Werthless wrote:

drsmooth wrote:Romney's the guy whose money hired the guy who laid them off while Obama was President that lived in the house that Jack built

I think I read that book.

There are several more couplets, yes; I figured others would contribute

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:fail to see how it makes him look like a moron

From almost anyone else, it's a nice compliment on Obama's leadership/decision making ability. From the guy who would be sitting in the chair making the call in the future if anything happens to Obama, the "thank god the President was smart enough to ignore my advice when he was making the most important decision of our term" line is more problematic.

you're overthinking it

I'm overthinking that the vice president recommended against the OBL raid reflects poorly upon him?

jerseyhoya wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:fail to see how it makes him look like a moron

From almost anyone else, it's a nice compliment on Obama's leadership/decision making ability. From the guy who would be sitting in the chair making the call in the future if anything happens to Obama, the "thank god the President was smart enough to ignore my advice when he was making the most important decision of our term" line is more problematic.

you're overthinking it

I'm overthinking that the vice president recommended against the OBL raid reflects poorly upon him?

I believe so, yes

jerseyhoya wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:fail to see how it makes him look like a moron

From almost anyone else, it's a nice compliment on Obama's leadership/decision making ability. From the guy who would be sitting in the chair making the call in the future if anything happens to Obama, the "thank god the President was smart enough to ignore my advice when he was making the most important decision of our term" line is more problematic.

you're overthinking it

I'm overthinking that the vice president recommended against the OBL raid reflects poorly upon him?

There were very valid reasons to recommend against the raid. Remember that Biden was already in the Senate--in his second term, I think--when Carter ordered the mission to rescue the hostages in Iran which went so badly awry. He also chaired the Foreign Affairs committee, probably has very good contacts within Pakistan and the region generally, and almost certainly had a keen sense of the adverse diplomatic consequences as well as the political fallout were the raid to fail.

You're entitled to think he's a yutz and would be a lousy president. But I don't see how his taking a cautious and entirely defensible position that, thank goodness, was not borne out by subsequent events is particularly damning for him.

I would like to see if Biden would accidentally lapse into a mock Indian accent at the sit down press conference if he ever hosted the Indian PM as president

Or it actually happened

you seem to think he's a moron, but the facts belie that.

Didn't Biden also vote against the first Gulf War, vote for the second one, and recently say the Taliban (who harbored OBL) wasn't our enemy?

cshort wrote:Didn't Biden also vote against the first Gulf War, vote for the second one, and recently say the Taliban (who harbored OBL) wasn't our enemy?

Yeah:

"Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy. That's critical," Biden said. "There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy, because it threatens U.S. interests. If, in fact, the Taliban is able to collapse the existing government, which is cooperating with us in keeping the bad guys from being able to do damage to us, then that becomes a problem for us."

Biden said that the U.S. is on a dual track in Afghanistan -- keep the pressure on Al Qaeda and support a government that is strong enough to "negotiate with and not be overthrown by the Taliban."

You got a problem with that? Or are you willing to sacrifice thousands upon thousands of American and Afghan lives just to say we wiped out the Taliban? (You know, the guys we thought were fine not so long ago as long as they were killing Soviets or each other).

I'm as guilty of reducing public figures to their latest infelicitous one-liner or booberific public appearance as the next person. I could riff on the slack-assed, walleyed Mitch McConnell all day. But I know he has to be more 3-dimensional than I usually imagine him. Hell, he probably even had a mother.

drsmooth wrote:Hell, he probably even had a mother.

Whom he LOVED, if my frequent epithets regarding the Senator are to be believed.

Two items from NPR over the last couple of days:

1. Freakenomics presented a study that said that Presidents have little effect on the Economy or anything else outside of what happens in their role as CNC which can drive spending direction. Essentially the show presented a studies on the presidential effect on several topics and focused on a nominal stock market change in the confusion when Kerry was declared winner for a few hours.

2. Diane Rheam had a guest on who noted that Obama style in terms of military leadership, good or bad, is pretty consistently low key. He had a poker face at the AP dinner while the OBL situation unfolded and he was only overheard congratulating Panetta at the SOTU while the Somalia rescue was going down. Does he play these things up or does he ignore them in his campaign. While being politically attacked he was even low key when he codified his stance of terrorism just throwing out that he took down OBL and friends.

thephan wrote:Two items from NPR over the last couple of days:

1. Freakenomics presented a study that said that Presidents have little effect on the Economy or anything else outside of what happens in their role as CNC which can drive spending direction. Essentially the show presented a studies on the presidential effect on several topics and focused on a nominal stock market change in the confusion when Kerry was declared winner for a few hours.

I thought this was pretty well established by most economists, and it seems that it would be even more the case given the influence of global markets.

TenuredVulture wrote:

thephan wrote:Two items from NPR over the last couple of days:

1. Freakenomics presented a study that said that Presidents have little effect on the Economy or anything else outside of what happens in their role as CNC which can drive spending direction. Essentially the show presented a studies on the presidential effect on several topics and focused on a nominal stock market change in the confusion when Kerry was declared winner for a few hours.

I thought this was pretty well established by most economists, and it seems that it would be even more the case given the influence of global markets.

Our President's a terrorist and a socialist and he takes our jobs. These economist just buy into the Welfare President's Saul Alito mumbo jumbo.

slugs made me think of a new conspiracy theory... Obama knocking off terrorist after terrorist is just using American might to create a role at the top of the terrorism world when he is done leading the free world. I'm sure that only the nuttiest of nuts have uttered that in a dark room several stories underground.

Newt is campaigning around Florida with HERMAN CAIN today. Showing up to his own events 1-2 hours late. Touting an imaginary poll that has him tied with Romney in Florida, while one public poll after another shows Romney with a large and steadily increasing lead.

Newt is one of a kind.

jerseyhoya wrote:Newt is campaigning around Florida with HERMAN CAIN today. Showing up to his own events 1-2 hours late. Touting an imaginary poll that has him tied with Romney in Florida, while one public poll after another shows Romney with a large and steadily increasing lead.

Newt is one of a kind.

Pretty sure he polled Floridians on his own campaign staff.

20 Ugliest Gerrymandered Districts

The New York State Senate outdid itself

Holy fucking shit

states like NY, PA and Illinois are so funny in that one district can be 10-20 counties, and another district can be like three neighborhoods

http://twitpic.com/8driwx

Fella at a Newt event. Gotta respect being prepared like that. He was probably a Boy Scout.