Benghazi Will Screw Obama, Which He Deserves

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

I expected Obama to win. So did most people. I seem to recall the markets reflected that.

This. There really wasn't a point in the election that Romney was considered the favorite (at least for any sustainable time period). Thus claim of "look at how smart I am for defying the conventional wisdom" is well, I guess, only too expected.

[Jon Miller]

Ken thinks Ben (Sloww?) are reasonable samples to project significant portions of the american electorate.

JM

[Jon Miller]

Ken thinks Ben (Sloww?) are reasonable samples to project significant portions of the american electorate.

JM

[giblets]

Ken thinks Ben (Sloww?) are reasonable samples to project significant portions of the american electorate.

JM

Ken thinks Ben (Sloww?) are reasonable samples to project significant portions of the american electorate.

JM

But even Ben thought Romney would lose. Where did kentonio get the idea that he knew better than the rest of Apolyton?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Apparently HC thought Romney would win:

http://apolyton.net/poll.php?pollid=12529&do=showresults

[kentonio]

No thanks, I'll just assume you're remembering things incorrectly.

Ok, the losers were.. Drake, HC, Reg and DD. Gribbler hit right but undercalled by 29 votes.

[kentonio]

Ken thinks Ben (Sloww?) are reasonable samples to project significant portions of the american electorate.

JM

The people who were completely wrong were the same people who endlessly witter on about how foreign types don't understand US politics. Even Ben ironically called the right winner, retarded though his prediction was.

[giblets]

Ok, the losers were.. Drake, HC, Reg and DD. Gribbler hit right but undercalled by 29 votes.

I did get North Carolina wrong, but then so did Nate Silver's forecast right before the election. But I guess reading about US politics in the news has given you a better informed opinion than him.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Gribbler hit right but undercalled by 29 votes.

But he did it in May, which is fantastic!

[PLATO]

true

and Goldwater was born in the AZ territory

but wasn't McCain born on a base in Panama?
I'm sure the Framers would have never meant to exclude the children of military personnel stationed outside the states, they'd undoubtedly be citizens of their parent's state.

McCain was born in the zone, but during a two or three year period, in which he was born, the zone was specifically excluded by Congress. I don't remember all the exact details, but I do remember thinking at the time that it was hilarious that McCain was the one who actually had the issue.

I voted for him anyway.

[kentonio]

I did get North Carolina wrong, but then so did Nate Silver's forecast right before the election. But I guess reading about US politics in the news has given you a better informed opinion than him.

I called NC wrong too. You got Florida wrong too.

[kentonio]

But he did it in May, which is fantastic!

He's good.

[Imran Siddiqui]

I'm sure the Framers would have never meant to exclude the children of military personnel stationed outside the states, they'd undoubtedly be citizens of their parent's state.

This is where appealing to the Framers makes little to no sense. The Framers wouldn't ever conceive of military personnel stationed outside the states. I mean they were still fighting over whether to have a permanent standing army a decade after the Constitution was ratified.

[SlowwHand]

"The White House Has a New Slogan About Benghazi - Hope and Change the Subject." -- Jay Leno

[Elok]

Actually it was more 'There are huge numbers of openly racist teabaggers and GOP types who hate Obama because of his race. You exhibit unexplained hatred towards the man for no discernible reason. Ergo I can only assume race is also your primary motivator'.

Teabaggers are/were the radical wing of the GOP, intent on purging the party of moderates--not really representative of the mainstream, assuming there is a mainstream anymore. In addition, they weren't exactly a homogenous group; there were a bunch of birthers among them, but also a bunch of pro-lifers, a bunch of gun nuts, a bunch of Mexican-haters, probably a bunch who thought David Icke's lizardmen were running Congress...the only common element was a belief in low taxes and a dislike of the President. I don't know who you mean by "GOP types," since the only clear case of racism you've cited thus far is a couple of teabaggers with Obama=monkey posters.

In addition, note that your initial "they hate the president despite [reasons I think they shouldn't]" argument relies on the tacit assumption that they are acting on the same information you are. In the age of cable news and the internet, that assumption is immensely improbable. Get a couple hundred randomly selected Obama-bashers together, and I'll wager you a good fifth of 'em think "death panels" are totally a real thing now.

Finally, while there certainly is an element of bigotry among the opposition--I only contest your claim that it's basically their whole motivation--the bigotry is probably more religious than racial. It doesn't matter that he's black when he was raised in a madrassa, y'know.