Obama Jokes about GOP View of Obamacare

The President spoke in Maryland yesterday about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) about to kick in for millions of Americans. He also had a few laughs at the expense of the GOP loonies who keep trying to repeal or stop Obamacare, even if they have to shut down the government.

 Just this week, we had Senator Ted Cruz R-Texas attempting a Filibuster (or Fauxlibuster or Sillybuster) to somehow stop the process of implementing Obamacare, with help from Sen. Mike Lee of Utah. Members of their own party from John McCain to Senator Bob Corker R-TN have stepped in to tell him off for his idiotic stance that has divided the Republican Party. Huffington Post reporter Ryan Grim also reported that Cruz himself doesn't need the Senate Health Care plan because - guess what? - he is covered by his wife's elegant-gold-plated health care plan from her employer Goldman Sachs. Sorry Ted Cruz - you fail at all the things, you big phoney hypocrite!

Quotes and Tweets on SnarkAmendment:
Smackdown: Sen. Bob Corker Vs. Ted Cruz on Obamacare
Line forms to criticize Ted Cruz after Filibuster Attempt
Talkative Ted Cruz fumbles to Fauxlibuster Finish Line
Green Eggs and Sham ~ The Ted Cruz Fauxlibuster Continues
Ted Cruz Attempts to Filibuster Obamacare

The Tea Party members quoted by the President include Rep. Michele Bachmann R-Minn. for saying Obamacare will "literally kill people" ; Rep. Bill O'Brien R-NH who compared ACA to the Fugitive Slave Act ; and Rep. John Fleming R-LA for the hyperbolic statement that Obamacare is the biggest threat to our country EVER, in history, EVER!

Transcript at WhiteHouse.Gov

THE PRESIDENT: It is interesting, though, how over the last couple years, the Republican Party has just spun itself up around this issue. And the fact is the Republicans’ biggest fear at this point is not that the Affordable Care Act will fail. What they’re worried about is it’s going to succeed. (Applause.) I mean, think about it. If it was as bad as they said it was going to be, then they could just go ahead and let it happen and then everybody would hate it so much, and then everybody would vote to repeal it, and that would be the end of it.

So what is it that they’re so scared about?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: You! (Laughter and applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: They have made such a big political issue out of this, trying to scare everybody with lies about “death panels” and “killing granny” -- (laughter) -- right? “Armageddon.” So if it actually works, they’ll look pretty bad. If it actually works, that will mean that everything they were saying really wasn’t true and they were just playing politics.

AUDIENCE: That's right!






THE PRESIDENT: Just the other day, one Republican in Congress said we need to shut this thing down before the marketplaces open and people get to see that they’ll be getting coverage and getting these subsidies because -- and I’m going to quote him here -- he said, “It’s going to prove almost impossible to undo Obamacare.” (Laughter.) Right? So in other words, we’ve got to shut this thing down before people find out that they like it. (Laughter and applause.) That’s a strange argument. Don’t you think that’s a strange argument?

AUDIENCE: Yes!

THE PRESIDENT: And the closer we get, the more desperate they get. I mean, over the last few weeks the rhetoric has just been cranked up to a place I’ve never seen before. One congressman said that Obamacare is “the most dangerous piece of legislation ever passed.” (Laughter.) Ever. In the history of America, this is the most dangerous piece of legislation. (Laughter.) Creating a marketplace so people can buy group insurance plans -- the most dangerous ever.

You had a state representative somewhere say that it’s “as destructive to personal and individual liberty as the Fugitive Slave Act.”

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: Think about that. Affordable health care is worse than a law that let slave owners get their runaway slaves back.

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: I mean, these are quotes. I’m not making this stuff up. And here’s one more that I’ve heard -- I like this one -- we have to -- and I’m quoting here -- “We have to repeal this failure before it literally kills women, kills children, kills senior citizens.” Now, I have to say -- that one was from six months ago -- I just want to point out we still have women -- (laughter) -- we still have children, we still have senior citizens. (Applause.)

All this would be funny if it wasn’t so crazy. And a lot of it is just hot air. A lot of it is just politics. I understand that. But now the tea party Republicans have taken it to a whole new level because they’re threatening either to shut down the government, or shut down the entire economy by refusing to let America pay its bills for the first time in history -- unless I agree to gut a law that will help millions of people.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: Think about this. Shutting down the government just because you don’t like a law that was passed and found constitutional, and because you don’t like the idea of giving people new access to affordable health care -- what kind of idea is that?

Obama vs. Syria ~ Pressure and Diplomacy

Complete Transcript of Syria Speech

From CBS News

President Obama on Tuesday night told the American public that the threat of a military strike should stay on the table while the U.S. and its allies take more time to pursue a diplomatic resolution with Assad.
. . . Mr. Obama said that, given Syria's recent offer to give up its chemical weapons, he's asked the leaders of Congress to postpone their vote on the use of force. The administration will work with its allies in the United Nations, he said, to put forward a resolution requiring Assad to give up the weapons. The international community will also give U.N. inspectors an opportunity to report their findings on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
In the meantime, Mr. Obama said, he's ordered the U.S. military to "be in a position to respond" in case diplomatic efforts fail.

Our ideals, principles & national security are at stake in Syria—and that's why we must act: http://t.co/9uaOryb8Rp, pic.twitter.com/ZOGB5bVcj8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2013

Obama in Africa ~ Cape Town to Tanzania

ABC News ~ Tutu Welcomes Obama

Tutu greeted Obama with a "welcome home" to the continent where his father was born, and pleaded with the U.S. president to be a leader for peace, especially in the Middle East, who can make all Africans proud.

Obama was visiting the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Centre, an after-school program in a community where many young people are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Obama praised Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped bring an end to South Africa's racist apartheid rule, as "an unrelenting champion of justice and human dignity."

Tutu then spoke of Obama's re-election last fall as America's first African-American president. "You don't know what you did for our psyche," Tutu said. "You won, and we won."

"Your success is our success. Your failure, whether you like it or not, is our failure," Tutu said, reaching out to touch Obama's arm. Obama chuckled and threw up his arms as if acknowledging his fate.

"We want you to be known as having brought peace to the world, especially to have brought an end to the anguish of all in the Middle East," Tutu said. "We pray that you will be known as having brought peace in all of these places where there is strife. You have brought peace and no need for the Guantanamo Bay detention center" in Cuba, where the U.S. has detained dozens of suspected terrorists.

CBS News ~ Cape Town

In an address before an enthusiastic audience of students at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the oldest university in the continent's largest economy, President Obama saluted the progress that has "rippled across the African continent" in recent decades and encouraged Africa's young people to continue pushing forward in pursuit of a brighter future.

. . . "I believe that my own nation will benefit enormously if you reach your full potential," he said. "I'm calling on America to up its game when it comes to Africa."
He cited the pursuit of new trade relationships with African countries and a new initiative to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa as evidence of America's deepening engagement.

. . . At the outset, the president's remarks took a somber turn as he recognized the ailing former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, who remains in critical care in a South African hospital, saying Mandela's health "weighs heavily on our hearts."
"Like billions all over the world, I and the American people have drawn strength from the example of this extraordinary leader and the nation that he changed," he said. "Mandela showed us that one man's courage can move the world."

From USA Today ~ Tanzania

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Welcomed by troupes of traditional dancers, President Obama arrived here Monday to say that he hoped Tanzania would benefit from a regional trade partnership that would improve lives in ways that foreign aid cannot.

"We are looking at a new model that's based not just on aid and assistance, but on trade and partnership," he said, giving as an example ways to help Tanzanians grow their own food and export goods.
"Ultimately, the goal here is for Africa to build Africa for Africans," Obama said. "And our job is to be a partner in that process."

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete praised Obama and his predecessor, George W, Bush, who provided the country with millions of dollars in aid to prevent the spread of HIV, spending that Obama has cut in Africa.

The State of the Union in Pictures

Complete State of the Union Speech Transcript as Delivered












Ted Nugent in the House as GOP "Guest"

















GOP Women NOT clapping for Equal Pay

President Obama Speaks at Newtown Vigil

Slideshow of the Victims

The First Funerals are Tomorrow

Teachers and Students Prepare to Return to School

Shooter's Mother Hoarded Guns, Believed World Was Ending (and I guess she was right about that)

Senator Feinstein will Introduce Assault Weapons Ban on First Day of New Congress

From President Obama Sunday Night at Newtown Prayer Vigil:

In the coming weeks, I’ll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine.

Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

. . . We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.

We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.

Complete Transcript:

OBAMA: Thank you.

Thank you, Governor. To all the families, first responders, to the community of Newtown, clergy, guests, scripture tells us, “Do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly, we are being renewed day by day.

“For light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all, so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands.”

We gather here in memory of 20 beautiful children and six remarkable adults. They lost their lives in a school that could have been any school in a quiet town full of good and decent people that could be any town in America.

Here in Newtown, I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation. I am very mindful that mere words cannot match the depths of your sorrow, nor can they heal your wounded hearts.

I can only hope it helps for you to know that you’re not alone in your grief, that our world, too, has been torn apart, that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you. We’ve pulled our children tight.

And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide. Whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown, you are not alone.

As these difficult days have unfolded, you’ve also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school’s staff did not flinch. They did not hesitate.

Dawn Hocksprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Russeau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy, they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances, with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.

We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms and kept steady through it all and reassured their students by saying, “Wait for the good guys, they are coming. Show me your smile.”

And we know that good guys came, the first responders who raced to the scene helping to guide those in harm’s way to safety and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and their own trauma, because they had a job to do and others needed them more.

And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do, one child even trying to encourage a grownup by saying, “I know karate, so it’s OK; I’ll lead the way out.”

But we as a nation, we are left with some hard questions. You know, someone once described the joy and anxiety of parenthood as the equivalent of having your heart outside of your body all the time, walking around.

With their very first cry, this most precious, vital part of ourselves, our child, is suddenly exposed to the world, to possible mishap or malice, and every parent knows there’s nothing we will not do to shield our children from harm. And yet we also know that with that child’s very first step and each step after that, they are separating from us, that we won’t -- that we can’t always be there for them.

They will suffer sickness and setbacks and broken hearts and disappointments, and we learn that our most important job is to give them what they need to become self-reliant and capable and resilient, ready to face the world without fear. And we know we can’t do this by ourselves.

It comes as a shock at a certain point where you realize no matter how much you love these kids, you can’t do it by yourself, that this job of keeping our children safe and teaching them well is something we can only do together, with the help of friends and neighbors, the help of a community and the help of a nation.

And in that way we come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child, because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours, that we’re all parents, that they are all our children.

This is our first task, caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how, as a society, we will be judged.

And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations?

Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm?

Can we claim, as a nation, that we’re all together there, letting them know they are loved and teaching them to love in return?

Can we say that we’re truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose?

I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer’s no. We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change. Since I’ve been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings, fourth time we’ve hugged survivors, the fourth time we’ve consoled the families of victims.

And in between, there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and in big cities all across America, victims whose -- much of the time their only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.

We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this.

If there’s even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that’s visited Tucson and Aurora and Oak Creek and Newtown and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that, then surely we have an obligation to try.

In the coming weeks, I’ll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens, from law enforcement, to mental health professionals, to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this, because what choice do we have? We can’t accept events like this as routine.

Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?

You know, all the world’s religions, so many of them represented here today, start with a simple question.

Why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose?

We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain, that even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it’s wealth or power or fame or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that, no matter how good our intentions, we’ll all stumble sometimes in some way.

We’ll make mistakes, we’ll experience hardships and even when we’re trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God’s heavenly plans.

There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have for our children, for our families, for each other. The warmth of a small child’s embrace, that is true.

The memories we have of them, the joy that they bring, the wonder we see through their eyes, that fierce and boundless love we feel for them, a love that takes us out of ourselves and binds us to something larger, we know that’s what matters.

We know we’re always doing right when we’re taking care of them, when we’re teaching them well, when we’re showing acts of kindness. We don’t go wrong when we do that.

That’s what we can be sure of, and that’s what you, the people of Newtown, have reminded us. That’s how you’ve inspired us. You remind us what matters. And that’s what should drive us forward in everything we do for as long as God sees fit to keep us on this Earth.

“Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said, “and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Charlotte, Daniel, Olivia, Josephine, Ana, Dylan, Madeline, Catherine, Chase, Jesse, James, Grace, Emilie, Jack, Noah, Caroline, Jessica, Benjamin, Avielle, Allison, God has called them all home.

For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on and make our country worthy of their memory. May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in His heavenly place. May He grace those we still have with His holy comfort, and may He bless and watch over this community and the United States of America.

Obama's Last Campaign Speech, Iowa November 5, 2012

Obama gave an inspiring and impassioned speech tonight, and definitely got everyone in the crowd and at home "fired up." What a great man! Good luck tomorrow, Mr. President.

An emotional President Obama at Iowa rally. twitter.com/niccolina/stat…
— Nikki Kahn (@niccolina) November 6, 2012

Sign handed out at final #Obama rally in #Iowa twitter.com/LukeRussert/st…
— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) November 6, 2012

The pictures below are screencaps I made from the video.

John Kerry Zings Mitt Romney with Delicious Snark

Complete Transcript of John Kerry's Speech





We’ve all learned Mitt Romney doesn’t know much about foreign policy. But he has all these ‘‘neocon advisors’’ who know all the wrong things about foreign policy. He would rely on them - after all, he’s the great outsourcer.

But I say to you: This is not the time to outsource the job of commander in chief.

~~~

Despite what you heard in Tampa, an exceptional country does care about the rise of the oceans and the future of the planet. That is a responsibility from the Scriptures - and that too is a responsibility of the leader of the free world. The only thing exceptional about today’s Republicans is that - almost without exception - they oppose everything that has made America exceptional in the first place.

~~~

It isn't fair to say Mitt Romney doesn't have a position on Afghanistan. He has every position.

He was against setting a date for withdrawal—then he said it was right—and then he left the impression that maybe it was wrong to leave this soon. He said it was "tragic" to leave Iraq, and then he said it was fine. He said we should've intervened in Libya sooner. Then he ran down a hallway to duck reporters' questions. Then he said the intervention was too aggressive. Then he said the world was a "better place" because the intervention succeeded.
Talk about being for it before you were against it!

~~~

"Ask Osama bin Laden if he's better off now than he was four years ago."

~~~

"For Mitt Romney, an overseas trip is what you call it when you trip all over yourself overseas. It wasn’t a goodwill mission - it was a blooper reel."

But a Romney - Ryan foreign policy would be anything but funny.

~~~

“[Romney] even blurted out the preposterous notion that Russia is our “number one geopolitical foe.”Folks: Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from Alaska; Mitt Romney talks like he’s only seen Russia by watching Rocky IV.”

~~~

Mitt Romney: out of touch at home, out of his depth abroad and out of the mainstream.

~~~

No nominee for president should ever fail in the midst of a war to pay tribute to our troops overseas in his acceptance speech. Mitt Romney was talking about America. They are on the front lines every day defending America, and they deserve our thanks.

Obama Seals the Deal in Charlotte

gif via atlanticwire

 President Obama's Complete Speech Transcript Here


"Now, our friends down in Tampa at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn't have much to say about how they'd make it right. They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years."

"Have a surplus? Try a tax cut. Deficit too high? Try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!"

~~~

"We've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we'll open more. But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country's energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers."

~~~

"We don't want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we certainly don't want bailouts for banks that break the rules. We don't think the government can solve all our problems. But we don't think that government is the source of all our problems, any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we're told to blame for our troubles."

~~~

"While I'm proud of what we've achieved together, I'm far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, 'I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.'"

~~~

"You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can't visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally,"

Emanuel Cleaver on Fire at DNC

  gif via jajsdoiuhasigyad.tumblr

This speech, which was part of the Black Congressional Caucus, wasn't shown in prime time and therefore many of us missed it. But I kept seeing tweets about how amazing Emanuel Cleaver was so I tracked it down.

He is on fire, preaching to the choir, and hopefully will inspire! :)

Oh, and he is totally off-script and ad-libbing this!

Cleaver's speech begins at 5:37 on this video:



"Now I greatly respect my Republican colleagues and their ideas. But make no mistake: I am proud to be a Democrat. I am proud to be a member of this great party. And we have, in many instances, been hit: 'They are liberal, they are progressive.'

"Look, if being liberal and progressive means that I care for children and whether they go hungry, color me! Color me a Democrat! If being a Democrat means I'm concerned about our seniors in the sunset of their life, color me Democrat! Color me liberal! After all, we are the ones who protected Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, who fought for fair wages and who ended 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.' We are Democrats! And don't you ever forget it!"

~~~~~~~

"There is something essential in the human spirit that searches for hope. We are driven by hope. President Barack Obama has been lampooned for speaking of hope; hope for a better America. I want to encourage our president and all of us to continue to hope for an America that remembers, recognizes, and fervently protects its greatness."

"Yes, Mr. President, hope on. Continue to hope, Mr. President. No matter what, Mr. President, you continue to hope! As long as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob sits on the throne of grace, hope on! Hope on! Hope on! We are people of hope, Mr. President! Hope on! Hope on! When everything else is gone, hope on!"

~~~~~~~

"Hope inspires me to believe that any day now, we will catch up to the ideals put forth by our nation's founding fathers. ... It is our hope and faith that reminds us to pray and also affirms that we must move our feet. It is our hope that tells us our latter days will be better than our former. It is our hope that instructs us to march on!"
(marching in place)
"And march on! And march on, means marching through our communities and to make sure everyone is registered and ready to vote."

~~~~~~~

Let me erase some confusion. Let me tell you something. There are people who poke fun at us Democrats. They say we go to far with this inclusion stuff. They say that we have a caucus for tall people and caucus for short people and a caucus for people who don't fit into any other caucus.
But let me just tell you - God did not burden the United States with the diversity of backgrounds, ideas and religions. He BLESSED America with them!

Bill Clinton Rocks the House

Gifs via Atlantic
He was fabulous! The crowd was riveted on his every word, and good thing - his speech was much longer than expected because he ad-libbed part of it.

Some quotes:

"I want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside but who burns for America on the inside."

"Though I often disagree with Republicans, I actually never learned to hate them the way the far right that now controls their party seems to hate our president and a lot of other Democrats."

“When Congressman Ryan looked into that TV camera and attacked President Obama’s Medicare savings as quote ‘biggest coldest power play,’ I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because that 716 billion dollars is exactly, to the dollar, the same amount of Medicare savings that he has in his own budget. It takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did.”


"President Obama started with a much weaker economy than I did. Listen to me now. No president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years."

The auto industry restructuring worked. It saved more than a million jobs, not just at GM, Chrysler and their dealerships, but in auto parts manufacturing all over the country. That’s why even auto-makers that weren’t part of the deal supported it. They needed to save the suppliers too. Like I said, we’re all in this together.
Now there are 250,000 more people working in the auto industry than the day the companies were restructured. Governor Romney opposed the plan to save GM and Chrysler. So here’s another jobs score: Obama 250,000, Romney, zero.”

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

DNC: Stunning Inspirational Speeches

Last night left no doubt that the Democrats have inspirational speakers who know how to touch the hearts of the base, or anyone else who might be watching. And it's not just Michelle Obama.

Stacy Lihn talking about her family's need for President Obama's healthcare plan.


Lilly Ledbetter and her struggle for equal pay.


Deval Patrick ~ the bullies win if we have no backbone.


Julian Castro and the immigrant experience.

Funniest Quote from the DNC First Night

"If Mitt was Santa Claus, he'd fire the reindeer and outsource the elves."
~ Ex-Governor Ted Strickland, D-Ohio


The whole speech is a barn burner ~ Enjoy!!!

Republican Insiders Bemoan Lyin' Ryan

Put this in the "we tried to tell you" file: Republican insiders knew Ryan was a liar and just a troublemaker when he was being vetted, but Mitt wouldn't listen. And not only does Ryan lie about automotive plants closing in Janesville, and about rewriting the definition of rape, he lies about simple things in his past such as how fast he ran in a marathon back in 1990.

In fact, the marathon story has legs . . . pardon the pun . . . because to lie to a perfect stranger on the radio when nothing is at stake is a sign of a sociopath. They were talking about sports in that interview. There was no reason to make up a braggadocio statistic about running a marathon in under three hours, which Ryan had to know was faster than he can actually run. Paul Ryan Watch Blog called it "Performance-Enhancing Rhetoric," LOL.

But Ryan's claim that he ran a sub three-hour marathon when he finished the one marathon he ran at just over four hours, records show was flat-out and unnecessary political plastic surgery to make himself look more accomplished than he really is.
Call it a dose of self-administered performance-enhancing rhetoric.
At how many campaign bean feeds and on how many first dates or in bull sessions at the gym or the deer stand has Ryan been impressing people with that story?

Exactly, and since he's been around Washington for quite a few years, people in the Republican Party surely witnessed this type of dishonest story-telling before.

And indeed they have and are speaking out - anonymously.

From Capital Hill Blue

Campaign insiders say Romney was so determined to capture support of the tea party that reveres Ryan that he was “more than willing” to overlook the Congressman’s casual relationship with the truth.

“Paul Ryan is a loose cannon. He’s Mitt Romney’s Sarah Palin and his involvement with the campaign will sink the Republican Party in this election,” said another GOP pro, who also asked to remain anonymous.

“When I heard Ryan was on the short list, my first reaction was ‘oh, Christ, here we go again,’ ” the longtime GOP operative said Sunday. ”The man tells so many whoppers so often that I’m not sure he even knows when he’s lying.”

People back home in Wisconsin are still wondering why he would keep lying about things that are easily verified.

Madison.com: Ryan's Dumb Lie Will Taint Him Forever

Assume that Mitt Romney loses this November. Who will be first in line in 2016? You guessed it. Ryan will be a frequent guest on “Meet the Press” and other talk shows. It is so obvious that he will be the nominee in four years if Romney can’t deliver that he might be nominated by acclamation. No primaries needed!

Here is the mystery. Why would Ryan tell a doozy of a lie on national television that will taint him forever?

. . . Fast forward to 2016. First question: “Congressman, you lied to the American people when you blamed Obama for the GM plant closing in Janesville. You lied about your concern for your high school buddies who lost out. Why did you lie to us?”

All Ryan had to say was, “We tried to save the plant but could not.” The real reason he lied? To tell the truth about the plant closing would have jeopardized his love affair with the tea party.

Joe McCarthy lied, and lied, and lied. “I have a list of communists in the State Department,” he said, and that claim helped him to national fame. “Tail Gunner Joe” was the sentry offering to save America from communist plots. But it was a whopper of a lie. And when prominent broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, the Cap Times, and others — in particular attorney Joseph Welch — asked, “Have you no shame, sir?” it was all over for Joe.

Ryan’s lie will get loud applause at GOP functions, where no one will ask Ryan: “What in the hell were you talking about?”

Fehrnstrom: Romney Covered Afghanistan in Another Speech

I think something is seriously wrong with Eric Fehrnstrom, Mitt's senior adviser. Not only did he let his boss get upstaged by an empty chair on the most important night of his campaign, but he can't quite explain why Mitt avoided any mention of Afghanistan in his major speech at the Republican Convention.

Don't they realize how many young men and women are still in Afghanistan? Peopler are being hurt and maimed, mentally and physically, every single day. Don't they realize how many military families are involved in that effort? Stupidity doesn't even explain it - for instance, Sarah Palin mentioned the war and the veterans in nearly every speech she gave during the last election, and looking back that seems much more sensible than Romney's omission. I guess we have to assume he just didn't know what to say, so it's easier to slam China or Iran and talk about how Obama has "thrown Israel under the bus." Make up new threats to scare people instead of making them happy to have both Iraq and Afghanistan behind us.

Hey, Mitt - and you too, Eric - "Blessed are the peacemakers." Got that?

Here's the way Fehrnstrom explained it on CNN:

CROWLEY: Why didn't the president mention anything about there are troops as you know overseas still fighting in Afghanistan, but there was no mention of that in his speech. Was that deliberate, was it an oversight, what was that decision about?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, the day before the convention speech, Candy, Governor Romney traveled to Indianapolis on Wednesday and he gave a speech before the American Legion. Now that was an invitation that President Obama declined. Governor Romney thought it was a privilege to be speaking to people who had served so nobly. And in that speech, he talked about Afghanistan. He also talked about the $1 trillion in defense cuts that are going to be taking place under this president which his own defense secretary has said will be devastating to our national defense.

CROWLEY: Point taken. And I didn't mean the president, I meant the governor, He is your nominee, presidential nominee at this point. But it is not just the president and the Democrats, here is something that Bill Kristol, from the Weekly Standard, a conservative, a Republican, had to say, "what about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing to even mention in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored in this kind of major and formal speech the war and our warriors? I doubt it. It has been since 1952, I read, where a Republican did not mention troops serving overseas."

Do you think it was an oversight -- in hindsight, should he have said something?

FEHRNSTROM: Well, again, he spoke to Afghanistan in a big speech before the American Legion the night before his convention speech, that was an invitation...

CROWLEY: Sure, but this is a huge, big audience.

FEHRNSTROM: President Obama declined. But Governor Romney's convention speech was an opportunity for him to introduce himself to millions of voters who were seeing him for the first time and in that speech he accomplished what he set to do, which is to talk about his better vision for America with more jobs and increasing wages, he talked about the failures of the Obama presidency over the last four years. And he talked a little bit about the personal side and what motivates him.

And we thought that speech was a home run.

Obama wondered why Romney would just overlook the role of President in the Afghan conflict:

"Gov. Romney had nothing to say about Afghanistan last week," Obama said at a campaign rally in Iowa on Saturday. "Didn't mention it. Didn't offer a plan in terms of how he might end the war or, if he's not going to end it, he's got to let people know."

Republican Bill Kristol blasted Romney in an Weekly Standard column:

What War?
The United States has some 68,000 troops fighting in Afghanistan. Over two thousand Americans have died in the more than ten years of that war, a war Mitt Romney has supported. Yet in his speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief, Mitt Romney said not a word about the war in Afghanistan. Nor did he utter a word of appreciation to the troops fighting there, or to those who have fought there. Nor for that matter were there thanks for those who fought in Iraq, another conflict that went unmentioned.

Leave aside the question of the political wisdom of Romney's silence, and the opportunities it opens up for President Obama next week. What about the civic propriety of a presidential nominee failing even to mention, in his acceptance speech, a war we're fighting and our young men and women who are fighting it? Has it ever happened that we've been at war and a presidential nominee has ignored, in this kind of major and formal speech, the war and our warriors?

No Bounce for Romney, Even in Florida

Republican Faceplant ~ No bounce for the Republicans after their convention. And no new favorable statistics for Romney. This isn't surprising since the only thing anyone will remember about last week are the lies of Paul Ryan and the insanity of Clint Eastwood. Epic fail.

Complete PPP Polling Results PDF Here

Public Policy Polling

Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney 48-47, exactly as he did on our last poll of the state five weeks ago.

The Republican convention being held in Tampa appears to have been a wash. 33% of voters say it made them more likely to vote for Republicans, 33% said it made them less likely to vote for Republicans, and 34% said it didn't make a difference to them either way.

Romney did see a slight bump in his favorability numbers. 49% of voters have a positive opinion of him to 47% with a negative one. That +2 spread is up a net 5 points from late July when his breakdown was 46/49.

*snip*

. . . -One reason Romney may not get much, if any, of a convention bounce is simply that people don't think he's a very good speaker. 58% in Florida say Obama is a better public speaker to 32% for Romney.

-49% of Florida voters think Romney should release 12 years of his tax returns to 41% who think he should not.

-Florida voters oppose the Ryan Plan 44/37 but given the lack of change in the race since Ryan's selection as Romney's running mate and the strong advantage the Republican ticket has with seniors that may not be having too much of an impact.

The Republican Convention Condensed

pic via eatbloganddie
My collections of Twitter and Videos from each night on Snark Amendment:

RNC Night Three: Mitt's Big Moment
RNC Night Three: Introducing Mitt
Clint Eastwood Talks to Empty Chair in Tampa
RNC Night Two: Paul Ryan Center Stage
RNC Opening Night: One Hand Clapping for Lame Speeches


And in case you just can't stomach all that (who can blame you?):

Talking Points Memo ~ The Republican Convention in 100 Seconds (per day)






And finally this great Recap by ABC News from Night Three: