Jonathan S. Tobin @ Commentary Magazine:
So while some of us were celebrating the Jewish New Year and taking the last couple of days off from politics, it appears a video has more or less decided the election. That’s the assumption of much of the mainstream media about the impact of the release of the video of Mitt Romney speaking back in May at a private fundraiser about the 47 percent of the country that doesn’t pay taxes. They think this means it’s time to put a fork in the Republican candidate. They believe the pile-on from both the Democrats and their media allies will be enough to effectively push Romney far enough behind the president that he will never be able to make it up in the weeks remaining to him. This is, to understate matters, something of a self-fulfilling prophecy since the reason the video is considered to be such a big deal is because it has been covered as an earth-shaking gaffe that ought to spike Romney’s hopes of ever winning the presidency.
As much as I’ve taken a dim view of some of the pie-eyed optimism on the right that wrongly discounted Barack Obama’s advantages, the assumption that Romney has been fatally damaged is incorrect. The initial reaction to the video clips will probably damage Romney, but it will not affect the bulk of his support in a race that is still close. But it also offers him an opportunity, not so much as Rush Limbaugh said today to open up a dialogue about entitlements and taxes — though that would be welcome — as it does for him to take on the media that is pronouncing him dead. The reason the video hurts is that it played into Obama’s greatest advantage: a pliant media that is quick to dismiss his blunders but can be counted on to make a meal out of any of Romney’s gaffes. But it is time for the Romney campaign to understand they must exploit the fact that half the country believes the liberal media is out to get him. Romney must tell the country that it must not let the chattering classes decide the election before they’ve had a chance to vote.
Let’s specify that Romney’s statement was dumb. No presidential candidate should ever make such a sweeping generalization. Romney has a habit of making gaffes and this was yet another example of one of his weak points as a leader. Yet for all of the fact that he painted those who don’t pay income taxes with a broad and inaccurate brush, his comment was still based in a correct interpretation of the philosophical divide between the approaches of the two parties to the entitlement welfare state that has played such a destructive role in American society.
But as much as some of the carping about the Romney campaign from Republicans has been justified, let’s understand that the reason why this video is being seen as the turning point in the election is that a liberal media that is determined to re-elect the president says so.
People really should get to know the ”fallacy of the band wagon.”
It is Obama’s latest favorite fallacy.
And Obama’s media seems to love it as well.
Abandon Hope, all is already Lost!
That’s the negative side of the bandwagon.
We are the Champions, Join Us and be a Winner, too!
That is the positive side of the bandwagon.
Both are false.
Obama uses both.
The “liberal” media is just covering the story. Some of the most scathingly critical comments have been made by conservatives. Some of the more prominent “Romney is on the way to being toast” comments have been made by professional non-partisan political operatives.
Of course, he’s not toast, however. The debates should be decisive. Be sure to tune in.
– LW/HB
The debates where Obama will have to think on his feet without a teleprompter?
The debates where we will all be able to see him in action?
I smell burning toast.
Unless the media observers talk over both candidates during the debates so that we cannot hear the candidates speak. Or tape delay the debates, so that they can edit-on-the-fly to make Obama sound better.
Oh, wait….
@Petercat: Rest assured, the debate questions will be heavily skewed in Obama’s favor and the MSM has probably already declared him the victor in the debates.
@another vet:
There are no “debates”. There hasn’t been any real debates since Reagan roasted Carter. All we get now is an hour’s worth of the candidates repeating their talking points, when they aren’t being interrupted and talked over by the “moderators”.
I’d like to see an old-fashioned ‘free-for-all’ between them, although Romney doesn’t inspire any more confidence than McCain did. I would have given a lot to see Herman Cain vs. Obama, though.
OBAMA IS TOASTED, DON’T FORGET THAT THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE HAS NOT BEEN SHOWN YET,
I say, even if they tell that they will vote for OBAMA, THEY WILL REALLY GO TOWARD MITT ROMNEY,
AND PUT HIM ON THE PRESIDENCY JOBS, BECAUSE EVEN THE MOST DESTITUTE IS SEEING OBAMA AS A 4 YEARS FAILURE , AND THEY ARE MORE AMERICANS THAN THOSE ON THE MEDIAS LYING TO COVER OBAMA’S INCOMPETENCE, IT IS SO OBVIOUS THAT OBAMA WANT AMERICA BECOME MUSLIM,
OBAMA IS A SCARY DUDE, AND HE LOVE THE MUSLIMS MORE THAN THE AMERICANS,
HE SEND BILLIONS OF THE PEOPLE’S MONEY TO HIS BELOVED FRIENDS THE MUSLIMS,
HE GAVE THEM POWER TO KILL THE BRAVES, WORKING IN DANGEROUS LANDS NOT ENOUGH PROTECTED, OBAMA SHOULD BE SENT WITH THE MUSLIMS EXPEL FROM AMERICA FOREVER FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE TO AMERICA,
MITT ROMNEY FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT,
@johngalt: Cain vs. Obama would have been interesting, especially the part when Obama would have called Cain a racist for not supporting him.
I suspect the debates will be scripted affairs. Romney will do a decent job of avoiding the land mines. He will, unfortunately, fail to perform as well as the One, whose answers will be so astute they will seem… rehearsed, although neither party will have advance knowledge of the questions. Of course.
It’s regrettable that Romney associated that forty-seven percent number with Obama’s dependent classes in that private conversation, since the silly socialists have been able to spin it so deceptively to include everyone from seniors to babies and to mean more than campaigning for their votes. Of course, this wont really switch any serious voters, but it does feed the impression they want to reinforce. Clinton showed us the value the impression can have in controlling the opinion of the uninvolved “lumpen-proletariat”.