Category: Politics

The VP Debate: Paul Ryan Vs. Joe Biden AND Martha Raddatz

On By kingsjesterIn Politics10 Comments

As I write this Blog, the Vice-Presidential debate is wrapping up.

I admire the stew out of Paul Ryan.

He just spent 90 minutes debating both the Vice-President of the United States and the Moderator, ABC’s Martha Raddatz, who has known Barack Hussein Obama since her ex-husband, the current Chairman of the FCC, and young Scooter were classmates at Harvard Law School.

The scales were tipped from the get-go. Crazy Uncle Joe kept interrupting Congressman Ryan, in an obvious strategy to a) torque him off and get him off his game plan, and b) shout him down so that his arguments could not be heard.

The so-called Moderator, Ms. Raddatz, faithfully did her duty…to the Democratic Party. Every time Ryan would speak, she would interrupt him as well, asking infinitely more questions of him than she did of Jar Jar Biden.

While Ryan kept his cool, as well as his professionalism, Biden appeared to be badly in need of some Prozac, and at times during the debate came across as maniacally desperate.

Several noted Liberals were on Twitter during the debate posting disparaging remarks concerning Crazy Uncle Joe’s smirking and condescending attitude.

Weekly Standard’s Mark Hemingway: “Joe Biden’s laughing through talking about Iran sanctions?”

TIME’s Michael Scherer: “Not sure debate cameras have been light tested for Biden’s teeth. Best to watch with sunglasses.”

Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein: “Biden’s strategy seems to be to laugh at Ryan constantly. Will it work to infantalize Ryan, or backfire like Gore sighing?”

NBC’s David Gregory: “Biden’s smile is out of control.”

BuzzFeed’s Ben Smith: “So did Biden practice laughing at Ryan???”

ABC’s Rick Klein: “Biden on verge of breaking down in laughter when Ryan talks.”

Former Eric Cantor staffer Brad Dayspring: “Joe Biden needs to realize this isn’t a Senate Foreign Relations Hearing. His laughter and condescending attitude is a disaster.”

Radio host Neal Boortz: “Looking like Biden’s gameplan is to laugh his way through this.”

Townhall.com’s Guy Benson: “Will Biden laugh his ass off at the terrible economy, too?”

MSNBC’s S.E. Cupp: “Biden needs to laugh a little less through the Libya, Middle East, nuclear Iran segment.”

Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza: “Ok. I have decided. I find the Biden smile slightly unsettling.”

PBS’ Jeff Greenfield: “Biden has always had a smile that at times is really, really inappropriate.”

Washington Examiner’s Paul Bedard: “Can’t tell yet if Biden’s smirking, laughs, eye-rolling, head shaking, works for him or not against the oh-so-young looking eager Ryan.”

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer: “Biden is at risk of having his laugh come across like Gore’s sighs. He should knock it off.”

The New York Times’ Ashley Parker: “Biden’s grin is Chesire Cat caliber.”

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean: “Biden laughing does not come off with the intended effect. It is actually hurting him. Looks very condescending.”

Movie critic Roger Ebert: “Joe! Stop smiling and laughing!”

Washington Times’ Emily Miller: “Biden laughing when he disagrees with Ryan is so annoying. Like a child in time out.”

Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin: “Biden’s laughing is losing the debate- obnoxious”

Comedy Central’s Indecision: “If this keeps up much longer, Joe Biden’s going to sprain his laugh muscles.”

And while Congressman Ryan was too much of a gentleman to do so, I wish he would have asked Ms. Raddatz last night, if she was a supposed to be a Broadcast Journalist or a Democratic Party Activist?

Foxnews.com summarizes the debate for us:

Vice President Biden and Paul Ryan came ready to rumble. And it showed.

The dueling running mates turned the lone vice presidential debate into an uncharacteristically feisty affair Thursday night, scrapping over everything from the economy to Libya to taxes.

The candidates interrupted each other. They talked over each other. Biden chuckled through many of Ryan’s responses. Ryan claimed his opponent was simply under “duress.”

The 90-minute session was a turnaround from last week’s opening presidential debate, a policy-focused bout in which President Obama was panned for his lackluster performance. On stage Thursday night in Kentucky, both vice presidential contenders aggressively challenged each other and came armed with a stack of talking points.

Ryan accused Obama of “projecting weakness” with his foreign policy, particularly in his response to the terror attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. At home, he accused the administration of presiding over a shoddy recovery.

“This is not what a real recovery looks like,” he said.

Biden went after the Romney/Ryan ticket with a directness that Obama did not a week ago in Denver. Notably, he hammered Romney over his secretly videotaped comment in which he said he doesn’t have to worry about the “47 percent” of Americans who don’t pay federal income taxes.

“These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors,” Biden said, adding he’s “had it up to here” with those kinds of comments.

Ryan shot back, in reference to Biden’s tendency to make gaffes: “As the vice president very well knows … sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way.”

“But I always say what I mean,” Biden responded. “And so does Romney.”

Ryan opened the vice presidential debate with tough criticism of the Obama administration over its handling of the Libya terror attack.

“What we are watching on our TV screens is the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy,” Ryan said.

With the moderator, ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, opening the debate with a question about the Libya strike, which happened a month ago Thursday, Ryan criticized the administration for waiting more than a week after the strike to call it a coordinated terror attack.

“This is becoming more troubling by the day. They first blamed the YouTube video. Now they’re trying to blame the Romney/Ryan ticket for making this an issue,” he said. Ryan was referring to a claim by an Obama aide earlier Thursday that the only reason the attack had entered the political debate was because of Romney’s criticism – a claim Romney rejected.

Biden was quick to retort: “With all due respect, that’s just a bunch of malarkey,” he said, on the debate stage in Kentucky.

“This talk about this weakness, I don’t understand what my friend’s talking about,” he said.

Biden also criticized Romney for making a “political statement”on the night of the attack, a reference to Romney’s criticism of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo’s early response to protests there.

The face-off Thursday night was taking on outsized importance for a vice presidential debate.

After Obama’s debate performance last week, the pressure was on Biden to recapture the momentum – while equally on Ryan to prevent the Obama ticket from blunting Romney’s surge.

In a matter of days, Romney has picked up steam in both battleground and national polls. The latest Fox News national poll of likely voters showed Romney edging Obama, 46 percent to 45 percent.

Other polls show Romney with more of a lead.

Judging from what I saw and heard last night, I don’t think that last night’s cranky old man performance by Crazy Uncle Joe will make a bit of difference.

One last thought:

The spin from the Democrats immediately after the debate was that Joe is “A Happy Warrior”.  So is aged Professional Wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. But, I don’t want him to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency, either.

VP Wars: Paul “Skywalker” Ryan Vs. “Jar Jar” Biden

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

…with a representative from “Emperor Obama Palpatine” moderating.

A long, long time ago…in a law school far, far away…

It seems that — with her jobs as an NPR correspondent and ABC TV journalist, and her marriages to Ben Bradlee, Jr. (with whom she has a daughter); FCC Commissioner Julius Genachowski (with whom she has a son); and now an NPR journalist — she is very much a creature of the Washington establishment.

Maybe she will be fair to Paul Ryan. We will see. Given her past and connections, however, one cannot help suspecting where her sympathies lie — and it’s difficult to imagine her doing anything that would upset the NY-DC liberal elite cocktail circuit. I’d love to be wrong on that.President Barack Obama was a guest at the 1991 wedding of ABC senior foreign correspondent and vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz, The Daily Caller has learned. Obama and groom Julius Genachowski, whom Obama would later tap to head the Federal Communications Commission, were Harvard Law School classmates at the time and members of the Harvard Law Review.

After TheDC made preliminary inquiries Monday to confirm Obama’s attendance at the wedding, ABC leaked a pre-emptive statement to news outlets including Politico and The Daily Beast Tuesday, revealing what may have been internal network pressure felt just days before Raddatz was scheduled to moderate the one and only vice-presidential debate Thursday night.

Both Politico and The Daily Beast jumped to ABC and Raddatz’s defense. The Huffington Post, a liberal news outlet, joined them shortly thereafter, while calling “unusual” ABC’s attempt to kill the story before it gained wide circulation.

Genachowski — called “Jay” at the time of his wedding, sources told TheDC — and Raddatz would go on to have a son together before their divorce in 1997. They have both since remarried to other people.

A source who attended the 1991 wedding told The DC that Obama was also a guest there, and remembered that a man by the name of “Barry Obama” was among the guests dancing at the reception. (RELATED: Marital, personal ties link Obama administration to Commission on Presidential Debates)

…Carol Platt Liebau, a political commentator who was a Harvard Law Review colleague of Genachowski and Obama, wrote that “despite being a year below both men on the Review and not close personal friends with either of them,” she remembered Genachowski and Raddatz’s relationship as “quite public” during those days, and that “Raddatz visited Boston frequently.”

Genachowski’s friendship with Obama would continue through the campaign trail in 2008 and into the White House: He aggressively fundraised for Obama in 2008 as a campaign bundler, and served on the presidential transition team before winning his appointment to chair the FCC.

Tonight is the Vice-Presidential Debate.  By all rights, this “wrestling match” should be about as even as Jerry “The King” Lawler vs. Andy Kaufman was.

In fact, per weeklystandard.com:

Vice President Joe Biden has not sat down for a nationally televised interview in 5 months. The last big TV interview Biden did was on NBC’s Meet the Press, when he jumped the gun and came out in favor of gay marriage before President Obama was able to publicly shift his position. Days later, Obama did his own nationally televised interview and expressed his own support for that initiative.

Biden’s Meet the Press interview aired Sunday, May 6, 2012.

In fact, it is not just TV Biden has been avoiding. He’s done only one print interview since Paul Ryan joined Mitt Romney on the Republican ticket back in August.

“From all we can find, Joe Biden has done one interview since Paul Ryan joined the ticket August 11. One. And it was with John Heilemann for New York magazine. Over that period, Paul Ryan has done 197 interviews, 153 of those on TV (29 National & 124 local/regional). The rest print or radio,” says an aide at Mitt Romney’s campaign headquarters.

A Republican source explains why Biden is being kept away from the press.

“Joe Biden gets used by the Obama Campaign like Bernie from ‘Weekend at Bernie’s,'” says the Republican source. “They drag him out to a battleground state, prop him up on a podium in front of a teleprompter, pose him for photos with locals, and then quickly roll him back to Air Force 2 before reporters have a chance to ask him questions. They want Biden to be seen, but not heard in any interviews because they’re afraid he might embarrass the president with another one of his hilarious gaffes.”

Even President Obama has sat for interviews during this time. Most notably, Obama joined the ladies of The View for a daytime interview when he was in New York City recently for the United Nations General Assembly.

According to Paul Ryan, we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, or a politician by his gaffes:

GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan says he’s ready for Joe Biden to come at him like a “cannonball” in their debate later this week.

“Because they had such a bad debate, Joe Biden is just going to come flying at us,” Ryan told radio host Frank Beckmann on WJR in Detroit. “It seems pretty clear that their new strategy is just to call us liars, to descend into a mud pit.”

Biden and Ryan will meet in their only debate on Thursday at Centre College in Danville, Ky. ABC’s Martha Raddatz will moderate the event, which will feature questions on both domestic and foreign policy.

Ryan has been getting ready for the debate with the help of Ted Olson, a former solicitor general for President George W. Bush. Biden’s debate partner has been Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee that Ryan leads. CNN reported Obama adviser David Axelrod also sat in on some of the pre-debate sessions.

In the radio interview, Ryan called Biden a “gifted speaker” and “proven debater.”

Polls by Gallup and Pew found that voters believe Romney did better than Obama in their first debate last week. Ryan said today that his running mate “raised the bar quite high” for his own performance on Thursday.

I think Ryan will do well. This is an administration in the death throes of circling down the porcelain receptacle.

All the future Vice-President has to do is bring his light saber of truth, facts, and figures, and the “gaffemeister”, “Jar Jar” Biden, will not be able to formulate any sort of logical counter-attack.

Hopefully, just as in “Star Wars 6: Return of the Jedi”, a “Skywalker” will be victorious.

Obama Campaign’s Bird-Brained Idea Backfires

On By kingsjesterIn Entertainment, Politics1 Comment

…and the feathers are flying.

First, let’s hear from the rather large fowl in question:

Big Bird, it seems, isn’t thrilled about his cameo in the presidential race.

The folks at Sesame Street are asking the Obama campaign to pull down a TV ad released Tuesday that mocks Mitt Romney for vowing to yank the subsidy to PBS.

At the presidential debate in Denver last week, Mr. Romney said he would end the subsidy in view of the nation’s fiscal troubles.

“I love Big Bird,” the Republican challenger said “… But I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for.”

Up went an ad by team Obama called “Big Bird’’ that suggests Mr. Romney is targeting children’s programming rather than legitimate threats to people’s economic interests.

The ad shows images of Bernie Madoff and others implicated in various financial and corporate scandals. A narrator then intones: “And the evil genius who towered over them?”

A silhouette of Big Bird flashes on screen.

“Mitt Romney knows it’s not Wall Street you have to worry about, it’s Sesame Street,” the narrator said.

The ad is airing on national cable and broadcast TV, in time slots devoted to comedy shows, the Obama campaign said.

Sesame Street isn’t amused. Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization that produces and owns the show, issued a statement Tuesday saying “we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns. We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down.”

A blog post on the Sesame Workshop website said that “Sesame Street would not exist were it not for PBS and its local stations, which is the distribution system for Big Bird and friends to reach all children across the United States, particularly the low income children who need us most.”

Of course, everyone has an opinion on this issue. No one wants to be seen as being chicken:

From Obama for America: 

Big. Yellow. Loved by kids everywhere. And only one candidate has the courage to go after him. Today, Obama for America is out with a new TV spot because, while President Obama passed historic Wall Street reform to hold big banks accountable and give consumers tools to make informed decisions for themselves, his opponent, Mitt Romney, has shown true conviction by vowing to take down Big Bird and keep Sesame Street under control.

From Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein:

Watching the “Big Bird” ad… I couldn’t help but think back to this part of Obama’s February 2007 speech in Springfield, Ill. when he launched his first campaign for president: “What’s stopped us from meeting these challenges is not the absence of sound policies and sensible plans. What’s stopped us is the failure of leadership, the smallness of our politics — the ease with which we’re distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our preference for scoring cheap political points instead of rolling up our sleeves and building a working consensus to tackle big problems.”

And Chuck Todd notes on MSNBC:

Serious question though: We’re six days later. The Obama campaign, on their own, seems to be looking back at the debate, not yet figuring out how to turn the page from the debate. Maybe it’s understandable given what we’re seeing given the bounce in the polls, and that it’s part of the entire campaign conversation. But of course they’re the ones running these look-back-at-the-debate ads. And you have to ask yourself, every time they bring up the debate, is that good for Obama or is that good for Romney?

Finally, the Republican Candidate, himself, got in a zinger yesterday:

Mitt Romney, speaking to a crowd of about 1,200 on a farm here in Van Meter, Iowa, criticized President Obama’s recent focus on Big Bird on the campaign trail.

“You have to scratch your head when the president spends the last week talking about saving Big Bird,” he said. “I actually think we need to have a president who talks about saving the American people and saving good jobs.”

But, Mitt…Obama can’t explain how his domestic policies have brought us to this point. That would be claiming responsibility for his own mistakes. Didn’t you know…after 4 years…it’s still Booooosh’s fault?

Anyway, kiddies, don’t feel sorry for the Bird. He aint exactly hurtin’ for money:

The 2011 IRS 990 form for Sesame Workshop (formerly the Children’s Television Workshop), the producers of Sesame Street, revealed that they received $7,968,918 in government grants last year. That sounds like a hefty amount, but the 990 also revealed that Sesame Workshop received $44,984,003 in royalties last year, which includes sales of Sesame Street brand merchandise like “Tickle Me Elmo” dolls. That means Big Bird made five times in merchandise sales than what he received in government grants.

An even closer look at Sesame Workshop’s finances shows the government funding Romney wants to cut is only a small part of their budget and may not be necessary at all. In 2011, Sesame Workshop received $31,555,192 in grants and donations last year apart from the U.S. government. They also raised over $2 million in additional funds from various fundraising events. In all, Sesame Workshop raised almost $34 million in private funds for Sesame Street, aside from government grants.

In addition, Sesame Workshop brought in almost $30 million in revenue from content distribution and media production. In total, Sesame Workshop brought in over $122 million in revenue, not including government grants. On their website, Sesame Workshop claims corporate, foundation, and government support make up 35% of their budget. Realistically, however, government funding only accounts for just over 6% of their budget.

Sesame Workshop has faced drops in revenue in recent years and seems to have weathered it. Recent tax returns reveal a drop of 3% to 5% in budgets in recent years, so a loss of government funding would certainly not mean the end of Big Bird. In 2009, they laid off 20% of their workforce in a cost-cutting move, and still survived. However, salaries still make up a large part of their budget. In 2011, they paid out over $54 million in salaries, a high percentage of their budget for a non-profit.

And, if he needs to, he can always do commercials.

Big Bird: Future Spokesperson for Church’s Fried Chicken.

Romney: “Hope is Not a Strategy.”

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

Yesterday, an American Leader gave an excellent, commanding speech on his vision for what our Foreign Policy should be.

And, it sure wasn’t Scooter.

Reuters.com summarizes the speech:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered a sweeping critique on Monday of President Barack Obama’s handling of threats in the Middle East, saying Obama’s lack of leadership had made the volatile region more dangerous.

In what his campaign called a major foreign policy address, Romney called for a more assertive use of American influence in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

Romney, speaking before the white-uniformed cadets at Virginia Military Institute, questioned Obama’s handling of the episode in Libya last month in which U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed after the U.S. consulate in Benghazi came under militant attack.

The former Massachusetts governor also accused Obama of failing to use U.S. diplomacy to shape events in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Russia and elsewhere.

“The president is fond of saying that, ‘The tide of war is receding,'” Romney said. “And I want to believe him as much as anyone. But when we look at the Middle East today … it is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office.”

Romney’s speech was short on specifics, but in broad terms he laid out his national security priorities before the second of his three debates with Obama, which will be at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on October 16 and will include discussion of foreign policy.

Romney’s aim on Monday was to portray himself as having the presidential stature needed for the world stage. He had a similar goal during a trip overseas in July, but that was marred by a series of missteps, including his inadvertent insult of the organizers of the London Olympics.

In calling for a more forceful foreign policy, Romney indicated that he would not rush into armed conflict.

But he accused Obama of a hasty troop withdrawal from Iraq, saying hard-fought gains there are being eroded by rising violence and a resurgent al Qaeda. Obama considers his withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq the fulfillment of a 2008 campaign promise, sought by Americans weary of war.

Romney also said he might not be so quick to pull troops out of the unpopular war in Afghanistan. Obama has pledged to end the U.S. combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 as part of NATO’s plan to hand over security responsibility to Afghan forces.

Romney said he would pursue a transition to Afghan security forces by that time but would evaluate conditions there before making a final decision to pull out.

Obama was right to order the mission that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden last year, Romney said, but he charged that other elements of the president’s strategy for the region were weak or ill-advised. Romney pointed to the extensive U.S. reliance on attacks by drone aircraft as “no substitute for a national security strategy for the Middle East.”

Romney, who accused Obama of pursuing a strategy of “passivity” rather than partnership with U.S. allies, is running just behind or even with his Democratic rival in most opinion polls, which have gotten closer since Romney did well in their first debate last week.

Our Brightest and Best, who have to enforce the President’s Foreign Policy know, overwhelmingly, whom they want to be the 45th President of the United States. 

Here’s a newsflash: Per militarytimes.com, again, it ain’t Scooter.

The 3,100 respondents — roughly two-thirds active-duty and one-third reserve component members — are about 80 percent white and 91 percent male. Forty percent are in paygrades E-5 through E-8, while more than 35 percent are in paygrades O-3 through O-5.

Almost 80 percent of respondents have a college degree — including 27 percent with a graduate degree and more than 11 percent with a post-graduate degree — while an additional 18.5 percent have some college under their belts.

And they are battle-hardened; almost 29 percent have spent more than two cumulative years deployed since 9/11, while a similar percentage has spent one to two cumulative years deployed.

The Military Times poll shows that Republicans continue to enjoy overwhelming support among the military’s professional ranks.

For an example of the cockeyed Foreign Policy known as Smart Power!, check this out:

Yesterday, Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez “won” reelection. Today, the White House is congratulating Venezuela on that outcome.

From the pool report, which details a gaggle held by White House spokesman Jay Carney:

-Carney said US congratulates Venezuelan people on its election, while noting the US has its differences with Chavez.

President Obama is on his way to tour Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in California.

UPDATE: From the White House transcript of the gaggle:

Q Speaking of foreign policy, can you react to the election results in Venezuela?

MR. CARNEY: The Venezuelan National Elections Commission has declared that President Hugo Chavez won reelection, I believe roughly 54 to 45 percent, with 90 percent reporting. We congratulate the Venezuelan people on the high level of participation, as well as on what was a relatively peaceful election process. I would note the challenger has conceded the race.

Re-electing the despot, Hugo Chavez, signals a strong “Democracy”?

Mr. President, I do not think that you know what that word means.

And, as far as your inept and chaotic Foreign Policy is concerned, therein lies the problem.

Will It Be “Morning in America”, Again?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

Obama’s minion “Baghdad Bob” Gibbs tried to attack the highly successful Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, concerning his opinion concerning last week’s suspicious Unemployment Rate.

Foxnews.com has the story:

Obama senior campaign adviser Robert Gibbs on Sunday criticized former General Electric executive Jack Welch for suggesting the Obama campaign has influenced or manipulated the most recent U.S. unemployment numbers.

“The notion, quite frankly, that somebody as well respected as Jack Welch would go on television and single-handedly embarrass himself for the entire day of Friday by saying somehow that these statistics are made up … it’s incredibly dangerous,” Gibbs said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Conservatives and others suggested Friday, after the Labor Department report showed the September unemployment rate had dipped to 7.8 percent, that the number, the lowest since President Obama took office, might have been an outlier or based on incorrect data and assumptions.

Welch appeared to take the idea a step further Friday, two days after an unspectacular debate performance by President Obama, when he tweeted: “Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything . . . can’t debate so change numbers.”

Welch appeared later on Fox News and said he was not sure how the federal government arrived at the numbers, but suggested the report should make officials look at measurements used.

“I don’t know what the right numbers are,” the 76-year-old Welch said. “But I’ll tell you these numbers don’t smell right when you think about where the economy is right now.”

He argued in his defense that 25 of the country’s top economists predicted the August unemployment rate of 8.1 percent would remain the same this month or drop to 8.1 percent.

“That’s why I tweeted,” Welch said.

The other Labor Department numbers being questioned by Welch and others are those on jobs added to the economy.

As I’ve gathered by  communicating with other Americans over the weekend, I can assure you:

No one is buying the 7.8% Unemployment Rate.

In fact, it does not appear to have made a bit of difference.

Per colorado.edu:

An update to an election forecasting model announced by two University of Colorado professors in August continues to project that Mitt Romney will win the 2012 presidential election.

According to their updated analysis, Romney is projected to receive 330 of the total 538 Electoral College votes. President Barack Obama is expected to receive 208 votes — down five votes from their initial prediction — and short of the 270 needed to win.

The new forecast by political science professors Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder and Michael Berry of CU Denver is based on more recent economic data than their original Aug. 22 prediction. The model itself did not change.

“We continue to show that the economic conditions favor Romney even though many polls show the president in the lead,” Bickers said. “Other published models point to the same result, but they looked at the national popular vote, while we stress state-level economic data.”

While many election forecast models are based on the popular vote, the model developed by Bickers and Berry is based on the Electoral College and is the only one of its type to include more than one state-level measure of economic conditions. They included economic data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Their original prediction model was one of 13 published in August in PS: Political Science & Politics, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Political Science Association. The journal has published collections of presidential election models every four years since 1996, but this year the models showed the widest split in outcomes, Berry said. Five predicted an Obama win, five forecast a Romney win, and three rated the 2012 race as a toss-up.

The Bickers and Berry model includes both state and national unemployment figures as well as changes in real per capita income, among other factors. The new analysis includes unemployment rates from August rather than May, and changes in per capita income from the end of June rather than March. It is the last update they will release before the election.

Corroborating this report:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 47%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are undecided.

And, finally, Jim Geraghty, in an Op Ed for the New York Daily News writes

So the choice before Americans is a rerun of the gridlock of the past two years, or something different — a Republican-controlled Washington, but with a President Romney whose record, demeanor and style is quite different from that of George W. Bush.

None of this means that the task remaining before Romney isn’t difficult. But for most of this general election, the race featured an incumbent and a poorly-defined caricature.

The debates demonstrated that no one can make the case for a candidate better than the candidate himself — not the SuperPACs, not the national party, not the surrogates nor the running mate. Only Romney himself could look the voters in the eye and demonstrate that he had the knowledge, the composure, the deftness and the concern they wanted to see. Romney’s message was simple but resonant — if we can get more Americans in jobs, we’ll see dramatic improvement in our budgetary, debt and social conditions.

If, by Nov. 6, Americans conclude they believe Romney can deliver on that vision, then the conventional wisdom of just a few weeks ago may prove spectacularly wrong. Romney may not just win, he may win handily.

Make it so, Americans.

 Last Thursday, after being pumped up by Mitt’s stellar debate performance, I Tweeted:

It may not be Morning in America again yet, but, after last night, we can see the first rays of sunlight on the horizon.

Judging for the reaction of the Obama Administration, their sycophants in the Main Stream Media, and their paid and unpaid Internet “pundits”,  they’re are all afraid of the light of day.

Hmmm. Perhaps they’re all vampires.

But…that’s a whole ‘nother Blog.

Christians Killed in Kenya

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

Adherents to “the religion of peace” are now murdering Christians in the formerly stable country of Kenya.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that

A grenade attack on an Anglican Church in Kenya’s capital has left one child dead and seven others injured in what is viewed as a response by the Somali Islamist group Al Shabab to the capture of its stronghold Friday by Kenyan troops.

The Sunday morning attack on the St. Polycarp’s Anglican Church in Eastleigh area, which the police said was carried out by Al Shabab or its sympathizers, prompted analysts to warn of more attacks as the Kenya Defense Forces achieve more military success in next-door Somalia.

The troops, which rolled into the war-torn country in October 2011, entered Al Shabab’s final stronghold city of Kismayo on Friday. Fighting together under the African Union banner, Kenyan and Somalian troops are now moving to consolidate their gains in Kismayo.

The apparent reprisal attack on the Nairobi church offers early confirmation of concerns here that while Al Shabab’s conventional fight may be ending, the group will continue to be a regional menace through guerrilla and terrorist attacks.

“Kenya should brace itself for these attacks. It is obvious. Al Shabab has said, you come to my hole, I will come to yours,” says Madobe M.A, a Nairobi-based analyst on Somali issues.

The attack came as children were singing in a church Sunday school service. In a style reminiscent of Boko Haram, Nigeria’s violent Islamist sect, the assailants hurled a grenade inside the school, with most children being injured in the stampede for the exits.

Hours after the attack, two policemen were shot dead in the town of Garissa, where 14 people had been killed back in July in twin church attacks.

You’re probably asking yourself, Why is KJ writing about this? It’s a world away! We’ve got an election going on in this country.

It may be inconsequential to you, but it is not me and my church. You see, one of our young ladies is teaching at the International Christian School in West Nairobi, Kenya.

From nics.org:

Nairobi is the capital and largest city in Kenya, having about four million inhabitants. West Nairobi School (WNS) is located in Karen, Kenya, a suburb to the west of Nairobi. Adjacent to the Ngong Forest, WNS is very scenic and peaceful. The temperature is consistent year round, remaining between 20 and 27 degrees Celcius (65 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit) with rains occurring in November-December and again in March-May. English is the national language of Kenya and Kiswahili is the language of culture. Tourism is the number one industry in Kenya, followed closely by the tea and coffee industry.

West Nairobi School is an international Christian community founded on biblical truths, existing to educate and nurture students to become responsible citizens and devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

WNS is uniquely poised to serve both the missionary and national population in Kenya. By offering quality education, it frees parents to serve the people of Kenya and the rest of East Africa.

West Nairobi School serves children from pre-school through the 12th grade and is fully accredited.

The history of NICS is an example of God’s Grace.

In 1983, Joe Hale along with his wife Ann and some other missionaries formed a school in South Korea. They initially anticipated that this school would educate about 30 students, but on the school’s inaugural day 83 students arrived for classes.The school continued to grow, and currently there are 3 different NICS schools in South Korea with a total enrollment of over 1000 students.

It quickly became apparent that the need for international schools, particularly those of a Christian nature, was present in many countries beyond Korea, and schools perpetuating the same approach soon appeared in other countries, and eventually on other continents. The vast growth of the initial schools was such that the Network of International Christian Schools (NICS) was born in 1991 and a home office was established in Memphis, TN to facilitate the operations and staffing of the schools. In 1992, NICS became an incorporated independent mission agency. In 2001 the home office was moved to Southaven, MS, where it is currently located. After operating out of the Southaven municipal building for several years, the current location was secured and occupied in the fall of 2007. The home office is housed in three buildings on 9.5 acres, and there are future plans for additional buildings to be built, which will be used as a conference and training facility. The home office currently houses 20 employees, as well as the offices of NorthStar International Academy, the online school. Joe Hale serves as the president of NICS, and now works out of the home office, or international headquarters. The peak enrollment of all 17 NICS schools during the 2009-10 school year was over 3600 students. There are over 500 teachers serving the 17 schools throughout the organization.

Per Joel Hale:

Today, we take a moment to look back at our history and see that our “trail” is filled with the fingerprints of God all along the way. Sure, we have made changes as we have grown and learned better how to accomplish our goals and purposes. Yet, the goal still remains. I cannot think of a better strategy to impact the world than through the influence and mentorship provided by Christian teachers in an international school setting. God continues to open doors of opportunity to us, and we must pursue those opportunities with passion and urgency.

We continue to lean heavily on God’s hand of provision; our needs are great; our challenges many. We must not rest until all the world is reached with the Good News! Let us not forget, however, that we must also take time to look back and see how His miraculous hand has touched us in the past in such a way that we can never be the same. This gives us confidence to look forward and trust that He will continue to unfold his plans for this ministry before us… among all nations!

NCIS Teachers rely on funding from their family, friends, and congregations. The sacrifices they make are great. I attended a presentation by this young lady. She was so excited to be going over there to serve. Her contract will be over soon. She is presently trying to decide what she will do.

I know that whatever she decides, God’s Grace will be with her.

I only hope that she makes it home safely soon.

Election 2012: Class Warfare: United We Stand…Divided We Fall

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

The other day, the 44th President of these United States, Barack Hussein Obama, inadvertently gave voters another insight into his decidedly Marxist political Philosophy, when he said:

This country doesn’t just succeed when just a few are doing well at the top. It succeeds when the middle class gets bigger. Our economy doesn’t grow from the top down — it grows from the middle out. We don’t believe that anybody is entitled to success in this country,” said Obama. “But we do believe in opportunity. We believe in a country where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, and everybody is getting a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same rules.

Remember what Jar Jar Biden said about those of us struggling in America’s Middle Class?

Vice President Biden said Tuesday that the middle class has been “buried the last four years” — a practically gift-wrapped gaffe that Republicans immediately grabbed to hammer President Obama on the eve of the first presidential debate.

Biden made the remark at a campaign stop in Charlotte, N.C., in the course of slamming Republican tax policies which Democrats claim would cut taxes for the rich and hike them for the middle class.

“This is deadly earnest,” Biden said. “How they can justify — how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that’s been buried the last four years. How in the lord’s name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts?”

Mitt Romney, it turns out, couldn’t agree more with the first part.

He tweeted: “Agree with @JoeBiden, the middle class has been buried the last 4 years, which is why we need a change in November #CantAfford4More.”

Running mate Paul Ryan echoed, saying at a rally in Iowa that “we need to stop digging” and elect Romney.

The last post I wrote was about the magical 7.8% Unemployment Rate, that just happened to appear one month before the most important election in our lifetimes.

While over at my favorite Conservative Website, hotair.com, I had a poster tell me

Right now Mitt is doing well and its better to focus on getting him elected than distractions from the WH, real or imaginary.

This struck a nerve with me, because, quite frankly, even though I have a wonderful job now, I continue to struggle with paying bills after a period of being under-employed. I replied,

The entire country and Internet were buzzing about this yesterday. To those who are out of work, or under-employed, and don’t know how they are going to pay their bills from month-to-month, or provide for their family, the Unemployment Rate is not a distraction. it is a reality.

A drop in the Unemployment Rate, one month away from the most important election in our lifetime is not a “distraction”. It is Chicago Politics…at it’s finest.

Now is not the time for squishiness, nor political niceties. This is a war for the future of the greatest nation on Earth.

Now, there are those of you who are reading, that believe I’m bloviating.

No. I’m being factual. In Professional Wresting Parlance, this is a “Falls Count Anywhere Match…No Holds Barred”.

As Bill Flax wrote back in March on americanthinker.org, Obama’s political philosophy speaks for itself,

Every fiscal policy from sundry stimulus programs to tax credits is steeply progressive. Obama champions wealth-redistribution and punitively taxing the affluent, even as political reality prevents implementing his complete agenda. Still, spending relentlessly rises long after the recession’s end, propelling government dependency to record heights. Meanwhile, regulatory impositions grow ever more invasive, further extending Leviathan’s lurching grasp.

The administration’s rhetorical assaults on business and repeated allusions to Republicans or the rich as “enemies” betray Marxist moorings. To Obama, profits represent not satisfied customers, but swindles; businesses are “greedy” until proven innocent. Acquittals come via campaign contributions or penance to progressive causes. Those who cooperate obtain ObamaCare waivers and lucrative public contracts; those who won’t get vilification from the presidential bully pulpit.

…But the Breitbart footage showing Obama supporting Derrick Bell’s racialism highlights the precise hue of the president’s Marxist perspectives. Professor Bell has been nicknamed the “Jeremiah Wright of the academic world.” Bell’s Critical Race Theory, the pinnacle of political correctness, applies Marxism to culture, as orthodox Marxism antagonized class differences.

Whereas Marx proffered that the pivotal hinge was economic, as explained here, cultural Marxism, aka political correctness, features other factors. It’s still victims and villains, but the culprits extend beyond capitalists and bourgeois to whites, men, Christians, and other “privileged” parties. Western culture’s prey are racial or religious minorities, women, and those behaving in ways previously considered anti-social.

Obama perceives society through lenses skewed by this modern version of Marxism. Obama’s proposals inevitably leverage left-wing radicals or government organs to redistribute wealth, power, or caches of moral superiority under pretense of combating prejudice. Power shifts from private to public — or from parties previously seen as oppressors to those whom progressives deem oppressed.

…The apologies, the appointments, the executive orders, the spending priorities — all embody untrammeled political correctness. The consistent thread knitting this Marxist quilt is anti-traditional America, which, as the president haughtily scoffs, was founded by “men of property and wealth.” Obama borrows from Marx, who thought government an instrument protecting the rich. Marx found faith, tradition, and patriotism impediments preventing the proletariat from recognizing their class interests.

The desensitization and placating of the Middle Class, as it was in classic Marxist Theory, is a key element, of Obama and his Party’s Re-election Campaign, as it was in the 4 years of his presidency.

By taking the ambition of the Middle Class away, by offering a “safe and comfortable” cradle-to-grave Nanny-State, “Uncle Sugar” Federal Government, they are buying American voters by giving them bribes of free Obamaphones, paychecks for not working, free food, etc.

Unfortunately, as Mitt Romney alluded to recently, there is a great percentage of American voters who will buy and be content with this “Mother’s milk”, instead of yearning for the thrill and the challenge of the hunt for American Individual Success and Freedom.

Mitt Romney also said,

…And the American people are the greatest people in the world. What makes America the greatest nation in the world is the heart of the American people: hardworking, innovative, risk-taking, God- loving, family-oriented American people.

The will and exceptionalism of the American people will be the way out of our woeful economic plight, not Obama and his Administration’s benevolent bribery.

And, that’s what I’m counting on …one month from today.

7.8% Unemployment: Figures Lie. Liars Figure.

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

The hot topic right now, is  a fortuitous lower Unemployment Rate that miraculously appeared in yesterday’s Jobs Report.

Noel Sheppard of newsbusters.org has the story:

The unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, a number certain to impact the presidential race.

Pundits have been saying for months this number had to drop below 8 percent for it not to be a hindrance to President Obama’s reelection chances.

The economy added 114,000 nonfarm payrolls in the month according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics with gains in healthcare, transportation and warehousing.

Truly shocking in the report was that the number of unemployed people dropped by 456,000 to 12.1 million.

Maybe more shocking, total employment, as measured by the Household Survey, rose by 873,000 in September to 142,974,000, the biggest one month jump since June 1983.

As such, total employment now stands at the highest level it’s been since December 2008 before Obama was inaugurated.

But even more mysterious is the divergence in the two surveys done by the Labor Department.

The Household Survey showed a gain of 873,000 people employed in September – resulting in the surprise drop in the unemployment rate – while the Establishment Survey only showed a rise of 114,000.

Here’s an interesting fact:

At least two economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have contributed to President Barack Obama’s campaign. Harley Frazis of Bethesda, MD, has contributed at least $2,000 to Obama and $9,000 to the Democratic National Committee over the last three election cycles. During his time at BLS, Harley has published a number of papers including his most recent, “How to Think About Time-Use Data: What Inferences Can We Make About Long- and Short-Run Time Use from Time Diaries?”

Stephen Phillips of Washington, D.C., has contributed at least $270 to Obama during the 2012 cycle. According to his LinkedIn profile, Phillips served as an economist at BLS between June 2009 and July 2012. Phillips was responsible for examining the impact of Obamacare on Healthcare North American Industry Classification System indices. Phillips was also assistant coach for a girls’ high school tennis team in 2010.

To say that yesterday morning’s jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is being met with skepticism is an understatement.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis appeared on CNBC yesterday morning, where they actually asked her if the books were cooked.

Solis called the charges insulting and “ludicrous.”

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a former economics adviser to John McCain and the former head the Congressional Budget Office, calls the numbers “implausible.”

“Sept. unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent due to an extraordinary – but implausible – estimate of 873,000 #jobs in household survey,” said Holtz-Eakin on Twitter.

“The report presented a slew of contradictory data points, with the total employment level soaring despite the low net number,” said CNBC’s Jeff Cox.

The Washington Post’s Neil Irwin adds, “Weird that payrolls are exactly on forecast but household survey is far better.”

And the Wall Street Journal warns that these numbers should be taken “with a grain of salt.””The big jump in the household survey is certainly a welcome sign. But take this data with a grain of salt, especially considering the volatile reputation this data point holds,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

“No way in the world these numbers are accurate,” said Ed Butowsky of Chapwood Capital Investment on Fox Business. “Somebody needs to do an investigation. … Investigate these numbers.”

The Republican Candidate for President agrees.

“This is not what a real recovery looks like,” Mr. Romney said in a statement, pointing to what he said was a downward trend of job-creation. “We created fewer jobs in September than in August, and fewer jobs in August than in July, and we’ve lost over 600,000 manufacturing jobs since President Obama took office.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics‘ key jobs survey said the economy added 114,000 new jobs in September, and BLS said the unemployment rate dipped to 7.8 percent — a drop of three-tenths of a percent.

That means the rate is now back down to what it was in January 2009, when Mr. Obama took office, inheriting a recession from President George W. Bush.

BLS also revised July and August job numbers upward by a combined 86,000, suggesting a slightly better jobs picture over the summer than was reported at the time.

The jobs news comes just two days after Mr. Romney seemed to be gaining momentum from a strong debate performance.

The Republican presidential nominee loses a major talking point from the campaign trail, where he regularly talked about the streak of consecutive months the unemployment rate had remained above 8 percent.

Mr. Romney on Friday said the jobs picture is still bleak — particularly because of the millions who have dropped out of the market altogether.

“If not for all the people who have simply dropped out of the labor force, the real unemployment rate would be closer to 11 percent,” Mr. Romney said in his statement. “The results of President Obama’s failed policies are staggering — 23 million Americans struggling for work, nearly one in six living in poverty, and 47 million people dependent on food stamps to feed themselves and their families. The choice in this election is clear. Under President Obama, we’ll get another four years like the last four years. If I’m elected, we will have a real recovery with pro-growth policies that will create 12 million new jobs and rising incomes for everyone.”

A Cleveland , Ohio businessman summed up America’s economic problems in one sentence:

Potus stopped to meet people waiting for him, where he did the requisite hand-shaking, high-fiving and the rare baby-holding before going on to chat with proprietors at Turczyk’s Meats and the adjoining Larry Vilstein’s, Christopher Bakery and Edward Badbuster & Son. He then asked the proprietor at Rolston Poultry how business was going. “Terrible since you got here,” the man said. Pool could not get close enough to the Rolston Poultry man to get his name or political affiliation. Potus didn’t appear amused by the sentiment.

Hang in there, sir. Things will get better after we throw the Manchurian President out of OUR house.

C’mon, November 6th!

Presidential Debate #1 – Excuses, Excuses

On By kingsjesterIn Politics3 Comments

You’re President Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm). You wake up yesterday morning, with a ringing in your ears from a world-class chewing out from your wife, near hysterical over the possibility that  her free lavish vay-cays are about to go bye-bye.

And, on top of that, your posterior is sore from the butt-kicking that Mitt Romney gave you last night.

So, what do you do? You have personal appearances today. Do you go out all humble and apologetic, promising to do better in the next debate?

Oh, heck no. You erroneously claim that the guy who beat your butt at the first debate last night, was not Mitt Romney, but his doppelganger.

I think Barry’s been hanging out with the Choom Gang, again.

The New York Times reports that

President Obama and his team woke up here [Denver] on Thursday morning confronted by the realization that he lost his first debate by passively letting Mitt Romney control the conversation. Then the president and his advisers resolved to do what he himself did not the night before.

Under fire from fellow Democrats, Mr. Obama came out swinging, accusing Mr. Romney of lying to the American people about his plans for the nation. “I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney,” Mr. Obama told 12,000 supporters during a lakeside rally. “But it couldn’t be Mitt Romney, because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow onstage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.”

He said the Mr. Romney of the debate wanted to put more teachers in classrooms and claimed not to know companies get tax breaks for outsourcing jobs. “The man onstage last night, he does not want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney’s decisions and what he’s been saying for the last year,” the president said. “And that’s because he knows full well that we don’t want what he’s been selling for the last year.”

The vigorous assault on Mr. Romney suggested just how worried Mr. Obama’s campaign has become. The president’s advisers concluded that he had lost his first debate by not pressing Mr. Romney enough. After a series of late-night and early-morning consultations, the Obama team decided to try to correct that Thursday with a more aggressive stance, including the rally rhetoric, a new television ad and a conference call questioning Mr. Romney’s truthfulness.

David Axelrod, the president’s strategist, called Mr. Romney an “artful dodger” whose debate comments were “devoid of honesty,” “rooted in deception,” “untethered to the truth” and “well delivered but fraudulent.

“Not surprisingly, what we learned is he’ll say anything,” Mr. Axelrod said. “That makes him effective in the short term but vulnerable in the long term.” He added, “He may win the Oscar for his performance last night but he’s not going to win the presidency.”

The Romney team, feeling rejuvenated, fired back. “In full damage-control mode, President Obama today offered no defense of his record and no vision for the future,” said Ryan Williams, a Romney spokesman. “Rather than a plan to fix our economy, President Obama simply offered more false attacks and renewed his call for job-killing tax hikes.”

In trying to turn the tables on Mr. Romney, the president’s team was hoping to salvage a debate performance widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike. Aides described Mr. Obama as out of practice at debating and said he made a conscious decision not to bring up some of the campaign’s favorite attack lines of recent months, a decision they left little doubt disappointed them.

Well, boys and girls, ol’ Uncle KJ believes that there is a different reason:

The Emperor has no clothes!

That is to say, Obama has never been tested like this before.  Sans teleprompter, he was out there naked, as it were, armed only with his wits, and grasp of the duties of his job.

In other words, it was a dog’s world last night, and Scooter was wearing Milkbone underwear.

Now, sit back, and ol’ Uncle KJ will tell you a Bedtime Story:

In 2004, Illinois State Senator Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) decided to run for The United States Senate.

Obama had to run against Blair Hull in the primary and then Jack Ryan in the general (both multi-millionaires).

Besides Obama being able to garner unlimited campaign funds from his Uncle George Soros, as the campaigns entered their closing rounds, the news broke (was leaked) to media outlets that both Hull and Ryan had “personal scandals” in their past. The timely release of this news wiped out both of their campaigns, leading to an easy victory for Obama in the primary and then in the general election.

The New York Times Magazine revealed that David Axelrod, Obama’s chief political and media adviser, may well have been behind the leak of the story that doomed the Hull candidacy as the primary reached its home stretch.  

As he has shown over the years, Axelrod was right at home operating in this gray area, part idealist, part hired muscle. One can not bring up Axelrod’s name  in certain circles in Chicago without the matter of the Blair Hull divorce papers coming up. Approaching the 2004 Senate primary, it was clear that it was a two-man race: the millionaire liberal, Hull, leading in the polls, and Obama, who was the figurehead of an impressive grass-roots campaign. One month before the vote, The Chicago Tribune “just happened” to reveal, at the end of a long profile of Hull, that during a divorce proceeding, Hull’s second wife filed for an order of protection. This revelation proceeded to erupt into a full-fledged scandal.  This scandal destroyed Hull’s campaign and handed Obama an easy primary victory.

The Tribune reporter who wrote the story later admitted in print that the Obama camp had “worked aggressively behind the scenes” to push the story. However, a lot of folks in Chicago believe that Axelrod leaked the initial story. They will tell you that before signing on with Obama, Axelrod interviewed with Hull. They also point out that Obama’s TV ad campaign just happened to start at almost the same time. Axelrod swears up and down that “we had nothing to do with it” and that the campaign’s television ad schedule was in the works for a long time.

Axlerod’s explanation?

An aura grows up around you, and people assume everything emanates from you.

What happened to Obama last night?

He wasn’t able to eliminate Romney through the dirty tricks which he and Axlerod used back in Chicago, forcing him to face Mitt man-to-man in an honest and fair debate.

Hence, the smirking look on his pompous puss, which showed the world that Obama would rather have been anywhere else than at that debate last night.

The Emperor had no clothes…and no clue.

Presidential Debate #1 – Mitt Rocks! Preezy Looks Queasy

On By kingsjesterIn Politics10 Comments

Oh, wow! I just watched the worst one-on-one political Massacre since the Ronald Reagan Presidential Debates. In the parlance of professional wrestling: It was a squash match.

Obama looked like he really did not want to be there last night. He remembered his talking points okay, but, he had no fire. He just smirked a lot, as if, somehow this whole thing was beneath a suuuuper-genius like himself.

Even poor old Mr. PBS himself, Jim Lehrer, could not save his bacon last night. However, that did not stop him from trying. At least a couple of times, Lehrer was obviously trying to coach Obama, and it seemed as if Obama was given a lot longer than 2 minutes to answer the questions asked.

Obama was on defense the entire evening.

Gov. Romney, on the other hand, was flawless. He looked presidential and seemed totally prepared. He was respectful, friendly, and merciless. Romney was a Human Jackhammer, riveting him on every point with deadly accuracy.

From the get-go in last night’s debate, it was apparent that the 44th President of the United States of America was waaay out of his league.

By the time the evening was done, Obama looked like one would expect Pee Wee Herman to look after a Hell in a Cell Cage Match with the Undertaker.

TheHill.com summarized the debate in the following manner:

Mitt Romney came out firing on President Obama in the opening minutes of the presidential debate, drawing sharp contrasts with the president’s economic plan and accusing him of misleading the public on Romney’s own plan.

Romney peppered his attacks with memorable phrases, claiming Obama’s policies were “trickle-down government” and that the president was instituting an “economy tax” on the middle class.

“The president has a view very similar to the view he had when he ran four years ago, that a bigger government, spending more, taxing more, regulating more — if you will, trickle-down government — would work. That’s not the right answer for America,” the GOP nominee said.

Obama responded by slamming Romney’s economic plan, saying the GOP nominee hadn’t explained how he’d pay for his proposed tax cuts.

“Governor Romney’s central economic plan calls for a $5 trillion tax cut, on top of the extension of the Bush tax cuts — that’s another trillion dollars — and $2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasn’t asked for. That’s $8 trillion. How we pay for that, reduce the deficit, and make the investments that we need to make, without dumping those costs onto middle-class Americans, I think is one of the central questions of this campaign,” he said.

Romney charged back that the president was misrepresenting his plan.

“I don’t have a $5 trillion tax cut. I don’t have a tax cut of a scale that you’re talking about,” he said.

“I’ve got 5 boys. I’m used to people saying something that’s not always true but just keep repeating it and ultimately hoping I’ll believe it,” he added.

Economic issues dominated the first 45 minutes of the president debate, the first showdown between the two contenders.

There was a noticeable contrast in the candidate’s demeanor: Romney was much more animated and punchy than the president, who came off as subdued, tentative and at times irritable.

Romney, who has narrowly trailed Obama in recent polls, seemed to be looking to shake up the race with a strong attack on Obama’s record, talking directly to the president as he spoke.

He repeatedly attacked Obama’s record: among his charges were that Obama was instituting an “economy tax.”

“The people who are having the hard time right now are middle-income Americans,” he argued. “Under the president’s policies, middle-income Americans have been buried. They’re just being crushed. Middle-income Americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. This is a — this is a tax in and of itself. I’ll call it the economy tax. It’s been crushing.”

Obama fired back: “I believe that we do best when the middle class is doing well. And by giving them those tax cuts, they had a little more money in their pocket, and so maybe they can buy a new car. They are certainly in a better position to weather the extraordinary recession that we went through. They can buy a computer for their kid who’s going off to college, which means they’re spending more money, businesses have more customers, businesses make more profits, and then hire more workers.”

Romney also charged Obama with doubling the federal debt.

“The president said he’d cut the deficit in half. Unfortunately, he doubled it. Trillion-dollar deficits for the last four years. The president’s put it in place as much public debt — almost as much debt held by the public as all prior presidents combined,” he said.

Obama replied: “When I walked into the Oval Office, I had more than a trillion-dollar deficit greeting me. And we know where it came from: two wars that were paid for on a credit card; two tax cuts that were not paid for; and a whole bunch of programs that were not paid for; and then a massive economic crisis.”

Dr. Charles Krauthammer on Fox News said that Romney “won by two knockouts” and Obama “phoned it in”.

I agree.

Pride goeth before the fall.