JFLNYC wrote:I've lived in Denver and altitude can have a real effect. Never really bothered me, but it can really bother some. Don't know if it bothered Barry but I have to think he's been to Denver before and should have known what, if any, effect it had on him. If he knew it had any material effect and didn't prepare for it, it's just another example of not being properly prepared.

Monkeyboy wrote:I don't have time to see if this was posted in the last 24 hours, but did anyone else notice that the Iranian currency is absolutely tanking? It's in free fall.

Wondering how that might affect things in the election or just middle east stability.

TenuredVulture wrote:Almost nothing on social issues or foreign policy, two areas where while not nearly as important as the economy to most voters, are areas where I believe Obama has an advantage, and that might change the post-debate narrative.

Romney did move decisively towards the center. I'm of several minds about this--is this the real Romney? Who can tell--he's a flip flopper.
Or, he's always been a pragmatist--look at his record as governor of Massachusetts. Or, he's been reading the polls, and most Americans don't want more tax cuts for the wealthy.

JFLNYC wrote:Foreign policy debate yet to come.

I think that was the real Romney, which is why he looked so much more comfortable. Obama's problem is he too confrontation-averse, not only in a debate, but also in governing. Unlike FDR, he doesn't love a good fight.

Grotewold wrote:Not that my Facebook cohort is representative, necessarily, but there's one substantive debate thread (11 posts) and seven Big Bird ones (roughly 30 posts each)

: Spaniards woke up today to the news that Mitt Romney had decided to single out their country for fiscal irresponsibility, and many are not happy. María Dolores de Cospedal, the secretary-general of the ruling People's Party, told the radio service RNE that "Spain is not on fire through and through as some on the outside would have us believe," noting that Romney's remarks "upset me deeply" and that Spain "has also been a model for economic recovery." She conceded that "our image has been damaged and regaining confidence is very difficult" but added that Spain "is in the eye of the hurricane" for a reason -- "there are many people who have a lot of interest in the euro not being stable and there are some who believe that the easiest thing to do is to attack Spain." (Cospedal was also responding to a recent New York Times article on widespread poverty in the country.)

Werthless wrote:On the last point, moderates like Obama because he doesnt pick fights with people. He's a guy you want to have a beer wth. If he wasnt as likable, he wouldnt have made it out of the democratic primary in 2008.

JFLNYC wrote:

"I'm an old campaigner, and I love a good fight."

"Judge me by the enemies I have made."

"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob. Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred."

~ FDR

TenuredVulture wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:I don't have time to see if this was posted in the last 24 hours, but did anyone else notice that the Iranian currency is absolutely tanking? It's in free fall.

Wondering how that might affect things in the election or just middle east stability.

I am aware of it. I wonder if between that and Syria, Obama had to spend time in briefings that he otherwise would have spent prepping for the debate or resting. Particularly on Iran, I would imagine the official line would be some version of "no comment" because while it would clearly be in our interest for the regime to fall, there's not much we can do to prod that process along.

thephan wrote:Overall it was coma inducing.

After the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Colorado on Wednesday night, one of Mitt Romney’s top advisers acknowledged that, as a result Romney’s plan to repeal Obamacare, people with pre-existing medical conditions would likely be unable to purchase insurance.

The admission directly contradicts the GOP candidate’s claim during the debate that “pre-existing conditions are covered under my plan” — a contention Romney has repeated on the trail and that his campaign has repeatedly walked back.


“With respect to pre-existing conditions, what Governor Romney has said is for those with continuous coverage, he would continue to make sure that they receive their coverage,” said Eric Fehrnstrom, referring to existing laws which require insurance companies to sell coverage to people who already have insurance, or within 90 days of losing their employer coverage.

Pressed by TPM’s Evan McMorris-Santoro, Fehrnstrom said those who currently lack coverage because they have pre-existing conditions would need their states to implement their own laws — like Romney’s own Massachusetts health care law — that ban insurance company from discriminating against sick people.

“We’d like to see states do what Massachusetts did,” Fehrnstrom said. “In Massachusetts we have a ban on pre-existing conditions.”

In an unusual press release issued Thursday, the Maine GOP attacked Lachowicz for a “bizarre double life” in which she’s a devotee of the hugely popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft. In the game, she’s “Santiaga,” an "orc assassination rogue" with green skin, fangs, a Mohawk and pointy ears.



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/10 ... z28MkCxKED

TenuredVulture wrote:I wonder if there were a way Obama could talk about how the market is hitting 5 year highs. In the context of "are you better off" type discussion, I am way better off if I get to include my 401k balance. (I'm better off in other ways as well, but not so much.