Dare I do this? A closer look at polls

The TW has stayed away from this for the entire election cycle, realizing polls are released by a media that leans Democrat and uses polls to shape opinion, not reflect it. Besides, what are polls good for, even if they were truly accurate, given the fickleness of the American voter and the shallowness of our convictions on a given day? Can you remember what polls said viv-a-vis Romney and Obama on, say, October 5th? Meaningless until we get to what voters think this day before the election. Forget about a poll of those who voted days ago in early voting and wish they could change their minds already.

CNN’S LATEST POLL DECONSTRUCTED: DOES IT REALLY SHOW A ROMNEY VICTORY?  "This CNN poll is truly great news for Republicans unless you believe that Democrats will vote 11 percent more than Republican this year and very few people do (outside of CNN apparently). The reality is that, using CNN’s own numbers, anything under an 11 percent voting advantage for Democrats results in a popular vote victory for Gov. Romney. You have to wonder why they chose 11 percent."

WaPo-ABC tracking poll: final weekend tally is Obama 50, Romney 47, still a ‘margin of error’ contest

Jonathan Tobin; Tracking Polls Say Election No Sure Thing  "To listen to the Obama campaign and many liberal pundits the last few days, the presidential election is a foregone conclusion and the president is a sure bet to be re-elected. But even ... the latest national tracking polls tell a different story. The president is ahead in none of the four most recent national tracking polls. Mitt Romney has a slender one-percentage point lead in both the Gallup and Rasmussen tracking polls taken over the last few days, while he is tied with the president in the CNN/Opinion Research and the Monmouth/SurveyUSA/Braun poll. Taken together, and even if one is inclined to believe one more than another, the quartet of surveys illustrates that the race remains very close with either candidate in position to win.



Barone

Michael Barone; Prediction: Romney Beats Obama, Handily  "Also, both national and target-state polls show that independents — voters who don’t identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans — break for Romney.

"That might not matter if Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 39 to 32 percent, as they did in the 2008 exit poll. But just about every indicator suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting — and about their candidate — than they were in 2008, and Democrats are less so."

...."Bottom line: Romney 315, Obama 223. That sounds high for Romney. But he could drop Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still win the election. Fundamentals."  Hot Air adds its two cents worth.

Rush Limbaugh has a great deal to say on the polls, including a paean to Michael Barone's excellence, including calling Barone the gold standard of prognostication; Everything -- Except the Polls -- Points to a Romney Landslide

American Thinker; Why it may be 'Back to the Drawing Board' for pollsters after this election

"AT's political correspondent Rich Baehr believes at least part of the problem is that voters are lying to pollsters. There might be something to that, except most good pollsters throw trick questions into their surveys that are designed to reveal the liars. Baehr thinks that Americans have become very sophisticated when it comes to polls and have learned how to give answers they think makes them look good, rather than what they truly believe."

Stay classy, Obama!

Via Lucianne ; Obama campaign tries to hide call for ‘revenge’  "Both campaigns conduct numerous polls to gauge the impact of each day’s events. Messina’s effort to spin the revenge controversy suggests that it is alienating late-deciding voters in key swing states.
"Just by making a claim that associates Romney with “revenge,” Messina is nudging the established media to treat Obama’s comment as merely campaign-trail snark, instead of a gaffe that reveals hostile and divisive impulses."
Romney cited that comment in a speech later that day and has emphasized it over the weekend. The campaign on Saturday released a TV ad using the comment to highlight Romney’s own end-of-campaign themes: “love of country,” optimism, hope and change. The ad is titled “Revenge Or Love Of Country.”

Mona Charen; Down and Dirty; The president is giving half the country the finger.

...."This time, the elegance is gone, the fangs are bared, and standards of honesty are long gone. His policies failed, so no accusation against Mitt Romney is held back: He’s an enemy of women who will outlaw all abortions (no exceptions), he will raise taxes on the middle class just to cut them for the rich, he ships jobs overseas and pockets the profits, he won the first debate through lies (sheesh), he gives cancer to the wives of unemployed workers, he delights in bankrupting companies, he wants to prevent women from getting “access” to birth control, and so on.

"It’s as if Barack Obama, once so stylish, is making the same gesture Madonna did — to at least half the nation."

Townhall; The "Best Revenge" and the Worst Economies
"Those who support the President’s re-election are to seek revenge on others. That’s quite a directive from the President of the United States, and it is quite a departure from the candidate of four years ago who promised to unite all Americans in the pursuit of higher purposes.

"But it is nonetheless an example of that for which President Obama has become known -turning American against American."....

Michael Barone; The problem with Obama's 'revenge'

" “Revenge” is not something sought by most American voters, and 2008 Obama voters who are disappointed in his performance. They are not looking for an Alinsky acolyte to attack enemies for them. Voters want someone who will serve the country. The moment when Obama said "revenge" could turn out to be a pivotal moment in the campaign."

http://obamacartoon.blogspot.com/2012/11/who-is-obama-going-to-get-revenge-on.html

MSNBC: Joke Network, Cont’d

For you  followers of the late, great TV series "Law and Order" ; you must have noticed the many favorable references to MSNBC in the actor's dialogueas well as a correlation in the politics of the post-2001 shows and those of MSNBC.

John Hinderaker  "Over the years, we have chronicled MSNBC’s lack of journalistic standards. The worst offender, Keith Olbermann, is now gone, not because of his crazed leftism or frequently embarrassing errors, but because he was an insubordinate employee. Of those who remain at MSNBC, Chris Matthews is among the worst. In another era, his reckless disregard for truth and unprofessional conduct would have brought his career as a journalist to a speedy end. At MSNBC, these qualities are apparently valued, as Matthews has been rewarded with a multimillion dollar contract."

...."So we have the spectacle of MSNBC apologizing in private for its reporter’s smears and falsehoods, while refusing to acknowledge his misconduct publicly. Instead, Griffin invited one or both of the Koch brothers to come on the air and respond to Matthews’ attack–to explain, I suppose, that they aren’t really “pigs.” That would be a ratings coup for MSNBC, but it obviously isn’t going to happen. So it’s just another day in the life of one of America’s most dishonest news outlets."

Acting US ambassador to Pakistan met with Code Pink, discussed ‘classified’ drone casualty counts

Daily Caller 

 "The left-wing delegation to Pakistan included Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink, and Robert Naiman, the policy director of a left-wing group called Just Foreign Policy, whose board members include Julian Bond, the former NAACP chairman, and Tom Hayden, the 1960s radical and former California politician.

"During the five-minute video, Naiman hands the ambassador a petition, which he claims was signed by more than three thousand people, calling for an end to U.S. military drone strikes in Pakistan.
"Naiman also is seen giving Hoagland an anti-drone letter from left-wing American activists, including Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Juan Cole and Oliver Stone.

Colonel: Hillary Made Decision Not to Post Marines at Benghazi/ V.D. Hanson on the Wages of Libya

Big Government   "Breitbart News has attempted to secure a copy of the State Department Rules of Engagement for Libya, but officials at the State Department have stonewalled, as this email correspondence from Friday reveals:

To [State Dept Spokesperson]:
(A) Status of my document request for the State Department rules of engagement for Libya?
(B) Can you help me find answers to these two questions:

1. Who provided security inside the Benghazi mission at the time of the 9-11-12 attack, how were they armed, and how many of them were there?

2. Who provided security on the perimeter of the Benghazi mission at the time of the 9-11-12 attack, how were they armed, and how many of them were there?

"Here is the official response from that State Department spokesperson:"

Michael -
I do not yet have more information on the rules of engagement document, which as discussed last night, might require a FOIA request. I will let you know as soon as I receive feedback. However, and this also applies to your two follow up questions, we do not discuss security details for the safety of our missions. The two questions below are addressed to the fullest extent possible in both briefings I sent you last night.
[State Department Spokesperson]

More on this at the link....

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/171620441.html?refer=y

Victor Davis Hanson; The Wages of Libya  "When he took on the CIA job, he apparently was asked to retire from the military. There is a pattern here: selfless service to the United States, but recently in the context of a politicized administration that has used the enormous prestige of Petraeus in ways that have reduced his influence. Directing responsibility away from the administration to the CIA is more of the same, and it puts a historic figure like Petraeus in an unfair predicament."

What laser capability did Benghazi team have?  "Pentagon spokesman George Little says, “On the night of the attack on American personnel and facilities in Benghazi, there were no armed unmanned aerial vehicles over Libya, and there were no AC-130s anywhere close.” "

A young man's thoughts on the election and its effect on education

I got this from a 16-year-old young man who wishes to remain anonymous and am posting it as it came to me without edits or redactions.
I asked his permission to print this and he was fine with that with just that one stipulation, so please consider his thoughts on Tuesday's election. TD

We all want to be successful; success drives all of us, I know that it drives me. I always want to be the best, and I want to be prepared for my future, so that I can be successful. In America, a good education is possible and vital to get, but it is becoming harder and harder to reach, and getting more and more expensive to obtain. Why? Our education system has been neglected for years, and is in desperate need of reform. No one has a better plan for education reform than Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, whose state is a leader in education.

Governor Romney realizes that we will perform better when we are in comfortable learning environments. Part of his reform allows students to choose the school they want to attend, and not have to worry about any financial aid a student might be receiving, which would transfer along with the student. It is also important that students know which schools to attend; this is why Governor Romney would make it mandatory for schools to take a test, and create a school “report card.” Schools that are successful will be rewarded, while under-performing schools would be remedied. Mitt Romney’s reform would also allow superintendents to relieve under-performing teachers of duty. All of these changes will help us, students, reach a higher level of success.

A major component of success is a college education. With jobs becoming harder and harder to get, it is increasingly more important to have a college education, but with tuition costs soaring higher and higher it is increasingly harder to obtain. For us to be a successful work force the sky high level of tuition costs need to be brought down. The way to bring down tuition is to put the Federal Financial Aid Program on a diet. The reason an action like this is necessary is because the Federal Financial Aid Programs have given out so much money, that colleges have bloated tuition rates. So by lowering the amount of Federal Financial Aid granted to students, Mitt Romney plans to fight high tuition rates. To replace Federal student loans, Governor Romney wants schools to cooperate with local banks for student loans, which will help the economy, and will help more students become successful.

If you ask a group of students if they want to go to college, I bet at least 80% of them will say that they want to, and I know that if you asked them if they wanted to be successful all of them would say that they would. A key to success is a good education, but for students to be successful and receive the good education that they require we need to drastically reform our education system. There is no feeling like being successful, like graduating from school, and we all want to feels this, this is why we need to reform or education system. Governor Mitt Romney has a plan for our education system, which will help everyone be successful, his plans have helped his state become one of the best states in the country, and he can do the same for us. So vote to be successful and vote for Mitt Romney for President.

To you Obama supporters

The Republican Revolution

Hat tip tp Charlene Black; Santa Maria, Ca

Media Bias 101: Benghazi vs. Watergate and Iran-Contra

The American Spectator Foundation   "Question: How is Benghazi different from Watergate and Iran-Contra? The obvious answer: the media. Liberal journalists turned Watergate and Iran-Contra into gigantic national scandals by their consistent, relentless pursuit of both stories; to the contrary, they are consistently, relentlessly ignoring Benghazi."
....
"The way the Reagan team reacted to initial reports on Iran-Contra is precisely the opposite of how the Obama team has responded. But even more telling are the opposite media reactions. For Iran-Contra, the media refused to be satisfied with the initial response of Meese and Reagan. Liberal reporters went absolutely bonkers, all hands on deck, a full-court press to find incriminating information. Today, under Obama, it's the exact opposite."
Hat tip to Christy Waters at Conservative Bloggers on Facebook

http://www.fairpress.org/bert/archives/cat_mediabias.htm

Union said to be halting power repair crews is top Democrat donor; however the report is said to be in error

Washington Secrets  "The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, cited in news reports for halting nonunion repair crews from helping to restore power in superstorm Sandy's New Jersey-New York path, is one of nation's top union donors to Democrats, a group President Obama last year praised in a visit to an IBEW training Center."

WAFF48 in Huntsville, AL, worded their headline like this: Confusion causes utility crew to return from recovery effort
"General Manager Ray Hardin appeared on Fox Business Channel Friday morning saying, "We were presented documents from IBEW that required our folks to affiliate with the unions and that was something we could not agree to."

"Decatur Utilities later released a statement expanding on that, "Upon arriving at a staging area in Virginia, crews were held in place pending clarification of documents received from IBEW that implied a requirement of our employees to agree to union affiliation while working in the New York and New Jersey areas. It was and remains our understanding that agreeing to those requirements was a condition of being allowed to work in those areas." "

CBS reported the WAFF story is in error;  "Alabama power companies are denying a local TV station's report that linemen who had traveled to New Jersey from Alabama (a right to work state) to help restore power to those hit hard by Superstorm Sandy were told they could not work there because they were non-union."
"Huntsville Utilities also said their workers were not turned away and are working in storm-ravaged areas.

"Utilities from other right-to-work states have also reported their crews working in New York and New Jersey, including repair crews with Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas assisting in New York State. Florida Power & Light sent more than 860 employees and contractors to assist seven utility companies from Virginia to New Jersey."

Romney Wins in a Landslide (at Least in Israel): What it Means

Times of Israel  "The Presidential election results are in. Well, at least the votes from Americans in Israel. Not one to keep readers in suspense, I’ll reveal the most important numbers up front: Gov. Mitt Romney received 85%–85%!–of the vote; President Obama managed only 14.3%. This, according to exit polling just released by iVoteIsrael, the non-partisan group promoting and facilitating voting by U.S. citizens currently in Israel. Their statistics reveal some fascinating results. More importantly, these results have implications for the outcome of next week’s election. (Again, not to keep you in suspense: those implications favor the Republicans.)"
....
"An interesting historical note: for almost a century, every Republican candidate who received 30% or more of the Jewish vote was victorious–and it looks like Romney will win well over 30%."

Jerusalem Post

Krauthammer on The choice

Charles Krauthammer  "It is common for one party to take control and enact its ideological agenda. Ascendancy, however, occurs only when the opposition inevitably regains power and then proceeds to accept the basic premises of the preceding revolution.

...."Until Reagan. Ten minutes into his presidency, Reagan declares that “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.” "
....
"An Obama second term means that the movement toward European-style social democracy continues, in part by legislation, in part by executive decree. The American experiment — the more individualistic, energetic, innovative, risk-taking model of democratic governance — continues to recede, yielding to the supervised life of the entitlement state.

"If Obama loses, however, his presidency becomes a historical parenthesis, a passing interlude of overreaching hyper-liberalism, rejected by a center-right country that is 80 percent nonliberal.
"Should they summon the skill and dexterity, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan could guide the country to the restoration of a more austere and modest government with more restrained entitlements and a more equitable and efficient tax code. Those achievements alone would mark a new trajectory — a return to what Reagan started three decades ago."  Emphasis added.

Remember Benghazi. POWERFUL!… Navy SEALs Release Ad BLASTING Barack Obama

TheGatewayPundit.com
"A community of Navy SEALs released an ad today blasting Barack Obama.
" “There’s a pervasive feeling across our community that he’s going to use whatever to get elected and he doesn’t really care about the men on the front lines.”

"A community of Navy SEALs released an ad today blasting Barack Obama.

" “There’s a pervasive feeling across our community that he’s going to use whatever to get elected and he doesn’t really care about the men on the front lines.” "

As long as we're discussing how Obama and the SEALs are foxhole buddies, the above post also has this: OPSEC Seeks Donations To Run Anti-Obama Ad Against Seal Team Six Movie

"The email, which links back to the website for OPSEC, a Republican-leaning group of former special operations and C.I.A. officers that has been likened to the Swift Boat veterans that swamped John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, is looking for donations of $25 or more to air its commercial during the debut of Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden on Nov. 4, just two days before the presidential election. OPSEC is not happy that major Obama supporter Harvey Weinstein's The Weinstein Company is behind the film, which, according to the New York Times, has been recut to bolster the President's role in the historic military operation.
"Seal Team Six director John Stockwell and other sources told the Times that the changes were not politically motivated but, rather, were meant to give the movie a more realistic feel. Those sources added, however, that Weinstein suggested some of the changes that were made to the film and that Meghan O'Hara, a producer who has worked with liberal firebrand Michael Moore on his left-leaning films Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko was also involved in gathering research."