Candy Crowley Let Obama Have Last Word 8 Out Of 11 Times…

What are the odds for getting the last word in a debate with Barack Obama? If the moderator is Obama-sycophant Candy Crowley, the odds are 8 to 3 against you.

That’s what happened to Mitt Romney in the second presidential debate. Of the eleven questions Crowley allowed to be asked, eight times Obama got the last word, while Crowley deigned to give Romney only three.

Not only did Obama receive three more minutes to speak, he was also given the gift of ending the discussion. Here’s how it played out:

1. Employment on graduation: Romney then Obama; followup: Romney then Obama

2. Secretary Chu and Gas Prices: Obama then Romney; followup: Obama then Romney; 2nd followup: Obama

3. Romney’s tax plans, deductions & credits: Romney then Obama then Romney; followup to Obama; 2nd followup to Romney

4. Female wages: Obama then Romney then Obama

5. Romney like Bush: Romney then Obama

6. Not optimistic, expensive prices: Obama then Romney

7. Immigration: Romney then Obama

8. Benghazi: Obama then Romney; followup: Obama then Romney

9. Assault weapons: Obama then Romney; followup: Romney then Obama

10. Outsourcing: Romney then Obama; followup: Romney then Obama

11. Misperception about candidate: Romney then Obama

The only reason the number favors Obama 8 to 3 and not 9 to 2 is that on question 8, Obama made the last speech, but Romney had the floor at the end, when he bantered with Obama.

Not only did Crowley interrupt Romney far more times than Obama, 28 to 9, and treat Romney with great disrespect, she was determined to obstruct him from having the last word. She was in league with Obama from the start.

But in the end, the last word will rest with the American people, and they know a rat when they see one. Or, in this case, two.

Via: Breitbart

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Romney: Obama ‘Running on Fumes'

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — Fresh off his more animated debate performance, President Obama joked Wednesday that he is still trying to get the hang of the face-to-face showdowns with Mitt Romney, even as the Republican nominee said Mr. Obama appears to be “running on fumes” in the run-up to Nov. 6.

Continuing the fierce line of attack he began Tuesday night, Mr. Obama told a rally in Iowa that Mr. Romney’s tax plans for the country are too “sketchy” for voters to risk putting him in the White House.

“Gov. Romney has been running around talking about his five-point plan for the economy for quite some time. And as I pointed out last night, and you guys heard yourselves, it’s really a one-point plan. … It says folks at the very top can play by their own set of rules,” Mr. Obama said, playing to big crowds in Iowa and later in Ohio, where 14,000 turned out to see him.

He and Mr. Romney picked up right where they left off in Tuesday’s town-hall-style debate, trading barbs on who would be worse for women over the next four years — Mr. Obama said the Republican would threaten access to contraception, abortion and women’s health care, while Mr. Romney said the president has ruined women’s economic prospects — and on energy and taxes.

Instant polls suggested Mr. Obama won Tuesday’s debate, though not by the overwhelming margins Mr. Romney notched in their Oct. 3 debate in Denver, which helped reset the race and propel the Republican to a lead in national polling.

Enlarge Photo

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney walks Oct. 17, 2012, with comedian Dennis ... more >

Democrats were energized by the president’s debate performance, praising him for finally taking a hard line against Mr. Romney.

But the Obama campaign is still struggling to reset the post-Oct. 3 debate storyline that it is struggling in some of the key states.

Via: Washington Times

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Sen. Lindsey Graham on the Real Truth Behind the Benghazi Attack ...

It's a story about al Qaeda coming back, Libya going south, and it destroys the narrative that by killing bin Laden, al Qaeda's been dismantled. And it also destroys the narrative you can lead from behind in Libya and everything's fine. I hold the president personally accountable for knowing the security situation in the world.

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," October 17, 2012. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Well, the controversy over Libya leading to fireworks at last night's debate. Since the day after this year's September 11 attack, the Obama administration has been dishing out different versions of what happened. Here's a look at their ever-changing stories.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we're seeing on social media, what we're seeing in some of the local commentary is largely related to this reprehensible video.

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We've seen rage and violence directed at American embassies over an awful Internet video that we had nothing to do with.

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: This was not a pre-planned, pre-meditated attack.

OBAMA: It is an extremely offensive video directed at Mohammed and Islam. Extremists and terrorists used this as an excuse to attack a variety of our embassies, including the one -- the consulate in Libya.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy.

CLINTON: What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack.

OBAMA: We're still doing an investigation. There's no doubt that the kind of weapons that were used, the ongoing assault, that it wasn't just a mob action.

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It was a group of terrorists obviously conducted that attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN SUSTEREN: And now is President Obama changing his tune again? For weeks, the president's been saying al Qaeda is on the run and on its heels, but today -- and everyone was listening for this -- the president specifically removed those words from his campaign speech.

Senator Lindsey Graham is demanding answers from the president. He joins us. Nice to see you, Mr. -- nice to see you, Senator.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C.: Thank you. I'm from Wisconsin, believe it or not,.

Via: Fox News

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Coulter: Obama at Hofstra: Relatively Alert, Ergo Big Winner

The best question at the second presidential debate came from Michael Jones, an African-American who said: "Mr. President, I voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012? I'm not that optimistic, as I was in 2008. Most things I need for everyday living are very expensive."

To which Obama said: "Are you my half-brother?"

Actually, all Obama could say was that he had ended the war in Iraq (while pointlessly escalating the war in Afghanistan) and that Osama bin Laden is dead (and so is our ambassador). Both of which must be a great comfort to Mr. Jones as he tries to pay his bills every month.

Jones was right: Since Obama has been president, everything you own -- your home, pension, savings accounts, weekly paychecks -- are all worth less.

Meanwhile, everything you need -- gas, food, and anything else that requires fuel to be transported to you -- costs more.

Obama can't talk his way out of his record. As Romney said in response to the president's allegation that he is gung-ho about drilling for oil to lower fuel prices: "But that's not what you've done in the last four years. That's the problem."

Obama also suddenly announced: "I'm all for pipelines. I'm all for oil production." But he vetoed the Keystone pipeline.

He explained that the price of gasoline was $1.80 when he took office because the economy was in the toilet. Apparently, prices have spiked to more than $4 a gallon because all Americans are back at work now and making big bucks!

Obama said the "most important thing we can do is to make sure that we are creating jobs in this country."

So now he's going to create jobs? Because, nearly four years into his presidency, 23 million Americans are out of work and more than half of recent college graduates can't find a job.

Video: Full Town Hall Debate Between Barack Obama And Mitt Romney…

Via: Weasel Zippers

ROMNEY'S SECRET BLOWOUT

While the left cheers President Obama’s second debate performance with the excitement of Chris Matthews on a prom date with The One, the fact remains that this was not just a bad debate for President Obama. It was a disastrous debate for President Obama. He may have achieved firing up the base, but the base had already been fired up by Vice President Joe Biden’s bizarre performance in the vice presidential debate. He may have achieved not looking comatose, but instead he looked angry and puerile.

Actually, Obama lost in three major ways.

Economy. The first loss is the most obvious. Mitt Romney absolutely dismembered Obama on economics. Obama wasn’t merely outclassed. He was out-leagued. Take, for example, the Romney-Obama exchange on gas drilling. After Obama blathered on about how he’d been great for oil supply (false), Romney gutted him with a single line:

The proof of whether a strategy is working or not is what the price is that you're paying at the pump. If you're paying less than you paid a year or two ago, why, then, the strategy is working. But you're paying more. When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon. Now, it's $4.00 a gallon.

Obama’s response was perhaps the worst economic gaffe in modern debate history:

Well, think about what the governor -- think about what the governor just said. He said when I took office, the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that? Because the economy was on the verge of collapse, because we were about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression, as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney's now promoting. So, it's conceivable that Governor Romney could bring down gas prices because with his policies, we might be back in that same mess.

Via: Breitbart

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Former Aide On Obama: ‘It’s Stunning That He’s In Politics, Because He Really Doesn’t Like People’

Neera Tanden, a former aide to both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, had this to say about the relationship of the two presidents:

Clinton, being Clinton, had plenty of advice in mind and was desperate to impart it. But for the first two years of Obama’s term, the phone calls Clinton kept expecting rarely came. “People say the reason Obama wouldn’t call Clinton is because he doesn’t like him,” observes Tanden. “The truth is, Obama doesn’t call anyone, and he’s not close to almost anyone. It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people. My analogy is that it’s like becoming Bill Gates without liking computers.”

It's a revealing statement from Tanden, who "served as senior advisor for health reform at the Department of Health and Human Services, advising Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and working on President Barack Obama’s health reform team in the White House to pass the bill," according to her bio at the Center for American Progress. She is currently president and CEO of the liberal organization.

Via: Weekly Standard

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[EXCLUSIVE] 77% likelihood Romney wins popular vote, according to famous U of Colorado study

The University of Colorado (CU) prediction renowned for perfect accuracy will predict a popular-vote win for Mitt Romney later this month, Campus Reform has learned. 

The poll has accurately predicted every presidential election since it was developed in 1980. It is unique in that it employs factors outside of state economic indicators to predict the next president. 

CU Political Science Professor Dr. Michael Berry, who spoke with Campus Reform at length on Tuesday, said there is at least 77 percent chance that Romney will win the popular vote.

Professor Michael Berry from the University of Colorado told Campus Reform in an exclusive interview that there is a 77 percent chance Romney will win the popular vote.

“Our model indicates that Governor Romney has a 77 percent likelihood of winning the popular vote,” said Berry.

That number is significant, not only in its size, but because of the fact that only four presidents since the nation’s founding have won the presidency without capturing the popular vote, the last being George W. Bush in 2000. 

Berry noted his model has never been wrong at predicting the outcome of a presidential election. 

“For the last eight presidential elections, this model has correctly predicted the winner,” he said. 

Berry also acknowledged that while his poll is accurate, however, that his model does not “calculate a specific confidence level for the Electoral College result.”

The study, conducted every four years, is non-political and employs historical data as well as current unemployment numbers and income levels.

In the crucial swing states of Florida, Ohio, and Virginia, a recent poll reveals that a majority of voters believe the health of the economy is the most important issue of this election.

Additionally, more than double of the respondents in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll trust Romney over Obama to fix the economic state of our country (63%-29%).

Along with the economy, unemployment adds an element which only increases the probability of the CU prediction. 

“The apparent advantage of being a Democratic candidate and holding the White House disappears when the national unemployment rate hits 5.6 percent,” Berry said. 

Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder adds, “the incumbency advantage enjoyed by President Obama, though statistically significant, is not great enough to offset high rates of unemployment currently experienced in many of the states.”

The Colorado model has had such accuracy over the years, these results have received no criticism from academic peers, according to Berry.

Via: Campus Reform

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CNN Moderator Gives Obama 9% More Time

Amid persistent complaints and interruptions from both candidates, President Obama ultimately got more than three extra minutes of speaking time than Mitt Romney during Tuesday's debate.

(PHOTOS: The in-your-face debate | Also on POLITICO: Crowley defies contract, asks questions)

According to CNN's timekeeping, Obama got 44:04 minutes of speaking time, while Romney got 40:50.

Both candidates pressed the moderator Candy Crowley — sometimes aggressively — into allowing additional responses and back-and-forth exchanges.

Via: Politico

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Obama, Romney turn up the tension in second presidential debate

President Obama and Mitt Romney tangled in the opening moments of their second debate on the economy, taxes and energy – as the president tried to make up for lost ground in the wake of his opening debate performance.

The president was decidedly more aggressive Tuesday as the debate at Hofstra University in New York got under way.

He mocked Romney’s five-point economic plan and referenced Romney’s tenure at private equity firm Bain Capital.

“Governor Romney says he’s got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn’t have a five-point plan. He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules,” Obama said. “That’s been his philosophy in the private sector. That’s been his philosophy as a governor. And that’s been his philosophy as a presidential candidate.”

Romney called Obama’s assessment “way off the mark.”

While Obama said Romney’s policies are “squeezing middle-class families,” the Republican nominee claimed president’s policies were doing the same.

“The president’s policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven’t put Americans back to work,” Romney said.

The two candidates frequently interrupted each other, in what was turning out to be a feistier face-off than the first round.

The stakes for Round 2 were high. Since Obama’s lackluster debate debut on Oct. 3, a succession of national and battleground polls has shown Romney gaining and in some cases surpassing Obama.

Via: Fox News

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INFOGRAPHICS: Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012

Several key questions still remain to be asked of President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney during tonight’s debate. Among them: What would each of them do to reduce the growing burden of federal spending on American households?

In 2012, the federal government spent $29,700 per American household. Of that amount, $9,400 was deficit spending. Put another way, $3.20 out of every $10 spent was borrowed.

These facts and more are available in a new Heritage report: “Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012.”

In 20 powerful graphics and four detailed tables, “Federal Spending by the Numbers 2012” analyzes government spending trends in the past and future. Heritage experts explain where the federal government spends the most, which areas of the budget have grown the fastest, and when the entitlements and net interest begin to overwhelm all other federal spending.Specific examples of government waste are featured at the end.

By 2025, the major entitlements and net interest will grow to 18.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), devouring all tax revenue at the historical average level. (continues below chart)

Via: The Foundry

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Romney 50%, Obama 46% Among Likely Voters

Obama down sharply among men, college grads, and Southern voters vs. 2008

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ -- Half of likely voters now prefer Mitt Romney for president and 46% back President Barack Obama in Gallup interviewing through Monday.

While Romney's four-percentage-point advantage is not statistically significant, he has consistently edged ahead of Obama each of the past several days in Gallup's seven-day rolling averages conducted entirely after the Oct. 3 presidential debate. Prior to that debate -- regarded as a decisive Romney win by political experts and Americans who watched it -- Romney averaged less than a one-point lead over Obama among likely voters.

The latest result, from Oct. 9-15, is based on 2,723 likely voters drawn from more than 3,100 registered voters.

The effect of the Denver debate on voter preferences is also seen in the trend among registered voters. Prior to the debate, in late September/early October, Obama generally led Romney by five or six points among registered voters. Since the debate, the margin has been three points or less.

Via: Gallup

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HUME TWEET: 'This May Be The Single Most Devastating Take-Down Of A Piece Of Journalism I've Ever Seen'

Oh no! We can’t let Romney win, he’ll let lobbyists in the White House!!!

By Timothy P. Carney | October 16, 2012 | Washington Examiner

If Romney wins, will lobbyists defile the White House that Obama has kept so clean and so pure? That’s what Politico suggests with this piece today headlined “Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Romney.”

President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.

In crafting and signing those executive orders, I wonder if Obama relied on the help of White House deputy counsel Cassandra Butts (1), White House special assistant Martha Coven (2), or the chief of staff or the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Michael Strautmanis (3), all of whom were registered lobbyists. (I’m only numbering registered lobbyists.)

Politico’s Anna Palmer reports:

Industry insiders believe that Mitt Romney will unshackle the revolving door and give lobbyists a shot at the government jobs their Democratic counterparts have been denied for the past four years

Yeah, I bet those Republican lobbyists will get envious stares from the likes of Fannie Mae, Cigna, Credit Suisse lobbyist Laricke Blanchard (4), whom Obama named deputy director of policy for the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation. Former teachers union lobbyist Gabriella Gomez (5) would be jealous – if her job as assistant secretary of Education gave her the time for such self-indulgence. Former crop-industry lobbyist Krysta Harden (6) must be thinking “why couldn’t I get a government job – besides my job as assistant secretary of Agriculture.”

Palmer writes of the possibility of Romney

“Allowing lobbyists back into the White House”

You mean after he kicks out the lobbyists in Obama’s White House like Patton Boggs lobbyist Emmett Beliveau (7), O’Melveny & Myers lobbyist Derek Douglas (8), and Pfizer’s, AT&T’s lobbyist at Akin Gump Dana Singiser (9)?

Romney would have to toss out Obama’s orders, which shook up how President George W. Bush did business and let Obama claim his agenda wouldn’t be hijacked by special interests.

Yes, it let Obama claim that – falsely. Remember how the stimulus was a pork fest for K Street? Remember how the drug lobby wrote much of Obamacare. Remember how Obama gave Chrysler to the UAW? Remember – oh, I could go on, but I’ll return to the Politico piece...

 

Via: Washington Examiner

 

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Presidential Debate, Round 2

Pressure on Obama to check Romney surge at NY debate
Published October 16, 2012 | FoxNews.com
First, President Obama was too cool. Then Vice President Biden was, by some accounts, too hot.
Can Obama get it just right?

At his second debate against Mitt Romney, the pressure is unquestionably on the president to recapture the momentum. The debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., comes as new polls continue to show Romney closing the gap in key battleground states in the wake of the candidates' opening bout.

And the president's team is making clear that Obama will have a more aggressive -- and more prepared -- approach this time.

"He's excited for it," campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "He's calm and energized."
Romney's campaign has said little about how and whether the Republican nominee's style might differ Tuesday night, compared with the opening debate, though a second clear-cut victory for the Republican challenger could be a game-changer. A senior Romney adviser said the campaign anticipates a "more aggressive" Obama.

"We expect he'll launch one attack after another in an attempt to distract from his record and make up for his weak performance in Denver," the adviser said.

Both campaigns are stacking the debate hall with surrogates, who will be in place to spin the performances and try to get their version to dominate media coverage going into Wednesday.
Romney's campaign also announced a fresh endorsement Tuesday morning from Ross Perot, though the former presidential candidate is not on the surrogate list for the New York debate.

"We can't afford four more years in which national debt mushrooms out of control, our government grows, and our military is weakened. Mitt has the background, experience, intelligence and integrity to turn things around," Perot said in a statement. Read the full story on FoxNews.com ....

Via: Fox News

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Swing States poll: Women push Romney into lead

9:06PM EDT October 15. 2012 - WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney leads President Obama by four percentage points among likely voters in the nation's top battlegrounds, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, and he has growing enthusiasm among women to thank.

As the presidential campaign heads into its final weeks, the survey of voters in 12 crucial swing states finds female voters much more engaged in the election and increasingly concerned about the deficit and debt issues that favor Romney. The Republican nominee has pulled within one point of the president among women who are likely voters, 48%-49%, and leads by 8 points among men.
MORE: Follow who's up and who's down in the polls

The battle for women, which was apparent in the speakers spotlighted at both political conventions this summer, is likely to help define messages the candidates deliver at the presidential debate Tuesday night and in the TV ads they air during the final 21 days of the campaign. As a group, women tend to start paying attention to election contests later and remain more open to persuasion by the candidates and their ads.

That makes women, especially blue-collar "waitress moms" whose families have been hard-hit by the nation's economic woes, the quintessential swing voters in 2012's close race.

Via: USA Today

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Electric Car Battery Maker A123 FIles for Bankrupcy

 

A123 Systems Inc. fell as much as 16 cents, or 70 percent, to 7 cents a share in over-the-counter trading as of 9:43 a.m. Photographer: Jeffrey Sauger/Bloomberg

 

The filing may fuel a debate over government financing of alternative-energy and transportation businesses. Federal grants and loans to companies including A123, Fisker Automotive Inc. and Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA) have drawn scrutiny from congressional Republicans following the September 2011 bankruptcy filing of solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC two years after it received a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department.

“This action is expected to allow the company to provide for an orderly sale,” A123 said in a press release. Johnson Controls plans to acquire A123’s automotive-business assets in a deal valued at $125 million and will provide financing of $72.5 million to support A123’s operations, according to the release. A deal to sell a majority stake to a Chinese company fell through, A123 said.

The Energy Debate Continues at www.bloomberg.com/sustainability

The company listed assets of $459.8 million and debt of $376 million as of Aug. 31 in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said yesterday it expected to fail to make an interest payment due yesterday on $143.8 million of notes expiring in 2016.

Largest Shareholders

A123’s largest shareholder is Heights Capital Management Inc. of San Francisco, with 12.5 million shares, or a 7.3 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. IHI Corp., based in Tokyo, has 8.45 million shares, or about 5 percent, and General Electric Co., based in Fairfield, Connecticut, holds 7.37 million shares, or about 4.3 percent.

The 30 largest consolidated creditors without collateral backing their claims are owed a total of more than $161 million, according to court papers. U.S. Bank NA, as trustee, is listed as the largest unsecured creditor with a claim of $142.8 million, according to court papers. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP has a claim of $2.8 million, Jabil Circuit Inc. has a claim of $1.7 million and Hydro Quebec has a claim of $1.5 million.

Via: Bloomberg

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The Washington Times: The President’s Popularity Bubble Has Burst

Mitt Romney continues his surge in the polls two weeks after the first presidential debate. Democrats keep waiting for Barack Obama’s free-fall to stop, but the polling is looking less like a fleeting bounce than a strong market correction.

G

Bounces are temporary. What goes up comes down. They are the products of momentary enthusiasm, like the national-convention spike enjoyed by both sides. Mr. Romney’s rise since the Oct. 3 debate has been more durable. It’s more like what happens when artificially inflated prices dramatically change course. In this case, the Obama bubble — which had been gathering steam the previous weeks — suddenly and dramatically burst.

President Obama remains in a state of denial and maintains electoral prosperity is just around the corner. “What’s important is the fundamentals of what this race is about haven’t changed,” he chirped last week. To the contrary, the fundamentals are driving his numbers down. Economic growth is shrinking. Jobs are scarce. Mr. Obama has amassed two times the federal debt in one term that President George W. Bush did in two terms. These are the inconvenient truths that have driven the correction in the polls. Mr. Romney’s debate performance was the catalyst for Mr. Obama’s collapse, but the ruinous economic reality has kept the Democrat’s downslide going.

The Obama contraction has been most dramatic in battleground states. Three weeks ago, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said, “There are two different campaigns, one in the battlegrounds and one everywhere else. That’s why the national polls aren’t relevant to this campaign.” At the time, the political operative might have had a point. Many poll-aggregation sites showed a steady state-by-state run-up for Mr. Obama. Those charts now show dramatic contractions, wiping out months of gains overnight. It’s a classic correction curve.

Via: The Washington Times

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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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Debbie Wasserman Schultz pushes women to vote Obama as Romney narrows gap

The Obama campaign continued its effort to attract women voters during a Monday conference call with reporters, with Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz charging that Republican nominee Mitt Romney would be “a president who wants to essentially force us to refight battles that we thought were won long ago, and essentially either make us or keep us as second class citizens.”

“Women’s health and economic security depend on President Obama winning the White House. And because women make up 55 percent of the electorate, women will decide this election,” Wasserman Schultz said.

After the first presidential debate in Denver, Colo., Romney made strides in narrowing the polling gap among women voters.

“In every poll, we’ve seen a major surge among women in favorability for Romney” Democratic pollster Celinda Lake told USA TODAY, regarding a Monday USA TODAY/Gallup Poll that showed likely women voters giving Romney a bump in swing states following the debate. “Women went into the debate actively disliking Romney, and they came out thinking he might understand their lives and might be able to get something done for them.”

An October Pew Survey found that where Obama had an 18-point lead among women last month, following the president’s poor debate performance, the candidates are now tied among likely women voters (47 percent to 47 percent). The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll released Monday found Obama leading Romney overall by 9 points among registered women voters, but narrowing the gap to give Romney the edge in swing states.

Via: The Daily Caller

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Obamacare Extends Its Losing Streak to 114

Obamacare makes the ’62 Mets look like the ’27 Yankees.  Since President Obama signed Obamacare into law on March 23, 2010, Rasmussen Reports has conducted 114 polls asking likely voters whether they’d prefer to keep Obamacare or repeal it.  All 114 times, voters have said they’d prefer to repeal it.  In 107 of those polls — including the one released today — Obamacare’s margin of defeat has been double-digits.

Only four teams in the modern history of Major League Baseball (1901-present) have managed to lose 114 or more games.  The 1962 New York Mets lost 120, the 2003 Detroit Tigers lost 119, the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics lost 117, and the 1935 Boston Braves lost 115.  (Even the St. Louis Browns never managed to lose 114 games.)  Yet, as horrible as these four teams were, they nevertheless combined to win 157 games, and they each had a winning percentage of at least .235.  Obamacare has a win-loss record of 0-114 and a winning percentage of .000.

Via: Weekly Standard

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