VP Debate: The Winner is Martha Raddatz

Joe Biden did a good job of forcefully defending the policies of the Obama administration. Paul Ryan did not screw up. But the real winner is Martha Raddatz who did a fantastic job keeping the combative candidates in check. She also asked very good questions. I don’t agree with Ryan, but more than Romney he image [Read More]

Poem for Columbus Day

Columbus sailed the ocean blue

Back in 1492.

He sailed across and spotted land,

A beach, and people on the sand.

He called them Indians because

He had no idea where he was,

India was just a guess.

When in doubt, declare success.

“Columbus sailed the ocean blue…”

Poem by Ramon Montaigne

Debate 1: Romney won

Romney scored against Obama last night. He was an agile fighter, Obama seemed tired.  The LA times summarizes well what transpired. Mitt Romney makes smooth shift to center in debate with Obama In his first debate with the president, the Republican works on his empathy problem and appears to gain momentum. WASHINGTON — The small group of voters [Read More]

Revealing Mitt Romney

I suspected that a key motivation for Mitt Romney to run for president is that he wants to achieve what his father did not. Nicholas Lehman in his New Yorker profile provides evidence that this interpretation is correct. The profile makes you understand Mitt Romney very well. TRANSACTION MAN: Mormonism, private equity, and the making image [Read More]

The Turning Point in the Election

This may be the turning point in the election.  David Brooke’s explains why. Thurston Howell Romney In 1980, about 30 percent of Americans received some form of government benefits. Today, as Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute has pointed out, about 49 percent do. In 1960, government transfers to individuals totaled $24 billion. By 2010, that image [Read More]

Where the polls on Obama vs. Romney

From ABC News: The American public may be divided on “Obamacare,” but when faced with choosing a candidate to care for them if illness struck, President Obama is their man. By a 13 point margin – 49-36 percent – registered voters polled by ABC News chose the president over Mitt Romney to nurse them back image [Read More]