09-19-2012, 10:22 AM
The Onion is great mockery - funny stuff.
I wonder how much Romney's statement will affect his electability.
If you heard the "47%" statement and got offended because you consider yourself in that category (ETA: if that was even what he was referring to; just saw Jimbone's last posts) and aren't working hard to make sure it's temporary, would you likely have been planning on voting for the candidate who's been vocal about cutting entitlements for months on end anyway? I can see a very small number of Romney supporters or Undecideds turning away due to the statement itself, but not many. I could be wrong, I just don't see a significant direct impact.
I think how the Democrats and more liberal media use the statement in campaign ads and news talk is a much bigger potential problem for Romney than the statement itself. If they use it to further paint Romney as elitist and out of touch/unconcerned about a large portion of the population (and pound it into the ground continuously), it could indeed turn away a good number of currently Undecideds, imo. IDK, will be interesting to see if this fades quickly or continues to burn straight through the debates.
Imo, it's just wrong when any candidate/party is under fire for stating an unappealing truth (intentionally or by leak) which is supported by facts and numbers, not subjective opinion. We should be hearing more sugar-free statements about the extent of the country's problems and proposed solutions, but that won't make people feel all nice inside. So, it's become almost shocking to hear a plain fact stated by a politician - that's just sad, imo.
I wonder how much Romney's statement will affect his electability.
If you heard the "47%" statement and got offended because you consider yourself in that category (ETA: if that was even what he was referring to; just saw Jimbone's last posts) and aren't working hard to make sure it's temporary, would you likely have been planning on voting for the candidate who's been vocal about cutting entitlements for months on end anyway? I can see a very small number of Romney supporters or Undecideds turning away due to the statement itself, but not many. I could be wrong, I just don't see a significant direct impact.
I think how the Democrats and more liberal media use the statement in campaign ads and news talk is a much bigger potential problem for Romney than the statement itself. If they use it to further paint Romney as elitist and out of touch/unconcerned about a large portion of the population (and pound it into the ground continuously), it could indeed turn away a good number of currently Undecideds, imo. IDK, will be interesting to see if this fades quickly or continues to burn straight through the debates.
Imo, it's just wrong when any candidate/party is under fire for stating an unappealing truth (intentionally or by leak) which is supported by facts and numbers, not subjective opinion. We should be hearing more sugar-free statements about the extent of the country's problems and proposed solutions, but that won't make people feel all nice inside. So, it's become almost shocking to hear a plain fact stated by a politician - that's just sad, imo.