 02:22 AM
Daddy:
Don't worry, you can watch the speech on YouTube when you get home. Or find it online tonight. It is already up.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 02:25 AM
Daddy:
You can watch Eastwood here.
I guess the left/media are going nuts, but I thought it was hilarious.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 02:42 AM
Sue:
Probably. Unless the Rangers are playing night baseball.
Posted by: JM Hanes | August 31, 2012 at 02:44 AM
Could be the full moon, too, though.
Posted by: JM Hanes | August 31, 2012 at 02:46 AM
Daddy: Here is Romney's speech:
RNC Speech: Mitt Romney accepts Republican nomination
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 02:52 AM
Got a linky to anything about the Obama prissiness re Clint? Love to splash that around some places!
Posted by: Stephanie | August 31, 2012 at 03:00 AM
Touching Story of Oparowskis and Mitt Romney
Video of the couple with the dying 14 year old who asked Mitt to help him write his will.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 03:17 AM
Romney at the RNC: From the Audacity of Hype to the Tenacity of Hope.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 03:25 AM
Stephanie - In the LUN is a response to Obama's tweet, but you have to look for the 2nd picture.
Posted by: C.R. | August 31, 2012 at 03:41 AM
Watch the RNC Video Tribute To Ronald Reagan's Presidency .
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 03:51 AM
Confetti Drop:
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 03:58 AM
Awwww … Barry got his feelings hurt …
I love the one comment that is already posted:
"Bless his heart."
LOL
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 04:06 AM
RNC: Pam Finlayson talks of Mitt and her newborn. This one had grown men in the audience wiping away tears.
Posted by: Sara | August 31, 2012 at 04:53 AM
Joe Gernon on CNBC Squawkbox:
Interviewing some talking head John somebody, reporter on CNBC, the reporter says that in his opinion every member of the Romney Campaign is wishing that they did not put on Clint Eastwood last night because Clint was so bad. The CNBC host Gernon completely disagrees and winds up calling the talking head reporter "an empty suit." Excellent. Talking head gets defensive at that crack.
As to the comment, what the heck did I miss? From the link I saw of Clint's speech it looked like he did great. Am I missing something?
Posted by: daddy | August 31, 2012 at 06:21 AM
Thanks!
Posted by: Stephanie | August 31, 2012 at 06:26 AM
"As to the comment, what the heck did I miss? From the link I saw of Clint's speech it looked like he did great. Am I missing something?"
For starters you're talking about Clint Eastwood more than Mitt Romney.
The conversation around every watercooler in America will be about Clint Eastwood.
Posted by: dublindave | August 31, 2012 at 06:32 AM
Daddy, you are missing the cloud of smug that the left exists in.
Posted by: henry | August 31, 2012 at 06:33 AM
Daddy, I think their knickers are in a twist because Clint put words to everyone's thoughts. . . "errr, what's that, no I won't and besides it is impossible to do that to myself. . ." (paraphrase from memory). Everyone knows exactly what those implied words were, and that thought sullied the otherwise spotless convention. Big Ears was not attacked personally, only on policy. Clint breeched that levy. imo.
Posted by: Voldemort Delenda Est ! Sandy Daze | August 31, 2012 at 06:35 AM
Not that there is anything wrong with that. . . Clint was being Clint, and as JiB observed, he does not care what anyone else thinks about him.
I think (sitting here with my Jr Psychoanalyst Badge pinned to my shirt), that Clint felt he was taken for a ride with the SuperBowl public service announcement/Chrysler advert Its Halftime in America, and wanted to make sure that everyone understood his views quite clearly.
Posted by: Voldemort Delenda Est ! Sandy Daze | August 31, 2012 at 06:40 AM
Wretchard:
Continued. . .
Posted by: Voldemort Delenda Est ! Sandy Daze | August 31, 2012 at 06:47 AM
Daddy-
I don't have CNBC on yet, but I bet Joe Kernan was pasting known Obamabot, John Hardwood, who can recite TPM faster than anyone. "The Best Hairpiece In The Biz" (Hardwood) is well known for his inability to stray or think beyond dogma and strong slogans. He also cheats with married Senators.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 06:55 AM
MSNBC is going nuts about Clint. "it was so disrespectful!". Gimme a break. Remember President Bush? Apparently you guys have redefined what the word "respect" means.
Posted by: Jane | August 31, 2012 at 07:21 AM
MSM is giving Romney's speech decent reviews. On the ABC web site, the speech was classified as a Reagan type speech.
As to MSNB no one sees' account of Eastwood's performance, the prog media can snark all it wants, but I suspect that if Eastwood's performance has any lasting impact, it will be to make it more respectable to treat Obama with the kind of snark that all other POTUSes have been treated with. If that is the case, it is all to the good. We are the United States of America. If Obama wants to be a charismatic leader who is worshipped by the faithful, he should try another country to head.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 31, 2012 at 07:43 AM
Rush is wrong. Ryan and Eastwood are right.
The muddle perceive that Obama is doing a bad job and screwing up the economy. They turn to the GOP. "He's doin' a bad job, right? What d'you guys got?"
If he hears a Mark Levin/Rush Limbaugh spittle-flecked tirade about the ideological underpinnings of Obama's policies, things he has never heard about, he will be likely to be deflected. "Whoah! That stuff's comin' from left field. Sheesh. Better vote for Obama and give him one more shot because these guys seem wigged out."
Instead we have the Ryan/Eastwood keynote: "Obama is a failed employee, 2008's news, useless, incompetent, a screw-up. Time to let him go and put in an accomplished business turn-around artist." The muddle thing, "Yup. He's a cool guy, but it's time to give him the heave-ho because he doesn't have what it takes. I'll vote for Romney."
In short, you cannot do in a couple days or a few weeks the job the media has failed to do for the last four years. But facts are stubborn and often very obvious things. And one of these obvious facts is, to use muddle-speak, "Obama sucks." That's news the muddle can use.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 07:43 AM
Romney's speech gets a C- from me. I wanted to see what was in the fridge. Zzz. He gave a barn-burner of a Reaganesque speech at CPAC in 2008 (2009?) which struck me as one of the finest conservative speeches of the decade.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 07:49 AM
JR, I agree that Eastwood's appeal to the muddle makes his performance a winner. I enjoyed his performance immensely. Note that at the beginning, he actually snarked about his being more popular than Romney (I am referring to his plea that some applause be saved for Romney). His was a performance that not only brought out Obama's flaws, but did it in a way a non-politics-wonker would appreciate.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 31, 2012 at 07:52 AM
Americans will give Eastwood a pass on the clunker line. They realize he is very old and was improvising on the spot and just reached for the wrong gag.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 07:53 AM
JR, I wonder whether Romney intentionally avoided giving a barnburner. He may have thought that a sober tone about policy and a heartfelt tone about his upbringing struck the correct tone. He left the excitement to Rubio, and the performance art to Eastwood.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 31, 2012 at 07:57 AM
TC, yeah, I was wondering that, too. Could be. I think you're right that it was intentionally low key. Couldn't have been unintentional.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 07:59 AM
Will the Dem Islamic prayer session be televised tonight? The MFM - We block mainstream minority speakers at the Republican convention & the radical fringe at the Democrat convention!
...but I might be wrong...maybe they will cover it.
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 08:01 AM
TC, I think that's very likely and a smart move.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 31, 2012 at 08:01 AM
Jim Ryan,
Nobody here was the intended target for the speech. It was designed for suburban housewives who are ambivalent about voting for someone who has been characterized as a ruthless profit seeker. I found the speech to be rather poorly crafted, over long and thematically muddy but I believe it served the intended purpose when coupled with the earlier schmaltz.
There was plenty of red meat throughout the convention - gotta let the Fuzzy Bunny out to calm the fearful.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | August 31, 2012 at 08:02 AM
I also think his reference to his buddies caring more about which sports teams he followed than his religion struck a great American melting pot tone. I hope he uses that line in the fall campaign if he feels he needs to speak about his religion.
Posted by: Thomas Collins | August 31, 2012 at 08:02 AM
Obama got made fun of in front of the whole world by one of the coolest guys ever, for fifteen solid minutes. That's got to sting, esp. for someone who is especially sensitive to ridicule. Bush could take it. Barry can't.
Posted by: Porchlight | August 31, 2012 at 08:03 AM
Here is yet another reason to embrace Romney/Ryan - Goracle: “I Fear” A Romney-Ryan Administration…
Algore can tremble in fear in one of his 3 homes or in his houseboat. Let me know when Al starts riding a bike to his environmental events....& then maybe I'll take his warnings seriously.
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 08:10 AM
If I were advising the president, I would suggest he give George Clooney 15 minutes on the Dem convention stage as a counter.
He could go on just after that desperate housewife person who's also speaking.
Posted by: hit and run | August 31, 2012 at 08:12 AM
Revealed: Super Racist Paul Ryan’s Black College Sweetheart…
And she's NOT a composite!!! She actually exists!! How refreshing is THAT!
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 08:16 AM
The heebie-jeebies about Mormonism puzzles me. I don't get it. Atheists and Muslims make people shrug but mention "Mormon" and there's a slight panic response. There were plenty of Mormons in my high school. The two best saxophonists in the jazz band were Mormons. There was a hardcore-libertarian teacher who was a Mormon. I directed the orchestra for "Pippin" and the Mormon clarinetist and I had a crush on each other; she was a fine gal. I had a colleague once who was a Mormon and a professor of Japanese literature who was a hale-fellow-well-met. Etc. Other than Harry Reid, I've never heard of a doucheois Mormon. They're doing something right. Reid? It may have been all the blows to the head.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 08:16 AM
Watched Clint with prepidation last night and with delight this morning. I see now he was terrific!
Posted by: DebinNC | August 31, 2012 at 08:18 AM
JR-
Proselytizing is bad juju to progs. Only the Entitled may do so. Faith in anything other than those giving the orders falls under verboten.
And is why most call those that follow that theory, "waiters".
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 08:28 AM
Well I was up early and here is the post I promised.
http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/didnt-the-president-just-admit-ccssi-was-a-ruse-to-change-classroom-interactions/
It's pretty bad when the only way to stop a simpleton Principal and greedy district administrators and parasitic accreditation agencies from destroying children's lives while living well off our money is to take on the current President.
And he may believe "we didn't build that" but there is no question he definitively linked himself to the 90s iteration of the John Dewey vision for America that was formally created by faculty members at Chicago's National Louis University. Another faculty member, Janet Miller, wrote the 1998 book with Bill Ayers that is a tribute to Maxine Greene and her carrying forward the Dewey vision.
Posted by: rse | August 31, 2012 at 08:30 AM
Heh, empty chair. Brilliant icon.
==================
Posted by: A chicken in every pot and an empty chair in every front lawn. | August 31, 2012 at 08:33 AM
Can we get on with the Abortion celebration already? I dont give a Sandra Fluke about all this god and country falderol, we need to be talking about important stuff, like a war on wymyn or people being put in chains or maybe to lighten it up Seamus...
Posted by: GMAX | August 31, 2012 at 08:34 AM
Well, I have to confess I fell asleep (apparently as did Jane) during Mitt's speech. I think I made it about half-way through. I didn't awaken for the balloon drop and confetti. Guess I will have to watch a video of it today.
Posted by: centralcal | August 31, 2012 at 08:38 AM
I am going out on a limb here, and am going to threaten to light Janet's and JMH's hair on fire. Just after they calmed down from yesterday's press spin, here come's the proof.
They aren't "the opposition", they ARE on the other side.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 08:40 AM
Pew Resaearch Center ( a fairly consistently Democrat biased pollster ) has this finding:
It’s no surprise that Republicans are doing even better among white evangelicals than they were four years ago. But they have turned an even split among white mainline Protestants into a 12-point advantage, and they have transformed an 8-point deficit among white Catholics into a 9-point edge. (This last statistic may help explain why the Romney-Ryan ticket is doing better than expected in the upper Midwest.)
They had some help from the progs and the miserable failure...
Posted by: GMAX | August 31, 2012 at 08:44 AM
Let me chime in behind Rick Ballard that using the convention to reach out to the Muddle is the optimal strategy for Mittens at this point. What's he done for the Tea Partiers? Two words - Paul Ryan. People like those here are going to be far more influenced by substantive picks like that than anything said at the convention.
I don't think Romney is looking for the Big Win play, I think he's slowly and carefully putting his assets in place and I think that's the best strategy for the odd political situation we have, with a President who is well liked despite being a massive failure. The former is eroding and Romney is setting up to take advantage of that once it hits the tipping point.
All of this tells me he's playing to win, and is that not what the JOM crew has claimed to want, over and over?
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy | August 31, 2012 at 08:45 AM
Something I haven't seen much mentioned explicitly is Clint's special place as the portrayer of righteousness destroying evil. The movie of the next nine weeks is going to be the chase.
========================
Posted by: The good, the bad, and it's gonna get ugly. | August 31, 2012 at 08:47 AM
AOG-
Excellent points.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 08:47 AM
What any critics of Clint are missing, is that the only thing Zero has going for him is a slight but shrinking likability factor. A non politician who is generally admired was mocking Zero. He is such a narcissist that it was enraging to him. There is going to be a constanting ribbing and poking of Zero the imcompetent, and I am betting ( and I think the campaign is too ) that he explodes and says some more stupid ( some addition stupid things I mean, you cant be more stupid than "you didn't build that.")
Once the likability is rasp filed down, the last vestiges of non prog support with female voters fades to black...
Posted by: GMAX | August 31, 2012 at 08:51 AM
Kim-
You ain't seen Chicago-ugly yet. It's coming. If you think the MFM's been just makin' it up and throwin', well, let's just say all I've seen are snowball's, there's a pile of rocks still to come after the mud.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 08:51 AM
Eastwood was a hoot.
Mitt did what he needed to do: He looked and spoke like a leader with a focus on his vision that projected right to the concerns most American's have.
I liked Rubio's admonition that "[Obama's] ideas are what people come to America to get away from...."
Clarification: Frederick's birthday is Saturday the 1st of September but thanks for all the advanced wishes.
I missed Cardinal Dolan's benediction last night, so would like to hear from those who stayed up what they thought.
RR are in Lakeland at 10AM for a rally. That is part of the important I-4 corridor that went for Bush in 00 and 04 but Obama in 08., Darn important district of Indy voters.
Local JAX radio says they are coming to the Landings tomorrow but I hear that they are both going to Louisiana to view the flood damage.
Posted by: Jim Eagle | August 31, 2012 at 08:52 AM
Janet,
I'm so confused. Didn't they left say Ryan's black girlfriend proves he is a racist?
With all this re-definition of words I just can't keep up.
Posted by: Jane - Get off the couch your country needs you! | August 31, 2012 at 08:53 AM
I think the whole "likability" meme is pure bunk and more myth than real.
Even among his supporters - I get no sense at all that they really LIKE him. I think a goodly portion of them feel about him as Halperin famously said - "he's a dick."
No, it is not likability at all. He is their power pawn, nothing more. They have no up and comers in the ranks, except tired old cankles. They are clinging to Obama as their pool floatie cuz they got nothing else.
Posted by: centralcal | August 31, 2012 at 08:55 AM
And, so, the art of Eastwooding (yelling at a chair) is born:
http://storify.com/antderosa/eastwooding?utm_content=storify-pingback&utm_campaign=&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=sfy.co-twitter&awesm=sfy.co_o7c0
Posted by: hrtshpdbox | August 31, 2012 at 08:57 AM
George Clooney at the Dem convention? Well, Politifiction couldn't give him any Pinocchios for telling lies because liars know what they are saying is false while BS artists neither know nor care.
Clooney is a shallow thinker, at best only able to read lines with conviction.
Of course, the MSM couldn't (wouldn't?) detect that, cut of the same cloth as they are.
Posted by: sbw | August 31, 2012 at 09:04 AM
Yeah, that empty chair is just killer. I wonder if Clint thought it up himself.
====================
Posted by: Better than empty suit, by far. | August 31, 2012 at 09:04 AM
Empty chair is a riff on Bob Newhart's stand up act with a phone.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 09:05 AM
Jim Treacher @jtLOL
If talking to empty chairs is bad, they need to start holding @BarackObama's rallies in broom closets.
Posted by: Dave (in MA) | August 31, 2012 at 09:06 AM
I rewatched Clint with my husband and we were both rolling. My husband will vote straight R but he spends way less time watching and reading politics than I do. He thought Romney's speech was great. I thought it got the job done.
Posted by: Sue | August 31, 2012 at 09:07 AM
John Nolte at Breitbart:
The barbarians have breached the palace gates.
Posted by: GMAX | August 31, 2012 at 09:08 AM
Sue
At my house, the true conservative is my wife. While I watched the Rangers on Tuesday, she was glued to the Convention. And if my 17 year old, who wont be 18 until December is any indication, Cardinal Dolan stepping on stage and giving the invocation will be important with catholic youths...
Posted by: GMAX | August 31, 2012 at 09:12 AM
Melinda's link @ 8:40:
Last August, Maureen Dowd asked Mark Mazzetti to help check a fact for her column
Dowd uses actual facts in her column? Since when? And she actually checks them? THAT'S a revelation, if it's true. Which I kind of doubt.
But what's really appalling is that, apparently, there were people at the CIA worried about what Maureen Dows is writing about them.
I mean, I understand being worried that the NYT or whomever is publishing details that would blow an operation, endanger assets, etc. But Maureen Dowd? Seriously?
That's who our CIA fears? If that's true, a pretty thorough housecleaning is in order at Langley.
Posted by: James D. | August 31, 2012 at 09:13 AM
centralcal;
One is left wondering if Obama's likeability is going to turn out to be a false concensus, created by convincing people not that Obama's likeable but that everyone else thinks he is (just the same way he is "smart"). Was the point of Eastwood to start the preference cascade on that? In contrast to Obama, I actually wonder if Romney is that smart.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy | August 31, 2012 at 09:17 AM
I think the whole "likability" meme is pure bunk and more myth than real.
I think you are right centralcal. They are clinging to Obama as their pool floatie cuz they got nothing else.
Halperin, Jesse Jackson,...
I honestly think a big wake-up moment happened as early as Obama winning the Nobel prize. That was such a joke, even people that voted for him were embarrassed.
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 09:22 AM
Right, James, Mo wouldn't know a fact if it sat right next to her, but after hearing the likes of Pillar, Drumheller, the whole VIPS traveling circus, and how they treated Rodriguez and Martinez, conversely, one sees
what their mindset, is.
Posted by: narciso | August 31, 2012 at 09:23 AM
Here's a great piece on how the Gov't's abandonment of the rule of law can have lasting impact on the economy.
The Trader always has interesting things, even when I disagree with the posts.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 09:29 AM
Yes, Janet, the balloon (Obama Adoration) was brutally punctured almost as soon as he took office. Remember - "Chicago is out? Chicago is out?" POTUS and FLOTUS were going to single handedly, aloft as they were on their invincible likability, bring home the 2012 Olympics.
Posted by: centralcal | August 31, 2012 at 09:30 AM
The chair was fine. I might have used a golf bag.
Posted by: Old Lurker | August 31, 2012 at 09:32 AM
A golf bag would have been GREAT!!! Hah!
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 09:34 AM
If you had any misconceptions that Europe has been telling the truth about the size of its problems, let's put that firmly to rest.
As with most leftist governing bodies whom fear the horde, dey been lyin' fer years.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 09:34 AM
Wow, what a paper at WUWT on Romney's independence-by-2020.
Posted by: Jim Ryan | August 31, 2012 at 09:36 AM
Really the trifecta, Dexia, Spain and Greece,
'dynamic provisioning' shirley they can't be. . .
Posted by: narciso | August 31, 2012 at 09:37 AM
Minus 13 at Raz today.
Trails Romney by 1.
Posted by: Danube of Thought | August 31, 2012 at 09:38 AM
That is some link, Mel. The whole Plame story always had the feel of the MFM coming to the aid of one of their friends in the CIA.
Posted by: Janet | August 31, 2012 at 09:40 AM
"I actually wonder if Romney is that smart."
AOG,
IMO, he is. As you noted, he's following a plan designed to move the Muddle and he has identified the levers that will be most effective in doing so. He's very smart and he is more competent than any pol I've seen in in acknowledging and overcoming areas of weakness. He knows how far he has to move the Muddle and I believe he'll do it rather easily.
I was actually more impressed with the successful (IMO) targeting of Hispanics. I won't be surprised at all if the GOP succeeds in driving the Hispanic support level for Obama (67% in 2008) right back down to the low 50s - and maybe below 50.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | August 31, 2012 at 09:40 AM
Well all the usual suspects were involved here;
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1256475/posts
they were also the ones threatened by Wolfowitz at the World Bank,
Posted by: narciso | August 31, 2012 at 09:45 AM
How about:

Posted by: Threadkiller | August 31, 2012 at 09:45 AM
narciso-
It tastes better with this, which just looks like what they've used>

And they got it from one of these.
Posted by: Melinda Romanoff | August 31, 2012 at 09:46 AM
centralcal:
Remember - "Chicago is out? Chicago is out?" POTUS and FLOTUS were going to single handedly, aloft as they were on their invincible likability, bring home the 2012 Olympics.
2016 Olympics.
As the media and Dems have now informed us, we were spared, due to Obama's incompetence, suffering through the Racist Games of the XXXI Racist Olympiad in Chicago, Which Is Racist.
Posted by: hit and run | August 31, 2012 at 09:48 AM
I thought Romney did a great job reminding people that he doesn't think he's God, like Obama does. Unlike Obama's God-like promise to lower sea levels and heal the planet, Romney knows that that is God's job, not his. Romney himself has the simpler goal is helping you and your family.
Posted by: fdcol63 | August 31, 2012 at 09:49 AM
If I may say one small discouraging word: I shared TK's dismay with Romney's "repeal and replace" line on BammyCare. Are the people of the nation that enthralled with having the feds involved in health care? I'd have much preferred "repeal and get the federal government out of interfering with your health care". BammyCare consistently polls poorly and to not tap effectively into that by playing "I know better" games is a mistake imo. Just repeal the damn thing and then figure out what to do, if anything.
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 31, 2012 at 09:49 AM
Thanks for correcting that Hit!
Posted by: centralcal | August 31, 2012 at 09:53 AM
That's not going to happen, Captain, that was the point of the primaries, now once you take that into account,
Posted by: narciso | August 31, 2012 at 09:58 AM
Cap'n, but I bet the addition of "replace" polls better with the Muddle. The R partisans are all ABO - he doesn't need to bring them over.
Still I don't like it either.
Posted by: Porchlight | August 31, 2012 at 09:58 AM
Thanks for the feedback, guys; obviously "replace" can mean a lot of things...
Posted by: Captain Hate | August 31, 2012 at 10:00 AM
I think when he played Scyler the villain, he was closest to type;
http://twitchy.com/2012/08/31/set-your-phasers-to-stun-another-hollywood-lefty-cant-handle-the-rnc/
Posted by: narciso | August 31, 2012 at 10:01 AM
CH,
I believe "replace" to be a reference to the reforms to Medicare, vaguely outlined in the platform. It's also soothing oil for the Muddle, as Porchlight notes.
Posted by: Rick Ballard | August 31, 2012 at 10:06 AM