Watering Hole: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – The Town Hall Debacle

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Tonight is the second in the 2012 Presidential debates and the format will be the town hall.  Which Romney will show up?  That’s a good question.  There is speculation that Romney will try to show that he “feels our pain” by telling stories of woe from the people that he met somewhere in his life.  Obama needs to share his stories of how people are better off during his presidency.  The President’s message should remain positive and he should speak truth to Romney lies.  President Obama needs to knock Romney off of his game.  This will be challenging because Romney is well practiced at changing the game just to close the deal.

If you have the time to read the many falsehoods spoken by Romney, here is a link to “Romney tells 533 lies in 30 weeks”.  With this many compulsive untruths being told by one person, could this person (Romney) be a pathological liar?

H/T to DailyKos for putting together Romney debating Romney.


This is our Open Thread.  Speak Up!  And if you have a favorite “Romney Lie”, let’s hear it.

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164 thoughts on “Watering Hole: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 – The Town Hall Debacle”

  2. When I first saw the BadLipReading parody of Mitt Romney I thought it was funny.
    Then I watched it over and over and it actually started making sense.
    After several viewings, I realized that it wasn’t parody at all.

    • That’s just one of many. I have a Dollar Store rain slicker that I keep in my car for emergencies and this slicker reminds me of Rmoney’s insult to the Nascar fans.

  6. The President needs to borrow a page from the Veep.
    When WillardRat makes an untrue statement/claim/assertion, the Presdident needs to immediately correct it with facts. Immediately. With Facts.
    Watch Rmoney squirm.

    • RUC his jobs plan, the tax plan that he won’t say what is in it. I put with Dan Senor this morning on my radio going on and on about nuclear Iran but short of starting shooting absolutely refused to say what Rmoney would do differntly.

      • Exactly what the President needs to pillory him with tonight. What would you do differently? Tell us WIllardRat. No, don’t change the subject, don’t blather, tell us.

        • Might say that’s what Lehrer tried last time – but he certainly just let the lies flow and so did Obama

          Same goes with the Obamacare plan – so what would you do differently Willard – you said you’d impose the same provisions (except Grandma gets a voucher and if you don;t have insurance already – you may as well die and reduce the surplus population)….

  10. Ok, I’m going out on a limb here – I think Obama lost the election with the first debate. He had Rmoney in the box with the 47% tape and let him out. Many people tuned in for the first time and the images and sounds of what they saw decided them one way or other. The substance did not matter, the lies did not matter, it never has to the people who will decide this – sorry to say that, but that’s where Americans seem to be.

    Tonight will not change it substantially. Obama will not land a solid blow on Rmoney no matter how hard he tries, he’s too shifty and fake to be impacted by anything.

    • Ah, don’t underestimate the President’s ability to rebound and turn the tables on the weasely challenger.

    • If Obama brings the “campaign Obama”, then he will score a big hit against Romney and further excite the Democratic base. If Obama brings the “President Obama”, he will put the audience to sleep.

  11. Romney nails the “coveted” Ross Perot endorsement.

    In other news, Ross Perot is still alive.

    • So you pay $129.99 for pants that, guaranteed, for sure, will NOT burst into flames, no matter what you say!

      • Nomex isn’t cheap, my friend. You should see what it has done to the price of magic underwear.

  13. So we’re gathering up all the undecideds in one room. Romney should fell right at home with the undecideds. He never makes up his mind either.

  14. My neighbor put a Romney sign on the grass strip our two houses share and Taylor says it looks like it’s on our property. He has another one on his main lawn. I’m thinking I should get an Obama sign and put it right next to his. Is it worth a battle?

    • And by the time the class I’m teaching is over, the pundits will already be spinning…Gonna DVR it…

      • You think that’s sarcasm? No matter how improved Obama is tonight, he’s unlikely to reverse Romney’s momentum. The only possible way for that to happen is for them to reverse their roles from debate #1, and Mitt certainly won’t be sleepwalking.

        Obama better be ready for Mitt’s new lies and not be trying to relitigate the first debate.

  16. On a more cheerful note, the DCCC has added Bachmann to their Red to Blue list, which means they are now convinced it’s winnable and they’re going to dump money on Graves. Which is good news for me because I really can’t make more donations to him. Crazy Shelly has raised a massive war chest because she’s really in a sweat now. A few days ago I heard a reporter from that district say that Bachmann has effectively skated through her previous elections because she never had a strong opponent. Graves is no crazed socialist, but he’s definitely not Batshit.

    • If that bitch will be forced to stay home to attend to the Fabulous Marcus’ needs (ew), then this whole country will be better off.

        • Indeed, he is a Bagle. I’ve enjoyed all the Corgis I’ve met and have several friends who live with Corgis. The sweetest I’ve met were a father/daughter pair of Cardigans and I fell desperately in love with both. Corgis are very high on my list of potential future pals.

          • My youngest loves Corgis as well. I’m not getting it yet, but I haven’t been around many Corgis. Of course, I must stay away from puppies of all kinds. ;)

  21. Some thoughts on tonight’s debate. Many possibilities but I think it will come down to two choices. Either the President will stick to the high ground and provide another mediocre performance, demonstrating he is oblivious to the past two weeks or he will follow the setup he gave Willard last time and surprise the living crap out of the Rmoney machine with a display of erudition and finesse. I lean towards the latter.

    • I’m hoping that Campaign Obama shows up because Obama has a way of engaging the crowd. Romney is a wooden man. His performance at the first debate was the same as Campaign Romney. He leans forward when speaking which appears pushy. The issue with the first debate wasn’t so much that Romney won as it was Obama lost.

    • Romney, et al, like to slam the “Chicago way” which as a born-Chicagoan I find their insults despicable. So maybe Obama needs to led some credence…

  22. President Obama must, and I mean MUST, be prepared and willing to say “that’s not true” and/or “that isn’t what you said last week” when Mittens lies and/or contradicts earlier statements. He can’t leave it for the post debate fact checkers. Mittens lied 27 times in the first debate and Obama let him off the hook. Most people seem to think that Mittens “won” (Though I don’t know how anyone can give the edge to someone they know is lying.). Biden called out R-Ayn in real time and most people gave him the win. The President must, and I mean MUST, call Mittens out in real time.

    And? Yes. Mittens is a pathological liar. He lies so naturally and so often that he doesn’t even seem to realize that he’s doing it. That’s why he leaves it to his staff to walk back his statements on the very rare occasions that he actually tells an uncomfortable truth.

  23. Woo hoo! The government will be giving a whopping 1.7% increase to the 2013 Social Security checks. That doesn’t even cover the cost of filling up my car’s gas tank once/month.

    • I’LL BE GETTING AN EXTRA $14 PER MONTH! YEE HAW! That’s ONE FULL BOTTLE! of decent Pinot Noir, at today’s prices, EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR! “Shittin’ in tall cotton” is what we call that. THANKS, UNCLE SAM! WOO HOO!

      (Forgive the shouting; it’s the excitement, you know)

  24. Glenn Kessler, WaPo’s fact-checker (who isn’t always very factual) goes through the specific Romney campaign claims for job growth and what studies lie behind them:

    “The specifics — 7 million plus 3 million plus 2 million [jobs] — mentioned by Romney in the ad are not in the white paper. So where did that come from? We asked the Romney campaign, and the answer turns out to be: totally different studies … with completely different timelines… For instance, the 3-million-jobs claim for Romney’s energy policies appears largely based on a Citigroup Global Markets study that did not even evaluate Romney’s policies. Instead, the report predicted 2.7 million to 3.6 million jobs would be created over the next eight years, largely because of trends and policies already adopted — including tougher fuel efficiency standards that Romney has criticized and suggested he would reverse.”

    Willard’s a massive, practiced, knowing liar.

  26. On October 2, Obama was given by Nate Silver a 97 percent chance of winning. In just two weeks, his odds have sunk to 65 percent. The now-cast for the popular vote is 50-49 percent in favor of Obama. Two weeks ago, it was 52 – 46.

    The electorate may be fickle, the polls may be sketchy, but Obama’s performance on October 3 could doom a generation of Americans. It was THAT bad.

    • Like I said, if a one debate will swing Obama voters to Romney, Americans are fucking stupid.

      I, for one, refuse to write off Obama.

      • Agreed. It’s been frustrating for the last TWO years to see a lot of liberals railing on Obama, and not helping to celebrate the successes. Yes, he’s compromised more than we may want, but we’re not the ones who view compromise as a dirty word. It’s the other side.

    • Sometimes I’m almost thankful my hearing isn’t what it used to be because I haven’t heard a fat lady sing yet. And, while I may be something of a dreamer, the idea that someone as pathetically lacking in humanity as Willard is can beat a man with the savvy and talent of the President, well, I just am glad I don’t care about unicorns or ponies.

      But that’s just me.

      • Unfrotunately, that’s the basis for my pessimism that the key mistake has already been made. If Obama can’t make the medicare fact and the lie sticks – he loses Florida.

        • It’s much easier to play into peoples emotional fears with a lie than to appeal to their intellectual side with the truth. Which is why negative campaigning is more effective than positive campaigning.

  29. Former SNL’er Victoria Jackson: “If I was raped I would have the baby.”

    I imagine that’s the only way this pig could procreate.

  30. We’re having some high winds today! 35 mph, gusting to 50 mph! I love a good wind storm, cuz it reminds me of being on the coast.

    Except for the patchy clouds, the air is crystal clear. Heavenly…

  31. Good for her but many millions, if not billions, of women disagree. Thankfully it’s extremely unlikely that Vikki will ever have the authority to impose her twisted religious and political ideology on anyone else.

  32. I’m trying to ignore polls and just keep doing what I know is right. As for the debate, I’m almost afraid to look. I hope son isn’t required to watch this one.

  34. btw, Willard is now polling ahead of Obama in Florida. Considering the Medicare/Medicaid position of the GOP, this is simply amazing.

      • Then the Obama campaign failed to knock down that lie by saturating seniors with the truth.

    • The electorate isn’t very bright and will vote against their own best interest.
      Free thinkers are few and far between.
      They’ll learn a difficult lesson if misanthrope-mitt enters 1600.

    • I like scrappyB’s comment.
      I have a gold band with Elvish writing on it. Does that mean I’m Sauron?

    • ” And if you can read Arabic inscriptions on crap 80′s pictures of rings at a distance NASA would love your imaging software.”

      I like that response, too.
      Corsi is an idiot.

    • Corsi is a real treasure, isn’t he? I remain conflicted about whether he (and his acolytes) are stupid enough to believe this twaddle, or if it’s just another way to push his “books.”

    • Best news I’ve heard all day. Fischer is one of the handful of people who would make me dance a merry jig if he contracted excruciating ass cancer.

    • I’m actually looking forward to the reaction on FAUX”News”. I imagine Bill0 will spout something like: “… far left pinhead at CNN wouldn’t let poor Mr. Fischer express his Christian faith”. inSeannity will claim that she hired union thugs to go beat him up and force him to marry a herd of dead bulls.

  38. I finally got a chance to read the opinion section of my local Sunday paper. I haven’t read this paper literally in years, but the crazies in this area never disappoint — and many of them are the same old whackjobs! They still hate all the old things they always hated, but now with extra hatred of the Kenyan Muslim in DC.

    The good thing is, there are more letters than ever by local Dems. It’s good to see them speaking up these days.

    • Oh, like Bush manned up and accepted responsibility for 9/11?

      Funny. In times of national tragedy, we’re supposed to band together. Romney and the Republicans just want to score cheap political shots.

    • I’ll say this: Obama better have a convincing response to the Libya issue. If he waffles on that, and it’s at the start of the debate like it was in the VP one, it’ll go downhill from there.

  41. Can Democratic Education Survive in a Neoliberal Society?

    … Public education is under assault by a host of religious, economic, ideological and political fundamentalists. The most serious attack is being waged by advocates of neoliberalism, whose reform efforts focus narrowly on high-stakes testing, traditional texts and memorization drills. At the heart of this approach is an aggressive attempt to disinvest in public schools, replace them with charter schools, and remove state and federal governments completely from public education in order to allow education to be organized and administered by market-driven forces. Schools would “become simply another corporate asset bundled in credit default swaps,” valuable for their rate of exchange and trade value on the open market. …

    Yeah, that should work. Solve all our problems. Uh huh.

  42. It will be interesting to see if Crowley follows the Repubs requests for how to handle the debate. I noticed that Raddatz didn’t honor the request to call Ryan “Mr.” instead of Congressman. Martha introduced Paul Ryan as Congressman Ryan. Hopefully, Candy will follow Martha’s example.

    • I imagine Candy will want to be equally as good or better than Martha Raddatz, so she’ll avoid going the way of Jim Lehrer.

      Having said that, I’ve always thought Candy was a partisan hack.

  43. Mark Leibovich in the NYT looks at the god-like status Ryan enjoys within the GOP establishment and wonders what it might mean for a Romney presidency:

    “Ryan told me that he envisions a vice presidency in which he oversees a vast portfolio on fiscal and economic issues. He agreed fully with the suggestion — first mentioned to me by one of his advisers — that his assignment could be the fiscal version of the role Dick Cheney played on national security after Sept. 11. “It’s a role where you take your expertise and your value-add and you apply it,” Ryan said during a conversation in which he used the phrase “value-add” three times in a 60-second stretch. “My knowledge is how Congress works, how the budget works. Economic policy. That’s my value-add.” ‘

    The Economic Cheney. Greaaaat.

    • Value-Add = Middle Class-Subtract.

      Obama needs to bring up the whole uber-committee, Ryan voting against compromise, resulting in the ‘fiscal cliff’ that’s got BUSINESS frantically freaking out about the ECONOMY crashing when hundreds of thousands of gummint jobs go POOF.

  44. I am figuring that by 10pm tonight that Lewis was right. “He’s got the whole White House press corps asking each other how to spell erudite!”

    Either that or America is totally fucked.

  45. I finally saw one. A bumper sticker that said “Vote for Jesus”. I wouldn’t have even noticed except that the woman driving was either texting or dialing when she nearly ran me down in the crosswalk. Speaking of which…

    I’m sorely tempted to start carrying a few brass door knobs, about six would suffice, to throw at the morons who think that a “Walk” signal means they should make a right turn without notice of the person (me) who has pushed the damned button to turn on the effing “Walk” signal!!!

    • Given how close many of my brushes with death have been, I’ve seriously considered carrying a nice cane with a big knob, just to see how many tail lights I can take out. Probably should be a sword cane to deal with irate drivers.

  47. Benghazi still remains Obama’s touchiest issue and Willard will not only hammer the president on that issue but he’ll go after Hillary, since she’s claimed responsibility. You can bet if Clinton runs in 2016, this will be repeated — often.

    • Perhaps the Congressional cut of funding for security at said installations, voted for by his running mate should be thrown back in Rmoney’s fug smucking face.

    • Amazing. An issue that cropped up in the final two months of the campaign is the touchiest issue for voters?

    • the thing is, Benghazi is a touchy issue for Mitt as well. Let’s not forget his disgusting press conference while events were still on-going.

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