But that being said, what a load of codswallop we're being handed in the ongoing Benghazi scandal. Specifically, to take pressure off of Barack Obama during the debate, Hillary Clinton suddenly decided to change her story entirely and take complete responsibility for the security failings which led to the successful Al-Qaeda attack on our consulate, and the brutal murders of four Americans.
But wait - what does she mean by "complete responsibility?" It seems that she means she'll take complete responsibility for looking to see which "security officials" working under her should have prevented this massacre, and will then study solutions to make sure it doesn't happen again.
No sooner was this highly unconvincing mea culpa out of Hillary's mouth than she hopped a government jet to whisk her as far from inquisitive reporters as possible - specifically to a conference in Peru to discuss women's rights, ride llamas, listen to Andean pan flute music, and (like her boss) claim that she can't answer questions clearly if she's too far above sea level.
And unlike the consulate in Benghazi which she left defenseless against Al-Qaeda, Mrs. Clinton will be fully guarded at all times. Perhaps in case she's attacked by the radical llamas of Al-Paca.
DEBATE UPDATE:
Okay, we're doing a latenight debate recap after all. Mostly because the darn thing wasn't particularly exciting to watch, and we didn't immediately see any raw meat to go after.
Both men did well tonight: Romney always sounded confident, caring, and in charge of the facts. Barack Obama was far more animated than his previous debate debacle, but also came in with a clear checklist of annoying behaviors to attend to (perhaps coached by Laughing Joe Biden): interrupt frequently, ask the moderator to cut off time or change subjects, blather on after the moderator said to shut up, call Romney a liar, and repeat many of the lies ("$5 trillion in tax cuts to the filthy, women-hating, racist rich") which Romney smacked down last time.
We don't believe that Romney lost any ground, but Obama groupies or voters with untreatable head injuries may have found more to like about the president this time around. So we'll reluctantly call this debate a draw under the theory that a small but significant minority of Americans (particularly the so-called "undecideds") are spectacular dumb asses.
Candy Crowley didn't do a terrible job as moderator - although she tilted the questions and answers in Barry's favor a bit too obviously, gave him 10% more time for responses, and frequently cut off Romney as he was making substantive points. But because she kept Carrie Fisher (dressed as "Slave Leia") chained to her side throughout the debate, we're willing to forgive her.
37 comments:
Candy Crowley: "Mitt, mah bukee, keel-ee caleya ku kah. Wanta dah moole-rah? Wonkee chee sa crispa con Greedo?"
Translated from Huttese: "Mitt, my boy, you disappoint me. Why haven't you paid me? And why did you fry poor Greedo?"
@badlarry - The Democratic Senate always did remind me of Mos Eisley - a hive of scum and villainy.
I have to disagree about Crowley's handling of the debate, I think Joesph Curl says it best:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/oct/17/curl-crowley-skews-hard-obama-disastrous-debate/.
Out of 80 participants in the audience, those were the top questions on everybody's mind??? I don't think so...however, I found surprising the Luntz's groups reaction because I didn't think either had a game changing night, yes, Obama was more energetic, but anything better than a mature watermelon would gain points there. I think, possibly, the Libya question may have undone what ever points he may have scored, because at this point, thanks to Fox pushing, we all have heard the many excuses and versions and his 'Rose Garden' answer, so easily checked, was a blatant mis-truth (Obama Lied? I'm shocked!!). Now, the State Department is going back to the video caused it meme, even after Hillary threw herself on the sword (a craftily done performance that forced Obama to admit that he was responsible).
"but anything better than a mature watermelon would gain points there" - And there goes this morning's coffee...
I had to turn it off. That lying bastard with his DEMONSTRABLE lies regarding energy production, his flat-out ignoring of the ABJECT FAILURE of his so-called "green energy polices" (aka: Crony Rewards Program - bundle for Øbama and get 750% back!), and his general mis-painting of his openly Kamikaze economic policies - it was just too much to bear. My blood-bullshit level reached well over .008 - the level which C.A.D.D. (Conservatives Against Dumb Democrats) wishes to be considered legally toxic and demonstrably socialistic. I apologize for my lack of staying power on this one, but I had to immediately go off and seek something rational to do.
Thanks for taking one for the team, Stilt. Hope you recovery is swift...
Yeah, Billary really jumped in there and took the bullet, right? Now Turd-eyes can point at her and say "She did it, not me!" and she'll just crucify somebody else in true Clinton fashion.
Jabba Crowley was really starting to piss me off, but this was certainly no big surprise. Considering the headwinds, I thought Mitt did extremely well.
At first, I thought Romney missed a golden opportunity to nail barry on his mischaracterization of the incident during the rose garden performance. Romney tried to make the distinction between “terror” and “video” early in that exchange, but barry puffed up his chest and was able to brush it off by insisting that he labeled it as “terror” immediately. We now know this is a lie. However, here’s where the MSM may actually help us out on this issue. Barry claimed last night that he called it “terror” on 12 Sept, but everywhere you looked on the MSM that week, you heard nothing but VIDEO, VIDEO, VIDEO. Thanks to the MSM pushing that phony story, I think enough people in America got an earful of the VIDEO narrative to actually believe it. Now they heard just the opposite! I think a lot of people suddenly realize that barry was either lying last night, or in the rose garden. In any event, I think some serious reasonable doubt has been cast upon barry’s mishandling of this issue. Romney may have inadvertently succeeded in bringing the issue to the forefront just long enough for some NEW people to realize barry was lying all along. And we have to consider that a success!
President fecal-stain had too much to overcome from his first debate (non)showing. Scoring points with your base doesn't do much when your base is dwindling and independents (and women) are flocking to Romney. "Confident, caring and in charge of the facts" is what people are looking for this time around, Stilton (I would add "competent" to that list). They've done the "historic" thing and that was a turd in the punchbowl. Enough of that crap.
I liked that one of Luntz's group called The One a Bulls***er over the open air - it wasn't x-sec delayed.
I too thought Romney missed his chance with the Rose Garden episode, but I think he set him up for the media (hopefully????)following up on the mis-statement, and definitely ammunition for the next foreign policy debate.
@abbeyroadwalker. I agree with you. Confession. I didn't watch the debate but have read comments in the WSJ, here, and listened to Krauthammer after the debate. I don't think Romney did damage to himself regarding not pressing more forcefully on Libya. I think average independent voters who are paying attention had their craws filled with the whole "it was the video" meme. If they listen to Hillary's "responsibility" statement she clearly takes no responsibliy, blames security personnel and ever so gently separates her busy job of managing all those State Department employees and trouble spots from a campaign-obsessed Obama and Biden. Look for more information forced out of the Whitehouse by a few intrepid reporters in the next week. And I expect a drone attack or two. Romney did not need to put himself in a box last night. I'd rather see Obama in a box (pun not intended), another week of lies and half truths and then have Romeny deliver a blistering chronology of what really happened in next week's foreign policy debate.
It's fun watching the video of the Luntz group unloading on Obama, especially the woman who said she wasn't undecided between Obama and Romney, but between Romney and not voting.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/10/16/luntz_focus_group_of_mostly_former_obama_voters_switch_to_romney.html
@Earl: "And I expect a drone attack or two."
The coincidentally well-timed release/leak of the SpecFor community being put on alert was missing a couple of words - "when we can identify them" that was at the end of the release/leak. Another 'leak' by the WH to tell our enemies what we plan, but I digress. The 'alert' is what we used to call in the Corp a "Standby to Standby" alert - basically, so what. I fully expect that the weekend before election day some poor group of camel herders is going to be either captured, droned, or maybe following Bubba Clinton's embassy bombing reaction, we'll just blow up some sand with a Tomahawk, and The One will pontificate that he made the 'Gutsy Call' and got them.
Outstanding:
http://observer.com/2012/10/romney-for-president/
Thx for the links, SeaDog!
"Gutsy Call?" in the same thread as discussion of Cindy the Hutt? (and yes, LOVING that meme)
What disappointed me was on the discussion of "assault rifles", he let the F&F topic / coverup get re-routed to education - WTF???
@badlarry- I'm imagining that line coming out of Candy's mouth, and it works perfectly.
@Coon Tasty- But Mos Eisley was also surprisingly devoted to clean, renewable energy.
@SeaDog52- I completely agree with the article you link to. When I said Crowley wasn't terrible, I meant she wasn't terribly worse than I expected her to be, which is a rather important distinction. She wildly violated the terms of service the candidates had agreed to legally, and why in hell would she handpick a question like "would both candidates explain how Mitt Romney differs from George W Bush." Talk about a "have you stopped beating your wife" question!
And Crowley immediately injected herself into an important discussion to "veryify" that Obama declared Benghazi a terrorist action the next day (which he didn't). No, she was horrible - just not more horrible than I expected.
@Emmentaler- The debate was painful beyond belief to watch for the very reasons you mention. Which is why I had a lot of painkilling liquid medication while watching, and why I'm still cleaning typos out of my commentary from last night. Trust me, your Uncle Stilton was nobody's designated driver by the end of the debate.
And again, let me say that I thought Mitt did fine (he missed a couple of openings, but scored frequently) and the only reason I scored this a draw was from the perspective of an undecided (ie, uninformed) voter. Barry seemingly had answers for everything, it's just that those of us who pay attention know that those answers were lies, spin, or utter fantasies.
@Colby- I haven't even been out on the web to look at media coverage of the event yet, but there should be a huge brouhaha building over the discrepancy between Obama claiming he declared Benghazi a terrorist attack within 2 days - then sent Susan Rice to the news shows to blame the video and the imaginary protesters...and that Obama himself made this case at the United Nations, stating "the future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam."
Had the debate been moderated by anyone from FOX, we'd have seen last night's lie thrown immediately back in Obama's teeth. And wouldn't that have been sweet!
@Colby- As nearly as I can tell, Hillary says she's reponsible for finding out who should have been responsible. A meaningless statement intended only to give Barry a buck to pass if things got heated during the debate.
Romney missed some real chances to push Obama to the wall: F&F, Bengazi, Keystone, coal, but I think he did a creditable job presenting himself and his policies. It's a hard job to do when you're debating your opponent AND the moderator. Candy Crowley was anything but dispassionate and even-handed in her performance. Hope the debate sponsors have a better choice for next Monday.
Sidenote: My youngest son called halfway through the debate and said, "Mom, I've never watched a debate before, but I thought moderators weren't supposed to be on either opponents side?"
@abbeyroadwalker- Barry really does find himself in a hard to defend position now, claiming he called Benghazi a terror attack and then, oddly, spent weeks saying it wasn't. If the MSM is going to wake up, this would be a good time for them to do it.
@Angry Hoosier Dad- Romney's answers seemed calm, cogent and well-thought out. Obama seemed brittle, shrill, over-rehearsed, and shifty. He made me think of a scorpion dancing around, looking for a place to jab his stinger - and being frustrated that his intended target was (to beat the metaphor to death) a big ol' work boot fully capable of just stomping him.
@Earl- Later this morning, I'm also going to be seeking out Krauthammer, WSJ, and other perspectives on last night's event. Everything I've posted so far has simply been my opinion, and one rendered without nearly enough caffeine yet.
And good point that it's the foreign policy debate where Mitt should be able to kick Barry around like a soccer ball.
@SeaDog52- Wow, the Luntz group was great fun to watch! The only two people who really spoke up for Obama were two women- one said she didn't want women to lose birth control, and the other believes Romney is against women who work outside of the home (though interestingly, Mitt said in the debate that he made special outreach to put women in his cabinet when Governor. So those two women, sadly, are drinking Obama's koolaid instead of educating themselves - or even paying attention during this debate.
Regarding Earl's speculation about upcoming drone attacks or other military action, you can bet on it. And in fact, I think we can look for it before the final foreign policy debate, so Obama might have a (barely) credible excuse for taking some "ongoing and active" situations off the table for discussion.
@Pete D- Thanks for reminding me of that groaner. The way to reduce gun violence is by encouraging kids to stay in school? Really, Mr. Obama?! And just how well is that working out in Chicago?
Jabba The Moderator walks back her comment: Candy Crowley: Romney Was Actually "Right In The Main" On Libya
@graylady- Mitt did just fine in his two-against-one match. And in some ways, I liked Romney going into an unfair battle - because the Presidency isn't easy, and our nation's opponents don't play by the rules. Mitt never lost his cool.
I think Mitt is still playing it safe, he can appear to be the "racist bad guy" if he hammers His O'liness too much. But I agree, Mitt is letting him slide more than I like.
RE Frank L's "undecideds", they are deciding whether to vote for mitt or stay home, like the lady said.
Stilton, your humor is pure "evil genius" and I love it!
In the past 3 days I've traveled twice. One 7 hour trip on a major interstate & a 5 hour trip on another. While I saw a plethora of Romney Ryan signs and bumper stickers (and even a few "repeal 0bamacare" & "we're ready for real hope & change") I only saw 1 0/Biden 2012 sticker! And believe me, I was looking.
That tells me there is either a shift in the way the nation is thinking, or the "0" drones are too embarrassed to show open support.
I also spoke with a group of people from New York who stated "0" isn't as popular there as the media portrays it. The one guy who did have favorable things to say about "0" did so after bragging about winning lawsuits against former employers & medical practicioners.
Yeah! WTF was that George W question? Why didn't somebody ask Obama to explain how he differs from Karl Marx? Or why not, "Mr. Obama. Do you hate white people more than you hate Jews?"
When, oh when are we ever going to see a presidential debate hosted by an adult instead of a whacko lib? Jabba the Crowley was fairly blatant, and made no effort to even act like she had lost control or something (like Lehrer).
Ah well... time will tell, but I get the feeling nobody gained nor lost ground. And Barry-o will hopefully go from this thinking he kicked Mitt's ass, which will hopefully mean he will rest on his laurels for a bit.
And everybody please remember to tell all your Democrat friends to get up early on November 7th and VOTE!
And one more thing. I live in NC (don't know if any of you do). I am telling everybody I know, if you vote straight ticket, it will NOT cast a vote for president. You have to still vote for president and non-partisans on the ballot. As far as I know, NC is the only state with this ass-backward law. In 2008, 92,000 North Carolinians voted for nobody for president because they didn't read the plainly visible text at the top of the ballot. In my mind, that was 92,000 votes for Mr. Hype and Blame!
@Reiuxcat- If anyone is on the fence about voting Obama or staying home, they should definitely stay home. And glad you like the nature of the humor around here!
@Necron99- I'm not seeing many Obama bumperstickers or yard signs, but I live in a pretty conservative area (by choice). I actually have two Obama bumperstickers here on my desk - I'm just waiting to find the right place to put them. The other day, I saw a septic cleaning truck which seemed like a good target...
@Colby- I was suffering with questions like how Mitt differs from George W (they're different guys), how to keep AK47s off the street (enforcing gun control laws instead of giving weapons to drug cartels), and equal pay for women (by enforcing current sexual discrimination laws). These questions were deliberately selected to tilt the playing field toward Obama. Granted, he still stunk up the room, but it was horribly unfair.
And wow - that NC voting system is nuts!
HOLY CRAP! What a shambles a moderator can make of a debate!
I just think it is a shame that Paul Ryan AND Mitt Romney BOTH had to debate their opponent AND the moderator! Two against one is no kinda fun! But R&R STILL looked dignefied and on point! Quite the opposite of the nasty left's bunch!
I am not a fan of a woman moderating a debate...I say let'em mix it up a bit!
Emmentaler Limburger said...
Jabba The Moderator walks back her comment
Did she remember to make the BEEP BEEP BEEP noises as she reversed? Because that's an OSHA requirement.
I wonder if we can get the Presidential Election Committee or whom ever runs these debacles to use mediators from the Federal Arbitration Board. Granted they wouldn't have the gloss of the media liberal talking heads, but at least we could get some semblance of fairness. One of my friends suggested that each candidate be made to wear earphones, and when the time was up a bell would sound - if they continued, the 'Barney' song would be blasted through at 300dB.
@PRY- I would give any of my extremities (yes, even that one) for a debate moderated by Britt Hume or Brett Baier. Barack Obama would be one "followup question" away from being reduced to a smoldering pile of ash.
@badlarry- That's not only cruel and insensitive, but extremely funny.
@SeaDog52- I think the Barney song suggestion is a little too much. Maybe a simple shot with a taser would suffice?
Hmmm... Barack Hussein has the pointed help of these "debate" moderators and the best he can do is hold even with Mitt. Mitt is even better than I could have expected!
Britt Hume or Bret Baier would be awesome, but I'm thinking more like Ann Coulter, Dennis Miller, or Joe Wilson.
@Stilton,
The convoluted ballot law in NC magically appeared in 2008. I am clueless to exactly what it was supposed to accomplish, but I remember the libs went ape shit over it because you have to be able to (gasp!) read to vote. Personally, I think all ballots should have that checkbox removed as well as the little (D) or (R) beside the names. Make people READ the damn thing and pick candidates on RESEARCH rather than party affiliation. But, then again, I'm apparently a racist.
And speaking of bad puns (apologies in advance): according to some of the more credible odds-makers (Wayne Allyn Root comes to mind here), this election should be like taking Candy from an Obaby - and he'll go Crowleyng back to Chicago wearing a diaper fat with failure.
stilton:
The slanted question about "keeping AK47's off the street" displays the left's continued cluelessness about what America is and what Americans believe. Americans already know that increased civilian gun ownership is connected to reduced crime, not increased crime. They also know that the AK47 isn't the weapon of choice of most criminals. It played into one of Mitt's strengths and Barry's failures. No help for the O there.
I believe Mitt is presenting himself as the adult in the room. He is purposely not being confrontational but mature and educational while calling out Zero on his lies at given opportunities.
Mike Porter - Diaper Full of Shame? like that commercial I linked a couple of days ago?
Colby, you don't go far enough - I'd like to restrict it to tax payers, too...
Stilt, LOVE the Taser idea - hell, if they employed that, I might even start watching the Oscars again!
badlarry, I thought that only applied if GVW was over 20,000 lbs. Oh, wait, never mind..
@JustaJeepGuy- Without the help of the moderators, Barry would be demolished.
@Colby- I remember that some state wanted to remove those "D" and "R" prompts after candidate's names, and Dems went nuts saying that minorities wouldn't know who to vote for. Now that's racist.
@Mike Porter- Wow, a triple-gainer pun with a backflip!
@My Dog Brewski- I agree that the Left seems clueless about gun violence. The huge body counts in Chicago are not because hoodlums with tommy guns are mowing down average citizens. Nor do we have an epidemic of mass murderers using AK47s. Mitt's measured answer was good - and I agree that he's successfully presenting himself as presidential and grown-up while Obama seems increasing shrill and mechanical.
@Pete D- Not only would I like the taser introduced to the debates, but I'd like the COPS "Bad Boy" theme to play each time the taser is deployed.
Heh - "Bad Boys"... At which point we find out thet Magic Mormon Underwear is made from asbestos - who knew!
@Pete D, so you're a racist too! I like your reasoning, but sadly, there are millions of hard working people out there that would love to be working (and therefore, paying taxes) again. How about we give IQ tests? If you fall below, say, 80%, sorry... no vote for you. Or maybe you have to say the Pledge of Allegience and name all three branches of government or something?
@Stilton,
I remember that! I think it was Florida.
All,
So Bob Sheiffer is the next "moderator." Will he actually "moderate," or will he put on the gloves in obama's corner like Creepy-Crawley and Rat's-ass? I think he's going to attempt playing the straight man, but he may not be able to help himself. I say we put Clint in a chair next to him and have Clint just stare at him the whole time.
In my home state the dim0crats have requested that their time honored symbol of the Jack @ass, I'm sorry, Dumb @ss, oops, I meant Donkey, be removed from the ballot.
http://progress.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20121011/NEWS/121011014/Familiar-Democratic-donkey-gone-from-Alabama-ballot
The GOP is still proudly displaying the Elephant.
Again..., are the dim0crats ashamed of advertising their allegance, or don't they want to be associated with the "Jack @ss" because of what he represents?
@Necron99: I heard they wanted to replace the Donkey with a picture of Øbama, but decided it would just be the same thing. (Badoomp-tsching!) And as for associating with jackasses, just look to their illuminati: Bela Pelosi. Can't Reid. Bawney Fwank. Dippie Wasserperson-Schitz. Uncle Joe Biteone. Debbie Stabmenow. Karl "Never Met An Entitlement I Didn't Like" Levin. Maximum Graft Waters. On ad infinitum.
Banishing the graphic is way too little, way, way, way too late: it's clearly too late to break that particular association since it actually seems to define them.
Emm, forgot our favorite Johns - ConYouandyours, and Dingle(berry)
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