Chris : "The warm-fuzzy-o-meter is only a single factor; good ideas and the ability to execute them are more important." Absolutely. Latest stats I know of say that the GOP base, likely voters, is 91% in support of Romney. This says that ( 1 ) grim determination is very strong, and ( 2 ) it is an anti-Obama vote. Warm and fuzzy might be nice but it isn't necessary. There also is the factor of race, and it serves to make matters more polarized than would otherwise have been the case. I think that what is going on isn't remotely like racism on the Right but IS --as a generalization with many exceptions-- a case of deep skepticism that a "black" candidate can, viscerally, have the interests of white Americans at heart, this anxiety re-inforced by 3+ years of policies that 3 out of 4 white males dislike intensely, even though white women still support BHO by 10 points or so. The converse of this among Democrats is romanticization of "color" as some sort of stigma in reverse, a sigh of divine blessing, or atonement for the racial sins of the nation in past decades. My take at the moment. Your point about ideas seems to be mostly, by far, on the Republican side of the ledger. Where are the Democrats' ideas this year ? On the Right there is a clash of ideas with some coalescing around the views of the fiscal conservatives. NOT unanimity, but more coalescing than not. But GOP and "ideas," to me, is almost an oxymoron. Because the GOP offers up a steaming hot platter of old ideas. Maybe that is better than a cold platter of "no ideas," but, either way, it sure doesn't make me very happy. Disgruntled in Oregon Billy 5/9/2012 9:04:27 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
You are right Billy, on the warm-fuzzy-o-meter Romney is close to zero. Obama at least has energetic daughters and a seemingly-nice dog. He is also willing to be filmed missing 3-pointers on the basketball court. I would say that the wives of the two men are both assets, probably about equally, but Ann Romney is relatively more important because Mitt fails to engender a sense of personal closeness. The warm-fuzzy-o-meter is only a single factor; good ideas and the ability to execute them are more important. Chris From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2012 12:13 AM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: [RC] [ RC ] Bully Pulpit David : So far there have been few presidents who have used the "power to persuade" --the Bully Pulpit-- very effectively. I'd say that the only ones in recent history have been TR himself, FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, and RR. Several candidates, if they had been elected , might have had the skills for this ; Bryan, Stevenson, Buchanan, Huckabee ( in 2008, since then he has bombed-out ), and Newt come to mind. The best at it was either JFK or FDR, although in his own way Reagan had the ability to sway people, not so much with substance but with reassurance. TR made the most use of the pulpit and went on all kinds of speaking tours to give speeches and sometimes major policy statements. But, yeah, the current occupant of the WH has even stopped giving press conferences. Instead it has been campaign mode almost from day # 1 onward. He thinks of himself as MLK, which is delusional. Basically BHO doesn't know what he is doing, he still is a rank amateur. His base won't jump ship but even some of them aren't happy. I simply can't see him getting anything like the totals he pulled in 2008. If only the GOP had a candidate who inspired even a little enthusiasm. On the Warm-Fuzzy-Feelings-O-Meter, zero to 100, the dial, for me, hardly budges above 0.025 %. Republican version of Al Gore. Not quite that bad, but close. O, hell. Billy ============================================ 5/8/2012 8:51:48 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) writes: You may want to avoid the activities of the current occupant, who has become so ubiquitous on TV that I turn the damn thing off when he comes on. He has, IMHO, turned the Bully pulpit into the Bull**** pulpit. David "Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection."—Neal Boortz On 5/8/2012 2:11 PM, [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) wrote: A Radical Centrist president can campaign for candidates he favors and can campaign against candidates he wants to remove from office. An RC president can order intelligence services to investigate criminality or threats to the United States. Depending on circumstances this might mean investigating lending practices by large banks, or such practices as reverse mortgages in which banks have a license to steal real property for a fraction of real value, can investigate labor unions guilty of unfair practices, can seek to uncover criminality among political movements like Neo-Nazis, Neo-Communists, and Anarchists, and much else, all of which have political dimensions. This includes investigating criminal religious organizations like the MSA, Muslim Students Association, with its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. An RC president could seek to create a mass movement in favor of Radical Centrism. Many opportunities for this exist, such as invitations to the WH for RC leaders, and publicity that would result, granting interviews with RC publications or to talk show hosts, and so forth. An RC president could propose legislation which could be introduced to the Congress by any supporters he may have in either chamber. That, by itself, would hardly ensure passage, but with effective WH campaigning on behalf of proposed legislation some bills ought to be voted on and approved. The WH can review any and all budget proposals favored by both parties and offer critiques of as many parts of these budgets and desired. In the process the president could offer suggestions for resolving budget conflicts. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community _<[email protected]>_ (mailto:[email protected]) Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_ (http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism) Radical Centrism website and blog: _http://RadicalCentrism.org_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/) -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_ (http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism) Radical Centrism website and blog: _http://RadicalCentrism.org_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/) -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
