Tonight is America’s chance to have a bit of fun, courtesy of our competing candidates for the office of Vice-President. Which is not to say, of course, that they are not serious men. Simply that the job for which they are contending has historically been a much less important one that their boss’s. While the possibility always exists that they could be handed the reins of government in a literal heartbeat, this has been rather infrequent in American history.
Joe Biden and Paul Ryan are apparently both very likeable men, and their “conversation” tonight will probably be much less high-stakes than just about anything that is going to happen in the election battle over the next four weeks. In the spirit of this reality, here are some fun facts for you to enjoy.
Joe Biden’s strange aphorismsare well-known. So enjoy them and look forward to more tonight:
After Obama lost the debate last week, his team is now coming up with a new tactic. Team Obama said Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a man Democrats (and Republicans) have long been saying is a stiff, awkward, un-relatable bore, was a slick and artful politician.
In your opinion, who will win the 2012 presidential debates? If you ask anyone at CNN, they will tell you that Obama already has this election wrapped up. CNN recently conducted a poll asking their readers who they think will win the first presidential debate October 3, and not surprisingly, their readers believe Obama is going to win the debates. 59% of people in their survey believe Obama is likely to do better than Romney in the debates, while another 34% believe that Romney can win these debates.
These numbers don’t make any sense. Romney has recent debate experience. He has extensive debate experience from his time running in the Republican primaries, and if he didn’t know how to debate, he would not have won the Republican nomination. The facts suggest that Romney has an excellent chance to win the presidential debates.
The first debate is supposed to focus on economic issues, and President Obama is especially vulnerable in this area. Unemployment rates are up since 2008. The President rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline, and this could have created millions of jobs for Americans. Major defense cuts that are going to take effect at the beginning of 2013 could lay off up to 2.14 million American workers. This number includes people who work directly for the Federal Government, as well as private contractors who have contracts with the defense department who will be out of work too if the Federal Government lays off their other workers.
Mitt Romney should also focus on the looming new taxes that are set to begin January 1. Sure, the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire, but then there are all of the new Obamacare taxes too. The Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional simply because it is indeed a tax, so Romney can go after Obama on this. It has been estimated that the average American family will be paying thousands of dollars per year in additional taxes, and Romney has failed to go after Obama on these issues.
Since Romney should bring up Obamacare and the coinciding taxes in the debates, he can talk about the new healthcare law too. Polls still show that a majority of Americans oppose the new healthcare law, and voting for Romney gives Americans one last chance to overturn the legislation. Mitt Romney has not addressed Obamacare as often as expected, and he could win more votes by simply reminding Americans that he will push to repeal Obamacare if he is elected President of the United States.
While some people believe he will push to repeal the new healthcare laws, many conservatives already believe it is too late to make a difference. Romney needs to tell his base again that he will make the sacrifices that are needed to make the United States a great country again.
Lastly, Romney needs to try to dispel the notion among liberals that the economy is growing again. Statistics suggest otherwise, but most liberals actually believe the economy is improving. This could not be any further from the truth. The statistics clearly show that the economy is barely growing, and we may actually be entering a double dip recession.
The latest Rasmussen Polls are not particularly encouraging for Mitt Romney supporters. While Mitt Romney has led in the daily Presidential tracking polls for the last several days after the fade of the Democrat convention bounce, he is trailing slightly in some of the key battleground states.
There are several toss-up states that are going to determine this election. The other states have been virtually decided. The magic number to win the presidency is 270 electoral college votes. It appears that Obama already has 247 Electoral College votes that should go in his favor. Romney already has 196 electoral college votes that are secure. There are a total of 95 toss-up votes that could go in either direction.
Colorado
Colorado is in a dead heat right now, with both candidates polling at 47%. The state of Colorado is worth 9 votes. Romney needs Colorado to win the presidency.
Florida
Florida is worth 29 Electoral College votes. It is worth more than any of the other states, and the state is crucial for both candidates. Romney can’t win the election without carrying Florida. President Obama leads Romney 48% to 46% in the most recent Rasmussen poll dated September 13. President Obama closes the deal if he can keep his lead in Florida. Romney could win every other toss-up state
Missouri
Romney has retaken the lead in Missouri. He leads Obama by three points with a 48% to 45% advantage in the state. Missouri is worth 10 votes, and Romney has led in most polls, so we expect this state to go to Romney.
Virginia
This state used to lean Republican, but it went to Obama in 2008. Virginia is worth 13 electoral college votes, and Obama leads Romney 49% to 48% right now. Romney probably can’t win the presidency without Virginia, so he needs to spend more time in Virginia.
Ohio
Like Virginia, this race is extremely close. At 18 electoral college votes, Romney must win this state too. Obama leads Romney 47% to 46%. With less than two months to go before the election, Romney has a lot of work to do to win Ohio.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is worth 10 electoral college votes. Romney leads Obama by 1% in Wisconsin. In July, Obama was ahead of Romney 3%, but this changed once Paul Ryan was selected as Romney’s running mate. Ryan is from Wisconsin, and Romney probably won’t win the presidency without winning the state of Wisconsin.
Iowa
Iowa is worth six votes, and Romney leads Obama 46% to 44%. This state is important to the candidates, but it is not worth as much as the other swing states.
Overall, it is possible that Romney could win the popular vote, but lose the electoral college vote. He is going to have to win Virginia, Ohio, and Florida to have any chance to win the presidency. If the elections were held today, President Obama would likely win a 2nd term.
Ron Paul is continuing to run despite the fact that he has a 0.00000000001% of winning! I appreciate that he wants to continue running, but if the media won’t pay any attention to him, he will have a hard time making any considerable impact on the issues in this election.
(Update: 6/15/12 Following President Obama’s policy of granting protection from deportation of illegal immigrants who were born or brought here as children, Rubio as a VP choice is once again called into question. The Obama administration’s actions caught the Romney camp flat-footed on the issue leaving Romney left to either backtrack on his previous position on immigration or to take a bold step such as nominate Rubio.)
It’s Florida, again. Mitt Romney has but a few ways to beat President Obama in November. One of them involves swing states; or states with undecided or independent voters. Florida is one of the most crucial. No one needs to be reminded of the year 2000 as an example.
Yet how does Mitt Romney win Florida? Well, he did pretty good in the primary although he lost the northern panhandle to Newt Gingrich. Even so, he stands to gain Gingrich’s votes in the…
Something tells me that if Romney is the next President, he will not have scandals involving his Secret Service agents. Something about the Secret Service prostitution scandal going on makes me uncomfortable. What is the moral character of the Obama administration Secret Service officials? It would be different if just one or two people were involved, but it appears there were over 20 people involved in this scandal.
While I don’t agree with Romney’s Mormon beliefs, I believe his strong religious background would pay dividends in getting the right people in place for his presidency.
There are white lies. There are ordinary lies. There are big lies. And then there are lies that are so huge that it is difficult for a rational person to believe that such a lie has been attempted. The left’s talking points about the GOP, contraception, and women in America in the year 2012 are based on the biggest[i] lie of our century: the GOP is attempting to ban contraception in America.
This lie cannot stand examination. The left lies about Social Security reform, unemployment numbers, the state of the economy, global warming, etc. The list is long. The script is methodical and boring. The politicians who deliver the lines of that script are boorish. But the assertion that the GOP is attempting to deny women contraception at the state level is so absurd and so heinous that the Party…
It will be up to Washington to save the country from what the Washington Post has dubbed “Taxmageddon” — the looming tax increase set to hit Americans on Jan. 1.
Curtis Dubay, a senior analyst in Tax Policy at the Heritage Foundation, has chronicled the taxes set to hit if Congress and the administration do not make adjustments.
According to Dubay, Americans will see a $494 billion tax increase at the beginning of 2013.
Dubay’s study of the looming $494 billion tax increase highlights the policies set to expire. These include the Bush tax cuts, the payroll tax cut, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch, the tax cuts in the 2009 stimulus, tax extenders, the estate tax adjustment, and 100 percent business investment expensing.
Additionally, Durbay points out, that five of the eighteen tax increases in Obamacare will begin next year.” Read more: here
President Obama’s landmark health-care initiative, long touted as a means to control costs, will actually add more than $340 billion to the nation’s budget woes over the next decade, according to a new study by a Republican member of the board that oversees Medicare financing.
The study is set to be released Tuesday by Charles Blahous, a conservative policy analyst whom Obama approved in 2010 as the GOP trustee for Medicare and Social Security. His analysis challenges the conventional wisdom that the health-care law, which calls for an expensive expansion of coverage for the uninsured beginning in 2014, will nonetheless reduce deficits by raising taxes and cutting payments…
The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.
The disparity in treatment between civilian and uniformed personnel is causing a backlash within the military that could undermine recruitment and retention.
The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017.
Many in Congress are opposing the proposed changes, which would require the passage…
Tonight is America’s chance to have a bit of fun, courtesy of our competing candidates for the office of Vice-President. Which is not to say, of course, that they are not serious men. Simply that the job for which they are contending has historically been a much less important one that their boss’s. While the possibility always exists that they could be handed the reins of government in a literal heartbeat, this has been rather infrequent in American history.
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