Monday, October 22, 2012

The Gathering Storm: Poll Shows Romney Michigan Charge


Special to the New York Times:

DETROIT, Oct. 21, 1962 -- George Romney, Republican candidate for Governor of Michigan, has a 4.7 percentage point lead over Gov. John B. Swainson, who is seeking re-election, the latest poll of The Detroit News shows.

The results, made public today, give Mr. Romney 52 per cent of the statewide vote, and Mr. Swainson 47.3 per cent. This is an increase of 4.5 per cent for Mr. Romney since the previous poll results published September 30. At that time Mr. Romney had 49.7 per cent and the Governor 49.5

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

The 3 Most Moronic Townhall Debate Questioners


Republicans have trouble with Town Hall debates. Thery were, after all, a diabolical concoction of Bill Clinton, who had found town hall meetings a perfect vehicle for his campaign. They allowed him to emote, to assure the audience that he felt their pain. Republicans' first instinct is to try to answer a question seriously, which can be a deadly instinct when the question is a deliberate trap, or a sentimental effusion rather than a question, or is just plain moronic. The generic advice to debaters in this situation is that they should emit a sentence or two that is at least vaguely relevant to the question insofar as it is understood, then relate a horrific anecdote demonstrating the seriousness of the problem, or an inspiring anecdote demonstrating the unsurpassed ability of Americans deal with adversity. Then talk about whatever you want until time is about to run out, ending with something that will be embarrassing to the next candidate as he starts his answer.
Forewarned is forearmed; here are the 3 most moronic townhall debate questioners ever:
1. Richmond, Virginia, October 15, 1992, Carole Simpson, Moderator
Note: This question was asked in response to an invitation by Carole Simpson to complain about the tenor of the campaign.
Asked by the most famous questioner of all time, "pony tail guy".
SIMPSON: Who wants to say why you don't like the way the campaign is going? We have a gentleman back here.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: And forgive the notes here but I'm shy on camera.
The focus of my work as a domestic mediator is meeting the needs of the children that I work with, by way of their parents, and not the wants of their parents. And I ask the three of you, how can we, as symbolically the children of the future president, expect the two of you, the three of you to meet our needs, the needs in housing and in crime and you name it, as opposed to the wants of your political spin doctors and your political parties?
SIMPSON: So your question is?
AUDIENCE QUESTION: Can we focus on the issues and not the personalities and the mud? I think there's a need, if we could take a poll here with the folks from Gallup perhaps, I think there's a real need here to focus at this point on the needs....[Short series of comments by candidates]... Could we cross our hearts? It sounds silly here but could we make a commitment? You know, we're not under oath at this point but could you make a commitment to the citizens of the US to meet our needs, and we have many, and not yours again? I repeat that. It's a real need, I think, that we all have.
2. Richmond, Virginia, October 15, 1992, Carole Simpson, Moderator
AUDIENCE QUESTION: Yes. How has the national debt personally affected each of your lives? And if it hasn't, how can you honestly find a cure for the economic problems of the common people if you have no experience in what's ailing them?
[Note: there then followed a period of confusion in which President Bush tried to figure out what the questioner was talking about, and in which the questioner and Ms. Simpson responded to Bush’s discussion of the economy with the demand that he say how he had personally been affected. Later, the questioner clarified (?) what she had meant:]
AUDIENCE QUESTION: Well, I've had friends that have been laid off from jobs....I know people who cannot afford to pay the mortgage on their homes, their car payment. I have personal problems with the national debt. But how has it affected you and if you have no experience in it, how can you help us, if you don't know what we're feeling?
3. San Diego, October 16, 1996, Jim Lehrer, Moderator
MS. McAFEE: My name is Shannon McAfee. I'm a beginning educator in this country, and I really think it's important what children have to say. They're still very idealistic. And they -- everything they say comes from the heart. I have a quote for you from "If I Were President," compiled by Peggy Gavin. A sixth grader says, "If I were president, I would think about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and what they did to make our country great. We should unite the white and black people and people of all cultures. Democrats and Republicans should unite also. We should all come together and think of the best ways to solve the economic problems of our country. "I believe that when we are able to come together and stop fighting amongst ourselves we will get along a lot better." These are the ideals and morals that we are teach -- we are trying to teach our children in these days. Yet we don't seem to be practicing them in our government, in anything. If you are president, how will you begin to practice what we are preaching to our children, the future of our nation?