On Face the Nation, Sunday, CBS News host Bob Schieffer, asked panelists who they thought would win. Predictably, the Republican pundit, Rich Lowry, said it would be a very close race, but that Romney would prevail, (big surprise). On the Democratic side, former Clinton spokeswoman, Dee Dee Myers, was more cautious: "If the 'president wins, 'I think it will be extremely close." At least Myers tried to show much-needed deference.
I'm a political junkie and love Presidential politics. I'm also fascinated how transparently non-transparent the political pundits display their leanings. Annoyed too. The best is Peggy Noonan, a columnist for the Wall St. Journal and a GOP stalwart. Noonan tries to make it appear as if she's objective, but her heart is Republican. On the same program, she conceded that the president got a bump from the hurricane back east. How thought-provoking, Peggy.
Today and tonight, all the pundits will tell you who will win. They don't have a clue. Really, nobody does. CNN's David Gergen said as much on Sunday, I'll give him that. Gergen, who talks sometimes in a tone of voice suggesting the second coming, is about as close to being neutral as there is, (he's worked for both Clinton and the elder Bush). But Gergen is in the minority.
Pundits don't always have to be right. Few are. They're first and foremost hired to show some political acumen and expert analysis. Gloria Borger, a CNN regular, is clearly a Democratic-leaning pundit, but tries to evoke the opposite. She fails miserably, yet I like listening and looking at her.
I'm avoiding the cable outlets Monday. I'll begin watching on late afternoon, Tuesday when Wolf Blitzer will call Florida. Yes, it will be close, probably. The polls, almost all of them have it neck and neck. The right-wing press says it could be a Romney landslide, which it could be. Or couldn't.
Avoid: Candi Crowley. Al Sharpton. Chris Matthews. Brit Hume. Chris Wallace. Limbaugh. Levin, (duh on both those!) Think C-SPAN for a change. And sniff a little KQED Radio.
Vote tomorrow. And turn off cable on Monday unless you're watching the football game. Tuesday, about 5 o'clock is gametime. The Situation Room is being fumigated.
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Gil Gross quoted an expert who got 49 out 50 states correctly in the last elction and he has Obama comfortably winning the electoral college. My wish is for Romney to win the popular vote and Obama winning the electoral college. It'd be sweet and the Repubs would be left fuming. FORWARD-->
ReplyDeleteOh, gawd. The worst outcome (for civil/grownup politics for the next four years) is just as you mentioned. For all the race-based/birther/conspiracy nutjobs, just add "But more people voted for Romney-we was robbed". The mind boggles.
DeleteWow he got 49 of 50 states correct last time around...when Obama was favored heavily and everyone was in a zombielike state chanting "Hope and Change, Hope and Change". The country will go the way of California if we get another 4 years of this mess....straight in the toilet.
DeleteThere are pundits. And there are partisan polemicists.
ReplyDeleteFox News is command central for right wing polemicists. Most of the talking heads on MSNBC are polemicists for the left. Rare are the birds who try to play it down the middle.
This year, I'm putting my money on Nate Silver who is a numbers man and, although he supports Obama, he doesn't read tea leaves, he crunches polls and tells what he finds. He is calling it for Obama.
Which suits me just fine because I wasn't looking forward to a big government takeover of my lady parts.
Now would you please tell me why, oh why we can't have John Rothmann on the air in his own show? I really miss him.
How are they going to take over your lady parts? Deport you to Afghanistan? You talking head moron.
Delete@9:50
DeleteDon't condemn 8:17 for her gender-based fears... she's just demonstrating why those wise men who created our republican form of government never dreamed of giving women the vote.
@9:50: Read the Republican platform and inform yourself for a change. Republicans believe that all abortion should be criminalized. Romney supports a Personhood Amendment to the Constitution whereby all fertilized eggs would have full protection of the law. He wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned. He wants to "get rid of" Planned Parenthood.
DeleteWhy would any female voter wish to have the government micro-manage her body? Small government indeed!
Now go and mind your own business and leave women to make their own decision.
Will anyone be listening to 910 KNEW tomorrow to hear the latest election coverage from Gil Gross, John Rothmann and Sebastian Kunz?
ReplyDeleteI'm anonymous and I approve this message...
DeleteI will not. I'll wait until the evening flip through a few channels...Fox news...CBS...never MSLSD.
I wouldn't miss the Rothman/Kunz combo on election night for anything! The last time around, it was really interesting radio. There is a nice chemistry between Rothman and Kunz. That, combined with all of Rothman's considerable political knowledge, and Kunz's sometimes outspoken comments, will serve to make it must-listen commentary.
DeleteI wonder how many seconds it will be after the East Coast polls close, that all the winner pronouncements begin hitting the broadcasts. I wish they'd keep their *&^@#$ mouths shut, until the polls are closed across the entire country.
Bob Schieffer/CBS does the best job of the bunch IMO.
ReplyDeleteOne more day of political ads, then I can reduce my BP meds to their normal dose. Ugh!
+++News Break for the Dem's+++
ReplyDeleteVoting has been delayed until Wednesday. Mark your calender and cast your votes then.
We now return you to your scheduled programming.
So, in the show that you watched, a conservative said it would be close, but Romney would win. Then, a liberal said it would be very close, but Obama would win. In RichWorld, this means that conservatives are out of control psychopaths and liberals (like him) are showing "much needed deference".
ReplyDeleteGet help, Rich.
Rich has to be a lib he lives in the bay area he can't think for himself.
DeleteYou mean there's some question about conservatives being out of control psychopaths?? Golly, gee, yes! You're RIGHT! We need to edit out the "out of control" part and add the term sociopaths as well as psychopaths.
DeleteAt least Obama has provided all his tax returns, and doesn't hide his money in the Cayman Islands. Nor has the Mormon Church helped Obama to avoid paying any taxes at all for almost a decade, by selling him a slice of their tax-exempt status, in exchange for him making sizable church donations.
Republican Gomers. They believe whatever crap gets shoveled into their ear canals by Limburger and his ilk.
@6:29 is right on. I am listening to the Cabbage Nation and the Whiner is putting forth the case against Obama. Among his indictments of the president is that Obama took vacations at the expense of taxpayers! Holy Sh*t!!!! You can't make this stuff up. The right repubs are insane in the membrane.
DeleteI, for one, will be watching the returns on MSNBC.
ReplyDeleteYes, I like to listen to the coverage supplied by my home team, just like the Giants.
And, yes, I am partisan---even spent a few weeks in Florida this year walking precints for Obama/Biden.
I am a white male, 65 years old, and high income (though, not in Romney's league) = Prime candidate for GOP. But, seriously folks, did you really listen to the field of candidates on the Republican side this time?
True story about walking precincts in West Palm Beach this October---> ran into a GOP precinct walker and we chatted a bit. He was wearing a "Youth for Romney" t-shirt. He was older than I! LOL!
The fact it will be close? America is struggling with a black president. Just read the Yahoo posts..hate. Bush never got that kind of unrelenting hate-and he should have- from the public. He got rid of Osama-Kadafi..makes no difference. Not evening saving the auto industry. ALL his skin color he was born with.
ReplyDeleteWord.
DeleteYou just expressed what few will admit to. I don't give a damn if anyone doesn't like it. Repubs are heavily influenced at the moment by a Tea Party element that does have a distinct racist and anti immigrant tinge. Explains why the right is so "energized" and "fired-up" to get this president out of office...Keep in mind, Mitt is their bottom-of-the barrel choice. During the GOP primaries, they wanted ANYONE but Mitt.
DeleteBO doesnt suck due to his skin color, his ideology is to blame.
Delete5:23 PM doesn't "give a damn" if anyone objects to his contention that it is racism that has energized the right in the presidential campaign. I guess he's failed to notice that the opposition is always fired up to unseat an incumbent. I also guess that, as he mounted himself up on his hill of righteousness, he overlooked the fact that it is specifically the "illegal" status of certain immigrants that has aroused Tea Party members.
DeleteSo damn typical here in the Bay Area. Self-righteous leftists using distortion and outright lies to justify their politics.
AND..did you all see that political ad on KRON??.. I say WORST EVER. Somebody named Virginia...and it shows internet photos and VIDS of terrorists or criminals beheading captives...real people. Disgusting. PEOLPLE'S HEADS BEING SAWED OFF. I couldnt beleive it!..on TV!..THE NEWS!
ReplyDeleteWHO ON KRON approved that????
S
Those wonderful political ads will soon be gone. Shucks
ReplyDeletere: 10:51am - As long as it doesn't contain blatant sexual images or language that would lead to FCC fines, KRON will put whatever you want on the air so long as you have the money. Literally - meet their price and they'll put whatever else you want on the air. And yes, KRON's price is pretty low these days.
ReplyDeleteTHE RUNAWAY MINE TRAIN!!! MITT ROMNEY WINS BIG!!!
ReplyDeletelol
DeleteThis may not count for much, but figured I'd pass it on.
ReplyDeleteThere's a website called the TalkingPointsMemo.com, run by a guy named Joshua Marshall. Very bright guy. Went to Princeton with my younger sister, and she introduced me to the site years ago before anyone was paying much attention.
"TPM" has it's own polltracker, which has had Obama in the lead almost from the start, with one hiccup post first debate. polltracker basically compiles all the polls, and maybe has its own thing. I'm not sure.
Today, Mr. Marshall "tweeted" that a group of Wall Street big dogs were all together, and believe Romney has it won; that Ohio is in the bag. I don't tweet, but my sister does, and she emailed it to me.
I know a lot of people in finance, and while I cannot call up Jamie Dimon or Steve Schwarmen, there are certainly others I can call. Besides, with the storm in New York I was figuring the supposed "big dogs" story was a farce, since I can't imagine any of them meeting for dinner recently. Most of the traders and financiers I know spent this week in either Jersey City, local branches, or at home offices. There weren't a lot of steak dinners downtown.
So I made a few emailed/called. The response was generally the same from the 4 people I contacted. 3 Republicans, no conservatives, 1 Liberal Democrat. The liberal Democrat actually works for a private equity firm that is closer to Bain/Romney than any other firm in the country.
All 3 Republicans said, to paraphrase, "It looks like Obama is going to win."
One followed up with, "If there's one thing Wall St hates it's 'not knowing', and Romney has never provided us certainty about anything." I found that telling.
The Liberal said, "Florida seems to be going to Romney but the Northern states are all going to go Obama."
Sidenote: the liberal is actually in Florida, and not NY.
It is my own belief that polling is becoming more and more inaccurate because of cell phones and the major sampling errors relating to minorities.
My uneducated guess is the Wall St-Financial types are going to be correct.
David Gergen has worked for many presidents..most significantly Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. His observations are extremely well-informed. He makes clear distinctions between reality and his own partisan leanings. I love David Gergen, and I'm no rightie.
ReplyDeleteI recall that some years ago Gloria Borger was definitely supporting the Republican side of things. Then as time passed, she was given a regular political commentator position on CNN and recently she has seemed neutral. Peggy Noonan was a Republican speechwriter and she does not try to appear neutral. However, she is of the old Republican style and not bat shit crazy so she has been critical of Romney and the Republicans at times when it is called for. She is usually pretty interesting in her points.
ReplyDeleteI adore Chris Matthews and very much like David Gergen. I'll be flipping channels. My prediction, in case anyone cares, is Obama wins quickly because he gets the 3 swing states that get him to the electoral votes that he needs and while it's a close election, it's not as close as people predict. I will check back here and look at my post to see how right I was!
ReplyDeleteSssshhh....The National, Cable, & Local Mainstream Media Outlets are so far up Obama's ass, that they can see his Tonsils...And you don't have to be Stevie Wonder to not see it!
ReplyDelete10:23...that b.s.
DeleteObama owes the Mainstream Media a Big Wet Kiss for his Victory...After all they were his biggest Cheerleaders. So Nov 6, @ 10:13 AM, you're telling me my eyes were lying, I'm not the only one saying this!
Delete