Last night's final debate; commentaries

Legal Insurrection; Obama loves straw man arguments, known on the internets as being a shorter.
"The false choice between Obama’s position on an issue and some absurd extreme alternative is Obama’s way of framing most issues.
" “Some say” we should have no government or similar ridiculousness is a typical Obama refrain in order to justify massive government."
"Notice how Obama never addresses what the Navy says it needs. Most of the clips you will see of this segment omit Romney’s reference to the Navy’s own assessment of its needs.

The nutroots are gaga over this, but did it really help Obama?

"I think the military may disagree that a fully equipped Navy, by the Navy’s own standards, is the equivalent of resurrecting the cavalry. Same goes for the Air Force."

Politico; Mitt Romney wins debate season  ""Barack Obama won on points last night. But that victory may not have been enough to undo the damage done to the president by this year's debate season."

PJ Media; Big Bird, Binders, Bayonets: Who Sank Whose Battleship?  "Romney’s Libya answer, when asked about policy failures and whether the White House attempted to mislead the public on what happened, was a broader take on the need to deal with Islamic radicalism."

AP’s Latest Fact Free ‘Fact Check’ Of Romney  "Note that Obama flat out lied when he said: "You were very clear that you would not provide government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy."

"In fact, in the very New York Times editorial that the news media so love to cite, Romney specifically called for government assistance: "The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk." "

Much was made of Romney's point that Syria would give Iran access "to the sea", snarkily saying that they already had access to the Persian Gulf. They do, but not to the Mediterranean Sea, which would give Iran direct access to the coast of Israel and increased ability to threaten the Suez Canal. That would be major.

No matter. Obama's supporters are fully committed to him, not because he is knowledgeable and effective in foreign policy but merely because he is Barack Obama.

I fear this man's effect on America, but not as much as I fear those who want him to be president. The Tunnel Dweller

CNN poll tends to confirm that Romney “won” by drawing 

Stilton Jarlsberg at Hope n' Change made this point with which I agree:

In candor, I'm extremely disappointed that Mitt didn't beat Barry over the head with his numerous foreign policy failures. I don't know if Mitt's pollsters told him not to risk it, or it Mitt just didn't have the stomach for it. But it SHOULD have been said that this president has endangered American lives, undermined the confidence of our allies, emboldened our enemies, and generally made a complete mess of every conceivable foreign policy decision he's made.

Hot Air; Romney wins the debate season — and the key test for a challenger; Update: Romney hits 50% in Rasmussen tracker, up 4  Debate's "real value to voters, however, is to test the presidential mettle of each man.  A President is presumed to have more of it, by virtue of his four years in the office already, so the challenger has to work hard to equal or surpass his stature.  Romney did that in the first debate, and in the two succeeding debates solidified his standing as a man at least Obama’s equal."

From the Council on Foreign Relations: Presidential Debate Transcript, Florida, October 2012

Yeshiva World News in Israel naturally paid close attention to this: Romney, Obama Pledge Israel Backing, Agree Iran Strike Last Resort   "Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, an international security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the foreign policy debate was “underwhelming” and the candidates kept switching to domestic policies."

Heritage Experts’ Roundup of the Final Presidential Debate   One point I'm glad that Romney made:  "President Obama stated his support for the 2009 Green Revolution in Iran tonight. That is three years late and a dollar short. Just as he revised his record on the Benghazi attack, calling it terrorism four weeks after the fact, President Obama has now changed his position on Iran. One of the reasons we still have the Mullahs in power in Tehran today is that the United States failed to support a promising, fledgling political uprising against the autocratic regime of Iran."

American Thinker had these:

Romney passes final test  "In his three debates, Romney proved himself at least the equal, and at times the master, of Obama. By any measure, the Obama campaign's attempt to make Romney appear to be a risky choice has utterly failed while the Republican has shown himself to be a viable, plausible alternative.

Obama's Facial Expressions Lost the Debate for Him  "That's the problem with transformational figures, they always know how to save humanity in general, but they end up never saving anyone or anything in particular."

A Most Pathetic 'Debate'

From Lucianne:

Romney Passed the Test  by Fred Barnes:  "Romney waltzed. Obama did the Electric Slide."

Obama, Disarmed  From NRO; "Over all, the debate came down to the economy, and Romney’s case was much stronger. I think Romney was the clear winner on points and by appearing presidential."

Petulant, Perturbed Obama Just Can't Help Himself   "Pouting comes second nature".

From Nealz Nuze:

Foreign Policy Debate? "The “I got bin Laden” statements from Obama were predictable and shallow.  But .. when you’re speaking to a shallow electorate, shallow works."

Where Obama Lost Points   On Obama's "bayonets" zinger, Boortz said:

This was a trifecta for Obama. He managed to combine snarky, sarcastic and condescending into one immature statement.
Romney is right here. Our military is weakened. That would be because Obama came into office with the intent of weakening the American military. He was raised to believe that America was an evil colonial power – and that power was exercised through the American military. Obama was raised and nurtured to despise the U.S. Armed Forces. One can only guess how much of that has stuck with him into the presidency. Remember – the Obama administration is working overtime to suppress the military vote in this election.

Legal Insurrection; Best Tweets of the Final Debate — Romney as The President, Obama as desperate challenger  I think this line beat out the "bayonets and horses" zinger:

@Ostrov_A Bang! #Romney to #Obama: I certainly won't be telling Putin I'm going you more flexibility after the election." #Debate2012

The Stakes in Tonight’s Foreign Policy Debate

Bruce Thornton  "This betrayal of a quintessential political right and the de facto validation of the “malevolent culture of Islamic supremacism,” as Andy McCarthy writes, illustrates the delusional ideologies that have created Obama’s foreign policy now threatening our security and interests. They have made America look weak and exhausted, a civilization of unparalleled military and economic power but crippled by abject moral poverty, one more terrorist attack away from capitulation and retreat. That is the point Romney needs to hammer home tonight if his priority is to expose Obama’s foreign policy failure."

Andrew C. McCarthy, It’s Not Just Obama’s Lies — It’s the Premise of Obama’s Lies  "We see this raw, bullying power in the speeches and nauseating Pakistani television commercials Obama and Clinton produced to reprove the video at taxpayer expense. These fundamentally betray the federal government’s principal duty to safeguard American liberties against foreign threats. We also see it in the Kafkaesque prosecution and detention of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, alleged producer of the video, on a mere probation violation. “Violations of supervised release,” as they are called in the biz, are numbingly routine. Convicts are rarely re-imprisoned over them absent a truly severe infraction. And even when such infractions occur, there is almost never any rush to adjudicate them — generally, the probationer is given a summons with notice to appear in court on his own recognizance with counsel; he is not arrested in his home by armed police in the middle of the night, as Nakoula was, as if he were a terrorist or a drug lord. That is not responsible law enforcement; it is abuse of power."

An Open Letter to Obama Voters

Breitbart  "That we could elect an African-American to lead the free world is indeed a very good thing.
"We just happened to elect the wrong African-American. "

....

"We walked up to a fellow with a gray pony tail, John Lennon glasses and Birkenstocks. He was wearing a Romney sticker.

" “Mind if I ask why you’re voting for Mitt Romney?” I asked. “I assume you are.”

"His reply – and these were his words, not mine – was short and to the point: “Because I refuse to be that stupid twice.”
                                      ( Well, maybe Russell Brand, pictured right, would)
"Changing one’s mind doesn’t always reveal a tendency toward indecision. Sometimes, changing one’s mind reveals a tendency toward wisdom."

How progressive: Wisconsin Senator's Son Beaten to Pulp by Anti-Romney Thugs

Big Government via Weasel Zippers

"Early Friday morning, thugs presumably supporting President Obama beat up the son of Wisconsin State Senator Neal Kedzie outside of his apartment in Whitewater. Kedzie caught the two men removing a Romney sign outside of his apartment around two o'clock in the morning. After telling them to put the signs back, one of the thugs attacked Kedzie and then put him in a choke hold and continued to beat his head."

Sen. Kedzie: Statement on assault of son, Sean Kedzie

The goons were either TEA Partiers or President Bush helped by Dick Cheney.
       

American Hero 2012

Legal Insurrection  "I hope you have 2 minutes to watch a hard hitting video I made called American Hero 2012. It should convince undecided voters and FIRE UP the base!
"I know everyone’s mind is on the debate tonight and most stories will be about that. This should help balance things in your news feed with other content.

The last debate: Foreign Policy

http://terrellaftermath.com/

Diane Sori; Foreign policy...Obama’s Achilles heel via Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

"Romney needs to remind everyone that to make it even worse this miserable excuse of a president had the unmitigated gaul to stand in front of the U(seless) N(ations) and yet again offer an apology to our enemies, an apology for a privately made video that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the violence and MURDERS of our people just so he could cover his own butt for failing to answer Ambassador Stevens’ cry for help."

5 Crucial Questions for the Presidential Foreign Policy Debate
"Tonight’s final presidential debate will focus solely on foreign policy. Moderator Bob Schieffer announced that the topics will be: “America’s Role in the World,” “Our Longest War—Afghanistan and Pakistan,” “Red Lines—Israel and Iran,” “The Changing Middle East and the New Face of Terrorism,” and “The Rise of China and Tomorrow’s World.” Heritage’s foreign policy experts have written a series of tipsheets for prepping on each of these issues, featured on our Debate 2012 page and linked below."

Also at the above site: The Obama Doctrine: A Failed Policy Leaving America Weaker in a Dangerous World

Expect this at the debate tonight: WH Spin: No Evidence AQ Was Involved in Benghazi
"No evidence? That’s funny, considering the group behind the attack, Ansar al-Sharia, is viewed as al-Qaeda’s face in Libya, according to a Library of Congress report from this summer. Also, the intelligence community reportedly intercepted phone calls in which Ansar al-Sharia leaders bragged to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leaders after the attack. Also, the State Department has designated Ansar al-Sharia a new alias for al-Qaeda in Yemen, etc."   "Spinning Benghazi", posted here earlier.

Blackfive offers this point of view from a military blog: Why didn't Obama send military help in Libya?  "Now there is a very interesting question that could actually come up during tonight's Presidential debate. CBS News has a devastating report about what was known about the attack while it was happening. "
...."They did nothing and watched on a drone feed hoping that the situation would change, but campaign slogans don't save lives. That takes making an actual gutsy call and as it turns out the Osama-slayer didn't have time to poll this one, so he loaded up AF one and flew to Vegas."

Big Journalism; Bob Schieffer's 2008 Pro-Obama Debate Record   "Bob Schieffer, the moderator for the last of the three presidential debates in 2012, needs to be watched carefully; he has a clear partisan agenda that favors Barack Obama that was evident even in 2008. When he moderated the last presidential debate that year, he didn’t flinch from his Democratic Party mission."

Graham on Benghazi: 'A National Security Breakdown'  " "I am totally convinced this is going to go down in history as one of the most major breakdowns of national security in a very long time," Grahama said. "It's Exhibit A of a failed national security strategy." " Watch the video below:

Here is the transcript in case the video does not play.

The Tucson Citizen calls the Graham-Durbin the Benghazi Smackdown: Lindsey Graham vs Dick Durbin   And as Obama did in the second presidential debate, Durbin feigns indignation over the idea that Democrats would ever invent a narrative for political purposes. Instead he has tried to convince us that we didn’t hear what we heard, and we didn’t see what we saw.

Rage against the media

Protesters Set to Take on Media Bias at “Rage Against the Media” Rally in L.A. "If Americans are concerned about mainstream media bias, this is their chance to rally with other citizens to do something about it. Hopefully, this is only the first of many more such rallies to come."

Rage Against the Media  "It might be statistically true that “Congress is on pace to make history with the least productive legislative year in the post-World War II era,” but to insinuate this is the fault of the House Republican majority is fiction.

"The U.S. Senate, under the failed “leadership” of “progressive” Harry Reid, has refused to allow a majority of House passed bills to even come to a vote in the U.S. Senate.

"The reason so many believe the House is to blame for this are the lies spread by “progressive” shills like Yahoo News, USA Today, ABC News and their ilk."

Add caption

Spinning Benghazi

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/cartoons/cartoons_of_the_week/index.html

Spinning Benghazi   "The L.A. Times says that “U.S. intelligence agencies…have found no evidence of Al Qaeda participation.” That is contradicted by numerous other accounts and by the Post’s latest version. The Post reports that intelligence “suggests the attack was spontaneous even if it involved militants with ties to al-Qaeda.”

"The Post adds: “The violence in Benghazi appears to have involved militants with ties to al-Qaeda in North Africa, but no evidence indicates that it was organized by al-Qaeda, or timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, officials said.”
"So either the attack did involve terrorists tied to al Qaeda, or it didn’t, depending on which report you read."

On Monday, Obama must come clean on Benghazi  "Four Americans are dead, and the public is far from knowing the truth, either about the events that led to their murders or about the aftermath. Mitt Romney and the moderator must hold Obama accountable on Monday night. It may be our last chance to finally get some answers." Andrea Tantaros via Lucianne

‘Special Report’ investigates death and deceit in Benghazi  "This extraordinary film will be shown one last time tonight on Fox News. Check local listing. Most locations say 10:00 p.m."

California; a model for the nation under Democrats

The Dems don’t have a hold on the ‘famous’

Diane Sori   "Today’s Op-ed is quite different as I was asked by a local campaign office to please compose a list of notable Romney supporters for dissemination. So here is that list and some of the names might come as quite a surprise for while the left loves to tout all the famous so-called ‘Hollywood celebrities’ who support Obama, Mitt Romney has NOT only celebrities from the entertainment field who support him (not all Hollywood leans left contrary to what the Dems believe), but also respected ‘people of name’ from varied important fields. All these people ‘BELIEVE IN AMERICA’ and believe that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan WILL turn our country around.
"And oh yes, the left tries to say that NO notable Blacks Americans support Romney...well how WRONG they are!
"Below is a list of just some of them..." Read on...
Via Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

obamacartoon.blogspot.com

October Surprise: Remember Iran Saying They Wanted Obama To Win?

Michael Ledeen;  Have The United States and Iran agreed for the first time to one-on-one negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program?
"I rather suspect that you don’t have to do anything to avoid an American military strike on Iran. I can’t imagine an Obama administration authorizing a military attack. An administration that can barely bring itself to fly air cover in Libya, and can’t bring itself to take any serious action in Syria, strikes me as very unlikely to unleash our armed forces against the mullahs."
....
"So what is happening? The most likely explanation is that Obama is still desperately seeking his grand bargain, the one that would validate his (and the Nobel Committee’s) claim to be a talented peace maker. That deal is not available, because the Iranians don’t want it. But he wants something to show for his efforts, so he settled for a big nothingburger: an agreement to talk some more."

However, following this article is this disclaimer: White House: NYT Report of U.S.-Iran Talks ‘Not True’
"The White House claimed this evening that a New York Times report saying that the U.S. and Iran have for the first time agreed to one-on-one nuclear talks isn’t true.

"The NYT quotes unnamed senior administration officials as saying Iran wants to wait after the presidential election is over to sit down and start talking — “a result of intense, secret exchanges between American and Iranian officials that date almost to the beginning of President Obama’s term,” states the paper."   (Emphasis added)

From Consortiumnews, a very anti-Republican site: If President Obama wins a second term, Iran is signaling it would be ready for improved relations with the United States and the West.

Via I Acknowledge Class Warfare Exists, a site that claims Iran sanctions are working and that the Iranian rulers are pragmatic people, interested only in their survival and not in some religious martyrdom.

From Globes, Israel business news; We don't support Israeli attack, US tells Iran   " "Yediot Ahronot" says that the US sent the confidential message to Iran in order to prevent an Iranian attack on US installations in the Persian Gulf, where the US has stationed aircraft carriers and has several military bases, which could face a real risk in the event of an Israeli attack."

Bruce Springsteen, Bill Clinton join forces for Obama in Ohio



toonpool.com



LA Times  "PARMA, Ohio -- If any doubt remained about how central the state of Ohio is to President Obama's reelection campaign, the sight of Bruce Springsteen and former President Clinton on stage at Cuyahoga Community College on Thursday made it clear."

"...Springsteen began strumming his guitar and singing "Promised Land." He went on to perform "Youngstown," "We Take Care of Our Own," "This Land is Your Land" and "Thunder Road," along with a new call-and-response tune that he wrote based on Obama's campaign slogan, "Forward." "

Newsbusters has several links on Springsteen, one of which is about Springsteen's endorsement of the Occupy movement just as Obama and Pelosi did.

One Aspect of Springsteen's Obama Campaign Involvement Which Will Likely Be Ignored: His (and Obama's) Occupy Endorsements-  ... "He had particular praise for OWS: "The temper has changed. And people on the streets did it. Occupy Wall Street changed the national conversation—the Tea Party had set it for a while. The first three years of Obama were under them." And he thinks OWS is directly responsible for certain Tiffanys-loving politicians talking about economic equality for the first time: "Nobody had talked about income inequality in America for decades—apart from John Edwards—but no one was listening. But now you have Newt Gingrich talking about 'vulture capitalism'—Newt Gingrich!—that would not have happened without Occupy Wall Street." "

 

Photo, right: Springsteen's house, what he calls a "bourgeois house" in his song, "57 Channels and Nothing On"

Answers.com  I am still looking for another source to substantiate this: "Yes, Bruce was a member of the Communist Party of the USA between 1978 and 1991. He resigned so as to further his music career but still pays on average 4.6 million dollars per year in donations to communist movements worldwide."

The True Blue Liberal proudly, unashamedly and tauntingly corroborates Springsteen's sympathy with communists  "And if you want to complete your Google/Obama/Communism circle, here's a video of Bruce Springsteen singing this Communist anthem at an Obama rally in Philadephia in 2008 bracketed by "Yes We Can" chants (yes, I was one of those chanters)."

legalinsurrection

Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger Symbolize Where the U.S. Could be Headed

The marrying of music and the socialist philosophy began with Seeger and reaches a pinnacle with Springsteen.  I love this guy's music, but cannot stand his philosophy. Why do the people who want to dictate how I should live have all the good music?

Bruce's pal, Pete Seeger; America’s Most Successful Communist "didn’t formally join the Communist Party until 1942, the Almanacs’ lyrics marched in lockstep with the party’s views well before then. In keeping with the line adopted after the 1939 Hitler-Stalin pact (which caused many U.S. party members to quit in disgust), for example, the Almanacs warbled against American entry into World War II, foreshadowing the preference for peace at any price that later characterized the McGovernite Left.

"We hear the echoes, too, in the music of the man who organized the Artists for John Kerry tour: Bruce Springsteen, who specializes in depicting the desolation of American life in albums such as Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad (a self-conscious reference to Guthrie). "...

Bruce Springsteen Explains His Support For President Obama In Striking Letter

Check out this aerial view of Springsteen's boor-ZHWAH house and grounds.

Springsteen did not serve in the military apparently because he failed the physical:
"It is actually quite a moving story. His Dad and he did not get along, so his Dad kept saying "Wait until the Army gets you!"
"After he failed his physical, [At this point the audience claps, but Bruce says "It's nothing to be proud of"] he goes home and tells his Dad, expecting fireworks.
"Instead his Dad says "I'm glad, Son."