Archive | August, 2012

Romney blew it

31 Aug

Did you watch Mitt Romney’s speech at the convention?

Interesting and true comment from a columnist named William Kristol.

“Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan.

Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there.

Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.

Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney’s silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week.

What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we’re fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it?”

He’s right.

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That’s a hell of a typo

31 Aug

Somebody once said that one out of eleven people is either from Brooklyn or is related to someone from there.

If that’s true, then here’s some hometown news for a few of you.

Meet Democrat Ben Akselrod who’s running for the State Assembly.

His campaign sent mailers using the word “negrohood” to residents in his Sheepshead Bay district.

Oops.

It was a typo.

“As the candidate, I take full responsibility for this inadvertent error and I am sorry to anyone who was offended by it.”

The mailers claimed his opponent “has allowed crime to go up over 50% in our negrohood so far this year.”

Akselrod didn’t say whether his campaign intended to use the word “neighborhood” instead.

He did blast his opponent’s supporters for focusing on the typo instead of addressing crime in the community.

Akselrod’s campaign treasurer, who said he was “not involved” in the creation of the flier, resigned anyway.

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RNC on the bubble

31 Aug

So, how did the Republican National Convention really do?

Depends how you measure it.

If TV ratings are any indication – it sucked.

Comparing it to the last one in 2008 – day two saw every network down substantially.

Four years ago on the second night was when Sarah Palin made her RNC debut.

Here’s the numbers: Just over 20 million people were watching that night on the Nielsen-rated networks, compared to 37 million for night two of the RNC in 2008.

Night one of the 2012 RNC was roughly even with night one of the 2008 RNC ratings-wise.

That makes the gap all the more sucky.

And the third and final night was beat in the ratings by – TLC’s Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

This country is going to hell.

Haven’t seen the show?
Read about it here.

To be fair – Hurricane Isaac knocked out power in around 500,000 homes in the southeast around this time.

While it probably had an impact, it’s not enough to explain the drop entirely.

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Morning distraction

31 Aug

This is from BuzzFeed.

It compiled clips of the worst jokes from speakers at the Republican National Convention.

We’re sure the Democrats won’t be much better.

Soundbites

30 Aug

“Sometimes they just make things up.”

– President Obama, commenting on the strategy of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

“Oh absolutely. There’s a long time until 2016 and a lot of good things can happen.”

– Texas Governor Rick Perry on whether he would consider another presidential run.

“By the time I get to town, the delegates may have decided to nominate Ann instead. And wouldn’t that be interesting? And do you think if Ann were the nominee, the press would write stories about how my job is to humanize Ann? I don’t think so.”

– Mitt Romney, introducing his wife via video to a crowd at the GOP convention in Tampa.

“But what most voters don’t know is the way Mitt Romney actually made his fortune: by borrowing vast sums of money that other people were forced to pay back. Mitt Romney is one of the greatest and most irresponsible debt creators of all time. By making debt the centerpiece of his campaign, Romney was making a calculated bluff of historic dimensions – placing a massive all-in bet on the rank incompetence of the American press corps. If Romney pulls off this whopper, you’ll have to tip your hat to him: No one in history has ever successfully run for president riding this big of a lie. It’s almost enough to make you think he really is qualified for the White House.”

– Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone

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