Presidential Debate Thread - Obama vs. Romney (4 Viewers)

[Todd Andrews]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

Maybe you can explain it then.My link

Why do you need details? you didn't ask for them back in 2008 when you voted for Obama. You just voted for a slick campaign slogan - no details necessary. Remember "hope and change"?Seems to me you progressives should be the LAST ones asking for details.

He was pretty explicit about his Universal Health Care, ending the wars and using TARP. What are you confused about?

Obamacare, NO ONE had a clue as to what was in it and how it was going to affect the bottom line. Remember "we have to pass it to see what's in it" lines? Get out of here with that crap

Romney knew exactly what was in Obamacare.

 

[snowmonkey501]

Whether you think O won or Mr Romney won, it was close, and no way did anything happen that would give the legions of voters who flocked to Team Romney after the first reason to flip again.

What's funny about this? Obama's lead in national polls completely disappeared after the first debate, with many polls now giving Romney a modest lead.

Rasmussen still has it:Obama: 237

Romney: 181

Toss-up: 120

Do you honestly not know what a "national poll" is?

he sees what he wants to see

 

[larry_boy_44]

And....Wisconsin is back in play.

Linky

The coming days should be interesting in terms of rolling polls. Several sources have Obama "winning" the debate, but Romney "winning" the discussion on specific topics (especially the economy). How that shifts things - especially in states like Ohio, Wisconsin, etc, will be interesting, as it will give an indication of what voters think are the important issues and who they trust to handle them.

I don't have a clue how the polls are being run, but I'm in awe that Obama has been polling ahead of Romney in Wisconsin at all...I (and most everyone I know) would be shocked if Obama carried Wisconsin. After the whole recall nonsense and with Ryan on the ticket, Wisconsin is gonna be a Romney win.

Wisconsin hasn't gone Republican since 1984. Having Ryan on the ticket helps, but the consensus at the time he was chosen as VP was that the state would still end up going for Obama anyway.

Yes, but the Democrats hadn't held the whole state hostage and cost us ridiculous amounts of money prior to the last 6 elections.All the polls had the Walker election a lot closer than it actually was, too. Same thing here. Obama is going to go in looking like he will win by a little, but Romney will end up winning.

 

[Todd Andrews]

Its funny that the right is desperately trying to make Libya a huge deal when nobody really cares about it.

It's such a trivial blunder.

Tell that to the families of the deceased.

didnt bush have a lot of embassies attack with more causalities?

Pretty sure Bush aint running in this election. Hey, but if you keep throwing enough #### at the wall, some might stick.

You are wrong. For all practical purposes, Romney is a flipflopping Mormon George W Bush.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Whether you think O won or Mr Romney won, it was close, and no way did anything happen that would give the legions of voters who flocked to Team Romney after the first reason to flip again.

What's funny about this? Obama's lead in national polls completely disappeared after the first debate, with many polls now giving Romney a modest lead.

Rasmussen still has it:Obama: 237

Romney: 181

Toss-up: 120

Do you honestly not know what a "national poll" is?

And where did I say Rasmussen was a national poll or even really a true poll, I stated it because it is just a reputable source of electoral college vote that is often quoted -which matters more anyway than a simple poll.

 

[Todd Andrews]

I was unsure which way I wqs going here, but I THINK the first question to Romney led me away from him. He has talked about lowering the tax rate, but eliminating certain deductions.My salary is comfortable, certainly upper middle class, but because of where I live, my property taxes, state taxes and mortgage interest are very high, which makes my effective tax rate manageable, around 14%. It seemed as if Romney was going to cap deductions at some arbitrary number, which would kill me (he said 25K in the debate). Am I wrong in thinking that because he is so vague on this front, it is difficult to support him as without significant deductions I would be in a world of hurt, unless I just vote on "at least he's not Obama."

well unless you make more than 250k/yr the deductions you mentioned aren't going away.

Wrong. Romney said they would be capped at some arbitrary figure he has said could be $17K and could be $25K, and that you could put your deductions in that "bucket", which sounds kind of like Gore's lockbox. Even if he eliminated ALL deductions for everyone, it would only pay for 4% of the tax cuts and military spending increases he has said he will implement.Romney's tax plan is a glistening, steaming bowl of doodoo with a cherry, sprinkles and some whipped cream on it to fool the sweettooth dummies into scarfing it down like a yummy fudge sunday.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Whether you think O won or Mr Romney won, it was close, and no way did anything happen that would give the legions of voters who flocked to Team Romney after the first reason to flip again.

What's funny about this? Obama's lead in national polls completely disappeared after the first debate, with many polls now giving Romney a modest lead.

Rasmussen still has it:Obama: 237

Romney: 181

Toss-up: 120

Do you honestly not know what a "national poll" is?

And where did I say Rasmussen was a national poll or even really a true poll, I stated it because it is just a reputable source of electoral college vote that is often quoted -which matters more anyway than a simple poll.

No, it doesn't.

 

[Sammy3469]

And....Wisconsin is back in play.

I should hope so. That would be pathetic if Ryan can't deliver Wisconsin.

True - but the numbers in Wisconsin hadn't really moved much since the campaign had started. The article stated that the President held an 11 point lead just a few weeks ago. Just thought it was interesting.

This is the kind of thing that "the electoral college is all that matters" people need to keep in mind. State-level polling in swing states is highly correlated with national polls. When national polls move in Romney's favor, swing states move along with them. If national polling moves back in Obama's direction, poll results in those states will move back in his direction too. A few weeks ago, when Obama enjoyed a solid national lead, the electoral math looked almost impossible for Romney if you just focused on the state-by-state map, but amazingly a ~6 point swing in national poll coincided with a bunch of states moving in Romney's direction. Completely predictable.Theoretically it's possible for Romney to gain in national polls by padding his support in Texas and other solidly Republican states, but realistically that's highly unlikely. If Romney wins the national vote by even 1%, he'll bring along enough states to get to 270 electoral votes.

I actually don't know about that. If you take the 7-day Gallop on its face (which has Obama down 5-6 points), Romney's winning the south by 22 and Obama's winning everywhere else by 4-6 points. Even under that scenario Obama probably wins Wisc, Iowa, and Ohio (NV, CO, NH would go to Romney) and thus the election 271-269. Romney needs one of those 3 midwestern states to flip. With early voting in Iowa and Ohio slowly being backed into the number, I wouldn't be shocked if Wisc became THE battleground down the stretch. If Romney can flip that state, he at least has a a shot.

 

[Fennis]

Its funny that the right is desperately trying to make Libya a huge deal when nobody really cares about it.

It's such a trivial blunder.

Tell that to the families of the deceased.

The families of the deceased have repeatedly asked Romney to stop politicizing their deaths.

What does that have to do with calling it a "trivial blunder"?

nothing really.

 

[3C's]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

Maybe you can explain it then.My link

Why do you need details? you didn't ask for them back in 2008 when you voted for Obama. You just voted for a slick campaign slogan - no details necessary. Remember "hope and change"?Seems to me you progressives should be the LAST ones asking for details.

He was pretty explicit about his Universal Health Care, ending the wars and using TARP. What are you confused about?

Negative. All we got was "hope and change" - details to come after election.

I guess you were asleep or drunk during 2008 because he was pretty detailed and he has pretty much implemented what he could. Sorry for your lack of comprehension.

unemployment not going over 8%? yeah, about that...

Obama said that?

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

There is zero chance either candidate wins the popular vote by 5%+ and doesn't also have an overwhelming victory in the electoral college.

 

[snowmonkey501]

Whether you think O won or Mr Romney won, it was close, and no way did anything happen that would give the legions of voters who flocked to Team Romney after the first reason to flip again.

What's funny about this? Obama's lead in national polls completely disappeared after the first debate, with many polls now giving Romney a modest lead.

Rasmussen still has it:Obama: 237

Romney: 181

Toss-up: 120

Do you honestly not know what a "national poll" is?

he sees what he wants to see

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

When he just made up something? "Let me pick just pick a number, say $25,000 . . . ." He didn't say $25,000 is the actual number of his plan that you can set our deductions to, he just made it up on the spot. And when asked what he would do if the revenues didn't add up to what he thought they would to make his plan work, he just said, "it will work" because he has balanced budgets in business before. It's a joke of a policy.

 

[snowmonkey501]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

Maybe you can explain it then.My link

Why do you need details? you didn't ask for them back in 2008 when you voted for Obama. You just voted for a slick campaign slogan - no details necessary. Remember "hope and change"?Seems to me you progressives should be the LAST ones asking for details.

He was pretty explicit about his Universal Health Care, ending the wars and using TARP. What are you confused about?

Negative. All we got was "hope and change" - details to come after election.

I guess you were asleep or drunk during 2008 because he was pretty detailed and he has pretty much implemented what he could. Sorry for your lack of comprehension.

unemployment not going over 8%? yeah, about that...

Obama said that?

yes

 

[Run It Up]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

When he just made up something? "Let me pick just pick a number, say $25,000 . . . ." He didn't say $25,000 is the actual number of his plan that you can set our deductions to, he just made it up on the spot. And when asked what he would do if the revenues didn't add up to what he thought they would to make his plan work, he just said, "it will work" because he has balanced budgets in business before. It's a joke of a policy.

Nah man, someone somewhere did some math, and Romney assured me personally that it adds up, to something.

 

[snowmonkey501]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

When he just made up something? "Let me pick just pick a number, say $25,000 . . . ." He didn't say $25,000 is the actual number of his plan that you can set our deductions to, he just made it up on the spot. And when asked what he would do if the revenues didn't add up to what he thought they would to make his plan work, he just said, "it will work" because he has balanced budgets in business before. It's a joke of a policy.

you assume that revenues into the government don't change which is a false assumption on your part. the economy is not a zero sum gain.

 

[Slapdash]

Arrested Decision 2012

Photos from the campaign captioned with Arrested Development quotes.

My favorites:

How much clearer can I say, “There’s always money in the banana stand?!”

Obviously this blue part here is the land… and that would mean…

Yeah, who doesn’t love the Jews?

 

[TobiasFunke]

Arrested Decision 2012

Photos from the campaign captioned with Arrested Development quotes.

Not surprisingly, I think this is the best thing I've seen this campaign season."Time for a little office magic!" is my favorite.

 

[mr roboto]

Arrested Decision 2012

Photos from the campaign captioned with Arrested Development quotes.

Not surprisingly, I think this is the best thing I've seen this campaign season."Time for a little office magic!" is my favorite.

The nevernude one cracks me up.

 

[Slapdash]

Arrested Decision 2012

Photos from the campaign captioned with Arrested Development quotes.

My favorites:

How much clearer can I say, “There’s always money in the banana stand?!”

Obviously this blue part here is the land… and that would mean…

Yeah, who doesn’t love the Jews?

Christie: I was made to understand there were grilled cheese sandwiches here.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

he sees what he wants to see

And you obviously do not see the shift key.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

When he just made up something? "Let me pick just pick a number, say $25,000 . . . ." He didn't say $25,000 is the actual number of his plan that you can set our deductions to, he just made it up on the spot. And when asked what he would do if the revenues didn't add up to what he thought they would to make his plan work, he just said, "it will work" because he has balanced budgets in business before. It's a joke of a policy.

you assume that revenues into the government don't change which is a false assumption on your part. the economy is not a zero sum gain.

I didn't assume anything.

 

[pantagrapher]

This just smacks of desperation:

Despite the immediate and mostly mocking internet reaction to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” remark during the debate at Hofstra Tuesday night, Republicans appear determined to turn “binders” into a metaphorical theme of the campaign.The Republican National Committee hosted a conference call Wednesday amidst reports that “binders full of women” was the third most popular Google search term after the debate and tried to claim the binder-based attack as its own.The press release for the conference call advertised that RNC chair Reince Priebus and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) would “talk about Obama’s empty binder second term agenda.” They were true to their word.“[Obama] didn’t lay out a plan for a second term agenda. He’s had two debates, he’s offered plenty of excuses but he hasn’t offered a plan,” Priebus said. “And that’s what we’re calling the empty binder. So either he’s out of ideas or he likes the way that things are going.”Romney’s binder metaphor came up during a discussion of women in the workplace and pay equality. Romney said he had sought and received “binders full of women” to consider when deciding who to appoint to his cabinet after being elected as governor. Ayotte defended Romney’s record on women, and attacked Obama’s. She also used the binder metaphor against Obama. Twice.“On this empty binder issue, it’s the president who has the empty binder because there’s no legislation planned for the second term other than more spending. And how are we going to afford that given our $16 trillion in debt?” she said.Ayotte said the Democratic use of the binder metaphor was actually demeaning to women.“One of the things about this whole focus by the Democrats on this ‘binder’ issue is because they don’t want to talk about the issues that really matter to all voters,” she said. “All issues are women’s issues. It’s very diminishing that they only want to focus on a limited number of issues as opposed to how are we going to make sure we get people back to work, and particularly women?”

Oof.

 

[3C's]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

Maybe you can explain it then.My link

Why do you need details? you didn't ask for them back in 2008 when you voted for Obama. You just voted for a slick campaign slogan - no details necessary. Remember "hope and change"?Seems to me you progressives should be the LAST ones asking for details.

He was pretty explicit about his Universal Health Care, ending the wars and using TARP. What are you confused about?

Negative. All we got was "hope and change" - details to come after election.

I guess you were asleep or drunk during 2008 because he was pretty detailed and he has pretty much implemented what he could. Sorry for your lack of comprehension.

unemployment not going over 8%? yeah, about that...

Obama said that?

yes

link, to a direct quote of Obama saying that.

 

[TobiasFunke]

This just smacks of desperation:

Despite the immediate and mostly mocking internet reaction to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” remark during the debate at Hofstra Tuesday night, Republicans appear determined to turn “binders” into a metaphorical theme of the campaign.

The Republican National Committee hosted a conference call Wednesday amidst reports that “binders full of women” was the third most popular Google search term after the debate and tried to claim the binder-based attack as its own.

The press release for the conference call advertised that RNC chair Reince Priebus and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) would “talk about Obama’s empty binder second term agenda.” They were true to their word.

“[Obama] didn’t lay out a plan for a second term agenda. He’s had two debates, he’s offered plenty of excuses but he hasn’t offered a plan,” Priebus said. “And that’s what we’re calling the empty binder. So either he’s out of ideas or he likes the way that things are going.”

Romney’s binder metaphor came up during a discussion of women in the workplace and pay equality. Romney said he had sought and received “binders full of women” to consider when deciding who to appoint to his cabinet after being elected as governor. Ayotte defended Romney’s record on women, and attacked Obama’s. She also used the binder metaphor against Obama. Twice.

“On this empty binder issue, it’s the president who has the empty binder because there’s no legislation planned for the second term other than more spending. And how are we going to afford that given our $16 trillion in debt?” she said.

Ayotte said the Democratic use of the binder metaphor was actually demeaning to women.

“One of the things about this whole focus by the Democrats on this ‘binder’ issue is because they don’t want to talk about the issues that really matter to all voters,” she said. “All issues are women’s issues. It’s very diminishing that they only want to focus on a limited number of issues as opposed to how are we going to make sure we get people back to work, and particularly women?”

Oof.

Another problem is that the binder story is a lie. He didn't request the binders of women; he had the binders of women forced upon him.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

This just smacks of desperation:

Despite the immediate and mostly mocking internet reaction to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” remark during the debate at Hofstra Tuesday night, Republicans appear determined to turn “binders” into a metaphorical theme of the campaign.The Republican National Committee hosted a conference call Wednesday amidst reports that “binders full of women” was the third most popular Google search term after the debate and tried to claim the binder-based attack as its own.The press release for the conference call advertised that RNC chair Reince Priebus and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) would “talk about Obama’s empty binder second term agenda.” They were true to their word.“[Obama] didn’t lay out a plan for a second term agenda. He’s had two debates, he’s offered plenty of excuses but he hasn’t offered a plan,” Priebus said. “And that’s what we’re calling the empty binder. So either he’s out of ideas or he likes the way that things are going.”Romney’s binder metaphor came up during a discussion of women in the workplace and pay equality. Romney said he had sought and received “binders full of women” to consider when deciding who to appoint to his cabinet after being elected as governor. Ayotte defended Romney’s record on women, and attacked Obama’s. She also used the binder metaphor against Obama. Twice.“On this empty binder issue, it’s the president who has the empty binder because there’s no legislation planned for the second term other than more spending. And how are we going to afford that given our $16 trillion in debt?” she said.Ayotte said the Democratic use of the binder metaphor was actually demeaning to women.“One of the things about this whole focus by the Democrats on this ‘binder’ issue is because they don’t want to talk about the issues that really matter to all voters,” she said. “All issues are women’s issues. It’s very diminishing that they only want to focus on a limited number of issues as opposed to how are we going to make sure we get people back to work, and particularly women?”

Oof.

Republicans just aren't very good at this whole "humor" thing.

 

[Sam Quentin]

This just smacks of desperation:

Despite the immediate and mostly mocking internet reaction to Mitt Romneys binders full of women remark during the debate at Hofstra Tuesday night, Republicans appear determined to turn binders into a metaphorical theme of the campaign.The Republican National Committee hosted a conference call Wednesday amidst reports that binders full of women was the third most popular Google search term after the debate and tried to claim the binder-based attack as its own.The press release for the conference call advertised that RNC chair Reince Priebus and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) would talk about Obamas empty binder second term agenda. They were true to their word.[Obama] didnt lay out a plan for a second term agenda. Hes had two debates, hes offered plenty of excuses but he hasnt offered a plan, Priebus said. And thats what were calling the empty binder. So either hes out of ideas or he likes the way that things are going.Romneys binder metaphor came up during a discussion of women in the workplace and pay equality. Romney said he had sought and received binders full of women to consider when deciding who to appoint to his cabinet after being elected as governor. Ayotte defended Romneys record on women, and attacked Obamas. She also used the binder metaphor against Obama. Twice.On this empty binder issue, its the president who has the empty binder because theres no legislation planned for the second term other than more spending. And how are we going to afford that given our $16 trillion in debt? she said.Ayotte said the Democratic use of the binder metaphor was actually demeaning to women.One of the things about this whole focus by the Democrats on this binder issue is because they dont want to talk about the issues that really matter to all voters, she said. All issues are womens issues. Its very diminishing that they only want to focus on a limited number of issues as opposed to how are we going to make sure we get people back to work, and particularly women?

Oof.

so terrorist attacks against our country don't matter, but internet memes intended to appeal to people with the maturity of a 12 year old boy do?got it

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

 

[Run It Up]

so terrorist attacks against our country don't matter, but internet memes intended to appeal to people with the maturity of a 12 year old boy do?got it

So, when exactly are you gonna care about Romney speaking word of truth in between twenty or so lies?

 

[Run It Up]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

If he just keeps repeating it over and over, maybe people will actually realize that the president cannot influence gas prices without waging war on a major oil producer. There is no way to legislatively reduce the cost of a barrel of oil.

 

[pantagrapher]

so terrorist attacks against our country don't matter, but internet memes intended to appeal to people with the maturity of a 12 year old boy do?

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

You do realize that was one of three lines all night (all three by Obama) that elicited a solid crowd reaction? You can laugh all you want, but it worked at the moment.

Regardless of the crowd reaction, it's still a ridiculous assertion, and only an idiot would believe that bringing the price of gas down hurts americans economicly.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

You do realize that was one of three lines all night (all three by Obama) that elicited a solid crowd reaction? You can laugh all you want, but it worked at the moment.

Regardless of the crowd reaction, it's still a ridiculous assertion, and only an idiot would believe that bringing the price of gas down hurts americans economicly.

Nobody said that bringing the price down hurts Americans. The price goes down due to lack of demand when the economy is heading down.

 

[The Commish]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Do you drive an tank??

 

[Run It Up]

Do you drive an tank??

Ann 'Tank' Romney im sorry.

 

[Sam Quentin]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

You do realize that was one of three lines all night (all three by Obama) that elicited a solid crowd reaction? You can laugh all you want, but it worked at the moment.

Regardless of the crowd reaction, it's still a ridiculous assertion, and only an idiot would believe that bringing the price of gas down hurts americans economicly.

Nobody said that bringing the price down hurts Americans. The price goes down due to lack of demand when the economy is heading down.

So exactly what happened on June 15, 2008 that caused the oil bubble to burst?

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

You do realize that was one of three lines all night (all three by Obama) that elicited a solid crowd reaction? You can laugh all you want, but it worked at the moment.

Regardless of the crowd reaction, it's still a ridiculous assertion, and only an idiot would believe that bringing the price of gas down hurts americans economicly.

Nobody said that bringing the price down hurts Americans. The price goes down due to lack of demand when the economy is heading down.

So exactly what happened on June 15, 2008 that caused the oil bubble to burst?

I'm not saying it's the lone factor, nor am I an expert on energy, oil, or gas. I'm just pointing out that Carolina Hustler doesn't even understand what the argument being presented is.

 

[ffldrew]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Yea that sticky business of cancelling oil permits because of negligence by the oil/drilling companies in the Gulf of Mexico? I guess it wasn't prudent to review how the hell oil companies were going avoid destroying the Gulf once and for all?

Threat of an embargo and the Iran in the Straits of Hormuz also affect the price - but wait - you guys would take him to the cleaners for being "soft on Iran" - care to make up your mind?

Stopping a pipeline that was going to send oil that currently ends up in Chicago to the Chinese via a FTZ in Houston - that oil would have never seen a refinery here.

Price of natural gas is at all time low BTW - I guess he gets credit for that.

 

[Sam Quentin]

Price of natural gas is at all time low BTW - I guess he gets credit for that.

Yes he does, as a byproduct of starving out other energy options....but his allies that are anti-fracking may help put the kibosh on that

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Take it up with the Saudis and ExxonMobil. You have no idea what drives gas prices.

 

[Dr. Awesome]

Romney still can't give specifics on how he going to make his tax cut work. The sad part is that he's very close to conning into way into the Presidency.

apparently you weren't paying attention to what he said last night.

Maybe you can explain it then.My link

Why do you need details? you didn't ask for them back in 2008 when you voted for Obama. You just voted for a slick campaign slogan - no details necessary. Remember "hope and change"?Seems to me you progressives should be the LAST ones asking for details.

This is an incredibly stupid and immature tactic. Because one side did something crappy you now want to act like a spoiled child and scream "They started it!!!" instead of taking a mature, reasonable, and responsible approach? Nevermind the fact the size of Romney's plan is a lot different than anything Obama talked about. And hell, not all of the current Romney critics supported Obama last time. I did not vote for Barack in the last election but if I were forced to choose between the two candidates this time around I'd sure as hell give him my vote. Romney's "plans" terrify me.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Are people seriously interpreting this "act of terror" nonsense and anything other than an obvious but ultimately insignificant gaffe by Romney?

Amazing. Please continue.

What's more amazing is that a lot of conservatives want to double down on this and continue to attack Obama over Libya.

what's more amazing is that, knowing that the US was attacked by terrorists, the Administartion would go in front of the world and posit that this happened because we have too much free speech ("abuse"). Just like Giffords and Oklahoma City, it's that darned free speech again.

I never heard this. Do you have a link to an Obama administration person stating that "we have too much free speech"?

Gotta love the lies conservatives spew. Here are quotes from the UN speech, and I'll link the Fox News transcript for full disclosure at the end. "We understand why people take offense to this video because millions of our citizens are among them. I know there are some who ask why don't we just ban such a video. The answer is enshrined in our laws. Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech.

Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. As president of our country, and commander in chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.

(APPLAUSE)

Americans have fought and died around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views -- even views that we profoundly disagree with. We do so not because we support hateful speech, but because our founders understood that without such protections, the capacity of each individual to express their own views and practice their own faith may be threatened.

We do so because in a diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to silence critics and oppress minorities. We do so because, given the power of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame, the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression, it is more speech -- the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.

I know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech. We recognize that. But in 2012, at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete.

The question, then, is how we respond. And on this we must agree: There is no speech that justifies mindless violence."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/09/25/transcript-obama-address-to-un-general-assembly/#ixzz29Z4Y8jEl

I don't see one spot where Obama says we have too much free speech. But let me try to take a play out of the Conservative playbook. They'll dismiss Obama's defense of free speech since they were wrong about the "apology" and instead focus on Obama tying the video to an attack on an embassy (which isn't incorrect if he was speaking about Egypt). And forget the idea this was a speech at the UN where he is trying to promote peace in the Middle East, what does he gain by blaming terrorists at the UN?

Seems obvious though that he implies a video is the cause of the 'spontanious attack'

 

[TobiasFunke]

Price of natural gas is at all time low BTW - I guess he gets credit for that.

Yes he does, but his anti-fracking allies may put the kibosh on that

No, he doesn't. No credit for natural gas prices, no blame for oil prices. None. I mean technically there are some small things he could do that would have a teeny tiny impact on the pricing of these things. But the impact is so small that it's silly to give him any credit or blame for the market prices. You might as well blame him for the cost of the new iPhone- the extent of his role is probably similar.

 

[ffldrew]

Price of natural gas is at all time low BTW - I guess he gets credit for that.

Yes he does, as a byproduct of starving out other energy options....but his allies that are anti-fracking may help put the kibosh on that

Lack of water will put a kibosh on fracking

 

[humpback]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Take it up with the Saudis and ExxonMobil. You have no idea what drives gas prices.

Neither do most people, yet they selectively blame/credit these things when it suits them. Politics is stupid and dishonest because the people are stupid and dishonest.

 

[Jewell]

Ben Stein on the foreign policy part of last night's debate...

Something Went Wrong Tonight

Ben Stein

http://m.spectator.org/169477/show/c3c32210df2fd6173271752ffe4d8faf/?

I am in New York and I will be honest with you, my beloved Spectator people. Governor Romney was not strong tonight on foreign policy. Fine on jobs, the economy, regulation, guns. Super good on how women should get married before they have children, a point that Mr. Obama should have been making for years. (I wonder why he doesn't…)

But when he was asked a question about Pres. Obama's response to the murders by an al Qaeda affiliate in Benghazi, Mr. Romney completely got flustered by an outright lie by Mr. Obama.

Mr. Obama falsely said that he had called the murders in Benghazi a terrorist act the day after September 11. Gov Romney was seemingly bewildered about what to say. Mr. Obama further told the outrageous untruth that in a democracy, the President should not be criticized over a defense/foreign policy disaster.

Let's look at the facts:

Mr. Obama gave a lengthy speech on September 12, after the murders in Libya, in which he first of all apologized to the Muslims for that infamous video. Then he talked about the terrorism of September 11, 2001, and his visits to some graves of some victims. It was in that context that he mentioned terrorist acts -- NOT in the context of the killings in Libya. Those, he was still blaming on an inflamed mob and that video. For Mr. Obama to take his own words out of context to excuse his inexcusable kowtow to the Islamists was disgraceful, deceptive, but frankly, not surprising. But for Gov. Romney to not catch him on it and whip him… that was a disappointment. Gov. Romney might have said, "Sir, you were covering up for the al Qaeda affiliates most of September and you are still covering up for your incompetence. It is insulting to the nation."

Even worse, as I keep saying, is Mr. Obama's anti-Constitutional pretention that no one is allowed to criticize him on foreign policy or else it's "playing politics."

To this, Mr. Romney should have said that it is the essence of a free people that the elected officials can and must be criticized for their mistakes. Otherwise, we do not have a democracy.

If this is how Mr. Obama misunderstands the First Amendment, he should not be in high office.

But Mr. Romney missed that moment, too.

Something went wrong tonight. Mr. Romney was not on the beam on Libya. But the dishonesty and shameless obfuscation of Mr. Obama were genuinely frightening. Look, Mrs. Clinton has already apologized, so we know something went badly wrong in Benghazi. Only Mr. Obama is still saying he didn't do anything wrong. Mr. Obama is smooth, but he is in a box now, and let's hope that Gov. Romney does not let him out next time.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Take it up with the Saudis and ExxonMobil. You have no idea what drives gas prices.

Neither do most people, yet they selectively blame/credit these things when it suits them. Politics is stupid and dishonest because the people are stupid and dishonest.

No argument there. I fully understand it's a convenient political point. If Obama were to make the statement that he has no control over gas prices, most people would probably look at such a comment negatively, either as a guy who is powerless or a guy that is deflecting. My quibble is with the mouth breathers around here who seem to think we should tolerate these idiotic statements as fact. These are the easy points that don't even merit a long discussion. They are obvious on their face. Plenty of reasons to fault Obama. This is not one of them.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Oh Jesus.. Ben Stein? Really?

 

[TobiasFunke]

Obama:

"Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess."



Reminds me of him explaining Clinton era tax rates bringing back Clinton era prosperity..

Does this man know how this thing works? Doesn't seem like it..

Debating gas prices exposes seriousness. Presidents don't influence the price of gas in any real way. It's not tied to prosperity or economic health. It's tied to the global oil price. It's no more complicated than that. I understand the politics of this, but the reality is that gas is a global commodity and priced as such.

Heavier regulations, voting down a pipeline, bringing criminal charges against oil companies, canceling oil drilling permits, etc, does effect the price of oil.. Obama does effect gas prices, for which at times I've spent up to $1200 a month.. Over 10k a year... Much bigger influence on the econimic well being of the working class then a 4% tax hike..Cost of energy, and gas is a huge issue, Obama would like to sweep it under the carpet, Romney needs to hammer him on this one..

Take it up with the Saudis and ExxonMobil. You have no idea what drives gas prices.

Neither do most people, yet they selectively blame/credit these things when it suits them. Politics is stupid and dishonest because the people are stupid and dishonest.

Yup.This is a case where the problem 100% on the people IMO. I've seen many politicians on both sides try to explain that their role in gasoline prices (or natural gas prices) is limited at best. For some reason it never sinks in, as demonstrated in this thread. At some point the politicians have no choice but to pander to the voters who refuse to understand the facts. If they don't, they'll lose. It's unfortunate, but I give the pols credit for trying at least.

 

[Run It Up]

Oh Jesus.. Ben Stein? Really?

Dry Red Eyes.