Interview with Mitt and Ann Romney

---

Mitt Romney: “It kills me” to not be in the White House

Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, did not win his race for the White House, but in his first post-election interview today on “Fox News Sunday,” he wants everyone – friends and foes alike – to know that he’s not exiting stage right.

In a wide-ranging discussion, the former Massachusetts governor and his wife, Ann Romney, opened up on the reasons for their loss, their adjustment to life after the campaign, and President Obama’s leadership since his reelection, making clear that they were disappointed by the loss, but even more disappointed about the direction the country has taken since then.

“Nero is fiddling,” Romney said, likening the president to the infamous Roman emperor who played his fiddle as Rome burned.

“No one can think” that the fight over the sequester “has been a success for the president,” Romney argued. “He didn’t think the sequester would happen. It is happening, but to date, what we’ve seen is the president out campaigning to the American people, doing rallies around the country, flying around the country, and berating Republicans.”

He suggested that the president may be more interested in “showing pain” and wielding the sequester as a weapon against Republicans than in actually finding compromise.

And that adversarial, campaign-style politicking, Romney said, has poisoned the well of compromise instead of enabling the president to engage with opposition. “I don’t see that kind of leadership right now,” he said, and “it kills me not to be in there, not to be in the White House” to provide that direction.

Instead, after his loss, he watches, more bystander than inside player. But until the very end, Mitt Romney said, he was convinced that it would turn out differently. “We were convinced that we would win.” When talking about the moment it became clear, after the numbers from Ohio began rolling in on election night, that victory was slipping out of reach, he said “it’s hard, it’s emotional.”

Ann Romney described the “crushing disappointment” she felt – “Not for us, our lives are going to be fine. It’s for the country.”

---

You can waste a lot of time obsessing over what might have been but damn, that was a tough loss. It’s gonna be a long four years.

(Unless the sequester kills us first.)

---

Where the hell is Mitt Romney???

---

That’s right, campers! It’s time for another exciting episode of Where the hell is Mitt Romney???

MSNBO:

Where in the world is Mitt Romney? (Hint: Not in D.C.)

Mitt Romney has kept an aggressively low profile since getting blown out by President Obama on Nov. 6. So perhaps it’s no surprise that he didn’t travel to Washington, D.C. for today’s inauguration. But the failed GOP presidential nominee reportedly didn’t even watch the event on TV.

Romney put out word through people close to him that he wasn’t going to watch President Obama take his ceremonial oath on Monday. Instead, he planned to be at one of his homes in La Jolla, Calif.

A Romney aide told NBC the former Massachusetts governor and his wife Ann have “no big plans.” And when asked if he’d watch the ceremonies, the aide said, “doubtful.”

Romney’s absence makes him the first losing candidate not to attend since 1989, when Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis didn’t attend George H.W. Bush’s swearing in. Instead, he stayed in his home state, watched on TV, and ate a tuna sandwich.

MNSBC host Lawrence O’Donnell weighed in on Romney’s no-show, saying it was an “understandable choice to not come here [to Capitol Hill] especially if you’re not a man of Washington…I get that, but I don’t get why you have to take that extra step and say ‘I’m not gonna watch.’”

“It isn’t the moment where he should have announced that about himself,” O’Donnell added.

Host Rachel Maddow said by making it known he wasn’t going to watch, Romney was “making himself the story.”

---

But wait! There’s more:

Addicting Info:

It is a tradition for the runner-up in any presidential election to be honored on the day that the President is sworn in. You can look through the history books and find dinners in honor of John McCain, John Kerry and Al Gore; you have to go back to Bob Dole to find one who did not at least attend festivities, although Dole himself was in D.C. on that day and held private events. To find a defeated opponent completely snubbing the inauguration, one has to go back to Walter Mondale in 1985, who left Washington D.C. prior to Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration.

Given this history, some look to the last presidential hopeful for the Republican Party to see where he is today and finds him eerily missing. Like Mondale, Mitt Romney is as far away from Washington D.C. as possible. A spokesperson said it was doubtful that Mr. Romney would be attending any events, or even watching the inauguration.

This, of course, lends credence to the claims by some that Mitt Romney did not want to be President at all. Or, perhaps, he’s just a sore loser suffering from “taking my ball and going home” syndrome. He didn’t win, so he wants to deny ever being in the race. It is doubtful that he will ever make himself a player on the national stage again.

So now we have a Republican party left without any leadership. Had Romney shown up, it would have been a sign that he could remain a leader in the party. Instead, his absence leaves the party adrift, teetering on collapse. The party’s open embrace of unpopular positions leaves them with little option but to rig elections, something they no longer even try to hide in their attempt to manipulate the process of putting someone in the White House.

---

So was it Dukakis or Mondale? Who cares.

What none of the several articles and blog posts on this subject bothers to mention is that all those other guys had business in Washington DC – they were sitting senators or in Gore’s case he was the outgoing vice president.

So exactly what was Romney supposed to do anyway? Show up at a couple dinners? Was he even invited to the inauguration? Mitt holds no elective office or official position in the GOP. I’m sure John Boehner would really appreciate Mitt showing up and trying to lead the party.

Mitt lost the election. He has no plans to run for office again. They complained because Sarah Palin stayed in the news even though she initially tried to resume her former life. Now they are complaining because Mitt is trying to go away.

Fucking asshats.

---

Saturday Morning Open Thread

---

I know I said I was gonna write a post about the new FISA bill but I got drunk and started watching my new Breaking Bad season 4 DVDs and didn’t get a roundtuit. Also my daughter’s sister lost her cat.

So yer just gonna have to make do with this for now.

---

---

BREAKING NEWS!!! – Mitt Romney Spotted At Costco!!!

Romney pumps his own gas!

---

ZOMG!

Mitt Romney loads up at Costco

Try as he might, Mitt Romney could never sell voters on the idea that he was just like regular folks who shop at Costco.

But the gossip website TMZ captured Romney and his wife, Ann, on an expedition to the warehouse store near their home in La Jolla, Calif., loading up on pantry staples and paper products. The TMZ photo gallery is worth clicking through.

The photographer captured Romney inspecting toy cars — made in China, natch — and pushing his cart loaded with Christmas wrapping paper, Kirkland paper towels (i.e. the store brand), V8 drinks and Arrowhead bottled water. Plus there are photos of Romney unloading a gigantic box of Bisquick and other purchases into a black Audi Q7 SUV. Ann Romney pushes her own cart of Costco purchases behind her husband.

---

I really don’t know how to deal with all this excitement!

I am glad to see that Gannett has their priorities straight. But what about Sarah Palin? What is she doing today?

Enquiring minds want to know.

---

BREAKING ROMNEY UPDATE!!!!

---

The economy is headed for another recession and our government is headed off a fiscal cliff. Two months after four Americans were murdered in Benghazi we still don’t know what happened. Who authorized selling guns to Mexican drug gangs is still a mystery. The president is going on vacation.

Meanwhile, Dana Milbunk risks his life to bring you this important news:

Romney can retire later

The nation is heading toward the “fiscal cliff,” but have no fear: Mitt Romney is coming to the rescue — of Marriott International Inc.

In his first public comments since election night, the defeated Republican presidential nominee issued a statement Monday announcing his next step. An appeal to national unity? A charitable initiative?

No, he announced that he was rejoining the hotel chain’s board of directors. “It is an honor to once again be able to serve in the company of leaders like Bill Marriott,” said Romney’s statement, distributed by Marriott.

It was emblematic of the tone-deaf, I-have-some-great-friends-that-are-NASCAR-team-owners moments that contributed to his loss. The country is in a crisis, political leaders in a standoff, and Romney is joining his buddy’s corporate board.

Romney is a private citizen now and free to do as he chooses. But it’s not as if he needs the money; the $170,000 in cash and stock that Marriott directors received in the most recent year reported is but a sliver of the $20 million or so Romney takes in annually from his investments.

More to the point, Romney’s first post-election move served to confirm the exhaustive report my Post colleague Philip Rucker did on Romney’s “rapid retreat into seclusion.” Rucker, who covered the Romney campaign for this paper, wrote that in the former candidate’s disappearance he is “exhibiting the same detachment that made it so difficult for him to connect with the body politic through six years of running for president.”

Romney’s post-election behavior has been, in a word, small. Never again, likely, will his voice and influence be as powerful as they are now. Yet rather than stepping forward to help find a way out of the fiscal standoff, or to help his party rebuild itself, he delivered a perfunctory concession speech, told wealthy donors that Obama won by giving “gifts” to minorities, then avoided the press at a private lunch with President Obama.

Though keeping nominal residence in Massachusetts, the state he led as governor, he moved out to his California home and has been spotted at Disneyland, at the new “Twilight” movie, at a pizza place, pumping gas and going to the gym. In warm weather, he plans to live at his lakefront manse in New Hampshire. The man who spoke passionately about his love for the American auto industry has been driving around in a new Audi Q7.

---

Typically, when someone loses an election they either retire or go back to doing whatever it was they were doing before the election. Al Gore grew a beard and dropped out of sight for a couple years. John Kerry and John McCain both went back to the Senate. Sarah Palin went back to Alaska. The losers generally drop out of the spotlight for a while.

Sarah Palin was an exception, but not by choice. She tried to avoid the spotlight but the media just couldn’t quit her. She made headlines pardoning a turkey that first Thanksgiving after the election. Okay, technically it was a turkey execution that made the headlines, but she was at a turkey ranch, not a petting zoo.

Are we gonna have to put up with four more years of Romney bashing from the media? Leave the poor guy alone! What the fuck do expect him to do? Fix the economy for Obama?

But you want to know the worst part? The worst part is that Dana Milbunk gets paid to write that drivel!

BTW – It’s just a coinky-dink but “Mitt Romney” and “Media Zombies” are right next to each other on the TCH categories list.

---

Stupid Should Hurt

---

This piece of crap from the Washington Post is one of the dumbest articles ever written:

A detached Romney tends wounds in seclusion after failed White House bid

The man who planned to be president wakes up each morning now without a plan.

Mitt Romney looks out the windows of his beach house here in La Jolla, a moneyed and pristine enclave of San Diego, at noisy construction workers fixing up his next-door neighbor’s home, sending out regular updates on the renovation. He devours news from 2,600 miles away in Washington about the “fiscal cliff” negotiations, shaking his head and wondering what if.

Gone are the minute-by-minute schedules and the swarm of Secret Service agents. There’s no aide to make his peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches. Romney hangs around the house, sometimes alone, pecking away at his iPad and e-mailing his CEO buddies who have been swooping in and out of La Jolla to visit. He wrote to one who’s having a liver transplant soon: “I’ll change your bedpan, take you back and forth to treatment.”

It’s not what Romney imagined he would be doing as the new year approaches.

Four weeks after losing a presidential election he was convinced he would win, Romney’s rapid retreat into seclusion has been marked by repressed emotions, second-guessing and, perhaps for the first time in the overachiever’s adult life, sustained boredom, according to interviews with more than a dozen of Romney’s closest friends and advisers.

---

Merriam-Webster:

se·clu·sion
noun \si-ˈklü-zhən\
Definition of SECLUSION
1: the act of secluding : the condition of being secluded
2: a secluded or isolated place
— se·clu·sive adjective
— se·clu·sive·ly adverb
— se·clu·sive·ness noun

Synonyms: aloneness, insulation, privacy, secludedness, isolation, segregation, separateness, sequestration, solitariness, solitude

---

The article is three pages long but I showed you everything you need to see. This is the basic outline:

1. Mitt Romney is in “seclusion”.

2. He doesn’t have a job.

3. He has lots of visitors.

4. He makes lots of phone calls.

5. He goes places like Disneyland and the gas station.

WaPo sure has a really strange definition of “seclusion”.

Yes, Mitt Romney lost the election. That was less than a month ago. The campaign is over. That means no more rallies and fundraisers. No more strategy meetings or debate preparations. No more speeches.

That stuff was a big part of Mitt Romney’s life for the past two years, so yeah, he has some spare time these days. What exactly do they think he should to be doing right now, holding daily press conferences?

Is this obsession with Mitt’s daily activities gonna be a regular thing like it was with Sarah Palin? It used to be that the media lost interest in losing candidates as soon as they made their concession speech. But when Sarah lost they just couldn’t quit her.

No offense to the Romney family but I really don’t want to see any of them on DWTS or reality TV.

---

Mitt Romney in “seclusion” at the Happiest Place On Earth.

---

I have no illusions about Mitt Romney

---

Four years ago a lot of people fell in love with Barack Obama. To them he wasn’t just a candidate or even the best candidate, he was a once-in-a-lifetime inspirational leader who they expected to bring momentous change. No one could have lived up to the expectations they had for him. Obama has failed miserably.

I have no illusions about Mitt Romney. I know he is a moderately conservative Republican. He is not a secret liberal. But I did not vote for ideology this year, I voted for character and competence. I believe that Mitt Romney has plenty of both.

I know that Mitt Romney doesn’t have any superpowers. But we don’t need a hero, we need someone who can get shit done. We have a lot of problems facing this country. I don’t expect miracles, I expect progress. I don’t expect to agree with everything he does but I am willing to give him four years to show us what he can do. At the end of four years I will decide whether to keep him around for another term or replace his ass too.

I believe that Mitt Romney is a good man. I hope he is up to the job. In a few hours we’ll see if the country agrees with me.

---

---

Closing Speeches

---

Here are Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s closing speeches of the 2012 campaign.

See you in the morning.

---

---

A vote for Romney is a vote for Hillary

---

Politico:

Report: Bill Clinton aide voting Romney

Top Bill Clinton confidant Douglas Band has said that he will vote for Republican Mitt Romney, according to a report in The New Yorker, apparently a move to strengthen Hillary Clinton’s position in the Democratic Party.

In revealing the relationship between President Barack Obama and former President Clinton, The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza drops a fascinating tidbit in the second-to-last paragraph of the story.

“By some measures, a defeat for Obama in November would leave Hillary the undisputed leader of her party and propel her toward the Oval Office that much faster. At least one of [Bill] Clinton’s closest advisers seems to be backing that strategy,” writes Lizza. “According to two people with direct knowledge, Douglas Band has said that he will vote for Romney. Band declined to comment.”

IOW – A vote for Romney is a vote for Hillary!

I agree with the strategy. It’s what I have been saying for several years now. If Obama wins then the Republicans are a lock to win in 2016.

If Romney wins there are two obstacles to Hillary running successfully in 2016:

1. The economy – If the economy is turned around and unemployment is down, Mitt will be almost certain to win a second term (and he would deserve it).

2. Benghazi – We still don’t know how big a stain the Benghazi attack/cover-up will leave on Hillary’s record.

---

Can you feel the Mittmentum?

---

Is it just me or is Mitt Romney getting bigger in stature while Barack Obama keeps shrinking? Maybe that’s where the expression “rising to the occasion” comes from.

This is an open thread.

---

---

Revenge of the Nerd

---

One thing Mitt Romney has never been accused of is being hip. He is the quintessential nerd – a geek’s geek, an überwonk. He doesn’t drink or smoke or chase women. He’s a square. He’s boring. All he needs is a pocket-protector and a slide rule (and you can bet he had both when he was younger).

And he is just what this country needs right now.

We do not need a hip, cool, charismatic leader. We don’t need an intellectual. We need competence. We need a nerd.

We need Mitt Romney.

---

---

More proof that Obots are stoopit

---

My favorite ones are the people who answer the question “Are you voting for Obama?” with “Absolutely not!”

---

Grassroots vs. Astroturf

---

Kevin Drum:

Obama’s Ground Game Advantage May Not Be As Big As It Looks

There’s been a disconnect in the ground games of the major parties for some time. Democrats tend to rely on paid, professional operations, while Republicans rely more on volunteer efforts, largely from evangelical churches. This is something that actually works in the Republicans’ favor, since volunteer efforts from friends and neighbors tend to be more effective at switching votes than professional phone banks. (Also cheaper.) On the other hand, the professional organizations are often more thorough, and are better at the actual logistics of getting people to the polls.

---

The Mormon church has 14 million member, most of them in the United States. It is a church that emphasizes missionary work – knocking on doors and spreading the word. They are very organized, with up-to-date membership lists containing addresses and phone numbers. And for the first time in history one of the two major party nominees is a member of their church.

The Mormons are just one church. Yeah, the IRS says churches can’t mix religion and politics, but how do you stop them? What happens when preachers and pastors across the nation stand behind their pulpits the next two weekends and exhort their congregations to vote on November 6th?

How effective is the Republican ground game?

Remember Chik-fil-A Appreciation Day? It started out as a protest against Chik-fil-A organized by Democrats and interest groups associated with the Democratic party. The only news coverage was of that protest.

In what turned out to be an unplanned field test of the GOP ground game a counter-protest was organized, mostly through churches and the social media. On August 1, Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country reported an average of 29.9 percent more sales and 367 more customers than on a typical Wednesday. It was the single busiest day in Chik-fil-A history.

My prediction: On November 6th, Mitt Romney will win Ohio, but he won’t need it. He will easily win in excess of 300 electoral votes. And he’ll do it without spending millions of dollars to astroturf up a bunch of supporters either.

---

Mitt Romney’s Speech on the Economy

---

Today, Mitt Romney delivered remarks on the U.S. economy in Ames, Iowa. Read a transcript of the remarks below, as prepared for delivery:

Thank you all. It’s great to be back in Iowa. And don’t think that this is the last time you are going to see Paul Ryan and me, because you Iowans may well be the ones who decide what kind of America we will have, what kind of life our families will have.

The choice you make this November will shape great things, historic things, and those things will determine the most intimate and important aspects of every American life and every American family. This is an election about America, and it is an election about the American family.

All elections matter. This one matters a great deal. Over the years of our nation’s history, choices our fellow citizens have made have changed the country’s course–they were turning points of defining consequence.

We are at a turning point today. Our national debt and liabilities threaten to crush our future, our economy struggles under the weight of government and fails to create essential growth and employment.

At the same time, emerging powers seek to shape the world in their image–China with its model of authoritarianism and, in a very different way, Jihadists with Sharia, repression, and terror for the world.

This is an election of consequence. Our campaign is about big things, because we happen to believe that America faces big challenges. We recognize this is a year with a big choice, and the American people want to see big changes. And together we can bring real change to this country.

Four years ago, candidate Obama spoke to the scale of the times. Today, he shrinks from it, trying instead to distract our attention from the biggest issues to the smallest–from characters on Sesame Street and silly word games to misdirected personal attacks he knows are false.

NY Post Endorses Mitt Romney

---

For America’s future, The Post endorses Mitt Romney for president

Four frustratingly long years ago, a war-weary and economically battered America took a flier on a savior.

It didn’t work out.

Now, in 12 days, the nation will return to the polls — to reject, or to ratify, the results of the great Barack Obama experiment.

That is, to reject or to ratify the notion that hoping for change is a sound footing for productive national policy.

But, by the evidence, it is not.

It cannot create jobs.

It cannot reduce deficits.

It cannot restore foreign confidence in America — or Americans’ confidence in their own great nation.
AP
Mitt Romney

America needs more than hope. It needs leadership. That is why The Post today endorses the candidacy of Mitt Romney for president of the United States.

Scrape it down to bedrock, and Mitt Romney knows that there is but one issue in this campaign: America’s woeful economy, and the demonstrated inability of President Obama to cope with it.

Obama says he inherited the mess, but he’s done nothing to fix it. Borrow, spend, regulate and redistribute is not a prescription for sustainable growth, yet that has been the totality of his program.

He says things will get better — soon. But there’s no evidence for that.

Obamanomics has produced:

* A sky-high national debt, now at a stupefying $16 trillion and growing.

* Intractable unemployment and a workforce hemorrhaging discouraged workers.

* No perceptible economic growth.

* Historic expansion in welfare programs — especially food stamps.

Obama proposes massive tax increases aimed not so much at the rich, as he claims, but squarely at the middle class and small business, which is insane: Small business — the real engine of American job creation — needs to be nurtured, not squeezed dry.

Americans need jobs — jobs for those trying to raise a family, jobs for those who are leaving school, jobs period!

Instead, they are about to be saddled with an unworkable health-care boondoggle that will suck hundreds of billions from a private-sector economy that could better use the cash to create — yes — more jobs!

Can Mitt Romney really turn all this around? Yes, he can.

In the debates, Americans saw a leader.

They saw a man with the experience, the temperament, the principles and the knowledge to address America’s economic woes instead of just blaming others.

After all, as governor of deep-blue Massachusetts, he worked with a Democratic legislature to close a $3 billion deficit without raising taxes or borrowing.

There is one other significant issue.

Four years ago, Obama vowed “to restore America’s standing in the world.” But he has sown rancor and confusion instead.

Our friends don’t know if they’re still our friends; our enemies wonder whether we have the courage to stand up to them.

The result has been a cataclysmic breakdown of US leadership in the Middle East.

Israel — and not just Israel — questions whether Obama is committed to curbing Iran’s nuclear threat.

Syria is in open civil war, while Egypt and Libya teeter on the brink. Osama bin Laden may be dead, but al Qaeda has hardly been contained — as Benghazi tragically proved.

In contrast, the smoke now hanging over the Middle East testifies to Obama’s inability to get the job done.

Any job.

Because, in the end, the fundamental problem is the president’s core philosophy.

He believes in equality of outcome, not equality of opportunity — and that is not how America is supposed to work.

America is not working right now.

Forward?

For four more years?

We think not.

---

Okay, it’s not exactly as shocking at the NY Times endorsement would be, but it is a major thumbs up. One line in that editorial captures the essence of the argument against Obama:

It didn’t work out.

---

When it comes down to it, Barack Obama has been unable to make a positive case for his reelection. Presidents, like coaches and managers in sports, get paid to win. More often than not a new coach takes over a struggling team. He’s given a few years to turn it around. Miracles aren’t expected overnight, but after four years you expect to see signs of progress. If not, you replace him with somebody else.

Four years ago I opposed the election of Barack Obama because I thought he would be a bad president. My reasons are well known so I won’t repeat them here. But after he was elected I stated that I hoped he would prove me wrong because that would be a good thing for the country. Unfortunately, I was right.

This is not about the past. If Obama had enacted genuine health care reform and the economy was at least well along the path to recovery, I would probably hold my nose and vote for Obama in spite of everything that took place in 2008. But Obama failed.

It’s time to try someone new.

---

Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

---

In football they call it a Hail Mary:

Did Obama Give Gloria Allred’s Game Away?

For several days, reports have circulated that attorney Gloria Allred–who always seems to surface when a Democrat is in trouble–is about to drop an “October surprise” on the Romney campaign.

Speculation has surrounded a story published last week by the left-wing website AlterNet, purporting to tell the story of women who claimed Mitt Romney advised them in the 1980s, in his capacity as a church leader, against having abortions.

There is only one problem: the story is not new, and Breitbart News already discussed several aspects of the tale in January 2012, including the false claim that Romney had been insensitive to women in his congregation. One woman he had counseled against having an abortion, and who carried her baby to term, told Vogue in February she was grateful to Romney for his help, though she later decided to leave the Mormon church.

There is perhaps reason to believe that this is the tactic Allred is preparing to use against Romney–and that she may be doing so in coordination with the Obama campaign.

In a speech on Friday in Virginia, President Barack Obama unveiled a new attack against his rival, accusing him of “Romnesia” (Romney + amnesia) about his past positions. The media treated the word as an innovation.

But the term has a prior–and specific–history.

According to the AlterNet article, which was published last Wednesday, “Romnesia” was the term created by Mormon feminists to describe his inability to recall specific details of his advice on abortion to female congregants. (Questions about Romney’s position on abortion, and his role as a church leader, first arose during his campaign for U.S. Senate in 1994.)

---

Considering Obama’s campaign record some kind of “October Surprise” seems fairly likely. But if this is all they got they better get used to saying “President Romney.”

Obama “won” his first election when he surprised his opponents (including the incumbent, his former mentor Alice Palmer) with last-minute legal challenges to their nomination petitions and got them all knocked off the ballot. In 2004 he surprised Blair Hull and Jack Ryan with some dirty laundry. Some people believe the 2008 Wall Street collapse was conveniently timed to aid Obama’s victory over John McCain.

But this story is old news – the alleged incident took place thirty years ago and was first used against him by Ted Kennedy way back in 1994. Even if we were to assume the story is mostly true it isn’t exactly scandalous – Mitt is running as a pro-life candidate. (“Breaking news, a pro-life church leader gave pro-life advice!“) I’m pretty sure his position on abortion has been factored in by most people by now.

But could there be a different surprise coming? If so, what could it be? It would be irresponsible not to speculate, so let’s talk about it.

To make a big splash a story would pretty much have to involve sex and/or drugs. Another “Mitt was a bully” or “Mitt is a heartless capitalist” story won’t cut it. Unless there is some kind of official documentation allegations of domestic violence wouldn’t be credible. I doubt a “Mitt hired an illegal alien” claim would have much effect either.

Mitt is too squeaky clean for anonymous allegations of drug use to fly. Someone with proof they smoked pot with Mitt back in the 60′s probably wouldn’t hurt him anyway. Neither would some woman coming forward to claim she was his lover before he married Ann. Allegations of something more serious, like an extramarital affair, sexual harassment or sexual assault would need substantial corroboration to make a difference at this point in the race.

One thing is for sure, if Mitt has any skeletons in his closet he knows exactly what they are and he’s ready for them. I’m guessing if the Obama campaign tries a big surprise it will turn out to be an epic nothingburger.

But that won’t stop them from trying.

---

Closing the Sale

---

Everybody who has done any kind of sales knows what “closing” means. You’ve made your pitch and now it’s time to turn your prospects into customers. It’s still two weeks until election day, but tomorrow night is the time for Mitt Romney to close the sale with the American people.

I’m not telling Mitt anything he doesn’t know. Mitt has closed deals in the nine-figure range. The problem is Mitt’s prospects are interested but skittish. Four years ago they signed a lease on a Unity Pony Deluxe and it turned out to be a lemon. They don’t want to get fooled again.

Mitt doesn’t need to worry about the other guy on the stage. He’s trying to get the voters to renew their lease on that POS that they don’t want. All Mitt has to do is reassure them that he’s not like the other guy.

If he does, after tomorrow night it will be a done deal.

---

I’m gonna be your next President!

---

Scott Adams Explains

---

The other day Scott Adams announced he was voting for Mitt Romney. As he put it, “Yesterday was a fascinating day for me. I wrote a little blog post earlier in the week in which I said President Obama should be fired for putting resources behind medical marijuana prosecutions in California. And then the Internet puked on my shoes.”

Here is part of his response:

The Lesser Evil Argument

Supporters of President Obama argue that firing the President FOR ANY REASON means accepting a devastating alternative in a Romney presidency. While I applaud the complete dismissal of morality in the interest of practicality, let’s take a minute to see if the practicality argument is so cut and dried.

My observation is that voters often – perhaps usually – don’t get what they think they voted for. Nixon surprised everyone by getting cuddly with China. Bush Junior turned from isolationist to military adventurer. Obama went from weed-friendly to badass destroyer of state-approved dispensaries. Some fiscal conservatives have blown up the budget while some free-spending Democrats balanced it. If you think you can predict how a candidate will act in office, you might need a history lesson, or perhaps a booster shot of humility.

Now consider Mitt Romney, the most famous chameleon of all time. I submit that a hypothetical Romney presidency would be nearly impossible to predict with any accuracy. In each of his past leadership roles he has morphed into whatever the job required. During the primaries, his job required him to be far right. In the general election we see him drift toward the center, or as his advisor famously said, “Shake the Etch-a-Sketch.” It would be naïve to assume Romney wouldn’t shake it again once elected, given that even non-chameleon presidents do so.

Romney knows that the electorate is full of idiots and he needs to be a gigantic liar to win their votes. I totally get that. The funniest part is his budget plan that he promises to describe in detail after he gets elected. Dumb people see this as “He has an awesome fiscal plan!” Democrats see it as “He’s a liar with no plan!” I see it as “You know I’m a brilliant and experienced turnaround guy. I know how to do this sort of thing. And if I give details now it just paints a target on my back. So chill.”

In any event, Congress will be the ones who decide on the next budget. It will probably look similar no matter who gets elected. I don’t believe, for example, that a Romney budget would overfund the military. Congress would moderate that, and Romney probably doesn’t mean it anyway. Remember, his job today is to lie to get elected. His job once elected is quite different.

I also have no faith in my ability – or yours – to compare Obamacare (essentially a Romney plan) to how healthcare might change under a Romney administration. If you think you know the answer to that question, you’re kidding yourself.

Some Democrats say the biggest risk in a Romney presidency involves Supreme Court nominees. But I think we saw after the unexpected opinion from Justice Roberts on the Obamacare ruling that the court has a built-in safety net against being too blatantly partisan and destroying its own credibility in the process. I think the risk of a conservative-heavy Supreme Court ruining the country by adhering too slavishly (irony!) to the Constitution is low. You might not like some of their rulings, but they probably won’t kill you. And if we are being objective, a court with too many lefties would have its own risks.

---

That’s a very cynical view of politics, but there is a lot of truth in there.

---

Where Obots Come From

---

And they say science majors are for the smart kids:

Surprise! ‘Undecided’ debate questioner at Tuesday’s debate declares for Obama

In a shocking development, the 20-year-old exercise science major who led off Tuesday’s presidential debate seeking reassurance from the candidates about his job prospects has apparently endorsed President Barack Obama.

The Associated Press reports that Adelphi University student Jeremy Epstein said Wednesday he still clings to the “undecided” label, but would cast his vote for Obama if the election were held today.

Epstein told the AP that he was dazzled when Obama gazed into his eyes.

“I felt like he was saying he wanted a bright future for me, that he was talking about the youth of America,” Epstein said.

Epstein did not correctly recall each candidate’s answer to his probing question, however.

Part of Obama’s response to Epstein’s question involved an unsolicited digression about manufacturing jobs.

“I want to build manufacturing jobs in this country again,” Obama said, before he took credit for saving the American auto industry.

Epstein apparently walked away from the debate thinking that Romney, not Obama, had brought up the manufacturing industry.

“Gov. Romney went into a discussion about manufacturing jobs,” Epstein said, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t think people in college like me are looking for that kind of job right now.”

The transcript of Tuesday’s debate shows that Romney made no mention of manufacturing in his response to Epstein’s question, or in any part of the exchange that followed the question.

---

Nobody under thirty should be allowed to vote.

But wait! There’s more!

Did I say he was a science major? I meant “exercise science.” From Adelphi University:

Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science
Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education, and Sport Management

The Department of Exercise Science, Health Studies, Physical Education and Sports Management offers undergraduate programs which lead to career options in exercise science. Specialized tracks in exercise science include fitness specialization, and pre-physical therapy.

In addition to the University’s General Education requirements, students seeking Exercise Science must complete 41 credits of Exercise Science Foundations, including a three credit practicum; 19 credits of Exercise Science electives and 32 additional elective credits. The Exercise Science Program prepares students for careers in strength and conditioning, exercise leadership and personal training. Many students continue on to their Master’s Degree in Exercise Science. Courses include learning objectives for the American College of Sports Medicine, Health/Fitness Specialist Certification.

---

My prediction:

Three years from now this choomer is gonna be sitting in Zuccotti Park whinging that he can’t get a job to pay off his student loans. (Current tuition and fees at Adelphi is about $30,000 year.)

---

---

Mitt kills at the Al Smith Dinner

---

It turns out that Mitt is a funny guy:

Romney Roasts President Obama, Himself At The Al Smith Dinner

On Thursday night, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney delivered a lighthearted address to the guests at the Alfred Smith Dinner in New York City. During his address, Romney roasted both himself and President Barack Obama with some hard-hitting humor and biting criticisms.

Romney opened by joking that he was glad to be able to attend the white tie function wearing “what Ann and I wear around the house.”

But Romney quickly turned from self-deprecating humor to roasting his opponent. He said he wished President Barack Obama would have bought Vice President Joe Biden with him “because he’ll laugh at anything.”

“Of course we’re down to the final months of the president’s term,” Romney said to applause. “You have to wonder what he’s think. So little time, so much to redistribute.”

“Usually when I get invited to gatherings like this, it’s just to be designated driver,” Romney joked, poking fun at his Mormon faith.

Romney said he spends the debates finding straw men to mercilessly attack. “Big Bird didn’t even see it coming,” Romney said. “In the spirit of sesame Street, the president’s remarks tonight are brought to you by the letter O and the number $16 trillion.”

Romney turned to mocking the media for their occasionally favorable coverage of the president.

“I never suggest the press is biased. They have a job to do and I have a job to do,” said Romney. “My job is to lay out a positive vision for the country, and their job is to make sure nobody finds out about it.”

Romney closed by praising his opponent and showing him a measure of genuine praise.

“We don’t carry the burden of disliking one another,” said Romney, praising Obama’s political talents and love for his family. “In our country, you can oppose someone in politics and make a confident case about their policies without any ill-will. And that’s how it is for me. There’re more to life than politics.”

---

Mitt made me laugh and the Giants are losing 7-1 so you know he was hilarious.

---