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Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin

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One More Thing About Mitt Romney...

Posted: 06/ 4/11 07:23 PM ET

Twitter, the ultimate form of social networking in this ADHD world of ours, is not without its pluses. But at times, I sense some (myself included) are not quite prepared for the rapid fire, press conference-like exchange of opinion and lame repartee that can, by turns, overwhelm that particular site. Perhaps Twitter is best for promotional purposes. I don't really know just yet.

But apropos of my Twitter-izing about Mitt Romney and the GOP field of candidates, let me add this addendum. I did not write that Romney is a Ken doll. He is anything but. And the sooner Democratic political operatives agree on that, the better for Obama. I referred to that iconic retail figure to highlight those types that are lean of frame and square jawed, like Romney, who seem to hold the public's attention more easily. Something starkly visual that either aids a candidacy or rarely hurts it. Especially where the candidate is a male. Comments about Sarah Palin's beauty were punted around in the political media, but it was a double-edged sword that cost as much as it benefited. Especially with other women, oddly enough.

Romney is a serious challenge to Obama. He is wealthy, so he can pay for his own helicopter to his kid's ballgame. He lacks any of the abjectly feral, political hit man quality of, say, Gingrich. He is a decent speaker, and will only improve if his GOP handlers are as Pygmalionesque as they have proven in the past.

More importantly, Obama is still someone that many Americans have chosen to withhold their deepest feelings of admiration and affection for, in spite of the fact that he got bin Laden's scalp, contributed to saving the US auto industry (at least for now), and coughed up his birth certificate to silence all of that Swift-boating, election-nullifying trash out there. He appears to be a very bright, sober, hard-working, deeply caring man. A husband and father.

Obama is lean of frame and square of jaw and loves his country, too. Obama and Romney even share some opinions on matters of urgent domestic policy. Yet, in some people's eyes, Obama lacks something.

I wonder what that could be?

 
Twitter, the ultimate form of social networking in this ADHD world of ours, is not without its pluses. But at times, I sense some (myself included) are not quite prepared for the rapid fire, press co...
Twitter, the ultimate form of social networking in this ADHD world of ours, is not without its pluses. But at times, I sense some (myself included) are not quite prepared for the rapid fire, press co...
 
 
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06:08 PM on 06/14/2011
Oh and Democrats never do that????
12:42 PM on 06/10/2011
Republican politician love the internet. They can start a scandal on a LIE! They can spread hatred and divide the country! Sarah Palin, is famous for spreading lie and criticizing President Obama on the internet! As long s you have the majority of our nation reading blogs that don't require fact checking, and journalists that spin the spin without the same, you will have the masses believe what it easiest. I'm embarrassed to know people that don't seek the truth. The majority of Americans have become lazy and uninvolved. If I were King for a day, I would require you to take a short quiz about the candidates prior to voting. Mostly people feel like their vote doesn't matter because of the electoral college- it should probably change in order to send the masses a message that they do matter and that this country still believes in representative government. Some politicians though don't even believe that they were put there to represent their constituency. Sad state of affairs.
01:27 PM on 06/09/2011
Common sense?

No, couldn't be that, Romney has none either.

Broad based appeal across the aisle, being a favorite of conservatives and liberals (though for different reasons)? No, that's Ron Paul.

A cool tattoo of a unicorn? Maybe...
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Coinspinner
12:03 PM on 06/09/2011
I had to scroll to the comments to see what that one thing was :)

I assumed it was because he flip-flopped so bad on medical marijuana.
11:54 AM on 06/09/2011
Obama lacks a perception of reality. He wanted Guantanamo closed, he wanted us out of Iraq and Afghanistan "NOW" at the time, and he wants too much welfare at the expense of an ever dwindling supply of hardworking taxpayers.
09:58 AM on 06/09/2011
Yeah, Alec. He lacks a basic understanding of economics. Oh, and any experience with the real world outside the political sphere. Not to mention anything more than a passing familiarity with constitutional principles -- and don't pull out the "professor" card, his actions as president speak louder than his resume. (I do agree with you however that Mitt is no better.)

I had some lukewarm enthusiasm for Obama until it became increasingly obvious that he is nothing more than Bush III.

Sorry Alec. I have to flag you for playing the stealth race card. It won't hold up under any scrutiny for the vast majority of people who dislike our Commander of Thieves.
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Jean Clelland-Morin
religion / the Golden Rule
04:34 PM on 06/09/2011
And for whom will you vote, Bill Milligan? Maybe you should run while sitting in your blog-jock chair. // Jean Clelland-Morin
08:55 AM on 06/09/2011
The most obvious thing President Obama lacks is guts. He may lack good judgement too, but it is hard to tell since he does not apply his intellect to policy issues but simply chooses the course of most political pressure and least opposition. The way he "gets stuff done" is by caving in to opposition demands. Everything he has "accomplished" looks a lot like what George W. Bush would have achieved given a third term.
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Jean Clelland-Morin
religion / the Golden Rule
04:38 PM on 06/09/2011
Please, Adam Smith, run for president and see how easy it is to "get stuff done" in the face of the Great-Obstructionist-Party and Special Interest propaganda. // Jean Clelland-Morin
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Richard Lee Morris
01:20 AM on 06/09/2011
Obama is my president. I voted for him for all the right reasons. He has inherited an awful big mess; and is now fighting for his political life. His leadership style is vulnerable; but in the end, he gets stuff done.
10:49 AM on 06/09/2011
And over 2 years later he has dug the hole deeper, failed on campaign promises, and generally acted like he will be reelected. Not much of a leader.

When are you going to realize that, at some point, he has to go from inheiriting the mess to fixing it?
02:23 PM on 06/09/2011
Are you part of the crowd that declared Obama a "complete failure" three months into his term? I do socio-economic research and a lot of data is trending positive and the rate of positive change is improving. In any recovery there will always be some flat or negative blips to give hope to those who would celebrate if the economy and America went into the hole. No matter how many things improve, the opposition can always use propaganda parrots to claim a president could have done better. How long would you give a Republican president to completely recover from a great recession or depression caused by the Democrats? Six months? Twenty four months? The Democrats (and the liberal press?) are doing a terrible job by not pointing out the good news. Meanwhile the propaganda experts are pointing out why the good news isn't good enough. Irrational exuberance or doom and gloom are often contrarian indicators. P.S. Not to brag, but just to make a point; I've made a lot of money over the last 28 months. Should I thank Bush or Obama or both?
07:29 PM on 06/09/2011
Your description would work as well as a description of George Bush the Younger. Except that he, in large part, created the mess to begin with.
01:17 AM on 06/09/2011
the people that voted for and will agian for obama really need to stop making excuses for the all the misdeeds he and his party has done to this country. Saddy the people that fought in wars to keep this the USA are sick. the elderly whom most only made 25k at their height and have to live mostly on the little social security they recieve deserve more for the simple reason they kept us free.ask yourselves the same thing R. Regan asked the voters then. are you better off today then you were four years ago? The simple answer is a simple answer and that is NO. how long is it going to take to get out of this mess? most have no clue what is coming. Only half of the problem that started 3 years ago are gone now we need to get real people to address and make hard choices. and yes its gonna. but if we do not make the can keep on kicking down the rd. maybe you all should think about taking the lives of the little ones that have to face what the greedy lobbists and lazy immoral people that for what ever reasonsare stilll in there fighting the good fight for themselves. the Barney Franks, Pelosi,and good old Ritz Carlton Harry Reid to name a few. just venting but if you read this I hope you realize the crap they left for others to clean up! which I think is insurmountable.
01:15 AM on 06/09/2011
Dear Mr Baldwin,
I agree with your assesment of Mr Romney, and even more since he reaffirmed his view that global warming is occurring and that humans are contributing to it. I am not a scientist, but common sense just tells me that its very possible and that nobody can tell for sure. For those in that party who just completly deny it, acting more like Tommy Flanagan The Pathological Liar portrayed by Jon Lovitz on SNL than an informed person just boggles my mind. It's nice to finally see a republican say that this could be an issue instead of what seems to be a policy of blindly following the herd off a cliff. I think things like this show he could get the independant vote and give Obama a tough run.
01:53 PM on 06/09/2011
How quickly people forget the reasons that Mitt did not get the Republican nomination last election. How quickly people forget why he did not get the VP nod. How quickly they forget how fast things can change - for better or worse - in four months. And now the Republican Romney haters have the energy of the "pathological" tea party cult, Romneycare, and Detroit to add to their attacks. Wake me up in about a year and I'll tell you exactly what Romney's chances are.
07:32 PM on 06/09/2011
Romney might do a pretty good job as president, largely because he's a moderate Republican. Unfortunately for him, the Republican tide has gone out (to the right), and most Republican moderates are beached or worse. I really do hope they run Palin -- and I'm sure the Democrats do, too. . .
lewisfowler
strategy and life are one.
04:26 PM on 06/08/2011
Underlying the economic message crisis, Obama’s image is strong. Right now the ropes are beautiful, baby. Rope-a-Dope equals Hope-a-Dope, soon followed by Hope-the-Dope. Timing and ownership. No high jacking allowed. A nail biter with a loaded right hook.

A must see: This Friday, 6/10/2011. Obama’s trip to Ohio’s factories. TIVO the news for study. The message is there. Like a Letterman opening monologue set-up for The Top Ten List Build that base and don’t give away secrets.

Think of Ohio in the context of:
Charlie Rose interview with Michael Spence, May 27th, 2011. Fundamentals.
http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11698

Michael Spence article, Taipei Times. Pay attention to tradable vs. non-tradable conclusions and the bottom tier of value added chains. Highly Leveraged Production and the recapture of manufacturing cash flows, Keynesian, with recycled taxes in the form of ROI. The key of hope that Republican can’t translate, its pure government. Jobs, Born in America.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2011/01/21/2003494026/2

Contrast will build power and platform. Medicare-Medicaid-Social Security blowback. An orchestra. Twenty second bite. Hope trumps Doom. Republicans are locked into a noose. A crescendo of contrast, then a transfer.

I want to say more, but this website is rife with skimmers. I save it for the White House or a secure connection.

Capital One ‘island vs. hat’ summarizes the Republicans. Hilarious. Appreciate your commitment. Rock on.
01:32 PM on 06/08/2011
Could his missing attribute be a lighter color? Unfortunately, I think it is, although I couldn't care less what color he is. I am proud of the vote I cast for him, & will happily do it again.
12:23 PM on 06/08/2011
I just love reading you political views. There is always more between the lines then in plain sight. Very thought provoking
09:49 PM on 06/07/2011
Obama is great, and you know it, you just wish he wasn't
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cjmccardle
different thinker...status quo buster
09:00 PM on 06/07/2011
Alec, seriously, your spot on in all that you do. Write me Ill be your VP for 2016...we can make American't America(n) again....We once had lunch at the Hampton's Classic, I'm a Mets fan, you know the real league the NL. Fan, follow or friend me, youll see...We are friends already. Keep your wondrous arts healthy. CjM