What’s Hot/What’s Not: 10/07/12
What’s Hot:
The Great Debate – Well…the great debate until the next great debate on Thursday anyways…
FNC’s Debate Numbers – Big, big, big…
Chris Matthews melts down – I guess he didn’t like Obama’s debate performance, eh?
George Zimmerman to sue NBC News – Does he have a case?
What’s Not:
Nothing made the cut this week…
…though I was tempted to put ICN’s piss poor blogging this week on the list…
Inside Cable News 
October 7, 2012 at 9:00 pm
It was an unusually cool week.
October 8, 2012 at 7:03 am
Those Fox News/debate numbers were, to me, stunning. Only ABC outdrew FNC.
A late “Not Hot” entry: MSNBC’s debate numbers were behind CNN’s.
Ailes may be a crank but he knows when to throttle back on the ideology. Griffin seems to have no idea when to turn things down.
October 8, 2012 at 2:31 pm
To the morons and idiots on this blog that were all but writing off Romney with glee two week’s ago that I got so fed up with their BS, I give you CNN:
BREAKING: ROMNEY LEADS OBAMA 49% – 45% IN NEW PEW POLL… “Mitt Romney no longer trails Barack Obama in the Pew Research Center’s presidential election polling,” Andrew Kohut, president of Pew Research Center writes. “Romney has drawn even with Obama in the presidential race among registered voters (46% to 46%) after trailing by nine points (42% to 51%) in September. Among likely voters, Romney holds a slight 49% to 45% edge over Obama. He trailed by eight points among likely voters last month.”
WHY? “By about three-to-one, voters say Romney did a better job than Obama in the Oct. 3 debate, and the Republican is now better regarded on most personal dimensions and on most issues than he was in September. Romney is seen as the candidate who has new ideas and is viewed as better able than Obama to improve the jobs situation and reduce the budget deficit. Fully 66% of registered voters say Romney did the better job in last Wednesday’s debate, compared with just 20% who say Obama did better,” Kohut explains.
LOL ——— say it ain’t so, Joe ——– LOL
October 8, 2012 at 2:40 pm
@LukeRussert If this becomes a trend team O is in trouble. RT: @amyewalter: Women driving Romney surge in Pew Poll . Romney went from -18 to tied.
War on Women. Bite me.
October 8, 2012 at 2:51 pm
I may be an idiot or a moron – can I be both or do I have to choose? – but I’ve said that this will come down to the wire.
I really can’t see either candidate breaking out.
You have to think that Obama won’t perform as badly in the next debate. And I think he’s got a better hand on foreign policy than Romney does. At least in terms of popularity and what the public wants. Which is pretty much to “come home.”
In any case, no one saw Romney wiping the floor with Obama in that debate. Romney doing well? Yeah. But Obama not showing up? Nope.
October 8, 2012 at 3:12 pm
“To the morons and idiots on this blog that were all but writing off Romney with glee two week’s ago that I got so fed up with their BS,”
^^Well i guess you told us.
Now that your saying the race is all over and Romney has won, what happens if next week Romney makes a big gaffe and the situation changes to Obama’s favor.
Do we get to call you a moron and idiot? I sure hope so. 😉
October 8, 2012 at 3:13 pm
That debate was bizarre. The voters saw one man who’s only clear goal for wanting the job is “to be president”, and willing to say anything to get there vs. a man who seems tired of it.
This may go down as the most influential debate in presidential campaign history, and it won’t be remembered for Romney’s win. If Obama loses re-election, historians will point toward the night he seemed to be telling the voters to move on.
October 8, 2012 at 3:31 pm
I’ve always said it is hard to beat Obama, and I still feel that way. The race will go down to the wire. Just don’t be writing my candidate off.
October 8, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Romney presented himself as viable alternative to Obama. After nearly a year of being demonized by the Obama campaign that was critical.
He’s not a monster. He can fill the role of the presidency.
At this point, if liberals continue to think they can demonize him, they’re going to be mistaken. That game is over.
Need to beat his ideas.
Problem for you is you have man who doesn’t have any. As I’ve said repeatedly here, nobody knows what Obama wants to do with a second term.
Probably not even Obama.
October 8, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Obama has a bigger problem than he did last week. After the initial shock at how well Romney did, the country now seems to be solidifying around the fact that the President of the United States appeared to have an emotional breakdown in front of 60 million people. While leading in the polls.
October 8, 2012 at 5:23 pm
That’s going a bit far, don’t you think? I wouldn’t go overboard. Obama still has a lot going for him people like. Even me. Though I bitch a lot.
October 8, 2012 at 5:35 pm
It doesn’t mean he’s gauranteed to lose the election, but you gotta admit, he looked awfully tired and depressed. The impression left was so striking that I’m not convinced better debate performances can erase it.
October 8, 2012 at 5:59 pm
So I guess Larry decided not to buy into the poll trutherism like the rest of the conservatives out there.
When in doubt, only cite the polls when they favor Romney, ignore when they don’t.
October 8, 2012 at 6:01 pm
Nope. Polls go up. Polls go down.
October 8, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Basically Romney got back what Obama gained from the conventions. It’s a tie race.
October 8, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Emotional breakdown? Geez, he had an off night
Reagan was awful (if I recall my history) against Mondale in his first debate. Bush stunk against Kerry. Gore against Bush. Bush, Sr. was checking his watch and looked bored.
Larry can fill us in on the first Lincoln/Douglas debate.
It happens.
October 8, 2012 at 6:21 pm
I will roll the dice with this one, though: If Romney dominates somewhat close to what he did in the first debate this election may be over.
Those undecided voters will swarm to him. He could sleepwalk through the third debate.
If, if, if……
October 8, 2012 at 6:31 pm
Reagan looked like a senile old man in the first debate, and the only thing that saved him was…he was Ronald Reagan. Two things have happened since then: He again appeared out of it during Iran-Contra, and later developed Alzheimer’s. Coming back from a really bad debate isn’t easily joked away anymore..
October 8, 2012 at 7:36 pm
So, basically if he lies about everything and flips on every single idea he has proposed (prior to the debate), he wins the election and we have no idea what specifics he’s going to govern on.
Yeah, Romney’s a great Republican. Let’s see how that works for him when he has to actually make decisions.
October 8, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Lincoln didn’t wear markup in the first debate, and it made him look like he hadn’t shaved. At least that’s what the telegraph people reported.
October 8, 2012 at 7:44 pm
L&J posted this elsewhere. It’s a disturbing read if you’re a Democrat.
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/did-obama-just-throw-the-entire-election-away.html
October 8, 2012 at 8:35 pm
Clint Eastwood is looking pretty damn prescient, now.
October 8, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Chris Christie, too..
October 9, 2012 at 6:50 am
It looks like Romney has finally rebooted his campaign just as predicted many times over the past month. the new touchy/feely Romney campaign will jettison ‘Tea Party Mitt’ in favor of ‘Uncle Mitty’ the moderate you always knew Romney was, hidden behind that “severely conservitive” exterior. How this will play with the far right we will have to see. Over to you Rush.
For me this is this new Romney is closer to the real Romney a rich, out of touch, socially moderate businessman; whose real philosophy was best expressed in that 47% speech.
here’s the link – if it works.
http://www.huffpost.com./?countryUS
October 9, 2012 at 6:51 am
I hate links.
http://www.huffpost.com/?countryUS
October 9, 2012 at 6:57 am
I prefer patties myself.
If only the voters were as smart as Fritz, they wouldn’t get fooled. Maybe voter registration is just too easy.
October 9, 2012 at 6:58 am
^^ I give up. ;-(
The article is on Politico and called “Inside the Campaign; the Romney Rebellion. It’s a really good read.
October 9, 2012 at 6:58 am
If we’re going to be surprised that a candidate in an election moved towards their “far” base for the nomination and early campaigning, and then to the middle for the debates and general election… well, then I’d like to introduce you to every other candidate ever, first.
October 9, 2012 at 6:59 am
To all Obama fans. Remember first rule of THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE UNIVERSE: Do Not Panic!
October 9, 2012 at 7:31 am
“If we’re going to be surprised that a candidate in an election moved towards their “far” base for the nomination and early campaigning, and then to the middle for the debates and general election…”
^^Blue I agree but the primaries ended in the spring and we are now very late in the campaign for a complete strategy overhaul. If this had happened in June it would have been a better fit.
But as I said this is probably closer to the real Romney than the far right ideologue he’s been playing for the last year. I would be a bit concerned though about having his family run his campaign.
October 9, 2012 at 7:43 am
You folks on the left are making the same mistake that the right did with Obama (and the left did with Reagan, et cetera).
You’re trying to portray Romney as some radical ideologue and extremist. Then when he shows up in debates and doesn’t come across as some monster you don’t know how to respond.
But now you want to say he’s a liar since the monster characterization won’t succeed.
The right did this four years ago and againg during much of the past four years. When Obama didn’t come across as some sort of a Marxist Muslim they said he was lying too.
It doesn’t work.
But you’ll still try.
October 9, 2012 at 7:44 am
This is just sad. Journos on Twitter are barely hiding contempt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxs09eV-Vc&feature=youtu.be
October 9, 2012 at 7:57 am
Erich,if your talking about me, then your wrong; I never felt Romney was an ‘radical ideologue’. I always thought he was a Mass. moderate who was pretending to be a far righter just because that is what he had to do to get elected. The only consistent thing about Romney is he will do or say anything to achieve his goal.
As to his actual beliefs I have my views, but who knows. He could be a moderate,a conservitive or some combination of the two. We won’t know for sure until after he gets elected – if that ever happens.
October 9, 2012 at 8:00 am
This is just sad. Journos on Twitter are barely hiding contempt.
^^ But it is funny. BTW What ‘jurnos’ are citing? Any MSM among them?
October 9, 2012 at 8:06 am
Karen Tumulty, Terry Moran and Dave Weigel (who I know little about, politically or otherwise).
October 9, 2012 at 8:11 am
^^Thanks laura.
October 9, 2012 at 8:15 am
Fritz: I’m talking about the Obama campaign and many of the folks on your side of the aisle.
It’s like the old saying about generals fighting the last war. Both sides continue to try to portray the other as out of the mainstream. Then, when the candidate shows up and doesn’t come across as extreme, they claim that he’s lying. They have no other response.
Examples: Reagan, Obama and now Romney.
Obama’s problem is the gap between what he promised and his results. Along with his failure to tell us what he’ll do if he’s re-elected.
I still think he’ll win this. The electoral map favors him. But relying on attacking Romney, at this point, isn’t, I think, going to work.
October 9, 2012 at 8:21 am
What kind of coward would hide behind a muppet?
October 9, 2012 at 8:25 am
“they claim that he’s lying”.
^^ That’s true I suppose. He just disavows policies that he’s had for months and says he never had those policies in the first place. With Romney that’s not lying; it’s just realigning his polices to fit the audience. 😉
October 9, 2012 at 8:29 am
@ fritz
We could debate when he should have started his move to the middle… but I’m not sure what purpose that would serve.
As for the Big Bird/Obama Ad, team Romney has already responded… with an ad featuring “The Count.” It references the number of times Obama has talked about Big Bird in recent campaign stops, and compares that to the number of times he’s referenced the economy, Lybia, etc. (It may be very new, I can’t find a link to it yet.)
October 9, 2012 at 8:36 am
Found it!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-big-bird-ad-campaign-attack-video-114656065–election.html
October 9, 2012 at 9:23 am
Lots of numbers. All skewed, no doubt..
http://politicalwire.com/
October 9, 2012 at 10:01 am
“As for the Big Bird/Obama Ad, team Romney has already responded… with an ad featuring “The Count.” It references the number of times Obama has talked about Big Bird in recent campaign stops, and compares that to the number of times he’s referenced the economy, Lybia, etc.”
^^The big bird ad is scheduled for only comedy shows and late night – and all the free media it can garner (a lot it seems). That looks like a smart move by the Obama campaign.
I’m not sure i agree with the Romney campaign move of taking it seriously and responding; unless they think it’s having a big effect. Responding just keeps the ad playing on free media; which is what the Obama campaign was probably looking for in the first place.
I think Romney should just say ‘good one’ and move on..
October 9, 2012 at 10:04 am
“Lots of numbers. All skewed, no doubt..”
^^ Isn’t it funny how Rush ,Hannity and all have stopped sceaming about the polls being rigged? I guess when you like the results they aren’t so bad after all. 🙂
October 9, 2012 at 11:15 am
Romney just told a story on the campaign trail about meeting one of the Benghazi Seals a few years ago, and choked up for a second. The Seal’s family has confirmed the story.
October 9, 2012 at 11:43 am
@ fritz
That’s a catch-22, and you know it.
If Romney addresses the ad, he’s only doing it because he’s scared. If he doesn’t address it, he’s avoiding the issue because he’s scared.
Yawn.
October 9, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Seems like old news, doesn’t it?
@politicalwire
Report says Obama ignored top aides on debate preparation and actually thought he won the contest coming off stage… http://pwire.at/VWBNbM
October 9, 2012 at 12:58 pm
^ That’s delusional.
October 9, 2012 at 2:08 pm
“If Romney addresses the ad, he’s only doing it because he’s scared. If he doesn’t address it, he’s avoiding the issue because he’s scared.”
That’s not what I said. I’ll repeat it so you can understand.
IMHO responding to the ad means it may be having an effect and they need to combat that effect; whatever it may be. He’s scared if that’s how you want to phrase it.
Not responding says it’s not having any effect and they don’t care if the Obama campaign runs with it. Not running a response would show strength ; ie he’s not scared.
Yawn.
October 9, 2012 at 2:15 pm
@ fritz
I disagree. I think had they not responded, the anti-Romney folks would have taken that too as a positive.
It’s called, playing politics. This isn’t your first day here, is it?
October 9, 2012 at 3:31 pm
“This isn’t your first day here, is it?”
^^ Leave the snark for Larry; he’s better at it.
Your thing is endless repetition of your point/points.
We disagree on this. It won’t be the last time.