47%: It begins!

[ParkCungHee]

What can we say except, maybe, "at least we're not India"? <-- a reliable source tells me India edges us out in crazy, by a hair

Eh, there's plenty of countries who's level of crazy matches or exceeds America, it's just that for most countries these are embarrassing little curios, that only the rare foreign spectator comes across.

America is like that one family that every neighborhood has: They're arguments aren't crazier or stupider then everyone else, but they can't help show it off in front of the whole neighborhood.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

And they never take down the christmas lights.

 

[Integral]

What is this country coming too when a political leader can't play to his party's tropes?

I'm not offended by the "47%" comment, nor was I offended by Obama's "cling to their guns and religion" comment last cycle. Both play to the prejudices and tropes of their respective parties. The point of Romney's message was that he's going to focus his attention on the median voter, not those who he won't convince anyway. The specifics were mere rhetoric, cheap talk.

Maybe I'm too charitable.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You are too charitable. Both comments were insensitive, but Romney went out of his way to insult fully half the nation as lazy welfare recipients.

 

[Integral]

Yes, he did! It was a disgusting comment, I agree. But I don't view it any more negatively than when Obama denigrated half the country as small-town hicks that cling to their guns and religion. It's part of the circus.

And so my job is not to worry about those people—I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. What I have to do is convince the 5 to 10 percent in the center that are independents that are thoughtful, that look at voting one way or the other depending upon in some cases emotion, whether they like the guy or not, what it looks like. I mean, when you ask those people…we do all these polls—I find it amazing—we poll all these people, see where you stand on the polls, but 45 percent of the people will go with a Republican, and 48 or [49 with a Democrat] 4…

The point he's making is that he's focusing on the middle. He sprinkles offensive Republican tropes in, but I dscount those comments as cheap talk.

His comments about China and the military (later in the speech) are far more objectionable, imo.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

True, but did Obama call out half the country? I don't remeber.

 

[Cutlass]

What is this country coming too when a political leader can't play to his party's tropes?

I'm not offended by the "47%" comment, nor was I offended by Obama's "cling to their guns and religion" comment last cycle. Both play to the prejudices and tropes of their respective parties. The point of Romney's message was that he's going to focus his attention on the median voter, not those who he won't convince anyway. The specifics were mere rhetoric, cheap talk.

Maybe I'm too charitable.

I think you're being too charitable in the sense that Romney seems to be actually buying in to the rhetoric of the lunatic fringe.