I would rather eat a week old dead fish.

Nice. One of the stories on Fox's home page is about a "you didn't build that" video mashup. That's REALLY going to get "you didn't pay for that!" off the front pages, Fox.

Bo Dietl, international security correspondent? Really? Wow.
I'm done.

They are putting multiple other stories at the start of the hour to distract and use/hold the extra viewers fopr as long as possible. Smart. Fell right into it. I'll wait for the clips.

"Of course there's a very different approach of the two different campaigns, as I point out I recognize that among those that pay no tax, approximately 47 percent of Americans, I'm not likely to be highly successful with the message of lowering taxes."

Wow, so he repeated the lie again, unless he's only talking about employment income tax. If that's the case, he's a part of the 47 percent that's "dependent on the government" as of 2011.

Here's how I expect the interview will go:

FOX: "We're going to ask you a tough question, ok?"

MITT: "Shoot"

FOX: "Were you, or were you not framed by the liberal, lamestream media?"

MITT: "I was framed. I'm the perfect candidate for president and will solve all problems for all people."

FOX: "Well, we're convinced!" Thanks for coming on, Mr. President!"

No matter how all this shakes out, it forces Mitt and his campaign to get serious on how it wants to shape its message and simultaneously gets more people talking about the need for saving and reforming entitlements. Once the dust settles, it will be a plus for Romney because these issues cannot be just swept under the rug -- as Obama did with his own commission forcing deep cuts in defense spending as a result of budget sequestration.

All this at a time when the Mideast is exploding over deep anti-American sentiments and orchestration by Al Qaeda. That video was a useful catalyst, but not much more than that.

@7: I'm not sure how deriding all the retired voters in Florida could come out as a plus for Romney.

@ 6,

Ha! Awesome.

@7 Entitlements? You mean Romney's sense that he is entitled to the presidency? Or his sense that he is entitled to our respect?

You surely don't mean social insurance programs... or earned benefit programs... right? You aren't really bringing that Luntzian-bullshit here are you?

@ 7, there's the Official Party Spin we've come to expect. Keep polishing that turd...

@7 - What exactly are Romney's planned entitlement reforms? Heck, he wants to undo the $700 billion that Obama saved from Medicare, going back to the status quo of waste in the system.

If this ugly episode forces Romney to actually spell out his own policies, rather than just complaining about Obama's and speaking only in platitudes, then there might be some lemonade to be had.

The problem is that his policies are like his tax returns: once exposed, they will sink his campaign. At least he's smart enough to know it.

@7
"No matter how all this shakes out, it forces Mitt and his campaign to get serious on how it wants to shape its message ..."

So Romney has to be "forced" to have a serious campaign?
Why can't Romney motivate himself to run a serious campaign?

"... gets more people talking about the need for saving and reforming entitlements."

Why couldn't Romney just make that part of his message?
Or would have have to be "forced" to do that also?

"... as Obama did with his own commission forcing deep cuts in defense spending as a result of budget sequestration."

Wasn't that the Republicans idea?
You remember, after they refused to raise the debt ceiling.
Right before our credit rating was downgraded because the Republicans refused to raise the debt ceiling.

And yet you still haven't addressed the question of HOW it would help Romney if he was born a Latino.
Because I think that statement was racist.
And you are the one who defends racists and bigots.

@7: obama made a deal with the teatard congress - defense cuts if the GOP can't bargain in a bipartisan manner. they couldn't and can't.

considering that the proposed cuts are a shaving nick to the overall DoD budget, sell that shit elsewhere. defense needs to be cut, and cut severely, to save our democracy.

Paul, you don't seem to understand that this was a smart move on Romney's part. He has just revved up his base of voters. And in case you didn't notice Obama's convention bounce has disappeared.

Yes, it was obnoxious. So is the Taliban. But the Taliban is successfully pushing us out of Afghanistan, just as they successfully defeated the Russians, and the British, and long ago, Ghenghis Khan.

Be appalled. So very appalled. But Romney didn't say anything that the Republicans haven't been saying all along, at least among themselves. Everyone knows that "compassionate conservatism," blah blah blah, has always been a cover story. Every faction has their cover stories. Just ask Michael McGinn.

@7 - You can't be suggesting that a man who's been trying to get elected President for at least the last eight years is only now going to begin to get serious about how his campaign is run. Really? And yet you label yourself such that we're to believe you're going to vote for him? As a gay man, you're going to vote for the man and the party who hold you in contempt, who will do their utmost to set Constitutional limits on your rights, whose economic ideology has been proven again and again to be misguided, depressive of growth and counterproductive? And you think this will be a plus for Romney? Please tell me what college or university you attended -- so I can steer my nieces and nephews away from it; I want them to get a decent education.

@12: the romneys don't polish turds. they have the help roll them in diamonds.

@16 In my 'net wanderings today, I noticed this phrase, which in my humble opinion deserves to catch on, meme-grade:

Contemptuous Conservatism

@7 re "it forces Mitt and his campaign to get serious on how it wants to shape its message"

What the fuck has he be doing for the last--what, 6 years?--if not getting serious and shaping his message.

Look, of the available options from the GOP this year, I considered Romney to be the least unpalatable of those that had a chance to get the nomination, even though I knew there was no way I would ever vote for him myself. President Romney would be vastly preferable to Presidents Gingrich, Perry, or Santorum. But I think even then, I massively overestimated him.

If you want someone who is serious about saving and reforming entitlements (as do I), he's sitting in the Oval Office right now. He's already cut $700bn from Medicare. He's talking about cutting our incredible wasteful defense spending, not starting a war in Iran on Netanyahu's behalf.

If you're a gay dude for Romney because you think the fiscal situation is so important--even more important than your own civil rights--you should think long and hard about where the money actually goes, and who is actually doing something about it.

#19, fat chance. Watching the "progressives" get their asses handed to them by the American Taliban is sad, but also darkly humorous. They truly don't have a clue. Has no one noticed how lackluster Obama's campaign is?

7, Why has the Republican running for president not been serious so far? A lack of serseriousness is a quality you look for in a presidential candidate?

Why does Romney say that the 47% that won't vote for him are the same 47% who didn't pay taxes. I pay income taxes. I'm sure Dan Savage pays taxes. Rachel Maddow, Bill Mahr, Jon Stewart pay taxes, as do many others who are part of the 47% that won't vote for Romney. At the same time there are plenty seniors, military, and right wing low income red state people who don't pay taxes who will vote for him.

Why do you idolize this man?

@22

You asked:

"Has no one noticed how lackluster Obama's campaign is?"

No, because Romney's campaign has been so...spectacular.

Duh.

What a weak attempt at deflection. Try again.

@7 ah, there it is. I was looking for "context suddenly DOESN'T matter" on the wrong post. Thanks!

#24, I voted for Obama in '08 and will vote for him again. Which makes sense, because this will be my 10th presidential election and I've voted for the Democrat in the other nine.

But I'm not a Kool-Aid drinker like you are. I have seen the Democrats fuck it up time after time after time, and then whine about the mean Republicans later on.

I'm not impressed by Obama's efforts since the convention. Where are the surrogates attacking Romney? Or will this be the umpteenth time that the Democratic candidate "takes the high road," meaning gets totally and oh-so-predictably fucked by the Taliban?

Remember: Obama's convention bounce has disappeared entirely while Romney's campaign has allegedly been "melting down." Hell of a "melt-down," if you ask me.

Maybe you're too young to remember what happened to Dukakis in 1988 or to Kerry in 2004? They came out of their conventions with nice, comfortable leads, and got fucked because they sat there and thought they'd won. Especially Kerry, whose motto ought to be, "When the going gets tough, Democratic candidate goes windsurfing."

See, I've had it with Democrats who drink the Kool-Aid and convince themselves that the public can't help but vote for the Democrat. That kind of thinking has a way of failing. Look at history. I'm reading thread after thread on The Stranger about how fucked the Romney campaign is, but the polling numbers are contradicting it.

Hey GDfR, was gonna comment, but well @ 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20*, 21, 23, 25 all beat me to it.

Bummer.

Oh the "*" I'm sure you noticed, 20 has a point, one you consistently fail to address.

"If you're a gay dude for Romney because you think the fiscal situation is so important--even more important than your own civil rights--you should think long and hard about where the money actually goes, and who is actually doing something about it. "

Your research skills are weak GDfR if you can't address @20's point and you can't I know, I've brought it up before.

@22/26, "When your opponent is shooting himself in the foot you get out of the way." That said; Where on Earth did you get the notion that Obama was a "Progressive"? Obama is center right. Deal with it.

FOX News is porn for the angry white men set.

& reading GDfR is like listening to someone argue for the iceberg's POV while watching Titanic. Half the time you want to laugh hysterically, the other half you just stare blankly, wondering how someone could be that clueless.

#27, you have a good point. It's a bit like imagining that anyone in Seattle is "progressive," when in fact it's basically a bunch of white yuppie posers. I can easily dismiss the locals, but the national alternative is the Taliban, so you take what you get.

@29: "argue for the iceberg's POV while watching Titanic"

Now that's hilarious. I'm going to try that the next time I watch Titanic with my hubby.