C’mon, this election’s not a referendum on Obama
I’ve seen some elections that are referendums on the President, but those have almost always been Congressional campaigns, like 2010 and 2006 or 1994. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a presidential election that was a pure referendum, and every presidential election I’ve covered involved a choice. There are good reasons for this.
The presidency is our most intimate office. The President lives in our homes for four years. The media spend considerable amounts of time, sometimes too much, telling us who these people are. And then in October we get to see two, occasionally three, men–only men, sadly, so far–on the stage and we decide which one we want to invite into our homes for the next four years. Barring a national disaster, issues are secondary–although an impression of how you might handle those issues is important. In 2008, for example, the causes of the financial collapse were abstruse, but Obama gave the impression that he understood what was happening and would handle it calmly. John McCain did not.
Blowback
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You mean “such”? =P
I live in Virginia, so take that for what you will. Also, I’m not “helping” Obama unless you think that Romney is entitled to my vote, in which case then it gets removed from his tally. However, I’d note that each candidate starts with the exact same number of votes heading into an election: zero.
Stoic Patriot on April 14, 2012 at 6:11 PM
Dream on, Joel…elections are ALWAYS about who is in the White House.
How do you think Obama got elected? Because of the people who were just so anti-Bush that they were going to stick it to the Republicans…well, that and they offered up McCain instead of McBain…
ProfShadow on April 14, 2012 at 6:13 PM
How appropriate they named that section Swampland. That’s what Joe is trying to sell.
trigon on April 14, 2012 at 6:17 PM
What planet is this idiot from?
Old Country Boy on April 14, 2012 at 6:32 PM
Fever Swamp, to be exact.
Del Dolemonte on April 14, 2012 at 6:33 PM
Sorry Joe, Barry is a national disaster.
BHO Jonestown on April 14, 2012 at 6:37 PM
I also love the idiot who said O’bama won 2 debates against “Army General” John McCain, who actually retired as a Navy Captain.
That fool was a hole shy of an outhouse.
Del Dolemonte on April 14, 2012 at 6:37 PM
I see Stoic Patriot is back. This person is a member of the “Constitutionb” party which doesn’t stand a chance. He is trying to convince you not to vote for Romney, because Romney has changed his mind several times over the last 20 years. He can’t tell us how many times any of his preferred candidates, who debate in the local restaurant, have changed their minds in the past x years. All this fifth column is trying to do is get obama re-elected. SP, why don’t you go to a thread where they discuss your unknown candidates. Of course, his preferred candidate, obama, changes his mind every time he opens his mouth.
Old Country Boy on April 14, 2012 at 6:38 PM
Romney is not entitled to your vote but America is entitled to a better president than Obama.
Come on, you don’t even have to tell us; it’s a secret ballot after all. You can rail from today to election day against the both of them, saying they are no better than the other, but when you’re in the booth, you can secretly vote for Romney, and nobody would know.. America deserves better.
thebrokenrattle on April 14, 2012 at 6:39 PM
That’s the same kind of argument that some abortion-advocates use to try and make women comfortable with abortion. No one will know or find out. Well, I would know and that no one else would know doesn’t make it any less unconscionable.
Actually, it has less to do with changing one’s mind, and more a matter of why should you trust anything he says when he’ll clearly say anything to obtain power, and when he has a liberal past. Ruthless opportunists shouldn’t be trusted with power.
Stoic Patriot on April 14, 2012 at 6:43 PM
I knew you were gonna say that, for my post was very…. seductive.
Let me drop all pretense and get down to the brass tacks:
Come to the Dark Side: We have cookies…and ice cream!
thebrokenrattle on April 14, 2012 at 6:49 PM
Yeah, and by the same token he’s helping Romney by withholding a vote from Obama. So it balances out.
Some of us are not so frantic about Obama that we’ll leap at the chance to replace him with the closest thing to Obama that the GOP could find, at which point the ABO thing sounds a little ridiculous.
Aitch748 on April 14, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Now that is tempting. =P
Stoic Patriot on April 14, 2012 at 6:52 PM
It is a referendum on this failed socialist president and people on both sides of the aisle know it with. What is slightly concerning is that El Presidente Loser is definitely in with a chance. His people are going to go 150% Alinsky again and the media is already playing hard defense.
CorporatePiggy on April 14, 2012 at 6:53 PM
They’re just confused. It was Michelle he was taking out (on a date). Then he sent us the tab.
Bobbertsan on April 14, 2012 at 7:01 PM
It’ll have to do because I’m not allowed to take a dump on any car that Obama rides in.
BuckeyeSam on April 14, 2012 at 7:32 PM
SP is exactly where he needs to be, joining the rest of us conservative first, Republican second or even third. The current status of the GOP needs a core Makeover, not another whitewash. If the Makeover is unfeasible, then it needs to be razed. The donks will always be their core rottenness so whatever they do is what they do – with or without Oboobi
AH_C on April 14, 2012 at 8:04 PM
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