****
****
Dana Milbank: Mitt Romney is an impressive man, but until now, we didn’t know just how impressive. According to his senior adviser, Ed Gillespie, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is a time traveler.
Gillespie made this surprise disclosure to CNN’s Candy Crowley on Sunday as he attempted to explain why the candidate claimed to have stepped down as chief executive of Bain Capital in 1999 but the company’s filings show him in that position through 2002.
“He took a leave of absence,” Gillespie said, “and, in fact, Candy, he ended up not going back at all, and retired retroactively to February of 1999 as a result.”
…..A better strategy would be for Romney to get back in the time machine and eliminate the phrase “retired retroactively” from the record. While in the past, he might also pause long enough to take his dog Seamus off the car roof.
Full article here
****
Eugene Robinson: Mitt Romney has every right to cloak his personal and professional finances in secrecy — and voters have every right to assume he has something embarrassing to hide. If this seems unfair, Romney has only himself to blame.
…. The only reason anyone cares when Romney left Bain Capital, the private equity firm he founded and ran, is because Romney made a totally unreasonable claim: When Democrats pointed to outsourcing and job cuts at companies Bain owned or controlled, Romney denied any responsibility since these unfortunate developments took place after he left to run the Winter Olympics in 1999.
This was an absurd position to take. Romney has boasted of his prowess at creating jobs by pointing to successful companies in which Bain invested, such as Staples, the office-supply chain that went on to expand and hire tens of thousands of employees. But much of this growth took place after 1999. Romney was trying to take credit for post-departure successes but not for failures.
…. Going out of your way to invite this kind of speculation, as Romney is doing, seems an awfully unpromising campaign strategy.
Full article here
****
****
9:0: President Obama departs the White House
12:30: Arrives in San Antonio, Texas
2:00: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center
3:30: Delivers remarks at a campaign event
4:50: Departs San Antonio
5:25: Arrives in Austin, Texas
6:50: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Austin Music Hall
8:55: Delivers remarks at a campaign event
10:10: Departs Austin, Texas en route Joint Base Andrews
****
****
Morning everyone 
Good Morning everyone! Peace!
G’morning Proud, Chips, TOD, lurkers, etc and congratulations on #1
Hf! Hey!
Hello Pamela…don’t you just love that pic of PBO hugging FLOTUS, with Malia and VP Joe smiling in the background…this picture is so filled with love and good vibes – can’t be spun any other way!!
Yes, I surely do! I look at that or a long time earlier ~ the love and humor in Joe Biden’s eyes, the classic profile of a young girl, PBO and FLOTUS main frame, all so truly and genuinely human..but astonishingly free, at least for the moment, of the incredible pressure they must live with each day! Here I see grace, and Hope for the evolution of our species! Brilliant photography
Thank you. Chores this morning before work this afternoon.
Proud, you be first!
Morning Proud, mooooooooooooooorning everyone
Great picture Chips. Thank you. Both smiles could light the world for the next millennium.
Best picture to wake up to!
It’s a nice wake-up call alright UT!!
Mornin’, Chips. Now that’s what GENUINE looks like.
Good Morning Chips & Proud. Congrats on 1st. 2nd I will take.
Roberta, you be second!
Pamela, my life, 2nd to the last child
HaHa! Roberta, I am 5th of 11, so it ends up not making one bit of difference as long as my name is on the page!
Have a great day! 
Hi
I’ll be third!:)
“kiss-cam” is still trending on Twitter
Of course it it… Do you think it will feature on all the yakkity-yak shows today, as a distraction from Myth ripping the country to shreds when he thought no one would mind?
Good Morning TOD WARRIORS.
President Obama and the repubs
http://vimeo.com/39115241
Debra that was just hilarious. But that is his rope-a-dope. Corral e’m in the corner and let them eat grass.
Marvelous!
thanks, debra, that is a hoot!
Chips thank you for my picture yesterday. My first picture.
Chips, thanks for the video clips. Is there anyone that has the full clip on Charlie Rose’s interview with the POTUS & FLOTUS? I tried watching it on CBS on line and it doesn’t go the full clip. Or was it not worth watching? That clip of Barack kissing Michelle is just precious. Thanks again. Have a great day everyone.
VP Biden is more than just a Vice President/Cabinet member to our President. He’s a father figure, mentor, consultant, friend. The MSM just doesn’t get it. Well maybe they do, which is why they were so keen on pushing the “Hillary-as-VP” narrative because they don’t have our President’s best interests and they know that Uncle Joe is and will remain one of PBO’s greatest assets in his tenure as President and beyond.
But but but Joe says that SS is broke, and America the beautiful is broke and Medicare is disgusting and…
What is good for gander is also good Mrs goose.
that’s right–we know he shifted stuff into her name before he took the governor’s office. since he opened the door to ms kerry’s taxes, we’d like to see miss ann’s!
Good morning all.
Why are they embarrassing my President? (lol).
This was really nice… i can not stop smiling and laughing when looking at the pictures and video.
Watching these clips, love how Malia is training up her parents so well! What a lovely girl!
I know I’ve said this before, but I love how Malia was not embarrass to see her parents kissing in front of the world. She was the one encouraging them. It tells me that she is used to seeing her parents carry on like that. Most 14 year old teenager would be so embarrass, but Malia response says, hay it’s no big deal I see Mom and Dad do this all the time at home.
And she is so loved, it is a part of her nature to accept affection! And return it!
MITT ROMNEY IS THE PROBLEM =====(A brilliant must read)=====
Why the Bain Capital Story is So Important
By Bob Cesca
————————————————
What does half the nation do, just a few years into the recovery?
They nominate Mitt Romney for president. They select a man who is literally a product of the corporate Olympus that almost obliterated everything.
.
.
Yes, Mitt Romney has expertise in the private sector, which is often and ignorantly ballyhooed as a qualification for president. But it’s not the kind of expertise we should be seeking in a president. There are countless differences between running the government and running a corporation, but that’s just the beginning. If Romney’s record is any indication, we know that he’s comfortable with outsourcing jobs, he’s comfortable with de-regulatory policy that allows unlimited mergers and acquisitions to point of near-monopoly, he’s comfortable with using tax loopholes and secret off-shore accounts to hide his money and he’s comfortable with paying himself huge windfalls at the expense of everyone else (his tax policy, for example, would personally save Romney around $5 million annually, while adding to the deficit and debt).
——————————————————
http://thedailybanter.com/2012/07/why-the-bain-capital-story-is-so-important/
Excellent article, sets it all out clearly. Cesca is right…..this comes from 30 years of Republican shenanigans starting with Reagan. Reagan did damage to California which they are just now working their way out of, and he did great damage to the country, which is very difficult to dig our way out of. Perhaps the worst thing was Reagan’s attitude which determined self defeating attitudes of working class/middle class people. “I’ve got mine, screw you.” Each one assumes he/she could be on top and screw others. Not true. Most of us are where we are going to be, and without a fair playing field, have no chance of moving up. Why people can’t see this is irritating, but Reagan, Rove/Bush have done a wonderful job of messing with people’s heads.
I think a lot of this can be traced to Reagan’s breaking the FAA unions with scabs. He was brutal, and it has taken our air system years to recover. He established the whole attitude of “the laborer is NOT worthy of his hire.” That is going to take time to change.
Good Morning everyone!
Chips, I’m still glowing from watching The Kiss! Thanks for being here to keep us informed.
Have a great day, everybody!
Oh great! Campbell Brown coming right up to talk about, getting rid of planned parenthood.
Really?
Jovie, glad you can watch that stuff and inform us. I can’t do that,, my stomach is too fragile right now.
I am watching C-Span and come of the callers are really ignorant. ((sigh))
I could not stomach her anymore, but before turning the channel I thought she was whining that Planned Parenthood did not give money to Republican candidates. So her husband was on yesterday, and today they have a ridiculous conversation with her on a subject completely absurd.
Anything to change subject. And remember, everything Robney dies and says, he is fundraising his wealthy Donors.
Which is why he will not release his tax returns, the wealthy that support Robney have the same exact tax returns.
You follow!
I wish I could come up next and say get rid of Campbell Brown.
Truman Rides Inside
More cuteness from a canine Obot!
http://juanitajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/trumanridesinside23.jpg
Polling suggests President Obama’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s private-equity background at Bain Capital are hurting the presumptive GOP nominee in key swing states.
Obama’s onslaught on Romney has not made a dent in national polls, which show the race for the White House deadlocked.
But there are signs the negative ads and focused discussion on Romney’s business background are hurting the Republican in much the same way the attacks on John Kerry’s Vietnam service hurt the Democratic nominee in the 2004 race, when national numbers held but key biographical metrics began to erode for Kerry.
The Hill-
I just don’t get the national polls. What else does the nation need to know about Robney to realize that he is not good for America!? How do these people that still say yes to him justify their willingness to vote for this man of no character? Amazing. I want to see our side push President Obamas accomplishments too. The media keeps saying he is running on trashing Robney because he has no record to run on. That narrative needs to change too. Give the people not only reasons to not vote for Robney but reasons to vote for our guy.
I live in a state that is completely red and no ads are run here. People in the non-contested states basically are not involved yet. We have no reason to be. Therefore, the percentages in states such as mine will skew the scales toward Romney on a national level. The national polls really have little meaning electorally. This long swath of red states from Texas to the Canadian border are not in contention, and will vote Republican reflexively. Therefore they skew the numbers. HOWEVER, the president is going to Texas, because of all these states, Texas has the best chance of being a swing state. It is no longer the reliable Repub state it has been since Reagan. Immigrants are moving to Texas from all over: Yes, Latin America, but also other blue states such as California, New York, Massachusetts…..and this movement and the death of the old age white oil class will slowly but surely change Texas. They also have a traditionally low rate of voting. My daughter-in-law told me the %age of people who voted in the last gubernatorial race, and it was appalling. I think OFA’s voting push is very important there. Also, Perry is really disgusting the young women, as I know from my very smart daughter-in-law.
They can actually say “the attacks on John Kerry’s Vietnam service hurt the Democratic nominee in the 2004 race”… and not be ashamed? How on earth did this country let John Kerry’s military service hurt him? How did a veteran of a really bad war where many died, and many more were left as pariahs of society end up being hurt after putting his life on the line and serving while many ran and hid (behind boils, Parisian mansions and children as excuses)? The GOP should be ashamed forever for making Kerry’s military service a negative – in order to win an election. It’s pretty sickening.
This country let John Kerry’s military service hurt him because he came back and told the truth about the war. As a young man, he had the courage to speak the truth to the powerful people who wanted that war. This is the same thing that brought down Mitt Romney’s father, who went to Viet Nam and came back saying that we were being brainwashed. Not a very politic thing to say, but it was the truth he saw when he was over there.
Fed minutes today! Will we get QE 3? Maybe Ron Paul heard us, he is having Bernanke in for a Hearing today. Intimidation much?
Texas must be soooo proud!
http://juanitajean.com/2012/07/16/texas-proud-baby/
hilarious!
They are beautiful! Good morning all!
Another gem!
Yes, we should all have the ability to do things retroactively!
http://juanitajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/522044_10150947603004079_2095636980_n.jpg
Morning Chips and TOD. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those pictures.
ANOTHER GOP MANUFACTURED CONTROVERSY. THIS IS JUST CHEAP.
Context is still king
By Steve Benen
——————————————
As Jonathan Bernstein explained, “By ‘you didn’t build that,’ Obama clearly means business-people didn’t build ‘the unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive.’”
Perhaps this concept is too sophisticated for the president’s critics; perhaps they understand it well but are hoping their hysterics will distract from Mitt Romney’s recent troubles.
Either way, this is just cheap. There’s nothing even controversial about the concept of Americans relying on public institutions and one another for success. If you start a business, you rely on the police to protect it if someone tries to break in; you rely on public schools to provide you with capable employees; you rely on public roads to move goods and services; you rely on the Internet; etc.
——————————————-
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/17/12787527-context-is-still-king?lite
Elizabeth Warren on Debt Crisis, Fair Taxation
fired up!! great points made here, that all of us can use with the confused.
Finnegan Biden is such a cute young lady. She’s Malia’s age they must be good friends.
Yup. Sasha must’ve been away at camp. Didn’t see her last night.
I dont know if she’s at camp I just saw a pic of the girls on another site leaving a Spiderman movie. Maybe it’s just Malia’s time.
Compare the Obama/Biden children/grandchildren to the “family values” McCain/Palin children.
Infographic on Seamus lawless trip on the car roof-
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0712/78564.html
Robney is a Felon!
Tweet this to Stephanie cutter, titled- more lawbreaking from Willard!
Senate Republicans Fight to Protect Secret Donors
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/disclose-act-senate-republican-block-dark-money
A report commissioned by the G20 group of the world’s biggest economies has warned oil prices could be vulnerable to a Libor-style rigging scandal.
According to the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the current system of oil price reporting is “susceptible to manipulation or distortion.”
///
Both the Libor inter-bank lending rate at the heart of a global rate-rigging scandal and spot oil prices are based on a system of trust. They are, effectively, unregulated.
Traders at various banks voluntarily report the prices they pay for oil contracts to Platts, Argus or one of their competitors. The price reporting agency use a number of trades to decide what the benchmark price, quoted to the outside world, should be.
IOSCO said that “this creates opportunity for a trader to submit a partial picture, i.e. an incomplete set of its trades in order to influence the assessment to the trader’s advantage.”
Journalists working at Platts or Argus are trained to check any figures which appear suspicious or spurious. However, they do not have powers to challenge or investigate banks or individuals responsible for these submissions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18856018
Ok, the kiss cam thingy has gone international. You galz happy?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-18867340
Ah crikey amk, I had just regained my composure from last night …. and now I’ve lost it again. Morning you.
GM Chips. More cold showers?
Afraid so amk. All this sizzling is doing nothing for global warming. Still can’t believe you went AWOL yesterday without asking for permission in advance. Here’s your punishment:
amk, methinks you had best not mess with our Chips today! She is having a marvelous day, I perceive! No hostages and all that…. especially no sympathy for those who are “unavailable without permission”!
The Repubs and some MSM on Twitter are trying to spin it as “PBO got rejected by FLOTUS” to change the subject. I told our friends on Twitter we shouldn’t be wasting time answering questions about whether the second kiss was staged or not. This couple obviously LOVES each other and they were having fun last night so that question is not even relevant.
hopefruit2, You are so right. With all that is going on with their candidate you wouldn’t think they would be worrying about POTUS getting a kiss from his wife. But hay if Mitt Romney was my candidate I would be talking about anything else and wishing I wasn’t so dam racists so I could support this President.
Malia certainly has the Obama-Robinson charm!
ADORABLE. That’s the best angle I’ve seen yet. Malia has her mother’s mannerisms — too precious. Michelle’s skin is like buttah!
I hope it’s a trick of the light but FLOTUS appears to be getting her first grey hairs. Gulp.
Well, she’s so gorgeous now I know she’ll still be that way even if she keeps the grey. ;-]
i noticed that, too, and i felt proud of her, that she knows those silver strands do not diminish her–like her awesome husband, she has earned them!
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/report-romney-narrows-vp-list-to-portman-pawlenty
Reuters reports that Mitt Romney has reached the final stages of selecting a vice presidential running mate, with growing speculation that he has narrowed the short list to three prospective candidates: Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.
Awesome! What a snoozefest!
Do you think the excitement of the announcement will make everyone forget Bain and the tax returns?
Now that is boring, and meant to change the subject, from Bain.
He can only play that card once, so if the Obama camp makes him play it, that is a win for our side.
You follow?
This VP thing is a GOP/MSM distraction. I’m willing to bet that that VP won’t be announced until perhaps a week before the RNC convention late August.
I don’t really care WHEN he makes his boring choice announcement….these guys suck. MittFail
Agree with you desertflower
Agree. hf. Once again R-money is blowing any smoke he can to distract the media. Who cares who his VP is. Nothing he does can make the guy himself less boring or less of a liar.
Bobby Jindal???
Choose Mr. Rogers Jindal. I can see him coming out of the dark corner, as spooky as can be to join Joe Biden on the stage. He will say to Joe “Won’t you be my neighbor?”
Got your message Pat, thank you, I’ve blocked the creep.
Morning everyone……yea I just saw the ”FIRMS” ad in Canada……
On Canada TV? Interesting!
Disclose act being voted on again, today.
What for? This is meaningless, and except for a few, got 0 press coverage!
They’re voting again to illustrate a point to voters and to send a message. Remember most people were focused on the bball game and POTUS/FLOTUS last night when the outcome of the first vote was being reported. It may not get much MSM coverage but it will be reported elsewhere.
Gotta get rollin’ – busy day ahead, y’all have a good one! {{{{{{{{Chips}}}}}}}}. {{{{{{{{{TOD}}}}}}}
Have a blissful day Pamela, see you later!
Chipsticks? I have been singing Winds of Change ever since I woke up ~ if you have a chance to post the video with Adele singing this song, it would make my day even better! Love ya’!
My pleasure Pamela!
I’ll have to update it after last night!
Oh, woman, you are astonishing! Thank you so very much!
I know, I know
Your humility is endearing as well!
I shall be looking forward to that!
I just read from a diarist on Old Orange that the venue for the President’s speech today in San Antonio TX was changed to accommodate bigger crowds, and the currently place is now sold out! If it were Robme, the MSM would be braying about this all day…but apparently this routinely happens at PBO’s events.
Helloooooooo Hopefruit. Oh, I’m sure Knoller and Co will report this ….
Yup. Chuck Todd is MIA since Friday. Don’t know if he’s on vacation or what, but if he isn’t then his silence on Twitter the last few days is just weird.
Hiya Hopefruit, Chuck is probably waiting for some disappointing jobs’ news before he reappears, he’s having a tough time of it at the moment. Probably having nightmares about Bain and tax returns. Aw, bless him.
Perhaps he and McSnort are off with the pixies, trying to find a common bond to talk about won’t show them for the imbeciles they are! I know, I know, they have gone to Wasilla to confer with the clueless one to find a way out if the mess they are in! That should do it…..
Former Vice President Dick Cheney plans to meet with House Republicans on Tuesday to discuss the looming automatic defense cuts that are part of last year’s debt deal.
Republicans will attempt to paint President Obama as responsible for the fallout of the cuts, the Washington Post reports.
–
That war criminal should not be allowed to step one foot in Congress…….
I heard yesterday about some poll where a large majority of Americans want to see defense spending cut.
Besides, this ploy writes the ads: “Republican Congress makes a deal and has no intention of keeping its word or following the law. Wants all of the budget cuts to hit the middle class, the poor, education, Medicaid. As long as the defense contractors are made happy.”
“Republicans — when will they ever keep their word?”
Streaming Now – PBO Departs for Texas: http://www.ustream.tv/cbsnews
Thank you JER!
That AF1 is a damn big jet.
Here comes Marine one with PBO!
I RETROACTIVELY WASN’T THERE
Jon Stewart Skewers Mitt Romney’s Bain Defense
———————————-
Stewart tried to paraphrase the Republican candidate’s defense: “I was just the guy with the smoke-screenish, yet still legal, title of CEO and managing director, who was paid at least $100,000 a year to do what, according to me, Mitt Romney, was nothing. And that’s the kind of common-sense business experience I hope to bring to the White House.”
———————————-
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/jon-stewart-romney-bain.php
I liked the end of his segment, Jon Stewart looked really p******d……and he was right when he said, NOBODY cares that Mitt Romney is rich…..it’s not the point and it was never the point.
Mr. Pierce has an answer to Mittens charge of “crony capitalism” towards President Obama….I think you know what’s coming
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/mitt-romney-crony-10723178
I don’t know if it was posted last night…
Jon Stewart Tears Into Romney’s Weak Bain Capital, Tax Return Defense
It was a thing of beauty!
I would have added some more info on the blind trust issue, that the BLIND trust is managed by his friend and personal lawyer and invested in his son’s company
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewart-tears-into-romneys-weak-bain-capital-tax-return-defense/
Yeh, Stewart is brilliant but of course, Mitt feeds him perfect material. This DK diarist breaks it down nicely.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/17/1110769/-Jon-Stewart-s-MUST-SEE-piece-cuts-to-core-of-Romney-s-real-problem-with-Bain
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-03-26/romney-TARP-bank-bailout/53794680/1
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/romneys-free-stuff-speech-is-a-new-low-20120713
As far as free lunches go, we of course just witnessed the biggest government handout in history, one that Romney himself endorsed. Four and a half trillion dollars in bailout money already disbursed, trillions more still at risk in guarantees and loans, sixteen trillion dollars in emergency lending from the Federal Reserve, two trillion in quantitative easing, etc. etc. All of this money went to Romney’s pals in the Wall Street banks that for years helped Romney take over companies with mountains of borrowed cash. Now, after these banks crashed, executives at those same firms used those public funds to pay themselves massive salaries, which is exactly the opposite of “helping those who need help,” if you’re keeping score.
That set of facts alone made the “free stuff” speech shockingly offensive. But the problem isn’t just that Romney’s wrong, and a hypocrite, and cynically furthering dangerous and irresponsible stereotypes in order to advance some harebrained electoral ploy involving white conservative voters. What makes it gross is the way he did it.
snip/
His vision of humanity is just a million tons of meat floating around in a sea of base calculations. He’s like a teenager who stays up all night thinking of a way to impress the prom queen, and what he comes up with is kicking a kid in a wheelchair. Instincts like those are probably what made him a great leveraged buyout specialist, but in a public figure? Man, is he a disaster. It’s really incredible theater, watching the Republicans talk themselves into this guy
that last paragraph is a gem–wraps up the whole r-money persona.
The Morning Plum: Observers say Romney is dangerously close to being defined
By Greg Sargent
—————————————–
With the attacks on Mitt Romney’s business background and lack of transparency about his finances showing no signs of abating, more and more observers are sounding the alarm for Romney. They are beginning to wonder whether Romney is dangerously close to being defined on exactly the terms the Obama campaign has chosen
.
.
Meanwhile, Mark Halperin notes that the Obama team’s attacks on Romney over the tax returns is only beginning, and that Republicans are getting very nervous. And note this:
For now, without a doubt, Romney is losing on two fronts: the politico-media dialogue is not focused on the Obama economic record and Romney is being defined by the opposition….m ost of those nervous Republicans would be even more nervous if they knew what Chicago was still, patiently, sitting on.
And via Taegan Goddard, Nate Silver points out that the Romney camp’s apparent decision not to shed any more light on his finances has left him “in damage control mode,” and that he has “not necessarily been adroit about it.”
————————————
Much more here…….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/the-morning-plum-observers-say-romney-is-dangerously-close-to-being-defined/2012/07/17/gJQA6h6tqW_blog.html
Just want him to know he is even closer to jail …. and good morning wonderful TODers ….
…especially with the non-optional wrist bands.
Good morning, TODville.
Thanks, JER, for the link to PBO’s departure. Long day ahead for him.
Mitt Romney-Helmed Olympics Outsourced Uniforms To Burma (Myanmar)
——————————-
Congress was up in arms Thursday over the discovery that the U.S. team’s uniforms for the opening ceremony of this year’s Olympics games were manufactured in China — snubbing the U.S. textile industry at a time when it has yet to recover from the struggling economy.
For the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who has repeatedly promised on the trail to “get tough” on China, opposing the manufacturing seemed a likely stance, except that while at the helm of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Romney outsourced the production of torchbearer uniforms to Burma.
——————————–
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014168196
anyone read this from Dick Halperin today? Status of Bain and Romney’s Tax Returns
hmm, the hack Halperin sounds nervous for hs BFF doesn’t he. dude is a hack but still…
Isn’t this a little gem???
Illinois City Calls On Romney To Stop Bain-Owned Company From Outsourcing 170 Local Jobs to China
WASHINGTON — The city council of Freeport, Ill., approved a resolution Monday evening that will call on presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to step in and save roughly 170 local jobs being outsourced by a company owned by Bain Capital.
Even if he doesn’t own the company anymore, he created the business model!!
They are asking Romney to stop the outsourcing of these jobs.
Oh I hope it gets some traction in the news.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002961210
THe beauty of having Romney as a candidate, it doesn’t only expose him as the lying tax evader and corporate raider that he is…it expose that type of business!
So everytime the Republicains say that the ”job creators” pay too much taxes and need more tax breaks….people will have a much better idea of how much they really pay and all the tricks they use with loopholes and all that,…….
It’s Karma!
If he had an ounce of political courage, he’d do this, but I’m guessing he won’t. On the other hand, I wouldn’t trust Willard and his team not to have set this up so he could swoop in and become the hero. Nothing is cut and dry with this guy except his callousness.
Well said, lisa. As usual!
So, TPM is moving Colorado to tossup, based on a 1 point lead for POTUS, in a Purple Strategies poll.
Of Course, purple strategies is owned by Alex Cosellanos and is skewed right by about 4-5 points. But, what the Hell!
how can the Obama campaign cut through this political and media fog? By talking about Mr. Romney’s personal history, and the way that history resonates with the realities of his pro-rich, anti-middle-class policy proposals.
Thus the entirely true charge that Mr. Romney wants to slash historically low tax rates on the rich even further dovetails perfectly with his own record of extraordinary tax avoidance — so extraordinary that he’s evidently afraid to let voters see his tax returns from before 2010. The equally true charge that he’s pushing policies that would benefit the rich at the expense of ordinary working Americans meshes with Bain’s record of earning big profits even when workers suffered — a record so stark that Mr. Romney is attempting to distance himself from part of it by insisting that he had nothing to do with Bain’s operations after 1999, even though the company continued to list him as C.E.O. and sole owner until 2002. And so on.
The point is that talking about Mr. Romney’s personal history isn’t a diversion from substantive policy discussion. On the contrary, in a political and media environment strongly biased against substance, talking about Bain and offshore accounts is the only way to bring the real policy issues into focus. And we should applaud, not condemn, the Obama campaign for standing up to the tut-tutters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/opinion/krugman-policy-and-the-personal.html?_r=3&ref=columnists
i’m loving mr paul lately!
GM all – PBO giving the womens baskeball team a pep talk and hugs.
http://www.wnba.com/video/wnba/2012/07/16/usabwbbMOV-2158185/
PBO is a good flirt – flirty but not too much.
Here’s the new DNC ads featuring Republicans urging Willard to release his tax returns:
GM everyone.
Thanks HF2. This is another really good ad.
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/bundled-up/
to deflect attention from its troubles with Bain Capital, the Romney campaign is hyperventilating over that coziness, as if it is unprecedented. A new ad claims that Mr. Obama loves his “donor class” more than the middle class, and is showering them with favors.
But how did the Romney campaign, and the reports it relied on, know who the Obama bundlers were? Because the Obama campaign disclosed them, though it is not required to do so.
And that’s something the Romney campaign has refused to do.
In fact, Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser to the campaign, told reporters today that it has no plans to ever disclose those fund-raisers, just as it is stonewalling on a full release of Mr. Romney’s tax returns. (The stone wall encircles the whole party, apparently; Republican senators will also vote later today to filibuster the Disclose Act, which would require releasing the names of big donors to secretive political groups.)
It’s not hard to guess why the bundlers will remain secret, since such a list would show just how dependent the Romney campaign is on the financial sector, which is not beloved among voters. USA Today recently pieced together a partial list of about 1,200 of those bundlers, showing that a quarter came from finance, and more than a dozen from Goldman Sachs alone. If you’re bored with investment banking and want to be considered for Mr. Romney’s ambassador to Luxembourg or Lichtenstein, better start bundling now.
Favoritism is a bad business, a stain on every administration that has allowed money to dictate its decisions. But an ad like Mr. Romney’s, encompassing hypocrisy, deceit and secrecy, may be even worse.
Drippity, drip, drip.
What’s The Secret Behind Romney’s Magical Multi-Million Dollar IRA?
July 16 (Bloomberg) — The most mysterious of the unexplained mysteries about Mitt Romney’s considerable wealth is how he was able to amass between $21 million and $102 million in his individual retirement account during the 15 years he was at Bain Capital LLC.
http://www.nationalmemo.com/whats-the-secret-behind-romneys-magical-multi-million-dollar-ira/
Yes! There always THAT! Math just doesn’t add up, does it?
MITT ROMNEY’S “FINANCIAL BLACK HOLE”
What’s The Secret Behind Romney’s Magical Multi-Million Dollar IRA?
BY William D. Cohan
————————
July 16 (Bloomberg) — The most mysterious of the unexplained mysteries about Mitt Romney’s considerable wealth is how he was able to amass between $21 million and $102 million in his individual retirement account during the 15 years he was at Bain Capital LLC.
.
.
Without mentioning the heroics Romney has accomplished in his IRA, the New York Times editorialized on July 10 that the rest of Romney’s opaque “tax avoidance” schemes — including overseas shelters in the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and elsewhere — amount to nothing short of a “financial black hole” that he would be well advised to explain to the public. He should put explaining his magical IRA at the top of the list.
——————————————
http://www.nationalmemo.com/whats-the-secret-behind-romneys-magical-multi-million-dollar-ira/
Bernanke says No to QE-3! Great, sit on your hands! Time to fire this guy, he is terrible!
The Republican leaders have been very vocal about not having the Fed do anything that might stimulate the economy, and Bernanke is a Republican. For the GOP, party always triumphs over country.
President Obama is expected to rake in at least $4.1 million during his swing to Texas on Tuesday.
Ok, that’s it, I’m gone. Won’t have iPad with me today, too busy, so I know I will be missing heaps! Back late…. Au revoir!
MSNBC just showed a video of Rob Portman clucking like a chicken to indicate he was actually ecxiting. I am not teasing. The level of our political discourse could not go much lower.
On the contrary. I expect it to go much, much lower. We’ve only just begun.
For anyone who wants to find out what Mitt Romney does when running for office look at this article from the Boston Globe –
http://articles.boston.com/2012-07-13/opinion/32646257_1_tax-returns-mitt-romney-income-taxes
This guy is shady…..
this guy is slimy….
Romney Saved Salt Lake Olympics From Scandal, But at What Price?
Apr 12, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
By Wayne Barrett
——————————–
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Romney considers his salvaging of the scandal-plagued Games as the turnaround point in his career—Turnaround was the name of his 2004 memoir detailing those years. Having lost badly in his 1994 Senate race against Ted Kennedy, Romney’s acclaimed management of the Salt Lake Games—on the world stage, no less—lifted him back into public prominence and propelled his successful campaign for governor of Massachusetts, which began just weeks after the Olympics ended. “I led an Olympics out of the shadows of scandal” has been Romney’s frequent mantra on the campaign trail for the 2012 election.
But while Romney’s gold-medal acumen in managing the Salt Lake City Olympics has been widely covered, there has been virtually no examination, in this or the 2008 presidential campaign, of how he navigated the ethical swamp he landed in. As he comes closer to wrapping up the GOP nomination, even less has been written about the alliances he made with some of the key figures of the Salt Lake scandal–alliances that have been paying dividends ever since, and helping to finance his presidential ambitions.
————————————-
Note: This is a very long, complicated and enlightening article.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/12/romney-saved-salt-lake-olympics-from-scandal-but-at-what-price.html
The Transportation bill that was just signed, allows for Federal oversight of Urban Rail projects-
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2012/07/transit-safety.html#.UAV9xYF5mc0
Yet ANOTHER reason for strict bank oversight!!!!!!!!!!!
http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/17/12783850-report-hsbc-allowed-money-laundering-that-likely-funded-terror-drugs?lite&__utma=14933801.1546375846.1342403203.1342503035.1342537529.4&__utmb=14933801.1.10.1342537529&__utmc=14933801&__utmx=-&__utmz=14933801.1342403203.1.1.utmcsr=theobamadiary.com|utmccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/2012/07/15/no-pressure-willard/&__utmv=14933801.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Ccover=1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostname=www.nbcnews.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Content=Earned%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=174839330
Report: HSBC allowed money laundering that likely funded terror, drugs
“As people do better, they start voting like Republicans – unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing. —-Karl Rove
(says the college drop out )
No surprise here:
SUNUNU: This guy doesn’t understand how to create jobs.
So there is no surprise — there should be because of that statement no surprise on why he failed so miserably over the last four years, in terms of job creation.
He has no idea how the American system functions, and we shouldn’t be surprised about that, because he spent his early years in Hawaii smoking something, spent the next set of years in Indonesia, another set of years in Indonesia, and, frankly, when he came to the U.S. he worked as a community organizer, which is a socialized structure, and then got into politics in Chicago.
—-
Notice the chronology ? What is Sununu smoking is the real question.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Just a bit outside! No racially tinged statement, and falsehoods? No- not at all!
Everytime “community organizer” is mentioned it should be countered by “draft dodging French Mormon missionary”.
Sununu should also be reminded while serving as WH Chief of Staff under George H. W. Bush he used government limousines and planes to travel between DC and New York to work on his private stamp collection. Can you say “free stuff”.
MITT “WHO AM I THIS TIME?” ROMNEY
Michael Tomasky on Romney’s Veep and Convention-Speaker Trap
By Michael Tomasky
——————————–
Not that Mitt Romney doesn’t have other problems right now, but think about this one. He’s on the verge, they say, of picking a running mate. He needs a person who will reassure the right wing in a big way, arguably even more so now that he’s having to apologize for capitalism. And yet at the same he needs to orchestrate a convention that will send the signal to middle America that they shouldn’t worry, the right wing hasn’t taken this party over just yet. It’s a pickle, and it’s one he put himself in. Why? Most nominees put their stamp on their party, but this time around, the party has indelibly put its stamp on the nominee.
.
.
Who, in this context, is Mitt Romney? An ex-governor who can’t discuss his record, and an ex-capitalist who … is getting close to the point where he can’t discuss his record. And who has been afraid for two years, or more, lest he offend Rush Limbaugh and Fox. This is not his Republican Party. It’s theirs. And Romney has given us no reason to think that will change.
—————————————
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/17/michael-tomasky-on-romney-s-veep-and-convention-speaker-trap.html
A good piece on where Priorities USA is going in the pivot from Bain – to Ryan Budget:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/exposing_the_ryan_budget038631.php
Sheriff Arpaio: Obama’s ‘eligibity’
Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio holds a news conference to discuss information gathered on President Obama’s “eligibility on CNN live sometime today. What an azz
CNN is giving a platform?
I can’t wait until Arpaio is sent to the big house in his own pink prison clothes. I may throw a party.
I WILL throw a party. What a disgusting excuse for a human being.
You’re right out there in his midst, yes? Sorry.
MASSACHUSETTS VOTERS REALIZED THEY’D BEEN FOOLED
How Mitt Lost Massachusetts
by LOLGOP on APRIL 26, 2012
——————————
Steve Benen examined Mitt’s unpopular tenure as governor yesterday and offered this gem:
Thomas Whalen, a Boston University political science professor, put it this way: “To know Mitt Romney is to dislike him. That is the moral of the story.”
Why does Mitt Romney become less popular as people get to know him?
The answer in Massachusetts is simple: Voters realized they’d been fooled. Mitt ran as a progressive, a moderate who was going to teach Republicans how to love gays. Instead, he governed as a Republican candidate for president. He drastically raised the cost higher of education and fees in general. The state fell to 47th in job creation as the rest of the country swelled on the fat of Bush tax breaks and massive government spending.
————————————————
http://eclectablog.com/2012/04/how-mitt-lost-massachusetts.html
J’adore, Buzzfeed does a timeline on the kiss-cam.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-story-of-obama-and-the-kiss-cam
Hilarious!!!!! Thanks Edwina!!
So Malia: Not embarrassed by the kiss, embarrassed by the dancing
New post everyone:
http://theobamadiary.com/2012/07/17/coming-up-41/