Romney wins presidential debate

[Hauldren Collider]

You started off with a decent premise and then ruined it with that ridiculous 'blame America' crap. You really need to stop dipping your toes into that stupid talk radio bull****, it makes you look foolish.

The "Blame America First" term has its origins in Reagan's UN ambassador, not talk radio.

[Guynemer]

Doesn't make it less stupid.

[Wezil]

So I guess I need to get a Romney Decoder Ring to know what he really means every time he opens his mouth and words fall out?

[Hauldren Collider]

Doesn't make it less stupid.

I think it's a pretty apt description of how much of the left feels about American foreign policy.

[kentonio]

I think it's a pretty apt description of how much of the left feels about American foreign policy.

There's a vast difference between accepting that US foreign policy had gone badly off track and working to restore it to its proper place, and this 'blame America' nonsense the right are currently peddling. Simple fact, under Bush many of America's closest relationships were very badly strained, including those with your closest and oldest allies. Obama has done a lot (not enough, but a lot) to restore those relationships, and he's done it without needing to expressly apologize for America.

[giblets]

It's much better if candidates make specific promises, get us excited about them, and then fail to keep them. Especially if they're ludicrous promises like "the Muslims will change from hating to loving us because of me, since they totally love the Christian children of apostates" or "I will accomplish sweeping reforms X, Y, and Z, guaranteed, by myse--wait, what? Congress? Checks and balances? Don't expect a lawyer to know that crap!"

To be fair, pretty much all presidential candidates make that second promise. And we keep treating it like it actually means a blessed thing, because most of us think of the president as some sort of elected emperor...

Presidents usually do manage to get parts of their agenda implemented, if not the whole thing. Of course who really knows what Romney will try to do. He probably wants to wait and see what happens to the Senate before he decides how far right he can govern.

[giblets]

It's better than promising $2 gasoline. It's more realistic.

Didn't Romney complain during the debate about gas prices doubling under Obama? Why yes, he did.

[giblets]

I think it's a pretty apt description of how much of the left feels about American foreign policy.

That's a real shock considering that America is the least powerful country on Earth and therefore has the least influence on global events. They should be blaming problems on Lesotho or something.

Also, is Ron Paul on the left? He seems to think US foreign policy has screwed up a lot of places.

[dannubis]

It's better than promising $2 gasoline. It's more realistic.

Dude, you are the one jerking off over Romney because he might make it easier for you to join the marines. Realism has nothing to do with it.

[Asher]

No, we favor a candidate that professes to believe in certain principles, in my case, small government, low taxes, fiscal responsibility and none of the blame America first lefty bull****.

The president chooses the direction and Congress chooses the details.

Small government --> get the government out of the social engineering marriage business
Low taxes --> Yes! As long as you are fiscally responsible!
Fiscal responsibility --> No one can vote GOP under this guise. Who the **** are you kidding. Neither one of the two parties is fiscally responsible. Americans in general are not fiscally responsible - the debt load (outside of government) is ridiculous.
"Blame America first lefty bull****" --> If I didn't think you were stupid before, I do now.

[Asher]

I'm also amused that no Americans seem to care that Romney is consistently contradicting himself, and not in subtle ways. You're voting for a guy where you don't know what he'll do when he gets in power.

Maybe he'll supersize Obamacare, like MA?
Maybe he'll eliminate taxes for the top 20% and raise taxes on the rest?
Maybe he'll slash the military budget by 80% and kill the Marines for being wastes of money?

How can anyone know what this man will do? How can you vote for someone where you've no idea what he'll do?

[Guynemer]

I'm also amused that no Americans seem to care that Romney is consistently contradicting himself,

Why would we care? This is the very basis of the RomneyBot's OS. It's not a bug, it's a feature.

[regexcellent]

"Blame America First" is basically Jimmy Carter's entire schtick these days. Hard-left groups like Code Pink clearly belong to that club; they genuinely think America's role in the world stage is evil, and that the bad things in this world are due to America and its surrogates. Left-wingers can sometimes be seen to sympathize with them somewhat. Obama's foreign policy, especially in his first two years, has been to go around apologizing for everything we've done. Which is ridiculous.

[giblets]

Yes, when your predecessor invaded a country on a premise that turned out to be false, apologizing is stupid.

[Guynemer]

Obama's foreign policy, especially in his first two years, has been to go around apologizing for everything we've done.

Jesus ****ing Christ, have an original goddamned thought for once, instead of parroting right-wing media talking points. Please show me evidence of Obama's foreign policy being "to go around apologizing for everything we've done."

Look, I'm not a particularly big fan of the guy myself, and there are lots and lots of legitimate reasons to oppose him. But that is ****ING STUPID.