So true. So true. So scary.

I feel like Romney's candidacy is just one big case study to examine how much bullshit the american public will put up with in an election year.

Whether or not it is deliberate is beyond me, though.

If Romney wins, it means that a person does not need a successful record, honesty, consistency, or a clear message to win the presidency. They do not even have to tell people what there positions are, apparently.

Very scary.

I just wonder if this election would even be close if Obama was not black. I know it would not be close if we still had journalism or real national media.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. It's all very simple: Romney was against FEMA before he was for it.

@3 - Hell, it's worked well enough that I'm considering running for the Republican nomination in 2016.

That image of John Cusack holding up a bunch of binders full of women: http://bindersfullofwomen.tumblr.com/pos… was my favorite of that genre. So elegantly simple in its melding of memes.

Everything Romney says is later followed up with "what I meant when I said that was ..."

I think this thread overlooks the essence of Romney's campaign: "anything at all but not Obama"

It doesn't matter what his position is/was/will be on anything, so long as he always remains "not Obama".

It's a referendum.

@8 is what it's been the whole time.

It doesn't matter what Romney says or doesn't say or does or doesn't do. The republicans could have nominated a potato and republicans would have voted for it. I work with some die-hard republicans who didn't watch any of the debates and don't pay any attention to any campaign talk out there. They are going to vote for Romney simply because he's not Obama.

They are not voting "republican" and they never intended to vote republican. They DEFINITELY don't give a shit who might be the best candidate, nor do they care about any issues, gaffes, or lies. This entire time, their only intention has been to vote "Not Obama."

That's a scurrilous lie and a transparent falsehood. It's incontrovertible from the record that Romney most certainly will not say "anything" to get elected.

For example, "I was wrong." Or "I'm sorry." Or, "Now that I look at the facts, I realize my opponent is right about that."

Of all of his ploys and tactics, he has yet to be reduced to telling the truth.

It's an experiment in applying the Gish Gallop debate method to a year long national campaign. can the Democratic candidate debunk every falsehood, every distortion, and all the spin without sounding like a dickish poindexter, and still make a case for his own candidacy within the alloted time?

the answer seems to be: just barely.

@3: I am a registered republican in Maryland (I tried my best to keep Dubya out of the game way back when). You have my vote. But, since the Maryland primaries are so late in the game, it will not likely matter.

@11's right: Obama can't chase Romney's zig-zags without sounding like a dick. It's been especially tough since the last debate when Romney said "me too" to everything.

If Obama squeaks through, it will be because he gets a few more votes because of the hurricane and his Presidential behavior. If he doesn't win, it will be because of what @9 says: Romney's not Obama.