Obama Defends Attacks Against Romney’s Work At Bain: “This Is What This Campaign Is Going To Be About”… So he’s going to focus on Romney’s wildly successful business career which is probably the reason most people will vote for him? Good luck with that. (MSNBC) — President Obama offered a full-throated defense of his campaign’s scrutiny of Mitt Romney’s private sector career, flatly stating, “This is not a distraction.” The president, speaking to reporters in Chicago at the conclusion of a NATO summit there, said that it’s perfectly fair to pore through Romney’s record at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he had cofounded, since the former Massachusetts governor had made his private sector experience a cornerstone of his campaign. “This is not a distraction. This is what this campaign is going to be about,” Obama said. The president said that he thought that private equity played an important role in the economy. (Republicans have noted that Obama’s re-election campaign hasn’t always been shy in soliciting contributions from individuals in that industry.) But Obama also argued that the primary role for those firms is to deliver a return for investors. “If your main argument for how to grow the economy is that I knew how to make a lot of money for investors, then you’re missing what this job is about,” the president said.
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Obama Campaign Raffling Off Dinner With First Gay President And First Black President… And don’t forget about the raffle with Horseface. Meeting the President of the United States is an incredible thing. Meeting two presidents at the same time? Now, that’s almost ridiculously cool. If you pitch in $3 or whatever you can today, you’ll be automatically entered to join President Obama and former President Clinton in New York City on June 4th — airfare and hotel taken care of. These two presidents know better than anyone in the world that grassroots supporters are how you win elections. That’s why President Obama always wants to be able to meet you at events like this, and why President Clinton jumped at the chance. This promises to be one amazing evening. Imagine how great it would be to be a fly on the wall when Presidents Obama and Clinton get together. Now imagine getting to be part of the conversation. Enter today and you could win two tickets to New York to be there with them. Seriously, good luck.
This is going to be a rough and tumble campaign, the democrats and liberals esp are viscous campaigners. I hope Romney is up to it and makes a good VP pick. The media will be looking to do their usual hatchet job on any weakness and will try to make them look like uneducated boobs.
I like Christie. He will reduce Biden to jelly in one debate and then he can turn his sights on the community organizer.
Top Obama Donor Tied to Bain Layoffs Home - by Cardigan - May 22, 2012 - 19:00 America/New_York - 8 Comments ABC The Obama campaign’s latest attack tells the story of workers at an Indiana office supply company who lost their jobs after a Bain-owned company named American Pad & Paper (Ampad) took over their company and drove it out of business. Here’s what the Obama Web video doesn’t mention: A top Obama donor and fundraiser had a much more direct tie to the controversy and actually served on the board of directors at Richardson, Texas-based Ampad, which makes office paper products. Jonathan Lavine is a long-time Bain Capital executive and co-owner of the Boston Celtics. He is also one of President Obama’s most prolific fundraisers. He has already raised more than $200,000 for the Obama campaign this election, according to Federal Election Commission records. Lavine started working for Bain in 1993. He was one of three Bain executives who served on the board of directors of Ampad for several years, a post he held until 1999. Here’s a news release announcing his departure from the company in April 1999. Lavine’s placement on the board of Ampad suggests he had a more direct role than Romney in the series of events surrounding the layoffs, labor disputes and eventual bankruptcy of the Marion, Ind., factory featured in the Obama campaign video. Asked about Mr. Lavine’s role, Obama campaign spokesman Ben Labolt put the focus back on Romney.
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Joe Being Joe: Private Equity Is No More of a Presidential Qualification Than Plumbing… The gift that keeps on giving. (Politico) — Vice President Joe Biden offered a defense Tuesday of the Obama campaign’s questioning of Mitt Romney’s business experience, saying that the Republican candidate’s specific experiences are what make him a bad fit for the Oval Office. “Your job as president is to promote the common good. That doesn’t mean the private equity guys are bad guys. They are not,” he said in a campaign speech in Keene, N.H. “But that no more qualifies you to be president than being a plumber. And, by the way, there are a lot of awful smart plumbers.”
never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. Obama will run the 'above board' stuff like attacking his business, when really they will make this about attacking his religion.. it will alienate him from Christians on one side and then they'll use gay marriage and abortion as issues to stir up the women. I'd like to be wrong, but I doubt it. I think Obama wins closer than people think..but handily. I have a hard time getting excited about much these days.
Could this become an election year issue? White House Gave Movie Director Access to Navy Seals and Confidential Information Relating to Bin Laden Assassination
Networks Censor News of Massive Democratic Protest Vote Against Obama Home - by Cardigan - May 23, 2012 - 19:30 America/New_York - 11 Comments Newsbusters 42 percent of Democratic primary voters in Kentucky on Tuesday chose “uncommited” over Barack Obama. In Arkansas, a Tennessee attorney finished with 41 percent of the vote. ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today and CBS This Morning all skipped the embarrassing story, despite the fact that CBS and NBC covered the far less interesting Republican primary. During the month of May, Obama suffered through a series of humiliating protest votes in Democratic primaries. On May 8th, the incumbent President nearly lost the West Virginia primary to a convicted felon. Yet, except for a single mention at 4am on May 9th, the networks have buried Obama’s bad news. Today news reader Natalie Morales explained, “Just under six months to go until election day and Republicans are coming together behind Mitt Romney, who picked up victories in the Kentucky and Arkansas primaries on Tuesday.” This Morning co-anchor Erica Hill boringly noted, “In the U.S. presidential race, Mitt Romney won primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky yesterday, bringing him closer to cinching [sic] the Republican nomination.”
Dem Congressional Candidate Refuses To Say If He’s Voting For Obama Home - by Cardigan - May 24, 2012 - 20:00 America/New_York - 2 Comments Real Clear Politics Jesse Kelly (R-AZ), Congressional candidate: Who are you supporting for president in November? Ron Barber (D-AZ), Congressional candidate: My vote is my vote, Mr. Kelly, as yours is too and I will not be talking about other elections. I’m focused on beating you on June 12th, that’s what I’m focused on. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sRceZC-7kko?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
Obama: Because Romney’s Business Made A Profit He Doesn’t Belong In The White House… Remind me again, how many billions has Obama lost on the “green energy” businesses he invested our money in? Yeah, I think we’ll take Mitt. DES MOINES, Iowa – President Obama celebrated the role Iowa played in his campaign in 2008 and took aim once again at Mitt Romney’s business background at a campaign rally on the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday. “The last time he visited these same fairgrounds, he famously declared that corporations are people,” Obama told a crowd of roughly 2,500 packed into an exhibit space. “Human beings, my friends.” The president maintained that the private equity industry is a welcome part of the economy – risk-takers and investors should be rewarded, he said. But their motives are not job creation. “The people who work in these firms will tell you that’s not their goal,” Obama said, explaining that the goal for private equity companies, such as Bain, the company Romney co-founded, is “maximizing short-term gains for your investors.” “There may be value for that type of experience but it’s not in the White House,” the president said, where the goal is “strong and sustainable, broad-based growth.” The Romney attacks now appear to be part of Obama’s regular stump speech – he has employed them several times this week, despite criticism from some Democrats that he is wrongly villifying the industry.
Obama Campaign Says He Has No Intention Of Giving Back Donations He Took From Bain Executives… Priceless. Via Politicker: Though the Obama campaign has repeatedly attacked Mitt Romney for his career at Bain Capital, President Obama still accepted $7,500 in campaign contributions from three Bain executives. His campaign press secretary, Ben LaBolt told The Politicker the president has no intention of giving the money back. “No one aside from Mitt Romney is running for President highlighting their tenure as a corporate buyout specialist as one of job creation, when in fact, his goal was profit maximization,” said Mr. LaBolt. “The President has support from business leaders across industries who have seen him pull the economy back from the brink of another depression, manufacturing and the auto industry revived, and support his agenda to build an economy that lasts where America outinnovates and outeducates the rest of the world and economic security for the middle class is restored.” On Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden defended the attacks on Mr. Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital. Though he insisted he wasn’t “criticizing private equity firms,” Mr. Biden said there were many examples of Mr. Romney and his Bain colleagues causing tremendous harm. “You hear all these stories about his partners buying companies. . . where they load up with a tremendous amount of debt. The companies go under, everybody loses their job, the community is devastated, but they make money,” said Mr. Biden. “They make money even when a company goes bankrupt, when workers lose their jobs.”
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Report: Obama Supporters Starting To Panic As He Stumbles Badly Out Of The Gate… Via Politico: Nothing inspires Democrats like the Barack Obama swagger — the supreme self-confidence on stage, the self-certainty in private. So nothing inspires more angst than when that same Obama stumbles, as he has leaving the gate in 2012. That’s the unmistakable reality for Democrats since Obama officially launched his reelection campaign three weeks ago. Obama, not Mitt Romney, is the one with the muddled message — and the one who often comes across as baldly political. Obama, not Romney, is the one facing blowback from his own party on the central issue of the campaign so far — Romney’s history with Bain Capital. And most remarkably, Obama, not Romney, is the one falling behind in fundraising. To top it off, Vice President Joe Biden has looked more like a distraction this month than the potent working-class weapon Obama needs him to be. National polls, which had shown Obama with a slight but steady lead over Romney through April, moved into a virtual tie this month — despite Romney’s clumsy conclusion to the GOP race. But for now, it’s impossible to overlook the early struggles of a White House and political team notorious for discipline and effectiveness. Consider the rocks that piled up in Obama’s backpack this week as he and Romney moved into the opening phase of the general election campaign: * Romney has surprised his many critics with a clear and consistent focus on the economy, hands down the issue of the race. After months of missteps, the guy looks steady and disciplined again, much like he did in the early days of the GOP primaries. By playing to his strength, he has masked his weaknesses — for now. By contrast, Obama has looked unsteady. Some Democrats have watched with dismay as the focus of Obama’s public comments bounced from student loans, to tax cuts for the rich, to trade, to Bain Capital. * Bain has turned into pain this week. For the first time, some top Democrats are questioning the strategy coming out of the reelection campaign’s Chicago headquarters, with some agreeing with Newark Mayor Cory Booker that Obama is making it too easy to paint him as anti-business. Ed Rendell and Steve Rattner also have publicly voiced concerns, echoed by many others in private conversations. The result has been a minor but very public split in the party on an issue Obama’s camp hoped would tag Romney with a series of crippling labels: elitist, mean-spirited, anti-worker.