Debate Postmortem

Posted on October 7, 2012 by RegenAxe

American Flag at a Obama Rally

In the wake of Wednesday’s Presidential debate, most air time and print has been devoted to President Obama’s rather lackluster performance. Much less time and space has been given to the substance of Governor Romney arguments. Most pundits, both from the left and the right, have adopted metaphors along the lines of my morning after Rocky allegory. The words “smack down” and “beat down” are bandied about. Most have not been as charitable as I was when I gave the decision to the President.

Most of the people I work with are Republicans. Political discussions in the office had been rather mute for the last few weeks, until Thursday morning. I guess that they felt beat down by the polls. They were all up on Thursday. I don’t know if they were listening to what was said though. Anne and I were playing a debate bingo game. It was of the non-drinking variety. We had different cards that some wag had thrown out onto the web. We both noticed that trying to play the bingo game sharpened our attentions and comprehension of what was actually said, instead of just focusing on the style of the speakers. Style over substance seemed to be the order of the day everywhere else.

My co-workers embraced Mr. Romney’s act whole heartedly. Why they now love a Massachusetts moderate is a mystery to me. Ideological malleability like Romney’s once was not worth more than a flip or a flop. Either they expect that once elected, Mr. Romney will etch-e-sketch reset himself one more time, back to the ‘severe conservative’ that he once represented himself as or they just hate Mr. Obama. I suspect the later. Some of them doubled-downed on this hate with this week’s jobs numbers. Partisan pundit’s calls of foul about the Bureau of Labor Statistics are indicative of this. The unexpectedly good news drop in the unemployment rate was met with derision. Conspiracy theories about the BLS numbers erupted in record time. By Friday afternoon, one worker was going on about some .666 entry in the BLS report. I never could discern if his point was that two divided by three was proof of cooked books, or a sign of the devil.

I should speak about Barack disengagement in the debate, questions abound. Was he feeling ill? Was it altitude sickness? Did that race-baiting ’07 video throw him off his game? Some think that he tanked on purpose. Doing so has served to galvanized his once complacent Democratic base, “What? You mean we actually have to turnout and vote?” Going forward, Obama now has the opportunity to make lemonade from lemons. For their next two debates, he has nowhere to go but up, while Romney will find it difficult to maintain perceptions at their current high level.

Thank you! I feel better now that I have gotten that off of my chest. Thank you for reading my rant. This morning, we are thirty days out from the election, one month to go. A month and a day from now, it will all be over. I pray to God that America makes the ~~right~~ correct choice.

Presidential Date Night

Posted on October 4, 2012 by RegenAxe

Acting Out at Dancing in the Street

Most people called it debate night, but I like my spin better. It was actually a first date, which are always a nervous and tricky affair. Don’t worry though, because even if the twitterati decides that one of the fellows totally blew their first date, they are still guaranteed two more dates. While first impressions are always the most important, having two makeup dates has to be a comfort. A lot more first dates could have led to something, if there were second chances.

One more aside, before we move on to the main event. I was passing the card aisle in the grocery store before last night’s big date. In the Halloween section, I noticed a card with Romney’s doctored image on its front. It was captioned with the text “Romney Wins”, in Chiller font. Opening the card, I read the punchline, “This was the scariest thing that I could think of.” I toyed with the idea of purchasing one, and sending it to my Dad, but what if this scary thought came true? As, I put the card back into the rack, I noticed the empty slot in the rack below it. Missouri is a red state.

Most of you watched the debate on network TV. I watched on HBO pay-per-view. My take away from the debate might be a little different from yours.

Michelle stands at the rear of the arena and watches the battle continue. She is entranced by the power of it all. On stage, Obama keeps grinding ahead. He plants a thumping left-wing thrust to Romney’s heart, who winces. Obama is game but losing and Michelle is frantic. She is living the fight along with Barack. Carl Rove and his bodyguard watch from the second row. Rove looks proud, the bodyguard, impassive. The men are debating with appalling tenacity. Obama rips and tears into Romney’s body of lies. Romney counters with a ceaseless stream of rapier-like right-wing jabs. The President is seriously outclassed. Obama wades in and Romney employs some incredible footwork. The Twitterati shift in their seats, “Without a doubt this is the most punishing debate I have ever seen. The audience is figuratively spotted with blood.”

Obama stands stunned in the middle of the stage. Everything is a distortion. He looks for familiar faces as though to ask for help. Then Obama pulls himself together and tenses with renewed energy. He is like a wounded wild animal. The tide suddenly turns. Obama drops low and catches Romney with a pair of terrific body punches that seem to drive Romney’s diaphragm up to his throat. A crack is heard. A glaze of pain covers Romney’s eyes. It is only a supreme effort that keeps the Governor upright. Romney is badly hurt. He is bent over. Obama moves again towards Romney. Romney flicks dread jabs into Obama’s eyes. The Democrat wades in with punches that seem to bulge out Romney’s back. Blood is running from Romney’s mouth. In the clinch he leans over Obama and it drips down the Democrat’s neck and shoulders. Romney mutters, “Ain’t going to be no rematch.” Obama responds, “Don’t want one.” So Rocky allusion aside, it was a bit of a dog fight.

Ladylike Parts

Posted on September 28, 2012 by RegenAxe

Claire McCaskill vs. Todd Akin – MO Senate 2012 – by DonkeyHotey

On Thursday, Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin (MO) told reporters that his opponent, Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill, was much more “ladylike” in her 2006 campaign against Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO) than she is in her campaign against him. To which, Sen. McCaskill responded with, “Excuse me?”

Todd Akin should stop talking about proper lady behavior. This is Todd Akin, the guy who thinks women have magic lady parts that detect and deflect “legitimate” rape sperm in order to “shut that whole thing down.” I’m sorry, why should you have to listen to me, when you can hear his GOP speak about him:

“Well, I thought his comments were a little bit outrageous” – Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ)
“As I said yesterday, Todd Akin’s comments were offensive and wrong and he should very seriously consider what course would be in the best interest of our country” – Mitt Romney (R)
“He should be ashamed of himself to be talking about it in that way” – Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
“He’s got to seriously decide what’s in the best interest of the party, what’s in the best interest of the state of Missouri, and frankly, at this point, given that flat wrong statement, whether he can win” – Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA)
“What he said is just flat wrong in addition to being wildly offensive to any victim of sexual abuse. Although Representative Akin has apologized, I believe he should take time with his family to consider whether this statement will prevent him from effectively representing our party in this critical election” – Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
I join many Alaskans in finding Rep. Todd Akin’s comments incredibly offensive and I strongly encourage him to step aside – Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
“I can’t agree with anything [Akin] said” – Former Sen. Jim Talent (R-MO)

To my regular Republican readers, I apologize, not for any thing that I’ve written, but because I’ve violated my one political post per week pledge. I’d promise to do better in the future, but that would be a lie. OK, since I’m currently fielding two posts a day, I promise to only do two political posts a week. That ought to cover me for a little while. 😉

Thanks to Donkeyhotey, for the use of his cartoon.

mo Political Incorrectness

Posted on September 24, 2012 by RegenAxe

Saint Pauli Girl Poster

Today is Election Day! Well, it is for me. I bet you wish that the same was true for you too. Then this whole political saga would be over. I voted this morning (#21) and Anne is working the polls as an Election Official. My vote was simple, just one vote to cast for just one of two women. Two incumbant Democratic State Representatives were shoe-horned by gerrymander into the 87th District. The August primary found them only one vote apart. An automatic recount found that a hundred voters were allowed to vote, when they shouldn’t have been. They should have voted in a different Representative district. A judge ordered a do-over. Today is Election Day!

It is not the Election Day that you thought it was. That one is still in November, even if you do vote early. It is unusual to have an Election Day in Missouri that falls on a Monday. Tuesday is the prefered day of the week, but tomorrow, September 25th, is the day that the November ballot is finalized. If you are on the ballot tomorrow and you die the day after, then we can still vote for you in November. I know, because I’ve done it. I was proud to have elected a dead man. Governor Mel Carnahan (D) was running for the US Senate. He died in an October plane crash. He was elected, his widow came forward and his Lieutenant Governor appointed her. QED

Tuesday, is also the final day for Representative Todd Akin (R) (Mister “Legitimate Rape”) to bow out of this year’s US Senate campaign. He is challenging incumbant Senator Claire McCaskill (D). At time of posting, this action seems highly unlikely. Per D (the OLD friend), Romney’s sinking prospects are leading Republican strategists to shore up down-ballot spots. Jim DeMint (R) is rallying social conservative support for Akin and Newt Gingrich (R), never one to change his mind has flopped back into bed with Akin.

All this Republican makeup sex won’t wash away the oceans of soundbites that these same pundits crashed down upon Akin in the wake of his mistake. The day after tomorrow, Claire will no longer be constrained. She will no longer fear the escape of the fish that she so deftly angled into the Republican nomination. She will be free to let loose a broadside or two, nay many at Mr. Akin. I wonder how he will respond to having his own words shot back at him?

The poster pictured with this post is my father-in-law’s. He is a loving husband and a kind father to three daughters that have all been taught to be the independent women that they are. Besides for Harry, I’m sure that it is all about beer. 😉

Bad Day? Feeling Only 47%?

Posted on September 20, 2012 by RegenAxe

Renee Montagne, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition at KWMU

Yes dear readers it is that time of the week. “Already?”, I hear you regular readers moan. Sorry, but it is true, it is time for my weekly political rant. Personally, I think that I have been extremely well-behaved this election cycle. I have purposely limited myself to just one political rant a week. [This limit in no way precludes any additional rants on life, the universe and everything else not political.] Dressing this rant, I have included a photo of Renee Montagne, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition. We heard her speak in person, on Saturday morning. I thought her image lends an air of false objectivity to the following hopelessly partisan diatribe.

Poor Mittens has had a rough go the last few weeks. I’ll spare you the enumeration of his faults. Suffice to say that each of his campaign’s embarrassments is superseded only by the next one. Unfortunately, this rough patch is taking its toll in the polls. Every new poll reinforces its predecessors, Obama is in accent and Romney is in decline.

‘Lies, damn lies and statistics’ you say and you would be right. The lies and damn lies are the province of the politicians, while the statistics belong to their pollsters. Pollsters like politicians come in all stripes. The only real difference between the two is that pollsters have to show their work. This makes their lying more difficult. It can be checked.

Barack was on David Letterman’s “Late Show”, Tuesday. I watched the show until there was one too many commercial breaks and then I bailed and went to bed, dragging sleepy Anne along with me. Maybe it was too much late night Obama, but I think that it was too much block party pot luck. Indigestion aside, when I slept, I dreamt of Obama.

Somehow I ended up with Barack Obama as my apartment roommate. He made the perfect roommate, because except at the beginning of the dream, he was always on the road campaigning. It was only a one bedroom apartment, so our two king-sized water-beds shared the same room. Yeah, I know, weird. I can’t explain my subconscious, maybe you can? Everything was copacetic until my nine-year-old son, Dave, appeared. He eschewed jumping on my water-bed and instead launched himself towards Barack’s. For some reason Barack’s bed was festooned with lit candles and plugged in lava lamps, disaster ensued. Dave was OK.

I then dream jumped to the next scene. I was in the shower, washing up, after cleaning up the mess. Unfortunately, the bathroom was in that 1982, Big Bike Trip, New Orleans hotel that we stayed in one night, just because it was near the rail station. After taking one look at the place, we moved all our luggage into a locker at the train station. I took a shower there, so it was part of my lexicon, but Anne would not go near it. This time around it was even groadier than I remember. Instead of placid groad, there were undulating filaments coating the shower’s walls.

I woke up at this point. I took an antacid and went back to a dreamless sleep. I got up in the morning, still feeling tired. I felt only about 47% today, which still felt better than 1%.

Canvass the Party

Posted on September 19, 2012 by RegenAxe

Lopez Island Sunflower

Tuesday night I was out partying and Anne was out canvassing. Tuesday night was our night out to fight crime night, otherwise know as our block party and also known as the Ralphfest. The rest of America does their night out in August, but we have found that it is too darn hot then. This August would have been brutal for block partying. I made a version of my tabouli salad sans tabouli and substituting bag salad for parsley and cilantro. Yeah, I took a couple of shortcuts, but I hoped to paper over those with extra Greek olives. Tonight’s salad wasn’t as big a hit as past renditions, so I may have to retreat back to the tried and true. This year’s block party was a lot like past years, a chance to relearn neighbor’s names, catchup on the neighborhood gossip and learn some more Ralph lore.

Back in the day, almost thirty years ago, the Ralphfest was quite the party. Strands of bare incandescent bulbs were strung in the trees, just like in the Italian neighborhood. We even had a mascot, Ralph, actually just part of a mannequin. In lore lost to me, we had won Ralph from rival Edward, another one of the Terrace siblings.

Anne was out working, while I was home partying, but don’t feel too sorry for her, because last year, our roles were reversed. I flew home from Dayton last block party. She was canvassing for Senator Claire McCaskill (D). She went door-to-door. One of her stops was an assisted living home. Unfortunately, dinner won out over politics. According to the latest poll that I saw, Ms. McCaskill enjoys a 0.8% lead over her opponent, Todd Akin, mister legitimate rape. After the 25th, bingo point, things will change. Claire will take off her gloves and pummel Akin like the KC politician that she is. I’m going to enjoy this fight. It will be delightfully nasty.

In other news, Anne’s father called. I would not normally take such a private message public, but this one was so endearing and should not be embarrassing to any of the participants. It is quite intentionally humorous. I wish that I could give such good voicemail as Harry does.