The Debates

[Ginger]

It makes me so anxious, the venom between them. I guess there's no way around it. I think it's going to escalate every election.

[Medusa]

And all of the sudden he is SOOOOO concerned with women's rights and humanitarian efforts???????? FOR REAL???????????????

[princessbelle]

I'm seeing the same thing Medusa.

Romney's favorite word tonight is Peace, lol. Hysterical

We posted at the same time. The same thing!!! You are sitting two feet from me. How funny is that!!!

[Ginger]

Romney' frozen smile when he listens is really scary. He keeps blinking.

[Medusa]

That's what Bully just said.

Medusa!!!!! What is your blood pressure. I'm about to check Bully's too.




Im pretty calm so far! Promise!

My twitching only starts when Romney tries to talk over Obama or says shit like "Attacking me is not an agenda" and then turns right around and goes on the attack himself!

If I was in that audience, they would have had to arrest me.

[Random]

Romney is stuttering his ass off and appears to be erratic and shaken. Is it just me?



Nope... I don't think he expected the Prez to come out so strong...

Remember, Romney is all about his confedence and personal magnatism...

He doesn't really appear to be all that smart when you take those two traits away...

[Martina]

okay he attacked my union. I am going end up in jail too.

Obama's ed policy hasn't been great, but he is saying good things tonight.

[Random]

It's funny...

Last debate, I was the on screaming at the tv... It was like the propoganda scene in 1984 up in here...

Tonight Mitmo is the one about to toss something through the tv and I'm trying to wake up enought to get riled up

[Medusa]

okay he attacked my union. I am going end up in jail too.

Obama's ed policy hasn't been great, but he is saying good things tonight.


He is so full of shit! He cut education spending and is now talking about test scores that he didn't have shit to do with!!!

This pandering, smiling weasel!!

[Martina]

Good on Obama for interrupting that insipid crap by Romney on education.

[girl_dee]

"but that was 10 years before you came into office"

[Medusa]

He's going to balance the motherfucking budget in EIGHT TO TEN MOTHERFUCKING YEARS!!!

[girl_dee]

Even the Canadians are screaming over here !

[Random]

I wish someone would bring up the fact that Romney had a goverment bailout for the olympics

[Martina]

We also have fewer horses and bayonets. LOL!!

[Random]

Heheh...

horses and drawn bannets...

this isn't a game of battleship...

hehe

[princessbelle]

"We also have fewer horses and bayonets!!!!"

O.M.G.

BEST LINE EVER!!!!!!

[BullDog]

We also have fewer horses and bayonets. LOL!!

My life is now complete.

We roared so loud we scared the dogs.

[julieisafemme]

Was that the best or what??? My goodness he made Romney look like he totally out of touch!

[Martina]

the President is doing well on Iran. Well done so far. (I disagree re the Israel part). But the point is that Obama is doing very well.

[Medusa]

"We've read the website, Governor, and it still doesn't add up" - Obama


ROTFLMAO!!!

[julieisafemme]

Disagree how re Israel?

[Tommi]

Romney body language.

is gulping and blinking and eh eh stuttering

[girl_dee]

My life is now complete.

We roared so loud we scared the dogs.

Best quote by a President to date!

[BullDog]

Romney body language.

is gulping and blinking and eh eh stuttering

Yes and he looks sweaty too

[Martina]

Disagree how re Israel?

I think that we can't back Israel regardless of Israel's actions in the region. I believe they should be an ally like other allies. We should defend them in the event that their survival is threatened. But their actions against Palestinians, that we have taken no action against for so long -- it's just wrong. The BFF relationship gives them permission to commit atrocities.

[macele]

romney can't come close to obama with foreign policy so he just says what he thinks voters want to hear:

In a defining address on foreign policy, Romney told the Veterans of Foreign Wars in July 2012 that he wanted to bring about an “American Century,” in which the United States, “lead[s] the free world and the free world leads the entire world.” -- cnn

[girl_dee]

GOod grief i just had to use my inhaler

*You'd do the same thing only you'd say it louder*

[Tommi]

"That's the Biggest Whopper"
and Romney can just grin/

[Martina]

Whoa!!!

from biggest whopper to investment in a Chinese company . . .

dayum

when i went to israel i didn't take donors, i didn't attend fundraisers. . .

Obama IS kicking ass.

[julieisafemme]

I think that we can't back Israel regardless of Israel's actions in the region. I believe they should be an ally like other allies. We should defend them in the event that their survival is threatened. But their actions against Palestinians, that we have taken no action against for so long -- it's just wrong. The BFF relationship gives them permission to commit atrocities.

Ah. You know Obama has talked more about the conflict than any president since Carter. His speech in Cairo was talked about a lot in the Jewish community. Many American Jews think he has sold Israel out. Romney keeps trying to gain some traction with that. Iran has become the mobilizing issue now and that was orchestrated by Israel.

This is a tough issue for me so I will just say that yes I understand what you are saying and I do not disagree but I love and support the people of Israel.

[Medusa]

"Bob, let's not go into hypotheticals" - Romney

In other words, Im not going to answer that. Romney doesnt want to be pinned down because he doesnt know where he stands.

I LOVE how he's trying to scare people with all this bomb talk.

[Martina]

OH man Shieffer is letting him summarize his bullshit. Can no one shut this man up?

[Ginger]

Obama's smile when he listens, looks normal. It turns down at the corners. It's more about patience than fake glee, like Romney's.

[princessbelle]

OH man Shieffer is letting him summarize his bullshit. Can no one shut this man up?


REally bugs me too!!!! Geeze, i wish they wouldn't let him get away with that.

IT'S BULLYING!!!!

[Martina]

Obama is making the Bin Laden point COUNT. Excellent.

[Tommi]

REally bugs me too!!!! Geeze, i wish they wouldn't let him get away with that.

IT'S BULLYING!!!!


Bob just shut him up...

[Medusa]

This motherfucker just tried to check the Moderator!!

"You can't let him lay all that out and not let me respond"

Moderator: "With all due respect, Governor, you laid out quite a path yourself"

[Tommi]

Are you watching the streaming at bottom of CNN

Florida Undecided Voters Men and Women when Romney talks vs Obama

Obama seems to be moving the peaks higher..

[DMW]

I think Romney believes that he can get money back from KBR and Halliburton and all the billions of dollars lost and unaccounted for from the wars. Or maybe he can give back some of the millions of dollars bain got in federal bail out dollars...hummm..or better yet...start 2 more wars and decrease taxes and hire the bush economic team...8 more years of that ...sounds like a brilliant way to decrease the deficit and increase jobs....says the man,Romney, whose job it was to smash companies only to destroy american jobs and then pocket the money overseas to avoid paying taxes on that income. Now that is patriotic...destroy american companies and the people that have those jobs...take federal bailout money...
Oh, and don't forget to keep going along with the teaparty republicans and refuse to allow a deficit spending increase...so that way the US credit rating goes to shit and then our economy can wind up like the Greece you keep wishing for. Now that is Patriotic...ughugh

Excuse me...Romney....govt saved your ass and your company...OOP...Romnesia again

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-federal-bailout-that-saved-mitt-romney-20120829?page=2

Matt Taibbi..great on economics..rolling stone journalist..
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/greed-and-debt-the-true-story-of-mitt-romney-and-bain-capital-20120829

Fear based spin...i want to put a gag ball into that grin... an american flag gag ball....oh LMAO

Republicans claim that they want fair trade with China...lower the value of the yuan...why didn't Ryan and others pass this bill to do that in 2010?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2012/08/16/paul-ryan-criticizes-china-policy-but-congress-voted-against-legislation-aimed-changing/u00nZ51CexlxL0LZiyRwkN/story.html

In 2010, when the House voted on the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act, Ryan was among the 79 congressmen who opposed the measure. The bill passed – 348 to 79, with 99 Republicans voting in favor – but was not taken up by the Senate so it never became law.

The legislation would have given the president expanded authority to impose tariffs on the imports from countries that have “fundamentally undervalued” currencies.

[girl_dee]

"Bob, let's not go into hypotheticals" - Romney

In other words, Im not going to answer that. Romney doesnt want to be pinned down because he doesnt know where he stands.

I LOVE how he's trying to scare people with all this bomb talk.

Yeah so the *I'm not going to talk about it* was his turn!

HAH!

[Martina]

Romney is basically an excellent debater, and he so is not sounding good. He sounds like he's reaching to remember stuff he doesn't really have a concrete understanding of.

[princessbelle]

Romney is basically an excellent debater, and he so is not sounding good. He sounds like he's reaching to remember stuff he doesn't really have a concrete understanding of.

I agree.

The second debate was close, as was reported anyway. I don't think there can be a doubt that this one will go to the President. IMO anyway.

[BullDog]

"Bob, let's not go into hypotheticals" - Romney

In other words, Im not going to answer that. Romney doesnt want to be pinned down because he doesnt know where he stands.

I LOVE how he's trying to scare people with all this bomb talk.

That was the what do you do with that 3 a.m. call in the middle of the night. He failed the Commander In Chief test

[julieisafemme]

Romney is basically an excellent debater, and he so is not sounding good. He sounds like he's reaching to remember stuff he doesn't really have a concrete understanding of.

Exactly and that is why this debate is important. Romney tries to talk tough but he is not believable when debating foreign policy. Neither was Ryan. Biden wiped the floor with him on foreign policy in that debate.

[Tommi]

He is squinty faced and talks like something smells bad and has pickle juice in his mouth and onions in his eyes

[Medusa]

Ok, this motherfucker has lost it!!

He just repeated what the Pres said VERBATIM about China "not playing by the rules".

Like, he didn't even ATTEMPT to disguise that one!!!

[julieisafemme]

My Rabbi just posted apparently Mitt has no binders on foreign policy!

[Medusa]

"Um, Governor Romney, you invested in companies that shipped jobs overseas....and that's your right to do that, but that's not how you create jobs"!!


:|


:hangloose:

[Medusa]

Ok, now he's just flat out lying his ass off.

[Martina]

He DID say let the auto industry sink or swim -- let market forces do their thing.

[Medusa]

WAAAAAHHAHHHHHHH "Im being attacked".

WAAAAHHHH.

Mitt is playing the "Im being bullied" card.

[girl_dee]

My Rabbi just posted apparently Mitt has no binders on foreign policy!

:rofl:...........

[Tommi]

Fucker. Stick a rag in his mouth/

When is he lying.. When his lips are moving.

[Metro]

"airbrush history" -- nice relatable popular culture reference POTUS!

:thumbsup:

[girl_dee]

"you keep trying to airbrush history"


Bam!

[Martina]

He loves teachers like he loves Big Bird.

[Metro]

POTUS got swaggah tonight!

:goodscore:

[Martina]

Dayum. That was everything the concluding statement in the first debate wasn't. Home run for the President.

[girl_dee]

i loved how poised, articulate and confident Mr President was tonight!

[Medusa]

"I love teachers." - Mitt Romney

"I love American cars." - Mitt Romney

"I love Big Bird." - Mitt Romney



When all else fails and the sweat is rolling down your face, drop one of these sentences somewhere and hope for the best.

(this foool is 2 shades redder than he was when he started the debate and he's sweaty as hell but it looks like his Aquanet is holding up)

[Tommi]

Not only is the green and yellow flat, it is sinking below the midline. YEAAahhhh,,,,undecided are with Obama tonight.


Go VOTE, makes you feel big and strong.

[Martina]

Did Romney end by telling us he'd be honest???

[princessbelle]

http://dl7.glitter-graphics.net/pub/240/240707dpr8yx1mv4.jpg (http://www.glitter-graphics.com)

Our President today...

Our President for the next four years

[girl_dee]

"I love teachers." - Mitt Romney

"I love American cars." - Mitt Romney

"I love Big Bird." - Mitt Romney



When all else fails and the sweat is rolling down your face, drop one of these sentences somewhere and hope for the best.

(this foool is 2 shades redder than he was when he started the debate and he's sweaty as hell but it looks like his Aquanet is holding up)


Aquanet could hold a 747 together

[Medusa]

Why is Ann Romney hanging onto Mittens as he tries to shake hands?????

[Fatale]

Yup, still wanting to punch Romney in the neck.

[Martina]

Yeah she was afraid he'd fall.

Notice that the Romney son who threatened to punch Obama was all touchy with him.

Femme moment -- I liked Ann Romney's dress.

[Medusa]

Femme moment -- I liked Ann Romney's dress.


I did too! I thought she looked great and I also loved Michelle's dress. I wish Michelle had worn something with a little more color but her dress was elegant and tasteful nonetheless.

Whew. That was a great debate. Obama decimated Romney.

I felt like at a few points that Romney was going to try to start making out with Obama.

[Gráinne]

Yeah she was afraid he'd fall.

Notice that the Romney son who threatened to punch Obama was all touchy with him.

Femme moment -- I liked Ann Romney's dress.

I'm taking bets that that dress cost more than most of us make in six months (I too liked the dress, and have found her an attractive woman when not referring to "you people").

[julieisafemme]

The Giants and the President kicking butt in one night? Woo hoo!

[julieisafemme]

Is anyone watching George Will on ABC? He said the candidates were talking about things that voters don't care about and both men were"nellies". What?

ETA Dianne Sawyer just said that she wanted to be sure people had George Will's email so they can respond directly to him with comments!

[Martina]

George Will is a reactionary old fart. Did he really say nellies??

Nytimes fact check on the auto bailout


7:28 pm

Jeremy W. Peters
Fact-Check: 'Let Detroit Go Bankrupt'?

Mr. Obama just stated that when Mr. Romney argued in late 2008 that Detroit auto companies should be denied a government bailout and instead turn to the private marketplace, no private financing was available. This is consistent with what auto executives have said.

At the time Mr. Romney wrote his now infamous New York Times op-ed the financial markets had ground to a halt. It was November 2008, and there was little available liquidity for anyone seeking financing. There were certainly no financial institutions — not even Bain Capital, Mr. Romney’s private equity firm — looking to invest to the tune of the $80 billion the car companies needed at the time.

No private companies would come to the industry’s aid, and the only path through bankruptcy would have been Chapter 7 liquidation, not the more orderly Chapter 11 reorganization that the company ultimately followed, people inside and outside the car companies have said.

In fact, the task force asked Bain if it was interested in investing in General Motors’ European operations, according to one person with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Bain declined, this person said, speaking anonymously to discuss private negotiations.

[julieisafemme]

George Will is a reactionary old fart. Did he really say nellies??

Nytimes fact check on the auto bailout

Yes! Can you believe that? How offensive!

[Gráinne]

How does Mark Halperin of Time give both of them a B+? It wasn't even close.

[Martina]

CNN's first poll gave Obama an eight point victory, and they acknowledged that there were more Republicans among those polled than Democrats.

[Greyson]

He loves teachers like he loves Big Bird.


Romney did somehow get a comment in about education when the question was about foreign policy. He said something about putting the kids first and putting Teachers Unions behind us.

I am not impressed when either candidate is asked a question and their response throws everything in it except what the question was about.

[Gráinne]

The Giants and the President kicking butt in one night? Woo hoo!

And the Bears :)

[~ocean]

I wasnt going to watch tonights debate .. BUT i did lol .. soo figures ,, my fav part is when the poll #'s came out ... OBAMA 63% little itty bitty romney 37% ..... just saying ~~~~

[Martina]

The New York Times

October 22, 2012
Heated in Florida
By FRANK BRUNI


So that’s it? The last of the presidential debates? No, no, no. I’m already in mourning, can’t quiet my hankering for more and am not being remotely sarcastic. In a political culture as stage-managed, focus-grouped and airbrushed as ours, these debates gave us rare moments of rawness, not to mention Big Bird.

Monday night’s face-off in Boca Raton was no exception. Any worry that the designated focus on foreign policy would tilt this encounter in a cerebral rather than visceral direction was dispelled almost instantly. Within minutes the candidates were sharply talking over each other, and President Obama, banishing his debacle in Denver once and for all, issued a denunciation of Mitt Romney more sweeping than any from the previous two presidential debates.

Turning to his rival, he said, “You seem to want to import the foreign policies of the 1980s, just like the social policies of the 1950s and the economic policies of the 1920s.”

Romney smiled a brittle smile: “Attacking me is not an agenda.” It was as good an answer as any, but he had an odd color and odder sheen, that of a man without Dramamine on a rickety boat in threatening seas.

Obama repeatedly reminded television viewers that he alone was familiar with the responsibilities of the commander in chief. He clearly wanted Romney’s experience as a mere governor to sound, in comparison, like a job running a curbside lemonade stand.

And though Romney perspired and occasionally stammered, he wouldn’t surrender. He insisted that Al Qaeda wasn’t really “on the run.” He claimed — yet again — that Obama had begun his presidency with “an apology tour,” and faulted him for skipping Israel. It was a barb tailor-made for Florida’s many Jewish voters.

Foreign policy is not at the top of voters’ concerns, so both candidates demonstrated a comic eagerness to build an oratorical bridge from Tripoli to Toledo, Ohio, the debate becoming a contest of how frequently each candidate could beat a path from northern Africa and the Middle East back home.

Thus they sparred over education, food stamps, Obama’s unbalanced budgets, Romney’s unspecific tax plan and even Solyndra. We weren’t in Libya anymore.

In aggregate these presidential debates gave us sublime drama, the first one scrambling the race’s momentum, the second one flavored with enough disdain to fill a “Real Housewives” season, and Monday night’s reprising that ill will without quite replicating it. Romney wasn’t as truculent as he’d been, ceding the part of bully to Obama, who took it on too arrogantly at times.

His mantra of “not true,” “not true” from the prior debate was replaced by “all over the map,” “all over the map,” a dismissal of Romney’s positions as undependable.

These debates did in fact give us truth. I don’t mean that the candidates themselves spoke honestly. Hardly. In fact we should pause to note how sad it is that we’ve come to regard a post-debate fact-check — a report card on who told the most and biggest whoppers — as an inevitable and unremarkable part of the process. In campaigns these days, dishonesty is both an art form and a given.

But the debates revealed each candidate for who he really is: the good, the bad and the binders. Although the two men armed themselves with practiced soliloquies and prefabricated expressions, there was something about the physical proximity of an opponent that scrubbed off even the thickest varnish.

We saw Obama’s aloofness and distaste for the more superficial aspects of politics. But we also saw his impressive resilience.

The debates enabled Romney, at long last, to show Americans his persuasiveness. But he also exhibited his prickliness — “Candy! Candy!” — when he doesn’t get his way.

I not only reveled in all of this but also returned to it, fishing out transcripts and rereading bits, like Obama’s let’s-measure-our-pensions put-down. On YouTube I revisited the laugh factory that was Joe Biden, who went through all the existing facial expressions for disbelief and derision and then went on to invent another dozen.

And in my head I replayed my favorite post-debate analyses: Al Gore’s wondering if the altitude in Denver had incapacitated Obama; one Republican strategist’s description of that Obama performance and Biden’s subsequent mania as a “sleepy cop/crystal meth cop” routine. The debates were the mothers of some highly inventive wordplay.

They were also a study in moderation, by which I refer to the disparate styles of Jim & Martha & Candy & Bob. I’m considering a come-as-your-favorite-moderator Halloween party, and while I thought Bob Schieffer did well Monday night, I’m leaning toward a Candy costume myself, in tribute to her moxie. Debate overlords intended to muffle the moderator’s role in the town-hall format, and asked her to impersonate a potted plant.

So she did: a Venus flytrap. That’s horticulture you can believe in.

[girl_dee]

Romney did somehow get a comment in about education when the question was about foreign policy. He said something about putting the kids first and putting Teachers Unions behind us.

I am not impressed when either candidate is asked a question and their response throws everything in it except what the question was about.

Yes like when Romney was asked how he feels about illegal weapons he smiled
And responded that a couple should be married before having a baby :|

[Nomad]

SNIPPET

Excuse me...Romney....govt saved your ass and your company...OOP...Romnesia again


Romnesia?

:cracked:

oh that's good. that's really really good!

[Daktari]

This election is a 'no-brainer' surely?

I know that the U.S media like to create a whole hoopla about how close the 'race' is but that's just to make it appear as though there might actually be a real choice between the candidates.

I have faith in the American public, unlike many in the world, that y'all will make sure that the 'safest' dude will be voted in. Vote the Romney dude in and the world will mock and, hopefully, ostracize ya...ya know that right?


I see the Romney dude and think of the misery of the Dubya years. More bogus wars over 'terrorism' that are really so you lot can have cheaper petrol (gas) than the rest of the world and a lot more people struggling to make ends meet.

Just a simple furriner's p.o.v. :goodluck:

[Ebon]

Romnesia?

:cracked:

oh that's good. that's really really good!


8BBEXB1Wf9c

[Tommi]

The Morning After....

A slight hangover, but I recall your honor , that the best one won. One appeared as Commander in Chief

and one appeared like plaster, brittle and cracked, .

[macele]

This election is a 'no-brainer' surely? -- Daktari


this election is unlike any other. first time a black man (not entirely. he is white too.) will go for re election. there might be a few more elements in the voting. i certainly don't think he has done all he promised (i would think no one does.), but overall i do believe that he has tried. i'm voting for obama. i will think the election to be close until after the count.

one element to think about is the people that voted for "change". will they come back. you have to believe a lot of those votes were jumping on the winning team. and george bush. obama is standing on his own. that's a good thing. we will see.

[Greyson]

Romney did somehow get a comment in about education when the question was about foreign policy. He said something about putting the kids first and putting Teachers Unions behind us.

I am not impressed when either candidate is asked a question and their response throws everything in it except what the question was about.



I found this in my morning reading in Slate. I see others are noticing such obvious non-answers too.


"Below you'll find a segment-by-segment breakdown of how both Obama and Romney found ways to sprinkle their favorite domestic talking points into their foreign policy answers. As you'll see, both proved more than cable of staying on topic when they wanted (see: Israel), but didn't hesitate to return to their tried-and-true domestic-heavy stump speeches when they thought it would help them."

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/10/23/debate_nonsequiturs_obama_romney_found_ways_to_tur n_the_foreign_policy_debate.html

[tonaderspeisung]

did anyone else catch the 3rd party debate?

i was a little disappointed with the questions - the first one seemed set up to stroke the ego of the debate organizers and the rest were lobbed softballs for the occupy crowd they seemed to be targeting

i admit i went in with a favoring for rocky anderson but i'm in line with gary johnson's position on last nights debate topics - i wish i could make a frankenstein monster of the 2 of them

[Semantics]

did anyone else catch the 3rd party debate?

i was a little disappointed with the questions - the first one seemed set up to stroke the ego of the debate organizers and the rest were lobbed softballs for the occupy crowd they seemed to be targeting

i admit i went in with a favoring for rocky anderson but i'm in line with gary johnson's position on last nights debate topics - i wish i could make a frankenstein monster of the 2 of them

I watched.

The 3rd party candidates were so respectful of the debate process and of each other. Larry King kept messing up the agenda and the order and they were very gracious.
I like Johnson, Anderson, and Stein. Although I did enjoy listening to Virgil Goode's accent, his issue positions made me twitchy.

I agree that some of the questions were lame. I wish the 3rd party candidates were allowed to debate with the Democrats and Republicans. It makes the debates so much more interesting and also highlights how similar the two main candidates actually are.

[ruffryder]

any news on who won the "debates" as a whole?

Riding through neighborhoods tonight in Central FL I couldn't help but notice the presidential signs in the yards. For every 1 Obama I counted 7 for Romney. Both of these candidates have been all over FL for support. FL Is gonna be a tough state for the President. It will be interesting to watch the numbers come in on Voting Day.

[Greyson]

any news on who won the "debates" as a whole?

Riding through neighborhoods tonight in Central FL I couldn't help but notice the presidential signs in the yards. For every 1 Obama I counted 7 for Romney. Both of these candidates have been all over FL for support. FL Is gonna be a tough state for the President. It will be interesting to watch the numbers come in on Voting Day.

Ruffryder, it depends on which poll you are looking at to determine who won the debates as a whole. (I am going to assume you are asking "Who won the debates taking all three Presidential debates into consideration?"

Each poll is targeting different groups. Some are targeted at the undecided voter, another poll is asking "those most likely to vote." Some polls are targeting the "swing states," for example Ohio. Then you should consider who, what network, newservice is conducting the poll? Is it CNN, FOX, MSNBC? They all have their political slant.

I am not an expert. Based on reading the results of the polls, watching the debates and listening and reading the analyst, "talking heads" after the debates, I would say Romney won the first debate, President Obama won the second debate and the third debate was pretty much a toss up. I think the President did a better job in the final debate but my bias is Democrat.

In the polls right now they are running very close. The polls I have seen have only a .5 - 1 point difference. As for all the Romney sings in Florida. That should not be a big surprise. Florida is a Red state. Meaning more registered Republicans then Democrats and they vote. Also, if they are independents, they tend to vote more conservative, States Rights, Libertarian. Which when left choosing between Republican or Dem, the Republican gets the vote. Hope this helps.

[tonaderspeisung]

I watched.

The 3rd party candidates were so respectful of the debate process and of each other. Larry King kept messing up the agenda and the order and they were very gracious.
I like Johnson, Anderson, and Stein. Although I did enjoy listening to Virgil Goode's accent, his issue positions made me twitchy.

I agree that some of the questions were lame. I wish the 3rd party candidates were allowed to debate with the Democrats and Republicans. It makes the debates so much more interesting and also highlights how similar the two main candidates actually are.


re: goode - i felt like closed captioning would have helped - his accent is very strong - saying he made me twitchy would be an understatement
but i liked his "term limits would cut through congress like a knife through hot buttah"

[Martina]

I heard excerpts on NPR. Free higher education. Damn, we need that but there is no will to make that a reality. That would address income inequality.

Goode was funny re drugs. He said something like "If you want to legalize drugs, vote for one of these other fellers. Do not for me." The way he said it made me laugh.

NPR was also talking about how little the housing crisis has been discussed during the election. I can see why the candidates have not wanted to discuss it, but why has the press and the public let them get away with that. Elephant in the living room issue.

[dreadgeek]

I heard excerpts on NPR. Free higher education. Damn, we need that but there is no will to make that a reality. That would address income inequality.

Goode was funny re drugs. He said something like "If you want to legalize drugs, vote for one of these other fellers. Do not for me." The way he said it made me laugh.

NPR was also talking about how little the housing crisis has been discussed during the election. I can see why the candidates have not wanted to discuss it, but why has the press and the public let them get away with that. Elephant in the living room issue.

Because our media has forgotten the whole reason we grant them the huge amount of latitude we do. They seem to think that their function is to enjoy 'access' to political and economic elites as well as turn a profit and if, in the course of doing so, they happen to report the news and be the keepers of the Eleventh Commandment (thou shalt not get away with it) no one is going to complain, as such but that is a secondary function to actually reporting the news.

Since our current media has an attention span so brief that it makes a kitten look like a Zen master they simply cannot do reportage on issues like the housing crisis (complex, multi-causal and implicates economic elites) or climate change (complex, multi-causal, implicates economic elites and requires a bit of science to explain) or pretty much anything *other* than 'he said, she said' gossip and, of course, the horse race of the numbers.

Cheers
Aj

[dreadgeek]

Ruffryder, it depends on which poll you are looking at to determine who won the debates as a whole. (I am going to assume you are asking "Who won the debates taking all three Presidential debates into consideration?"

Each poll is targeting different groups. Some are targeted at the undecided voter, another poll is asking "those most likely to vote." Some polls are targeting the "swing states," for example Ohio. Then you should consider who, what network, newservice is conducting the poll? Is it CNN, FOX, MSNBC? They all have their political slant.

I am not an expert. Based on reading the results of the polls, watching the debates and listening and reading the analyst, "talking heads" after the debates, I would say Romney won the first debate, President Obama won the second debate and the third debate was pretty much a toss up. I think the President did a better job in the final debate but my bias is Democrat.

In the polls right now they are running very close. The polls I have seen have only a .5 - 1 point difference. As for all the Romney sings in Florida. That should not be a big surprise. Florida is a Red state. Meaning more registered Republicans then Democrats and they vote. Also, if they are independents, they tend to vote more conservative, States Rights, Libertarian. Which when left choosing between Republican or Dem, the Republican gets the vote. Hope this helps.

The big one to watch is Ohio. If Romney doesn't carry Ohio, he doesn't get to be president. It's not that it is mathematically impossible for him to win without Ohio but there's no smooth path for him if he doesn't. He'd have to basically run the table in every other swing state and that isn't happening.

Cheers
Aj

[StrongButch]

I say a gay or trans person run. It is clear when a person like Mitt Romney can run that we need a change. (lol)