Promoted like a monster truck rally, the stakes in tonight’s debate are said to be ginormous. Certainly the media would like there to be a story, better yet a horse race. I personally find it drab and unexciting (If they were actual debates with points and fact checking, that would be different). Nevertheless, willpower and time permitting, I will be here liveblogging Mitt Romney’s Festival of Lies:
Politico— In the two battleground states, Obama and Romney are statistically tied, according to a NBC-Wall Street Journal-Marist poll of likely voters. “If Romney rocks, he will put concerns about message and his campaign team to rest for few days — and put tougher attention back on Obama,” Allen wrote.The poll has Obama at 49 percent and Romney at 46 percent nationally, and it shows an 8-point lead Obama in Ohio, 51-43, according to Playbook.
Friends from the GOP dark side tell me they are geared up to seize on any of a dozen zingers Mittens has rehearsed, declaring him the winner and the game officially changed.
I don’t think tonight matters as much as the media and wishful thinkers on the right hopes it does. This goose is cooked, voter opinions have hardened, and I’m told from multiple foot soldiers that the Obama campaign has already shifted to a well-organized, well-funded ground game in the battleground states. Especially Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Colorado, without which Romney cannot win. I think ground game is going to be it going forward, and all the zingers and tradmed back stopping in the world isn’t going to change that at this point.
The idea of rehearsing “zingers” and publicizing this fact baffles me. Now everything witty or intelligent Mittens says will be assumed to be a canned line fed from a focus-approved marketing team. I mean, yes, it is, and always would have been, but it’s coming out and acting proud of the fact that baffles me.
The right wing is going to declare Mittens the winner no matter how embarrassing he is. They’ve reached a point where they almost believe in their own propaganda’s ability to change reality.
What they cannot understand is that the rest of humanity can see right through it.
Mittens could stumble onto stage drunk as Shane MacGowan, puke on Obama, give the cameras the bird, and pass out, and the Right will say he won. In that it would be the smartest thing he’s done this campaign, I’d agree.
Thank you for watching the debate so I won’t have to — not that I was going to anyhow, of course. I believe tonight’s a good night for some old Dr. Who episodes on the “On Demand” feature of my cable.
I suspect that the list of “zingers” has already been sent over to
the propaganda departmentFox News so that they can already have their reactions written and rehearsed, and the spin prespun for any of those zingers that are delivered awry or are trotted out at an inappropriate time.Mittens Rmoney is gone. Relegated to history’s dustbin already.
Yup, already even in September. Been called & not just by idiots like me.
Gone because he was always a dreadful choice who couldn’t even win over his own side.
Gone because he is a moron believing in angel Moroni and so pathetic and visibly pathetic at that that he evidently thinks his money can buy him the US presidency despite all the contemptuous, arrogant vile rubbish he’s vomited out his mouth all along.
Mittens will have one distinction in the record. He’ll go down as about the worst candidate for POTUS ever. (No, S. Palin don’t count – she was only vice prez wannabee.)
Hopefully, this marks a turning point where the Republicans hit rock bottom and start to change.
Hopefully the landslide loss the proverbial “blind Freddy” can see coming will shake them up and make them alter direction at last.
Hopefully I’m not mistaken ’bout this.
Hope so.
I know you already follow 538 blog, but for the benefit of other readers: Nate Silver’s conclusion is that the ever-hopeful Republicans are probably right that this is an opportunity for Romney to recover some lost ground, but it’s very unlikely to be a game-changer. If Mitt is going to stage a comeback, tonight would be a good place to start, though.
If I get a chance, I’ll watch just for the entertainment value :)
I’m sure all the usual Repube zingers will be trotted out and Obama will have some problems with some of them BUT all Mitt needs to have is one mis-step and he’ll never find the Yellow Brick Road again.
I’m with James. Unfortunately Mittens and the echo chamber have been lying mostly consistently, and from what little I’ve seen of clips of him (blood pressure) his delivery is much improved; under the reasonably controlled environment of the debate he may come off reasonably well.
Did you notice the bit where Romney accused his sons of lying?
The apple falls not far from the tree.