UP-FRONT KICK-BUTT OBAMA CAMPAIGN AD NUGGET!!
I almost never post campaign ads -- but this one from the Obama people is short and says what there is to say on the economy.
SHORT & SWEET GOP NUGGET!!
Romney 360 on Egypt and Libya (Andrew Sullivan) from the Daily Beast
"Why is that not as "disgraceful" as the original embassy statement? By his own logic? Or is there no logic here at all? Just shameless say-anythingism to get some kind of news cycle coup. And then lying afterwards."
"Shameless say-anythingism" -- if that isn't the strategy from the Romney team and the GOP generally I don't know what is.
Meet the New Boss (Steven Cook) from Foreign Policy Magazine
"The news may look grim, but the United States is poised to remain the dominant power in the Middle East."
Neocons Slither Back (Maureen Dowd) from the New York Times
"Ryan was moving his mouth, but the voice was the neocon puppet master Dan Senor. The hawkish Romney adviser has been secunded to manage the running mate and graft a Manichaean worldview onto the foreign affairs neophyte. A moral, muscular foreign policy; a disdain for weakness and diplomacy; a duty to invade and bomb Israel’s neighbors; a divine right to pre-emption — it’s all ominously familiar."
As regular readers know, Dowd is not one of my favorite columnists -- but she is very much spot-on today with her assessment of the Romney foreign policy team.
The Foreign Relations Fumbler (Nicholas Kristof) from the New York Times
"After that trip, you’d have thought that on foreign policy, Romney might remember the adage: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Yet with the Middle East exploding in recent days because of a video insulting the Prophet Muhammad, Romney dived in with a statement that hit a trifecta: it was erroneous, inflammatory and offensive."
Don’t Say “Desperate” (John Heilemann) from New York Magazine
"For unlike the posturing and platitudes that constitute the bulk of what occurs on the campaign trail, big external events provide voters with something authentic and valuable: a real-time test of the temperament, character, and instincts of the men who would be commander-in-chief. And when it comes to the past week, the divergence between the resulting report cards could hardly be more stark."
Obama ‘Fear’ Driving Social Conservatives from Politico
"Conservatives attending the conference said they worried about a range of things during a possible Obama II, from implementation of the president’s health care law, and a move to what they saw as more “socialist” policies to the end of the very values — including the protection of life and traditional marriage — that they came to the summit to support."
Challenged on Medicare, G.O.P. Loses Ground (Jackie Calmes) from the New York Times
"... in recent weeks Mr. Obama and his campaign have hit back hard, and enlisted former President Bill Clinton as well, to make the case that the Romney-Ryan approach to Medicare would leave older Americans vulnerable to rising health care costs. Now their counterattack seems to be paying off."
Why Obama's Lead is Even Better News Than You Think (Mark Sumner) from Daily Kos
"But extreme and ultra-extreme Republicans alike got it backwards on both counts, and that's what so exciting. It's not the messenger. It's the message. With apologies to H. L. Mencken, the Republicans are about to go bust by underestimating the intelligence of the American public."
Mitt Romney’s Last-Ditch Strategy: Inflame the Base (Michael Tomasky) from the Daily Beast
"Why is Team Romney slamming Obama's foreign policy as Americans die overseas? Michael Tomasky says they can't win the swing vote, so they're going with Plan B: Rile up the base."
Bingo!
Time To Panic (David Weigel) from Slate
"Obama reversed the Reagan-era ban on aid to international family planning programs. He appointed two pro-abortion rights Supreme Court justices. One in five voters still think the guy’s a Muslim. And he’s winning. Romney-Ryan didn’t get much of a convention bounce, but the president did."
Romney Hits New Low in Libya Remarks (Eugene Robinson) from the Washington Post
"Romney’s belief, apparently, is that such language sounds tough — that the harder he thumps his chest, the stronger he seems. You have to wonder whether he could ever summon the prudence and wisdom to pull back, as Reagan did, when circumstances indicate. You have to wonder whether he realizes that his shoot-from-the-lip attacks, far from projecting strength, sound frantic and weak. You have to wonder whether he knows there are moments when the guiding principle has to be “America first.” Not “me first.”
OUCH!!
Romney's 'Nostalgia' is Ill-Suited to Reality of a Fast-Changing World from Die Zeit [of Germany in English]
"Mitt Romney's candidacy and the world view of his political camp suffer from a fundamental evil that represents a danger for the future: the spirit of nostalgia. ... Compared to this retrograde policy and despite his flaws, Barack Obama embodies an aware, intelligent and engaged America. Unlike four years ago, he is no longer supported by worldwide hopes for his victory, but concerns in the event of his defeat."
Republican Lawmakers Say Romney Campaign Needs to Change Course from The Hill
"The GOP members say Romney must do a better job of communicating to voters what to expect of him, either by making a bold pledge akin to George H.W. Bush’s 1988 “no new taxes” promise or fleshing policy proposals with more details."
Won't happen. Their course is set -- as it has been for most of the last year+. Romney knows that if he gives credible details he'll lose his base -- but if he gives the details the base wants, he'll lose everyone else.
Right Wing Islam Obsession at the Values Voter Summit (Michelle Cottle) from the Daily Beast
"At the conservative Values Voter Summit, speakers invoked the recent violence in Libya to inflame a holy war. Michelle Goldberg on why it would have made the fallen Americans sick."
MO-SEN: Akin, Alone from the National Journal
"Shunned by his party and condemned by critics, an undeterred Todd Akin soldiers on in his increasingly lonely bid for the Senate."
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