It's morning in Obama's America

[OttoVonBismarck]

Umm, so you don't know much about the nation then? We don't want a fattie nor do we want someone from New Jersey.

I don't necessarily agree with either of those things. Chris Christie has the right template to beat Obama but he may lack the particulars. The fat issue is one I thought was a no brainer as well, but I don't know that it's actually that big of a problem. Clinton was a major fatty in spirit (sending his aides on missions to get McDonald's regularly) and his first term jogging/weight loss program was pretty well known. Clinton was never as physically large as Christie (meaning he never actually had small planets orbiting around him), but America is a lot fatter in 2012 than it was in 1994. We're like a 70% fat, 35% obese country. I think it's prime time for a 350 lb President.

[Neil]

Fuck Ronald Reagan.  I could have been born under the benevolent watch of Jimmy Carter.

Wouldn't that have just kicked the revolution down the road a bit, and possibly made it worse?

[OttoVonBismarck]

You can once again try and spin it, but looking at those poll numbers you yourself tried to use before, Obama broke away in polling starting in May/June when the Dow started dropping and then utterly ran away with victory when the economy totally went to hell in September.

Yeah, the idea that Palin cost McCain the Presidency is, quite honestly, bullshit. His numbers went up when he chose Palin, and they went down when the economy tanked.

I hate Palin. All smart people on the internet hated Palin. However, most Americans are stupid, stupid people, and Palin energized McCain's base. After 2-3 straight years of "pundit Palin" and all the sordid details about her coming out, yeah, she looks like a stupid pick. However I think a lot of people's (justified) hatred of Palin has clouded their perception of what actually happened when McCain nominated her--it measurably helped his campaign.

[Sheilbh]

You can once again try and spin it, but looking at those poll numbers you yourself tried to use before, Obama broke away in polling starting in May/June when the Dow started dropping and then utterly ran away with victory when the economy totally went to hell in September.

It's not spin.  I don't think the economy's determinative. 

[OttoVonBismarck]

I only say Obama's an impressive campaigner.  I think Clinton and Reagan were probably better - aside from that he's the best recent President.

No way we could ever know since Reagan and Clinton essentially ran in years in which almost any politician from their party would have won election.

Reagan won against a Jimmy Carter who was ripe with failure and all it took is a half hearted effort to warm the American people up to knocking him out of the Oval Office. Walter Mondale is probably the single worst candidate ever nominated by a major party for the Presidency. My great-grandmother could have beaten him in an election.

Clinton ran against H.W. Bush who was a good President but you had Perot as a spoiler and the economy was having trouble all at the same time.

In 1996 the GOP made the decision to nominate an honorable, decent man and a war hero. Unfortunately that was what Bob Dole was in life, in 1996 he was a reanimated zombie that had been restored to life by some GOP necromancer, and he was just simply not a viable candidate.

[garbon]

Umm, so you don't know much about the nation then? We don't want a fattie nor do we want someone from New Jersey.

I don't necessarily agree with either of those things. Chris Christie has the right template to beat Obama but he may lack the particulars. The fat issue is one I thought was a no brainer as well, but I don't know that it's actually that big of a problem. Clinton was a major fatty in spirit (sending his aides on missions to get McDonald's regularly) and his first term jogging/weight loss program was pretty well known. Clinton was never as physically large as Christie (meaning he never actually had small planets orbiting around him), but America is a lot fatter in 2012 than it was in 1994. We're like a 70% fat, 35% obese country. I think it's prime time for a 350 lb President.

So yeah none of that rebuts what I said. Fattie in spirit can't compete with someone from New Jersey who recalls times of Presidents getting trapped in tubs.

[Sheilbh]

I hate Palin. All smart people on the internet hated Palin. However, most Americans are stupid, stupid people, and Palin energized McCain's base. After 2-3 straight years of "pundit Palin" and all the sordid details about her coming out, yeah, she looks like a stupid pick. However I think a lot of people's (justified) hatred of Palin has clouded their perception of what actually happened when McCain nominated her--it measurably helped his campaign.

It did, in the short-term and it possibly did with the GOP base for the election.  But her favourability rating and her approval rating plummeted during the election - they went from positive to negative in a month.  There was already concerns about her ability - remember the relish with which CdM looked forward to Biden debating with her and the general sense that he may go too hard and look sexist.  She attracted the wrong sort of press for a VP candidate (again compare with Romney, Cheney, Gore...).  The story that McCain picked her after one meeting fed into the narrative that he was a bit impulsive - a view that was furthered by the September freeze of his campaign.  She was potentially a wonderful pick, she didn't pan out.  Similarly I think, had she stayed as Governor, spent some time building her credibility on a few domestic issues (like energy) and building a foreign policy team she would have been a formidable Presidential candidate.  She decided not to in the end, which is a shame.

It wasn't the only, or even the main factor in losing the election but the Palin pick did hurt McCain's campaign. 

[garbon]

I think he's a pretty impressive campaigner.

If only he had the goal of being a pretty impressive president.

I think he has.  He's got more significant domestic legislation than any President since Reagan, at least, and I think his  foreign policy's been strong.  He's up there with Bush I on foreign policy in my view.

You may not think that what he's done is right but he has, for the most part, achieved it.

Okay.

[Sheilbh]

No way we could ever know since Reagan and Clinton essentially ran in years in which almost any politician from their party would have won election.

By that token surely the most successful recent campaigners were W, Carter and Nixon?

Also I still think it takes ability to turn elections which someone should win into actually winning it.  Our last election was like that.  Despite running against Gordon Brown in the middle of a recession and being more trusted on the economy the Tories still couldn't win the election - I think that was because their campaign was an absolute mess.

[Admiral Yi]

Umm, so you don't know much about the nation then? We don't want a fattie nor do we want someone from New Jersey.

Three years ago your pick for president was a woman with an ass the size of a Nimitz class carrier.

[Sheilbh]

Umm, so you don't know much about the nation then? We don't want a fattie nor do we want someone from New Jersey.

I think this is right. Maybe Mitch Daniels or Jeb Bush?

Based solely on a couple of speeches I think the best candidate (although maybe for 2016) would be Rubio

Edit:  And obviously this year the best GOP candidate would have been Huckabee

[Phillip V]

I only say Obama's an impressive campaigner.  I think Clinton and Reagan were probably better - aside from that he's the best recent President.

No way we could ever know since Reagan and Clinton essentially ran in years in which almost any politician from their party would have won election.

Reagan won against a Jimmy Carter who was ripe with failure and all it took is a half hearted effort to warm the American people up to knocking him out of the Oval Office. Walter Mondale is probably the single worst candidate ever nominated by a major party for the Presidency. My great-grandmother could have beaten him in an election.

Clinton ran against H.W. Bush who was a good President but you had Perot as a spoiler and the economy was having trouble all at the same time.

In 1996 the GOP made the decision to nominate an honorable, decent man and a war hero. Unfortunately that was what Bob Dole was in life, in 1996 he was a reanimated zombie that had been restored to life by some GOP necromancer, and he was just simply not a viable candidate.

Clinton never even won a majority of the vote in either election. 43% in 1992.

Prior to Obama, the last Democrat to win a majority was Carter in 1976 with 50.1%

[garbon]

Umm, so you don't know much about the nation then? We don't want a fattie nor do we want someone from New Jersey.

Three years ago your pick for president was a woman with an ass the size of a Nimitz class carrier.

I like this notion that Christie's weight is in the norm for successful candidates.

[Admiral Yi]

I like this notion that Christie's weight is in the norm for successful candidates.

I like your hard-wired genetic preference for women with gigantic asses.

[garbon]

I like this notion that Christie's weight is in the norm for successful candidates.

I like your hard-wired genetic preference for women with gigantic asses.

Yes because liking one woman whose ass isn't in Christie's league demonstrates that.