IA Dems Can't Name a Single Accomplishment Hillary Had As Secretary of State

The silence was all-too-familiar when Hillary Clinton supporters were asked about her accomplishments as secretary of state.

These Hillary supporters, registered Democrats who plan to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016, were quizzed by MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin in a segment on "Morning Joe."

Responses ranged from, "I can't name anything off the top of my head" to just plain, "No."

The closest thing to a real answer one of the supporters gave was this: " She's not perfect." This voter played the classic distraction game, pointing to the fact that she is not Wis. Gov. Scott Walker, has been in high offices for 25 years, and has "good" policies.

Via: Fox News

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EXCLUSIVE: Hillary hides from reporters with SECOND secret party of the day as her security forces race across Iowa at 95 MPH to dodge pursuing journalists

For reporters trying to cover the opening months of Hillary Rodham Clinton's second presidential campaign, Waterloo, Iowa might be her Waterloo.

On Monday night the Clinton camp held a private campaign party at the home of a wealthy pharmacist in the central Iowa town – a longtime Democratic Party figure – and Daily Mail Online was the only media outlet to make it to the address.

Other press outlets can't be faulted, however: Clinton's aides kept the existence of the party a secret, leaving it off of the schedule circulated to reporters who cover her events in a rotating 'pool.'

Daily Mail Online only found the location after trailing the candidate's motorcade at a distance for an 85 miles trek, at speeds reaching 95 mph.

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SCENE OF THE DODGE: Hillary Clinton's motorcade cruised from Mason City, Iowa to Waterloo, Iowa at speeds topping 95 MPH, arriving at a secret party hosted by Bob and Cheryl Greenwood in their palatial home

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Bob Greenwood, pictured with his wife Cheryl, is a pharmacist who unsuccessfully ran for the Iowa state legislature in 2012 and served three terms on the Waterloo, Iowa city council. The Greenwoods hosted a Monday night party for Hillary Clinton that was hidden from reporters

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IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES: Clinton laughed with local campaign organizer Sara Marino at an earlier campaign stop, the only Monday event that the campaign told journalists about

Clinton's motorcade arrived at the 5,000-square-foot Waterloo home of Bob and Cheryl Greenwood at 6:30 pm, with five escort vehicles accompanying her maroon minivan.

The ordinary Chrysler rental was a surprising stand-in for Scooby, the black custom conversion van that had previously ferried Hillary through Iowa and New Hampshire.

The Greenwoods' neighbors were expecting traffic in their upscale cul-de-sac subdivision. 

'This has been in the works for weeks,' one elderly attendee said as she walked down Muirfield Street. 'We've been counting the days.'

She followed two middle school-age children at a distance up the tree-swept street. They carried copies of books for Clinton to autograph.

It's a scene that might have done Clinton a world of good to have preserved on video: cars lining up on a neighbor's lawn like a summer concert parking lot, kids in their Sunday Best on a Monday and locals arriving with 'Hillary 2016' buttons already pinned and stickers neatly pressed on.

A middle-aged woman said as she left and walked toward a nearby church parking lot that there were 'about 75 people' inside. 'We had a blast. A grand time,' she crowed. 'You should have seen it!' 

Almost no one did. The press corps wasn't welcome.

Hillary's motorcade hits 95 mph to get to dinner party on time

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MAROON SCOOBY, UNLOADED: Clinton and her entourage bedded down for the night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waterloo, Iowa, racing to the back entrance so the candidate could sneak in without interacting with hotel guests

An earlier afternoon event in Mason City, Iowa, managed to attract a swarm of photographers and cable news correspondents who grabbed images of the arriving motorcade even though the location was a tightly held secret.

'Hillary will attend a grassroots-organizing event at a Mason City home,' the campaign's press schedule read, noting its location only as 'Mason City, IA.'

It was the only item on Clinton's agenda – officially. Reporters shouted questions as Clinton left, but she acknowledged no one.

In Waterloo, they didn't have the chance to be actively ignored. 

'It's maddening,' a print journalist who was in Mason City for Monday's earlier event said in the evening, asking to remain anonymous for the sake of her career.

Via: Daily Mail

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Hillary Clinton in 2007: 'If you have a plan you like, you keep it'

When former President Clinton this week critiqued President Obama's broken promise that Americans would be able to keep their health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, Clinton was also knocking a similar plan once proposed by another politician: his wife.

"I personally believe, even if it takes a change in the law, the president should honor the commitment that the federal government made to those people and let them keep what they got," Clinton said in an interview with OZY.

The remark came across as a stern rebuke of current White House policy — but it could also prove tricky for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is moving toward a bid for president in 2016.

When she was last a candidate for president in 2007, Hillary Clinton unveiled her own health care proposal, which, like Obamacare, included beefed-up benefits and a catchy pitch: "If you have a plan you like, you keep it." Obama went on to defeat Clinton, but he adopted her tag line to help win support for his own health care plan -- making the same promise, for which he recently apologized.

"You can keep the doctors you know and trust. You keep the insurance you have," Clinton said on Sept. 17, 2007, at the Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. "If you have private insurance you like, nothing changes — you can keep that insurance."

Clinton's campaign website echoed that claim. "If you have a plan you like, you keep it," it read.

Hillary Clinton is an old hand at health care reform. In 1993, when her husband was president, she led a health care reform effort that ultimately crashed and burned.

Via: Washington Examiner

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Iowa Democrat prays: Dear God, thank you for abortion

With high-ranking Democratic officials listening reverently in the Iowa state capitol, a liberal activist and union official on Wednesday led a prayer for increased funding for abortions, for greater access to abortions, for doctors who perform abortions, and for what she called “the blessing of choice.”

Midge Slater, an organizer for the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, part of the Iowa Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO, spoke to about 80 people who came to the capitol to protest a proposal that the State Board of Medicine end a program that allows doctors to prescribe an abortion pill for a woman after a video chat, rather than an in-person consultation.

Two days later, on Friday, the Board voted to end the practice known as “tele-med” abortions.

In her invocation at the rally, which was attended by Jack Hatch and Tyler Olson, two Democratic candidates for governor of Iowa, Slater prayed that elected officials “may always support a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.” She prayed for “increased financial support for low income women” to have abortions. She prayed that “women in developing nations” have greater access to abortion. She prayed to “give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal.” And she prayed that families may know “the blessing of choice.”

Via: Washington Examiner

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Dems Pulling Funny Business In Iowa

Muscatine resident Craig White says a Democratic campaign worker somehow gave his 75-year-old mother the impression that it was OK for her to sign his name on an absentee ballot request form when he wasn’t home.

It’s a felony under Iowa’s voting laws to falsify a signature.

“It shocked me, and it really almost made me change my vote,” said White, a Democrat. “As far as I’m concerned, my civil rights were violated.”

Elsewhere, reports of unauthorized absentee ballot paperwork have led to an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Floyd County Attorney Normand Klemesrud, a Democrat, said the DCI is checking into cases in his county in which someone allegedly filled out the request paperwork for an absentee ballot without the voter’s consent or knowledge. Chari Paulson, the DCI’s assistant director, didn’t return phone calls about the matter Friday.

Election 2012: Comprehensive Iowa voter guide

No arrests have been made. “Are they chargeable as crimes? I don’t know enough to know that yet,” Klemesrud said on Friday.

Via: Des Moines Register

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Report: Biden Pressured Bloomberg To Endorse Obama, “Mike, There’s Too Much At Stake. We Really Need You To Do This”…

AP Photo

POLITICO's Mike Allen reports that it was Vice President Biden who nudged New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into endorsing President Obama.

From Playbook:

Biden’s gift for reading people played a role in the endorsement. He and Bloomberg have been friendly for years, and have played golf together. The V.P. had called the mayor over the weekend, and the had talked several times this week about Sandy. Then yesterday morning, Biden was in Davenport, Iowa, about to go to church for All Saints’ Day. Finally, he made the ask, nudging Bloomberg toward the endorsement: “Mike, there’s too much at stake. We really need you to do this.” And the mayor did.

Bloomberg went on to endorse Obama in an op-ed at the news outlet that bears his name — citing Obama's positions on climate change, abortion, and gay marriage.

Via: Politico

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BIG MO: RYAN TO MINNESOTA SUNDAY

This morning, the Romney campaign announced that Paul Ryan would go to Minnesota on Sunday for a pre-election campaign rally. Its a clear sign that the Romney campaign thinks Minnesota is winnable.  Where campaigns spend their time in the closing days of a race says much more about their view of the election than words repeated by campaign flacks. Candidates' time is a campaign's most precious resource, and it is deployed only if it's needed or can have an impact. 

You don't waste a candidate's time on a bluff in the final 48 hours. 

Last night, the campaign announced that Mitt Romney would go to Philadelphia on Sunday for a campaign rally. It is telling that both Romney and Ryan are spending some of the campaign's final hours in a bid for states that haven't voted GOP for president in decades. 

The Obama campaign has dismissed this as a sign the Romney campaign is "flailing." Yet, they have matched the GOP ads buys in the state and have dispatched Biden and Clinton to Pennsylvania and Minnesota. They have to be at least somewhat concerned that Romney could steal these states from them if they don't respond. That's a tell. So to that end, Obama will spend this weekend doing at least five events in Wisconsin and Iowa, two states he won by double-digits in 2008. 

Remember, in the closing days of the 2008, Obama devoted lots of time to states that had traditionally voted Republican. That wasn't a campaign "flailing", but rather one riding a wave of momentum and deep dissatisfaction with the Bush Administration. 

We'll know Tuesday if Romney will be able to repeat history.

Via Breitbart

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GOP COULD SEE 'TSUNAMI' OF VOTERS ON ELECTION DAY

In many battleground states, Republicans traditionally outperform Democrats at the polls on Election Day, and some analysts believe there will be a GOP "tsunami" at the polls on next Tuesday's Election Day.

Over the last two weeks, GOP political operatives have noted Democrats have been turning out "high-propensity voters" -- or voters who normally vote on Election Day -- for early voting, while Republicans have been turning "low propensity voters" -- or voters who traditionally do not vote on Election Day. This means Democrats have fewer voters to draw from their universe on Election Day while Republicans have more.

One Republican analyst said "Democrats are cannibalizing their high-propensity voters in advance of election day to get stories that they are winning," which is amounting to "stealing from Peter, or Election Day, to pay Paul, or early voting."

As the Examiner noted, "in Ohio, the Democrats have turned out 43 percent of the most loyal supporters to vote, compared to just 27 percent of the GOP. In Iowa, the difference is 43 percent to 29 percent."

Although Democrats have touted their early voting strength, a Gallup poll found Romney with a seven-point lead among voters who have already voted, and even a Pew Research survey found Romney already has a "turnout advantage over Obama, which could loom larger as Election Day approaches." 

Via: Breitbart

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The Des Moines Register endorsement: Mitt Romney offers a fresh economic vision

Ten months ago this newspaper endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for president. An overarching consideration was which of the party’s candidates could we see occupying the White House, and there was no question that Romney was qualified for the job.

Now, in the closing days of the general election campaign, the question is which of the two contenders deserves to be the next president of the United States.

Both President Barack Obama and Governor Romney are superbly qualified. Both are graduates of the Harvard University Law School who have distinguished themselves in government, in public service and in private life. Both are devoted husbands and fathers.

American voters are deeply divided about this race. The Register’s editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over this endorsement. Our discussion repeatedly circled back to the nation’s single most important challenge: pulling the economy out of the doldrums, getting more Americans back in the workforce in meaningful jobs with promising futures, and getting the federal government on a track to balance the budget in a bipartisan manner that the country demands.

Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate.

The former governor and business executive has a strong record of achievement in both the private and the public sectors. He was an accomplished governor in a liberal state. He founded and ran a successful business that turned around failing companies. He successfully managed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Via: Ten months ago this newspaper endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination for president. An overarching consideration was which of the party’s candidates could we see occupying the White House, and there was no question that Romney was qualified for the job.

Now, in the closing days of the general election campaign, the question is which of the two contenders deserves to be the next president of the United States.

Both President Barack Obama and Governor Romney are superbly qualified. Both are graduates of the Harvard University Law School who have distinguished themselves in government, in public service and in private life. Both are devoted husbands and fathers.

American voters are deeply divided about this race. The Register’s editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over this endorsement. Our discussion repeatedly circled back to the nation’s single most important challenge: pulling the economy out of the doldrums, getting more Americans back in the workforce in meaningful jobs with promising futures, and getting the federal government on a track to balance the budget in a bipartisan manner that the country demands.

Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate.

The former governor and business executive has a strong record of achievement in both the private and the public sectors. He was an accomplished governor in a liberal state. He founded and ran a successful business that turned around failing companies. He successfully managed the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Via: Des Moines Register

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TRANSCRIPT: Mitt Romney Delivers Speech on the Economy

Today, Mitt Romney delivered remarks on the U.S. economy in Ames, Iowa. Read a transcript of the remarks below, as prepared for delivery:

Thank you all. It’s great to be back in Iowa. And don’t think that this is the last time you are going to see Paul Ryan and me, because you Iowans may well be the ones who decide what kind of America we will have, what kind of life our families will have.

The choice you make this November will shape great things, historic things, and those things will determine the most intimate and important aspects of every American life and every American family. This is an election about America, and it is an election about the American family.

All elections matter. This one matters a great deal. Over the years of our nation’s history, choices our fellow citizens have made have changed the country’s course–they were turning points of defining consequence.

Via: Fox news Insider

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THE BIG FAIL: Obama’s Boasting Of A Manufacturing Resurgence On TheCampaign Trail Doesn’t Match The Facts On The Ground

OBAMA TOUTS A MANUFACTURING COMEBACK THAT DOESN’T EXIST IN THE STATES

The Latest Bureau Of Labor Statistics Report Shows Manufacturing Jobs Declined In September In 31 States. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, 10/19/12)

Colorado

In September, Colorado Lost 1000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Colorado Has Lost 5,000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Iowa

In September, Iowa Lost 600 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Michigan

In September, Michigan Lost 900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Nevada

In September, Nevada Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, Nevada Has Lost 6,900 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

New Hampshire

In September, New Hampshire Lost 100 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

• Since Obama Took Office, New Hampshire Has Lost 6,800 Manufacturing Jobs.(Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/19/12)

Via: GOP.Com

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Eight states hold key to White House

Sorry, Florida. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney may be ardently courting America's biggest battleground state, but their real passion is for Ohio. Because as un-American as it sounds, all votes are not created equal in a presidential election. Don't be offended. With barely two weeks before Nov. 6, it's all about the electoral math. And as uncertain and unpredictable as the campaign looks heading into the final stretch, Ohio remains President Obama's best opportunity to block a Romney win — and Romney's biggest hurdle.

That's why in the past week, four of the top 10 TV markets for campaign ads were in Ohio, and only one was in Florida (Orlando), according to NBC. That's why, since September, Romney and Paul Ryan have done 34 Ohio campaign events and 20 Florida events, while Obama and Joe Biden have done 11 campaign events in Florida and 18 in Ohio.

"If you take Ohio off the board for the Romney campaign they basically have to win seven of the remaining eight battleground states," said Robert Gibbs, a senior Obama campaign adviser.

A president is not elected by the popular vote, but by the electoral votes of each state, and most states are so solidly Democratic or Republican that modern presidential campaigns are waged in eight to 12 states that can swing to one side or another. A resident of deep-red Utah, say, or deep-blue New York, won't see any campaign activity except for fundraising because the candidates need not worry about carrying them.

It takes 270 electoral votes to win. Based on polling and political trends Obama has 191 electoral votes solidly in his corner and Romney 169. Throw in the states that are leaning toward Obama or Romney, and it brings Obama to 237 electoral votes and Romney to 206.

Still up for grabs are eight states with a combined 95 electoral votes: Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, New Hampshire and Florida.

With the right combination, either candidate can win.

Obama's paths

For all the ups and downs of the 2012 campaign, the map has remained remarkably static through much of the past year. North Carolina, which Obama barely won in 2008, now appears to be leaning Romney, but overall the map still offers Obama more plausible paths to victory.

The president's campaign long ago spelled out four basic routes to a second term, and there also are multiple combinations of those paths. Assume he wins the same states John Kerry won in 2004, a total of 246 electoral votes.

• The Western path gives Obama New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Iowa, and brings him to 272 electoral votes.

• The Southern path, looking less likely based on recent North Carolina polling, gets him to 274 with wins in Virginia and North Carolina.

• The Midwest path involves winning Ohio and Iowa, giving Obama 270 votes.

• The simplest of all paths is through Florida. Win the Sunshine State's 29 electoral votes and Obama is re-elected with 275 electoral votes.

Via: Tampa Bay Times

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IOWA, VIRGINIA GOVS: OBAMA OFFERED NO VISION FOR SECOND TERM IN DEBATE

Republican governors in Iowa and Virginia said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama failed to present his vision for a second term in his debate against Mitt Romney, echoing the concerns of undecided voters who thought the same after the debate. 

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad said Romney “explained with crystal clarity the difference between him and the President, and nowhere was that difference more stark than on the issue of the national debt.” Branstad noted that Obama “has racked up $5.5 trillion in national debt that will take years to pay off.”

“At the debate, the President reiterated that nothing will change about his policies in the next four years, ensuring that the debt will pile higher and generations to come will pay the price,” Branstad asserted. “That’s a legacy we don’t want to leave.”

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell stated Romney “reinforced the clear choice facing the American people” on jobs, taxes, debt, healthcare or foreign policy. 

He lamented Obama’s “tax-hiking, government-growing record” has “failed to turn around our economy or increase our nation’s influence around the world.”

“Americans know that we can’t afford another four years like the last four years, and tonight’s debate confirmed that Mitt Romney is the leader we need to deliver the change that Americans expect and deserve,” McDonnell continued. 

After Obama’s lackluster first debate against Romney, even progressive journalists said it was not not just good enough for Obama to attempt to tear down Romney. Those like NBC’s David Gregory and Chuck Todd said Obama now needed to present a clear vision for what his second term would be. 

And according to Messrs. Branstand and McDonnell, Obama did not even come close to reassuring the country that he had a vision to turn the country's economy around if he wins a second term. 

Via: Breitbart

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Poll: Romney’s Likeability Numbers Skyrocket In Wake Of Debate…

Mitt Romney is finally getting his Sally Field moment: They like him. At least more than they used to.

President Barack Obama clings to a 1 percentage-point national lead in a head-to-head matchup with the GOP nominee, but the first presidential debate has significantly improved Romney’s personal image.

A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll of likely voters puts Obama ahead of Romney 49 percent to 48 percent, a statistical tie and the same as the week before. Across the 10 states identified by POLITICO as competitive, Romney leads 50 percent to 48 percent.

Even as the head-to-head number held stubbornly steady for the past month, Romney improved his likability numbers. A slim majority, 51 percent, now views Romney favorably as a person, while 44 percent views him unfavorably.

The former Massachusetts governor had been underwater on this measure. In mid-September, 49 percent of respondents viewed him unfavorably. Going into the first presidential debate in Denver on Oct. 3, the electorate was evenly split 47 percent to 47 percent on what to make of Romney

.

On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats continue to hold a 2 percentage-point edge, 46 percent to 44 percent, over Republicans.

POLITICO considers the 10 competitive battlegrounds to be Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin.

VIa: Politico

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AS ELECTION DAY NEARS, ROMNEY CROWDS ARE SURGING

SIDNEY, Ohio (AP) -- The crowds tell the story. As Election Day nears, Mitt Romney is drawing large and excited throngs.

Look to dusty Iowa cornfields, rain-soaked Virginia parks, the muddy fields of the Shelby County Fairgrounds, where a crowd of 9,500 - almost half of this western Ohio town - gathered among the barns and stables on a frigid October evening this week to glimpse the Republican presidential contender.

"Where else would we want to be?" said one of the shivering faithful, Judy Cartwright, a 71-year-old nurse from Sidney. "I want to see the next president of the United States."

Romney's debate performance against President Barack Obama last week - and his energetic appearances following it up - have fueled a rise in enthusiasm on the campaign trail. Whether or not it will translate into votes, polls do suggest that Republicans are fired up. It's a welcome development for the Republican businessman, who is hardly a natural politician and has long struggled to match Obama's ability to inspire excitement.

In Virginia, for example, Republican leaning counties appear to be getting the fastest start on absentee voting ahead of Election Day. State Board of Elections data analyzed by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit and nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics, shows that of the 25 localities where absentee voting is busiest, 21 voted Republican in the 2008 presidential race. And of the 25 localities where absentee balloting is the slowest so far, 16 supported Obama.

Romney seems to be feeding off the energy pumping through his now-sprawling crowds, even as aides downplay the newfound momentum among the GOP base

.

"I'm overwhelmed by the number of people here," he exulted while scanning the sea of supporters packed beyond the fairgrounds fences here. "There are even people out there - that's another county over there."

Via: AP

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BENCHED: DWS MIA IN DEMOCRATS' PR BLITZ

Have you noticed that we've seen a lot less of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz recently? Since getting caught misrepresenting her own statements caught on tape in early September, she seems to have been relegated to the back bench.

Wednesday night was the first presidential debate, and Democrats had their various surrogates on hand to talk to the media. Rep. Wasserman-Schultz gave interviews to Univision, 7 News Colorado, and what appears to be a pre-debate interview with an ABC affiliate. She'll appear on Bloomberg TV this Sunday and she has a new profile in Vogue of all places, but these are not the sort of prime communications assignments she has had in the past.

Currently, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz is on a DNC bus tour making stops in places like Parma, Ohio and Dubuque, Iowa along with Sandra Fluke. These are swing states, so the GOTV efforts there are important. Still, the assignment also has the effect of relegating Debbie to small gatherings of like-minded Democrats and appearances on local news affiliates.

Rep. Wasserman-Schultz's semi-retreat from the public eye seems to have begun in early September when a scandal erupted over some comments she attributed to the Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren. She claimed, in front of a group of Jewish voters, that the ambassador had said Republicans were "dangerous" for Israel.

After the comments were published by Philip Klein at the Examiner, Rep. Wasserman-Schultz claimed she had never made them. At this point, Klein published his audiorecording of the statement, which clearly proved she had said exactly what he claimed. If that weren't bad enough, Oren denied "categorically" that he had ever said such a thing.

Within a couple days of the controversy, Politico piled on with a story suggesting that Wasserman-Schultz's future within the Democratic Party appeared hazy:

People close to Wasserman Schultz say she isn’t likely to serve a second term at the DNC. On top of that, her supporters have written her off as a candidate for statewide races in Florida. They also say she would be ill-fitted to serve in Obama’s administration. In short, her options are few.

For now, her only option seems to be riding the bus in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being thrown under it.

Via: Breitbart

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With Start of Early Voting, Election Day Becomes Election Month

DES MOINES – As eight bells rang from the clock tower of the Polk County Courthouse, the doors to the election office opened on Thursday morning and voters began casting the first ballots of the presidential race in this battleground state.

“It seems like we’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” said Nancy Bobo, 60, who stood in line and voted for President Obama. “I’m just thrilled to get out here and vote as soon as I possibly could.”

Less than a week before the president’s first debate with Mitt Romney and a month before the closing arguments of a campaign traditionally would be made, a steady stream of voters walked into election offices across the state to cast their ballots. They will be joined by voters in Ohio next week, along with 30 states where some type of voting is already under way.

For millions of Americans, the election no longer is a fixed date on the November calendar. It is increasingly becoming an item on the fall checklist, a civic duty steeped in the convenience of everyday life. The development is profoundly influencing presidential races, with Election Day becoming Election Month for as much as 40 percent of the electorate this year.

The number of people casting early ballots nationally climbed to 31 percent in 2008 from 23 percent in 2004, according to Michael McDonald, who studies early voting at George Mason University. This year, party strategists estimate that up to 40 percent of voters will cast ballots before Nov. 6, but the proportion is even higher in many battleground states.

Via: NYT

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DESPITE MEDIA HYPE, NO BOUNCE FOR OBAMA IN SWING STATES

Politico’s “Unnamed Sources” say Ohio is lost for Mitt Romney. Like hell it is. They say Obama got a serious bounce from the DNC. Like hell he did.

Whatever bounce Obama got was in the blue states. In the swing states, it’s still way too close to call. Today’s Rasmussen poll results show that in the eleven swing states, including Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin, which total 145 electoral votes, it’s Obama 46% and Romney 45%. In 2008, Obama won these states 53% to 46%.

So how does the MSM try to spin the evidence so Obama looks like he’s unbeatable? Let’s look at Ohio, for example. Politico reported (using uncredited sources, of course), that Ohio is lost for Romney:

“Two officials intimately involved in the GOP campaign said Ohio leans clearly in Obama’s favor now.”

I didn’t know Axelrod and Plouffe were working for Romney, but hey, they’ll go where the money is.

But, as usual, Politico was relying on Obama-leaning polls to support their narrative; yesterday the PPP poll (which is always weighted toward Obama because of PPP’s affiliation with the SEIU) showed Obama up by five in Ohio.  Hmmm. According to the Gravis marketing poll taken last Tuesday, Romney was up three in Ohio. Who’s telling the truth?

Consider these:

Example #1.  On August 14, the PPP poll showed Obama up three in Ohio, while the same day Rasmussen Reports showed Romney and Obama tied.

Example #2: Last Monday PPP showed Obama tied with Romney in North Carolina, while the Elon University/Charlotte Observer poll, a local state poll, showed Romney up by four.

But Politico won’t be denied their mission to say whatever they can to disillusion Romney’s base, and they make no bones about using uncredited sources; as Politico reporter Jonathan Martin said last month when Politico quoted unnamed sources in a story about Republicans unhappy about the selection of Paul Ryan (what?????):

We were candid about the sourcing on that, as you mentioned, Howie, and basically say to our readers, ‘Look, folks don’t want to put their names [on] the charges. If you don’t want to read Politico, that’s fine.’

Every race in the swing states is close right now, and the unconscionable skewing of the polls by the MSM shouldn’t discourage Republicans. The MSM has lied before, they are lying now, and they will lie in the future. The Obama campaign has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Romney, they have the power of incumbency, and Romney simply is not going away. And all of this is before Romney has even attacked Obama in ads and the debates.

Hey, Dems, this show ain’t even close to over; we’re just getting warmed up.

Via: Breitbart

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