The US Election

[Simon]

I think you meant to write "I don't rate Romney much, and am hoping for the continuity of the Obama administration, despite all its faults..."

The colloquial use of "with" for "despite" or "notwithstanding" is fairly common, I think. You clearly grasped it, as if you hadn't you wouldn't have been able to suggest the (admittedly) better alternative.

[amateur51]

The colloquial use of "with" for "despite" or "notwithstanding" is fairly common, I think. You clearly grasped it, as if you hadn't you wouldn't have been able to suggest the (admittedly) better alternative.

I'm glad you agree Simon

[Simon]

I'm glad you agree Simon

I don't "agree" with your post, as you state that you "think I meant to write ".... despite...." ".

This is factually incorrect, as I meant to write exactly what I wrote.

This was because I assumed, correctly, that it would be generally understood.

Nonetheless, as I was ready to admit, your suggestion in this instance was better English, in my view.

[antongould]

I think you'll find that almost all politicians do it, Anton, against those who don't agree with them.

Perhaps your question should rather be "Is it a good plan to slag of half the electorate and be recorded doing it, when you are one of two people contesting the US Presidency in a few weeks?"

I suspect that, for once, we might agree on the answer! I don't rate Romney much, and am hoping for the continuity of the Obama administration, with all its faults...

Yes I think we agree Simon long may it continue!

[amateur51]

I don't "agree" with your post, as you state that you "think I meant to write ".... despite...." ".

This is factually incorrect, as I meant to write exactly what I wrote.

This was because I assumed, correctly, that it would be generally understood.

Nonetheless, as I was ready to admit, your suggestion in this instance was better English, in my view.

Well no, it was not generally understood, hence my clarification of your sloppy English, with which you say that you agree.

[vinteuil]

Romneyshambles, episode 47 : -


In a week where Mitt Romney's gaffes and "missteps" have dominated some news coverage, one mistake was nearly overlooked.

In the LA Times' account of a Saturday night Beverly Hills fundraiser attended by Mr Romney and his wife, Ann, we learn that the Republican nominee for President doesn't understand why the windows on airplanes won't open.

"It's a real problem," he told the crowd. He was recounting a scary incident on Friday where Mrs Romney's campaign plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado after the cabin began to fill with smoke. "I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were. When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound."

Various tweets are now suggesting openable portholes on submarines. And when Romney becomes President, making Airforce-One an open-top convertible...

[Bryn]

He makes Dan Quayle look like something of an intellectual giant!

[amateur51]

Romneyshambles, episode 47 : -


In a week where Mitt Romney's gaffes and "missteps" have dominated some news coverage, one mistake was nearly overlooked.

In the LA Times' account of a Saturday night Beverly Hills fundraiser attended by Mr Romney and his wife, Ann, we learn that the Republican nominee for President doesn't understand why the windows on airplanes won't open.

"It's a real problem," he told the crowd. He was recounting a scary incident on Friday where Mrs Romney's campaign plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Denver, Colorado after the cabin began to fill with smoke. "I appreciate the fact that she is on the ground, safe and sound. And I don’t think she knows just how worried some of us were. When you have a fire in an aircraft, there’s no place to go, exactly, there’s no — and you can’t find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don’t open. I don’t know why they don’t do that. It’s a real problem. So it’s very dangerous. And she was choking and rubbing her eyes. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and copilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she’s safe and sound."

Various tweets are now suggesting openable portholes on submarines. And when Romney becomes President, making Airforce-One an open-top convertible...

I'm grateful for this vints - I haven't had such a good laugh in quite a while

[LeMartinPecheur]

That's Mitt Romney, not MIT, I take it?

[charles t]

For a cogent definition of: EMPTY SUIT

(by a former contributor to The Sunday Times, btw).

http://www.booktv.org/Program/13803/After+Words+Richard+Miniter+Leading+from+Behind+The+Reluctant+President+and+the+Advisors+Who+Decide+for+Him+hosted+Karlyn+Bowman+Forbescom.aspx

[scottycelt]

The Romney incident appears to have been a 'joke' (ill-advised during a presidential campaign) that has been eagerly seized on by the LA Times and others in the Obama camp. The fact that it is also headline news in (ironically) the UK's Daily Mail confirms it cannot possibly be taken seriously.

I don't believe Romney is quite that stupid but he's worryingly 'gaffe-prone', unlike Obama who gives the impression of being in command of the situation however different the reality.

Any leader needs to inspire confidence and Romney seems to prefer doing exactly the opposite.

Better the devil that inspires confidence, imv!

[amateur51]

Better the devil that inspires confidence, imv!

Oh you and your devils, scotty

[vinteuil]

... I thought Anna, representing South Wales, and Amateur, North Wales, might be edified by learning about the Welsh background of the next President of the United States ( or rather, his wife's... )

' “I feel the love in Michigan,” Mrs Romney chirruped, blessing the state where she was born and brought up, and where she met her “childhood sweetheart” and future husband.
“My grandfather came here from the coalmines of Wales where he started work at the age of six. He came with nothing in his pocket but hope and dreams,” she declared, sounding more Dolly Parton than Barbara Bush.
Mrs Romney’s appeal to ordinary Americans in grim economic times may seem surprising given her own circumstances. “Look, I don’t even consider myself wealthy,” she claimed recently, a remarkable statement for someone with four homes, a string of dressage horses and, in her husband’s nonchalant estimate, “a couple of Cadillacs”.
A critic alleged recently that she had “never worked a day in her life”, an accusation that was not entirely true (she once ran part-time cookery classes), but true enough to inflict damage.'

[amateur51]

... I thought Anna, representing South Wales, and Amateur, North Wales, might be edified by learning about the Welsh background of the next President of the United States ( or rather, his wife's... )

' “I feel the love in Michigan,” Mrs Romney chirruped, blessing the state where she was born and brought up, and where she met her “childhood sweetheart” and future husband.
“My grandfather came here from the coalmines of Wales where he started work at the age of six. He came with nothing in his pocket but hope and dreams,” she declared, sounding more Dolly Parton than Barbara Bush.
Mrs Romney’s appeal to ordinary Americans in grim economic times may seem surprising given her own circumstances. “Look, I don’t even consider myself wealthy,” she claimed recently, a remarkable statement for someone with four homes, a string of dressage horses and, in her husband’s nonchalant estimate, “a couple of Cadillacs”.
A critic alleged recently that she had “never worked a day in her life”, an accusation that was not entirely true (she once ran part-time cookery classes), but true enough to inflict damage.'

I think Julia Gillard might be closer to the mark of most Welsh women I know (from whichever part of the Principality). By the end of this clip the person known as 'The Leader of the Opposition' looked as though he wished he was sitting on something absorbent

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/12/julia-gillard-sexism-australian-women?newsfeed=true

[Lateralthinking1]

For amateur51, as promised and with thanks, and everyone else who has an interest:

"Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive". Back on 6 September, I was noting that Joe Biden - of all people - had finally found a narrative for the Obama campaign. As for the rest of that get-together of the donkeys, it all seemed a trifle lacklustre. Barnstorming Bill was all very well but unlikely to appeal to the undecided. Well, the American public disagreed. While in August, the opinion polls were showing the two main candidates alternating for first position, Romney was second in all but one throughout September. Many polls were showing an Obama lead of 4-10%, one indicated that he had a 15% lead, and the one that he didn't win was a tie. Even so, supporters of the President were advised to exercise caution. The number of polls showing only a 1-3% lead wasn't insignificant. Then, in Denver, on 3 October, there was the first of the televised debates. Romney appeared to be in command while Obama was viewed as surprisingly hesitant. Actually, it was worse. The figures on who "won" the debate were abysmal for Obama. During the first week in October, Romney was ahead in the opinion polls with a lead of 1-4%. One debate had been sufficient to undo all of the positive impact of the Democratic convention and the elephants were pretty jubilant.



In the Vice Presidential debate on 11 October, Joe Biden took on the Republicans' young hopeful Paul Ryan. Biden, who is renowned for unfortunate gaffes, was perhaps a surprising choice last time round as Obama's running mate. I doubt that it was a certainty that he would be running to be Vice President again but it was he who was chosen. His performance on the night, full of interruptions and finger wagging, was described by critics as "weirdly aggressive". The worry was that this would have alienated women and swing voters. However, the opinion polls suggested that this year's biggest winner, uncertainty, was now again in the front seat. Did Romney have a 4% lead or was Obama ahead by seven percentage points? By 16 October, no one had the faintest idea, including the two main candidates as they went into the second debate in New York. Watched by tens of millions of Americans, the two squared off, only a few feet apart, talking over one another, jabbing fingers at one another and accusing each other of lying. Obama, clearly rejuvenated, emerged apparently triumphant. As The Guardian reported the next day:

'Until then it was thought the animosity between the two was confined to policy but it became apparent there is also deep personal antipathy. At one point Romney, almost contemptuous of the president, told him: "You will get your chance in a minute. I am speaking." Republicans may view this as Romney standing up to Obama and what they regard as a representative of the liberal media, but the risk is that independents view it as rudeness.'



The third main debate took place in Florida on 22 October. The polls had been wilder than ever. It would be a win in November for Romney by 7% or a win for Obama by 5%. Any swing voter hoping for clarity was to be disappointed. Yes, the third stand-off was also a "win" for Obama but by the most slender of margins. Reagan might have won the 1980 election with ten words in a Presidential debate - “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”. Many undecided voters knew the answer. Here, there was no sign of such a winning formula. According to one commentator, it was "like watching a guilt-free reality show". Those who produce opinion polls continue with their trade. I have looked at everything they have published since that third debate and am able to tell you who will win the election. It will be Romney with a 5% lead or Obama will win by 12%. Unless, that is, the outcome is dependent on something called electoral college votes. Then, I would wager, it is likely to be between these extremes.