Romney or Obama?

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:55:00 GMT

Nebbermind — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:55:00 GMT

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5N98acSitgtFk7HolEwUfvWxT576M1pPo0bn7lAIUL1z9Uhgq5w\">

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:05:22 GMT

mamago — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:05:22 GMT

Analysis: Why Romney lost US presidential race

Published on Nov 07, 2012
The Straits Times

By Chua Chin Hon, US Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON - On paper, Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has everything he needs to win the White House this year.

He has a strong business background that appeals to economically anxious voters, the support of outside groups that have raised an unprecedented amount of money to support him, and most importantly, a persistently high level of joblessness that puts unrelenting pressure on the incumbent, President Barack Obama.

But in the end, the 65-year-old former Massachusetts governor lost because he lacked that one critical ingredient - the political instincts to make the advantages and opportunities count.

Mr Obama, in contrast, made full use of the power of incumbency and his battle-hardened re-election team to carve out a victory that defied economic gravity. No sitting US president since the Great Depression in the 1930s has won a second-term with unemployment this high.

He was declared the winner at 11.18pm on Tuesday night (12.18pm Singapore time) by CNN, after clinching the critical battleground state of Ohio. No Republican has ever won the White House without Ohio, and Mr Romney was no exception in this election.

A quick re-cap of his 17-month long campaign suggests that Mr Romney faltered at three critical junctures:

* Summer malaise

Mr Romney effectively won the Republican primary in late April. But instead of aggressively stepping up to a national campaign with a heavy emphasis on promoting himself in key battleground states, he and his team kept to a relatively light travel schedule and attended fund-raisers in non-competitive states like Texas.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign stepped up a brutal but effective negative ad campaign against Mr Romney in key swing states, painting him as an out-of-touch plutocrat who outsourced jobs and would rather let the auto-industry collapse than bail it out with government money.

The ads left an impression on many voters in heartland states like Ohio. More damagingly, Mr Romney did not counter with effective ads of his own or promote a more appealing image of himself. That effort was left to the Republican National Convention in late August - a decision that would go down as one of his campaign's biggest mistakes.

* Convention confusion

From start to finish, the convention was dominated by news unrelated to Mr Romney or his strengths as a candidate. First, an approaching hurricane shortened the event from four days to three. Then at the finale, Mr Romney got upstaged by an unusual impromptu speech by actor Clint Eastwood, who admonished an empty chair representing Mr Obama.

The crucial set-piece event came and went without Mr Romney leaving a strong impression on voters, even among the party's base or those looking for an alternative to Mr Obama.

* Debate surge

Arguably, the one occasion where Mr Romney fully seized the day was on Oct 03, when he comprehensively beat a listless Mr Obama at their first debate encounter. Mr Romney's performance helped him surge in the polls, but looking back, he cruised on the back of the new-found momentum rather than use it to find a knock-out punch.

By the time the momentum petered out two to three weeks later, Mr Romney found himself back where he was during the summer - in a statistical tie with Mr Obama and no headway in the battleground states.

A full post-mortem in the coming weeks and months will unveil why the Republican challenger failed to fully capitalise on his chances in these key moments. But anyone who has been following the election closely will also notice his inability to step up his game in smaller, though no less consequential settings.

For instance, at his final rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday night, Mr Romney went on stage to give an inexplicably anti-climatic stump speech after rock star Kid Rock helped him whip up the raucous 12,000-strong crowd into a frenzy. He showed little emotion and even less hunger to win, even on the eve of the election.

Experts who have closely followed Mr Romney's political career are surprised at how little he has sharpened his instincts since the mid-1990s when he first joined politics.

\"Mr Romney is a terrible campaigner and he hasn't gotten any better, which is the remarkable thing,\" said Professor John Carroll of Boston University.

\"He seems to be just as awkward on the campaign trail as he was in 1994.\"

chinhon@sph.com.sg

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/analysis-why-romney-lost-us-presidential-race-20121107

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:22:13 GMT

shinri — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:22:13 GMT

Yay… Sesame street can stay~

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:32:23 GMT

WeiHan — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:32:23 GMT

And the democrats still control majority of senate…50 seats at the moment and counting

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:59:51 GMT

verykiasumummy — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:59:51 GMT

WeiHan:
mamago:
Damn right! Ohio :rahrah:

But, the P & VP each from both Democrats n Republican not possible lei...

(Wait a minute... you Democrats or Republican?)
I am neither Democrats or Republican because I am a Singapore citizen.

haha... u r very clear minded...

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:58:42 GMT

verykiasumummy — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:58:42 GMT

3Boys:
verykiasumummy:
[quote=\"mamago\"]

It's on now, dear... 37/50 states already started to vote...
but results not out yet ma... i think i heard my dh say next week??

It'll be out almost before the voting is complete and be in every newspaper and every TV station in every country in the world. Couldn't avoid it if you tried. [/quote]oh results are out... my dh say he nv told me was next week... i must hv heard ghosts...

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:44:37 GMT

3Boys — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:44:37 GMT

Oh Oh Oh..........So close OHIO......... http://edition.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/OH/president

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:40:54 GMT

tigger88 — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:40:54 GMT

And Obama wins!

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:04:31 GMT

raysusan — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 04:04:31 GMT

http://edition.cnn.com/election/2012/results/race/president

.....i voted too

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:05:34 GMT

tankee — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:05:34 GMT

WeiHan:
mamago:
Damn right! Ohio :rahrah:

But, the P & VP each from both Democrats n Republican not possible lei...

(Wait a minute... you Democrats or Republican?)
I am neither Democrats or Republican because I am a Singapore citizen.

:goodpost:

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 22:30:19 GMT

daisyt — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 22:30:19 GMT

Voted!

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:45:55 GMT

WeiHan — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:45:55 GMT

Whether Democrat or Republican is a case by case basis for me.

A social moderate leaning, fiscal conservative republican like Ron Paul will be OK for me, for instance. For example, Palin will be a total joke for me. I don’t quite like Mitt Romney because there is too much uncertainty associating with him if he is elected.

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:36:32 GMT

WeiHan — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:36:32 GMT

mamago:
Damn right! Ohio :rahrah:

But, the P & VP each from both Democrats n Republican not possible lei...

(Wait a minute... you Democrats or Republican?)

I am neither Democrats or Republican because I am a Singapore citizen.

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:30:03 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:30:03 GMT

Damn right! Ohio :rahrah:

But, the P & VP each from both Democrats n Republican not possible lei...

(Wait a minute... you Democrats or Republican?)

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:22:43 GMT

WeiHan — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:22:43 GMT

mamago:
WeiHan:
There is a possibility that both draw with 269 electorals each.

In that case, we may end up with a president from Republican and a vice president from Democrat for the first time in history. It is going to be chaotic.

Correction! Even if it's the case, it should be Democrats President and VP from Republican... ahemmm :evil:

No...I read somewhere how the system will be activated...The remaining one state that draws that is control by the republican house get to choose their president. Something like the majority republican house get to choose the president and the majority democrat senate get to choose the vice president.

I did not cast my vote. But if Obama wins both Nevada and Ohio, then he will be the president. Nobody can win a presidential election losing Ohio and his own home state.

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:48:00 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:48:00 GMT

WeiHan:
There is a possibility that both draw with 269 electorals each.

In that case, we may end up with a president from Republican and a vice president from Democrat for the first time in history. It is going to be chaotic.

Correction! Even if it's the case, it should be Democrats President and VP from Republican... ahemmm :evil:

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:44:29 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:44:29 GMT

WeiHan:
There is a possibility that both draw with 269 electorals each.

In that case, we may end up with a president from Republican and a vice president from Democrat for the first time in history. It is going to be chaotic.

Huh? WeiHan... can that happen? ... haha, don't pull my leg hor... :spank:

( Go cast your vote... here )

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:34:50 GMT

WeiHan — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:34:50 GMT

There is a possibility that both draw with 269 electorals each.

In that case, we may end up with a president from Republican and a vice president from Democrat for the first time in history. It is going to be chaotic.

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:31:07 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:31:07 GMT

3Boys:
mamago:
[quote=\"3Boys\"]

Ummm......dun agree. Clinton was lucky not to get impeached for lying about Monica Lewinsky, JFK was a serial womaniser. Anyway, US politics, as you say, for fun.
(As a woman, I am totally with you on this... err.. the EMA thingy...)

6 billion green bucks (the election, campaign etc) as the media claimed, for electing a President... it's a serious biz, besides the EMA thingy, let's look at other aspects....

Actually I don't mind Obama, just can't stand the Democrats! (Or their holier than thou, liberal hypocrisy). Okie, I stop here, not gonna start a flame war on account of US elections![/quote]
Just for fun lah... after all, we have read so much about the Super Power... it's been this \"divided\" in US... after a few social outings, next thing someone is gonna ask you, are you a Democrats or Republican... It even pass down from fathers to sons, generations that kind of thing... seen an entire family of Democrats/Republican

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:25:48 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:25:48 GMT

Romney, a venture capitalist (previously)… the US biz world and the Wall Street welcomes him… but the rest of world, if that matters, prefer the Democrats… It’s a tough world now… wrestling with China is not wise…

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:25:16 GMT

3Boys — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:25:16 GMT

mamago:
3Boys:

Ummm......dun agree. Clinton was lucky not to get impeached for lying about Monica Lewinsky, JFK was a serial womaniser. Anyway, US politics, as you say, for fun.
(As a woman, I am totally with you on this... err.. the EMA thingy...)

6 billion green bucks (the election, campaign etc) as the media claimed, for electing a President... it's a serious biz, besides the EMA thingy, let's look at other aspects....

Actually I don't mind Obama, just can't stand the Democrats! (Or their holier than thou, liberal hypocrisy). Okie, I stop here, not gonna start a flame war on account of US elections!

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:22:44 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:22:44 GMT

Romney’s China policies, is worrying if he does as he promised…

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:20:51 GMT

mamago — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:20:51 GMT

3Boys:
mamago:
[quote=\"3Boys\"][

Dun like Democrats. Too liberal.

(Sorry ah... political thing we just spar for fun har...)

But, the Republican likes to go to war, look at the father n son, Bush...

Democrats, had done well economic wise, till 2008 the financial crisis... When Clinton was in in the office, US did it with zero deficit....

Ummm......dun agree. Clinton was lucky not to get impeached for lying about Monica Lewinsky, JFK was a serial womaniser. Anyway, US politics, as you say, for fun.[/quote](As a woman, I am totally with you on this... err.. the EMA thingy...)

6 billion green bucks (the election, campaign etc) as the media claimed, for electing a President... it's a serious biz, besides the EMA thingy, let's look at other aspects....

Reply to Romney or Obama? on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:06:51 GMT

3Boys — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:06:51 GMT

mamago:
3Boys:
[quote=\"mamago\"]Democrats, Al Gore lost to G Bush bcos of that 5 electoral votes!! *sad*

Dun like Democrats. Too liberal.

(Sorry ah... political thing we just spar for fun har...)

But, the Republican likes to go to war, look at the father n son, Bush...

Democrats, had done well economic wise, till 2008 the financial crisis... When Clinton was in in the office, US did it with zero deficit....[/quote]Ummm......dun agree. Clinton was lucky not to get impeached for lying about Monica Lewinsky, JFK was a serial womaniser. Anyway, US politics, as you say, for fun.