Who, Gingrich? The guy who walked right into a waiting fist by trying to attack his rival for making money off a company that he himself worked for and still owns stock in?
And Bush claimed he never said he doesn't think about Bin Laden anymore. It doesn't matter if what you say in a presidential debate is actually true or makes any kind of sense. Especially in a Republican primary, and ESPECIALLY especially if you're Newt Gingrich and have already managed to capture Family Values voters.
(Incidentally, I would like to give kudos to Wolf Blitzer for actually following up and saying "Yes Mitt, we checked, that is your ad and it has you saying you endorse it at the end of it," except I think that treating this behavior as praiseworthy sends the wrong message.)
I don't think it's too much of a compliment to say he recovered nicely from being thrashed so heavily by Spaceman Newt that it made Spaceman Newt seem like an amazing orator. That's not just having a regular-ass off day. That's stumbling so hard that you can wave hello to Satan before bouncing right off the icy floor of Judecca.
Nah, Newt was a good enough speaker and politician to make some major gains for most of the 1990's -- against Clinton, the goddamn master. The trouble is that the shit he says eventually catches up to him, he doesn't know how petty is too petty, and of course the corruption and cheating on multiple wives.
And he really does stumble more often than he ought to. He might be on fire every once in a while but in the general campaign he strikes me as too slow a thinker to really keep up on the national stage, and he's developed a bad, bad reputation for trying to deflect or maneuver around things he doesn't have an immediate answer for, which is a lot. That works okay in the bubble he's in now, where journalists have all been told to shut the fuck up and get back in the kitchen, but once he becomes The Nominee and gets exposed to the liberal media he's gonna have to contend with a contingent that just lives to make people like him sweat bullets.
True, but he's a quick learner and he's got good people coaching him now. If they're competent to predict questions that people are GOING to ask instead of just telling him how he SHOULD have responded when they already WERE asked, he'll be in decent shape.
Probably not as good as Obama, but again, if unemployment stays where it is he might be good enough.
But, you know, if he wins, good on him. I don't care. I cared for a moment when I realized just how much damage a person like him could do as President, but now it's almost like... if he does enough damage, serious, totally irreparable damage, maybe it'll spark the sort of complete bottoming out and restructuring that's the only possible positive long-term outcome for the next four years.
I used to think that, but I'm pretty sure there's a whole lot more room for damage before it forces a rebound.
Yeah, I can't really imagine a Romney presidency being anywhere near as bad as the Bush Administration.
But then, I didn't think Bush would be worse than Nixon, either, so I guess you never know.
...anyhow. Mitt wins Florida handily; Newt still acting like he's viable and media complying.
Coming races are going to be boring. Mostly Romney - Gingrich - Paul - Santorum. That's certainly how I expect Arizona to go, short of Gingrich crashing and burning hard enough to fall behind Paul.
The southwest doesn't have the Deep South's issue of fundamentalists refusing to vote for a Mormon. Mormons are a pretty integral part of the GOP around these parts, and embraced by the evangelical crowd. Romney's got nothing to fear on that score.
Paul fans are Paul fans and no one else will do. He'll get steady but small support throughout the rest of the campaign. I'm curious whether he'll do better or worse than in '08 -- on the one hand, anecdotally I see a lot fewer signs and general enthusiasm for him this year; on the other, he's probably got more mainstream recognition and support. On the other other hand, his mainstream supporters are not as reliable as his diehard fans, and may end up voting for Romney as a "good enough" alternative (and certainly will in the general).
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Topic: 2012: The Mayans Warned Us Of Stupid Elections (Read 88584 times)