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A Further Perspective
Media Favoritism May Be Hurting Obama
Someone is going to be very much surprised by the results of November 6.
This election’s X-factor may be a gift to Romney from the mainstream media. It is the suppression of public expression of support for him. However, while pre-election polls may not have been fully recording it, Election Day may finally capture Romney’s true support level for the first time — to Obama’s ultimate detriment.
If this theory of media-suppressed Romney support sounds unlikely, think again. The enormous fluidity of Independents’ support has been the hallmark of the last two national elections.
In 2008, Obama carried Independents 51% to 43%, en route to a 6.3% popular vote victory margin over McCain. In 2010, Independents swung heavily rightward, carrying Republicans to a stunning victory.
Current polling shows Independents again favoring Republicans. According to a 10/31 CBS News/NYT, a 10/30 NPR, and a 10/30 Pew Research Center poll, Romney has an average 11% lead among Independents. This is the reason this race is so close.
Despite this clear lead among Independents, it is still quite possible their support of Romney is undercounted.
For one thing, evidence of an 11% Independent advantage for Romney is still well below 2010’s Republican margin. For another, there is a logical reason why this is happening.
The media’s fawning coverage of Obama from 2008 until today has always signaled their “correct choice” when it comes to candidates. It was not Hillary or McCain in 2008, and it assuredly is not Romney today.
People know the conclusions that the media want them to reach. They also know the answers they are supposed to give. For both reasons, they may still be giving that answer to pollsters now, suppressing Romney’s support.
Not until people had some seemingly valid way to “cover” their inclination did they feel comfortable being explicit in it. The debates certainly gave some such cover. However, the anonymity of the Election Day voting booth could give decidedly more.
Such voters may also not be being candid with friends — friends, who like them, supported Obama four years ago. Peer pressure is real, especially in circles where Obama is still publicly lionized.
Such voters may also not be being candid with themselves. They may have had growing doubts they could avoid prior to November 6 — doubts made doubly difficult because of their support for Obama in 2008. Now they will face them in the privacy of the polling place.
We know some of this is taking place because the election is so close — something 2008 never was. And we know that media coverage matters — why else would total campaign spending on this presidential race have almost reached $1 billion in just this year alone? It is entirely plausible that the visible movement we have seen toward Romney is still not its full extent.
One thing we do know: Any positive surprise on Election Day is going to be for Romney, not for Obama.
Four years ago, Obama got new voters to the polls when he stood broadly for “Change.” After four years, “Change” has become status quo, for all but diehard Obama supporters. Once he was a blank slate upon which voters could write what they wanted. Four years in office has filled that slate.
Certainly, Obama’s voter turnout operation can be impressive and cannot be underestimated. But while it can perhaps squeeze the same relative amount of juice from a smaller orange, it can’t make the orange bigger.
Ironically, the media that helped make Obama, may well be what unmakes him on November 6. It may have been masking the true level of Romney’s support all along. If so, it may have inadvertently influenced how Obama and his campaign addressed this election.
Had they known this race was already close, would Obama’s ill-fated first debate performance have been prepared for differently — as it was after-the-fact when it became clear that Obama had a fight on his hands? We will never know. But on Election Day we all may get a surprise — most especially the media that did the most to create it.
About the Author
J.T. Young served in the Department of Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2004 and as a Congressional staff member from 1987 to 2000.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (81) | Leave a comment
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Megi| 11.2.12 @ 6:40AM
Who is better in social media engagement? Obama or Romney? Answer in my survey
http://kwiksurveys.com/s.asp?s.....rdwqs41543
I am in my final year at university in UK and I am writing my dissertation on US Presidential election 2012, can you please help me gain better result by completing my survey about US Presidential Election 2012 - Obama PR campaign. Please help me! Thank you!
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 8:19AM
Umm Megi,
no offense, but anyone who uses "Kwik" has declared to the world that they're an idiot.
It's like a less visible tatoo/those stew-pid "Stick figure Family" stickers/holding the clutch in at redlights.
Your future, I see, a Burger King...
Maybe a Mickey D's
Frank "I DO want fries with that" Drackman
Mars the Avenger| 11.2.12 @ 1:39PM
Frank, if you are anywhere near Virginia, I'd like to buy you a beer someday. I read your posts and damned near die laughing..
Plus, I agree with them! Cheers
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 4:42PM
Thanks?
Why do normal people ass-ume everyone else enjoys alcohol? how about a Cherry Coke, a spot of tea, cup of joe, mug of root beer, oh hell,
make it a snifter of Gin and you're on!
Frank "The first step is not doing the first step" Drackman
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:17PM
Frank: mug of IBC Root Beer. None better.
I'm predicting a range of 315-325 electoral votes for Romney. How's that for a real range and a real prediction. My Native Chicagoan nose is smelling fear mixed in with the B.O.
MINNESOTA is within 1 POINT! That's the plus/minus 10. PA/OH are going for Romney, so is WI. NOTE THAT THIS PREDICTION WAS ON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 4, 2012.
Liberals must learn to RESPECT THE RAZOR.
JP| 11.2.12 @ 9:30AM
Megi,
There are no 2011 elections (one of the final questions on the survey).
C Smith | 11.2.12 @ 10:42AM
Aaron Klein (WND senior staff reporter and Jerusalem bureau chief) recently chided America's journalistically challenged media regarding their persistent reference to U.S. "consulate" in Benghazi. He also notes that U.S. officials not only failed to correct the misconception, but subtly subordinated it. Klein further reminds us that the State Department website lists no consulate in Benghazi:
The U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, actually served as a meeting place to coordinate aid for the rebel-led insurgencies in the Middle East, according to Middle Eastern security officials. Among the tasks performed inside the building was collaborating with Arab countries on the recruitment of fighters – including jihadists – to target Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
Aaron Klein (WND senior staff reporter and Jerusalem bureau chief) recently chided America's journalistically challenged media regarding their persistent reference to U.S. "consulate" in Benghazi. He also notes that U.S. officials not only failed to correct the misconception, but subtly subordinated it. Klein further reminds us that the State Department website lists no consulate in Benghazi:
http://in-the-name-of-truth.bl.....ghazi.html
Dai Alanye | 11.2.12 @ 12:39PM
The survey fails to accept "wrong" answers. That is, those answers that show no interest in, or use of, social media.
The Avenger| 11.2.12 @ 2:02PM
Megi, please go into another field. The last thing the world needs is another Obama azz-kisser.
Bamalady| 11.5.12 @ 6:42AM
Your survey is very slanted toward Obama, not very objective. Also, you need to read over it. You had 2011 Presidential Election in the last question.
To be objective, your options sure have both candidates in the question where there was a choice.
Appleby| 11.2.12 @ 6:40AM
Nobody knows what's going to happen, in other words. Y'all have run out of things to write. Why not write about something else?
Jack in Wi| 11.2.12 @ 7:32AM
I agree with you Appleby. No-one knows how this election will turn out. It is anyone's guess. Frankly if Romney loses it will be because he did not separate himself from Obama on policy enough. He could of stood up for Life and normal marriage, in a far more forceful way. He could of been for an immediate withdrawel from Afganistan and a more peaceful foreign policy. He could have pushed a full audit of the FED and a much more forceful attack on federal spending. Maybe he will win a close one anyhow. But he has played it safe and he may regret it on Wednesday morning.
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 8:32AM
stood up for Life?
the cereal, the magazine, Living in general?
Oh, you mean "Life", don't chintz on those Quotation Marks Jack, thats how WWI started.
and I for one, prefer Abortion the way it is today, Safe, Legal, and practiced predominantly by Minority Groups, (A sort of bizarro "Affirmative Action" if you will)
Maybe You want to live in a nation with 60,000,000 more minorities, I mean, People, think how many more lottery tickets that would be, Ping Pong balls would be like gold!
Frank "don't blame me, I didn't vote for Roe v Wade" Drackman
chuck| 11.2.12 @ 8:48AM
Damn Frank,
You're in rare form today!
KennesawJack| 11.2.12 @ 9:59AM
That he is.
Anthony| 11.2.12 @ 11:32AM
You are a blind, one note Samba, fool of a man Jack. For many months you have droned on and on. All you can espouse are your little points of criticisms, that you think make you the smartest guy in the room, along with your disgusting hatreds.
Meanwhile, as I said in posts to Mr Kengor's article about media bias, this election speaks not just about Obozo and his extreme leftism, it speaks to the entire leftist apparatus that has brought America to the brink of destruction.
So go ahead Jack, continue on your picayune points about what Romney should or should not have said, stay home on Tuesday to make your pitiful point. Meanwhile, the rest of us are going to do our damnest to rid America, not just of the Muslim Marxist, but the entire rotten leftist establishment.
You're welcome to do what you do best, watch from afar and criticize us for our efforts.
Drunken Sailor| 11.2.12 @ 3:29PM
Anthony,
You could tell Jack to take a piss in the corner of a round room and he would spend all day trying to do just that. Ignore him.
Jack in Wi| 11.2.12 @ 6:34PM
I am voting for Romney for mostly 2 reasons.
1. He isn't Obma.
2. Wi. is a swing state that may decide the election. I don't expect much for conservatives from Romney. I think he would be doing much beter if he differentiated himself from Obama on policy to a greater degree. He should be winning by 5 points, instead of in a basic tie. The mainstream media is always against Republicans. We now have the internet and Romney hs a lot of money. We will see if his pablum campaign works on Tues. night and Wed. morning.
Stan Redmond| 11.3.12 @ 2:45PM
I do know one thing that is for sure this election. The dead, non voting felons, family pets, and illegal aliens will all be voting straight down the line democrat. And these votes will be counted at least once, unlike our military votes.
Darin| 11.2.12 @ 6:43AM
With the blatant fawning by the media, any Democrat would be well-served to emulate what was done in anciet Rome. When a conquering general returned to be hailed in the city, a centurian rode along side to whisper in his ear that this was fleeting. The reason was to keep the general's ego in check.
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 8:21AM
I think that was from the movie "Patton" i.e. not backed up by the historical record.
Frank
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 8:25AM
seriously, would someone with the Nads to make it to General in the Roman Army tolerate someone whispering in his ear like friggin EG Hutton? Dude would get the Reservoir-Dogs treatment..
Frank
Bob Grant| 11.2.12 @ 8:51AM
Perhaps you meant EF Hutton?
- Bob "just keepin' the references real" Grant
MacWell™| 11.2.12 @ 2:58PM
Not THE Bob Grant, are you?
Bob Grant| 11.2.12 @ 11:20PM
Yes. Yes.I.Am!
My posts can be just as abrasive as him, er, me.
Bob Grant| 11.2.12 @ 11:21PM
Cor. his/mine.
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:32PM
"The Ghosts of Cannae," copyright 2010, by Robert L. O'Connell, page 38.
On the Roman Triumph Ceremony: "Meanwhile, within the chariot a slave held a golden wreath above the general's head and whispered in his ear that he was not a god."
There was a higher honor than the Triumph, awarded only three times, according to O'Connell: the spolia opiama, awarded to a Roman General who killed the opposing general in single combat and stripped him of his armor.
I expect to be fish slapped by Stuart Koehl on this. I will stand corrected by an expert. I just knew the data was in one of my history texts.
Dai Alanye | 11.2.12 @ 12:43PM
Not a centurion but a slave. And Patton, BTW, had nothing to do with ancient Rome unless, of course, secret time travel has been in use for generations.
Drunken Sailor| 11.2.12 @ 3:33PM
Nothing to do with Ancient Rome? I think you have missed this scene from the movie.
DIALOGUE:
Patton: "It was here. The battlefield was here. The Carthaginians defending the city were attacked by three Roman Legions. Carthaginians were proud and brave but they couldn't hold. They were massacred. Arab women stripped them of their tunics and their swords and lances. The soldiers lay naked in the sun, two thousand years ago; and I was here."
SCENE:
Patton, on bended knee, pauses, smiles knowingly, turns to a sometimes bemused Bradley and says:
DIALOGUE:
Patton: "You don't believe me, do you Brad? You know what the poet said,
'Through the travail of ages,
midst the pomp and toils of war,
have I fought and strove and perished,
countless times among the stars.
As if through a glass and darkly,
the age old strife I see,
when I fought in many guises and many names,
but always me.'" *
Patton: "Do you know who the poet was?"
Bradley [Smiles slightly and shakes his head, no.]
Patton: "Me."
Stephie| 11.2.12 @ 7:36AM
Romney will win on Tuesday.
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 8:22AM
technically true, he either gets access to great wealth, around the clock protection, King Sized Private Jet, or he gets to be President..
Frank
JP| 11.2.12 @ 9:31AM
You mean is own wealth, which he more than earned. Unlike say, John Kerry or anyone in the Kennedy family (however, I heard the Kennedy Trust is about broke thanks to Teddy).
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 11:00AM
have you seen Teresa Heinz-Kerry? I think old Swifty's more than paid his dues...
Frank " Never met a man I didn't didn't like" Drackman
Gr0w1er601| 11.2.12 @ 1:11PM
John "old Swifty" Kerry... I an in total agreement with chuck. Keep 'em coming, Frank!!
Appleby| 11.2.12 @ 7:47PM
He has the hat. He has the hat to this very day.
He has the hat.
gene| 11.2.12 @ 9:06AM
A close election? I see at least a 55/45 for Romney. Possibly more. J.T Young is right about the supression of Romney support but way too conservative on how large it is. My 55/45 is a conservative estimate. It could easily be more massive.
Pecos Pete| 11.2.12 @ 9:30AM
Polling in the current adversarial atmosphere could not possibly be accurate, or even close to accurate. Given the mix of respondents, the style of the question, and peer pressure I can't imagine why anyone would believe national polls.
When I am polled the answers I provide are designed to be opposite of the desired response. The only poll I will honestly answer is at the ballot box where I will vote FOR Romney/Ryan and against every democrat party candidate.
Remember Benghazi!
TLP| 11.2.12 @ 3:49PM
The Contest is at TUESDAY's Civil War In Lebanon.
I afraid it's another one of those "Hit the Previously Button" deals. But, I have to find an Empty Comment Section to use, and Kaminsky never wrote anything yesterday. So I had to go to Tuesday.
JP| 11.2.12 @ 9:33AM
I'm going out on a limb -Mitt will win 332 electoral votes. The GOP Senate will net a minus 2 seats. The GOP House will pick up a half dozen seats.
Kwan| 11.2.12 @ 10:38AM
The MSM has the rather hopeless task of trying to convince the electorate that Obama deserves another 4 years in office, so that he can continue his reign of destruction and mayhem. It's rather doubtful that the pool of saps, suckers, and morons that Obama counted on to get elected in 2008 is still capable of preventing him from suffering the agony-of-defeat this coming Tuesday. Nevertheless the MSM will put forth their best efforts in the final days of the campaign, to promote the laughable fallacy that we need the empty-suit charlatan Obama, to lead the country for 4 more years.
John Navratil| 11.2.12 @ 11:50AM
Kwan,
A false expectation is most convenient when trying to hide shenanigans with the vote count.
TLP| 11.2.12 @ 3:50PM
Tits, Legs, Ass, Vagina.
Penis.
Who Knows?| 11.2.12 @ 11:43AM
The “final offer” from my financial analyst, a well-known CNBC guest on Kudlow’s show, is Obama by 122 electoral votes, or a 77% probability he’ll win. He uses an economic model to make this prediction.
How depressing!
I’m keeping an open mind, though.
There are lots of signs that Romney will win, and prediction models and Intrade are not foolproof.
Probably the big picture matters most. And, that means the actual results from 2010 midterm elections.
It just doesn’t seem logical that 2 more years of exposure to Obama’s daily failures would lead to anything but AT LEAST the same outcome, and likely an even worse “shellacking”.
Can voter fraud beat back the people’s desire to oust the first traitor as president?
We’ll see.
JD| 11.2.12 @ 12:05PM
Check out CNN's latest:
http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/0.....e_business
CNN argues that an uptick in unemployment is a good thing, spinning it to make Obama look better. But read the comments people are posting on the article. Far from the usual CNN fan self-love, these people seem to have had it with the naked Obama campaigning, and they're taking CNN to task for it.
MacWell™| 11.2.12 @ 3:22PM
First off, this is one of my favorite sites, not only for the well written articles, but especially for the comments section, I feel smarter after I leave.
Now, to what's really important, America's future!
If we the people wish to keep America, uh, well, America, then we MUST remove all those who believe that America NEEDS to be "fundamentally transformed".
America needs to be fixed, that's for sure, but not because our system of government, (the one that the founders left us), is "fundamentally" wrong.
It's because we the people have been the silent majority for too long. American's are forgiving people, we, as a christian nation, have been taught to allow for repentance. What I see in todays career politician is not repentance, it's more like arrogance. We've given them our sacred trust to go before government and speak in our stead. They've dishonored that trust. They've used us to further their needs, over ours. They have proved time and again that they think less than nothing about what's best for this nation, but what's best for them.
It's time we the people STOP being silent.
We must come out in droves next tuesday, if we do not, you know as well as I do that the courts will decide the outcome of the most important election of my life, and I'm 65.
I know it's hard sometimes to always do the right thing, and I also know that I don't ALWAYS do the right thing. (continued)
MacWell™| 11.2.12 @ 3:23PM
I do know this, "the America we all know, the one we grew up in, is at stake".
I will vote a straight republican ticket as a sign that I'm fed up with the way the lawyers and thieves we refer to as Congress, have taken OUR country in the last 40 years or so.
We the people must elect more "Joe the plumbers", and stop electing lawyers to Congress.
Congress was never intended to be filled with lawyers, ESPECIALLY the House of Representatives.
Remember, if your government isn't working for you, it's working against you.
Butch| 11.2.12 @ 4:01PM
I'm listening to ABC Radio News right now. They're extolling the efficiency of the FEMA response to the storm. Har.
Archie| 11.2.12 @ 4:48PM
Maybe it's just me, but isn't this Obama's Katrina? Sure seems like it to me. Check out all that's going on in NJ, NYC, and Conn; it doesn't look pretty, and it's day 5. And the fact the media is not saying this is Obama's Katrina speaks volumes. The media favoritism, in the main, is clearly not hurting Obama, but I think there are a growing number of voters in the northeast who are seeing Obama for the first time...with clear eyes. Too bad it won't make a difference in the election for those states, but those states are not in the mix anyway.
Appleby| 11.2.12 @ 7:48PM
Tell it to the people on Staten Island.
Purp| 11.2.12 @ 4:19PM
7 Corporations own 85% of the media in this country, and they are NOT in the tank for Democrats.
You have a lousy candidate, Mitt the Twit, and you're stuck with him... that is all. He knows nothing about building a business, passing legislation, or doing anything that hasn't been handed to him by others. And, it shows.
Obama 2012!
Archie| 11.2.12 @ 4:50PM
Names of the corporations, please. Otherwise, your post seems non-credible.
Drunken Sailor| 11.2.12 @ 5:03PM
He has credible post?
JD| 11.2.12 @ 5:33PM
Wow, Purp. Just... wow.
You don't even try to support your claim that the media aren't in the tank for Democrats (you must think that merely being "a corporation" makes it impossible to be in the tank for Democrats, when in fact the opposite is true of the many corporations which live off of social welfare).
But more than that, you have the incredible audacity to say of Romney, "He knows nothing about building a business, passing legislation, or doing anything..."
Really? REALLY?
Such words describe Obama almost perfectly, as he actually HAD done none of these things before his election, and still hasn't ever built a business. As for Romney, he's done them, and done them a lot.
Purp| 11.2.12 @ 6:33PM
Romney has NOT built any business. He was given it by Bill Bain as a favor to Gov George Romney - was that a payoff?
Whatever the case in 2008, THIS is 2012 and the President is the ONLY one with the experience to be President.
47% Romney isn't interested in Americans, the Israeli situation or Iran. He just wants to win the game of election.
The State he was Governor of not only don't want him, he's losing by 31 points to the President. And THEY know Romney as a Chief Executive more than anyone else. He would be no good as a President, just ask them.
As far as Corporate Media goes, you just have to look how the Wall Street Journal has devolved into a mouthpiece for Rupert Murdoch to see how the Corporate influence works. Just like on Fox, incessantly obsessed with Libya - ignoring the crisis of Sandy - why? Because they want to be critical of the President. And Sandy fallout is only good for the President.
It's so transparent - I've heard "Media Bias, Media Bias" for so many years, it means nothing anymore - just an excuse for a poor candidate on his way to LOSING!
John II| 11.2.12 @ 6:07PM
Er . . . ever heard of crony capitalism, Purp? And what do YOU think of George Soros, all of whose wealth has been acquired by screwing others.
Anyhow, if your scumbag hero wins next week, let us know how things are under the bus on Wednesday.
Purp| 11.2.12 @ 6:36PM
You know 1 Billionaire on the Left, so you trot the poor guy out every time... to no avail.
Soros is like any Billionaire - he comes first, second and third.
Luckily, ShitBag Romney isn't going to win - and not win HUGE. So you can lick the scum under the pus under the bus next week - until you love it.
Your point is?
John II| 11.2.12 @ 9:10PM
My point is the same one I've been making for weeks. The Professor has a long track record with the "under-the-bus" thing. Like yourself, he's a narcissist, Purp. If he wins on November 6, he'll no longer need (that is, his machine will no longer need) your services as troll.
Actually, though, my "point" runs a little deeper that you have the remotest inclination to understand.
Here's my point:
John II| 11.2.12 @ 9:13PM
MOST REV. DANIEL R. JENKY, C.S.C.
OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
DIOCESE OF PEORIA
Election AD 2012
By virtue of your vow of obedience to me as your Bishop, I require that this letter be personally read by each celebrating priest at each Weekend Mass, November 3/4.
Dear Catholic Believers,
Since the foundation of the American Republic and the adoption of the Bill of Rights, I do not think there has ever been a time more threatening to our religious liberty than the present. Neither the president of the United States nor the current majority of the Federal Senate have been willing to even consider the Catholic community’s grave objections to those HHS mandates that would require all Catholic institutions, exempting only our church buildings, to fund abortion, sterilization, and artificial contraception. This assault upon our religious freedom is simply without precedent in the American political and legal system. Contrary to the guarantees embedded in the First Amendment, the HHS mandates attempt to now narrowly define and thereby drastically limit our traditional religious works. They grossly and intentionally intrude upon the deeply held moral convictions that have always guided our Catholic schools, hospitals, and other apostolic ministries.
John II| 11.2.12 @ 9:15PM
Nearly two thousand years ago, after our Savior had been bound, beaten, scourged, mocked, and crowned with thorns, a pagan Roman Procurator displayed Jesus to a hostile crowd by sarcastically declaring: Behold your King. The mob roared back: We have no king but Caesar. Today, Catholic politicians, bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject Jesus as their Lord. They are objectively guilty of grave sin.
For those who hope for salvation, no political loyalty can ever take precedence over loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Gospel of Life. God is not mocked, and as the Bible clearly teaches, after this passing instant of life on earth, God’s great mercy in time will give way to God’s perfect judgment in eternity.
I therefore call upon every practicing Catholic in this Diocese to vote. Be faithful to Christ and to your Catholic Faith. May God guide and protect his Holy Church, and may God bless America.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
+Most Reverend Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C.
BISHOP OF PEORIA
Purp| 11.2.12 @ 10:55PM
IF you really gave a damn about this country, you would keep religion as far away from her government as possible.
Governments controlled by religion has always been a dangerous thing. Religion has to be kept behind the wall of Separation of Church and State.
The American Revolution was not a revolution against persecution of religion - but of taxation without representation.
Go learn some history and leave the theology where it belongs - not in Government.
John II| 11.2.12 @ 11:22PM
"Religion has to be kept behind the wall of Separation of Church and State."
Well, I perhaps know a teensy thing or two about history, Purp. I teach it. But speaking of history, where precisely did you get your peculiar interpretation of the separation clause?
No--really. I'd like to know. And what DO you know about "theology"? I have this theory based on 43 years of observation that almost all my college students have been a tad underserved by the many high schools from which they have come.
They have this strange notion, for example, that human rights are given to us by the State. Is that what you believe, Purp?
Many of them, though not all, also have this strange notion that the separation clause means that all religious expression must be totally banned from the public square.
Needless to say, they know little history and no philosophy or theology at all. They ARE quick to say that theology doesn't belong in government, but since they don't know what theology is, they have nothing to say about where it does belong.
And now back to a very late-evening viewing of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," the superior 1956 Don Siegel version (notwithstanding the uncredited appearance of Robert Duvall in the 1978 version). You know, Purp, apart from the intermittent outbursts of anger, you remind me of the pod-people.
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:42PM
John II:
I dated Don Siegel's cousin. Yes, that puts me 3 degrees from Clint.
Dang, when I was young I knew a lot of beautiful women. Now I'm just a happily married guy and I devote my life to making my wife and kids happy. Heck, if I was (G-d Forbid) single again tomorrow, I wouldn't have a clue how to get back in the chase. And, if I recall, being single sucked.
Don's cousin's nickname was "The She-bitch From Hell." Good in bed, but a future Corporate Lawyer. Thus began my antipathy to attorneys. (She was a Truman scholar, and made U of Michigan Law Review)
By the way, correct me if I am wrong, but the 1st Amendment was designed to prevent the Establishment of a specific church, as say, the Church of England, NOT to prevent personal religious beliefs from being in the public square.
The likelihood of Mitt Romney looking into the tax-exempt status of an RC church is minimal, RCV.
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:54PM
JohnII: be sure to download the rifftrax version of "Night of the Living Dead"---both the Michael J Nelson solo version AND the Mike, Bill, and Kevin version. The solo version contains several recipes for a Zombie drink. Perfect for watching MSNBC on election night!
Bob Grant| 11.2.12 @ 11:27PM
Well Purp,
Since Socialism is a religion, and the current fight seems to be in effect about taxation without representation, you're making a distinction without a difference.
RCV| 11.3.12 @ 4:38PM
I strongly support the right of the good Bishop to speak his mind, John. I also believe he has jeapordized the tax-exempt status of the Church in his Diocese. If I believed as he does, that wouldn't matter to me either. But he should make sure he's acted with his eyes fully opened. And if I were one of his parishioners, I'd let him know how much I value his input on electoral choices.
John II| 11.3.12 @ 10:37PM
"I also believe he has jeopardized the tax-exempt status of the Church . . ."
Probably not, Roberto. If the Professor's favorite preacher--the Reverend "God-damn-America" Wright--is off the hook and cozy in his gated community, I don't think the bishop has to worry about such dire consequences for such a relatively measured piece of prophetic witness.
But I'm too pooped to respond (just finished a pile of intermittently ghastly student papers), so I'll let the Catholic writer George Weigel have the floor:
"Catholics who are still pondering their presidential vote will have heard, endlessly, that no political party fully embodies the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. That is certainly true. And it is also largely irrelevant. For the choice in 2012 is not between two parties that, in relative degrees, inadequately embody the Catholic vision of the free and virtuous society. The choice is between a party that inadequately embodies that vision and a party that holds that vision in contempt, as it has made clear in everything from the 'HHS mandate' through the Charlotte convention votes against God to the Lolita ad. Catholics who do not like their Church, or their vote, or themselves to be held in contempt could make the decisive difference in 2012 — not so much as a 'Catholic vote' bloc, but as a community of American citizens determined to restore the decencies to public life and American culture."
RCV| 11.4.12 @ 5:03PM
The reason I say that, John, is that during the last Bush administration, the pastor of a very liberal diocese in Pasadena, California -- All Saints Episcopal Church -- made a similar exhortation to his congregation about the moral imperitives facing them in the upcoming presidential election. That was followed by a protracted examination by the IRS into the continued tax-exempt status of that church. Just sayin'.
Frank Drackman| 11.2.12 @ 4:57PM
EICOTUS(Evolver in Chief of the United States) has shown one thing in his 4 years,
He can watch SEALS shoot terrorists like nobody's business, (MUCH better than the last DemoKKKrat in the Oval Orifice)
And he can handle what would have been just a routine Category 1(i.e. Thunderstorm)Hurricane if it had hit Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia or Florida, like Oh, any of the Governors of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida do several times every year...
Frank
RCV| 11.2.12 @ 5:55PM
Except the number of people affected by this hurricane was a zillion times more because it hit the most heavily populated urban area in the United States. What an idiot.
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:48PM
Yes, and Dhimmicrats forbid the building of flood walls due to environmental concerns. I'm glad I didn't marry the SBFH, noted above, and I'm glad I didn't marry the New Jersey Nets' VEEP's daughter, either. And I'm glad I didn't take the Fort Hood Darnell Medical Center Psychiatry job with Dr. Nidal (Soldier of Allah but it's just secular workplace violence) Hassan, either. Man, I have had a number of close calls in my life that have led to this tranquil harbor. RCV, your guy is going down---Romney's getting 315-325 electoral votes (max 335). Welcome to The island of Dr. Moreau and "The House of Pain!"
RCV| 11.2.12 @ 5:53PM
I love the author's logic. MSM polls are distorting Romney's real support. Evidence: polls show independents really support him a lot. Huh?
John II| 11.2.12 @ 6:19PM
Actually--yes, Roberto. But the thought I've been preoccupied by since reading the lead post is that my wife and I and our grown kids don't respond to pollsters, and we've been hammered by phone calls for many weeks now. My wife's a Democrat and I'm an independent (politically, I mean--mostly I'm a Catholic). Both of us, of course, are voting against the Professor--but we don't think that's any stranger's business.
I'm just wondering. Do you think the people who, like us, decline to participate in polls are more likely to be liberal or conservative? If there's a Romney landslide next week in the manner of the Reagan landslide in 1980, an answer to that last question would have to be part of the explanation.
RCV| 11.3.12 @ 4:42PM
It's a good question, John. I'm like you -- and so is my wife -- and we politely tell pollsters to mind their own business. But all I do know is that the best political analysts in the country - especially Nate Silver - seem to get it almost precisely right every time. And Silver now puts Obama's odds of winning at about 85%.
Cheers!
Occam's Tool| 11.4.12 @ 5:51PM
My answer, RCV, is this: read the Cleveland Plains Dealer article on the Stevie Wonder Cleveland Plains dealer 200 people only concert. then read the comments in the CLEVELAND PLAINS DEALER---not a Republican newspaper.
I live in the great overflight. I think your guy is doomed. I was being polled today, by the way, and as I waited for my chicken fried steak they asked me if I contributed to political blogs as a commenter. I could not lie, as within a certain group I am mildly famous. Then they hung up.
RCV| 11.5.12 @ 12:09AM
One of us will get a dose of reality Wednesday morning, Occam. I know you'll recover in time for your trip to Westwood, though.
Buck Ofama| 11.2.12 @ 7:51PM
> in circles where Obama is still publicly lionized.
OXYMORON.
Jesse Fell| 11.3.12 @ 1:28AM
The polls can be wrong, as Nate Silver constantly points out. But they have gotten to be pretty good, and they have consistently been showing Obama with small but sufficient leads in enough states to give him a victory in the Electoral College. Silver, who called 49 out of 50 states right in the last election, is reasonably sure that Obama will win this one, on the same basis as before: data and algorithms.
bison cookie| 11.3.12 @ 12:17PM
5 GENERALS & ADMIRALS SUPPORT OBAMA – HOW MANY FOR ROMNEY? ONLY ABOUT 300!. Barack Obama’s campaign released a new ad featuring General Colin Powell from the Bush administration declaring his support for Obama. It’s a 30 second ad talking mostly about economic issues but it’s clearly an attempt to show that Obama has support from the military. How much support does …READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/5.....about-300/
rocky01| 11.3.12 @ 3:06PM
Yep. The mainstream media is a bully named Biff holding McFly in a headlock, laughing and taunting voters; they will never see the fist flying towards their eyeball until they are seeing stars and clobbered with lights out on Wednesday.
bison cookie| 11.3.12 @ 9:04PM
COWARDLY LYING. Everyone has heard of Baghdad Bob. He was the guy who went on TV every night during the Iraqi War insisting to the world that Iraq was winning, despite American tanks rolling up behind him as he spoke. What's the difference between Baghdad Bob and Benghazi Barack? Obama has long pretended … READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/cowardly-lying/
bison cookie| 11.4.12 @ 7:59AM
PELOSI HOLDS SECRET FUNDRAISER WITH ISLAMISTS, HAMAS-LINKED GROUPS. Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi headlined a high-dollar fundraiser in May that was attended by U.S.-based Islamist groups and individuals linked by the U.S. government to the Hamas jihad group and to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood movement. The donors at the undisclosed May 16 event … READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/p.....ed-groups/