WorldTraveller

One of the events in north Carolina drew around 10k people and now the rally in Wisconsin just drew 10k +. I watched both of them (because that's what I do) and the energy was off the charts. Ryan isn't just a ridiculously intelligent dude, extremely articulate, but who knew? A phenomenal speaker in front of large crowds, and he speaks with inspiration. this guy has the promise to add not only a lot for the country but a lot to mitts campaign. He's the star of the ticket, no doubt about it.

Let's be real here, if half our politicians were like Bernie sanders, Obama would be the head socialist in charge

That's very interesting

Adam, not every result dictates the next. This argument that vp picks don't matter is absurd. Of course there are consequences, it is a reflection of the campaign and the dynamics sometimes can minimally be impacted other times much more so. This pick matters

Politico poll to come out tomorrow Obama 48% Romney 47% Point is, that not much had changed other than the level of unease some people have had. This election for all intents and purposes is still razor tight Well, it is big and it changes the dynamics

"nail in the coffin". Dude you already had that thing bolted down the day you knew Romney was the nominee. Let's not pretend that wasn't the case

You mean the same way they hated Marco Rubio for proposing the exact same thing in his senatorial race? Why am I even responding to you?

It will be discussed

It is a different dynamic, but the larger point remains, which is if you are honest and straightforward about the difficult choices we face and ffer solutions then you can get rewarded for doing so, and the big thing they have going for them is that there is no better communicator on this issue, than Paul Ryan .

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I live in Florida and I saw the demagoguing that crist tried to lay on Marco Rubio for his stance on the need to reform social security and his embrace of Medicare. Rubio spoke to Floridian seniors with sincerity, and as a result seniors overwhelmingly supported Rubio. Also, did you hear Ryan's speech? He spoke convincly about leaving a better future for the next generation, he spoke with clarity regarding the debt and it's consequences and that is something seniors care about. I believe he will be a net positive for Florida and I say that because I believe he can communicate this with more conviction and effectiveness than anyone. No it's not, Rubio fully embraced Ryan's budget and he crushed crist

Ap says it's a done deal... You can go to politico or drudge

That's the liberals version. We'll see who gets their message out best. Ryan's plan is the only serious plan that addresses Medicare and the debt and there is no one more effective at communicating this than Paul Ryan . When Rubio ran for senator, he embraced Ryan's Medicare plan, many people thought he was crazy for doing so. Crist tried demagoguing him, and it didn't work. Why? Because he spoke to them in a straightforward way. People respect you when you are straight with them and as a result Rubio crushed him with senior voters. Will that happen here? I don't know, but like I said, there is no one better at leveling with you than Paul Ryan.

He was who I was hoping for. I've got a lot of faith in paul Ryan. He will help make this an election about big things

CNN and time magazine have both suspended him.

Gallup and Rasmussen are the only ones with daily trackers who have much larger sampling sizes and they don't agree with your analysis.

To the Tea Parties credit, they are "undeniably" serious about not becoming "Next expanders of Federal Government Power"It appears that you also have an issue with government growing, but you don't strike me as a supporter of the tea party. So what am I missing here? Is it that I'm misreading that you disapprove of the expansion of the Federal government, or that you are a closet supporter of the Tea Party?

In the case of the U.S, that wouldn't happen, at least not initially. Before that would ever come close to happening, we would print massive amounts of money, enough to buy our own debt, which is sort of what we are doing now, except in our present case, we're doing it not out of "necessity" because of lack of demand for our debt, but to "stimulate" it through lower rates etc.

Todays polling numbers show Mitt + 4 Rasmussen LV Dead Even Gallup RV and in Iowa Mitt +2 Also it shows Obama with a - 8 approval rating on Gallup and a - 8 disapproval rating with Rasmussen So who's polling is right?

I'm not so sure about that. New Gingrich is famed to be a terrific debater, and he ripped it up in S.C. I think what happened there is that he didn't expect or at least he didn't seem like he was expecting such a ferocious offensive from Mitt, plus Mitt's research team provided him some key bullets for the debate that proved decisive. I don't know how it will turn out, my guess is that it will be a push. However, he is capable of landing some effective punches, and if he can land some punches while defending well, it could be just the nudge that those "undecided voters" need in order to make that change.

When Mitt had to do well in the debates in the primaries, he did. So he does have a history of performing well under pressure. Will he do better than Obama? I don't know, but it was a widely a held idea that Gingrich was the "master" of debates, and when everyone knew that there was to be a big showdown between the two, Mitt eviscerated him. TWICE!So, I'm not sure he'll repeat that sort of performance, but he does have the capability.

Regarding the "Mitt murdered the lady" ad: - In a January 10, 2012 interview with Amy Goodman of "Democracy Now!" the anti-Romney steel plant employee revealed he was offered a buyout when Bain decided to close the plant. Joe Soptic, the employee, has been in the news as of late due to an ad he made for the Obama-backed Super PAC Priorities USA. In the ad, Mr. Soptic says his wife died of cancer because he was laid off and no longer had health insurance. However, not mentioned in the ad is that his wife found out she had cancer nearly five years after his departure from the plant. She died 22 days after her diagnosis. Transcript below. AMY GOODMAN: Joining us now from Kansas City is Joe Soptic, former steelworker at Worldwide Grinding Systems, who has lost his job after a declared bankruptcy under Bain’s control. He’s speaking to us from Kansas City’s PBS station KCPT. Joe, explain what happened. JOE SOPTIC: Well, I guess the first thing I noticed after the company was bought out by GST, they became very union-non-friendly. I mean, they started looking for ways to eliminate jobs. In my case, in my department, they actually offered to buy our jobs out from underneath us. They cut back on safety equipment. You know, the working environment just wasn’t as good as it should be. - http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/08/10/star_of_obama_super_pacs_cancer_ad_says_bain_offered_him_a_buyout.html So he was offered a buyout...

True, but the nature of some of some of the bonds that are being issued, specially out in California are not that dissimilar to what we saw during the sub prime debacle. Some of the bonds are "exotic" and they are similar to "Zero-coupon" issued bonds where interest payments aren't due for another 20 years down the road at double digit interest rates very well may pay out 10 times original cost when redeemed. Maybe we don't see a private sector banking risk, but we could see a systemic public sector risk which I would argue is worse

If there is a silver lining, these polls are just RV polls rather than LV. Consistently polls have been showing that the Conservative base is considerably more jazzed to vote than the D's. Here is another poll from yesterday that came to the same conclusion. http://www.resurgentrepublic.com/research/2012-voter-enthusiasm-favors-republicans - Republican-leaning voting blocs are more enthusiastic to vote this November, which could be the deciding factor in a turnout election. As we head into the final campaign stretch, President Obama faces the unwelcoming reality that he must close the voter enthusiasm gap and improve his performance among key voting subgroups if he is to be successful in his bid for reelection. When looking at those voters who say they are extremely enthusiastic to vote in the presidential election, Republicans hold a double-digit advantage over Democrats, 62 to 49 percent, and the subgroups most likely to support Governor Romney register higher enthusiasm than those backing President Obama, according to our most recent survey July 9-12. Reliable Republican demographics, such as Protestants, Evangelicals, and white men, score above the median rate of those who are extremely enthusiastic to turnout and far out pace several traditional Democratic voting groups, including Hispanic voters, unmarried, and young voters (18-to-29-year-olds). African-American voters are the exception among Obama supporters and register enthusiasm on par with Republicans. The higher enthusiasm among Republicans overall will help shrink the traditional Democratic identification advantage on Election Day, which stood at seven points during the 2008 wave election. As a result, national polling with a Democratic voter edge greater than the 2008 margin should be viewed with skepticism. In addition to the enthusiasm gap, President Obama is underperforming among key members of his coalition. He holds 53 percent support on the ballot among voters with household income less than $50k, down seven points from 2008. President Obama swept young voters (18-to-29-year-olds) by 66 to 32 percent in 2008, but this margin has been nearly cut in half, 53 to 35 percent. Typically a swing voting bloc in presidential elections, Catholic voters are clearly up for grabs, 47 to 47 percent. Among subgroups that President Obama is likely to lose, he’s doing so by a wider margin. The president trails among white men 61 to 30 percent, a 15 point swing compared to 2008 (57 to 41 percent). His support among white non-college educated voters is also down eight points. It will be difficult for President Obama to close these gaps by winning the undecided voters outright. Nearly every poll puts the presidential contest in a statistical dead heat, with President Obama and Governor Romney battling to win a small percentage of undecided voters. Resurgent Republic’s most recent survey found only five percent of voters nationally are undecided on the presidential ballot, while that figure shrinks to three percent in the battleground states. Conventional wisdom dictates that undecided voters do not split evenly, and the overwhelmingly negative political climate is a significant hurdle for President Obama in bucking this trend. Strong majorities of voters still believe the country is on the wrong track, and even more feel like the economy is stuck in a recession. After four years of President Obama’s economic polices, undecided voters are receptive to the message that it’s time to try something else. So as of today, it’s difficult to envision a scenario where President Obama wins more of the undecided bloc than Governor Romney. It seems President Obama’s best outcome among these voters is to fight Governor Romney to a draw, or even hope they don’t vote, both of which heighten the importance of base turnout and the president’s enthusiasm deficit. In addition, President Obama’s reelection campaign should not depend on Independent voters to make up the lost votes due to lack of enthusiasm and ballot underperformance. Swing voters voted for Republican candidates for Congress by an 18-point margin in 2010, delivering in the process an unequivocal rebuke of President Obama’s agenda. President Obama’s job approval, handling of the economy, personal approval and ballot support among swing voters are all stuck in the low 40’s. Having won a majority of Independents in 2008, President Obama now trails his previous performance by 12 points. -