MITT'S MORTIFICATION
FRANK BRUNI
NEW YORK TIMES
we need to ask whether we now have an electoral process so vacuous, vicious and just plain silly that most people in their right minds wouldn’t go anywhere near it. It chews up candidates and their families, spits them out and cackles with hyperpartisan glee all the while. Yes, those candidates volunteer for it, but still. The process doesn’t necessarily serve some wondrous purpose of culling the herd and toughening the survivors, as the people invested in it — including those of us in the news media — often like to argue. Romney’s bleeding has plenty to do with his intrinsic shortcomings and his shortsightedness...But I wonder if we’re not seeing the worst possible version of him, and if it isn’t the ugly flower of the process itself. I wonder, too, what the politicians mulling 2016 make of it, and whether, God help us, we’ll be looking at an even worse crop of candidates then.
WHY MITT ROMNEY IS SLIPPING
EDITORIAL
NEW YORK TIMES
To some extent, Mr. Romney’s diminishing stature is because of two recent statements that revealed his deficiencies to a newly interested audience. He falsely suggested that the Obama administration was sympathetic to the violent Muslim protests in Libya and Egypt, illustrating his ignorant and opportunistic critique of foreign policy. And he was caught on video belittling nearly half the country for an overreliance on government handouts. These moments, though, were not fumbles or gaffes. They were entirely consistent with the dismissive attitude Mr. Romney has routinely shown toward non-Americans or the non-rich. Now even long-undecided voters are starting to catch on and dismiss him. ...Mr. Romney is free to pursue this shallow, cavalier campaign for six more weeks, but he shouldn’t be surprised if voters increasingly choose not to pay attention.
ONLY TIME FOR SMALL TALK
DANA MILBANK
WASHINGTON POST
The candidates tell you that this campaign is about big issues. If you believe that, you’re being snookied. Romney doesn’t dabble in messy things such as what precisely he would do in Afghanistan or with the tax code. But he has made time to do interviews with Leno, David Letterman and People magazine in addition to Kelly and Michael. Obama hasn’t held a formal news conference in the White House in more than six months, but he has found places on his calendar for Leno, Letterman, Jimmy Fallon, People, “Entertainment Tonight” and, of course, “The View.” In this “Jersey Shore” culture, it’s perhaps inevitable that candidates would try to reach voters by chatting about the banal and the prurient. But this doesn’t make it any less depressing.
THE BUBBLE CANDIDATE
JENNIFER GRANHOLM
POLITICO
...Presidents are isolated too. But the difference is this: all of Mitt Romney’s life has been in the bubble. He was born into privilege and he never left it (even his Mormon mission experience took him not to Ethiopia, Belize or Mumbai but to France). By contrast, President Obama was born to a single mother on food stamps. He knows what it’s like to be poor and to know struggling people. The president’s privilege is recent; Mitt Romney’s is life-long. The thick privilege bubble wrap around Romney means that he must work that much harder to come into contact with the real world. He bears the “special burden” of wealth, and laudably generous donations to church don’t create that contact. Romney’s 47 percent comment was not intentionally malevolent; rather, his remarks simply reflect honest and profound ignorance of the daily lives of most people.
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It looks like Scarborough spent the weekend practicing up on his obnoxiousness. Practice makes perfect y'know. Thank goodness for being able to fast forward through ScaryBro on the internet because when he's in full toxic mode, he just wants to infect the nation with his disease.
Heard middle class breaking for Romney!!!!
The middle class is unherding toward Romney.
Joe is a ranting beast. That being said, why the focus on foreign policy? Obama's not going to lose on that. Not against Romney. What is more, is Romney's campaign improving by taking Obama's comments and harping on them? That's what they've been doing since March. "Bumps in the road" "You didn't build that" "The private sector is doing fine". Romney has no message of his own, and is not looking to develop one. They're hoping for Obama to make comments like "47 percent" and let that be their campaign. They must not realize that Ohio is voting all ready.
Imagine the President not particularly wanting to do interviews with corporate gotcha bobbleheads who only want to publicize themselves. Imagine not wanting to meet with folks like GOP'er Chuck Todd who thinks Presidents have a "genetic disorder." ...........Morning Joe is generically toxic and revolting, and that is not a fantasy. .Congrats to Willie Geist for his impending escape from the generic toxicity of Morning Joe.
IMO ... Scarborough is a nut job. End of story. He's about a tad shy of full wack.
Clinton:
"Of the 33 countries in OECD, the group of wealthier nations, only Chile and Mexico take a smaller % of their income in taxes than we do." He also pointed out that our 15% capital gains tax rate is much lower than any other advanced society. He also said the global corporate tax rate has dropped to about a 25% or 26% rate and that we need to "be around there" to be competitive. He seemed to advocate lowering the rates and expanding the tax base. ...
sebastian-6813491
I watch Morning Joe to hear all the interesting and intelligent guests. I am amazed that these people continue to come on knowing that most of their time on camera will be taken up by Joe Scarborough making jokes and being silly, repeating himself to be sure he makes his point, refering to the days he was in congress or just dominating the conversation to keep others from expressing their ideas. If others don't agree or point out the flaws in what he is saying he talks over them or if all else fails he pouts.
I have resorted to using the mute button whenever he is talking which I have noticed is way too much of the time. I would love to see an open give and take of ideas instead to each guest waiting and waiting til he finishes to even respond to a question.
Joe was especially obnoxious today. He should be made to watch the shows. I can't imagine he would continue this childish behavior if he actually saw how he comes across to viewers.
It was surprising that Tony Blair's comments regarding balancing negative information with positive information to create a fuller equation didn't set the panelists and hosts heads spinning on Morning Schmuck. Corporate political cable media is primarily a rich troupe of pot stirrers, not objectivists. They don't do balance. They tend to jump in the gotcha swamp, with goggles and snorkels where they appear to be comfy, as they croak like frogs. Ribbit! They're rhetorical swamp frogs with goggles and snorkels, who don't need flippers because their feet are allready webbed.
MSNBC ...... hosts ...... almost to a person tend to be dynamically untalented.
The fact that Joe Scarborough is unwilling to or does not have the courage to tell the truth about the third fake tea Party, is a testament to his delusional thinking! These are not Conservative Americans anymore, their not Republicans! Republicans threw the John Birch Society out! Tea Party welcomes them! That tells you, without a doubt, that they are a racist group of extremists! These are Fascists, not American at all! Joe's attitude lends these boils, credibility, where nothing but ridicule and distain is in order!
Joe, you lost your heart, soul and mind!
You have discredited yourself, embarrassing yourself in public and this makes your opinion discredited!
You now are in the Hannity and Colmes catagory!
A shame, you elected to knowingly go that way!
The truth is that these extremist policies, won't work, have never ever worked and would be bad for America! Yet you do everything to fight for them?
Why?
Please invite me onto your show if you dare to call your show a true "dialog" and not just a personal propaganda show with a blond script girl !
Scared? You should be! Like all the Fox pundits you live in a delusional World. Do you really believe the manure or only do it for a buck?