Saturday, October 20, 2012

A reality the Democratic Party is desperate to ignore

‘Binder Derangement Syndrome’: How the Democratic Party Exploits Women - Roger L Simon/PJM

The party and their media minions treat (or pretend to treat) women like an oppressed class when the female population in our colleges and graduate schools (notably law and medicine) has already outstripped or will soon outstrip the male in almost every area save engineering and science, and they are gaining in those. They are also invading the boardrooms and the political arena as never before....

But it’s a reality the Democratic Party is desperate to ignore, since the oppression of women — certainly true in the past and still obviously true in other cultures today — is their most important ideological pillar. In fact, they could not possibly win a major election without it....

They need their version of values as a national wedge issue to hold onto that crucial woman’s vote. So look for them to seize on any bogus opportunity in this election season, as in the ginned-up “binders full of women” controversy from Tuesday night’s debate replete with its gonzo Twittersphere reaction.

Could anything have been more ridiculous?

What we are really witnessing here is the reverse of what it appears. It is a conscious/unconscious attempt to keep women down by Democrats, camouflaged as on attack on Republicans who, in Democratic eyes, regard women as 1950s Leave-It-To-Beaver homemakers all sitting in their laundry rooms waiting for the next sewing bee.

That’s again absurd to anyone familiar with the makeup of today’s Republican Party. But what these Democrats and so-called liberals really want to do is convince women they are oppressed so the poor, shivering females will vote for the Democratic Party.

Prop 37: NO!

Prop 37 is another misleading initiative, written to intentionally confuse the voters. Prop 37 is billed as “the right to know”, but with all the exemptions written into the proposition, the consumer will still have no idea if the food they are purchasing is free of genetically engineered foods or not. Oddly, 2/3rds of the food consumed in California will be exempt under Prop 37. It requires labels for soy and tofu products, but milk, cheese and other dairy products are exempt. Fruit juice would require a label but alcohol that contains genetically engineered material would not. Why does pet food containing GE meat require a label but any meat for human consumption is exempt? Food sold in grocery stores requires GE labels but the same food sold in restaurants is exempt. The innumerable and complicated exceptions to the law severely undermine its credibility.

If this were truly a health or medical issue, Prop 37 would have been written by doctors or scientists. But Prop 37 was written by infamous trial lawyer James Wheaton, who stands to make massive amounts of money from lawsuits over theoretically “mislabeled” food. According to the non-partisan California Legislative Analyst Office, “in order to bring such an action (lawsuit) forward, the consumer would not be required to demonstrate any specific damage from the alleged violation.” This means that farmers, grocers, and food companies can be sued without any proof of harm to the “victims”! Yet that lack of provable damages would do nothing to slow the money flowing into the pockets of trial lawyers, away from already strained businesses and farmers.

On the other hand, foods with demonstrably fewer safety regulations from foreign counties would have no burden of proof that they are GE free; they simply have to slap a label on their products that announce as such. Why would we make ourselves additionally susceptible to inferior food, when reputable, leading health organizations across the nation have said that the use of this biotechnology is perfectly safe? Only food grown and sold in California would be held to this standard of labeling, which will drive up our food costs and be harmful for our hard working farmers and grocers. We already have many consumer safeguards in place. All “certified organic” food must already be produced without genetic altering. There are also some companies already labeling- without government mandates- that their food is GE free. Prop 37 is entirely unnecessary in the current marketplace.

Prop 37 is deceptive, but don’t take our word for it. The American Medical Association, the US Food and Drug Administration, and even the World Health Organization have all come to the conclusion that at this point in time, there is no scientific justification for special labeling of bioengineered food. Other reliable news sources and organizations say so as well: the San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, the Sacramento Bee, The Woodland Democrat, the San Jose Mercury News, as well as the American Council of Science and Health, and the California Chamber of Commerce all agree: Vote NO on Prop 37!
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OFFICIAL REPUBLICAN VOTER GUIDE
TOM MCCLINTOCK ON THE PROPOSITIONS
All of our posts on the Propositions

Now it looks like the White House might be trying to rejigger that narrative yet again align more favorably with President Obama’s self-stated successes, do some damage control on his administration’s incompetent and bungled response to repeated security threats in the region, and may be most particularly looking get any “al Qaeda”-related language out of the Libya story.



Obama admin recalibrating Benghazi narrative — again — before FP debate? - Erika Johnsen/HotAir

...It’s really quite jarring that Team Obama can accuse Mitt Romney & friends of trying to distort the Benghazi situation for political purposes, when it is abundantly clear that that is what’s going on with the White House here. This is raising some serious questions in the intelligence community and from Congress about the White House’s manipulative handling of the situation, and certain Republicans (rightly) aren’t going to let this go...

Changing intelligence on Libya attack turns focus back to anti-Islam film, source says - FOX
W.H. Tries to Write Al Qaeda Out of Libya Story - Stephen F. Hates/Weekly Standard

...The administration’s new line takes shape in two articles out Saturday, one in the Los Angeles Times and the other by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. The Times piece reports that there is no evidence of an al Qaeda role in the attack. The Ignatius column makes a directly political argument, claiming that “the Romney campaign may have misfired with its suggestion that statements by President Obama and U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice about the Benghazi attacks weren’t supported by intelligence, according to documents provided by a senior intelligence official.”

If this is the best the Obama administration can offer in its defense, they’re in trouble. The Times story is almost certainly wrong and the central part of the Ignatius “scoop” isn’t a scoop at all.....

King calls for Benghazi intel reports - Craig Howie/Politico

The chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security late Friday demanded President Barack Obama release the intelligence reports behind the administration’s evolving explanation for the burning of the Benghazi consulate.

In a letter, Peter King (R-N.Y) echoed fellow House Republicans’ calls in demanding the release of intelligence that led the administration to initially conclude protests over an inflammatory Internet film led to the attack, and “subsequent Intelligence Community analyses which led your Administration to determine that the events of September 11, 2012 represented a terrorist attack.”

Report: Unmanned Drone Observed Benghazi Terror Attack, Did Nothing: “They stood and they watched and our people died” - JWF

Could U.S. military have helped during Libya attack? - CBS

Obama Campaign Borrows $15M from Bank of America...DNC Going Bankrupt

Warren Buffett invested $5B in BofA last year - Washington Free Beacon

It is unclear why the first $1 billion campaign needed an extra $15 million for the final two months of the campaign.

THE BIGGER STORY: ◼ Obama Campaign Borrows $15 Million From BofA, DNC Going Bankrupt - The Lonely Conservative
If you think the Obama campaign finances are bad, wait until you hear about the Democratic National Committee. Under the leadership of Debbie Wasserman Schultz it’s going bankrupt. But the good news is that the Republican National Committee has an 18 to 1 cash advantage. Yes, you read that right.
RNC Trounces DNC in Fundraising as Democrat Party Goes Bankrupt - The Other McCain
The official Federal Election Committee reports for September are out, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s DNC is a complete wreck. The Democrats ended September with cash on hand of $4.6 million, compared to the Republican National Committee’s $82.6 million.

That’s nearly an 18-to-1 cash advantage for Republicans.

Worse still for the DNC, they had to take out loans to pay the bills so that they owed $20.5 million at the end of September, meaning that that (subtracting cash on hand from total debt) they were $15.9 million in the red — essentially bankrupt. Wasserman-Schultz’s committee only raised $3.7 million in September; at that pace, it would take them more than four months to clear their debt, even if they didn’t spend another dime in the meantime.

Somehow, this seems an apt metaphor for the Obama era.
RNC Has $83 Million Cash On Hand, DNC Takes Out Loan - Mediaite
Heading into the final weeks of the 2012 campaign, the Republican National Committee announced that it raised $48.4 million in the month of September and has $82.6 million in the bank. The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, took $10.5 million in loans and raised less than half the RNC’s total last month — $20.3 million.

“While we continue to put money into our ground game and fully fund our absentee ballot, early vote and Election Day GOTV efforts in all our battleground states, our historic cash on hand figure also allows us to continue funding our independent expenditure committee, run highly effective hybrid ads and assist in electing Republicans across the country at all levels,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus told POLITICO.

“The DNC declined to comment for this report,” POLITICO’s Tarini Parti concludes.
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This is it. Time to get involved politically. Register Voters (Monday is the last day to register to vote). Become a poll worker. Become a poll watcher. Walk precincts (talk to your neighbors!) GOTV - Get Out The Vote. Donate. It makes a difference,

"Binder" --big deal. "Not optimal" --no deal at all. That's the state of the Obama campaign: A nearly Orwellian effort at making some words matter and others disappear while facts are pushed aside It hasn't worked. It won't work.

President Obama's Closing Act: An Epic Collapse - Hugh Hewitt/Townhall

The nation is simply finished with a president whose rhetoric has never been matched by his actions, and whose performance has removed Jimmy Carter from the bottom of the rankings of the modern president.

The president of course has his passionate supporters. These are the same people that spent last Tuesdaynight declaring him the winner of his second meeting with Mitt Romney, and Wednesday and Thursday trying to infuse the word "binder" with game-changing significance.

They are the same people who spent Friday denying that "not optimal" was not a big deal.

Romney Outpolling Carter, Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and Obama

According to the latest Gallup survey, Mitt Romney is polling 52% of likely voters - James S. Robbins/The Washington Times
Where Jimmy Carter was in 1976 (47%)
Where Ronald Reagan was in 1980 (39% -- Carter was six points up)
Where George H.W. Bush was in 1988 (50%)
Where Bill Clinton was in 1992 (40%)
Where George W. Bush was in 2000 (48%)
Where Barack Obama was in 2008 (49%)
Among likely voters - Gallup

Candy Crowley Not in ‘Cahoots’ With Obama; He and Axelrod Used Her

link - Brent Baker/Newsbusters

The Wall Street Journal’s James Taranto on Thursday offered a plausible explanation for why President Barack Obama, during Tuesday night’s debate, felt confident he could count on moderator Candy Crowley of CNN to back him up on how he had uttered the phrase “acts of terror” the day after the Benghazi attack.

On her CNN State of the Union show back on September 30, Crowley interviewed David Axelrod and during that segment she was as incredulous as Mitt Romney was at the debate that Obama had initially referred to “acts of terror” in any relationship to Benghazi....

Was Candy in Cahoots? Almost certainly not. Occam’s razor suggests Obama took advantage of her - James Taranto/Wall St. Journal

Yesterday Tony Lee of Breitbart.com dug up a transcript of the Sept. 30 episode of "State of the Union," which included an interview with David Axelrod of the Obama campaign. The two had an exchange on this very topic:
Crowley: There's a back and forth now about why didn't this administration--why did it take them until Friday after a Sept. 11 attack in Libya to come to the conclusion that it was premeditated and that there was terrorists involved. John McCain said it doesn't pass the smell test, or it's willful ignorance to think that they didn't know before this what was going on. Your reaction?
Axelrod: Well, first of all, Candy, as you know, the president called it an act of terror the day after it happened.
Crowley wasn't buying what Axelrod was selling. "First, they said it was not planned, it was part of this tape. All that stuff. . . . didn't the administration shoot first? Didn't they come out and say, listen, as far as we can tell, this wasn't preplanned, this was just a part of"--at which point Axelrod interrupted her.

...Here’s what almost certainly happened: After the interview, Axelrod, or someone else from the campaign, called Crowley’s attention to the White House transcript. She read the relevant portion and conceded that Axelrod was right: Obama had called the attack an act of terror. As we wrote yesterday, such an interpretation was reasonable, although it was a matter of opinion because the President’s statement was ambiguous. Obama was briefed on all this during his debate preparation.

If this surmise is correct, then Crowley knew about the “acts of terror” Easter egg hidden in Obama’s Sept. 12 speech, and Obama knew she knew. Romney did not know and was as incredulous as Crowley had been, because the administration had spent weeks peddling the claim that the video dunnit. Obama brought the matter up expecting incredulity from Romney and backup from Crowley. She therefore unwittingly played her role in Obama’s little ambush of his opponent. She was just clarifying the facts – or so Axelrod & Co. had led her to believe....

PHONY INDIGNATION WON'T GET OBAMA OFF LIBYA HOOK IN NEXT DEBATE

What we saw in the second presidential debate when it came to questions surrounding the security failures in Libya and the subsequent cover up, is that President Obama answered neither. Obama talked around the security issue and then when Romney hit him on the Libya cover up Obama pulled The Indignation Card. - John Nolte/Breitbart

...And naturally, the corrupt media's completely ignoring this revelation today in favor of "Binders: Day Three."

Romney's no shrinking violet, though, and it's going to take more than phony indignation and a corrupt moderator to stop the truth from coming out in Monday night's foreign policy debate.

This is it. You've been complaining about Obama for four years. You've been living with/through Obama's policies for four years. What are you going to do about it? Sit at home... or go out and make a difference on election day?

From Ace Of Spades - @BenK84 REPORTS: So the Romney campaign got in touch with me after I volunteered using the election day task force link in the sidebar. They sent me an online training course that took 10 minutes.

Essentially, they are asking for volunteers to work striker lists in heavily Republican areas. You can can volunteer to to work morning, afternoon/evening or all day. I will be working in the morning.

If you have a smart phone or IPad, they will be providing you with an election day app. It is essentially an electronic version of a striker list. You will sit in a polling place and mark voters off the list as they come in. That information will go directly to the Romney central command in your state. People will be working the phones and calling the Republican voters who have not showed up to the polls.

There are two other aspects to the app. One to report trouble, foul play, or voting problems. The other to give them anecdotal updates. For example, if a poll worker says this is the highest turnout they've seen in ten years, then you text that back to the Romney command center. All of this helps them focus their efforts where it is needed.

If you don't have a smart phone or IPad, they will give you paper strike lists and a phone number to call in your reports at designated times.

The Romney campaign really has their act together. This is the best I've ever seen from a Republican candidate. All they need now are volunteers. Have you volunteered? If you live in a dark blue state they might give you a job making phone calls.

This is it. You've been complaining about Obama for four years. You've been living with/through Obama's policies for four years. What are you going to do about it? Sit at home and comment on a right leaning website or go out and make a difference on election day?
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MittRomney.com

The Obama Plan



If Barack Obama is reelected, what will the next four years be like? From the debt rising even higher to Obamacare being here to stay, it's clear that we can't afford four more years.

LIFE LONG DEMOCRAT LEE IACOCCA endorses Governor Romney — why the switch?

LIFE LONG DEMOCRAT LEE IACOCCA endorses Governor Romney — why the switch? click to read and post your thoughts about this - Greta Van Susteren/Gretawire

...The blessings of the onetime Chrysler chairman are expected to help Romney in two highly competitive states: Pennsylvania, where the 88-year-old Iacocca was born and raised and is still widely respected, and in Michigan, where Iacocca rose to become a major figure in the auto industry and won international praise for cobbling together the government-backed loans that saved Chrysler in 1980.

Iacocca, who now lives in California, issued a statement saying he backed Romney because of his “dozens of years of experiences in the public and private sectors” and because the GOP nominee has a plan that “will enable a stronger America.”

LEE IACOCCA ENDORSES ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT - John Gizzi/Human Events @johngizzi

...Even more interesting about Iacocca lining up behind Romney is that, where the Republican nominee has been critical of the auto bailout, Iacocca told the Detroit News in 2010 that he supported the Obama administration’s plan to save General Motors and Chrysler. He did, however, say that the bailout plan cut out too many dealerships.

In his 2009 book Leadership, Iacocca was highly critical of President Obama and his administration, and in his statement endorsing Romney, he said “hope and speeches won’t get our people back to work.”

"For President: Romney" – Chicago Jewish Star

“It is not only that Mr. Obama thus deserves to be a one-term proposition; it is that Mr. Romney is simply the better bet for our country.”

Orlando Sentinel Backs Romney for President - latino.foxnews.com

“We have little confidence that [President Barack] Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years,” the endorsement read. “For that reason, though we endorsed him in 2008, we are recommending Romney in this race.”

“I’ll be voting for Mitt Romney on November 6th because he is a good man perfectly suited to help solve our many problems” - Dennis Miller

“Let’s be honest with each other, folks. If we’ve reached a time in our nation’s history where men like Romney are demonized and said to be the problem, we are missing the point as badly as the point can be missed. The punditry always says that Romney ‘looks’ Presidential. Here’s what they don’t tell you. It has little if anything to do with his appearance and absolutely everything to do with the way he has led his life. Vote Romney-Ryan.”

Ross Perot endorses Mitt Romney: We can't afford Obama - Des Moines Register

It’s Romney - Colorado Puwblo Chieftain

We didn’t endorse Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy four years ago, but after he was elected we congratulated him on his victory and expressed our desire that his presidency would be successful.

But soon after his inauguration, it became clear that his talk of “post-partisanship” and governmental transparency was just that: talk.

There has to be a better way, and Mitt Romney is pointing to that way. He has outlined a pro-growth package of initiatives that can get this country humming again.


TENNESSEAN ENDORSEMENT: Time for another change - The Tennessean

This has been a presidential election that should be held up as a cautionary lesson for the future.

The lesson? How low American politics can stoop, and how to avoid it ever happening again.

OBAMA STOPS ISSUING REQUIRED “STIMULUS” REPORTS

Ahead of Election, Obama Stops Releasing ‘Stimulus’ Reports - Jeffrey Anderson/Weekly Standard

The $831,000,000,000 economic “stimulus” that President Obama spearheaded and signed into law requires his administration to release quarterly reports on its effects. But “the most transparent administration in the history of our country” is now four reports behind schedule and has so far not released any reports whatsoever in 2012. Its most recent quarterly report is for the quarter than ended on June 30, 2011.

...the President is legally obligated to issue quarterly reports on the “success” of his “stimulus” program through September 2013… but since both success and stimulus belong in ironic quotes when describing this trillion-dollar boondoggle, Obama quietly stopped issuing the required reports after the second quarter of 2011. - John Hayward/Human Events

“Why would the administration not want to release these reports?... Presumably because they have shown what a colossal waste of taxpayer money Obama’s ‘stimulus’ has been.” Even using Obama’s ludicrous “jobs created or saved” parameters, his own economists figured the stimulus blew $317,000 per job – and that’s borrowed money we’re still paying interest on. (If Obama gets a second term, we might be paying interest on it for eternity, because he has no intention of actually reducing the national debt, ever. Instead, he’ll take it up to $20 trillion at least.)

Romney: Obama Campaign Using 'Silly Word Games'



Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney told a crowd in Florida Friday that the Obama campaign has been reduced to 'silly word games' - AP

17 days to go


Emken vs Feinstein on Bringing Back California


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Elizabeth Emken

Friday, October 19, 2012

Some very fine stand-up, much of it highly barbed, from Mitt Romney at the Al Smith Dinner



link - Wolf Howling
AND HE'S FUNNY TOO! - Dr. Sanity
*Video* Mitt Romney's surprisingly hilarious speech at the Al Smith dinner - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering
Romney does stand-up - neoneocon
Al Smith Dinner: Romney Fillets Obama, Media - Ace Of Spades

Grace and Dignity


link Beth Beatty on Twitter

Livestream Allen West's debate

WPTV Live Video

U.S. Rep. Allen West and Patrick Murphy will finally sit down today on for a back-and-forth discussion about their rival congressional bids. The debate will begin live streaming on this page at 8 p.m. ET

NFRW: Democrat Efforts to Vilify Romney's 'Binders Full of Women' Comment Show Desperation

Romney Demonstrates Impressive Record of Hiring Women for High-Level Positions

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Rae Lynne Chornenky, president of the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW), issued the following statement regarding efforts by Democrats, following the Tuesday presidential debate, to malign Mitt Romney's response to a debate question in which he gave an account of his initiative, as governor of Massachusetts, to hire qualified women for top-level cabinet positions.

“Out of sheer desperation, Democrats are doing their best to manufacture a controversy surrounding the phrase 'binders full of women' because recent polls show they are losing women voters in droves,” Chornenky says. “Governor Romney has a stellar record of hiring women for top positions in state government, and the Obama campaign and Democrats cannot deny this. So, in an effort to change the subject, they zero in on an innocuous phrase and try to repackage it as something sexist and offensive. This is essentially what they have been trying to do all year with the so-called 'war on women,' and it simply isn't working. Women voters aren't buying it.

“On the issue of equity in the workplace for women, President Obama has failed to lead by example. Earlier this year, we learned that the Obama White House paid its female employees an average of 18 percent less than its male employees in 2011. Former Obama aides have come forward claiming that the 'good ol' boy network' is alive and well at the White House, with President Obama neglecting to bring women into his inner circle of advisers. Questions about pay inequities at the Obama campaign and at the Democrat National Committee have also surfaced. How's that for equity?”

Founded in 1938, the NFRW has thousands of active members in local clubs across the nation and in several U.S. territories, making it one of the largest women’s political organizations in the country. The grassroots organization works to promote the principles and objectives of the Republican Party, elect Republican candidates, inform the public through political education and activity, and increase the effectiveness of women in the cause of good government.

For more information about the NFRW, visit ◼ www.nfrw.org.

Women in Obama White House earn less than men, amid 'equal pay' debate

President Obama and his surrogates ripped into Mitt Romney over the past week for allegedly being wishy-washy on the matter of "equal pay" -- part of the campaign's aggressive appeal to vital female voters.

But despite all the rhetoric, federal records show that women who work in the Obama White House generally earn less than men -- about 18 percent less...

The median salary for female employees was $60,000, compared with $71,000 for men -- the figures were first reported earlier this year by the Free Beacon...

'My son is NOT very optimal... he is very dead'

Mother of U.S. diplomat killed in Libya attack slams 'insensitive' Obama's comment about security fiasco - Daniel Bates and Toby Harnden/Daily Mail

The mother of an American diplomat killed during a terrorist raid on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has hit out at Barack Obama for describing the attack as 'not optimal', saying: 'My son is not very optimal - he is also very dead.'

During an interview shown on Comedy Central, Obama responded to a question about his administration's confused communication after the assault by saying: 'If four Americans get killed, it’s not optimal.'

Bob Beckel: ‘It is over’ for Obama if poll is true

link - Kevin Cirilli/Politico

Liberal commentator Bob Beckel said Thursday on Fox News that “it is over” for President Barack Obama if a new poll that has the president trailing GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney is accurate....

“If I were looking at the numbers and managing the presidential campaign, I would be upset, I’m not sure panic. But if those numbers are correct — it is over, it is over,” said Beckel, a co-host of Fox News’s “The Five.” “So I mean you’re not going to bring Romney back under 50 percent from 52 percent, not a challenger candidate. If that is correct. I don’t necessarily buy it’s correct....”

Every American voter is approaching a critical decision. Of the two presidential candidates before us, who is best suited to lead our nation through the next four years?

The answer to that question is a simple test: can they ignite economic growth? - Charles R. Schwab/Forbes

...Every voter needs to ask which candidate will offer the most incentives to get our economy growing again. For example, which candidate will look at tax policy as an incentive to spur growth? Capital gains are taxed at a lower rate in our tax system today to recognize and encourage people to put their money to work. That money in turn gets invested in businesses which hire and expand. That tax incentive encourages risk taking and investment for growth. Which candidate understands the power of tax incentives?

Which candidate understands how to effectively apply an incentive to encourage businesses to invest in job training? It is a tragedy today that there are jobs available but not enough people trained to fill them. Which candidate would streamline the muddle of ineffective programs today and encourage corporations to sponsor training programs through a simple, universal incentive? A properly-sized tax credit for job trainees hired over the next five years would do the trick.

Which candidate will review every line of the tax code and regulation to assess its relevance and its complexity? If there is a simpler, clearer way to meet the goals, the regulation should be rewritten. If the regulation is outdated, it should be scrapped. Job creators, particularly small businesses, are looking for clarity and certainty: certainty from the tax code, certainty on the regulatory environment. Business leaders cannot create jobs when they cannot accurately assess the impact of taxes and regulations on their business....

Which candidate has the record to arrive at the big decisions and incentivize growth? Mitt Romney supports all of the growth-generating measures I have outlined above. If economic growth is what we need—and I believe it is—he is the right choice.

Monday is the last day to register to vote in California.

Voter Registration California Secretary of State

Are You Already Registered to Vote?

To find out if you are currently registered to vote, visit ◼ Check Status of Your Voter Registration.

Who Runs California? Follow Public-Sector Union Money

IBD Editorial - (Prop.32) would bar unions and corporations from making contributions to candidates for public office and from collecting cash for political activities through payroll deductions.

That payroll provision is key, because it would end the unions' preferred method of gathering funds. (Businesses use payroll deductions much less.)

Unions would no longer be able to collect the funds on autopilot from their members and, instead, would have to ask for donations. More than a few members might stop and think: "Maybe I can spend that money on dinner out or to pay the gas bill."

Florida: Romney 51%, Obama 46%

Mitt Romney has taken his biggest lead of the year in Florida and now outpaces President Obama by five points in the key swing state following Tuesday night's debate. - Rasmussen

Entering stretch, Obama campaign running on empty

The Obama campaign has had a lot of success steering press attention toward Romney's deficiencies, especially toward the lack of specificity in the Republican's proposals. But perhaps Obama's greatest success has been in concealing the extraordinary emptiness at the heart of his own campaign. With Election Day less than three weeks away, with everything on the line, he is a man with remarkably little to say. - Byron York/Washington Examiner

For first time, Romney's favorability rating tops Obama's


According to multiple polls, Romney's favorability rating has surged since the Republican National Convention and in most he equals or bests President Obama's favorables. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

And late Thursday, ◼ the Pew Research Center, the poll that has been toughest on Romney's favorability, released results showing that Romney is ahead of Obama by a point, 50 percent to 49 percent. That is a stunning turnaround from March, when Obama's favorable rating in Pew was about twice Romney's, 55 percent to 29 percent.

Gallup also has Romney beating Obama on the favorability rating, 52 percent to 51 percent.

Even ◼ the liberal DailyKos/SEIU/PPP poll has Romney beating Obama on the fave rating, 49 percent to 46 percent.

VIDEO: Romney Touts Bipartisanship in Positive New Campaign Ad



This ad should scare the daylights out of Democrats: For Romney to be running a positive ad this late in the campaign is a gesture of confidence.... It’s the kind of thing you do when you know you’re winning. - The Other McCain

In California Politics, School Kids Trump Everything

That makes sense in an evil, Machiavellian sort of way. After all, in 37 years of writing about politics, I’m still looking for the first anti-education candidate. - John Wildermuth/Fox&Hounds

...Now, inquiring minds might like to know how a state that spends about 55 percent of its general fund budget on schools, including colleges and universities, isn’t making education a priority. Or how the elected school board members who will decide how this new windfall of cash will be spent don’t qualify as politicians (Brown, remember, began his career as a trustee of the Los Angeles Community College District and there are plenty of legislators whose political careers started on a school board)....

The closest @ElizabethEmken has come to getting @SenFeinstein to debate.


Mark Standriff, the Communications Director for Elizabeth Emken got this shot today of The Official John and Ken Show's "Debate" with Senator Feinstein.

She was a no show so a press-board cut out was in her place. It's funny for sure but sad that DiFi doesn't feel the need to be accountable. ◼ h/t: Commonsense Conscience

It is not a waste of time to respond to Hollywood hatred of conservative women and minorities. It is a waste of the First Amendment to be silent.

Obama Campaign Co-Chair Eva Longoria Gets Schooled - Michelle Malkin

...You should know that Longoria is guilty of retweeting at least one other crude message bashing Republicans. Twitchy.com staff noted that on October 11, the night of the vice presidential debate, Longoria retweeted this appalling observation from soap opera star Nancy Lee Grahn: “Biden is making Paul Ryan his prison b****!” Longoria retweeted the offensive prison rape analogy without any censorship or disapproval whatsoever. And on the campaign trail, Longoria has expressed similar views disparaging conservative women. In Colorado this July, she asserted that “there is no way you can vote Republican” if you’re a woman.

The real issue with “dialogue”-seeking Longoria, who refused to answer any of my questions on Twitter, is that she is a phony spokeswoman for American women outside the Hollywood-D.C.-Manhattan bubble. She has unmistakable contempt for women who reject the Obama campaign’s radical “lady parts” identity politics.

It is not a waste of time to respond to Hollywood hatred of conservative women and minorities. It is a waste of the First Amendment to be silent. Longoria, after all, is one of Obama’s highest-profile campaign co-chairs spearheading femme fear-mongering. She and a bevy of other like-minded lib Hollywood actresses (including Kate Walsh, Scarlett Johansson and Kerry Washington) are flooding swing states to woo independent/undecided women who could determine this election. Silence is complicity....

Obama campaign co-chair Eva Longoria retweet: Women, minorities ‘stupid’ to vote for ‘racist/misogynistic’ Romney; Update: Malkin speaks ‘truth to Hollywood powder puffs’; Update: Longoria deletes retweet - Twitchy
Classy: Obama campaign co-chair Eva Longoria retweets prison rape analogy about VP debate - Twitchy
Obama campaign co-chair Eva Longoria says there’s ‘no way’ women can vote Republican - Twitchy
Hollywood’s Hysterical “Cancer Screening” Lie for Obama

Alan Colmes says Eva Longoria should resign as co-chair of Obama campaign — do you agree with Alan or not? - Gretawire

California official whose agency under-reported unemployment stats was Obama campaign donor

Marty Morgenstern, the secretary of the California agency that substantially under-reported unemployment claims last week, contributed to President Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election campaign, The Daily Caller has learned. - Gregg Re/Daily Caller

On Oct. 11, the federal government reported that weekly jobless claims were down significantly, suggesting a dramatic national increase in economic growth. But within hours, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that one major state had failed to fully document jobless claims.

Speculation among market watchers and economists initially focused on California, but the state’s Employment Development Department strongly denied that it had failed to properly document the data...

According to campaign disclosure records, Morgenstern donated $4,600 — the maximum amount allowed by law — to the 2008 Obama camapaign, beginning with a $1,000 contribution to Obama for America in February 2008. Morgenstern followed up that donation with a $1,300 contribution in June, and then a $2,300 payout in early September.

On all three disclosures, Morgenstern indicated that he was either ”not employed” or “retired.”

According to the Sacramento Business Journal, however, Morgenstern was employed since 2003 as a consultant for the liberal University of California education system.

Emken vs Feinstein on Obamacare


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Elizabeth Emken

Thursday, October 18, 2012

PA SHOCK POLL: R 49% O 45%...


Poll shows Romney leading in blue Pennsylvania - Susan Ferrechio/Washington Examiner @susanferrechio ◼ Via Drudge

A new poll shows Republican Mitt Romney leading in Pennsylvania, a state that Republicans had all but written off just weeks ago but which is now listed as a toss up by the Real Clear Politics website.

Susquehanna Polling and Research provided The Washington Examiner with a poll it conducted for state party officials that shows Romney with a 49 percent to 45 percent lead over President Obama.

It's the first poll to show Romney leading among likely voters in the Keystone State.

GALLUP: Romney 52% Obama 45%...

REALCLEAR MAP: Romney takes first lead in electoral college... (see map above)

North Carolina: Romney 52%, Obama 46% - Rasmussen

Mitt Romney has now extended his lead to six points in North Carolina following this week's second presidential debate.

Ohio: Obama 49%, Romney 48% - Rasmussen

The second presidential debate doesn’t appear to have made a difference in Rasmussen Reports’ first post-debate look at the race in Ohio. It’s still a toss-up.

Michigan: Obama 44% Romney 41%... - lansingstatejournal.com

A new statewide poll shows a tight race between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, as well as growing enthusiasm among Republicans for their nominee.

Wisconsin: Romney 49% Obama 48%... - jsonline.com

R closes 11-point gap in just two weeks... - jsonline.com

Romney's October surge heightens the drama in Wisconsin

Florida: Romney 51%, Obama 46% - Rasmussen (Oct 19)

◼ CONNECTICUT: Obama 48, Romney 45... Obama carried the state by 23% in 2008

Live Stream Of Obama, Romney Speaking At Alfred E. Smith Dinner For Laughs

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

link

LOTS TO TALK ABOUT! JOIN US FOR LUNCH

We welcome two Republican candidates to our luncheon meeting. Our own Barbara Hecathorn, running for re-election to the HBMWD Board where she represents the 3rd District, and Joe Bonino, running for Eureka City Council.

Where: 445 Herrick Avenue, Eureka
When: 11:30 a.m. Lunch & Socializing: 12:00-1:00 p.m. Meeting
Choose: Lunch $14.50 (Tax & tip included) or just a Beverage $4.00, Payable to HRWF

The Proposition Song 2012



Trouble sorting through the ballot? Try new 'Proposition Song'

A nonpartisan, entertaining, three-minute sing-along song produced by the California Voter Foundation, www.calvoter.org, to help voters sort out the 11 propositions on the November 6, 2012 ballot - "let's all be singing along, cuz the ballot is so darn long!"

Congressman Tom McClintock Backs Emken

Well-Known Conservative Joins Emken Team

(ORANGE COUNTY, CA) – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Emken, an accomplished businesswoman specializing in efficiency and cost-cutting, and nationally recognized advocate for autism research and treatment, today announced that U.S. Congressman Tom McClintock has officially endorsed her campaign for U.S. Senate.
Rep. McClintock adds his support to other influential members of California’s Republican congressional delegation, including House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, Darrell Issa, Howard “Buck” McKeon, Dan Lungren, Jeff Denham and John Campbell who are backing Emken in her bid to unseat Dianne Feinstein this November.

Congressman McClintock was elected in November 2008 to represent the 4th Congressional District in the United States Congress. During his 22 years in the California State Legislature, and as a candidate for governor in California’s historic recall election, Tom McClintock became one of the most recognizable political leaders in California and a leading conservative commentator. He has also written and lectured extensively on fiscal policy, bureaucratic reform and governmental streamlining.

“I can’t think of a better choice for California voters to help us bring down the overreach of federal government than Elizabeth Emken,” said Congressman McClintock. “Her background as a problem solver shows she knows how to reduce regulations and government waste, and her firm commitment to fighting Obamacare will give us an important voice for repeal and reform in the Senate.”

Emken has served as Vice President of Government Relations at Autism Speaks, the nation's largest science and advocacy organization devoted to the public health emergency of autism. Before becoming active with the autism issue, Elizabeth served as an efficiency and cost cutting expert at IBM, streamlining operations, eliminating waste and achieving multi-million dollar savings.

Elizabeth graduated from UCLA in 1984 with dual degrees in Economics and Political Science. Her studies also included course work at Cambridge University, where she focused on international political and economic issues throughout China and the Middle East.
_______________

Elizabeth Emken is endorsed by the California Republican Party and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Political Action Committee, ◼ More
__________________
Elizabeth Emken

Your Call Is Important to Us

Since we know it's not, what can be done about it? - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator 10.18.12

Call it the Law of Robot Customer Service. As ever more companies adopt endlessly complicated automated telephone systems, ever more customers become ever more frazzled.

You know the symptoms (translations in parentheses):

"Your call is important to us, so please wait for the next available associate" (after three minutes the line goes dead, followed by a new robot voice saying, "If you want to make a call, hang up and dial again); or,

"Our menu has changed, so please listen carefully" (We're up to nine choices now); or,
"Please tell me in a few words what you are calling about" (No two- or three-word combination will be recognizable to the robovoice); or,

"Let me connect you to a Customer Service representative," followed by:
"All of our associates are busy assisting other customers" (She's on her coffee break); or,

"Please enter the special PIN that was assigned to you" (No it wasn't); or,
"I didn't understand the answer you entered" (That's because your engineers haven't figured out how to eliminate lapses in your message); or,

"Having trouble with your XYZ? Let's walk through the steps" (followed by a list of items, none of which is related to your question).

One guess as to why so many of these systems are over-complicated and suffer from blank spots and glitches is that their designers are not geared to customer service, but are attuned only to the mechanics of the gadgetry.

Some organizations have avoided driving customers up the wall, either with rigorous training of their personnel to give helpful service over the telephone or by means of a streamlined telephone system.

USAA, the big insurance company for current and former members of the armed services, is a good example of the first group. The robosystem asks only that you pick by number, the subject about which you are calling (e.g, "1" for auto insurance; "2" for home insurance). A service representative comes on the line quickly, answers questions cheerfully, and is respectful of the caller (and does not use the faux chumminess of addressing the caller by his/her first name).

Hertz is an example of the streamlined approach. It wasn't always this easy, but today you can dial their "800" number, book a rental car in a distant city, get the cost and your confirmation number all without human intervention and all within about three minutes.

On the horizon is a new form of Customer Service: fast response to Twitter messages. The Wall Street Journal reports that one woman, after being put on hold for 40 minutes by a Citibank representative, gave up and tweeted the bank in frustration. She got an immediate reply, "Send us your phone number and we'll call you right back." She did and he did.
__________________

Peter Hannaford's latest book, Presidential Retreats, will be published October 30.

The State Department website lists no consulate in Benghazi.


THIS IS WHAT BENGHAZI 'CONSULATE' REALLY WAS - Aaron Klein/WND

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, actually served as a meeting place to coordinate aid for the rebel-led insurgencies in the Middle East, according to Middle Eastern security officials....

According to Middle Eastern security officials speaking to WND, the so-called consulate was more of a diplomatic meeting place for U.S. officials, including Stevens....

As WND reported, questions remain about the nature of U.S. support for the revolutions in Egypt and Libya, including reports the U.S.-aided rebels that toppled Muammar Gadhafi’s regime in Libya consisted of al-Qaida and jihad groups. The U.S. provided direct assistance, including weapons and finances, to the Libyan rebels.

Similarly, the Obama administration is currently aiding the rebels fighting Assad’s regime in Syria amid widespread reports that al-Qaida jihadists are included in the ranks of the Free Syrian Army. Earlier this month, Obama announced $50 million more in aid to the Syrian rebels.

During the revolution against Gadhafi’s regime, the U.S. admitted to directly arming the rebel groups.



These binders are assembled to help recruit talented and qualified women for positions that they might not otherwise be considered for.

Newsflash: “Binders Full of Women” is a Good Thing - Bethany Mandel/Commentary Magazine @bethanyshondark

These liberals ruthlessly mocking Romney have missed two crucial points: “Binders full of women” actually exist across the economic, political and journalistic worlds, and they are a good thing for feminism. Some liberals, to their credit, understood this. In New York Magazine Ann Friedman wrote,
Boston journalist David Bernstein reports that while Romney did indeed find himself with a binder full of women’s names, it wasn’t something he requested. The binder was put together by MassGAP, a bipartisan group of women who joined forces in 2002 to push Romney’s incoming administration to hire more women. Did you catch that? The binder of women was assembled by women and pushed onto Romney’s desk, unsolicited. When we mock Romney’s reliance on it, we’re actually mocking a concerted strategy by an accomplished group of women to diversify their state government. Oops.
A New York Daily News opinions editor, Josh Greenman, is familiar with “binders full of women” that help diversify gender imbalances on op-ed pages. Hiring managers in businesses and law firms also use informational binders, called “recruitment binders,” full of resumes to help staff their offices with diverse hires. “Binders full of women” are nothing new in the professional world, and while there may be a better way to phrase what the binders are, it does not detract from their existence.

These binders are assembled to help recruit talented and qualified women for positions that they might not otherwise be considered for. Often women’s careers are sidetracked, halted or put on pause during their childbearing years, as attention shifts from work to family. Romney’s efforts to expand his cabinet to include more women also kept in mind the needs of working mothers in order to make it possible for his staff to have a balanced work and family life. Romney made every effort not only to recruit talented females, but also to keep them on his staff.

Dan Walters Daily: 'Parent-trigger' law shaking up schools



Sacramento Bee

Feinstein: Intelligence Mistake, Inadequate Security To Blame For Libyan Terror Attack



Dianne Feinstein, (t)he head of the U.S. Senate’s Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that it appeared an intelligence mistake along with inadequate security were to blame for the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the American Embassy in Benghazi, Libya that claimed the lives of Ambassador Chris Stevens, a Bay Area native, and three others. - Phil Matier/CBS5 SF

“I can tell you this, I think we do know what happened now. There’s no question but that it was a terrorist attack, there is no question but that the security was inadequate and I think that there is no question that we need to work on our intelligence,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) during an exclusive interview with CBS 5.
__________________

Dianne Feinstein should be asked about this at the debate with her opponent. But she refuses to appear at any debate with Elizabeth Emken. Voters have a right to see the two of them side by side.

Contact Dianne Feinstein, and demand a debate:
Phone: (202) 224-3841 Fax: (202) 228-3954
San Francisco: (415) 393-0707
http://feinstein.senate.gov/ (contact via webform)

__________________

Elizabeth Emken

Emken vs Feinstein on Leadership


__________________
Elizabeth Emken

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Michelle Malkin - Fact Checking Obama's "War on Women" & The Debate

HILARIOUS JIMMY KIMMEL PRANK FEATURES PEOPLE SAYING WHO WON ‘LAST NIGHT’S’ DEBATE — FOUR HOURS BEFORE IT HAPPENED!



File this one under “shake your head and sigh.” - Madeleine Morgenstern/The Blaze

“God, um. I would go with Obama,” one young man said. “I’m going to say he was stronger this time around in his choice of answering questions.”

Another man also said Obama won, calling him “more alert this time and not so slacking like he did before.”

“Did you watch the whole thing?” the staffer asked.

“Oh yeah, oh yeah,” the man said.

No New Taxes For Californians



Are Promoters of the Prop. 30 Tax Increase in Panic Mode? - Jon Coupal/Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Promoters of Proposition 30 are losing their cool. Until last week, backers of Jerry Brown’s $50 billion tax increase were content to use their $40 million campaign war chest to broadcast ads describing Proposition 30 as a panacea for California education.

However, when the campaign behind a rival tax increase measure, Proposition 38, began airing comparison spots that showed that Proposition 30 revenue could be spent by politicians in any way they choose, while Proposition 38 revenue would go directly to schools, Jerry Brown’s camp went ballistic....

Californians should not concern themselves that the Proposition 30 and Proposition 38 forces are forming a circular firing squad. Based on good public policy, both measures deserve to go down to defeat.

California already has the highest state sales tax in all 50 states -- it will go up if Jerry Brown gets his way -- and the second highest income tax rate -- which will go up if either Brown or Munger have their way. With unemployment almost a third higher than the national average and the state economy still mired in recession, a tax increase is the last thing our state needs.

And improving education? There is so much more that could be accomplished with existing dollars if only the Sacramento politicians were willing to buck the California Teachers Association, a group so powerful that it is called “the fourth branch of government” by insiders.

At every turn, the union puts up roadblocks to reform. Charter schools, teacher evaluations and even legislation that would make it easier to dismiss teachers for grossly inappropriate conduct with students, are stridently opposed. CTA does not want any changes to the status quo and it should come as no surprise that the union is by far the largest single contributor to Yes on 30.

Administrators, too, must be called to task. A 2011 study conducted by Pepperdine University revealed that despite a 24.9 percent increase in total school spending per capita over a five-year period, “Direct classroom expenditures statewide dropped from 59 percent of total expenditures” to as low as 45 percent at some schools.

Clearly, when it comes to education, California can do much, much better and it does not require a tax increase to get there.
__________________

OFFICIAL REPUBLICAN VOTER GUIDE
TOM MCCLINTOCK ON THE PROPOSITIONS
All of our posts on the Propositions

ROMNEY OUTSPENDING OBAMA ON AIRWAVES IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

Looking to increase his momentum in the battleground states, Mitt Romney is spending an estimated $13.6 million on commercials in nine crucial swing states this week, proving his campaign is different from John McCain's in 2008, which could not compete with Obama down the stretch on the airwaves in battleground states. - Tony Lee/Breitbart
Romney ◼ has taken the lead in the most recent Gallup poll of battleground states, largely because he has closed the gender gap with Obama after his dominating first debate, and his campaign is spending more than the Obama campaign on television commercials in battleground states.

According to data compiled by ◼ CNN, Romney is spending more than $3 million in Florida and Ohio and over $2 million in Virginia. He is also spending over a million dollars in Iowa and Colorado this week.

Romney's resources allow him to have the air game McCain never had in 2008 against Obama, which makes it more likely Romney's momentum will not fade in the battleground states. When the commercials outside groups -- like Americans For Prosperity and Crossroads GPS -- are buying are factored in, Romney will be more than able to match Team Obama commercial for commercial in the final month of the campaign.
Report: Obama campaign turning grim on Florida, Virginia, North Carolina — and Colorado? - Allahpundit/HotAir
It’s not that Romney has insurmountable leads in FL, VA, and NC, it’s that Team O has to decide how to allocate what’s left of its campaign treasury down the stretch and there are better bets for them than those three states. Triage, in other words. Mitt’s up 4.7 points on average in North Carolina, which would be tough for O to make up, and 2.5 points in Florida, which might be doable but would be hugely expensive in terms of reserving enough ad time to make a dent. I’m a little surprised to see Virginia included — O actually leads there by eight-tenths of a point, although Romney’s (narrowly) won the last three polls, so maybe Obama’s campaign figures it’s not worth resisting that momentum in a state they don’t really need. They do kind of need Colorado, though, and that actually looks tougher than Virginia for them at the moment: Romney leads by seven-tenths of a point and has won six of the nine polls taken since the first debate. If I had to guess, I’d bet they’re looking at Virginia and Colorado now as an either/or situation; if Romney’s lead opens a bit in one rather than the other, that one will be written off and an investment made in the closer state.
The Four Ls and Four States: What's Next in the Obama-Romney Duel - Major Garrett/National Journal
What also became clear after the dust began to settle from the rumble on Long Island was the electoral map has narrowed and Obama’s team, while conceding nothing publicly, is circling the wagons around Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada. Plouffe said that Obama remains strong in all four states, but he would not discuss the specifics of internal polling or voter-contact analytics, saying only that Obama has “significant leads” in all four places.

It is uncharacteristic of Team Obama to concede any terrain, but Plouffe offered no such assurances about Obama’s position in North Carolina, Virginia, or Florida. Romney advisers have seen big gains in all three states and now consider wins likely, although not guaranteed, in all three. They are similarly upbeat about prospects in Colorado but not confident enough to predict victory. That Plouffe left Colorado off his list of states where Obama’s leading and can withstand a Romney surge might be telling…

Romney, according to RCP, has 191 electoral votes. If you add Florida (29), North Carolina (15), and Virginia (13), that brings his total to 248 electoral votes. Add Colorado (9) –which neither campaign is prepared to claim or concede–and Romney’s total rises to 257 electoral votes. If Romney wins Ohio (18) in addition to these states, he would have 275 electoral votes. If Romney loses Ohio, he would need to win Iowa, Nevada, and New Hampshire to reach 273 electoral votes.
And then:

New Romney ad: “The choice”



So much of Barack Obama’s manufactured campaign image centers on being some big champion of the middle class, but so many of Obama’s both enacted and proposed policies — from the costs and taxes inherent in ObamaCare, to energy policies that boost utility and gasoline prices, to tax hikes and red tape that make it more difficult for small-business owners to operate — are direct hits on middle-class prosperity. As Romney points out, median incomes have fallen, and Obama’s utter failure to even attempt major entitlement reform to make solvent demonstrably unsustainable programs like Social Security is a boon to exactly nobody. - Erika Johnsen/HotAir

LOTS TO TALK ABOUT! JOIN US FOR LUNCH, RSVP TODAY, LET US KNOW YOU'RE COMING!

We welcome two Republican candidates to our luncheon meeting
Our own Barbara Hecathorn, running for re-election to the HBMWD Board where she represents the 3rd District, and Joe Bonino, running for Eureka City Council
RSVP by phone: Laura 839-5538
RSVP by email: Margaret Stafford 822-3255 tom-marg @ suddenlink.net
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12:00-1:00 p.m. Meeting
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The president proved that he was not catatonic, and that he actually wanted to be reelected, which is something given where he was after the first debate. But I suspect that this debate as a whole left many undecided voters with a sense that they are not alone in being disappointed with Obama, and that Romney is offering something for the future while Obama is offering nothing new.

The Second Debate - Yuval Levin/National Review Online

The questions in Tuesday night’s town-hall debate... were, on the whole, questions from disappointed Democrats. That didn’t necessarily advantage one candidate over the other: It meant some of the subjects taken up in the debate heavily favored Obama but it also meant that the tone of the questioners was almost uniformly disappointed with Obama, which is probably the most dangerous of all attitudes for the incumbent president... Many of the questions were about the sorts of things liberals would want debates to be about.

GALLUP: R 51% O 45%


Among likely voters - Gallup

◼ And: Romney cuts Obama lead to 1 point in New Hampshire - Rasmussen

ROMNEY SURGES IN WISCONSIN, TIED WITH OBAMA - Mike Flynn/Breitbart

Of 5 new Polls: Romney leads Obama in national and swing states polls - examiner.com

A new Gallup Poll indicates that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pulled ahead of President Barack Obama. Gallup poll show Romney 50%, Obama 46% among likely voters....

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 48%. One percent (1%) prefers some other candidate...

A new Poll The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll shows Romney leading Obama 50%-46% among likely voters in the swing states. Men who are likely voters back him 52%-44%. The states are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin....

According to the latest National Rural Assembly poll, rural voters in swing states favor Mitt Romney by 22 points. In 2008, Barack Obama lost among rural voters in swing states by just a little more than two percentage points...

CBS News Poll: A 65% thought Mitt Romney would do a better job on the economy 34% said President Obama would .

TIME: So where was the second-term agenda?



Halperin: So where was the second-term agenda? - HotAir

Most voters aren’t going to go into voting booths to choose the best debater. They’re going to choose the candidate that they trust more on the issues. Obama lost the first debate by virtual default, and he’s going to lose the election the same way unless he can launch a second-term agenda in less than three weeks.

MSNBC's Undecided Voter Panel Swayed by Romney



Same with Luntz Focus Group - Real Clear Politics

Jim Geraghty's Morning Jolt – October 17, 2012

From the Mailbox: Lots of links...
Here's your Wednesday Morning Jolt. Enjoy!
Jim

No Real Damage to Romney, But Some Big Opportunities Missed

CBS News: "CBS NEWS INSTANT POLL Who won debate? OBAMA: 37%; ROMNEY: 30%, TIE: 33% (Margin of Error: 4 pts. 65% say Romney won on issue of economy, compared to 34% who say Obama."

CNN's poll of registered voters who watched the debate: "46 percent said Obama won the debate, 39 percent said Romney won the debate." The sample splits 33 percent Democrat, 33 percent Republican, 33 percent independent.

I'll take that. It was a good night for Mitt Romney in a lot of ways, but in two areas, he had golden opportunities and failed to make the most of them: Libya and Fast and Furious.

On Libya, ◼ as I posted right after the debate last night:

The president showed glowering indignation over the accusation that his administration misled the public on what happened in Benghazi and why. It was a potential slam-dunk moment . . .

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

"I can tell you that if you were to elect president obama, you know what you're going to get. you'll get a repeat of the last four years. we can't afford four more years like the last four years."



Mitt Romney's best moment: 'I think you know better' - Charlie Spiering/Washington Examiner @CharlieSpiering

"I think you know better. I think you know that these last four years haven't been so good as the president just described, and that you don't feel like you're confident the next four years are going to be much better either." Romney said. "I can tell you that if you were to elect president obama, you know what you're going to get. you'll get a repeat of the last four years. we can't afford four more years like the last four years."

Wrap up: The second debate



Luntz Focus Group Of Mostly Former Obama Voters Switch To Romney - Real Clear Politics
A Frank Luntz focus group made up mostly of former Obama voters say they now support Mitt Romney.
"Forceful, compassionate, presidential," one participant said.
"Confident and realistic," said another.
"Presidential," another told Luntz.
"Enthusiastic," another reacted.
"Our next president," one man said.
"Dynamo, winner," said one more.
Video: Luntz focus group unloads on Obama after debate - Ed Morrissey/HotAir
Wrap up: The second debate; Update: Obama wins CBS insta-poll narrowly, but Romney wins big on economy - Allahpundit/HotAir
The good news? Mitt gets another crack at the Libya attack in the next debate, which will focus exclusively on foreign policy. He’ll be very well prepared, rest assured. And since most of the media’s coverage tomorrow will focus on the Libya exchange tonight, that issue will continue to get plenty of coverage for the rest of the week. I can live with that. Exit quotation from Ben Smith: “Romney did, again, come away looking like a guy who could be president, which is probably the most important thing.” Yep.

Update: Here’s something else I can live with:
BREAKING: CBS NEWS INSTANT POLL Who won debate? OBAMA: 37%; ROMNEY: 30%, TIE: 33% (Margin of Error: 4 pts.) CBSNews.com

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 17, 2012

RT @charliekayecbs: In the @cbsnews Instant Poll, 65% say Romney won on the issue of the economy. 34% say Obama won on the economy.

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 17, 2012
Obama Scores the Most Debate Points, but Verdict Uncertain - Ron Fournier/National Journal
TREAT: Candy gives Obama 9% more time - Politico
TRICK: Crowley 'Correcting' Romney on Libya Looked Like 'The Ref Just Threw the Flag' - Newsbusters
Another debate, another debacle for America’s media. - Joseph Curl/Washington Times
In the runup to the second presidential debate, CNN’s Candy Crowley declared that she would not just be a “fly on the wall” as she played the tiny role of moderator, that she would step in whenever she chose to say, “Hey, wait a second, what about X, Y, Z?”
And boy did she, cutting off Republican Mitt Romney repeatedly and often throwing the floor to President Obama with an open “let me give the president a chance here.”
Pelley: 'Most Rancorous Debate In History' - CBS DC
Obama touts fair pay, despite history of paying women less... - Caroline May/Daily Caller
While Obama made the empathetic case for his single mother and his belief in equal pay — pointing out that the first bill he signed as president was the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — he did not address reports this year that demonstrated that his own White House pays women less than men.
Second presidential debate 2012 transcript - mercurynews

In case you missed it: Full Town Hall Debate Between Barack Obama And Mitt Romney



◼ President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney met in a town hall debate moderated by Candy Crowley at Hofstra University on October 16th, 2012. Topics ranged from Libya to the economy to immigration. Via Real Clear Politics
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Second presidential debate 2012 transcript - mercurynews

Romney right, Obama and water-carrier Crowley wrong on ‘act of terror’ claim



Candy Crowley Embarrasses Herself, Falsely 'Corrects' Romney on Libya - Newsbusters

Perusing the full Obama speech reveals that the president and Crowley misstated the facts: ◼ Remarks by the President on the Deaths of U.S. Embassy Staff in Libya - whitehouse.gov
Obama’s statement on Benghazi: ‘Outrageous attack’ September 12, 2012
Romney right, Obama and water-carrier Crowley wrong on ‘act of terror’ claim
Sorry, Candy, Obama Didn’t Call Benghazi A Terrorist Attack In Speech…. - Weasel Zippers
AWFUL. CNN Moderator Jumps In to Defend Obama During Presidential Debate (Video) - Gateway Pundit
No, Obama Didn’t Call Benghazi “Act of Terror” in Speech
Joe Trippi: Crowley 'Correcting' Romney on Libya Looked Like 'The Ref Just Threw the Flag' - Newsbusters
Was Crowley correct? Did Obama actually call it an act of terror? Here's the relevant portion of the transcript (emphasis added):
No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for.

Today we mourn for more Americans who represent the very best of the United States of America. We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. And make no mistake, justice will be done.

But we also know that the lives these Americans led stand in stark contrast to those of their attackers. These four Americans stood up for freedom and human dignity. They should give every American great pride in the country that they served, and the hope that our flag represents to people around the globe who also yearn to live in freedom and with dignity.

We grieve with their families, but let us carry on their memory and let us continue their work in seeking a stronger America and a better world for all of our children.

Thank you. May God bless the memory of those we lost, and may God bless the United States of America.
As you can see, Obama said, "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this nation."

However, he didn't specifically call this incident an act of terror, and his administration went on for days if not weeks claiming it was a protest over an anti-Muslim movie trailer.

Regardless, was it Crowley's place as moderator of a debate to be acting as fact-checker, or did she live down to many of our worst expectations?
Candy Crowley: He Was Right - Washington Free Beacon

Moderator: Romney was 'right in the main' on Benghazi, but 'picked the wrong word'