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PoliGAF 2012 |OT3| If it's not a legitimate OT the mods have ways to shut it down

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Things like this election show how education and succes don't mean that much really. Apparently you can be an idiot and still make millions of dollars. Makes me wish I was an idiot.
 

benjipwns

Banned
lol, fair point. I was just trying convey that the numbers are currently high even though that's probably not unusual for Florida.
I know, just had to when I saw you put it that way.

I don't know why you guys are all talking about Romney like this, he's on track to get 301 electoral votes with a popular vote landslide based on the unskewed polls.
 

Mgoblue201

Won't stop picking the right nation
It's hard to believe Obama is leading in Florida anywhere between 3-8 points barely a month removed from the Republican convention.

I can see how Ohio is trending for Obama but does anyone here have theories on why Florida is beginning to trend hard for Obama? In early/mid August, most Seniors in Florida actually trusted Romney more to protect medicare than Obama. Did the Libya and 47% comments just completely turn off Floridians to Mittens?
The polls have pivoted quickly on the issue of Medicare.
 
Romney isn't an idiot. Dude just is willing to say anything to become President.

He's a microcosm of the current state of the GOP. Completely out of touch with the median voter from within an isolated bubble.

Intelligence isn't the issue, it's perspective. I guarantee if you had a 1 on 1 meeting with him, you'd come away thinking he was highly intelligent (perhaps still a greedy fuck, but that is besides the point.
 

benjipwns

Banned
He's a microcosm of the current state of the GOP. Completely out of touch with the median voter from within an isolated bubble.

Intelligence isn't the issue, it's perspective. I guarantee if you had a 1 on 1 meeting with him, you'd come away thinking he was highly intelligent (perhaps still a greedy fuck, but that is besides the point.
I'm not sure I agree with either of these.

EDIT: Mamba, you of all people deserve better than a short reply.

1. I don't think he aligns with the GOP base and that's why he's suffering. Does he represent the GOP elite? Of course. The Tea Party types will ride Sarah Palin to 30%, working 24/7. Will they lift a finger for Romney's 44%? Maybe a few. They didn't turn out for McCain or Dole like both of those campaigns expected. Rove and Bush knew they needed to draw those people out. They've been skeptical of Romney for five years, this isn't going to change overnight, especially after the success they had in 2010.

2. I think Romney would tell me what I wanted to hear and one-on-one that's easy to make him look stupid.
 
I'm not sure I agree with either of these.

EDIT: Mamba, you of all people deserve better than a short reply.

1. I don't think he aligns with the GOP base and that's why he's suffering. Does he represent the GOP elite? Of course. The Tea Party types will ride Sarah Palin to 30%, working 24/7. Will they lift a finger for Romney's 44%? Maybe a few. They didn't turn out for McCain or Dole like both of those campaigns expected. Rove and Bush knew they needed to draw those people out. They've been skeptical of Romney for five years, this isn't going to change overnight, especially after the success they had in 2010.

The bigger problem for McCain was not the base but rather the latino vote. I mean sure, McCain didn't get as much as he'd want but everyone knew they lost the election going into election day because of the economy. The only "hope" was people being more racist in private than public.

And Dole was going to lose and everyone knew that months in advance. Voter turnout was down as a result. I don't think it's fair to compare that one. Dole was a sacrificial lamb.

Bush ran as a compassionate conservative. Yes, Rove did a hell of a job creating a rabid base that would march to orders for him, but Bush closed the latino gap immensely and also brought in a lot of independents. This shouldn't be glossed over.

And of course, in 2004 it was the Dems were were running an anti-Bush campaign rather than an actual policy ala Romney today (which I've argued here is something you cannot do. You have to provide an alternative plan).

So I don't dispute that he doesn't align with the base and I agree they're apprehensive but these guys hate Obama so much. And not like "oh man, I hate the Miami Heat." More like, "I hate Clay Bennett." If this election is winnable, those people are coming out in droves to put Mitt in office.

I stand by my claim that they don't understand the median voter. It is why they propose an insane tax policy, why they continue to put up vouchers for medicare/SS as policy, why they are so far behind on social issues like gay marriage, why they really think people want to hear about war drums for Iran, etc. The party as a whole does not represent the median voter anymore. If the economy was better right now, they'd lose this election in a massive landslide. It is the only reason independents are still coming to Mitt at all because a lot of voters only look at their current situation and vote based on that. I'd also like to point out they treat the median voter like they're mentally handicapped. This is why Bill Clinton is so loved - in his speech he treated people like they're smart. People respond better to that. The GOP doesn't understand regular folk anymore unless they're bigoted regular folk.

Watching Fox News for a bit makes this all the more obvious. Fox News doesn't just pander to their base, they are trying to sell Mitt to the undecideds. And the narrative they push demonstrates how badly out of step most of them are (funny enough, I think O'Reilly is the only one there smart enough to not get caught up in that). Fox News back in 2000 was so different than today. So much smarter.

2. I think Romney would tell me what I wanted to hear and one-on-one that's easy to make him look stupid.

I was speaking more in like you're at a social function and you meet each other and just talk like any 2 people who never met before do and you don't know he's some famous person. A casual conversation, not in a setting where he's trying to earn your vote.
 

Cloudy

Banned
LMAO. I just saw a clip on Morning Joe of a crowd chanting "Ryan Ryan Ryan" and Romney tries to get them to change it to "Romney-Ryan". Wow. Just SAD
 

benjipwns

Banned
The bigger problem for McCain was not the base but rather the latino vote.
Cut your post, not necessarily replying, you know our Best-GAF.

I wasn't really talking about any of that, although it's a good post. I'm talking about the Rove and Bush idea that they HAD to turn out the religious right, etc.

I think McCain obviously bombed in that, and Romney isn't doing well.

They'll turn out, but will they turn out enough?

The Bush camp was afraid they wouldn't in 2004 despite being mostly up in the polls for most of the race.

It's part of Romney is fucked. As you note and many others, he wants to defend the good parts of ObamaCare, throw the "gays" a bone, etc. But he needs that swath that hasn't liked him for five years now.

He can't do the Clinton, everybody loves me! He's never been that skilled.

I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8KQDMZ21w
 

Drek

Member
Things like this election show how education and succes don't mean that much really. Apparently you can be an idiot and still make millions of dollars. Makes me wish I was an idiot.

Romney did his bachelors at BYU and got both his JD and his MBA from Harvard. He is in no way uneducated.

Hell, his educational background is what put him on the path to success. Mitt Romney should be the familial legacy story the GOP trumpets from the roof tops. His father started out with basically nothing, worked his ass off, became a successful CEO and governor. He then made sure his son got into all the best schools and had all the best opportunities to succeed, which his son made full use of to make himself wildly successful. That's the bridge that the GOP claims familial wealth builds when they want to argue down estate taxes.

Its fucking sad that Romney can't even get THAT story through to people. He's completely unrelated and is only running out of a sense of entitlement and the belief that his father was railroaded out of the race.
 
Romney did his bachelors at BYU and got both his JD and his MBA from Harvard. He is in no way uneducated.
Oh I know he's educated in the traditional sense, don't worry. It still doesn't mean that he is actually an intelligent person though, as he has shown time and time again. A legitimately intelligent person would not be running this kind of campaign and would not have the record that he has. I don't believe that he is capable of displaying true intelligence or sophistication.
 

AniHawk

Member
He's completely unrelated and is only running out of a sense of entitlement and the belief that his father was railroaded out of the race.

his dad couldn't have become president ever, right? because he was born in mexico?

It was the same thing four years ago. The GOP base doesn't like McCain/Romney, they're in love with Palin/Ryan.

palin/ryan 2016

they can run against hillary clinton/michelle obama
 

Zzoram

Member
Oh I know he's educated in the traditional sense, don't worry. It still doesn't mean that he is actually an intelligent person though, as he has shown time and time again. A legitimately intelligent person would not be running this kind of campaign and would not have the record that he has. I don't believe that he is capable of displaying true intelligence or sophistication.

People keep saying he was some incredible turn-around business leader. Judging by the way he's run his campaign, I really can't see how that is true. I suspect he somewhat fluked into his business success due to the opportunities that a rich and connected father gave him.
 

benjipwns

Banned
I do think a lot of people are forgetting that Romney fucked up despite every advantage against McCain very quickly after Rudy collapsed.

And McCain WAS NOT liked by the GOP. Limbaugh despised him for example.
 
People keep saying he was some incredible turn-around business leader. Judging by the way he's run his campaign, I really can't see how that is true. I suspect he somewhat fluked into his business success due to the opportunities that a rich and connected father gave him.
I feel similarly. Democrats should definitely bring out the ''If he can't run a campaign, how is he going to run a country?'' ads if his campaign keeps imploding.
 

isoquant

Member
Obama isn't a bad debater. (Although I expect Romney to hold his own in a head-to-head. They will most likely both do a decent enough job that the pundits will call it a tie.)

But if you think that Obama is the best debater in a generation, you need to take a step back and re-examine your devotion to this man. You are positively deluded.


More importantly, is there anywhere - aside from that Princeton Election Consortium page - that has some detailed info on the state of the House vote?
 
Poor Wall Street execs

INTRADE: Obama 3:1 (75 / 25) over Romney right now.

WeeBey.gif
 
Tim Pawlenty and John Huntsmen would be performing better than Romney right now.

Sure both are moderates (TPaw less so), but both are capable of relating to the average voter better than Romney. I doubt either would have had so many transparency issues as well.

I guarantee the polls would be much tighter if either of those guys ran. However Romney destroyed TPaw early on via Super Pacs and the GOP base never gave Huntsman the time of day.

They basically chose between Tea Party loons and an out of touch Wall Street guy who has zero convictions. The GOP have no one to blame but themselves for highlighting joke characters in the primary. If they weren't touting nutcases like Hermain Cain, Bachmann, and Perry, then Romney wouldn't have looked as legit. Romney would have been exposed as he was in '08.
 

Measley

Junior Member
Obama isn't a bad debater. (Although I expect Romney to hold his own in a head-to-head. They will most likely both do a decent enough job that the pundits will call it a tie.)

But if you think that Obama is the best debater in a generation, you need to take a step back and re-examine your devotion to this man. You are positively deluded.


More importantly, is there anywhere - aside from that Princeton Election Consortium page - that has some detailed info on the state of the House vote?

A lot of that comes from Obama debating the entire Republican house of representatives in 2009, and handing them their collective asses at their own function.

Obama the debater is pretty damn good. I don't think he could beat Bill Clinton or Reagan, but he could definitely smash the modern Republican party.
 
In a debate format, Obama isn't as quick on his feet as say Clinton or Newt. Obama is more methodical, which means he rarely hits homeruns, but also it means he rarely makes any critical mistakes. He doesn't get flustered. If anything in the Dem primaries in '08, he got in trouble when he was a little too over confident (ie. "Hilary you're likable enough...").
 

benjipwns

Banned
None of these people are good debaters, they aren't even debates, they're soundbite focused press conferences.

Kerry was a trained debater for all that got him.
 

isoquant

Member
In a debate format, Obama isn't as quick on his feet as say Clinton or Newt. Obama is more methodical, which means he rarely hits homeruns, but also it means he rarely makes any critical mistakes.

I think that is a fair analysis.


From that Bloomberg poll - it is incredible that Romney still leads as the candidate most voters favor to 'create jobs', and yet he is behind in the polls by such huge margins.

This election was supposed to be about the economy, damn it!
 

DEO3

Member
As someone who lives in FL, it just blows me away that Obama is leading here. Our state legislature has had a republican super majority for as long as I can remember, we've had republican governors for as long a I can remember - including just recently electing Rick Scott (of all people) to the office. 2008 felt like a fluke to me, much like Indiana was. All I see are Romney bumper stickers and yard signs everywhere I look while listening to the local radio personalities talk about how they think Romney was spot on with his 47% comments.

But then again I live in Sarasota County, which looking at electoral maps is one of the most solid red counties in Florida, one that hasn't voted for a democrat in a presidential election in for fucking ever. No idea why though, we're not a rural county, though we do have a lot of wealth. It just feels like a young, artsy, urban community to me, a place where support for Obama should be thriving.
 
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