2012 Presidential Campaign

[panerd]

Originally Posted by molson

Doesn't Perry have a few views very unpopular with the Republican base?

It was a funny slip-up, but I think the better-polished, faker candidates are more likely to have memorized everything properly. Obama and Romney aren't making mistakes like that, because they're the most manufactured, image-conscious, candidate robots one could possibly design. That doesn't make them sincere, it sure as hell doesn't make them effective as presidents.

Presentation is THE most important thing for a U.S. presidential candidate. Sure, a botch like that could reflect a declining mental capacity I guess, or a problem with pressure, but otherwise, I'd be a lot more concerned with somebody's background (or lack of a background) then whether he botches something at a debate.

Maybe if they question him on something like his view on some small part of some law. He was talking about eliminating entire federal departments. Don't get me wrong I am all for eliminating the department of education (I am a teacher and see firsthand how worthless it is) but it just sounds contrived to all of a sudden have three departments you want to eliminate and you can't even come up with one of them.

[JPhillips]

Add waterboarding to the list of things cheered for at GOP debates.

[mckerney]

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I don't believe in American intervention. I just don't believe we need to be pals with countries who don't respect even the most basic of human rights.

Guess that means we end trading with China and Russia and Mexico and India and Vietnam and Indonesia and Thailand and....

[Julio Riddols]

These Republican nominee debates are like one of those bottle games at the fair. No matter how hard you hit the damn things, they never all go away and no one ever wins shit. Then some asshole stacks em back up for the next guy.

[Kodos]

Why can't we get someone like Colin Powell to run?

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Why can't we get someone like Colin Powell to run?

He probably has too much integrity.

[Kodos]

That's probably it, really.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Why can't we get someone like Colin Powell to run?

I'm pretty sure the liberals already have their candidate, but I suppose he's welcome to launch a primary challenge if he wanted to.

[Kodos]

I had a feeling he wouldn't be high on your list. But surely he is better than Obama in your book?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Kodos

But surely he is better than Obama in your book?

{scratches head} "Better" is a pretty low standard. Powell endorsed Obama, how much more disqualification does anyone need?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by mckerney

The point of that? He was trying to answer a complicated problem that is very nuanced and couldn't find a glib soundbite to satisfy you?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The point of that? He was trying to answer a complicated problem that is very nuanced and couldn't find a glib soundbite to satisfy you?

My response would have been, "I agree with how Obama handled it...it wasn't our fight and I believe the distance was welcomed and warranted. The bottom line is that all American's should support any nation of people who choose to uproot non-democratic, oppressive, antiquated dictatorships. I admit I was very skeptical at first, because the indirect approach of no-fly zones after an uprising was what got us into the long mess in Iraq...I am very thankful that our armed services, intelligence agencies, and NATO allies were able to work together to support the people of Libya in a relatively quick manner and I hope we continue to support the people throughout the middle east--particularly in Syria right now--as they begin their fight to remove their oppresors from power and take responsibility for their respective nations."

I mean, maybe not exactly like that, but close enough. I'm going to guess that foreign policy isn't his strength...

[RainMaker]

What is his strength?

[bhlloy]

I'd like my presidential candidate to actually know which country is which, that something pretty fucking major happened there recently and to have an opinion on it.

I might have a lower opinion of Cain than I do of Palin, and that's saying something.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

What is his strength?

Beats the fuck out of me, I know he's not Robin Hood, so there's that.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I'd like my presidential candidate to actually know which country is which, that something pretty fucking major happened there recently and to have an opinion on it.

You've never voted before?

[mckerney]

Cain Says 'We Need a Leader, Not a Reader' - NYTimes.com

First Pokemon, now The Simpsons.

[JPhillips]

What the hell is Bachmann on:

“One man stood up, he was over 7-feet tall. He was a physician in the community. And he said, ‘I had a little lady in my office and because of Obamacare, I had to call the IRS and I had to get a number to put on a form before I could see her.’”

[Ronnie Dobbs2]

Cain looking like he's done with, "reassessing his campaign".

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Ronnie Dobbs2

Cain looking like he's done with, "reassessing his campaign".

I'm sure that we've only see the tip of the iceberg. He should get out before he loses the last 1% of his dignity at this point.

[panerd]

Gingrich should hope Cain stays in the race to deflect from his own past.

[JPhillips]

Today's polls have Gingrich up big in Iowa ans South Carolina and only four back in New Hampshire. Shocking that he might be the nominee.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Today's polls have Gingrich up big in Iowa ans South Carolina and only four back in New Hampshire. Shocking that he might be the nominee.

I am shocked as well. Still think Romney will pull it out because of the size of his machine. Niether are going to be very exciting main candidates for the GOP.

[albionmoonlight]

Cain, IMO, was always in this to increase his speaking/book fees and/or get a gig on Fox. It was never about becoming President; it was about free advertising for the Herman Cain brand.

If I am right about that, now is the time for him to get out. Blame it on harassment from the liberal media and start planning a lucrative career as pundit-in-chief.

[larrymcg421]

Very bad news for Romney. If Gingrich dominates Iowa and SC and comes close in NH, then the other anti-Romney candidates will be finished. Romney won't have a chance in a head to head race against Gingrich, because all those Cain, Perry, Bachmann etc. supporters will flock to Gingrich. A significant portion of the GOP does not want him as the nominee and his best hope is for their to be a crowded field of anti-Romneys to divide the votes.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by larrymcg421

Very bad news for Romney. If Gingrich dominates Iowa and SC and comes close in NH, then the other anti-Romney candidates will be finished. Romney won't have a chance in a head to head race against Gingrich, because all those Cain, Perry, Bachmann etc. supporters will flock to Gingrich. A significant portion of the GOP does not want him as the nominee and his best hope is for their to be a crowded field of anti-Romneys to divide the votes.

[JPhillips]

Things don't look good for Romney.

There are 13 places PPP has polled the Republican race in October or November where it also did a poll sometime between January and March. In those places Romney's net favorability has dropped by an average of 15 points over the course of the year.

On average Romney's favorability with primary voters was 54/25 in these 13 places at the begininng of the year. Now it's only 50/35. His problem is partially that his positives have gone down but more than that it's that as his name recognition has increased, most folks moving off the fence have gone into the negative column.

I also saw an analysis that used net favorability numbers to determine where Cain voters would go. They would go to Gingrich by 3 to 1 over Romney. If the other notRomneys drop out or fade to irrelevance before NH I think Romney's toast.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Niether are going to be very exciting main candidates for the GOP.

You can say that again.

[flounder]

Startled Deer Becomes New Republican Frontrunner

Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicted that his recent rise in the polls is not a fluke: “The American people want an adult, and no one has a stronger record of adultery than I do.”

[Dutch]

meh, when it's all said and done, Romney takes the GOP nomination with ease if the only other guy left is Newt Gringrich.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The point of that? He was trying to answer a complicated problem that is very nuanced and couldn't find a glib soundbite to satisfy you?

That answer was to a yes or no question.

[kcchief19]

One thing I'm not worried about is Newt Gingrich as the GOP nominee much less president. While I don't like his politics, I actually do respect his willingness to admit he's wrong and not try to hide from his record too much. But what I call modifying your position based on new information everyone else calls flip-flopping. Newt is a scandal tie bomb waiting to go off.

I just don't know who the nominee is once everyone gets torpedoed. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if by the end of December Huntsman was riding high at the top of the herd.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

One thing I'm not worried about is Newt Gingrich as the GOP nominee much less president. While I don't like his politics, I actually do respect his willingness to admit he's wrong and not try to hide from his record too much. But what I call modifying your position based on new information everyone else calls flip-flopping. Newt is a scandal tie bomb waiting to go off.

I just don't know who the nominee is once everyone gets torpedoed. Hell, it wouldn't surprise me if by the end of December Huntsman was riding high at the top of the herd.

Yeah he apperently took a big payment from Fannie and Freddie Mac. While I am not sure it is the big deal it will be made out to be if he makes the general election it is pretty tough to be anti big-government and anti "business as usual in Washington" with this happening within the last 5 years. It's got to be Romney and that may lead to Obama's re-election which might not be the worst thing to happen if the Republicans still control big parts of Congress. Gridlock: About the best a Ron Paul supporter can hope for in this next election. Romney as president: immediate disaster as we go to war with Iran within the year. At least Obama (and Republicans who don't like war when Obama is president) will hold off the military industrial complex a little bit.

[RainMaker]

Gingrich is just a boilerplate politician. And I'm sort of surprised he's winning in the polls since he's essentially everything that people supposedly hate about politicians. This is a guy who was going on TV before the 2008 election demanding Obama give back donations from Freddie Mac now that the government had to bail them out when he himself had received millions from them for consulting.

I just don't get it, he's basically what everyone has been hating on over the past decade.

[kcchief19]

Exactly ... take your pick on Newt. He's got the huge lobbying business that made big money off Fannie and Freddie. He's changed positions on just about everything at one time or another -- just wait until that video of him sitting next to Nancy Pelosi talking about the reality of climate change ends up in an attack ad.

And if there was anybody screwing more people who weren't his wife in DC in the '90s than Bill, it was Newt.

[SirFozzie]

Newt is the latest Not Mitt Romney, that's all.

[JPhillips]

The elephant in the room is his religion.

More than four in 10 American voters say they are uncomfortable with the idea of a Mormon in the White House, a reflection of the steep challenge facing Mitt Romney in the GOP primary.

According to a survey released Tuesday (Nov. 8) by the Public Religion Research Institute, Romney faces an identity problem among those who already know he's a Mormon, and those who don't but generally have qualms about the faith...

Among white evangelical voters, 47 percent expressed discomfort with a Mormon president, compared to 42 percent of Catholics and 30 percent of white mainline Protestants. Among Americans overall, the figure was 42 percent.

How many people simply won't vote for Mitt due to his religion? Many of those folks may not love Gingrich, but he's now the best alternative.

[Swaggs]

I don't know if others feel this way, but it seems to me that the past two presidential losers (Kerry and McCain) were the safe, "gives us the best chance in the general election" candidates and that is how they won their primaries. Romney appears to be that guy this cycle.

[SteveMax58]

What better, Mormon or Muslim?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

I don't know if others feel this way, but it seems to me that the past two presidential losers (Kerry and McCain) were the safe, "gives us the best chance in the general election" candidates and that is how they won their primaries. Romney appears to be that guy this cycle.

This. Romney doesn't interest me at all.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Gingrich is just a boilerplate politician. And I'm sort of surprised he's winning in the polls since he's essentially everything that people supposedly hate about politicians. This is a guy who was going on TV before the 2008 election demanding Obama give back donations from Freddie Mac now that the government had to bail them out when he himself had received millions from them for consulting.

I just don't get it, he's basically what everyone has been hating on over the past decade.

And now that he's the flavor of the month, I'm sure the mass grilling will commence soon. Perry got it, Cain's still getting it, once Cain is eradicated, Newt will get his trial by fire, and drop back down into obscurity.

[ISiddiqui]

This cycle is a bit different as the opponents for Kerry weren't necessarily nuts (and Edwards was a decent enough candidate until we found out what we did this year)

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

What better, Mormon or Muslim?

For electability? Mormon. A Muslim candidate would sadly pull less than 3% in a national election, no matter the credentials.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

And now that he's the flavor of the month, I'm sure the mass grilling will commence soon. Perry got it, Cain's still getting it, once Cain is eradicated, Newt will get his trial by fire, and drop back down into obscurity.

This. Why Romney still will likely become the candidate.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Cain, IMO, was always in this to increase his speaking/book fees and/or get a gig on Fox.

Coming to Fox News in March 2012:

Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann - Cain and Unstable, 7:30pm ET

[lungs]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

For electability? Mormon. A Muslim candidate would sadly pull less than 3% in a national election, no matter the credentials.

Huh? We already had a Muslim win a Presidential election.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by lungs

Huh? We already had a Muslim win a Presidential election.

Thank you, Fox news.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by lungs

Huh? We already had a Muslim win a Presidential election.

This deserves more love, even if it's only been up 45 min. Well done.