the "beating expectation phase" of the presidential debates has begun -- both sides talking up the other guy, to make it easier for themselves to exceed expectations for their own side.
I'm still waiting for one side to call the other's candidate a master debater.
Me: The chief bait-rigging guy on a fishing vessel.
J.J.: Should be interesting watching Romney evade the questions. That's all I've seen so far in interviews, journalist asks a direct question and Romney evades to some minor pt. never answering the real question. His pat evading answer is, "Oh, we're 50:50 in the polls" I don't know what news feed he's looking at, but Gallup isn't putting him at 50:50. Where do the Republicans find these guys?
R.B.: Gallup or any other poll only represents 1 data point taken with one particular set of methodology. Its better to look at an aggregated picture of what all the polls are saying. (though even then they're all starting to tell a pretty similar story).
J.D.: Why can't Republicans admit that O'B INHERITED quite the debacle from a Republican president...
Me: J.D., possibly because it isn't true.
R.B.: Yeah. The deficit and the economy were doing just fine before he was sworn in.
Me: lessee, what do senators do again?
R.B.: I think that's actually a question a lot of us are wondering...
Me: Hahaha! Well said. I was referring to Obama's time as senator, and especially, since the democrats took control of the house and senate for Bush's last two years.
J.D.: oh sure...everything that Bush failed at is the fault of the Dems in the house and senate during his last two years...it is to laugh...hehehe
R.B.: Seriously though I do think that its overly simplistic to attribute the 2008 meltdown to one party or president (regardless of my feelings about Bush and Clinton). Certainly the government itself had a role in creating some of the conditions that led to the financial blow up, though the private sector itself was certainly content to play fast and loose on its own, too. No one thing was what caused it, though. That bubble was, by many accounts, almost 16 years in the making between the implementation of various laws and lending policies. Both parties helped make it, as did the private sector itself.
In a lot of ways, there's an important lesson there: None of us are as dumb as all of us.
J.D.: ...dates back to 1939, actually
R.B.: Well, in either event, the deficit and the lead up to the meltdown passed through so many hands as to almost make it besides the point in trying to point the finger at anyone and conclusively saying that X was what caused all these bad things, and that everything was going just fine until X came along and messed it all up.
Me: R.B., you are fast becoming my hero.
R.B.: Oh, don't let this give you a false impression. I can be every bit the slobbering, mindless partisan at times, but I do try to be thoughtful from time to time.
Me: As can I. I just found it refreshing to read your statement about the general dysfunction of government to be unrelated to party affiliation.
R.B.: Its not that I believe in the dysfunction of government, per se, as much as I believe in the general dysfunction of groups of people in general.
Me: correction accepted and agreed with.
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