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[adamsappel]

Yeah, how much do we really know about the person holding the most public, scrutinized office in the world in the technological age? We can only really dig up so much in 4 years, there has to be more out there!

If only someone had been brave enough to reveal this youthful dog-eating, perhaps in a book. Maybe that person could have even produced a Grammy-award winning audio book as well.

 

[Suikoguy]

If only someone had been brave enough to reveal this youthful dog-eating, perhaps in a book. Maybe that person could have even produced a Grammy-award winning audio book as well.

Do you per chance write for the Daily Show or the Colbert Report?

hehe

 

[Black Mamba]

Right, the recession wasn't really worse (drop in GDP), the recovery has just been anemic thanks to Obama's policies.

Seriously?

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/studies/recession_perspective/index.cfm

Length of Recessions

The 10 previous postwar recessions ranged in length from 6 months to 16 months, averaging about 10 1/2 months. The 2007-09 recession was the longest recession in the postwar period, at 18 months.

Depth of Recessions

The severity of a recession is determined in part by its length; perhaps even more important is the magnitude of the decline in economic activity. The 2007-09 recession was the deepest recession in the postwar period; at their lowest points employment fell by 6.3 percent and output fell by 5.1 percent.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Huntsman tells it like it is

Jon Huntsman "took a battle axe to his own party, comparing it to China's Communist Party and criticizing it's standard bearer in a wide-ranging interview," BuzzFeed reports.

He also "jokingly blamed his failed candidacy in part on his wife, Mary Kaye, who told him she'd leave him if he abandoned his principles."

Said Huntsman: "She said if you pandered, if you sign any of those damn pledges, I'll leave you. So I had to say I believe in science -- and people on stage look at you quizzically as though you're was an oddball."

Huntsman added that Ronald Reagan would "likely not" be able to win the GOP nomination in this environment.

I'd like to see if he'll endorse his old boss now.

 

[jaxword]

It's a damn shame. Huntsman would've been a good candidate.

 

[jamesinclair]

So whats going on with the GOP primaries?

Even though old frothy is out, his name is still in the ballot.

Any recent polls?

Would be glorious if romney loses against a candidate thats dropped out.

April 24 should be a romney sweep, but how about Louisiana?

Does this race have any lols left?

 

[Oblivion]

The answer is a couple clicks away.

Edit: 1.095m jobs in Bush's eight years, counting from February 2001 to January 2009.

Thanks, Ghal!

 

[Black Republican]

a bloody battle for Romney tommorow!!

 

[eznark]

Huntsman tells it like it is

No wonder he was a media darling.

Barrett v. Walker rematch all but certain.

http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/labor-groups-profalk-tv-ads-vanish-vm53ljh-148420995.html

Public sector unions in Wisconsin were essentially Cold War era USSR. All sound and no fury.

 

[RDreamer]

Here's an interesting graph on experience of presidential candidates that Rachel Maddow put together:

 

[eznark]

Interesting that she doesn't include all executive level experience, especially since Mitt generally speaks to his private sector experience when discussing the matter.

 

[RDreamer]

Interesting that she doesn't include all executive level experience, especially since Mitt generally speaks to his private sector experience when discussing the matter.

That's part of her point. He doesn't have experience in public service. She points out that his inexperience in that sector is actually seen as a plus by some, which is bizarre (to both me and her):

That, however, raises the question of why politics is the only profession in which inexperience is something to brag about. When passengers get on airplane, do they think, "I really hope this pilot is a rookie"? When patients go the hospital, do they say to themselves, "I prefer to see physician who hasn't practiced medicine for very long"?

Personally I don't think experience is everything and yeah a different view from different experiences can be a plus. But it is kind of weird when experience that should normally lead you to a position becomes bad. It's especially weird in that this is supposed to be the most highly regarded, hard to achieve job in the entire country if not the world, and yet you can campaign on the fact that you have no experience... and that's good. If I walked into any other interview actively bragging about my inexperience with that type of position and saying how they need the new vision of an outsider I'd probably be looked at as a loony. Maybe a few positions would see it as so brazen they might try it out, but mostly people would think I was loony.

 

[eznark]

Her article and graph read more like a "gotcha" than anything. For purposes of her graphical representation she defines experience in a different way than Romney.

C level jobs are often given to people without specific experience in said industry who instead have experience in specific tactics and strategies (turnaround specialists, growth specialists, M&A specialists, etc.)

Plus, the Republicans are trying to argue against Government overreach (hilarious considering Romney is the nominee) so touting non-government experience makes sense. They just don't have a candidate who can pull it off.

 

[RDreamer]

Her article and graph read more like a "gotcha" than anything. For purposes of her graphical representation she defines experience in a different way than Romney.

C level jobs are often given to people without specific experience in said industry who instead have experience in specific tactics and strategies (turnaround specialists, growth specialists, M&A specialists, etc.)

Plus, the Republicans are trying to argue against Government overreach (hilarious considering Romney is the nominee) so touting non-government experience makes sense. They just don't have a candidate who can pull it off.

I won't deny that at all. It did come off kind of "gotcha"-esque. But nonetheless I do find it to be an interesting graph, and interesting to know that he actually is one of the least experienced (in public office) people to run for government. It's a fact I genuinely did not know. It's also interesting in that the Republican party now, despite saying it wants all these outsiders and all that, actually fought tooth and nail against him, even though he technically is an outsider to a degree we haven't really seen in a while.

 

[Hop]

But nonetheless I do find it to be an interesting graph, and interesting to know that he actually is one of the least experienced (in public office) people to run for government. It's a fact I genuinely did not know.

What I found interesting is that since '76 the winner had less or equal public-sector time than the loser. Makes me wonder, though, if the inexperience was really an asset or if the baggage that comes with experience (being tied to certain bills, having political associations, and sheer old age) were just that much more of a liability.

 

[Tim-E]

Speaking of Maddow, anyone read Drift yet? I'm thinking of picking up after I finish The Post-American World.

 

[eznark]

I won't deny that at all. It did come off kind of "gotcha"-esque. But nonetheless I do find it to be an interesting graph, and interesting to know that he actually is one of the least experienced (in public office) people to run for government. It's a fact I genuinely did not know. It's also interesting in that the Republican party now, despite saying it wants all these outsiders and all that, actually fought tooth and nail against him, even though he technically is an outsider to a degree we haven't really seen in a while.

To me it looked like the Party desperately wanted Romney, while various factions of non-establishment Republicans tried to find anyone but him. If you look at the high profile GOP endorsements, they generally all went to Romney. He may not have a lot of experience in it, but he is a politician through and through.

 

[Tim-E]

To me it looked like the Party desperately wanted Romney, while various factions of non-establishment Republicans tried to find anyone but him. If you look at the high profile GOP endorsements, they generally all went to Romney. He may not have a lot of experience in it, but he is a politician through and through.

Yep. He's been running for office since 1994. He uses the fact that he's lost almost all of the elections he's ran for as a way to say he's been an "outsider" since he barely held office during the last 20 years.

 

[RDreamer]

Yep. He's been running for office since 1994. He uses the fact that he's lost almost all of the elections he's ran for as a way to say he's been an "outsider" since he barely held office during the last 20 years.

I almost take that to mean he actually is an outsider... he just really freaking wants to be an insider, but he absolutely sucks at trying to get in.

 

[tranciful]

I almost take that to mean he actually is an outsider... he just really freaking wants to be an insider, but he absolutely sucks at trying to get in.

And that's what Newt tore him up over. It was great.

 

[eznark]

I almost take that to mean he actually is an outsider... he just really freaking wants to be an insider, but he absolutely sucks at trying to get in.

He's been the party nominee for the past 4 years. He's absolutely a GOP insider at this point.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

Here's an interesting graph on experience of presidential candidates that Rachel Maddow put together:

Why don't people like mayors?

 

[PhoenixDark]

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perkins-mike-ike-gay-sexualizing-candy

 

[reilo]

Everyone likes to talk about fuel costs bringing the economy down from a consumer perspective (ie, spending $60 to fill up your sedan reduces the amount of disposable income available). The real downer, however, is fuel costs as it pertains to the trucking industry -- which our entire economy runs on:

A new cab can cost upwards of $100,000, while a trailer will set you back $50,000. Companies typically pay around $30,000 a year on their truck loans, which actually makes it the third largest expense in operating a big rig. Number one? Diesel fuel. A single truck can suck down 20,500 gallons of fuel in a year, which can add up to over $70,000 depending on location.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/22/infographic-breaking-down-the-costs-of-trucking/

If you're wondering why the cost of bread, chicken, milk, and everything inbetween has gone up in price in recent years, look no further.

 

[speculawyer]

Interesting that she doesn't include all executive level experience, especially since Mitt generally speaks to his private sector experience when discussing the matter.

I guess these days we need someone good at firing people, taking away their benefits, and offshoring their jobs. That will help the country.

 

[eznark]

I guess these days we need someone good at firing people, taking away their benefits, and offshoring their jobs. That will help the country.

Meh, I won't vote for him but when he says "experience" he is talking about running an entity, not being an elected or appointed government official.

 

[KingK]

It's a damn shame. Huntsman would've been a good candidate.

Not really. He may seem better at first based on his more lax stance on social issues and the fact that he's not so fervently anti-science compared to the others, but his economic stances are just as bad or worse than Romney. He supported the Ryan plan.

 

[PhoenixDark]

So...knowing this, why do you continue to ham Obama on the stimulus way back when when you know if it were bigger the shitstorm he'd have to deal with would be huge?

I don't attack Obama for the stimulus; if anything the problem was the various back room deals, pork, and the beginning of the administration's "if we don't get what we want, everything will go bad" framing on issues which haunts them to this day.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

Something that really scares me about this whole ''Romney has corporate experience'' thing is that, yes, indeed, he apparently made the right decisions and made a lot of money in the corporate world and you would think that it would take a certain level of intelligence to achieve something like that, yet, when you hear him speak on issues, he at times seems to have a low IQ and completely messed up view on important subjects. What's scary is that apparently someone like this can still make millions upon millions of dollars and affect the lives of thousands upon thousands of ordinary people. Where the fuck is my cut?

 

[el retorno]

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perkins-mike-ike-gay-sexualizing-candy

Lol

 

[Measley]

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perkins-mike-ike-gay-sexualizing-candy

omfg.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Romney Blunts Obama Attack By Backing Lower Student Loan Rates


Less than an hour after the Obama campaign kicked off a week-long push to attack Mitt Romney on college affordability, the Republican candidate took the wind out of their sails by supporting the White House’s push to extend subsidized lower interest rates on federal loans.

Without action in Congress, a 2007 bill keeping interest on loans held by some 7 million students at 3.4 percent versus 6.8 percent will expire. President Obama is speaking at three colleges on Tuesday and Wednesday to pressure House Republicans to act despite their wariness about a one-year fix’s $6 billion price tag. Obama’s re-election team held a conference call Monday focused on student loan debt and attacking Romney over proposed cuts to higher-education funding in the GOP budget.

“Gov. Romney has proposed huge tax cuts for the rich and for corporations, and that has left him with no choice but to support higher rates on student loans with deep cuts into Pell grant scholarships,” Obama campaign policy director James Kvaal told reporters on Monday.

But on the extension, at least, Romney said he was on the same page.

“Particularly with the number of college graduates that can’t find work or can only find work well beneath their skill level, I fully support the effort to extend the low interest rate on student loans,” he said at a joint appearance with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in Philadelphia. “There was some concern that would expire halfway through the year, and I support extending the temporary relief on interest rates for students … in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market.”

This is the kind of general election play, cutting directly against key House Republicans, that Romney would have had a tougher time making during a competitive primary.

Student debt, now over $1 trillion total and more than even national credit card debt, is considered a top issue for the Obama campaign as they try to re-energize youth voters who turned out for them in 2008. Romney, for his part, is hoping to minimize the damage from Democrats’ natural advantages with the under-30 set by emphasizing high unemployment.

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...-backing-lower-student-loan-rates.php?ref=fpa

Romney is already running an impressive campaign, much better than McCain's already. It'll be interesting to see how the House GOP responds with both Obama and Romney on the same side, against their bullshit

 

[bananas]

"Your Obamacare is bad for the country!"

"Well your Romneycare is the foundation of Obamacare!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Okay, well how about you're waging a war on women!"

"No, you're failed economic policies are waging a war on women!"

"Well, you're against lowering student loan rates and making it harder for young people to afford college!"

"No I'm not!"

"Oh. Okay."

 

[markatisu]

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...-backing-lower-student-loan-rates.php?ref=fpa

Romney is already running an impressive campaign, much better than McCain's already. It'll be interesting to see how the House GOP responds with both Obama and Romney on the same side, against their bullshit

LOL so Romney is running pretty much as Obama, but yet the GOP is supposed to back this??

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Romney 2012: Distinction Without Difference

 

[empty vessel]

President Obama is speaking at three colleges on Tuesday and Wednesday to pressure House Republicans to act despite their wariness about a one-year fix’s $6 billion price tag.

Republicans opposing a tax cut...

Democrats aren't smart enough to cast it as such.

They should cut the rate to 0 and even consider amnesty.

 

[Big Baybee]

"Your Obamacare is bad for the country!"

"Well your Romneycare is the foundation of Obamacare!"

"That doesn't count!"

"Okay, well how about you're waging a war on women!"

"No, you're failed economic policies are waging a war on women!"

"Well, you're against lowering student loan rates and making it harder for young people to afford college!"

"No I'm not!"

"Oh. Okay."

lol

 

[Particle Physicist]

http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...-backing-lower-student-loan-rates.php?ref=fpa

Romney is already running an impressive campaign, much better than McCain's already.

If Romney continues to support Obama's initiatives, I don't think that will end up being an impressive campaign. I do wonder, when pressed for an answer during a debate, where will he explain how his tax cuts will be funded. What programs will be cut? Where will the savings come from? You may see this as impressive, but he is only going to box himself in eventually.

It'll be interesting to see how the House GOP responds with both Obama and Romney on the same side, against their bullshit

After thinking about this, I think Romney just gave Obama a win here. He can very well push congress to pass it since Romney also supposedly supports it, and if passed, that looks pretty good for Obama.

 

[GhaleonEB]

" I support extending the temporary relief on interest rates for students … in part because of the extraordinarily poor conditions in the job market.”

Romney currently also supports cutting Pell grants (per Ryan budget), which contradicts this very reasoning. He's also attacked Obama for the student loan reform that passed as part of the healthcare bill which lowered rates for students. He's going for headlines here, but Obama and Romeny's "agreement" is skin deep.

 

[empty vessel]

Romney currently also supports cutting Pell grants (per Ryan budget), which contradicts this very reasoning.

Quick, somebody ask him. Maybe he'll change his mind on the spot.

 

[Great Poster]

Quick, somebody ask him. Maybe he'll change his mind on the spot.

Obama campaign already on the case:

In a statement Monday, Obama campaign spokesperson Lis Smith hit back at Romney as a candidate who "continues to make promises that he can't keep."

"While he previously endorsed the Ryan budget, which would make deep cuts to Pell Grants and allow student loan rates to double, and last week said that he would gut the Department of Education to pay for his tax plan, today we heard yet another--and contradictory--position from Romney on student loans," Smith said. "As the list of promises Mitt Romney has made to the American people gets longer--from giving $5 trillion in tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans to claiming that he would balance the budget--the numbers just don't add up."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57419270-503544/romney-i-fully-support-extension-of-low-student-loan-interest-rates/

 

[markatisu]

If only Romney could get actual people to support him

On Friday, we found out that Obama had raised $35 million for his campaign in March (with another $18 million raised by the DNC and other committees) -- which was Obama's biggest fundraising month of the cycle so far. The Obama camp also reported having $104 million in the bank. By comparison, the Romney campaign last month raised $13 million and has $10 million cash on hand. So Obama, as of March 31, holds a 10-to-1 advantage in available cash. But when you factor in the major political parties (DNC, RNC) plus the top Super PACs (the pro-Romney Restore Our Future, the anti-Obama American Crossroads, and pro-Obama Priorities USA Action), Team Obama’s cash-on-hand edge drops to less than 2-to-1, $147 million to $87 million. And that doesn’t count the 501c4 groups (like Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity, and American Energy Alliance).

 

[Aaron Strife]

There's some speculation that Huntsman might run as a Democrat in Utah's Senate race in 2016. I think it's a long shot, but hey, I'd be cool with it.

 

[AlteredBeast]

There's some speculation that Huntsman might run as a Democrat in Utah's Senate race in 2016. I think it's a long shot, but hey, I'd be cool with it.

Won't happen, Independent, maybe, but not Democrat.

 

[markatisu]

Won't happen, Independent, maybe, but not Democrat.

Yeah I could see an Independent ala Leiberman, the current GOP is too extreme for him but he is not a Democrat.

I think Olympia Snowe should have done this as well, maybe if more and more people bailed on the core GOP they might get the hint

 

[AlteredBeast]

Yeah I could see an Independent ala Leiberman, the current GOP is too extreme for him but he is not a Democrat.

I think Olympia Snowe should have done this as well, maybe if more and more people bailed on the core GOP they might get the hint

"The GOP" is now infiltrated by pure unadulterated stupidity. They are happy to root out the "establishment" and "RINO's"

Honestly, the party is pretty much done on a national scale as far as reasonable politics go.

People will probably be calling Romney's support for lower student debt percentages as bad policy...watch.

 

[speculawyer]

If Romney continues to support Obama's initiatives, I don't think that will end up being an impressive campaign. I do wonder, when pressed for an answer during a debate, where will he explain how his tax cuts will be funded. What programs will be cut? Where will the savings come from? You may see this as impressive, but he is only going to box himself in eventually.

Right now the answer seems to be "We will get rid of loopholes". Of course the big "loopholes" are things like the mortgage interest deduction which would not harm the very rich since the mortgage interest deduction is already capped at $1million loan. Thus, as usual, the tax cut ends up helping the already wealthy much more than anyone else.

The Bush tax cut failed . . . so lets do more of that!

 

[Suikoguy]

"The GOP" is now infiltrated by pure unadulterated stupidity. They are happy to root out the "establishment" and "RINO's"

Honestly, the party is pretty much done on a national scale as far as reasonable politics go.

People will probably be calling Romney's support for lower student debt percentages as bad policy...watch.

Yeah, and then Romney will change his stance, again.
He was against it, before he was for it, and before he was against it.

 

[Black Mamba]

Right now the answer seems to be "We will get rid of loopholes". Of course the big "loopholes" are things like the mortgage interest deduction which would not harm the very rich since the mortgage interest deduction is already capped at $1million loan. Thus, as usual, the tax cut ends up helping the already wealthy much more than anyone else.

The Bush tax cut failed . . . so lets do more of that!

It didn't fail, haven't you seen how many jobs it created

Spoiler

overseas

???

 

[Oblivion]

Meh, I won't vote for him but when he says "experience" he is talking about running an entity, not being an elected or appointed government official.

But even then, how is that a plus. The guy's whole modus operandi is firing people in order to make companies profitable. How that translates into "job creator", is still a mystery.