With a sinking economy and few accomplishments to his credit, President Obama has been doing the only thing an incumbent in his position can do: trash his opponent. Democratic attacks on Mitt Romney’s business record have taken a toll on the Republican candidate, but the assault on his record as an investor can only go so far. The president’s base may buy into the claims that Romney’s wealth was gained only by outsourcing American jobs abroad, but most are not that gullible. The line between throwing mud at Romney and trashing capitalism is very thin. If the president is going to go to the polls as the champion of propping up doomed businesses with bailouts as opposed to creating wealth and jobs by promoting those that can succeed, Romney will win. However, Romney’s problem is not so much his record at Bain Capital as it is the idea that he is an out of touch rich guy. And that, rather than Bain, is the real Democrat target, as today’s front page story in the Sunday New York Times rightly points out.
Seen in that light, Democratic strategists had to be pleased this week when photos of a shirt-sleeved President Obama on his working class bus tour of Ohio were contrasted with pictures of Romney jet-skiing on a New Hampshire lake while on a July 4th vacation with his family. Republicans who remember the points they scored when photographers caught John Kerry windsurfing during the 2004 campaign probably winced when they saw Romney cavorting on the water. But it remains to be seen whether Barack Obama–the candidate of Hollywood elites and who recently was hosted at a gala fundraiser in New York by Sarah Jessica Parker where his candidacy was touted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour–can convince wavering independent voters he is the champion of the working class. The question for the country is not so much who’s the rich guy in the race as who is the one who is out of touch with the country’s economic dilemma. While Romney’s weakness has always been his inability to connect with ordinary voters, Obama’s is that he is the guy in charge of an economy where employment is shrinking rather than growing.
Obama’s ordinary guy pose is as phony as the image of Romney as the top-hatted plutocrat from the Monopoly board game. Obama is as comfortable cavorting with the rich as Romney, and were he a Republican rather than a Democrat and the first African-American president, the mainstream liberal press would be roasting him over his frequent golf breaks and hobnobbing with the coastal elites. Moreover, Obama is misguided if he thinks economic rhetoric stolen from Occupy Wall Street protests is a political winner. While the Times may think this is no longer an aspirational society that admires rather than resents success, there is no evidence the majority of Americans agree.
While the Bain attacks have scored some points, Democrats are actually fighting on Romney’s ground when they seek to determine the election on the question of who is the better economic steward or job creator. Romney’s gaffes and general awkwardness have beguiled them into thinking his wealth and business success is a weakness. But, as Friday’s latest jobs report shows, this vulnerability on the GOP standard-bearer’s part is nothing when compared to the president’s failures. Class warfare tactics may rouse the liberal base, but they are bound to fall flat with swing voters who want to know why the president is still blaming his predecessors for the state of the country.
Thus, the Democrats’ harping on Romney’s money and what Bain did is actually a trap they are setting for themselves. Romney’s campaign has been rightly criticized for a strategy that appears to be aimed at playing it safe and avoiding the bold proposals that would provide a clearer alternative to Obama’s dependence on big government solutions. But as long as the campaign is being fought on the question of job creation and the economy, the Republican has the upper hand. Trashing the challenger is the only way to go when you can’t run on your record, but so long as Romney can point to the country’s economic decline on Obama’s watch, his business acumen remains an asset rather than a defect.
"While the Times may think this is no longer an aspirational society that admires rather than resents success, there is no evidence the majority of Americans agree."—-except one little tiny piece of evidence: The majority of Americans elected a guy named Barack Obama President of the United States of America even though it was obvious he wanted to sock it to "the Rich" and engaged in classwarefare rhetoric (recall his bogus "no taxes on those under $250,000" pledge??).
….so long as Romney can point to the country’s economic decline on Obama’s watch, his business acumen remains an asset rather than a defect. n nThat's true if: (1) the public sees him as a businessman, an entrepreneur, a creator of things and not as a Wall Street financier-type who manipulated wealth for his own enrichment and (2) Romney's business experience helps him devise and implement a plan that the public believes has a chance of improving things. n nThe Obama campaign is clearly trying to portray him as a wealth manipulator who only cared about profits and not people. That appears in some places – like Ohio – to be working if only so slightly. As to the second and more important point: I'm increasingly coming to the conclusion that Americans believe that neither candidate has a plan to do just that. They don't like either approach – more Keynesian spending and government led programs or more tax cuts that won't affect them and increase demand. And they don't think, rightly so I might add, that either will work. n nSo, if it's a tie economically, who wins out? n nI'm going to guess 2008 redux. The public didn't really like Bush but they disliked Kerry even more. If that happens look to see the more likeable Obama beating Romney.
Corporate profits and cash reserves are booming at pre-recession levels, whatever the mistakes and transgressions or serial hypocrisies of Team O. Maybe some folks here thrill to promises to cut capital gains and marginal rates but a lot of folks won't. I see some folks here are also distressed by economic data. Too bad. Try running a campaign whose centerpiece, front and center, is the Hannity-Mark Levin lament that the entrepreneurial genius innovators, leaders, visionaries and Founding Father footstepped heroes of commerce aren't getting the props from the envious plebs they deserve. n nYeah yeah yeah, the aristocrats of capital. We should kiss their feet in tearful gratitude. See how far that gets you. n nOh wait, that's doubleungoodspeak.
Obama supporters don't know what capital gains and marginal rates are
nothing is going to sink Romney. he is on course to finish a strong second and will so remain.
I think 2008 or 1948 is a good bet. Truman was also unpopular, at the time. And Obama's ability to interact with normal folks isn't a sham or a pose. Sure, he is a rich son of a gun, a celebrity hound, and our own Tiger Woods-in-Chief. But he doesn't seem visibly uncomfortable or weirded out in the hinterlands as Romney does, whose stiff overly gee-golly defense mechanism when he's compelled to mingle with the hoi polloi can be downright creepy. A politician who radiates his own personal uncanny valley is at a distinct advantage in a campaign which is equal parts national economic self-assessment, ideological contest, and high school popularity contest.
This is not a popularity contest. nThis election is for the survival of the United States of America as it used to be. n nIt would be great if Romney had the charisma of Ronald Reagan,…he doesn't. nWhat he does have is a tremendous amount of experience in turning poor economic situations around and giving the entity a chance to survive. n nRomney may appear robotic in certain situations, but he knows how to make strides toward fixing the economic mire that the democrats have put US in. nObviously Obama does not, and if re-elected will put this Country in such dire straits we may never recover. n nI'll take a robotic successful entrepreneur over a personable man whose policies are going to destroy this Country any day. nThe choice is ours.
This is America. The Presidency is always partly a popularity contest. And the "survival of the America as it used to be" is already a lost battle. Fuggedabudit. As someone who remembers the America that "used to be" with marginal non-Europen immigration and blacks frozen out of the labor market and, on the Dem side, a thriving private sector blue collar labor union movement–that ain't coming back and a campaign based on nostalgia for an idealized yesteryear is demographically hobbled. Coz those folks who live in the America as it be now arent all that hopped up for a chance to turn back the clock. n nRomney has experience leveraging financial capital to pick underperforming diamonds in the rough, fronting the companies own assets as collateral. Whether his business management expertise is necessary to adopt pro-business macro-economic policies is a toss-up–Paul Ryan has the same prescription without that resume. And as President, Romney's whole point is that he won't, as a government Executive be micro-managing anything. It is the Dems who try to use government as a turn-around agent. The GOP (supposedly) doesn't want the guv'mint to intervene with a different mix of strategies, it wan't the government OUT. n n
No need to reply to mikefoxtrot- he is an obama troll …as far as besht2003- Obama's interaction is NOT a sham? you mean that arrogant, elitist, gofl playing, martha vineyard vacationing guy interacts well with the common folk? What a joke ! It will not be 2008 redux- that we can be sure of. Neither will it be 1948 redux- different times and a very different candidate (truman was actually a man of the people-unlike the chicago pol Obama). This is a repeat of 2004- an unpopular imcumbent and a (partly) stiif challenger. And the incumbent barely won- this is going to be a very close election and I am not even sure if the "rich man" attacks now will play in three months time when unemployment may very well have gone up….
Agreed. nThe American voter had better get a grip on the situation we're in before the next election, otherwise we're screwed. nThe 2008 election forced many people to hold their nose and vote for McCain, I did. nI feel that this time we have a valid alternative to Obama directly due to the economic situation. nIf the election is close, Obama's thugs will steal it. nIt has got to be a landslide for Romney.
nyuk nyuk nyuk. mickey. I'm not even an Obama fan or someone who voted for him. n nI'm just sorta reality-based and like some of you , prone to begin salivating whenever Tobin or someone shakes the bells on his cap.
I mean that Obama comes off as an actual human being. And that Romney, in his public appearances comes off as the star of Stepfather III: Daddy's Home. It isn't a joke. Obama's emotional range and his life-experience, including his stoner incarnation and his self-crafted (and, yes, phony to whatever degree) project of forging an identity are genuinely "American". There may be a pony in there somewhere, but Romney's public (as opposed to media) game is weak. He is not an outstanding debater and O the convincing my turn up and O the petty, thin-skinned pedantic, stutterer stay home. 8.2 percent unemployment may turn out to be a floor as well as a ceiling. Again, people here don't like to hear it, but business profits and cash reserves are very healthy in aggregate terms and at pre-recession levels. They could hire and invest more but choose not to. There's no reason to believe private capital will dramatically slash hiring and investment either, absent an actual global depression. And then Romney's prescriptions may not be attractive if there is no potentially robust private sector to unleash.
The economy is dead in the water, unemployment is still over 8% and the race is tied? That Romney doesn't have a 7-10% lead tells us a great deal. n nSure, it's still early – the voters (that 5-10% if not more) who will likely decide this race aren't paying much attention – and the race is anyone's to win. Or more likely, lose. But if you're a Romney supporter (and I generally am), you have to be very very concerned. n nRomney needs a jolt, something to generate enthusiasm and put Obama on the defensive. A flat tax? Invasion of Mars (no, that's Krugman's idea)? Well, he needs something.
Romney has plenty of fuel to destroy Obama. nObama's constant rhetoric and interminable speeches with the sound and video on the internet should provide adequate 'ammo' to use his own words to destroy him. n nThat is if Romney is willing to use it. nNo mittens Mitt, put the boxing gloves on.
No, he can't destroy Obama. Or get elected doing so. I think the public has made its judgment about Mr. Obama and there's nothing more for Romney to reveal to the public about him. n nRomney needs to offer a plausible alternative for the public to grab on to. I think the electorate is willing to choose a different man; but they need something to vote for and not against. That is, "I'm voting for Romney" and not "I'm voting against Obama." n nIt's always difficult defeating an incumbent president especially when that president has large part of elite opinion – particularly the press – in his corner. Tearing down Obama further won't do it.
This is in response to your first paragraph. nIt depends on what sector of the public you are referring to. nSome of them can't name the VP. nSome have no conception of how congress works. n nI agree that Romney needs to put some info out there as to what he is going to do to at least make inroads into the economic doldrums we find ourselves in. nI am waiting for his plans also. n nHowever, even if he did, how many people would hear it, or understand it ? nThe blind Obama supporters will dismiss any alternative to Obama as a racist attempt to remove their savior, without even attempting to determine the results of another Obama term.
Agreed!!! Mitt needs to be polite as a person, but BRUTAL in the political sense. No, not "dirty", just brutal towards Obama's political record. And to do that, all Romney needs to do is be HONEST. Honest: what has Obama accomplished?, has Obama been a uniter or a divider?, do Americans feel more pride in our international status or less so?, has Obama's actions guaranteed more freedom or less freedom to us as Americans?, do you want 4 more years of the same kind of direction or not? n nHonesty about Obama: it won't come from the mainstream media and anything with an ounce of integrity knows it.
For 3 years, Obama has been frolicking with the plutocrat class in Hawaii and in the John Kerry New England luxury resorts. I have not seen any photograph spreads of these excesses. This includes Michelle's expensive vacations being billed to the taxpayers. Until Romney lets loose on such equivalent negative attack ads, he will go the way of McCain. This election can not be won by being a nice guy. I would even unleash material on Obama's suspect biography, but the present Romney strategists are too set on not offending the Sharptons who will call Romney a racist regardless of what he says.
" This election can not be won by being a nice guy." n nMaybe this time it will. nIntelligent nice guys allow the competition to thrust and parry at will while noting any chinks in the armor. nObama has many chinks in his armor. nTiming is everything. n
wet birds don't fly at night. n nmeasure twice, cut once. n nAFVET talks the talk, but can he get the worm?
We don't want "the worm". n nWe want Obama. Out of office. FOREVER.
The worm is in the White House. nIf you know where it is, it's easy to get. n nAs far as your references to 'wet birds' and the carpenter's mantra,…..? n
Hopefully this time it can AFVET. Hopefully. I hate seeing lying evil always win.
I want to see Romney come off of this well earned vacation STRONG AND BOLD… otherwise, yes, we lose. n nMitt, sock it to um!
How can Romney go populist?. For eight years he' s been running for President not healing lepers, and his lifestyle is one Obama can only aspire too, notwithstanding O's Sammy Glick exploitation of the Rezko largesse and his robust enjoyment of the expense perks of being President. Romney is uber-rich. The interest on his uber-richness alone makes him rich. He's worked plenty hard in the past but today he is in the enviable position of making money by breathing. He owns six homes, including a ski-lodge and two lakeside getaways in New Hampshire. For some folks the Vineyard is a step down.
Yeah, and the Obama's have US Air Force jets and Marine helicopters at their beck and call. nBullet proof limos transported anywhere he needs them worldwide. nAll on the taxpayer's dollar. n nYou malign Romney for being rich, and having multiple homes. nJohn Kerry married money, do you malign him ? nJohn McCain married money, do you malign him ? n nRomney did not marry money. n nObama is living like a fat cat on our dime and you blame Romney for living on his. nGo figure !
SFW? Every President has the US Air Force and Marine helicopters at their beck and call. They don't hitchhike and they all live high on the hog. I'm baffled here. All Presidents, Democrat or Repubiican live the life of Reilly. The White House is replete with royal butlers, hairdressers, decorators and on and on. You think they sit around warming baloney sandwiches over sterno cans? And guess what, if Romney ever gets to be yet another "people's President" he'll live like a fat cat on your dime too. But for now, he just sits idly by and his money generates more of itself on its own dime. n nHooray!!!! n n I don't malign Romney for being super rich. I merely point out that he belongs to the same class as the Kennedy clan or Kerry (though not of Soros or a Steve Jobs who could afford to have his DNA personally sequenced). Although Romney was born to money and connections no one denies that he worked for it. But he ain't working for it no more and has rejoined the aristocratic capitalist rentier class. His prior wealth, his money, snuggled away like guinea pigs and netted him 21 million dollars in FY 2011 without him lifting a finger. n nMy hero. n n
That lifestyle is what Americans should aspire to. nGive a man a fish,… etc. nIt will be interesting to see what Romney does with the current welfare system and the blowback that will ensue.
This is a very good observation. nMake the comparison: nObama has to go to Martha's Vine Yard, paid for by us tax payers nRomney enjoying family and friends on his earned wealth and sound investment. nRomney sure looks like he is having a good time. nSure makes choosing who the real winner is easy!
"Republicans who remember the points they scored when photographers caught John Kerry windsurfing during the 2004 campaign probably winced when they saw Romney cavorting on the water" n nThis sentiment is as wrong as two boys humping. All real Americans LOVE jet skis. Wind surfing, on the other hand, is exactly the sort of thing one would expect from vegans, sex poodles and democrats. To compare the two is like comparing hamburgers with fruitcakes. n
Yes we do!
I read most of the responses and they are very much in line with others- so I won't bother commenting on them. Yours, on the other hand, hits the bull's eye! I, too, thought that the jet ski story was totally overblown- outdoors men (and women) love it- and many do it! Windsurfing, on the other hand…..phew!!!
This article is incorrect about pretty much everything but the fact that the attacks on Romney are working, The reason the attacks are working is because the public knows the economy is in such a state of disrepair that there isn't much Obama or any president can do to fix it. Part of why the public doesn't blame Obama is that it knows the economy was put in this situation by the business and political elements of the country's right wing. It also knows the GOP has refused to allow Obama's policy proposals to go forward because it thinks it can get the public to simply blame Obama if the economy remains weak.
Your Obama did have time to improve this economy, and instead spent our hard earned tax dollars on Solyndra, cronie bailouts, and stimulus… what a waste! n nMitt can bring back our economy and gets my vote.
Is that you, Bill Maher? n nGet a clue, and get it fast. America hangs in the balance and blind obedience to ANYONE who wields power in a selfish, destructive manner won't do anyone any good.
I disagree with your 'right wing' label–and probably disagree by saying that O's response has been ineffective, spendthrift, authoritarian, overly ambitious and under planned. But I do agree that the private ownership capital sector is fine with the current situation. But disagree that the GOP wishes to make the economy "weak" by blocking O's proposals–this contradicts even your own thought: O cant do all that much (so why waste gazillions more doing more of it?). And O himself says the economy is not "weak" per se–we are not in the blown out shuttered factory days of the Depression. But it ain't hiring and could expand more but won't–sitting on huge cash reserves. And for absolute sure blocking the one sector that *wants* to expand–our energy companies, through anti-Keystone, anti carbon dioxide nuts and berries green EPA regulation is insane.
Romney does not need to outdo Obama. Obama, in many ways is irrelevant. He will be voted out of an office he should never have been voted into. Romney needs to travel to the 50 states,listen to WE THE PEOPLE and plan to govern ALL in manner that helps TAKE BACK/RESTORE America to the faith based, constitution respecting, law abiding, opportunity for all nation our ancestors and Founding Fathers worked-in some instances-died for. Romney needs to restore fiscal responsibility by overhauling our foreign policies-stop supporting every nation on the face of the earth-help when needed, to a logical, sensible extent. Get America out of Un and UN out of America. Cut funding to ALL anti-America states. Bring ALL our military home: put drones and fighter jets in the skies, Warship on the water, nuclear sub-marines under and military boots on borders with orders to shoot ALL interlopers. If Romney plans to accomplish that TO DO list and tells WE THE PEOPLE how and when, he will have earned the right to the vote banking him POTUS. Keep the faith and the conversation going.
Amen to he should never have been put into office..
Our Founding Fathers were fine with a vote that excluded non-whites, all women, and white men without property (the property requirement for white men was lifted state by state until about 1850). And about that border. Texas was originally Mexican and Americans came there as Mexican immigrants. What with one thing and the other, Santa Anna, Davey Crocket, the Alamo, General Scott and wars Texas became an American state with its southern border the Rio Grande. But that border was an OPEN border for some 75 years. Folks freely passed back and forth, just like in the cowboy movies. A fluid situation leading to General Pershing's expedition against Pancho Villa. Our present situation doesn't come out of nowheres.
Just wait until Myth's wifes horse is featured at the Olympics and people see that they write it off as a business expense to the tune of $78,000 a year.
Mitt is a success and rich. Dems hate that, unless of course its the riches of the likes or soros and Pelosi.
As compared to Lady Obama's ludicrously extravagant vacations on the tax payer's dime? Somehow I think most Americans will prefer Mrs. Romney's business tax deductions to the bitter resentment and ingratitude of the Obama tribe.
The horse is a noble beast displaying courage, loyalty, and persistence. The least we can do is subsidize equestrian sport with tax breaks aimed at giving these wonderful creatures an opportunity to shine at the Olympics. The cancelled series "LUCK" is highly recommended for a chance to see these gentle giants in action.
"the president is going to go to the polls as the champion of propping up doomed businesses with bailouts" n nWhat businesses are doomed? GM? Ford?
Obama has lost control of the dialogue and it's Romney's election to win or lose. Once he has actually won the Republican primaries he will need to start addressing issues apart from the economy. A healthcare proposal to replace Obamacare is one obvious example.
Romney IMO is a chess player. nHe is a patient man, surveying all contingencies before moving.
I didn't mind seeing Romney jet skiing, but then again, I support him totally. nNo dem made remarks as Obama played his 100th round of golf recently…. n nso, the dems will make a big deal.. They are scared, scared the Tea Party is still going strong.
If the Obamunists win, it will only accelerate the destruction of the American economy. If the establishment GOP wins, it will slow the process of disintegration somewhat, but since the GOP has never repealed any socialist programs, the end is preordained.
Having fun sifting through my comments. Well if you're going to fraudulent delete posts, I'll do this. And if yhou contact my ISP with some bogus crap, you'll end up regretting it. My baseball bat swings well.
The problem with the 1% scam is that it has nothing to do with earners of X amount of money. It's fostering resentment against anyone who has more than you have. This must be pointed out. Obama's creating an army of takers and they'll take from anyone who has anything left to take. One day anyone with any savings or ANY job will be burned at the stake as a One Percenter.
Just one point. Jet skis are not anything like wind surfers. Jet skis are like snowmobiles, i.e., toys for Joe Sixpack. Wind surfers are like cross country skis, i.e., toys for rich people. If any of you ever got out of Manhattan or DC, you might understand this stuff.
I hear ya. I was surprised to hear laura ingraham whining about it as well. She was just helping the other side and confirming their bs arguments.
For some reason, the Democrats don’t seem to have a problem with the Kennedys’ money.
Or John Kerry’s money.
Or John Edwards’ money.
I guess having a lot of money and running for president is only bad if you’re a Republican.
Hypocrites.
Tobin, I agree with your article. I think as Obama continues his trash line and his attempts at buying small group votes; his Hope&Change arguement is going out the door and the touchy/feely votes are dropping away from him. Its clear his Gay marriage support lost him a whole state with NC up until than it was tied up. So yeah as he continues down this trash path more states will drop away, IA likely next due to his trash talk!
The man doesn't drink beer, let him have his jet ski for heaven's sake! It's the new apple pie.
Amazing that Romney is portrayed as out of touch by a president that goes on vacation in homes that rent for $30,000/week, flies on a corp. 747, allows his wife to leave a couple hours early on vacation so they take 2 planes. Plays more golf then most Americans could ever play in the same period of time while in a high pressure demanding job, and Romney is out of touch. r nr nGive me a break, the only people that say that are coming from the lame stream prop up this Unpatriotic failure media.
Class warfare can take down Governor Romney and can take down America. n nObama is doing to America what Hugo Chavez did to Venezuela. Put enough people on the government dole, juice up the base with hateful rhetoric, and coast to victory. n nThe biggest danger arises from the willful lawlessness of the Obama and his cronies. When America's President picks and chooses what laws he will enforce, and makes up his own laws and regulations to meet his political needs, the main link in our Constitutional compact is irreparably broken, which will lead to a Pandora's box of institutional and individual lawlessness that cannot easily be put back into the box. n nThe "evolution" of Obama's "Hope and Change" has the makings of chaos that will make the Balkans look like a Sunday church picnic. n nThe threat to our national security is from within and will be listed on November's ballot as Barack Obama. Unless liberty-loving Americans stand together in this coming election and stomp out Obama's exercise in banana-Republic politics, America will devolve into chaos. n n
I think Romney's low-key "play nice" strategy is aimed at getting the "purples" back into the Republican camp after voting Democrat in 2008. I don't think it will work. I also wonder if some of the Republican bigwigs don't want Romney to win, thinking the party will be stronger with Obama in office another term.
I think we are at the point of dismissing the republican//democrat constraints that the politicians have corralled us into. nIt's simpler to define US as liberals vs. conservatives. nIf Romney doesn't win in November, the republican party will be deemed extinct. n nThe Tea Party Movement does not care what 'party' you belong to. nWe are more interested in your ideology.
I can't figure out why renting a jet ski for a few hours constitutes being rich.
Anyone who lives in a suburb has a neighbor who has a truck or SUV and a trailer with two jet skis on it. They are cheaper than the motorboats that pull water skiers. n nBesides, if the news media want to talk about the time Romney has spent on jet skis, if they have a single honest bone in their body they would point out that several years ago, Romney and his son Tagg used their jet skis to rescue people from a sinking boat on the lake. That is a perfect image for Romney: The rescuer, zooming in on his jet ski, to save us from sinking on the SS Obama.
Saul Alinsky was not out to tear down America. He genuinely thought his targets had unfair advantages and chose to work "within the system" as opposed to the armed revolution preached by folks like, well, like Bill Ayers. He also had a sense of humor lacking in his critics.
Did his 'sense of humor' include dedicating his book to Lucifer ? nchose to work "within the system", kinda like cancer does, HUH ? n nYou aren't fooling anybody besht2003.
AFVET and friends: yeah, it was his sense of humor: what you think Alinsky is a Satanist and O is the anti-Christ? Have you ever heard of John Milton and Paradise Lost? Jews, radical or otherwise, don't believe in "Lucifer" or "Satan" the way Christians do. He was NOT dedicating his book to the Prince of Darkness. This is the dedication: n n“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history… the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.” n nThis is a provocative way to say he is a radical–not a call to wear horns and engage in human sacrifice. n nYou guys watch way too much Glen Beck.
The worst case Obama could come up with was Bain buying a steel company that was headed for bankruptcy and investing $100 million of Bain's money in it to make it more competitive, and holding onto it for EIGHT YEARS. That is not "asset stripping", it is buying a company that had few assets and giving it MORE assets. The fact that it could not compete over time isnot the fault of Bain Capital, which lost money when its investment in that company went south. The real irony is that most of the public employee unions who campaign for Obama actually are getting MORE direct benefits from Bain Capital and its peers, who are ensuring there are adequate funds for their retirement. Are public employee unions the Gordon Gekkos of the economy, since they are making megamillions from these investments in copanies?