Associated Press
National Journal reports this morning that, as far as political developments are concerned, the final week of the 2012 election cycle has been awfully good for the incumbent.
Friday's employment report brought more good news to President Obama in what has already been a solid final week of campaigning for the incumbent.
Earlier this week, Obama was praised by New Jersey's outspoken -- and Republican -- Gov. Chris Christie for his handling of the recovery from Hurricane Sandy after it ravaged parts of the East Coast. He also got a surprise endorsement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. On Friday, the final major piece of economic data released during the campaign showed signs that the economy was moving forward rather than retreating.
It's not the sort of week a president can plan for, exactly. Indeed, if you look at all of the positive developments, each one was something Obama had very little control over -- bipartisan praise for crisis management; unexpected endorsement from one the nation's highest-profile independents; stronger-than-expected job creation; and an opponent dogged by reports he shamelessly lied about Jeep production.
Plouffe and Axelrod couldn't have written this script, but all things being equal, I suspect they're pleased the final full week of the race is playing out this way.
Ezra Klein added, "The result of all this is that the Obama campaign -- and their turnout operation -- heads into election day buoyed by good news, good headlines, and good luck.... Both campaigns have had their good weeks and their bad weeks, of course, but in a race that's this close, having the final good week of the campaign might actually matter."
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Well, since the right wing really believes in messages from God, this is a pretty clear one that he wants Obama to be re-elected.
And the fact that rural (read: Republican) areas were hard-hit by the storm, meaning a lower vote turnout, god has definitely let the snake-handlers know that he's soooooo over them
Nice try, but you're either being wishful, naive, or inexperienced with circular reasoning.
When there is a natural disaster that affects (or can be spun as affecting) the people that God's Fan Club has decided God doesn't like, it's proof that God doesn't like them.
When there is a natural disaster that affects (and can't be spun as not affecting) the people that God's Fan Club has decided are on God's team, it's proof that God wants them to try harder.
So a tornado hitting a strip club or an earthquake in San Francisco is proof of God's Judgement upon them.
But a tornado hitting a church or an earthquake in some Godly area is a call from God for the faithful to chip in, rededicate themselves to God's service, repent, and get out there and work harder against strippers and gays.
It's easy when you cook the books.
Remember when folks were (prematurely) deeming it "Obama's Katrina"?
Oh, Fox News. You'd be funny if you weren't so dangerous.
It is. Maybe not in the way they meant, of course, but Katrina could have been a major accomplishment for the Bush Administration -- something to be proud of instead of a major embarrassment.
Point well-taken, D.C. The word "Katrina" doesn't *need* to have negative connotations, though I'm assuming the Fox-Newsers intended it that way.
Related note: How terrific is it that the chief (if not only) critic of Obama's handling of Sandy has been Michael "Brownie / Heckuva Job" Brown? What's next? Tom DeLay on corruption?
"It's not the sort of week a president can plan for, exactly."
That's not how the FAUX NOOZ crowd is going to spin it! Remember that last BLS report that came out, wasn't it that petulant Jack Welsh that said "the books were cooked" by this Administration....
This is the calm before the GOTP starts saying "everybody freak out" oh the horror of it all!
Ending the campaign on a high note
He's high alright..........pass it along Obama....
Again Jealous much?
Jealous of?? Being high? Nope
Right because you have a steady supply of methane that you breathe 24/7/365 from where you planted your head. Leave it to a Mitt wit to try to end it on a low note.
What's the weather like there on your planet, in your alternate universe, idiot boy?
Maybe , just maybe , truth will win out.
all I want to hear is ."..I've got a lot of political capital and I'm going to spend it " /snark
I am almost tempted to do a spoof Heeeessss Baaaaack ! and place it next to the NObama signs Nov 7th
Am I missing something? I don't see 'Valdemort' Scott FL Gov on your 'Battleground States map...
The man had a lot of hope:
he is Black and his name is Barack Hussein Obama and yet he saw no impediments to running for the highest office.
If he wins it will be apparent that he also has a lot of luck:
his first opponent, McCain picked a vice president nominee that frightened the BeeJubus out of everyone - an unforced error on his part.
his current opponent tried one last ditch cynical lie that has blown up in his face and a once in a lifetime storm gave him a platform to show that he is also very capable.
Personally I'll take a capable lucky leader everytime.
President Obama has his firewall states.
The Republican Party has its own firewalls:
1. Voter suppression and intimidation.
2. Electronic Voting Machines that flip faster than Trump's wig in the wind.
3. Contesting elections via the courts, for The SCOTUS win.
4. If they can eke out a tie -for The House win.
5. And if they lose - secession and/or rebellion.
I kinda don't mind if the last one happens. 'On the way out - don't let the door hitcha, where the Mason-Dixon line splitcha!'
Oh, @!$%#, I'm feeling optimistic. Never a good sign . . .
Beautiful day,...probably rain.
-Eeyore
Stop! You're both making me laugh and be optimistic at the same time! I mean, you two agreeing is worth waiting for.
Hey . . . Rob's my buddy. He's one of the few conservatives I know that seems to have his own thoughts instead of just Fox talking points.
And it's really fun proving him wrong!!
Idea people...how about we donate a dollar per word on here to the Red Cross for all these poor people in the North East that have gone through this devastation? Time to come together!!
Or, just go ahead and donate! No need to get all "Trump" about it. :)
Text 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross. I have.
http://www.redcross.org/support/donating-fundraising/donations/text-messaging
Cute, June. Things can be deadly serious but a good positive sense of humor is an underrated asset. Thanks.
I have as well. Important thing to do right now.
Thanks for the shout-out @ RobDon. :)
Love the Prez' amazing energy! Just watched his Hilliard, OH campaign rally and those folks were FIRED UP -- not least of all, the Prez! He artfully called Romney out for the con man he is -- all the Prez had to do was say a few words, and the crowd filled in the rest :)
By contrast, once CSPAN finished its coverage of the Prez greeting supporters after his remarks, I briefly tuned into Romney's rally. Total downer to go from "fired up!" to something that had the feeling of the audience having just found out they'd been snookered into attending a time-share sales pitch.
Four more days to four more years -- GOBAMA!
A bit off point maybe....But is it possible that Jeep or its shareholders could sue Romney/Ryan over their lies ("business disparagement") about Jeep's alleged intent to move jobs to China? This garbage has got to stop!
They should fire back with the crap that Willard/Bain pulled with Delphi. The UAW is trying, but it doesn't seem to be making much MSM news, as usual. I'm not going to post links, just "google" if you're interested. There are several sources about it.
I just hope they really go after his butt. He's gotten away with far too much in his "business" career of lies.
Yeah, I was wondering the same, especially since Chrysler had to respond to the worries of its labor force. Romney's misinformation could have started some serious unrest on the factory floor, if the auto workers became angry enough.
Yeah, I was wondering the same, especially since Chrysler had to respond to the worries of its labor force. Romney's misinformation could have started some serious unrest on the factory floor, if the auto workers became angry enough.
Jeep can sue for untruths, but unless it's costing them business, it wouldn't be practical to do so.
At any rate, I think the upper echelons of Jeep speaking out against the lies was the best way to handle it (and by best way, I mean "loudest").
Translation: When the past 3 and 1/2+ years have been as bad as they have, having one good week in the end may fool enough people to matter.
Just pokin' a little fun.
Just forget the really bad 8 years that happened the last time you Mitt wits got a empty suit into the white house as well as a do nothing tea bagged representatives, you know the one where the failed trickle down/supply side economics almost bankrupted the country.
The really sad thing is to think of how much better off we'd be if there had not been such a culture of obstructionism in the Congress for most of that 3.5 years.
Romney is a lying opportunist. But it is McConnell and Boehner that I blame for the fact that we are not further along in this recovery.
The Jobs Act? Or ANY serious jobs proposal that was not just a tax cut for businesses and rich investors? Hello?
The unselfish and non-partisan outreach to Sandy victims has reminded me that it is not the 1% that are the problem, nor the third of the country that are registered Republicans. It is the naked power grabbing and hostage-taking of the current GOP congress.
Culture of obstructionism?
You may want to peruse The Price of Politics by Bob Woodward (Simon & Shuster, 2012). Chapter 2 page 16.
"The $800 billion stimulus bill of new spending and additional tax cuts, introduced on January 26, was the first bill of the new congress and the Obama administration. It was called, appropriately, H.R. 1, and it contained not one proposal from Eric Cantor and his conservative Republican group. The bill was drafted by the Democrats and whenever any Republican tried to make changes. Emanuel's response was, more often than not, "We have the votes. **** 'em."
If you make it clear that bipartisanship is unnecessary because the democrats control the legislative and executive branches...
and this is confirmed based on the legislation that is passed for the next two years (when the democrats controlled both houses of congress and the executive branch)...
who obstructed a bipartisan process?
Lis you do realize that by this argument you are saying that Republicans get a pass for being obstructionists the last 2 years because Democrats wouldn't let them participate the first 2, yes? So Republicans are as immature, bad, and whatever else you feel about Democrats as Democrats? Good to know. So there you have it everyone: Republicans are no better than Democrats...therefore Lis wants us to vote for Republicans.
Additionally you do realize that this argument means that Republicans are to blame for the last 2 years of the first term of Obama's presidency, yes?
Was it just good luck?
Obama made sure he was in the WH when the storm hit, and he had competent, effective people running FEMA (apparently), so the crisis response worked well. He took sensible positions on issues that matter to Bloomberg, including (as it turns out) climate change, so he got the Bloomberg endorsement. He avoided silly grandstanding and obvious lies, so he looked good when Romney grandstanded and lied. Maybe he didn't get Congress to pass a big enough stimulus, but they did pass a stimulus (and don't forget the smaller one in the lame-duck-session of 2010), so now the recovery is kicking into gear. Oh, and he rescued the auto industry, so he provoked Romney to take desperate, self-destructive measures to counter Obama's advantage vis-a-vis the auto industry.
Yes, it helps to be lucky. But you only benefit from luck if you're prepared for it.
The difference of a staged good deed (Eddie Munster washing clean pots and Willard collecting cans of food he bought) and having the common sense to get things done the way they should be to actually help people.
Who's this guy Don our favorite little wingnut cockroach wants to rob?
Could this "Sandy" natural disaster be an event that changes not only the election but the nature of partisan politics and thus a major political and Historical change for the betterment of our country? Seeing the President working so well with Gov. Chris Christy could poll so positively that it may inspire more bi partisan cooperation. This could be a historical change by putting into context the importance of politicians doing their jobs, doing what's best for our country and end this partisan obstructionist bull@!$%#! 50 years from now people could be reading about this in history books. Or, money in politics and Limbaugh and Fox News could drown us in bull@!$%#.
"Sandy" will do more than affect U.S. politics. "Sandy" is a wake-up call for the world to stop ignoring climate change and to address the urgent need for sustainable global development.
The post did not mention the other good news: GW Bush is making his appearance in the Cayman Islands. This kind of thing is almost too good to plan for!
"It's not the sort of week a president can plan for, exactly."
But it is what happens when the President just does the job right every day.
In many states, like Texas, there is "false light" defamation. That covers those instances where what a person said is technically true, but in the context the words are used, it cast the victim in a "false light." I don't own Jeep stock, but I would file that case if I did.
i already voted for president obama and wish him well in the election. he shares most of my viewpoints and values. i am mystified though that he has said he will not raise taxes on the middle class, because he has cut the flexible spending accounts virtually in half, thereby increasing my taxes greatly to help pay for obamacare. i am in the middle class and this health benefit was one of few tax exemptions i can use. so i voted for you president obama but even though i donated to sandy, quit asking for donations, because i gave upwards of $600 next year to obamacare! i am also paying for my own healthcare besides this. i know president obama is busy but i wrote him an email, asked for a response and received none.
fRY mAN / fRO MoNEY decoded !
OBAMA or BUST !
Romney likes to run away to Florida during hurricane Sandy crisis. He reminds me of Fred Willard from Disney movie Wall E.