Quote of the Day
I'm a great believer in luck
and I find the harder I work,
the more I have of it.
Thomas Jefferson
The Vice-Presidential Debate: My Take
First, Joe Biden's behavior had an Al Gore moment (except for physical intimidation and without the audible sighs) on steroids; his smirks, condescending tone, constant interruptions, open laughter, sneers, disrespectful references (my friend, malarkey, bunch of stuff, etc.), lack of professionalism, etc.
I also believe that the moderator Martha Raddatz was more deferential towards Biden, cut off Ryan and failed to call Biden on his interruptions, had more critical follow-ups to Ryan, etc.
A CNN poll alert reported that Ryan won 48-44, and I concur. I do think it was closer, certainly closer than I thought it would be.I heard Ryan make a few non-spin statements I've made in my blog, e.g., comparing Romney's ability to fashion a bipartisan record in deep blue Massachusetts {Biden shot back Romney will likely lose Massachusetts: I'll point out Gore lost Tennessee, Romney lost the Senate race in 1994, and registered Democrats have a significant plurality advantage.).On a more critical level, I thought
Ryan as the traditional "attack dog" challenger wasn't as aggressive as I would have hoped, and he came across as a little too wonky at points.
I'm more critical on Big Defense for both sides, I think it is ludicrous that Biden was suggesting Romney would get us into a another Gulf War; this is rich for a guy whom was meddling in north Africa and expanding drone attacks--and I would have pointed out Biden wanted to partition Iraq. I'm still waiting, at minimum, for Romney-Ryan to do a lessons learned and to disavow nation building.
Biden did better than I expected on substance, he put the challenger on the defensive, and he did a better job of hitting his campaign's talking points than Obama did. Ryan did have the line of the night on Romney's 47% gaffe, pointing out Biden was a fine one for pointing out gaffes. Ryan did endear me by pointing out as I repeatedly have there aren't enough rich people to pay for Dem superspending
As a Catholic and both VP candidates being Catholic, Ryan was more authentic in the discussion of abortion. Biden lied by arguing it was a matter of faith (it's a moral issue),and I would point out secular medical codes (before and independent of Christ) excluded abortion. Ryan noted the child is biologically distinct from his or her mother from the point of conception. I think that Ryan should have pointed out murder and abortion have traditionally been regulated at the state/local level
Why Young People Cannot in Good Faith Vote For Obama/Dems
In a recent post, I made mocking reference to Obama as "Ponzi; the Ponz"--a takeoff on the archetypal 70's "Happy Days" leather-jacketed character (I said the Ponz wore a deficit-red jacket)
I have not reviewed After the Welfare State (visit the Atlas Network here); I'm not hyping the book; Stossel simply references the video which I embed for reader convenience.
As a Catholic I reject Rand's atheism , but I admire her consistent individualism and belief in free markets.
Political Humor
Mitt Romney is refusing to participate in the long-running special on Nickelodeon called “Kids Pick the President.” Romney said it's nothing personal; he just says that these kids are part of that 47 percent who contribute nothing to the country and mooch off their parents and grandparents. - Jay Leno
[After Big Bird endorsed Obama...On the other hand, Romney could promise tastier school lunches and deregulated vending machines...]
The good news for the White House is that unemployment has dropped to 7.8 percent, right where it was when President Obama took office. So Obama has gone from "Change you can believe in" to "Can you believe there's no change." - Jay Leno
[Government still not paying its bills, Gitmo still open, GI's still dying in Afghanistan, the government spying on citizens without a warrant, the House and President at odds ...]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Four Tops, "Baby, I Need Your Lovin'". One of my favorite all-time songs (I actually slightly prefer Johnny Rivers' remake (below).) One of the first albums I ever purchased was a cut-out Four Tops compilation.
