Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Open Thread: Pre Debate music and musings

Hola Moosies!

I’m in a New York state of mind and decided to chill out to some neighborhood folks doing the Boricua thing for Obama. (for Spiffy)

Leslie Gore was part of the musical soundscape of my teenage years, and I like the real women in this video supporting women’s rights and calling out the R’s.

A New Yorker, who grew up in Jersey.  Thank you Ms Gore.  

Hard to believe Romney is going to “debate” foreign policy, and that anyone can take it seriously, but this is the game and we are stuck with it.  

I’m trying to decide if I’m going to watch, or just read live blogs that have sense of humor – like Wonkette’s.  

Wassup Moose?


Categories: Uncategorized.

/ 173 Comments

173 comments

  8. Shaun Appleby

    Off to a tepid start it seems.  Touched on a lot of issues but don’t see an overarching narrative within that.

  9. Shaun Appleby

    Doesn’t know what “decimated” means unless he’s saying we killed 10% of the al-Qaeda leadership.  Stay on offence, Mr. President.

  10. HappyinVT

    TheReidReport 9:12pm via Twitter for iPad

    Obama on all kinds of offense. Said the 1980s called and want their foreign policy back. Ouch! #debate

  13. DeniseVelez

    6:12 PM PT: Boom, hammer time! Obama says every time Romney has taken a position on foreign policy that  he’s been wrong.

  15. sricki

    Watching debate but not yet enthralled. Then again, maybe I’m just tired.

    (Or maybe Romney just sucks and makes everything around him suck also.)

  16. DeniseVelez

    Wait (4+ / 0-)

    Did Romney say that Iran needed Syria for to get to the sea? Has he ever looked at a map?

    They don’t call it the PERSIAN Gulf for nothing…

  17. Shaun Appleby

    Agree with everything Obama’s done and then concern troll him with inflammatory words.  Rove!  Curse you!

  19. Shaun Appleby

    Stay cool and classy.  Fareed said at the start, “Whoever segues to domestic economics is worried about Ohio” and they both have.

  20. DeniseVelez

    God, it seems like Mittens has been yammering on for about 5 hours. America, do you really want to listen to this stammering fuck for 4 years?

  24. Shaun Appleby

    Managed to segue into military spending and back to national security and then off Romney goes.  And what’s with this 1918 navy.  We had hundreds of excess destroyers in 1918; we didn’t build destroyers again until the late 1920s, which was a problem.  “Horses and bayonets.”

  29. Shaun Appleby

    Obama just advanced his stated Israel and Iran policies with specifics.  Wonder if that makes an impression?

  30. HappyinVT

    neeratanden 9:51pm via Web

    Can someone ask Josh Bolton right now if he agrees with Romney that Obama is doing a pretty awesome job on foreign policy?

  36. Shaun Appleby

    From Romney on refusing hypothetical.  Get him, Obama.  “All over the map.”  “Pleased you are now endorsing our policies…”

  38. HappyinVT

    BorowitzReport 10:06pm via Web

    “I’m glad I don’t have to study up on any of this crap anymore.” — Sarah Palin #debate

    57 retweets

  42. Shaun Appleby

    Obama, “China adversary but potential partner.”  Now we’re on to trade.  “Ohio” “steel” “tyres” heh.

  44. HappyinVT

    jheil 10:17pm via TweetDeck

    Is there a chance that Romney thinks “tumult” is a Yiddish word? @JeffreyGoldberg

    Retweeted by MarkLeibovich

  46. fogiv

    Romney is fundamentally unqualified for any elected office with international implications. This guy has no fucking clue.

  50. janicket

    I swore I wouldn’t watch, and held off for nearly the first hour, then started reading the blogs and couldn’t help myself.

    Oh, well; thanks to the mute button I mostly only listened to our President, so it was good.

  54. Chris Blask

    Mitt Romney shows up and agrees with everything Obama says. Spends the debate looking like he has to pee. Changes every position and edits his personal history.

    And Florida Squiggle doesn’t buy any of it.

  55. rfahey22

    Honestly, what the hell was that?  Apparently he agrees with everything Obama ever did but he might do some of it “stronger.”  Just a sad performance (which of course makes me happy).

  56. Shaun Appleby


    Obama seems suspiciously knowledgeable about foreign affairs for someone born here #debates @OnionPolitics

  57. Chris Blask

    48 to 40%. They note that their poll of likely voters who watched the debate is more Republican than Democratic.

    If you play that to undecideds, it speaks well for Democratic hopes. The Florida Squiggle is key as well, those were (some type of) demographic who can decide this election.

  59. Shaun Appleby


    According to the CBS News instapoll Romney won debate one 46 to 22.

    According to the same poll, President Obama won this one 53 to 23.

  60. janicket

    at the idea of Romeny as C-in-C; this is how CNN is reporting it right now (updated 11:10 p.m.):

    Headline:  “Forceful Obama bests defensive Romney in foreign policy debate”

    Opening paragraphs:  “A forceful President Barack Obama put Republican challenger Mitt Romney on the defensive on foreign policy issues on Monday night, scoring a solid victory in their third and final debate just 15 days before Election Day.

    Obama displayed the experience of a commander-in-chief in explaining U.S. policy under his leadership and attacking the views and proposals of Romney, a former Massachusetts governor with little experience on overseas issues.

    Romney ended up supporting most of the Obama administration’s steps involving hotspots, like the civil war in Syria, and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, giving the president the advantage in a debate in which his GOP rival needed to question foreign policy of the past four years.”  

  63. janicket

    The more I think about it, the more I suspect that that particular line is going to do some real damage to Romney.  People who didn’t watch the debate, or missed that part, will be intrigued by all the chuckling and snickering and guffawing, will Google up the clip, and will see, not just that phrase, but Obama’s devastating snark about “There are these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines.”  

    That’s the kind of cut-him-down-to-size ridicule that leaves a mark.

  64. Shaun Appleby

    After a quick whip ’round the Web and listening to CNN I can’t imagine how that could have gone better.  We are in the lap of the Gods of GOTV from here on out.

  65. virginislandsguy

    Prediction: Obama A, Romney C.

    1. Romney has only 6 days to prepare this time, versus weeks for Debate I. This would be adequate for a 30 minute business presentation, but not for a 90 minute debate.

    2. Romney is possibly less knowledgeable about foreign policy than Paul Ryan. His international business experience is actually a hindrance to political considerations.

    3. Benghazi has been neutralized. Romney will probably try to regain some mojo here, but Bob Schieffer will probably hold that discussion to 5 minutes.

    4. Speaking of Bob Schieffer, I expect he will be largely effective and neutral. If his follow-up questions are even-handed, advantage Obama. Romney is way out of his league here.

    5. Romney’s largely Cheney neocon advisers are going to fuck him up. The Dickster could sound reasonable and informed while dishing out the most hawkish views. Romney can’t get by the 3rd line of questioning on any FP issue. As such, his Iran sabre-rattling will be at best a draw.

    Prediction:

    Obama: A nothing but pluses across the board as long as Schieffer doesn’t do a Hannity (unlikely).

    Romney: C he’ll just keep repeating his stump speech phrases. The Benghazi issue was their only hope and now it is gone.

    Scorecard: Obama/Biden go 3 and 1. And it’s always better to finish strong.

    There was only one joker in L.A. sensitive enough to wear that scent…and I had to find out who he was!

    I stick by my prediction of Obama 53/ Romney 43. I’ll back that up with a Nevada screed tomorrow.

  66. DeniseVelez

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10…


    Mitt Romney has nothing really coherent or substantive to say about domestic policy, but at least he can sound energetic and confident about it. On foreign policy, the subject of Monday night’s final presidential debate, he had little coherent to say and often sounded completely lost. That’s because he has no original ideas of substance on most world issues, including Syria, Iran and Afghanistan.

    Opening paragraph… and they get harsher as it goes on…closing with

    Mr. Romney’s closing statement summed it all up. He said almost nothing about foreign policy. He moved back to his comfort zone: cheerfully delivered disinformation about domestic policy.

    Go read 🙂

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