the GOP wants to win, and with Romney they have a chance. Plus: a President Romney can nominate all manner of conservative horrors as Cabinet members, judges, and SCOTUS justices. That’s how he mitigates conservative dissatisfaction.
the fox interview doesn’t have one really horrible moment for mitt, but in general it was a disaster. Seemed petulant, manic.
Okay—I’ve found him pretty smart on politics, too. Anyway, I guess we’ll see. (The reasons you cite for Romney are the reasons I was citing months ago; like everyone, I’m mystified as to why the needle never budges an inch for him.)
because he sucks! and is a robot!
the simple fact is the GOP is in complete disarray, and contrary to what others have argued here, are no more prone to “fall in line” than Democrats are. the party is fundamentally dysfunctional at the moment.
BAIER: What was the last book you read or are reading?
ROMNEY: I’m reading sort of a fun one right now, so I’ll skip that. But I just read “Decision Points” by President Bush.
Ugh. This highlights one of Romney’s biggest problems: He’s a stiff who doesn’t really understand how he’s perceived. Of all the candidates, he’s the one who needs to tell people about the “fun” book he’s reading! It would have helped him enormously if he said John Grisham or Brad Thor’s latest thriller.
It’s not like Mitt is some obviously electable candidate. Primary voters may have been told that he’s the most electable but then they turn on the debate and Newt (and Cain!) run circles around him.
Gingrich and Cain haven’t run circles ’round him in debates!
see, everyone agrees: romney is a petulant, manic, sucky robot.
BTW, romney’s really reading the red-jaime series from diana gabaldon. it is his secret shame.
In reference to something earlier today, I thought the Frum piece was excellent too. I don’t think he’s saying anything that Sullivan hasn’t been hammering away at for months, but obviously it carries extra weight coming from someone who actually worked for W.
Mitt’s fun book was probably either Chuck Eddy’s Stairway to Hell or something from the Goosebumps series.
they (and Bachmann and Perry) have benefited from Romney fatigue.
“I’m reading sort of a fun one right now, so I’ll skip that.”
Just to get really pointlessly analytical, what’s weird about that is “so” instead of “but.” “But” I probably wouldn’t notice; “so” = fun is something you should never discuss?
“Decision Points” = not a fun read
the GOP wants to win, and with Romney they have a chance.
Facts not at all in evidence
when Newt wins the nom I’ll liveblog this for your pleasure
Facts not at all in evidence
the GOP mantra since ’94.
If they wanted to win they’d circle their wagons round Huntsman. He’s Republican lite like Obama and he’s new and the country is mighty dissatisfied in an inchoate (stupid) way
Herman is still convinced “the other side” is behind his woes: “Once I moved into the top tier, I think they became threatened. My star was shining and rising too fast...they wanted to take that shine away.” It’s really too bad that he will never get to apply his detective skills to the intricacies of geopolitical maneuvering.
Romney will be the flip-flop, unloved, robot candidate who doesn’t quite make it. There’s plenty of fire in the GOP belly and no-one who can express it (and still win).
fuck Newt & Forstchen have written a lotta books
I can’t wait for the ILX Book Club on these mofos
m white otm
I still think romney’s gonna get it because but I think that he won’t be winning primaries w/ healthy margins, prob even after he’s ‘sealed it’. newt et al just have so much crap they’ll be dealing w/ along the way, even if they pick up some states, it’s just so hard to imagine them making it to the finish line.
but “the GOP wants to win” doesn’t really mean anything. everybody wants to win every election but there are definitely elections where ‘the most electable’ candidate didn’t get the nomination. what is the GOP? ‘party insiders’? fox news? the voters? people who showed up at tea party rallies? I think most people who are crazy enough to support the present day republican party might not see ‘electability’ the same way we do.
er romney’s gonna get it but*
dunno how that because snuck in
anyway I would like to remind people who think that romney is 100%, you can literally double your money on intrade if you wanna put it where yr mouth is
No thanks — that’s what you chaps are for.
Question for those of you who were here in November of 2007: was there anybody posting at the time that Hillary had it locked up, and dismissing the idea that Obama might win? I realize it’s far from a perfect analogy, as Obama was still more or less a blank slate, and Gingrich is anything but.
I didn’t care much about the primaries until January ’08 and Bam won in Iowa. But now it looked inevitable: he’d had a fairly big head of steam from the end of 2006 through 2007. It’s hard to remember now, but lots of establishment Corner types were impressed by his prose and demeanor.
Which is to say: I thought HRC inevitable through summer ’07, didn’t care much until Iowa, then concluded that this man would be the nominee and probably the president.
Sure—it was a lot easier to predict Obama after Iowa, which is why I’m curious what people were posting a month beforehand, the point we’re at now. If Gingrich were to win Iowa, predicting he’ll win the nomination would seem a lot less chimerical than it does now. (And if Romney were to win, I wouldn’t go on about how anything’s possible.)
not a relevant parallel imho
just too many things that don’t line up—the state of the party, the state of the country, the public’s relationship to the candidates (Romney’s already run for president once!), etc.
clinton was the frontrunner but not inevitable vs. romney’s not the frontrunner but is inevitable
haha I wish that clip didn’t cut off the music
ugh kramer is the worst
It was the best of times, the worst of times
Oh man, that laugh...the story of how I ended up rooting for Newt Gingrich in 2011 so Barack Obama would have an easier time in 2012 all begins with that laugh.
can’t wait until we can call the gen election thread “Newtonian Mechanics”
Which is to say: I thought HRC inevitable through summer ’07, didn’t care much until Iowa, then concluded that this man would be the nominee and probably the president.
i thought rick santorum would be the next president of the united states, and nothing i have seen has changed my view.
you all are going to be praising my predictive powers when pres. santorum takes office in 2013.
his first act in office: imprison dan savage.
he’ll figure out the “charges” later.
Santorum’s on Piers Morgan within the hour—he may mention you, Daniel.
he should, as i am his constituency.
well, me and his wife and their 42 kids and his parents and his in-laws and a few friends from the “No Sex ‘Till Marriage“ support group he sponsors.
too bad american girl dolls haven’t got the vote yet
by 30 points. 30!
Note also Huntsman’s surge!
Jon Huntsman—3% (+0)
Rick Perry—2% (-22)
Rick Santorum—1% (-1)
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_FLMT_1130925.pdf
the crosstabs are interesting
“My wife loves me. She just told me that again today,” Cain added.
The Montana (the other PPP poll) primary’s in June, as far as I can tell...I hope Newt’s not working some kind of Giuliani-type Montana Strategy.
I had one of those “doesn’t really happen in real life” opportunities recently—we were over in New York in August, and met a friend who lives there and was about to do an old-school travel around the world for three months on sabbatical from work.
She dropped in on us last week in London, having pretty much not paid much attention to anything western while travelling due to lack of roaming data. One of the things that came up was the Republican Candidacy. Yeah, she said, what’s going on there since I left? A minute later: “Wait, who’s Herman Cain?”
Interesting that it’s Ron Paul who put this out:
I guess Gingrich more than Romney is Paul’s impediment to a strong showing in Iowa, and Romney, for obvious reasons, can’t really go after Gingrich on the same terms. After yesterday’s Florida poll, I would expect Romney to begin—very soon, like today—hammering away at “electability.”
NPR played a 15=second clip of Pat Robertson suggesting that Cain should quit. Like the Communists they are.
Cain held an impromptu (and rather chaotic, it looked like) press conference in New Hampshire last night, and the last question was about Ginger White. He answered by saying something like, “Let me address that: 9–9–9 is the solution to our country’s economic woes...” 9–9–9 is now shorthand for “I refuse to talk about that.”
I don’t know if Robertson matters much anymore in the nomination process...20 years ago, he could have moved mountains. Maybe he still has influence behind the scenes—no idea.
Hold on, Herman Cain has been carrying on with a woman called Ginger White? Interracial relationship perchance?
Happy face/sad face.
Cain held an impromptu (and rather chaotic, it looked like) press conference in New Hampshire last night, and the last question was about Ginger White. He answered by saying something like, “Let me address that: 9–9–9 is the solution to our country’s economic woes...” 9–9–9 is now shorthand for “I refuse to talk about that.”
i love herman cain more than ever.
Q: how would you handle a nuclear crisis between pakistan and india?
A: 999 is the solution to our country’s economic woes.
Q: what do you propose in place of obamacare?
A: 999 is the solution to our country’s woes.
Q: would you allow the trigger to go forward against DOD programs?
A: 999 is the solution.
Q: how do you spell “xylophone”?
A: 999 we’re doing fine.
Insane roffles to be had over at this hyperwinger blog:
Guy’s always been a tool but he’s been a Cain freak forever and now he’s deep ending big time. Just scroll through the past few days. Meantime this one’s not about Cain but it is about how wonderful he himself is.
So glad that under a Bachmann presidency we’ll pull our embassy from Iran.
god those guys are all such whiners. and they bitch at each other all the time. like on a personal level. i’ll never quite understand it.
xp
Many bald men fighting over a comb.
is that a koan?
So glad that under a Bachmann presidency we’ll pull our embassy from Iran.
lololol did she actually say this? she did, didn’t she.
xpost — I wish I could be all these clowns’ zen master, then I could tell them to shut up and contemplate their navel, leave the room, lock the door and turn off the a/c.
talk to this one then:
Missing the 60s
December 1, 2011 11:18 A.M.
By Mona Charen
The always engaging Michael Barone theorizes that Mitt Romney sounds corny because he “missed the Sixties.” Is that a bad thing? He was married and had two small children to care for in the 60s. No time to occupy anything, smoke pot, or have casual sex. I can live with that in a potential president. Don’t you wish everyone had missed the 60s?
I’m fine with Mona missing the ’10s, really.
I’m glad Herman’s Hermits didn’t miss the ’60s. They wrote some excellent songs.
mitt is older than i thought!
Sounds like Herman is anything but a hermit, yknowhatimsayin’
yeah I always forget how old mitt is, he looks good for his age
I’m glad Herman’s Hermits didn’t miss the ’60s. They wrote some excellent songs.
you may have irrevocably damaged your credibility here.
Romney’s first kid wasn’t born until 1970.
It’s the magic undergarments. xps
Herman gets around—more of a Beach Boys kinda dude
Romney’s first kid wasn’t born until 1970.
It’s Mona’s kind of hogwash culture war neurosis coupled with a complete disregard for any kind of facts or fact-checking that makes me wonder whether these voters have, like, sleep apnea or overexposure to lead that has killed off too many brain cells.
If you don’t love “Must to Avoid” or “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” well, I don’t what to say.
How to keep this secret from Republican voters? “If you’re on the DNC/Obama email lists, you notice that the other team doesn’t bother attacking Newt. This isn’t complicated. They worry about Romney. They don’t worry about facing Gingrich.”
Is Mike Love a Herman Cain kinda dude tho?
Where is that Show Me Pictures Of Mike Love With Weirdoes thread when yo need it?
“No milk today-y/ My love has gone away” (xp)
really wish you guys were on our current overlords’ asses this much.
Sorry—I’m throwing down the gauntlet here:
rleisenman : 12/01/11 11:30
If we were electing a president to avoid casual sex and pot smoking, Mr. Romney would be at the top of my list. Personally, I have some other presidential goals.
(Great clip) (xp)
ok now you guys be telling me how old romney actually is, not disproving the theory that he is a genuine robot
zero smoking and drinking and having sex only 5 times in your life does wonders
that ‘other mccain’ blog and it’s discussion of intellectuals led me to this dude:
who wrote this:
The names of the postmodern vanguard are now familiar:
Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean-François Lyotard, and
Richard Rorty. They are its leading strategists. They set the
direction of the movement and provide it with its most potent tools.
The vanguard is aided by other familiar and often infamous names:
Stanley Fish and Frank Lentricchia in literary and legal criticism,
Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin in feminist legal
criticism, Jacques Lacan in psychology, Robert Venturi and Andreas
Huyssen in architectural criticism, and Luce Irigaray in the criticism
of science.
Members of this elite group set the direction and tone for the
postmodern intellectual world.
wtfffffff
madisonian : 12/01/11 11:33
No, Mona, I do not, especially not the musicians who had the good sense to listen to the Delta and Chicago blues men, and gave their interpretation back to us. (I just wish the band named for a blimp had the virtue to credit those from whom they actually stole, so the blues artists could reap the benefits of their good writing.)
Beyond music, I’m glad we have the example of the 60’s to forever serve as living proof of the mayhem and misery that hedonism causes.
That is an invaluable living example of the evils of socialist thought.
I would not trade it in for a thing.
What I wish for, though, is for the 60’s generation to either embrace what this country stands for, leave for other places if they cannot, or to hurry up and chunk into the clay already.
i’m stealing “chunk into the clay”
“zeppelin rules. kill the longhairs.”
newt’s short-term numbers and long-term numbers are not gonna be the same thing
well, i think i agree. but there’s a decent possibility that he’ll hold this together, for five reasons: (a) there isn’t much time, for him to screw-up or for the anti-romney crowd to back someone else; (b) the anti-romney crowd probably now sees there are no other viable choices (the others have now all disqualified themselves or have no chance); (c) gingrich has “angry, resentful white” dog-whistle messaging down to a near-science; (d) gingrich’s flaws are pretty well-known; (e) gingrich can speak coherently and discuss policy; (e) romney’s numbers aren’t going in the right direction, and the heat will continue being turned up on him, too.
also: newt is much more fun than romney.
I’m not saying that w/r/t him not getting the nom (it’s also true w/r/t that) but rather ‘he might be more nationally electable if the election were held today, but prob not even gonna be the case a month from now and absolutely not the case nov 2012.
when I think about newt I’m reminded of that simpsons episode whwere mr. burns survives because he has every disease known to man and they all cancel each other out in some equilibrium. that’s newt and scandals. where do you even start?
oh, i wouldn’t be so happy over newt if i thought that he would be a more formidable adversary in the general-election.
on the other hand, i also see that romney’s not very good at retail politics or one-on-one interviews. they bring out — and reinforce — all his worst qualities.
I’m glad we have the example of the 60’s to forever serve as living proof of the mayhem and misery that hedonism causes.
Ha ha, this is such an empty, strawman trope. We ARE the 60’s now and hedonism and socialism aren’t all that related imho.
Man, can you imagine Newt as President? Foreign leaders would be staying away in dorves to avoid getting lectured, probably about their own countries.
droves, rather
Wow—that electability poll (even though I agree it’s very much a case of illusion vs. reality; in the long run, surely Romney’s more electable) could really present problems for Romeny. Like Sullivan says, at this point it’s like his last argument to Republican voters. Saying he’d govern more rationally probably wouldn’t get him very far.
xp: thought you meant dwarves