Winners set the rules, but me? I think a man's gotta have a code.

We're back to mighty thews and furry codpieces.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Winners set the rules, but me? I think a man's gotta have a code.

If it's you and me in a room and there's enough for for only one of us to live, I might well consider it necessary to kill you so that I may live; that doesn't make it morally justifiable simply because it is practically justifiable.

We all die.

So far this election is looking a lot like 2008

Reminds me much like 2004. Weak opponent for sitting president who hasn't had a great first four years. Define opponent by crushing his strength. Opponent is dumbfounded by attack at strength and has no comeback - Kerrey, at the very least should've been surprised, Mitt has had to fend off Bain attacks almost every year since 1994.

Forget the politics but Obama's a much better candidate. Romney's a stiff who's only comfortable working a calculator. Obama's the guy we want to watch a game with. If he wasn't African-American it'd be 55-45.

If he wasn't African-American it'd be 55-45.

Hello again, human diary. It is I, Mitt Romney, your better.

This really is no fun anymore. I do believe these people are serious in their insistence on wanting to know more details about how I made my vast fortune. We have sent out surrogate units to respond by suggesting that the president is acting insufficiently American, since questioning wealth is one of the least American things we can imagine, but so far the results are quite mixed. Even some of the units on my own side have been not on my side.

If questioning the national authenticity of the president is insufficient, and if threatening to perhaps make that Sarah Palin person our vice presidential nominee if everyone does not immediately silence themselves is insufficient, and if asserting that whatever may have happened during those irritating years retroactively did not happen after all is also insufficient, I am at a loss as to what our campaign should do next. While I am surprised myself to be saying it, Mr. Diary, this now seems above the level that merely blowing bubbles or honking bus horns can deal with. It does not even seem the sort of thing that the Super PACs can help with, although perhaps they will surprise me.

All I can do is keep reminding the commoner units that I, as a unit of great wealth, understand what it is like to want money very badly, and that they should therefore vote for me as the American thing to do. Surely, we are not so cruel a nation as to truly subject a wealth unit to the same scrutiny that other, less wealthy candidates are given. Even imagining such a thing is frightening.

Team Clinton was basically built on Bill's enormous talents as a politician.

It's only partisans that will enjoy it -- but I've found the 'Chronicles of Mitt' series penned by one the DailyKos posters to be absolutely hilarious...

While I don't give two shits for Rush, it isn't as if he's the first to play this rather lame angle.

Rush Limbaugh is hilariously insane.

Rush Limbaugh: Batman Villain Was Named “Bane” To Hurt Mitt Romney

Almost as dumb as wild outrage over olympic uniforms.

The speculation around his tax returns is getting pretty exotic, I think they need to do something, but they really don't want to release them.

the undecideds are going to look at him like an alien robot from another planet.

PHOENIX (AP) — Investigators for an Arizona sheriff's volunteer posse have declared that President Barack Obama's birth certificate is definitely fraudulent.

Members of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's posse said in March that there was probable cause that Obama's long-form birth certificate released by the White House in April 2011 was a computer-generated forgery.

Now, Arpaio says investigators are positive it's fraudulent.

Mike Zullo, the posse's chief investigator, said numeric codes on certain parts of the birth certificate indicate that those parts weren't filled out, yet those sections asking for the race of Obama's father and his field of work or study were completed.

Zullo said investigators previously didn't know the meaning of codes but they were explained by a 95-year-old former state worker who signed the president's birth certificate. Zullo said a writer who published a book about Obama's birth certificate and was aiding investigators let them listen in on an interview he conducted of the former state worker.

Not that they're flailing, or anything.

It is mildly frustrating / amusing / interesting though that 538 shows Obama having something like the upper 60% in chances to win, but only 2% ish lead in the popular vote

I 'd like Obama to win too but at the end of the day this voting system seems jusssst a bit outdated.... as it's design to completely shut out any chance of a 3rd party from ever being feasable.

* Yes this is hyperbole

What does everyone think is in Mitt's returns that he won't release them?

What does everyone think is in Mitt's returns that he won't release them?

A third (more boring one) is he managed to pay zero in taxes at least one year. Being rich is OK. Playing by the rules is OK. Paying nothing in taxes* one year has terrible optics, especially because the GOP makes a big deal of the x% of poor people who don't pay taxes*.

What does everyone think is in Mitt's returns that he won't release them? I think the 2 issues raised by the Obama team (Bain- who did the layoffs, when did he leave) and the tax returns are relatively small potatoes but why won't he release them? There must be something slightly embarassing.

everyone in gop circles is adamant that unless the courts get in the way at minimum the president has lost 550,000 votes between the two states which gives romney a huge chance of success

Rush not first to embrace Bane meme.

While I don't give two shits for Rush, it isn't as if he's the first to play this rather lame angle.

if he wasn't a radio host he'd be either a political dirty tricks operative, a corporate dirty tricks operative, or some guy in a shack out in the desert "researching" the continued existence of the Knights Templar- more to the point is he thinks/ assumes that everyone else thinks like he does- not that they think the same things- but that they think the same way. Everyone has hidden- usually nefarious, motives- and it's those hidden motives that animate people.

A third (more boring one) is he managed to pay zero in taxes at least one year. Being rich is OK. Playing by the rules is OK. Paying nothing in taxes* one year has terrible optics, especially because the GOP makes a big deal of the x% of poor people who don't pay taxes*.

zonk

all the research i have seen is that angry gop voters do vote while angry dem voters shun the polls in disgust.

anger works for the gop

dems need to be inspired/excited

not a fan of this approach. i believe in encouraging the vote. but the legisltative procoess was honored.

i don't think 538 is making sufficient allowances for the new voter id laws, particularly in pennsylvania and ohio

all the research i have seen is that angry gop voters do vote while angry dem voters shun the polls in disgust.

And Romney's whole campaign seems to be to get people to vote against Obama.

Who cares if the legislative process was followed? That doesn't mean it's not voter suppression.

The latest enthusiasm polls I have seen suggest the D is more enthusiastic than the R. I suspect that is more significant than where exactly the enthusiasm comes from. Plus 2004 showed it is easier to get people (especially independants) to vote for than just against. And Romney's whole campaign seems to be to get people to vote against Obama.

the distinction is that this wasn't some covert effort done in secret

It is astounding how bad of a candidate Mitt Romney is. He's got a real chance to win because the economy stinks, but there isn't any constituency that actually likes him, he can't talk about his business experience because it turns off voters, he won't talk about his governing experience because it turns off his party, he can't talk about his family & personal life because he's afraid of the Mormon fallout, he can't stand up to any constituency in his party because either he's chicken or they're crazy.

The economy is troubled, but Obama will say "I saved the US auto industry when Mitt Romney wanted it to go bankrupt." Then hammer Romney on Bain Capital and job creation, and his apparent hypocrisy on taxes. I believe it will be very hard for Romney to win as many middle-class voters as he needs.

I just saw this Democratic PAC ad. I searched BBTF and didn't see that it was posted before. It is a blue collar worker talking about building the very stage than the Bain Capital execs used 3 days later to close the plan and let all the workers go. It's only running in a few states, but I think it could be the Dukakis Tank ad of 2012.

With regard to the economy, Obama is probably also helped by the seemingly higher profile being given to Congress recently. It would be one thing if a bunch of Democratic proposals were getting through and things still weren't getting better. But it's pretty easy to point the finger at Congress and say "our policies would work if Congress wasn't actively trying to tank the economy". Whether you believe the Republicans in Congress are trying to tank the economy or not, it's a fairly effective parry. Especially when you have them on record saying that their only goal of the last four years was to defeat Obama. You also have a bunch of Congressmen who decried the stimulus and who spend a lot of hot air explaining how it hurt the economy, while also showing up at ribbon cuttings on projects that were funded thank almost entirely to the stimulus.

But now that you bring it up, I think it's pretty clear that while not covert or secret, the GOP has been completely dishonest about their motives, couching the issue as an "integrity of the vote" issue when it's fairly obvious that the intent of the laws is to discourage typically Democratic constituencies from voting.

It would be one thing if a bunch of Democratic proposals were getting through and things still weren't getting better. But it's pretty easy to point the finger at Congress and say "our policies would work if Congress wasn't actively trying to tank the economy". Whether you believe the Republicans in Congress are trying to tank the economy or not, it's a fairly effective parry.

It would be one thing if a bunch of Democratic proposals were getting through and things still weren't getting better. But it's pretty easy to point the finger at Congress and say "our policies would work if Congress wasn't actively trying to tank the economy". Whether you believe the Republicans in Congress are trying to tank the economy or not, it's a fairly effective parry.

1: I believe absolutely that the GOP in Congress is/was intentionally trying to tank the economy, as well as some GOP Governors
2: I'm not sure its is an effective parry- you don't have to convince me that's what the Republicans were doing- you don't have to convince the demo base either- you need to convince the undecideds- and that is going to be much harder.

'course - that was a rather famously close election.

'course - that was a rather famously close election.

Except for that PA GOP congressman (forget his name) who stated that the PA voter ID law would "allow Romney to win Pennsylvania." Sometimes these guys screw up and tell the truth.

but they shot themselves in the foot obssessing about immigration

There was a GOP boss a few months ago in upstate New York when asked about an effort to keep College kids from registering who said, "and besides, they're young and foolish- they'l likely vote democratic, later on when they settle down, get jobs and are more responsible..."

Does Mitt need a Sister Souljah moment? Can he afford a Sister Souljah moment?

note that just as with gay marriage the voter id effort was a coordinated, orchestrated nationwide effort done at approximatlely the same time with prewritten legislation and prepackaged talking points provided by the party to local state officials

this is pretty clear to anyone paying attention so i see no harm in stating the obvious

I forget where I read it, but I saw a rather convincing study some time back that puts this idea in the myth category -- that by and large, voting preferences tend to calcify more than they do swing as young voters get older.

I forget where I read it, but I saw a rather convincing study some time back that puts this idea in the myth category -- that by and large, voting preferences tend to calcify more than they do swing as young voters get older.

I read something about this also, but don't remember either. The GOP better hope it does not calcify or they are in a world of hurt by 2016 to 2020.

Rush, Palin, Beck and many others are all way too powerful and popular.

the republicans calling on romney to release the returns understand its better to go early than late. if romney does it now it's july, its slow, people are barely following. get it out there, take whatever hit exists and move on.

Birtherism wasn't exactly helping the GOP, so Obama and his people were deliberately drawing it out imho.

The fact of the matter is that Romney just got through a GOP primary pretty easily, but without any significant support from those three. If that doesn't speak to their weakness, I don't know what does. They're far from being "too powerful and popular" - they're just waiting to be kicked aside.

I think the "Sister Souljah moment" is a cliche and its value to Clinton way overstated, but that said, Romney would do himself nothing but good by going after those three. He'd get a lot of heat for it, but I doubt it would have any substantial effect on his chances for getting elected.

People confuse "loud" with "numerous" way too often. Rush, Palin and Beck all have very, very loud and devoted fanbases, but they're not big enough to swing national results (probably especially Palin and Beck). That was the whole logic of the "Sister Souljah moment" - that Clinton could withstand the heat because there's no actual fire behind it.

Are they trying to sabotage Romney

An all out war between Palin and Mitt could easily fuel a MSM meme of internal strife, panic and so on and make Mitt look terrible to those only sort of paying attention.

The fact of the matter is that Romney just got through a GOP primary pretty easily, but without any significant support from those three. If that doesn't speak to their weakness, I don't know what does. They're far from being "too powerful and popular" - they're just waiting to be kicked aside.

The MSM hates Romney already. But they really hate Sarah Palin. If Romney's too scared of Limbaugh and Beck, at least Palin is still an easy target.

More likely Donald Trump. Since he's pure media creation with no political history, you can criticize him at will without loosing his followers. Of course Trump is too dumb to stop talking and the media is too dumb to stop putting a microphone in his face, so it would drag on and on.

Of course Trump is too dumb to stop talking and the media is too dumb to stop putting a microphone in his face, so it would drag on and on.

“Mr. President: Rarely do I come to the floor of this institution to discuss particular individuals. But I understand how painful and injurious it is when a person’s character, reputation, and patriotism are attacked without concern for fact or fairness. It is for that reason that I rise today to speak in defense of Huma Abedin.

“Over the past decade, I have had the pleasure of coming to know Huma during her long and dedicated service to Hillary Rodham Clinton, both in the United States Senate and now in the Department of State. I know Huma to be an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working, and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth, and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.

“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully. I am proud to know Huma, and to call her my friend.

“Recently, it has been alleged that Huma, a Muslim American, is part of a nefarious conspiracy to harm the United States by unduly influencing U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist causes. On June 13, five members of Congress wrote to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of State, demanding that he begin an investigation into the possibility that Huma and other American officials are using their influence to promote the cause of the Muslim Brotherhood within the U.S. government. The information offered to support these serious allegations is based on a report, ‘The Muslim Brotherhood in America,’ produced by the Center for Security Policy.

“To say that the accusations made in both documents are not substantiated by the evidence they offer is to be overly polite and diplomatic about it. It is far better, and more accurate, to talk straight: These allegations about Huma, and the report from which they are drawn, are nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable citizen, a dedicated American, and a loyal public servant.

“The letter alleges that three members of Huma’s family are ‘connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations.’ Never mind that one of those individuals, Huma’s father, passed away two decades ago. The letter and the report offer not one instance of an action, a decision, or a public position that Huma has taken while at the State Department that would lend credence to the charge that she is promoting anti-American activities within our government. Nor does either document offer any evidence of a direct impact that Huma may have had on one of the U.S. policies with which the authors of the letter and the producers of the report find fault. These sinister accusations rest solely on a few unspecified and unsubstantiated associations of members of Huma’s family, none of which have been shown to harm or threaten the United States in any way. These attacks on Huma have no logic, no basis, and no merit. And they need to stop now.

“Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal, and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.

“Our reputations, our character, are the only things we leave behind when we depart this earth, and unjust attacks that malign the good name of a decent and honorable person is not only wrong; it is contrary to everything we hold dear as Americans.

“Some years ago, I had the pleasure, along with my friend, the Senator from South Carolina, Senator Lindsey Graham, of traveling overseas with our colleague, then-Senator Hillary Clinton. By her side, as always, was Huma, and I had the pleasure of seeing firsthand her hard work and dedicated service on behalf of the former Senator from New York – a service that continues to this day at the Department of State, and bears with it significant personal sacrifice for Huma.

“I have every confidence in Huma’s loyalty to our country, and everyone else should as well. All Americans owe Huma a debt of gratitude for her many years of superior public service. I hope these ugly and unfortunate attacks on her can be immediately brought to an end and put behind us before any further damage is done to a woman, an American, of genuine patriotism and love of country.”

If Romney is going to have a "Sister Souljah" moment he could've practiced on Sununu yesterday. He didn't. And rumors suggest that was a planned attack with more to follow. Look for Romney to have the idiots go full birther, muslim, drug addict on the president.

* As Alex Seitz-Wald wrote in Salon, "So, to connect Abedin to the Muslim Brotherhood, you have to go through her dead father, to the organization he founded, to a man who allegedly supported it, to the organization that man used to lead, to Europe in the 1970s and 1990s, and finally to the Brotherhood."

How many connections do you need to connect her with Kevin Bacon?

How many connections do you need to connect her with Kevin Bacon?