Re; the authenticity and Ted Kennedy vs. Romney. Kantor missed the point.

The Kennedy boys political life was always about social causes! Its that simple. They didnt pander to social causes/needs to garner votes. They actually campaigned on them, from the get go!

Romney and his camp chooses the hot points, like their speaking to the Board Room to get the best response.

If the Kennedys had lost an election they would have continued on their fight for social causes. Romney loses and he and pals regroups to figure out how to win the next time..!

Come on! The man called Romney is TRANSPARENT, but not the good kind. He's a serial campaigner now!

You don't have to "hmmm," Betsey: I was asked to go, as were my friends, and we were as enthusiastic as enthusiastic could be. We just didn't have the time and money to make it to Charlotte. We'll be there in spirit, and we'll be there in November. That's what counts.

Actually, Edward, my point was that we Democrats are employed at real jobs and that, therefore, many of us can't take time off to go to Charlotte, much as we wanted to be there. Many of us would be among the unemployed, had it not been for Obama.

While certainly way too high, 8.3% unemployment is not bad when you consider: (1) had it not been for the stimulus and GM/Chrysler reorg, that number would have been several points higher and (2) the President has been obstructed by greedy, venal power-hungry Repubs since the day he took office.

You Republicans built this mess, buddy. and we Democrats will make sure that you continue to own it.

Low enthusiasm? or pending thunderstorm? hmmm lemme see..how easy is this to verify?! theweatherchannel.com

Am I better off today than 4 years ago? I am “personally” not better off than 4 years ago, because I have been out of work for over 1 year, and getting 0 hits in my job title search; but I don’t blame president Obama for that. I blame the previous administration for starting 2 unnecessary wars, asleep at the helm while the guys on Wall street gambling with our 401K & hiding bad mortgage in CDO all over the world. But the problem with Americans is that if it didn’t happen to them then it didn’t happen. Most of Americans can’t empathize with other people that is struggling, until it hits home. It has to happen to them for them to relate to another person or family’s struggles.
I did not expect president Obama to turn the country around in 2 or 4 years (like those guys on FOX expect him to turn it around after 100 days LOL). They totally forget and are in denial that President Bush had 8 years to almost bankrupt this country. When a large company is not doing well, you can’t turn a company like Apple, IBM or HP in months or sometimes years. We can’t expect a country which is much more complex and way larger than these companies to turn on a dime the problem of jobs and economy was planted in the Bush term. Obama enters the presidency with all the Sh*t on his plate and we have the audacity to have him turn it around after 100 days (Fox), and Congress putting up roadblocks every step of his way 3 ½ years as president.

Karen, The unemployment rate is 8.3%.

Maybe filling the auditorium with unemployed people would send the wrong message?

Just a note on the stadium v. convention hall issue: I am an Obama volunteer and was offered tickets to the stadium, but had to decline because (1) I could not take two days off from my job to attend the convention and (2)the campaign asked us to pay our own way to Charlotte.

If there is any truth to the suggestion that the Democrats could not fill a 77,000 person stadium, that truth does not reflect a lack of enthusiasm for Obama. My friends and I are donating money and a great deal of time to the campaign. Like most Democrats, however, we are working people on budgets who could not leave our jobs or finance a trip to Charlotte. Maybe if the Koch brothers were paying us off to go -- but then, we'd be Republicans -- yucckk!

I hope Sheldon Silver is prosecuted and has to resign in disgrace. Remember, it was Silver's plan to curry favor with suburbanites who work in NYC by allowing them NOT to pay for the city services they use (i.e. by exempting them from the commuter tax) that resulted in the lawsuit that allows out of state people who work in NYC NOT to pay for the city services they use. This critically wounded NYC. I wouldn't vote for Silver for dogcatcher.

ladyjay114: I don't have cable and I was on two channels at once last night. I wanted the NPR coverage and posted on the comment page. I'll try C-Span tonight, thank you, but I still want the NPR coverage.

Ed from Larchmont: The Democrats should not and cannot take on the Catholic Church. As long as the Church does not pay taxes, it is not entitled to representation in government. The Democrats are only supporting women's rights, and any Catholics, men or women, should deal with abortion and/or contraception according to their own consciences. And, by the way, contraception helps to prevent abortion.

@Bassett:

Ms. Kantor's comment about Michelle wanting Barack to earn more money is true, but she took it out of context. When the President decided to be in public life and became an Illinois State Senator, this was after both him and Michelle finished law school and had very large student loans because of their extensive education history (both Michelle & Barack attended highly ranked, yet highly expensive universities). Also they were having children. If he was going into politics, there would be career sacrifices that she'd have to make as well. So when Barack was elected to the state legislature, which doesn't pay well, the family income was lower than it could've been if they both went into the private sector; they would financially struggle under the heavy student debt load.

Luckily, since Barack became a rising political star, he authored very successful books and the money from those publications got them out of student debt.

This is all ancient history. Why Ms. Kantor brought this up is beyond me.

@gary -

Your recasting Becky's "reap what you sow" into a hope for your death is a typical winger strawman. Right up there with "You didn't build that" and "I created the Internet"...and THEN you have the nerve to posit that Democrats don't respond to argument. That's the problem with the GOP this year, much of there argument is based on stuff they make up rather than sound reasoning from facts.

You want a better argument, make a sound one first.

Brian: "We had to destroy Medicare to save it."

[Vietnam reference, for you youngsters]

BL Staff: You're not vetting these comments very well. Please re-read them and delete the vitriol. Thank you.

Whether or not Romney has the "skills" to "turn around the economy" is irrelevant because the POLICIES within which he would exercise those skills has been shown by our country's experience to be destructive to the middle class, the foundation of our economy and nation.

Agree that carolita is best comment.

Also, meant to add that despite deficits in Obama's health plan, it helps way more people than disavowing any interdependent, non-market/profit-based health care.

Really can't stand Jodi Kantor's commentary, she comes across as so smug and sanctimonious. She warns us to be wary about how cultivated the Obamas marriage is portrayed yet her only relevance is a book based on that union. The Obamas marriage is modern, made up of equal partners one just has a bigger job title. I admire this president and congratulate on such a strong family.

2 yale degrees...damn

So we have now heard more clips from Tampa than Charlotte, and the rnc'd lengthy dispatch about changing venues. we were forced to listen to all this last week. Can we please have coverage of THIS convention without constantly giving voice to the rnc or consistently have commentary laced with condescension and back handed knocks to the administration? whose paying y'all? The public ad in NPR or Bain?

@Truth and Beauty:

This is why we have C-Span! There's no pundits and you get to see and hear all the content of these political events.

If you don't have cable, you can watch live on cspan.org

Romney v. Obama
R: Money came from obscure investments and tax shelters
O: Money came from book royalties and speaking engagements

R: Health care: Set up decent plan in MA and is now disavowing it to play to ultraconservative right; will not elaborate on plan he says he has
O: Started with halfway decent universal coverage plan; went too far away from it in negotiating w/insurance and drug companies *and* in picking up some previously supported Republican plans
R: Individuality and entrepreneurship is *the* ultimate in American priorities and character
O: We are in fact interdependent (I don't grow my food or sew my clothes or clean my streets) and the only way America develops in a positive way is by acknowledging that and finding the best way to combine the best of individuality and the innate human sense of community and interdependence

I have a lot of problems with things Obama has done (see habeas corpus and other constitution violations) but comparatively? There's simply no choice.

1. I was very annoyed last night that the NPR and ABC commentators talked through the speeches. Apart from the fact that it was rude, it also made it difficult to hear the speeches and evaluate them. Please don't do that tonight and tomorrow night. Commentary should be reserved for BETWEEN and AFTER the speeches.

2. I think Paul Ryan is grasping at straws with this comment about moving to a smaller venue. Maybe the way to look at it is that at least the Democrats are considerate enough to hold the event indoors during inclement weather. I'm so sick of these personal attacks. The Republicans should stick to the issues and what they would do to IMPROVE life as we know it rather than attacking the Democrats for keeping their constituents dry in the face of impending rain (which is what government should be doing for us!).

@carolita from NYC: Best comment of all.

I completely enjoyed the PBS TV Ch.13 reporting and coverage of the Democrat's convention. Also note, they did not cut off abruptly and go to the usual 11'o'clock news. It was as if the convention hadn't occurred when I checked back with the commercial stations. Ugh! NYC/NPR and PBS are the way to go!!

P.S. Jodi Kantor was rather catty on the BBC interview about Mrs. Obama this morning. I really felt very uncomfortable with her in this interview.

What value does Kantor's comment about Michelle wanting Barack to earn more money have. And why should we even believe this 'tidbit'.

My favorite speakers from last night were Ohio Governor Strickland, a real old fashioned American firebrand, and Lily Ledbetter. The were both awesome.

Re: the Kennedys, I think that their personal struggles and family tragedies connected them to ordinary people (and/or vice versa). Romney seems untouched, above it all

Nothing is left to chance at these conventions, except perhaps for Clint Eastwood?

Conventions are political theater to me. The RNC2012 was bad theater, and so far, the DNC2012 is better theater. I watched on C-SPAN therefore avoiding all the lousy commentary and rehashing.

those healthcare testimonials left out the story of that poor teen on that great gov program----medicaid----died because of poor dental service under that plan

The parties and country are playing the Depression game of "we were so poor, that..." Why is everyone in sour grapes mode? Why don't both candidates highlight the success of the American dream, and their intention to make it possible for every american once again, rather than paint the successful achievers as villains?

Understanding French ---noblesse oblige---is the difference between those like the Kennedy's and those like the Romneys---after two years in Paris one wonders what Mitt learned there...

You should have watched MSNBC.

Pls don't leave the military mom so quickly. Her 4 children in the different branches of the military and ...

Lily Ledbetter

Gimme a break. The reason for Ted Kennedy's "humanist" political style was his guilt over Chappaquidik and his lifelong struggle to rehabilitate his image from it and deflect attention from it.

Two Kennedy stories about wealth:

1. JFK was accused of using his father's money to buy votes during the 1960 presidential primary. At a dinner, he pulled out a telegram he said he had just received from his father saying: "Don't buy one more vote than you have to; I'm not paying for any landslide."
2. Ted Kennedy liked to tell the story that during an early campaign a man approached him and said "I understand you've never had to work a day in your life." When Kennedy acknowledged this was true, the man replied:"You haven't missed anything."
The Kennedys were able to make jokes about their wealth because they showed they cared about those less fortunate. Mitt Romney not only doesn't seem to be able be funny but also has shown that unless he knows you personally, he didn't really care about you.

Yes, the DNC needs to be a great show, but not because we have to believe Obama is going to be a savior. The idea that one man can save the world, create all the jobs, bring back all the money is just naive. The reason I'm voting for Obama is so that the Republicans can't make things even worse for the working and middle classes (of which I am a member). But I'm not looking for a savior, and don't think Obama (or Romney, far from it) could be one. I know very well that the economy is a problem is way bigger than just what we're experiencing in the USA, and that it's going to take years and years, or a miracle, or a stroke of genius paired with the right circumstances to make things go the way people wish they were going right now. We need to stop looking to the White House for the solution and drop the savior-seeking. Start with electing a better House/Congress. Start by actually taking hold of the reins ourselves, a little.

Disclaimer: I like Michelle Obama a lot, big supporter, more than her husband even BUT...I'm soaking in a giant vat of turpentine, still trying to get the sap off! I'm sorry, but that speech was excruciating to listen to. Cliche ridden in the extreme, repetitious. ok we get it, you love your husband, the family struggles. Hard work, apple pie ice cream and SACRIFICE.

I know that supposedly this is her "job" at the convention, but it was, ironically, bloodless and forced to me. While my 16 yr old daughter (another Michelle fan like me)and I were cringing and laughing hysterically in turns, we looked up and saw people in the audience crying. In pain or empathy?

Why are so many eager to have Romney fix our economy? Do we want our government and society run like private equity? I don't think there's much that could be applied that would be useful.

The US treasury----ie amer taxpayers----are $25 billion in debt from GM bailout. that's according to the current stock price of GM

@DAVID - they were not meant to speak in the stadium only the President, watch tonight. By the by what about the low attendance at the RNC? Oh in typical repub style you have forgotten last week already!

Ted and his brothers were Irish Catholics, that could understand the poor and the middle class. They also had problems, drank, did drugs and liked women. Romney and his family are like space aliens. The Stepford family.

@GARY - interesting, I did not say that I hope you die, I said, "I hope you reap what you sow" from what you have written here below NOW, if you interpreted that as the consequence for it, Oh well, you wrote it.

@ caller

Are you singing the praises of a guy who drove his car off a small bridge with a date in the passenger seat and left her to die underwater? Really??

Don't forget a Democratic presidential candidate who was out of touch: John Kerry!

Best line from speeches: [Romney's] money needs a passport [to come back into the country]

Ted Kennedy could connect with voters and people because he lied.

@gary -

The Obamas are rich but no where near Romney rich. Romney's interest income for one year is greater than the ENTIRE OBAMA FORTUNE. Only in the mind of a deluded winger is 25X = X. Romney's money earns more interest in one day than the median household income in these United States.

Other errors in thinking it may pay for you to revisit:
Dinesh D'Souza DOES NOT EQUAL Micheal Moore.
Lying half the time DOES NOT EQUAL lying one fourth the time. (though both are too much)
And 104 Cloture votes (AKA FILIBUSTERS) DOES NOT EQUAL loyal opposition.

See you at the polls.

Another example of Kantor not knowing what she is talking about. The numbers were revised downward months after Obama took office. NO ONE KNEW HOW BAD THINGS WERE.

@ Brian

Did you really cry during the speech? I held back tears for both first lady speeches, but it was mainly due to listening to so much contrived BS.

I keep hoping that you will start asking both parties tough questions. There are real serious issues that both parties refuse to address. Maybe after wasting 45 minutes discussing first lady speeches you can move on to more important issues.

Ed from Larchmont,
If the Republican kills 600,000 adults through an unneeded war, the Abortion thing is pretty much dropped off the table. While that applies to 2000-2008, still it shows one way to balance against Abortion considerations.

@BRENDA - sur,e as contrived as ann romney and her fake tears!

Speaking of seeking respect rather than love, why are so many Republicans seeking the love of Grover Norquist?

are there any sources of objective coverage of these conventions or any news for that matter? watching msnbc's coverage of the DNC was absolutely sickening and fox/cnn are just as bad if not worse. i know this is obvious and is the current state of affairs but it is sad.

@The Truth from Becky

You just effectively said that you hope I die. Not very christian of you to say that. Altho it's very Democrat of you to villify rather than argue.

I dont even know what you're referring to. But since there is no God, allow me to reciprocate:

I hope you drop dead too. And have an nice day!

Obama is NYers spouse?....

Say what you will, analyse and pick away at her speech all you want, but this morning I overslept, something I rarely do, dreaming that Michelle Obama was dancing with me, picking me up and sweeping me away. Crazy. And afterwards she said, "Now that you know how, let's do it again!"

A great first night - all of the speeches were spot on and inclusive of ALL Americans.

I guess Obama couldn't fill that big stadium- huh? The magic is gone.

Brian, have you lost your mind?!

Obama and Michelle are millionaires just like the Romneys.

GARY - I hope you reap what you have sewn from the blasphemous rant you have displayed here.

Good point Mark, it says a lot that religious types in the west, are the ones that get most concerned about islamists getting involved in politics.

Apparently religion and politics don't mix, unless its your own.

I found the delivery of her speech to be contrived and not real. To think this was some off the cuff delivery is crazy. This was a political speech, vetted by professionals, practiced with professionals, etc. Even that stutter she had was blatantly false... but everyone in the media must fall in line.
That said it was smart political material, the media will eat it up.

CORRECTION

turns out not even Michael J Fox supports stem cell research.

should have read:

turns out not even Michael J Fox supports EMBRYONIC stem cell research.

Draw the parallels: Obama's rusty old car, Anne Romney's "couple of Cadillacs", Michelle's father's MS--he shaved, put on his uniform and went to work, Anne Romney was diagnosed with MS and got to trot around Utah on thoroughbred horses... If you dig down you see the underhand digs at the Romney's lifestyle.

So has WNYC and the BL Show given up any pretext of objectivity?
Big Gvt can't save us...we are a sad sorry lot.

Jesse and Al have jobs Gary!!

They run "Churches" the first and best non profit. Jesse gives speech classes on how to say stuff people cannot understand.

@john from office

Democrats chose to demagague science when they supported embryonic stem cells, despite the SCIENCE (i.e. foreign protein rejection via cloning) telling everyone that there was an insurmountable problem with it. Republicans said this, and explained why industry wasnt investing in it, and went a long time ago with Adult stem cell research.

Republicans were right. turns out not even Michael J Fox supports stem cell research.

The fear i have is that there are too many people like you who want to cut off debate in science, once a consensus is acheived. read what Einstein said about that.

Gary, you have alot of free time. But, it was funny.

I can make all my points with humor:

Democratic National Convention Schedule

Thursday:

4:00 PM - Opening Flag Burning Ceremony - sponsored by CNN

4:05 PM - Singing of "God Damn America " led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright

4:10 PM - Pledge of Allegiance to Obama

4:15 PM - Ceremonial 'I hate America' led by Michelle Obama

4:30 PM - Tips on "How to keep your man trustworthy & true to you while you travel the world" - Hillary Clinton

4:45 PM -Al Sharpton / Jesse Jackson seminar "How to have a successful career without having a job."

5:00 PM - "Great Vacations I've Taken on the Taxpayer's Dime Travel Log" - Michelle Obama

5:15 PM - "Are elections a viable means to harden federal penal codes?" - Anthony Weiner via Twitter
(Late typsetting corrections: "elections" should read "erections". "Penal" should read "penis".

5:30 PM - Eliot Spitzer Speaks on "Family Values" via Satellite

5:45 PM - Tribute to All 57 States - Nancy Pelosi

6:00 PM - Sen. Harry Reid - 90-minute speech expressing the Democrat's appreciation of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and George Soros for sparing no expense, for all that they have accomplished to unify the country, improve employment and to boost the economy.

7:00 PM - "How to pass security clearance interviews for High-level appointments" - Huma Abedin

8:30 PM - Airing of Grievances by the Clintons

9:00 PM - "Bias in Media - How we can make it work for you" Tutorial - sponsored by CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the Washington Post and the New York Times

9:15 PM - Tribute Film to Brave Freedom Fighters incarcerated at GITMO - Michael Moore

9:45 PM - Personal Finance Seminar - Charlie Rangel

10:00 PM - Denunciation of Bitter Gun Owners and Bible readers

10:30 PM - Ceremonial Waving of White Flag for IRAQ , & Afghanistan

11:00 PM - Obama Energy Plan Symposium / Tire Gauge Demonstration / You too can get rich with Green Investment bankruptcies - Al Gore

11:15 PM - Free Gov. Blagovich rally

11:30 PM - Obama Accepts Oscar, Tony and Latin Grammy Awards

11:45 PM - Feeding of the Delegates with 5 Loaves and 2 Fish - Obama Presiding

12:00 AM - Official Nomination of Obama by Bill Maher and Chris "He sends a thrill up my leg" Matthews

12:01 AM - Obama Accepts Nomination as Lord and Savior

12:05 AM - Celestial Choirs Sing

3:00 AM - Biden Delivers Acceptance Speech

Ed, this is not our father's Republican Party anymore

This is soo true. I am a registered republican and am embarrassed by the cult like Jesus stuff and the poo pooing of science. Science is not open to opinion or debate once facts are established. Earth is round, we did not come to being 6,000 years ago. It scares me when I hear the GOP speak on science issues.

Ed-
I struggled with this dilemma too....that is, until I saw what George W Bush and the GOP did about abortion when they controlled capitol hill & had total control. Nothing, that's what. The silence was deafening.
It was then that I started to realize how the GOP plays the Catholic vote. Lip service, then no action. They use it as a wedge. They have no intention of overturning Roe. I don't expect anything from the GOP anymore.

This effectively puts both parties at equipoise on this issue. That being the case, it's the other issues I look at now. So now I vote my pocketbook.....and believe me, I'm not part of the 1%, which is what the GOP is all about now. It also helped that a priest I spoke to said it was ok to vote one's pocketbook.

Ed, this is not our father's Republican Party anymore.

Well, if you only vote along religious lines then I hope you don't criticize Egyptians or Iranians for voting for Islamists. Also if these religious sects are so intent on suing the hell out of the government maybe it's time to make them pay taxes. Why should they get a tax subsidy to attack the president?

That was a fair comment. But please keep in mind that the Church teaches that there are some things that are intrinsically evil. They are a bad idea in all circumstances. And to cooperate in them is serious sin.

(An example of this would be race slavery. They said of the anti-slave movement: if you don't agree with slavery, don't buy one. And they said, what would happen when the slaves were freed, what could they do? But no one would say slavery should not have been ended. The Vatican condemned race slavery in 1453.)

Ed, you seem sincere unlike other people who write on these boards. I am a catholic and will vote for Obama. I believe in the separation of church and state and no one is attacking the Church.

What an American does in his or her home and with her health is not for me to decide nor for the governament to regulate. You are free to do as you wish in your world, but don't impose your will/morals/beliefs on others, that is un american.

In addition, the hard truth is that these births are not wanted and would be imposed on the poor and least able to deal with a child. Resulting in a larger underclass, leading to more social ills and costs. are you prepared to pay for that??

There are two battles going on: the Democrats vs. the Republicans over the economy, etc. The other is the Democratic Party against the Catholic Church. The Democratic Party now has abortion on demand and same sex marriage as platform planks, and they've taken on the Catholic Church's right to religious liberty and is being sued by the Church.

I don't see how any Catholic can vote for him. And if they don't vote for him, he will lose.