It was fittingly ironic, and appropriate, that Mr. Gregory would start today's program with a weather report on Hurricane Sandy. We know it's going to hit but how hard and exactly where are still in question, and those are the questions we still have on the election with nine days to go - how's it's going to go and where are the keys to victory going to be? This week's program did little to clarify the questions as none of the guests could cut through the discussion well enough to convince anyone of anything.
The race is deadlocked in seeral states with nine days to play, count Ohio among them of course where both candidates are at this moment campaigning hard and the reason for that is no one has been able to cut through the clutter. And why is that? What really hasn't been mentioned is the zero-accountability equation at work. New York Times columnist David Brooks said that this has been the worst campaign he's ever covered because both sides are just going purely negative with no discussion of the fundamental issues. We would disagree because there has been discussion of fundamental issues but what's at work is the zero-accountability factor.
Obama surrogates, ones on this program included, look to what the President hasn't been able to do and blame the Republican controlled Congress as Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne pointed out, noting that since Mr. Obama has taken office, all Republicans have said is no. The Obama campaign would say that it's the reason why we don't have a debt deal or a jobs bill. Conversely, the Romney campaign hasn't taken any responsibility for its positions or the switching thereof, which even Carly Fiorina said have shifted. However, when the panel touched on truthfulness among the candidates, Ms. Fiorina dismissed these shifts and charged that the President has been less truthful than Mr. Romney, and then she quickly interjected Libya into the conversation, which the moderator quickly shut down. It's was another one of Ms. Fiorina's feeble ways to make a political point. [With all due respect, Ms. Fiorina has a weak political game and that she's the vice-chair for anything insttantly puts the odds in favor of the other guy.] So no one's accountable and no one's telling the truth... and did we mention we're nine days out?
To qualify things, you expect campaign teams to bend messaging as far as they can to suit their needs, but what does it say about us that it's understood, common knowledge even, that Mitt Romney constantly changes his positions, or as illustrated this week flat out untruths - see Jeep shipping jobs to China, and he can get away with it as if it's ok. The race is neck and neck so it must be, right? On the other hand, Governor Kasich (R-OH) pointed to the business uncertainty that the President has created because of new regulations. In terms of his argument, businesses will continue to suffer under the President's current policies. To be clear however, the uncertainty that Mr. Kasich is talking about is inherent when an election is pending so of course everyone is in a wait-and-see mode. What we found most interesting was when Mr. Gregory asked the Governor who was more responsible for the economic turnaround in Ohio, him or the President, his answer was that 'it was probably the job creators.' This was quite telling. First, what politician is his or her right mind wouldn't take credit for something like that when asked. Mr. Kasich didn't, couldn't realistically, take the credit and of course he wasn't going to give it to the President so it's 'probably' the job creators. No, it was the President. Mr. Obama loaned government money to the auto industry to save it from collapse. Mr. Romney would not have done that. He would have not given a government guarantee to the companies, but only one to the consumers on the loans for there cars. There's a big difference there that hasn't been quite clearly pointed out.
One other point for clarification. Mr. Kasich mentioned Mr. Romney's accomplishment of saving the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. The Olympics before Mr. Romney took over were going bankrupt and he turned it around. But how did he do it? That's the real editorial theme for us for the Romney campaign, we need the 'how' explained. What Mr. Romney did when he took over was that he went to the government and lobbied for a $2 billion bailout. The state couldn't cover the bill so he asked the government and the Olympics were saved. You be the judge, but ultimately it seems we'll have to rely on the wisdom of Hamilton County (the pivotal Ohio county).
We could go on and on with both sides, but there is one thing that is puzzling, even troubling, to us and this is this issue of rape, which isn't really the issue as it is more about women's health and their right to control their own.
Senatorial candidate Richard Murdoch (R-IN) explained during a debate that even though a rape occurred, the child should be carried to term because in a way it was still God's will that it happened. This reeks of ignorant misogyny to understate it certainly, and this is the only candidate that Mitt Romney has stumped for, doing so in a commercial. In light of the candidate's remarks, which by the way Carly Fiorina - the Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee - said was a stupid thing, Mr. Romney has decided not to strike the ad or directly condemn the comments. If you're a woman you'd have to ask yourself, how much different are the two men's economic policies because one clearly doesn't have a problem with taking away women's rights when it comes to their own health decisions.
Mr. Romney can shift his words but not his actions, and it is on those that he should be judged.
Vice Chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Carly
Fiorina; Washington Post columnist EJ Dionne; NY Times columnist David
Brooks; MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow; and NBC’s Chuck Todd.
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