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Don’t panic

Don’t panic

I asked Why are people panicking?

He feels good:

The link to Jay Cost:

Give the media enough time, and they will spin straw into gold – for Democrats, naturally. And so it has been over the last two weeks since the Obamacare ruling was handed down. We have seen media pundits debate whether the ruling hurts Mitt Romney. We have seen them criticize Team Romney for not being johnny-on-the-spot with a reaction to a ruling that virtually nobody expected. We have seen them speculate that Team Obama’s Bain attacks are working, despite a dearth of hard evidence and no serious indication from the Romney campaign that they are worth responding to. And on and on it goes.

With the media consistently confusing and obscuring the true state of the race, it is worth reviewing the key facts that will determine the parameters of the fall campaign.

(1) Barack Obama is an unpopular president….
(2) Impressions about Obama seem mostly to be set….
(3) The economy is hurting the president….
(4) Romney will have an opportunity to define himself….

On the other hand:

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Comments

Well, I came to the same conclusion, so I have to say agree. I’ve stopped panicking for now.

One thing I’ve learned is to never listen to Bill Kristol.

    Mutnodjmet in reply to PhillyGuy. | July 9, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    After the past 2 years we should probably develop a list of once trusted conservative pundits who have disappointed us deeply and should no longer be considered icons.

    theduchessofkitty in reply to PhillyGuy. | July 10, 2012 at 1:05 am

    “One thing I’ve learned is to never listen to Bill Kristol.”

    Good for you! Hopefully others will do the same.

The elite media has not interest in giving us valid poll numbers…at least not until moments before Nov. 6th. Anyone who is wasting energy over unreliable polling data, and not doing something to actually achieve an Obama defeat, is squandering a lot of emotional charge that would be better spent elsewhere.

I do not panic until I need to — which will be no sooner than Nov. 7th.

    sybilll in reply to Mutnodjmet. | July 9, 2012 at 11:17 pm

    I think you are on to something. Will people polled really admit to being against Obama after being called a racist for 3 1/2 years? I would, but many, I suspect, will not. But the fact is, he is the first incumbent that is running on anti-capitalism and tax increases in well, ever. I am not panicking at all. My state is a lock for Mitt, so myself and my 79 y/o mom are planning a trip to Ohio to work some voter registration drives.

Another way of assessing the current situation: Obama went on negative ad blitz, but the race is still too close to call. See here:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/07/still-a-dead-heat.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+powerlineblog%2Flivefeed+%28Power+Line%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo
Plus, Obama is spending more than he’s taking in.

    “Hope and change” aside, Obama has always been a negative campaigner.

    And since when has Obama *not* spent more than he takes in? As President he is on track to run up more debt than all previous Presidents combined. It does not surprise me that his reckless spending habits extend to his own campaign.

    theduchessofkitty in reply to edgeofthesandbox. | July 10, 2012 at 1:36 am

    Just as USA Today indicated yesterday (and I pointed it out last night), Gallup finds the same point gap. Two points. I repeat: two points.

    And this is early July.

    Think about it.

    Other incumbents who had re-election assured were quite more comfortable in their higher margins by this point in time. The fact that “The One, The Lord and Savior, the Fundamental Transformer of this Country” is only up by two points…

    Again, think about it. No time to panic yet.

      GrumpyOne in reply to theduchessofkitty. | July 10, 2012 at 6:06 am

      This campaign will not be defined until after the conventions and with the start of the debates. Romney has displayed his skill in the critical primary races and surely can do the same with O’bammy who has a zero record to stand on.

      I nowhere close to a panic but would be in despair should the election not turn out as hoped for. I have a big meal bet on this and I do not intend to go hungry…

Now I’ve got that feeling once again
I can’t explain you would not understand
This is not how I am.
I have become comfortably numb.

I’ve gotta tell you Professor. I hate tweeting. Most of it, like above, is nonsensical to most of us.
I tweet your posts, but I don’t even know who or why anyone is reading it.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Tamminator. | July 10, 2012 at 7:43 am

    Twitter is too much like having an open mic around. Me? I’m afraid of what I’d do when I get good and pissed off. On the other hand, 140 characters lends itself to hyperbole, ridicule and irreverent humor, all of which I love.

    Henry Hawkins in reply to Tamminator. | July 10, 2012 at 2:48 pm

    I can see how Twitter is a must for bloggers. I gave it a shot but did not fall in love either, dropped my account. I’ve got enough to keep up with and the pay-off for me was not worth the time.

We only saw George Bush when it was necessary for him to tell us something. Otherwise he did his job & left us alone. l appreciated that. The man thats black is the opposite. He’s so damn needy he wont leave us alone. l know its been an irritant to me from day one. l have wondered if this is one of the things about t.m.t.b that others feel also but wont speak of. l suspect this may be the case. lf it is true ,it is difficult to see these people voting for 4 more years of this torment.

Who cares who wins the race, the republic loses. We have originator of obamacare on the republican on the ticket.

Given what just happened with Justice Taney (I mean Roberts), none of us will feel a bit relieved until we see Romney delivering the inaugural address. Even then I’ll have to pinch myself: is the nightmare really over?

Until then it will be nightmares of what could happen! How about this one, Biden gets dumped at the Convention and Obama runs with Van Jones and they win!! This could be a horror movie!

I’m not panicking. Obama is going to lose in a landslide.

If I’m wrong, I’ll just have a heart attack and check out because I smoke and am too old and ornery for ObamaCare to save. No worries for me, but God help all you younger ones.

TrooperJohnSmith | July 10, 2012 at 7:39 am

My sons twenty-something friends are starting to sh!t bricks, as he shows them that under ObamaCare, they will have to start carrying pricey health insurance plans, rather than the high deduction, bare bones plans most of them have now.

A couple have even defected to the right side.

    Henry Hawkins in reply to TrooperJohnSmith. | July 10, 2012 at 10:59 am

    I have my youngest child, 17 yr old daughter, explaining Obamacare to her peers too. Better yet, this fall she goes off to UNC-Chapel Hill, which is redder than Moscow. She’s my mole agent.

jimzinsocal | July 10, 2012 at 7:56 am

I am one of those that has expressed not panic but rather some raised eyebrows about Romney. This election if far more crucial than many others in the past.
My visual goes like this: Its a heaveyweight fight.
We have the Champ in the blue trunks and the contender in red. The ringside announcers are heavily invested in seeing the Champ win again.
The early rounds are about even with the Champ exhibiting the Ali shuffle and taunting his opponant who up till now hasnt landed a solid punch to the Champs exposed chin.
The contender so far has found some comfort on the ropes as the Champ continues with verbal jabs and his typical “showmanship” (Appolo Creed/Rocky) to the amusement of the crowd. Its the 8th round and the Champ seems abit tired and is leaving himself open to a haymaker/ combination the contender can inflict at will. The crowd is waiting for that lethal combination that puts this unpopular champ on the canvas.
Round 9.

    PhillyGuy in reply to jimzinsocal. | July 10, 2012 at 9:48 am

    Jim, I understand your frustration but I actually don’t think the election is close right now. The new WaPost/ABC News poll has it a dead heat with the sample +9 Dems. That’s not going to happen. I’m guessing this going to be more like 2010 where the sample was even.

    If that holds up, that would be a total blowout of Obama. A wave election.

    Despite the awful pundits’ comments, the Romney rope-a-dope is working. Voter discontent is off the charts. Everyone sees Obama is out of solutions. Romney just needs to keep his powder dry for a little bit longer and wait until school starts up again. The campaign should be getting surrogates out there talking Obama down – just to remind everyone that more than a couple people think he’s incompetent.

    Ya gotta believe. You think yesterday’s call for raising taxes in the guise of renewing part of the Bush tax cuts fooled anyone? It just makes Obama look helpless.

dorsaighost | July 10, 2012 at 8:19 am

Anyone that thinks the election can be won by a ad or speech in July is simply spouting nonsense …

Every pundit who is claiming “Romney should do this” is simply projecting their own belief in their intellectual superiority over the Romney campaign … you can almost hear their thinking … “If they would just listen to MEEEEEEE” they would win and I’D BE A HERO ….

Of course most of these pundits have never run for election or even worked on a campaign … yes, some of these folks WORKED for a prior President but working for a sitting President and actually working on electing someone President are 2 very different things …

Does Karl Rove sound like he’s panicking ?

Or a better question might be, does Obama sound like HE’s panicking ?

    Henry Hawkins in reply to dorsaighost. | July 10, 2012 at 11:12 am

    “If they would just listen to MEEEEEEE” they would win and I’D BE A HERO ….

    Are you suggesting we should listen to YOOOOOU instead? Irony? (j/k,lol)

    It is far, far easier to * lose * an election with an ad or speech in July than to win it – or the with the absence of same. Most concern is centered on the fact that, so far, Romney is replicating McCain’s 2008 hands-off, Mr. Nice Guy approach, and against the exact same candidate, made more worrisome because the opponent now has the power of the incumbency and is righteously desperate.

    The magic of free speech and a free press is that all ideas may be freely expressed, including yours of course, and those with merit, hopefully, ideally, will win out. Therefore, I say we need more pundits and more ideas thrown out there, not less.

    Besides, every time a liberal pundit says something stupid a conservative angel gets its wings.

      PhillyGuy in reply to Henry Hawkins. | July 10, 2012 at 11:37 am

      I understand you’re concerned but so much of the vote for Obama in 2008 was an anti-Bush vote. McCain was not very disciplined either. Romney is a different breed. And Obama has a track record. That makes this election much different.

        Henry Hawkins in reply to PhillyGuy. | July 10, 2012 at 1:17 pm

        Every election is much different. Once Obama won the Dem nomination, he would have beaten whomever the GOP candidate was, based on the ‘let’s make history!’ theme of electing the first black president.

        Obama’s poor track record is not yet killing his run, given his favorability and other polls (to the extent anyone values polls, especially this far out).

        The extra dimension here is that Obama has demonstrated a total willingness to lie, cheat, steal, far more so than any incumbent I can remember.

        To Romney’s accidental credit, his personality, which comes across to me as a bit of a Boy Scout, squeaky clean, and appears genuine, does not at all match the evil corporate raiding demon vulture capitalist the Obama team is trying to paint him as. He just doesn’t exude anything like that Gordon Gecko unctiousness.

        The SC decision provided an excellent campaign vector to Romney on taxes, easily tied to Obamacare and economic issues, and yet, the steam seemed to go right out of the Romney push building just before the decision. That is justifiably worrisome.

Henry Hawkins | July 10, 2012 at 11:02 am

Nolte’s a pretty good writer but only so-so as an actor.

What?