bloobeary: Romney didn't really put much thought or effort into his public appearance, because he didn't go to England to campaign.

He went there to see the Olympic Opening Ceremony on someone else's dime.

... all the while a Presidential campaign is going on. Even if he wasn't officially campaigning, he's still seen as operatively campaigning in the media. The fact that he doesn't get this demonstrates to me that he doesn't understand that there are no real vacation days for the President, to say the least.

Not even August and most of the Republican establishment is washing their hands of their chosen candidate. Romney is self-destructing so quickly that it's hard to imagine he comes out of the convention as a real candidate.

elchip: [sflchronicle.com image 504x336]

You got too many of those O.o

Although the corndog one had me and two coworkers laughing.

coco ebert: Romney looks abusive. As in he might smack the wife around from time to time.

Good thing they can afford a Hollywood quality make-up artist to hide the marks. They can also pay the artist to keep the mouth shut.

Of course, I'm not accusing. I'm just saying he could cover his tracks quite easily, that is if he beats his wife. Maybe we should ask the question.

Mitt, why haven't you publicly stated that you don't beat your wife? We'd all like to move past this horrible controversy, but your refusal to make such a simple statement makes me wonder if you have a make-up artist that covers her bruises. Where is the long-form "I don't beat my wife" certificate? Why are you dodging this question? The people of America have a right to know.

/just asking questions.

deadcrickets:

The "wooden" Michael Dukakis in 1988 wasn't exactly radiating intense bonhomie. Ronald Reagan was extremely likeable on a personal level to most people. Jimmy Carter had that big smile in 1976. Et cetera.

------------------------------------

No candidate has ever won the Presidency if they were not liked. Period.

Dukakis is the guy I keep coming back to as I watch Mittens inept campaign, At some point he's going to have to show how much the troops love him, and we'll get some version of this iconic photo:



That and Willie Horton were really the end of Dukakis.

Therion: [graphics8.nytimes.com image 600x330]

"As a spy, it doesn't matter if you're helping rebel forces fight off a dictator, or giving combat tips to a third-grader. There's nothing like pointing and laughing at a total ass."

Why yes, I did read that in Michael Weston's voice.

I've been catching up on my Burn Notice this weekend and so this amused me. +1 to you, good sir.

/Chuck Finley approved

elchip: PonceAlyosha: He looks forward to meeting Benjamin Nethastfu.

Apparently the two of them have been friends for decades, which is a sharp contrast with Obama and Netanyahu, who really can't stand one another.

If true this would be the first person I've heard of actually liking Mittens as a human being, ever.

Guntram Shatterhand: Not even August and most of the Republican establishment is washing their hands of their chosen candidate. Romney is self-destructing so quickly that it's hard to imagine he comes out of the convention as a real candidate.

This has been crossing my mind a lot lately. But I'm pretty uneducated in politics and how things like this work. Is it even possible that Romney WON'T be the candidate? Could all this be a flourish to draw our eyes away from what's going to happen? If that's even a possibility, how would that affect the President's reelection campaign?

So Mitt Romney wants to be President and he has three really good reasons why he should.

First, his extensive executive experience at Bain.

Oh, right, he can't talk about that because it's hard to make vulture capitalism sound good when you start really explaining it.

Yeah, but his second reason, the "I was Gov in Mass" thing is solid, right? What's that? Romneycare?

Alright, give you that but come on how can you not be impressed by his time spent on the SLC Olympics?

*views Mitt's unfortunate remarks*

Man, for someone the Brit press labelled a "wannabe President" he sure doesn't seem to want it very badly.

/If "Upper Class Twit of the Year" were an actual Olympic event I'd put money on Romney to win.

If Mitt made these kinds of mistakes in relatively non-controversial Britain, wait until he gets to talking in Israel. And don't forget Poland.

Crotchrocket Slim: If true this would be the first person I've heard of actually liking Mittens as a human being, ever.

Source

Arachnophobe: Guntram Shatterhand: Not even August and most of the Republican establishment is washing their hands of their chosen candidate. Romney is self-destructing so quickly that it's hard to imagine he comes out of the convention as a real candidate.

This has been crossing my mind a lot lately. But I'm pretty uneducated in politics and how things like this work. Is it even possible that Romney WON'T be the candidate? Could all this be a flourish to draw our eyes away from what's going to happen? If that's even a possibility, how would that affect the President's reelection campaign?

Mitt's the candidate.

It might have worked before you had millions of people able to vet a candidate themselves using the internet, but anyone they could possibly put up will be scrutinized by the political obsessives within days of being announced.

Remember how quickly people went from "Cool, it's Palin!" to "WTF it's Palin"

runwiz: If Mitt made these kinds of mistakes in relatively non-controversial Britain, wait until he gets to talking in Israel. And don't forget Poland.

Well, they've already shut out the press from a fundraiser in Jerusalem. If a candidate makes a gaffe, but no press is there to report it, did he really say something stupid?

Arachnophobe: runwiz: If Mitt made these kinds of mistakes in relatively non-controversial Britain, wait until he gets to talking in Israel. And don't forget Poland.

Well, they've already shut out the press from a fundraiser in Jerusalem. If a candidate makes a gaffe, but no press is there to report it, did he really say something stupid?

Dr.Zom: Serious Black: Anybody else here think the GOP elites are regretting their choice to give Mitt Romney a free ride through the primary elections yet?

Oh, there's plenty of election rigging yet to be done and billions left to be spent on manipulating very stupid people.

They're counting on everybody waking up November 7th saying "What the fark just happened?"

I don't think so. I think there's a very real possibility that Romney will be asked to withdraw due to his wifes health issues, and Gingrich or somebody more acceptable to the base will be asked to step into the gap.

They really can't stand another week like the last two, and he shows no signs of improving.

meat0918: Arachnophobe: Guntram Shatterhand: Not even August and most of the Republican establishment is washing their hands of their chosen candidate. Romney is self-destructing so quickly that it's hard to imagine he comes out of the convention as a real candidate.

This has been crossing my mind a lot lately. But I'm pretty uneducated in politics and how things like this work. Is it even possible that Romney WON'T be the candidate? Could all this be a flourish to draw our eyes away from what's going to happen? If that's even a possibility, how would that affect the President's reelection campaign?

Mitt's the candidate.

It might have worked before you had millions of people able to vet a candidate themselves using the internet, but anyone they could possibly put up will be scrutinized by the political obsessives within days of being announced.

Remember how quickly people went from "Cool, it's Palin!" to "WTF it's Palin"

Not to mention any 'rebellion' by the Teabaggers will be quashed because they're embarrassing as hell.

Arachnophobe: runwiz: If Mitt made these kinds of mistakes in relatively non-controversial Britain, wait until he gets to talking in Israel. And don't forget Poland.

Well, they've already shut out the press from a fundraiser in Jerusalem. If a candidate makes a gaffe, but no press is there to report it, did he really say something stupid?

Romney's already lost that because it's now assumed he can't even control himself. If he keeps the press in, he's being watched twice as close for goofs. If he doesn't bother, it's because he's an idiot. He can't win, and it shows how little control he has over the narrative and his own campaign. Three months to go and he's already been labeled an idiot that knows no boundaries on how to fark up.

coco ebert: He's not just a gaffe-machine, he's seriously dumb. If he didn't have money and a familial legacy, he'd be nothing.

Wrong, he got his success because he "built that" with hard work and despite all odds. Self-made and a real man, like Bush before him. Obama is the one who had the world handed to him, like Clinton before him. Who knows how many tax breaks their mothers got from having no money? Lucky duckies. If Obama wasn't black, he'd be nothing. But because he was, he was able to go to Columbia and Harvard Law and become President...things that are nearly impossible for whites but easy for a black guy with no birth certificate. That is the narrative and it makes sense to me.

I really hope that your pessimism about R-money pans out. I agree that he's dropping the ball on a monumental scale. I would love nothing more than if the campaign goes down in flames even worse than it is.

MFAWG: They really can't stand another week like the last two

Unfortunately, I think they can.

gimmegimme: I really hope that your pessimism about R-money pans out. I agree that he's dropping the ball on a monumental scale. I would love nothing more than if the campaign goes down in flames even worse than it is.

Dude, it's not even crunch time yet! Wait until RMoney spends 2 or 3 weeks with little or no sleep coming out of the convention.

He'll be lucky not to get caught pimpslamping some staffer in the face.

elchip: MFAWG: They really can't stand another week like the last two

Unfortunately, I think they can.

[i.imgur.com image 635x397]

Romney's having a hard time getting to 220 on the only projections that matter, the electoral college.

Here's a question: How much does migration into the south and west actually hurt Romney? Many of those states have been solidly red for decades.

elchip: Stericycle reference

SuperPACs are bad, m'kay, but oh Zod, do I want to see that carpet-bombed all over Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, and northern Florida.

/south Florida can get the Posthumous Baptism of Holocaust Victims airstrike.
//Hit 'em up

This guy travels to a foreign country to raise campaign money from international bankers and you want him to run America? Seriously?

MFAWG: Dr.Zom: Serious Black: Anybody else here think the GOP elites are regretting their choice to give Mitt Romney a free ride through the primary elections yet?

Oh, there's plenty of election rigging yet to be done and billions left to be spent on manipulating very stupid people.

They're counting on everybody waking up November 7th saying "What the fark just happened?"

I don't think so. I think there's a very real possibility that Romney will be asked to withdraw due to his wifes health issues, and Gingrich or somebody more acceptable to the base will be asked to step into the gap.

They really can't stand another week like the last two, and he shows no signs of improving.

A Hail Mary is a possibility at the convention but the more I think about it the less likely I think it is. This is the GOP we're talking about - when was the last time they backtracked on a poor decision? Nope, they just double-down on the derp and then blame it on someone else when it all goes to hell.

No, they'll keep at it. They're not trying to disenfranchise all those voters for kicks. And if the compliant media keeps saying it's a horse race the average citizen will just shrug his shoulders when Romney "wins" and say oh well.

elchip: Unfortunately, I think they can.

We can always count on good ol' Rasmussen to give the Republicans a bump when they need one.

538 has both candidates flatlined in EV, PV, and chance of winning since the beginning of June.

Cargo: How involved is Rove in Romney's campaign? I mean, look, Rove took one drooling retard, held his hand, tied his shoes, told him what to say, and distracted him from picture books to get him elected* president.

Why isn't he doing the same for this retard?


*by the Supreme Court

He runs a dark super PAC thats taken in nearly one billion dollars, by some estimates.

idsfa: [img217.imageshack.us image 648x477]

Now that's funny!

"American Borat" has been coined for Mitt the Twit. It's that bad.

deadcrickets: Americans, by an eight-point margin, pick Bush over Kerry as "friendly and likeable" and as "caring and compassionate," and by a seven-point margin as someone who "shares my values and beliefs," an ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll finds.

That was confirmed again in a new USA Today-Gallup survey, where respondents gave Romney higher marks on every issue that voters say they care most about this year: the economy, jobs, taxes, the deficit. But President Obama crushed Romney - 60 percent to 30 percent - on the question of which of the two was more likeable.

But crusty old Bob Dole was surely not considered more likeable than Bill Clinton in 1996. The 1992 Clinton-George H.W. Bush matchup was probably close. But just think back over the elections. The "wooden" Michael Dukakis in 1988 wasn't exactly radiating intense bonhomie. Ronald Reagan was extremely likeable on a personal level to most people. Jimmy Carter had that big smile in 1976. Et cetera.

------------------------------------

No candidate has ever won the Presidency if they were not liked. Period.


Part of me wonders if Mitt is crying on his wife's shoulder asking "why don't those assholes like me?!" And she has no answer.

This could lead to a virtual civil war at the convention, if they decide to replace Romney. The extremists will demand someone ideologically pure, like DeMint or even Santorum, and the moderates/pragmatists will want to draft a popular figure who actually seems presidential, without demanding a litmus test. This is going to be fun!
/Makes popcorn, considers buying Dom Perignon.