Thursday, August 2, 2012

Crazy People

Every once in a while, Politico does an interesting article that deserves comment, like their article about the myths Obama and Romney are telling themselves about the election.
1. The Democratic Myths
Bane/Bain Capital. Team Obama believes the Bain Capital attacks will work. They think it worked for Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts and for Newt in South Carolina, so it will work for them. Politico, however, notes that the evidence is “not conclusive” and they site a recent poll which shows that, by a 34% margin, voters think Romney’s business background will make him a better decision-maker.

But frankly, there’s stronger evidence. After Obama spent a summer blasting away with millions in negative ads about Bain, Romney’s poll numbers have continued to rise while Obama’s have fallen. That’s pretty conclusive. And logic tells us these attacks won’t work in any event. For one thing, they are too esoteric for voters to understand. For another, Americans have grown accustomed to private equity financing and it doesn’t anger them. And for another, the longer Obama spends trying to attack Romney for being a businessman, the more he reminds people of his own lack of business acumen and the failure of his Keynesian economic policies.

As for this attack working before, Romney lost South Carolina because it’s an evangelical state. He lost to Ted Kennedy because no Kennedy will ever lose in Massachusetts. Bain had nothing to do with either.

Party Like It’s 2008. Team Obama is clinging to the idea they can excite their base to get turnout similar to 2008. Politico refutes this with a recent Gallup poll showing that Democrats are 39% less likely to say they are “more enthusiastic about voting than usual.” That is solid evidence, but consider all the other evidence. Look how Obama’s fundraising is way down, how low Obama’s approval ratings have been for so long, and how few Democrats turned out in 2010. That’s the real evidence of a lack of enthusiasm. And then consider this: Obama’s 2008 victory required more than his base. He needed two-thirds of independents and even cross-over Republicans. All the evidence tells us that those people have abandoned him and aren’t going back. Nor is Obama doing anything to attract them, as he’s spending all his time working on his base. The idea that the electorate will mirror 2008 is a pipe dream.

It’s Bush’s Fault. Team Obama thinks the voters will forgive his near total failure because they will remember how bad things where when he took office and will cut him some slack. But as Politico notes, there is no polling which reflects this. Moreover, Obama’s handling of the economy is routinely seen as a negative and Romney easily blows him away in poll after poll on economic issues.

But there’s an even simpler factor Politico has missed: the public may grade him on a curve because of the problems he was handed, BUT they will ultimately grade him on his performance since taking office in light of those problems. In other words, the bad start Bush gave him only means that people don’t expect him to reach the same heights he otherwise would have reached, it does not excuse his failure to progress. And on that point, Obama has progressed poorly: taking unemployment from a temporary 6% to a permanent 9%, taking a $450 billion deficit and turning it into five years of trillion dollar deficits, rampant inflation, etc.
2. The Republican Myths
It’s the Economy Stupid. Team Romney is entirely focused on the economy (except when they aren’t (LINK)). Politico thinks this is a mistake because “voters expect their presidents to be multidimensional.” But here’s the problem. First, Romney has proven to be very multidimensional all summer, as he went issue by issue through everything outside the economy. Secondly, what makes them think Obama is any more popular on any other issue? Obamacare, Fast and Furious, standing in the way of school vouchers, environmental failures, his pathetic foreign policy, inflaming racial tensions, failing to respond to disasters, a failed energy policy, a failed industrial policy, cronyism, confusion on social issues, attacks on religion, etc. Where exactly is it that voters will think Obama has an advantage?

Can Buy Me Love. Romney believes that massive spending by outside groups like American Crossroads will crush Obama. But Politico warns that voters are starting to tune out ads because of their sheer volume. In other words, money doesn’t matter. . . so much for Democratic claims to the contrary. I can’t argue with this. By and large, money isn’t all that relevant, except to the extent it allows a ground game in key states. BUT this race isn’t about money in any event, it’s about Obama’s failures.

You Don’t Have To Like Me. Romney continues to be not-liked. Romney thinks this doesn’t matter. Politico counters that this means that (1) Romney has no room for error, (2) Romney will have no defense when Obama starts attacking his character, and (3) his unpopularity will cause voters to interpret Romney’s missteps in a negative light. The problem with Politico’s analysis is that it’s not being borne out by the reality. Romney’s “gaffes” and Obama’s personal attacks have failed to influence anyone. And the reason is that voters aren’t weighing Romney v. Obama, they are deciding whether or not Obama deserves a second term. Romney only matters to the extent he’s either acceptable or unacceptable. In other words, they view Romney as simply YES/NO and then they spend their timing thinking about Obama. So all this talk of Romney’s likeability is misplaced. Not to mention, as I pointed out yesterday (LINK), there’s reason to think the disconnect between Obama’s personal popularity and his failure on every other point should be troubling.

It’s Inevitable. Finally, Team Romney thinks that given the state of the economy, no president can be reelected. Politico agrees that the three presidents who went up for reelection during bad economic times (Ford, Carter, Bush I) all lost, but they also faced other problems -- Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis, and a third-party challenge from Ross Perot. So Politico concludes that while bad economic times probably do matter the most, elections are more complex than that.

I agree. BUT again, what exactly is Obama offering? Outside of the economy, his only two achievements are ObamaCare, which a clear majority of the public wants repealed, and financial regulation, which nobody cares about. And don’t forget, the public had a chance to render a verdict on all of his “achievements” in 2010 and they gave the Republicans an historic win in the House. The economy may not be the only issue, but Politico is kidding itself if it thinks that Obama fares better on any other issue.
Conclusion
It strikes me that Politico is nervous. Even before digging into these issues and seeing how limited their analysis was, it was already clear they think Team Obama is much more delusional than Team Romney. Indeed, the best they can do with Romney is argue that his reasons might not be correct, but with Obama, they’re pretty darn certain he’s wrong. What all of this tells me is that Romney is using an effective strategy with few holes, not to mention that he addresses the holes when they appear. But Obama is using a delusional strategy that just won’t work and relies on things happening which just won’t happen. Bad news for Obama.

124 comments:

DUQ said...

This is really fascinating. If the left thinks Obama is using the wrong strategy, and he is, then they will eventually start freaking out. This reads like the kind of "why we lost" article you don't usually see until after the election is over. Blame game 2012!

AndrewPrice said...

DUQ, I agree. This reads like a "why we lost" argument. I can definitely see them setting up a blame game.

AndrewPrice said...

By the way, I'm told that Rush today made the same point I made a week or so ago that Romney should not release his taxes because it just gives the Democrats something to attack.

Joel Farnham said...

Politico also forgot about Obama's underlings and friends. Issues like dropping the the case on the New Black Panther Party, Harry Reid claiming without proof that Romney didn't pay taxes and should prove to his satisfaction that Romney did, Fast and Furious, and stopping the oil pipeline. The issues that a leader should stop before they get started.

Kelly said...

As an aside, before I read the article, I see that a Chinese man killed 8 people with a knife. Maybe they should ban knives? Just saying. Do we need knife control?

AndrewPrice said...

Kelly, Somehow, I doubt too many leftists will get worked up about a knife mass murder in China. Only guns and only US killings matter to them.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, Yeah, those things don't play well either, do they? I'm preparing a big list for next week on all the reasons to vote him out and those will definitely appear.

On Reid and Pelosi and Carney and Wasserman, I find it fascinating how bad their lying is this cycle. It's almost like they are trying to be so over they top they can't be believed! Maybe they want him to lose? Or they truly think their followers are retarded.

DUQ said...

Joel, Reid's been on a tear this past week with one obviously BS zinger after another.

DUQ said...

Andrew, Rush should read you ever day. It would save him a couple weeks of thinking! :)

AndrewPrice said...

DUQ, Who says Rush doesn't read here? :)

Ried's been a raving idiot the past week. Seriously. I love the bit about paying taxes being "voluntary" and how they don't take taxes out of your pay. What an idiot!

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, OT, I ordered my birth certificate today. I need to get a passport at some point (my current one expired) and if it does take forever, I figure I should start now. They said it will take 2-4 weeks but warned they are very busy and it could take longer. So we'll see.

Doc Whoa said...

Great picture for the title! LOL!

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Doc! I strive for being the complete package.

Doc Whoa said...

I agree with you. I think Politico is right about Obama's strategy being wrong, though your reasons are better. And I think they are largely wrong about Romney. I think they've created "truths" that aren't true just to have something they say could hurt him, and it sounds like they don't even have valid reasons to support those.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Doc! Naturally, I concur. I think they've stretched to find myths that Romney believes. Romney strikes me as a guy who is covering all bases and then some. He has not been the type to ignore anything or leave anything to chance.

DUQ said...

The complete package? LOL!

AndrewPrice said...

And I'm modest. ;)

Ed said...

I have seen no evidence that people are even aware of Bain, much less that it's had an effect on the race.

I also think the idea they're going to get 2008 turn out is laughable. Great point too that 2008 required independents and crossovers that he won't get.

Excellent point on the it's Bush's fault too. Just because you excuse the bad start doesn't mean he gets a free pass. I think Obama thought he would get a free pass.

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, I concur. I think Bain is too complex, to esoteric and too remote to matter with the voters. I also think it sits poorly as Obama has nothing positive to show against it. Ok, Bain wasn't the purest business ever, when did Obama run a pure business?

I think the free pass point is a key one. People will give him a break because of Bush, but that break only counts toward his starting position. It does not count toward his own effort. In other words, think of it like a sprint. We can credit him for being 50 yards behind the line at the start, but we won't credit him for running slowly.

Ed said...

On Romney, I agree with you. No surprise I know, but it's true. I think Politico is reaching. I don't think Romney believes the things they are claiming he believes and I don't think they are even all that bad.

Sure, there are more issues than the economy, but the economy is THE issue this cycle and Obama's getting his butt handed to him on that. Even if that wasn't the case, as you point out, what else does he offer?

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, My amazing modesty keeps me from saying I'm not surprised. :)

The economy is THE issue this time. All the polls say that, the actions of both sides say that, and the new coverage tells us that is what people are interested in. In that circumstance, Obama has nowhere to hide. He has a record and it's atrocious.

tryanmax said...

I’ve got nothing to add to the Obama side of the balance sheet. It’s all pretty cut and dried.

My only take on the Romney side of the equation is that Politico seems only to be going along with the “Romney can’t do nuthin’ right” meme in use by--well, in use by anybody not in the Romney camp. It’s the Economy Stupid is what really catches my interest because, while Politico is urging Romney to address other topics (which he has), its counterparts in radio are blasting Romney for straying from his economic message (which he hasn’t). In fact, from listening just to snippets from Romney’s overseas speeches, I thought he did an excellent job of tying foreign policy and economics together.

tryanmax said...

Somebody point be to Reid's bit about taxes being voluntary. I have to read/see/hear that for myself.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, What's funny about the Obama side is that this is clear to you and me and even to Politico, but not to Team Obama. Amazing, isn't it?

That is an interesting point you raise about Romney. His message has been heavily economic to the public at large, but also delved into other issues when addressing specific groups. That's allowed him to both talk about everything while staying 100% focused on the economy.

Politico seems to have missed that he's talking about more than the economy.

Meanwhile, as you point out, there's a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" crossfire going against Romney. Whatever he does is simultaneously treated as too much and not enough. Fortunately, Romney (unlike McCain) doesn't care about the noise and is going through with his rather excellent strategy.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, It was on the radio yesterday. Let me look for it.

tryanmax said...

Ah ha! I think I found it on my own. Is this it? LINK

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, Here he says it in 2008 LINK (starting around 30 seconds in and continuing for a while). They must have played this clip because it sounded like an interview he did this week right after he accused Romney of not paying taxes for ten years.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, Yes, that the one. When I heard it though, it sounded like an interview he had given this week. I guess not. It's still insanely stupid for him to say... delusional.

tryanmax said...

Wow. What a strange, deluded little man. And Democrats accuse everyone else of being out of touch.

Tennessee Jed said...

There is a great article by Jeffrey Lord in American Spectator which gives a name to the unfounded political attack meme. He calls it "the fat Jap syndrome."

Politico makes me laugh. The latest poll they are trumpeting shows B.O. with a double digit lead. Oh, they sampled twice as many Dems as Republicans. Isn't it time for these jokers to laughed out of town?

Tam said...

I think the enthusiasm factor was demonstrated across the country yesterday...the Chick-fil-A appreciation day was one giant Tea Party rally. One massive "Don't Tread On Me" moment. I think it is a preview of November.

AndrewPrice said...

What do you mean deluded tryanmax? He's right, it's voluntary if you don't consider the fact the government forces employers to pay the money directly to the government and you will go to jail if you don't pay enough or if you fail to file. What's involuntary about that?

Tennessee Jed said...

BTW, here is a link to the American Spectator article:

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/07/19/mitt-is-right-no-more-tax-retu/print

Tam - I hope you are right

AndrewPrice said...

Tam, I think the Chil-fil-A thing was HUGE! That tells us that the Tea Party is still out there and is engaged. This should have scared Obama more than anything else this summer because it showed the millions of average people (i.e. Tea Partiers) are still engaged.

I can't wait to see how many leftists don't show up for the counterattack. That will tell us something about their lack of enthusiasm too.

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, We've mentioned that article a couple times. It's very much worth reading. Here's the link: LINK

I think it's absolutely clear that Romney should ignore all the calls (from the left and the right) for him to release more taxes because it can only hurt him. Fortunately, he's a lot smarter than his critics.

DUQ said...

Tam and Jed, All my Tea Party friends viewed it the same way and they all went.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"(2) Romney will have no defense when Obama starts attacking his character..."

Um, someone should tell Politico (not that they'll listen) that Obama has been attacking Romney's character for quite awhile, and Obama is getting nastier about it as well as telling bigger and bigger outright lies (such as calling him a felon).

Of course, we know this and I think most Americans can see right through this, even the ones who don't do any of their own research into the matter.

The tantrums from Obama and his synchorants, Pelosi, Reid, Wah!sserman and company are pathetic, annoying and don't engender any sympathy at all except from the hard left (who doesn't care about the truth in any event).

They have played the victim, race, class warfare, cards far too many times and it not only ndoesn't work anymore but it repulses and angers most voters.

Fortunately, I don't think their screaming and flailing meltdown (tantrum) will stop anytime soon.
By November most voters will wanna take those brats behind the woodshed for an old fashioned whippin' and a resounding "NO!!!" :^)

Great analysis, Andrew!
This is as honest as Politico will get. I expect they'll keep trying to mitigate the damage to their guy, however, even as they attempt to get a shred of credibility.

tryanmax said...

Andrew, now I know you must be pulling my leg. That argument supposes that Democrats believe actions bear consequences, which clearly they don't. One decision is just as good as any other, as far as they're concerned. The only reason you would go to jail for not paying taxes is if you did it out of hate for gay black Muslim women.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Ben!

That was my very thought! Obama has been slandering everything about Romney's character for months now. Politico should know that. The fact they haven't grasped that tells us they really don't know what they are talking about.

You know, you use an interesting word about Reid and Pelosi. Their attacks are "annoying." That's kind of the level they've fallen to. I'm not at all worried about anything they say because they're so outlandishly stupid that all I can say is that they've become lies which are meant as obvious noise. They aren't effective, they aren't even worth of response -- they're just annoying noise.

Yep, they've played all the cards -- race, class, gender, etc. and none of them have worked. This is going to be a bad election for them.

Joel Farnham said...

Hey, Romney has a talking horse! How cool is that?

Now, Obama must be getting very scared. Romney has a talking horse now. Everyone will want to vote for Romney and his talking horse. Maybe Mooch might get Bo to talk? Has any one seen Bo lately?

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, So you're saying I over-logiced my analysis and I should Democrat-it-down? LOL!

I would laugh at the idea that they would claim you only go to jail if you fail to pay your taxes out of hate, but with Biden calling taxpaying "patriotic" and others making similar remarks, what you say is probably closer to truth than parody.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

"Reid and Pelosi and Carney and Wasserman, I find it fascinating how bad their lying is this cycle. It's almost like they are trying to be so over they top they can't be believed! Maybe they want him to lose? Or they truly think their followers are retarded."

Their followers are retarded. I don't think they want him to lose. This is what happens when those who are not living in reality (and, in fact, deny it) are cornered by reality.

Of course, they'll blame everyone but themselves for their fantasy reality not working, but in the process they'll get more shrill because they are completely out of touch with most Americans and they don't realize it.

IOW's they are in full panic mode. They think the problem is that the people just don't understand them, as Obama has smugly stated so many times (and I hope he continues to condescend to the voters, because it's sooo endearing, LOL).

So yeah, the democrat leaders are also retarded...and insane. And it shows.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel...

First, cool! Talking horses are great.

Secondly, this is a huge mistake because people love animals and they will spend huge chunks of their income on their pets, so no one will worry about Romney spending money on a horse.

Third, what a snotty little ad. That's high school level jealousy there.

Verdict = money wasted by MoveOn.org

(Bo was eaten, I'm pretty sure.)

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, I think your analysis of their bad lying is right. They are way out of touch. They live in a bubble with the other out-of-touch types. Their bad lies are the kind of lies KoolAid drinkers tell each other. And the shrillness of their lies is because they can't understand why people are reacting poorly to their lies.

Also, don't forget, this is the first time ever the Democrats have to deal with a truly free and open press. They are used to having their follies hidden by the MSM, but that's not happening anymore. And I don't think they know how to react.

Ed said...

Excellent insight USS Ben!

ellenB said...

Wow. So Politico sees the weakness in Obama's campaign plan? How did that happen?

Individualist said...

um ....

Mr. Editor at the Politco

"it's the debt stupid"

You know like the Spending has caused our debt to exceed our GDP. Since exactly half the entire debt is under the ONE's watch well you know.....

we know Bush did it, he could do nothing while he was President but hey now that he is on vacation at Crawford he is controlling all of time and space.. we get it

ellenB said...

And why would they publish it? Shouldn't they want to bury this?

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, Ben often provides excellent insight, as do 99.2% of our readers. ;)

AndrewPrice said...

Ellen, They get it right sometimes. In this case, I think they got it right because it was just so darn obvious. When you're swinging with your best shot for months and the other guy keeps going up in the polls, something's wrong with your approach.

tryanmax said...

"Democrat it down" I love it!

On that note, you mentioned to Ben that the Dems are running out of cards to play. You can see that with their overplay of the "stupid" card on Romney's "Gaffetastic Voyage" (I'll also accept "Gaffecredible Journey" and "Gaffeical Gaffetry Tour").

It's a little soon to say, but I venture this one will really come back to bite the media on their collective butts. They keep reporting Romney "gaffes" but everyone I know is like, "What gaffes?" They've made it fairly obvious that they're just out to get him.

AndrewPrice said...

Indi, At least Bush didn't steal the weather machine before he left office!

On the debt, I find it amazing that the MSM could crucify Bush for a $400 billion deficit in one year but totally ignores five years of trillion dollar deficits.

The 0.8% said...

Occupy Commentarama!

AndrewPrice said...

Ellen, That's a good question. My guess is that they want Obama to change strategies. They want him to try something else because what he's doing is obviously not working. I bet they wouldn't mind Romney changing strategies either, since his does seem to be working.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, Let's hope "Democrat-it-down" enters the lexicon! :)

I think calling non-gaffes gaffes is already starting to bite them in the butt. Just like they overplayed the racism and sexism cards and now few people care about such charges, it's only a matter of time before the public completely sees through the gaffe charge. In this case, I think they already have because my friends, just like yours, have all said, "what gaffes?" and they are saying that if this is all the MSM has, then Romney must have scored a ton of points.

AndrewPrice said...

Oh joy, I've created a 0.8% monster.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Thanks Ed!
I've learned a lot reading Dr. Sanity and Gagdad Bob (both are conservative psychiatrist/psycholigist, respectively.

The left is in constant denial (of reality) and suffer from acute cognitive dissonance.
They have invested so much into their ideolatry (it's like a religion or cult to them, to be more accurate) that they are literally incapable of seeing the truth/reality.

If you have ever known or read about someone who was in a cult it's the same thing.
That's why the left discourages free, critical thinking.

It's easier for them to simply give in to their collective fantasies, and they behave a lot like sheep in that regard (or sheeple, if you will).
It's like a security blanket, because reality is too scary to deal with.

It's a very primitive self defense mechanism, actually.
Unfortunately, it works for them. The chains of self delusion can be very seductive.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

.8%: Mockupy the democrat party. :^)

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, I think the Democratic party has been occupied... by lunacy.

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, That's a solid analysis of liberalism actually. It has gone from being a rational yet emotional belief system to being batsh*t crazy. And fewer and fewer liberals are capable of dealing with reality anymore.

Joel Farnham said...

CFO of Vante (Manufacturer of Medical supplies) has been fired. Yesterday, former CFO/Treasurer Adam Smith had taped his confrontation at a Chick-Fil-A in Tucson. He put it up on YouTube for his friends to admire. He quickly took it back down. Fortunately it was captured for posterity.

Vante decided that they didn't need Adam Smith nor his problem. They let him go and apologized for his behavior.

That was very quick. Usually it takes a week of hemming and hawing and people opining that Adam is entitled to his opinion. I think the tide is turning. No longer will companies shield the bad actors in their bunch. At least, Vante won't.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, I don't follow you. The CFO fired someone who went to Chick-fil-A? And now they fired the CFO?

Joel Farnham said...

The CFO of Vante was fired for what he did yesterday at a Chick-Fil-A.

Adam Smith is his name and this is his fame.

Vante has expressed regrets for Smith's actions yesterday.

AndrewPrice said...

Oooh. That's fantastic!

Joel Farnham said...

Andrew,

I thought it was classy on Vante's part.

A man verbally abuses a person who doesn't deserve it and really can't strike back. Vante didn't have to fire this man. I guess they just didn't want to be associated with such a jerk.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, I agree. I think that's highly inappropriate and abusive behavior on his part. I'm glad they fired him and I hope this sticks with him. Even putting politics aside, what this guy did was inappropriate.

ellenB said...

Joel, Thanks for the info. I think it was classy too that they fired him.

ellenB said...

Andrew, That's an interesting point. Maybe Politco is trying to get both Romney and Obama to change their strategies. That would make sense since Obama is losing.

AndrewPrice said...

Ellen, I think Politico knows they don't have that kind of power, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if it became conventional wisdom that both Romney and Obama needed to change their battle plans.

StanH said...

Good overview.

As far as money in politics look at Texas, Cruz was outspent by Dewhurst 3 to 1, Cruz won by 12%.

AndrewPrice said...

Stan, I'm convinced that money is largely irrelevant. There seems to be a point you need to get to, i.e. bare minimum, and after that, it's all just wasted.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Thanks for that video, Joel!
That lady working for Chick-Fil-A sure was classy and professional, and courteous!

That Adam Smith was a punk. He thought he was courageous but he was cowardly.
A real man doesn't speak to a lady like that.

All Smith proved was how craven and intolerant and hateful he is.
No wonder his employer didn't want him representing their business.

I wonder if Smith feels so smug now? What a jerk.

ellenB said...

Ben, A real man doesn't speak to anyone who can't fight back like that.

Jen said...

Joel, I just watched the video too. I was talking to a friend today, and she mentioned Chick-Fil-A with what happened yesterday. She said that gays like to refer to nonsupporting, non-gays as homophobes, and so she says that they must be heterophobes.

AndrewPrice said...

Ben and Ellen, I concur. Decent human beings don't act that way with someone who can't fight back.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, Heterophobes, that's pretty funny. That actually highlights the stupidity of the term homophobes. I wonder what the term is for someone who just doesn't like jerks?

Jen said...

Andrew, It's funny that spell-check accepts 'homophobes', but won't accept 'heterophobes'. I've never heard my friend use the word before, but then she went off on a tangent about 'queers', and how intolerant they are. I'll have to ask her if she can come up with a word for someone who just doesn't like jerks.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, You know word my spell checker does accept and shouldn't? Barack Obama. How did that work its way into my spell checker? Pelosi isn't in there. Boehner isn't in there. Yet... our Kenyan Overlord is fine according to my spell checker. How?

Joel Farnham said...

What I like about Vante is they fired Smith because of his demonstrated incivility towards a person who can't fight back. They didn't fire him for his views. They hold their corporate officers to a high standard. It also makes me think that they had rumors of Smith's misbehavior before at work and couldn't pin it down.

What I would like to see is Adam Smith become the poster boy for liberals every where. This should be the face of liberal intolerance. Show his face next to Obama.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, Someone should put together a Youtube clip of all the abusive liberals over the past couple years, like the thugs at the Town Hall meetings, this guy Smith, nasty things they've said on tape about Palin and Bachmann, etc.

Jen said...

Andrew, Well ain't that somethin'. I tried it with my email as well, and it works the same way as yours. It never did a while back, but lo' and behold, there it is. Some lefties probably complained. It's not that they know how to use spell-check anyway. The underlining must have been annoying, just like blinking clocks for those who are (old VCR) programming challenged. I remember reading about either Hillary, or Tipper Gore on how she couldn't program the clock on her VCR, so she put black tape over it.

AndrewPrice said...

I wonder if we could put black tape over various Democrats? Hmm. I like that idea! :)

I swear my word processor didn't recognize Obama in the past, but it does now. Grr.

Jen said...

I like that idea too! :)

Believe me, it's not your imagination.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Jen: LOL! Hillary should try that stupid, ig red reset button she gave to the Russians (they weren't laughing with her, they were laughing at her). :^)

Joel: Precisely! Incivility ain't a feature businesses want in their representatives.

Smith will probably milk his "victimhood" rather than own up to what he did and apologize for his boorish behavior.

AndrewPrice said...

I know it isn't my imagination because I made a point of it a year or so ago to mention that my I refused to add his name to my list of words for the spell checker to ignore. I told my friend I liked the idea that the spell checker didn't recognize him, that made my spell checker a Patriotic American. But now... it knows him. Damn Microsoft.

I love the black tape idea! :)

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, I'm surprised she didn't give them one of those red buttons from Staples.

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

I am too Andrew. I bet that's where she got her brilliant idea, LOL.

I have a feeling Putin wants to keep dealing with Hilary and Obama for the next four years.

Jen said...

Ben, I can't remember if it was Hillary or Tipper, but it was one of them for sure.

Andrew, do they make duct tape in black? I've seen other colors, but not that, and you know, duct tape has lots of uses! Like as in "I can fix anything...where's the duct tape?"

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, I'm sure he does. He gets everything he ever wanted from them. We cower before a third rate power. He gets to play world leader and shape events. And we ignore the fact his country is falling apart into a twisted dictatorship.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, I'm not prejudiced. I'll happily use plain old silver too, just so the right people get covered. . . and thrown into a volcano.

Jen said...

Andrew, I'm not prejudiced either, it's just that you mentioned black tape (as opposed to 'red tape' which seems to be the color of Gov't.). I don't have any volcanoes over here (the volcano might spit them back out), but I don't have a problem with digging holes...then covering them up. I know plenty of people with backhoes, so digging a hole is a snap.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, Red tape takes too long to work with. Holes are fine too. ;)

But if we do need a volcano, maybe we can find one in Hawaii... over in Asia.

Jen said...

Andrew, who is going to round 'em up, and then transport them? I can do a much quicker job with the holes. ;) Or, as an alternative, find someone with hogs.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, Rather than round them up, maybe we can trick them into the holes by telling them there are voters down there.

Jen said...

Andrew, now you're catching on. ;) Besides voters, if we want to get the rest, just tell them about all the "freebies", and you won't even have to use a cattle prod, because they will go willingly.

AndrewPrice said...

If we said "freebies" we'd need a hole the size of the Grand Canyon because we'd be flooded from liberals all over the countr. . . hmmm. Yeah, "freebies." ;)

Jen said...

That's the plan man.

Jen said...

I think it'll work like a charm, but shhhhhh, we don't want to give it away too soon by using the 'f' word. That might cause them to flock to the blog. We can also try compost. Or hogs (T-Rav would like that one).

ScyFyterry said...

Excellent article Andrew! I think each of the points about Obama is spot on. I don't think Politico's Romney points are very good however. That seems to be more about hoping to find fault with everyone rather than actually having something to find fault with.

ScyFyterry said...

Joel, Excellent link too. I'm glad they fired the bastard. What a disgrace!

tryanmax said...

Just watched the video of that @$$ Smith. Big man, abusing a service worker on the job. I wonder how many times her monthly wages he makes in a day? Well, after today, anything times zero is zero. Ha! I sure hope he felt good and proud of himself as he was packing up his office and being escorted to the parking lot.

I applaud the gal working the window. What she demonstrated was the height of professional courtesy, especially in an industry where all manner of nonsensical abuses are routine. I actually recall my days working fast-food quite fondly, and she is the type of employee I would have been proud to have on my team. I hope somebody with an audience learns her name and gives her the public accolade she deserves.

AndrewPrice said...

Jen, Don't worry, we have something which keeps those kinds of people from reading the blog... honesty. We don't make stuff up to make people feel good. It's like kryptonite to liberals.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Terry. I agree with your assessment of the Politico article.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, The ironic thing is that this asshat has probably been bragging to all of his friends about what he did. I'll bet he's very proud of his abusive behavior and he's probably shocked that he got fired.

I agree about the girl, she deserves some sort of recognition.

EricP said...

Wait a second. Though Bush could have used his veto pen a little more in his last two years, notably re. the bank bailouts, but since when are we buying into the "Blame Bush" meme to let Obama off the hook, even slightly? The disastrous housing collapse came courtesy Dodd/Frank's Fannie & Freddie fiasco, and the numbers plainly indicate the unemployment numbers, which ran low in previous economic record consecutive growth months under Bush, started expanding after the purse-string Democrats took over the House in 2007.

At least I thought they plainly demonstrated that. Am I on Candid Camera or in Bizarro Commentarama?

tryanmax said...

Asshat is a word that needs broader usage. As does it's cognate asshattery - the behavior, demeanor, or general affectation of an asshat. Example: Adam verbally assaulted a drive-thru worker in an egregious display of asshattery.

AndrewPrice said...

Eric, I'm not a fan of Bush, but I blame the Democrats, as any thinking person should. BUT whether we like it or not, a huge chunk of the public accepts the blame Bush meme. And the point I'm making in the article is valid no matter who you blame (or even if you blame no one).... IF Obama had a bad start, then people will take that into consideration, but they won't excuse his own failure to perform. That's the point I'm making.

It's like starting a race 50 yards behind everyone else. In that circumstance, you might not blame the runner for not winning, but you will blame them if they don't run at least as fast as they should have. That's my point.

Not really trying to argue whose at blame.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, I like that! Asshattery. That should absolutely be used more often! :)

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

Good one, Tryanmax!
When a group acts like smith (occupy)(militant gays and their supporters), that would be collective asshattery, or masshattery.

Individualist said...

Joel

If Mr. Ed is romney's running mate I think the election is a lock.

How can you argue with the smartest horse on the planet.

Individualist said...

Andrew

You know exactly and what's more why is everything but the debt talked about in the campaign cycle.

Unemployment is 8.3% and had been there for three years - Why? The Debt is keeping small business from getting capital to hire people...

We have one of the worst recoveries ever, why, paying the interest on The Debt and the looming fear of who is next to be bailed out is hampering growth...

The stock market and real estate prices are anemic and so are new housing startups - why the Debt pressure is tightening capital.....

We talk about fixing everything that is a symptom of The Debt and yet no one talks about The Debt itself or how they are going to cut government spending and no you can;t just not have a military for five years and even then that would not be enough and no taxing another 50 billion from rich people won't even matter.

We are in Debt because we spend to much

AndrewPrice said...

Ben, Masshattery! Nice!! I think we need to find a way to get this into the lexicon! :)

AndrewPrice said...

Indi, If Romney can find a talking horse as a running mate, I think this would be a landslide! LOL!

AndrewPrice said...

Indi, The debt is a disaster waiting to happen. Even worse, it's a disaster unfolding. I think you're right that the debt is crowding out money for small business and the interest payments on the debt are draining the economy and the treasury. It's like a huge anchor around our economy.

AndrewPrice said...

Eric, That's a good point and let's be clear... the blame for the 2008 meltdown lies at the feet of Democrats. They put in place all the rules which allowed it, removed all the checks which prevented it, and implemented policies which encouraged it. They are to blame.

And you're right, 4+ years is too long to blame anything you were handed, especially in America which seems to rebuild itself from scratch all the time and in short order.

AndrewPrice said...

Eric, You know what that brings to mind? Katrina. For years we kept getting stories of people "waiting for things to get better" in New Orleans. I had no sympathy for that because in the same time they sat their waiting for FEMA or someone to "rebuild" for them, whole cities were build from scratch all around the country. America is a land which offers you the chance to build anything at any time, but it's up to you to do it.

Obama running around whining that he was dealt a bad hand doesn't wash in this country because he had plenty of chances to chart his own course, yet his course was worse than what he'd been dealt.

rlaWTX said...

Geez, I go home and an article and 100+ comments happens!! I feel left out!

as for our Dear TOTUS, he believes any number of impossible things before breakfast... let's hope the electorate can see past the fake fairy wings.

rlaWTX said...

[OH - it just dawned on my that my analogy was a little vague - you know those little girls in England in the early 20th century that took "photos" of fairies and had a whole bunch of people believing in impossible things... ]

AndrewPrice said...

rlaWTX, There were some good comments too! We came up with a couple new words/phrases:

"Democratic it down"
"asshattery"
"masshattery"

AndrewPrice said...

rlaWTX, You know, I have to laugh about that. When I see those OBVIOUSLY fake photos of fairies or protoplasm, I just can't imagine that people really thought that was real. Stunning.

ScyFyterry said...

I love the term asshattery.

EricP said...

Love "asshattery." Ranks up there with "jackassery," the latter courtesy Slobberbone's wordsmith Brent Best.

AndrewPrice said...

Ooooh, that's a good one too.. jackassery!

USS Ben USN (Ret) said...

LOL! Jackassery is another fine addition, Eric! I guess I would be remiss not to mention dumbasshattery.

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