Back to Ohio

As we hit the final stretch of this election more eyes are on Ohio than on the latest Kardashian publicity stunt. With Mitt Romney gaining momentum nationally he has started to reinvest time and resources into the Buckeye State. Ohio is now known as the "Firewall" for Obama's re-election, and its for a good reason. Unemployment in Ohio is at 7.0% and it's unions have done better then others around the country. I also believe that the people of Ohio trust Obama more than Romney. It's not even a democrat or republican thing, this state seems to pick their favorite out of a hat and stick with them. While this is a good thing for the president, Romney needs to find another path to victory.

Romney needs to listen to Rush Limbaugh for some insight on Ohio. Not the commentary of Limbaugh, but rather the bumper music that starts his show. Each day Limbaugh's show starts off with the bass line from "My City Was Gone" by the Pretenders. While Rush never plays the lyrics, they might ring true for Romney. "I went back to Ohio, but my pretty countryside, had been paved down the middle, by a government that had no pride." I will let you interpret the lyrics and apply them to this race (note that the song was written by a liberal).

If I have not spelled this out clear enough, Romney needs to shift all of his resources to another state and leave Ohio. By taking Paul Ryan it should have been expected that he could deliver his state. Wisconsin should be the ground zero state for the GOP. This is where the problem is. Ryan does not look like he can deliver his home state. That can change but it will take money, shaking hands and a little luck. So, while while everyone, including myself, will be watching the polls in Ohio. Wisconsin deserves a little more attention from the GOP and the poll watchers. 

Biden Bites Back

Just when the right though they were going to run away with the election vice president Joe Biden rallies the base. The post are split on who actually won the debate, but the democrats got plenty of red meat. I'm not sure there is any other politician in America at this time that could get a way with the laughing, the smiling and the overall candid actions of the vice president. The phrase "Joe being Joe" played out for most of the debate. There is something to be said about giving your party what they want. President Obama needs to incorporate this into the town hall debate this coming week.

For the Romney-Ryan camp things are still not that bad. The boost that they got in the polls have leveled out, but they are still in striking distance. Romney will need to overcome his perceived lack of empathy for the voters in this weeks debate. he really needs to avoid any gaffes. A George H.W. Bush checkout moment will surely tank his chances. No matter what happens in these debates I think it will be close on election day. the swing after the last debate shows that there are still some independents stuck on the fence. It will be interesting to see if the candidates go after independents more than there base. 

Romney Has a Pulse

Just when his supporters were ready to use a defibrillator on him, Mitt Romney rose to the occasion like Frankenstein on a stormy night. Romney has always looked presidential, but with president Obama's lack of interest he was able to communicate his message in a presidential way. Those on the left will argue the facts, but the simple truth with these debates is that you want to win the image war as much as the substance war. The American people want to see a candidate that wants the job and is enthused. I believe that Obama still has the edge in the next debate. The town hall format is better suited for Obama than Romney. Despite the polls tightening the American people still like the president more than the challenger..

The real question is what will Romney do with the new energy that his campaign has? I can tell that the media loves that this is a horse race now, so how does Romney harness that and seize victory? One way that he could do this is to pick out the biggest message he is winning on and turn the campaign to a referendum on one issue. Up until last Friday this would have been jobs, but with 7.8 I think that is off the table. The one that they seem to have embraced is lack of leadership. Now this could work, but Romney needs to make a better case that he would be more qualified leader. Also, when running against an incumbent president it is very hard to do since the other guys already has the job. 

So what is the one issue that Romney could use to win? Well, in general terms he could win talking about the economy (excluding jobs). This is something that he did in the debates, but some of his points tip toed the line of pissing of the right. The best course would be to still bring up the fact that he has ran businesses. He will need to do it in a George W. Bush compassionate way though. He does not want to come off as a boss, but rather a co-worker; someone who works just as hard as you and is in it with you. This may be a hard task, but this is what he is known for and is best at. We will see what the next week holds.

Mitt Romney's Bankruptcy (A Political Fable)

Now that president Obama has clearly painted Mitt Romney as out of touch with ordinary Americans something dramatic needs to be done to change the course of events in this race. Something that will show the American people that Mitt is one of them. Most are calling for a game changer or a knockout blow in the debates. I have another idea. This will most likely not happen and I do not wish this upon anyone. But for the sake of satire I will give it a go. Mitt Romney needs to lose it all. The houses, the investments... everything.

Mitt Romney Claims Bankruptcy

Oct. 3 2012 - In a shocking development just hours before the first presidential debate, former governor Mitt Romney has filed paperwork to claim chapter 7 bankruptcy. Despite the recent release of his 2011 taxes showing an income for $14 million Romney has seemed to have lost it all. While meeting the press earlier today Romney explained the situation in detail. "I bet on America, I put my hard earned money in the hands of good hard working people. The products just didn't pan out. We have been under constant pressure due to regulations that the Obama administration has imposed on us."  When asked how this will affect the presidential race Romney stayed positive. "At the beginning of this campaign I was fighting for the American people. Now I am truly fighting for my family and to get a job." When asked about the possibility that he does not win in November he was once again strong. "I'll be fine, I'm not too old to go back to work. Ann and I have raised our children and provided for them, so whatever happens at this point is God's will."


I will let the readers decide if this improbably event would change the race's outcome. I would also like to point out the fact that president Obama seems to have some financial stability as well. It has been reported that he has a net worth of around $12 million. That number is quite lower than reports of Romney's wealth, but is still a hell of a lot more money than the average American has.

Should Romney Switch Parties?

There's a dirty little secret that most democratic loyalists don't want you to know. If Mitt Romney was a democrat, even with his current views, they would support him. See Romney has all of the makings of a great politician, he looks the part, knows the script and is clean and articulate. The fact that he has changed his mind on issues more than a teenage girl would not bother a democrat voter as much as it does the finicky GOP base. The democratic party has long held the advantage of creating an illusion around their candidates. They could do wonders with Romney. They have also been better narrators, with the exception of Ronald Reagan, who by golly was a democrat at one time.

At this point I may be making it seem like political parties are filled with actors playing interchangeable roles. Well, this is true to a certain extent. Both sides of the isle have elected officials on their side that they know are like this. As long as these politicians back policies that you agree with why say anything right? Would you rather have some one in your party be in lock step with party policy or would you like them to all be mavericks? Question answered.

As for Romney, his political obituary has not been written yet (fully at least). He may even end up staging a comeback in the debates if he can get Obama into a gotcha moment on jobs and the economy. But rest assured Mitt, either way, at the end of this election you will have a home. While it may not be with the democratic party (right away), I'm sure you will find something to do.

Will Romney Even Keep This Election Close?

Going in to the GOP convention it seemed that Mitt Romney had finally gathered some momentum and would catch up to the president in the polls. Well, after lack of substance and a Democratic Party convention, Romney is worse off than he was in August. With the amount of money that he raised over the summer there is no real excuse for this. Even while the unemployment rate is over 8 percent, Obama is basically tied in polls about who would do a better job with the economy. Romney could just be a very flawed candidate that we will look back on and see the reasons why he lost (Bob Dole). He could also be a candidate that would have won if he did a few things right (Al Gore).

 I spent some time this week and watched the ad's that his campaign has ran in North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio. The same thing stuck out in each of them. Lack of substance. If you take a look at the Obama campaign ad's there are numbers and facts in them. Meanwhile, the Romney campaign seems to be copying John Kerry and are trying to make Obama look like the Dr. Evil. This whole election has been a shift from what the political landscape has been for the last decade. It looks like the democrats learned their lesson from 2004. They learned the classic rule of defining your opponent before they define you. Mitt Romney is not going to be able to define Obama using stale talking points from 2008. He will need to produce numbers and facts while presenting his vision for the country. The Romney campaign says they believe in America, well Mitt, show us how and why you believe in America. 

A Tale Of Two Conventions

Now that both party conventions are in the history books we can compare and contrast their effectiveness. The GOP had the tough task of going first, but did a very good job of introducing Ann Romney and Paul Ryan. The off the cuff routine by Clint Eastwood was the most bizarre moment in convention history. To the medias credit, they did not dwell on the chair routine as much as I expected. I think everyone is in agreement that an 82 year old Clint Eastwood should get a pass. What was more troubling was the fact that the GOP would allow this to happen. As for as Mitt Romney's performance, I would have to give him an A. He is not known for giving good speeches or showing passion, he did a little of both on that Thursday night.

On to the DNC. This convention was the direct opposite of the republicans. It seemed that they took a page out of Karl Rove's playbook and doubled down on their base. From the amount of talk about abortion and womens rights you would have thought that this was the 1972 convention. After taking a look back at this approach I think it was the right thing to do for the party. They are obviously having trouble firing up the base and getting the same enthusiasm as they did in 2008. There also needed to be more than another President Obama speech. They remedied this by having the first lady and President Clinton deliver magnificent speeches. While we already knew their stories, they kind of reintroduced themselves. Bill Clinton gave a very straight forward speech. It was almost like he was sitting with you in your living room having a chat. President Obama lived up to the expectations once again. While it was not as grand as his election night speech in 2008, he made a great case for reelection.