News Nuggets 1062

DAYLEE PICTURE:  The Landmannalaugar region of Iceland.  From National Geographic.   

UP-FRONT INSIDE-THE-ROMNEY-CAMPAIGN NUGGET!!
Inside the Campaign: How Mitt Romney Stumbled from Politico
"Stevens, bypassing the speechwriting staff at the campaign’s Boston headquarters, assigned the sensitive task of drafting it to Peter Wehner, a veteran of the last three Republican White Houses and one of the party’s smarter wordsmiths. Not a word Wehner wrote was ever spoken. Stevens junked the entire thing, setting off a chaotic, eight-day scramble that would produce an hour of prime-time problems for Romney, including Clint Eastwood’s meandering monologue to an empty chair."
WHO CALLED IT!?!  The GOP convention (especially the final day) smelled half-baked at the time -- and sure enough it was!!

For Russians, at Least Obama Would Be Predictable (Fyodor Lukyanov) from the Gazeta [of Russia in English]
"Romney’s rhetoric is not the expression of a long-held position, but a set of common stereotypes that are not backed by the candidate’s personal beliefs or attitudes. What course he would pursue if elected is therefore impossible to predict. ... There is no arguing that the Democratic president is a lot more flexible and modern than his opponent, so there will be less ideological sloganeering."

Netanyahu's Neocon Gambit (David Remnick) from the New Yorker
"The Israeli Prime Minister has made no secret of his distrust of Obama, but his latest attacks on the President have gone too far…"

Will Obama Win in November? Wide Gap Between Preference and Prediction from the Washington Post
"Nearly six in 10 (59 percent) registered voters in a Post-ABC poll in late August said they thought Obama would win while just 34 percent chose Romney, even as the head-to-head vote in that poll stood at 47 percent for Romney and 46 percent for Obama among registered voters."

The Worst Possible Preparation To Be The President Of The United States from the National Memo
"Do you remember the early days of the GOP primary — when all the non-Romneys were taking their turns humiliating the future nominee of the party? Early November 2011 was Herman Cain’s chance to shame Mitt. In some polls, Cain reached 30 percent, heights that Romney didn’t scale till months later."

Romney’s Character Comes To Light, And It’s Dark Indeed (Cynthia Tucker) from National Memo
Character is a combination of traits that etch the outlines of a life, governing moral choices and infusing personal and professional conduct. It’s an elusive thing, easily cloaked or submerged by the theatrics of a presidential campaign, but unexpected moments can sometimes reveal the fibers from which it is woven. Last week, Mitt Romney had just such a moment."

For Romney, Is Benghazi the New Bain? from the New Yorker
"How the Libya incident showcases qualities that make people doubt him—again."

Mitt Romney’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Campaign (William Galston) from the New Republic
"No developments in the economy or the world can explain this shift. That leaves the campaigns themselves. And during the past two weeks, Romney’s campaign has revealed itself to be stunningly incompetent."

Mitt Romney’s Worst Week Ever: Three Explanations (Francis Wilkinson) from the Bloomberg News Service
"Mitt Romney has been under siege this week, not just from reporters but from some fellow Republicans. His troubles have three main sources. First, the candidate himself. ... "

GOP Activists to Nominee Mitt Romney: Why Aren’t You Beating President Obama? from the Washington Post
"“If Romney loses this election, the party really needs to do some soul-searching.” Their sentiments were echoed in interviews with more than a dozen GOP activists and social conservative leaders who attended the annual gathering focused on social and cultural issues and sponsored by the Family Research Council."

Case in point:
Shut Down the Party? (Jonathan Riehl) from Politico
"Romney is not a successor to any legacy--his father's, Ronald Reagan's, or the movement solidified by great thinkers like William F. Buckley Jr. He is only interested in being a successor to Barack Obama. That is not the kind of mentality that the conservative movement was built on."

Romney Camp Decides: The Economy Isn't Enough (Zeke Miller) from BuzzFeed 
"Mitt Romney’s campaign for president appears to have quietly abandoned its guiding assumption, that the election would center on the struggling economy, and has visibly begun to feel for a new message."
My view: it is too late to improvise a winning strategy.

Virginia Ex-Congressman Could Cost Romney the Election (Patricia Murphy) from the Daily Beast
"In a state that's a must-win for Mitt, a conservative third-party candidate could throw the election to Obama. Former congressman Virgil Goode tells Patricia Murphy why he's running."

MA-SEN: Poll: Warren opens up 6-point lead over Brown in Mass. Senate race (Peter Schroeder) from The Hill
"Elizabeth Warren has opened up a 6-point lead against Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) in their hotly contested senatorial race, according to a new poll."

UNBELIEVABLE EXHIBITIONIST NUGGET!!
What a View! Shock as Visitors Using Restrooms on 18th Floor of Swanky Manhattan Hotel are Visible from the Street from the Daily Mail [of the UK]
"Visitors using the restrooms on the 18th floor of an exclusive New York hotel may get a fantastic view through floor-to-ceiling windows - but passersby can't say the same.  Bathroom users at the Boom Boom Room club at the swanky Standard Hotel in Manhattan are entirely visible to people on the street thanks to the 10-foot windows lining the walls."