2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumF*&%ing Amatuers.
Last edited Wed Sep 12, 2012, 03:00 PM - Edit history (1)
Edit to add: on the road but thought this thread was useful to show that they are doing something stupid each and everyday.
Romney coming out against Wind Subsidies which are helping tens of thousands of farmers make a little extra money (and is especially valuable in Iowa) probably cost him the election before the campaign got started, turning Iowa and Colorado from Swing to No F&%$ing Way and infuriating the vital rural Republican base.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/24/1123827/-Colorado-Republican-Blasts-Romney-on-Wind-Romney-Blows-Iowa-and-Colorado
Now the Romney campaign is boasting at how well they are going to do in the debates
http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/how-mitt-romney-is-losing-the-debate-expectations
"We're going to be ready very ready to face the president and we're going to win," one top Romney aide told BuzzFeed.
The Romney campaign has chosen simply to exude confidence about the upcoming contests an attempt to counterbalance the gloomy mood set by Obama's post-convention polling bounce, talking at length about Romneys preparation, something the White House has done not at all.
"I just think we're being honest," a top Romney advisor, Stuart Stevens, told BuzzFeed when asked why the campaign was so open about its debate preparations. "[Romney] did what other candidates have done, which is spent some time during other side's convention to work on debates. Then did a session on Sunday."
"No big deal in our world," he added of the sessions.
Obamas campaign, by contrast, has taken a far more orthodox approach to lowering expectations, privately and publically projecting a low-grade panic that the Harvard Law-educated president could flub the coming debates. One told BuzzFeed last week that the president has the tendency to get "testy" when challenged, and that given his dislike for Romney, "who knows what can happen." "There were some bad debates last time around," warned another.
They are, meanwhile, talking up Romneys abilities, pointing to his recent experience in 21 Republican Primary debates. Governor Romney proved himself to be a sharp and disciplined debater during the more than 20 primary debates his debate performances were a major reason he won the primaries, spokesman Ben LaBolt told BuzzFeed. And he has engaged in extensive debate preparations already the earliest formal debate preparations in recent history taking all of last week off from the campaign trail to engage in debate prep.
. . .
If the trend continues, Romney may need to do handstands on stage to make in impression, while the president will win simply by keeping his shirt on.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)Isn't this counter to all political theory?
Aren't you supposed to diminish expectations before a debate?
enough
(13,262 posts)Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)Obama doesn't have to prepare for the debates. We just need journalists to ask the tough questions with follow ups, but that probably won't happen. Can't make Rmoney look stupid or anything. Just like with Bush. He's dumber than a rock, but that wouldn't be very nice to expose him.
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)other than to skillfully smack down the liar across the stage from you.
CrispyQ
(36,500 posts)The media loves this! When the debates get here, they will go on & on about how confident R is & ignore his inaccuracies & lies.
Erin Burnett all but did this with Lyin' Ryan's speech. She agreed there were some factual issues, but "he was passionate!"
monmouth
(21,078 posts)Proud Liberal Dem
(24,435 posts)The Obama campaign needs to help hype him up big time IMHO.
OTOH I do wonder why EJ Dionne is, strangely, trying to hype Romney's debating skills based on his performance in the GOP primaries. He also thinks that Obama might be "rusty" from 2008.
lillypaddle
(9,581 posts)That's what he is.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)LOL! They jump up and down like cheerleaders yelling out their sound bites and end up falling on their faces and getting yet another rug burn.
Marsala
(2,090 posts)He'll either be the angry jerk ("This president has failed. This president has failed. This president has failed." or he'll be the condescending jerk ("This president tried but he just wasn't good enough." and either way, he'll present little to no specifics.
Imagine if he demands an apology.