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Start your engines: Will we have a better choice of drivers in 2012?

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The Perfect World >> Politics >> Start your engines: Will we have a better choice of drivers in 2012?

Start your engines: Will we have a better choice of drivers in 2012?

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Nicholas Kronos -- Monday, January 31, 2011 -- 05:44:24 PM

The 2012 presidential campaign--you know it's coming and starting already. Will anyone run we can actually be excited about?

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CalGal -- Monday, April 16, 2012 -- 11:21:08 PM -- 2402 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

Did I miss the party affiliation? What was the percent for each?

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Pincher Martin -- Monday, April 16, 2012 -- 11:48:32 PM -- 2403 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

I didn't look, but Allahpundit says neither poll includes a party breakdown of respondents. He did point out that CNN's poll says that 14% of Tea Partiers will vote for Obama -- which he thinks (and I agree) is hard to believe.

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Pincher Martin -- Tuesday, April 17, 2012 -- 06:24:03 PM -- 2404 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

Ramesh Ponnuru: Romney should ignore "Gender Gap" mythology

...what’s mystifying is just which women Republicans are trying to reach. The number of voters who are deeply concerned about the treatment of Democratic women in the White House and will vote for a Republican as a result has to be, as a rough approximation, zero. Ditto for the number of voters who are especially concerned about high gas prices not because they themselves are paying them or because everyone is but because women, as a group, are. I suspect that not many people think that way, and those who do lean pretty strongly Democratic.

The evidence that Romney is lagging in the polls because voters are upset about a “war on women” -- rather than because of a bruisingly negative primary campaign or the recovering economy -- is pretty thin. But Republicans are responding not just to the polls but to the persistent mythology of the gender gap.

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post recently fell prey to this conventional wisdom, writing that “the GOP has suffered from a gender gap in every presidential election since 1980.” Suffered? Of the eight presidential elections from 1980 to 2008, Republicans won five (four if you exclude 2000). Republicans carried women, albeit narrowly, three times; Democrats carried men twice. Republicans can lose even while winning men, as in 1996. Democrats can lose while winning women, as in 2004.

The evidence suggests that women are more inclined than men to vote for Democrats, but this gap doesn’t consistently help either party. It isn’t the case that the larger the gender gap, the worse Republicans do. Republicans did seven points better among men than women in 2004, when they won. They did five points better in 2008, when they lost.

Obama barely won men in 2008. If this race is at all competitive, he will lose them this time. And that’s not all we can predict. Romney will win among large subgroups of women: those who are married, those who are white, those who go to church regularly. Gender isn’t the principal determinant of women’s votes any more than it is of men’s.

And making an issue of the statistics about job loss by gender will come back to haunt Republicans. Romney claims that 92 percent of those lost since Obama took office belonged to women. Does he have any plan, as president, to ensure that women get the right percentage of jobs? Does he realize that cuts in aid to state governments -- like the Medicaid cuts that are an important part of his agenda -- would inflict disproportionate job losses on women?

I agree with parts of this analysis. McCain closed the gender gap in 2008 when compared to what Bush narrowly won with in 2004 and 2000, but the Arizona senator did it by losing a larger percentage of male voters than he lost in female voters. That's not how Republicans should want to close the gender gap.

But presumably a campaign tries to work on the margins by exploiting the best potential areas for winning the most votes. I appreciate that Ponnuru believes such a thing can't be done with women. But his reasons for such a belief should mean he doesn't think it worthwhile to target any group.

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Pincher Martin -- Tuesday, April 17, 2012 -- 11:17:29 PM -- 2405 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

Romney hire means shift on Hispanics

Mitt Romney’s hiring of Republican strategist Ed Gillespie is being seen as a sign the campaign will heavily court Hispanic voters — perhaps at the expense of immigration hard-liners in the party.

Gillespie, a former head of the Republican National Committee, has long advocated an aggressive outreach to the Hispanic community. He helped found the Republican State Leadership Committee, a group that recruits and trains GOP candidates for office and has emphasized finding female and minority candidates. He also heads up Resurgent Republic, an organization focused on messaging to independents, including Hispanic swing voters.

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CalGal -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 12:09:12 AM -- 2406 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

See, I don't think he is doing this to catch independents. It doesn't make sense. This has to be coming from within the Republican party.

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 12:16:33 AM -- 2407 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

I think most of what's done in politics is done because a few semi-smart guys think they're more clever than they really are and manage to convince a lot of other guys to pay for their services that are largely a waste of money.

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 12:22:20 AM -- 2408 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

One of the nice things about not liking a candidate you plan on voting for is that you feel completely free to smack him down the moment he gets into office and starts doing things you don't like. It's very liberating.

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 06:57:42 AM -- 2409 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

Ah, there's nothing like a campaign battle over ideas.

Battle of the Dog Abusers.

“So what? It was a long time ago,” you say. “He was a lot younger. Customs are different there. He was just doing what his stepfather told him. And hey, you can’t even prove that the dogs were ever left on top of a car, you racist.”

Hey, whatever you have to tell yourself, libs. Say what you want about Romney, but at least he only put a dog on the roof of his car, not the roof of his mouth. And whenever you bring up the one, we’re going to bring up the other.

It’s no fun when we push back, is it? That’s why it’s so much fun.

Update: I know the Secret Service has a lot to deal with right now, but are they protecting Bo? From Obama, I mean.

At least Romney is now inoculated from the charge he abused his dog a few decades ago during a family vacation by putting it on the roof of his car.

Sheesh. I usually enjoy campaigns, but this November can't come fast enough for me.

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 07:21:26 AM -- 2410 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

Ace's comment?

Dogs Are For Petting

Not for appetizers.

In big bold font. Preceded by "How could you, Mr. President? How could you?"

Hahahaha!

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 07:48:41 AM -- 2411 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

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theDiva -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 04:50:35 PM -- 2412 of 2421

snort

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MsIt -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 06:22:20 PM -- 2413 of 2421

For all that the pundits have been pushing the 9 point lead for Obama over Romney in the latest CNN poll, a new poll by CBS/NYT has come out with a much gloomier picture for the Resident in Chief. Obama vs Romney: A tie

In fact, RCP has put the most recent poll results in a nice neat table.

The RCP table of polls

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Pincher Martin -- Wednesday, April 18, 2012 -- 07:04:56 PM -- 2414 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

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CalGal -- Thursday, April 19, 2012 -- 02:41:37 PM -- 2415 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

The advantage of a double vanilla ticket

Michael Barone thinks Mitt should select another white guy.

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CalGal -- Tuesday, April 24, 2012 -- 07:13:22 AM -- 2416 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

Romney starts off in a tight race in good shape, says Charlie Cook.

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Kteemac -- Friday, April 27, 2012 -- 03:36:40 PM -- 2417 of 2421

Idiocy married to ingratitude is such a mesmerizing combination. - James Lileks

Romney Hires Santorum Campaign Manager to Direct Conservative Voter Outreach/Organization Efforts

A good move, I think.

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GregD -- Monday, April 30, 2012 -- 05:17:19 PM -- 2418 of 2421

After the power to choose a man wants the power to erase. --Stephen Dunn

"Etch-a-Sketch" genius Eric Fehrnstrom: The auto bailouts? Totally all Romney's idea.

One of Mitt Romney's top advisers said Saturday that President Obama's decision to bailout Chrysler and General Motors was actually Romney's idea.
"[Romney's] position on the bailout was exactly what President Obama followed. I know it infuriates them to hear that," Eric Fehrnstrom, senior adviser to the Romney campaign, said.
"The only economic success that President Obama has had is because he followed Mitt Romney's advice."

Waiting for the bailouts to become the bestest thing ever among the GOP in 3, 2, 1...

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Pincher Martin -- Monday, April 30, 2012 -- 08:18:42 PM -- 2419 of 2421

"There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” -- Edward Abbey

Shouldn't this thread be retired and a new thread started up on the upcoming general election?

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CalGal -- Monday, April 30, 2012 -- 08:55:06 PM -- 2420 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

Yes.

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CalGal -- Wednesday, May 02, 2012 -- 02:30:30 PM -- 2421 of 2421

I remember a time, back in the late 90s, when I thought nonsense like this mattered somewhat more than I do now. Now I see well-educated people yammering about the birth control choices of their daughters, or gay marriage, and I think they are morons.

So is someone going to create the thread?

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The Perfect World >> Politics >> Start your engines: Will we have a better choice of drivers in 2012?

Folders: A Sense of Place · Blogosphere · Chat · Competitive Sports · Current Events · Domestic Sphere · Family · Finance, Careers, & Education · Games & Goofiness · Geek Subjects · Global Policy · Health & Fitness · Literature & The Arts · Marketplace · Meta-Forum · Mostly Christmas · Movies · Politics · Social Policy · TPW Archives · TV Talk · Values & Beliefs