Romney a Lock - You Can Put it On the Board YESSSS!!

Jimmy Carter rings in:

“I think President Obama will be reelected,” said Carter. “I think of all the Republican candidates who were prominent, I think Romney would be the one that I would rather see have the slight possibility to be president.”

“You’d be comfortable with a Romney presidency,” Jansing followed up.

“I’d rather have a Democrat,” said Carter. “But I’d be comfortable. I think Romney has shown in the past in his previous years as a moderate – a progressive – that he was fairly competent as a governor and also running the Olympics.”

 

That's enough to give me second thoughts.

 

Not to discourage commentary on this board, but there are 6 1/2 months until the election, and we know who the candidates are. Wouldn't it make more sense to give this thread a rest and start or continue threads on the world and U.S. events which in the interim will probably decide the election (economic stats, various issues themselves, etc.)? At least until the conventions are held, anyway.

 

Michael - not sure if we really know who the candidates are. I mean I just learned that Obama ate a dog and it made such a positive impression on him that he included it in his autobiography as an adult. He's supposed to be a Constitutional scholar but he didn't seem to know anything about Marbury v Madison. It would be nice to see his college transcripts to see if he's the bright guy everyone says he is.

 

Give it a rest, Chris. Your love of twaddle is embarrassing, considering I know you're a bright person. If you oppose Obama's policies or prefer Romney's, say so and say why. Otherwise, why not take it to talk radio?

 

Better still, Chris, why not take a break from the board to read President Obama's 6-year-old autobiography, since that's where he mentions eating dog at age 8 in Indonesia. It's not like it was some huge revelation by the right wing attack machine, you know?

 

Robert Draper, whose work I've long admired, has a new book out about the 112th Congress, "Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives" and his findings are a testament to the toxic climate there. This election is not just about Obama/Romney.

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/25/9-revelations-from-robert-draper-s-do-not-ask-what-good-we-do.html

It won't shock you that there are Democrats in Congress who call Obama "the worst negotiator ever," or that Eric Cantor does all sorts of jujitsu to look good to the Tea Partiers and to the regular Republican crowd. I found this tidbit interesting:

Despite the anti-earmark rhetoric in Congress, John Boehner still misses them. During a conversation with Congressman Ralph Hall of Texas, Boehner regretted that earmarks disappeared, as it had made the task of keeping unruly members under control much easier. He sadly noted “It’s not like the old days, Ralph. Without earmarks to offer, it’s hard to herd the cats.”

I have no doubt this is true. I've seen many on this board talk about how Obama should be all Lyndon Johnson, except that Johnson operated in the days where if you didn't go along, your district didn't get the money for that park or sewer project you wanted. I'm not saying earmarks were always a great and wonderful thing, but nothing has emerged to replace them as carrots and/or sticks in legislative negotiation, especially as a way to convince otherwise on-the-fence legislators to break away from their party.

 

Michael - are there threads that are being neglected by the great minds of SJ?

Provide some links or start some topics that need the SJ brain trust to take under advisement.

 

You just learned that a book written in 1995 discussed an event that happened in 1971.

So there's this band. Nirvana. They play this thing called "grunge." Check em out on compact disc!

 

Ragu, we don't agree on much, but I can't argue with your assessment.