Let's see Mitt the Flip-flopper was 47th out of 50 in job creation while he was governor (the President has turned around a loss of 750,000 jobs per month to creating 100,000's of jobs per month), Mittens went on a 3 country tour and managed to insult people in all 3 countries (the President has gotten us out of Iraq and Osama bin Laden is no more), and Mitt has changed sides on the issues (coal, abortion, health care, etc, etc, etc) that one could get dizzy (while the President has maintained a straight and steady course).
Sorry but the Flip master is not ready for prime time!

47th out of 50 in job creation. That's a good talking point, Gene. I saw that in an ad recently. Of course, that ad fails to mention that MA was basically at full employment at that point, but don't worry about facts.

Am I voting for Mitt? Something really weird would have to happen between now and then to make me do that, but let's be honest.

Nice post klassysalem, love it, keep up the good fight :)

Every Mass. Governor leaves a balanced budget - its the law! and Mass employment had little to do with Mitten's efforts. The President inherited an economy where the the Republicans gave 2 major tax cuts in the midst of 2 wars and then found out they couldn't pay for any of it.

I'm sorry, Bill. Please check you facts. Mitt left Ma. in debt over one billion dollars. While he we governor he also took us from the 35th state in job creation(not great) and left us in the 47th position. Look it up. I'm an independent voter who has voted on both sides of the aisle. He couldn't handle one state. I shudder to think what he would do to the entire country

Yes, the ugly side of politics. Just admit it, you like your money, and you want more of it. You are a selfish person in life, and you care more about your wallet than the country. Good ole Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman rearing their ugly head again. For this election, if you are voting for Romney, you fall in one of two camps. Either you are too stupid to understand you are being manipulated and lied to, or you value the size of your wallet over the good of the country. I will assume that because you are looking at a local news website that you are articulate enough to not buy the GOP's outright lies so I will assume it is your wallet you are concerned about. . .Lets get real, I could care less about who you vote for, it is your own prerogative and right to vote for what is best for yourself. Just be honest about the reason you are voting for Romney, and stop with the absolute circus that is the GOP. Just say hey, I like my money, and I don't want anyone taking it, Jesus, at least be honest in life.

HURRAY!!!! Finally , putting the blame where it should be....the obstructionist congress.

It’s worth pointing out that another Massachusetts-based solar company that then-Gov. Romney gave taxpayer funds to — Evergreen Solar — filed last year for bankruptcy protection.

@Robert E. - Romney gave $2.5M vs. Deval who gave over $60M to Evergreen. Good point either way.

John - you are talking about the wrong candidate. Remember Mitt giving the speech, a few weeks ago, to an empty Texas Stadium. And yes they are giving tickets away to the convention. so did the republicans. They all do - because its Free!

YES, ROMNEY WILL BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT ---AND THEN WE WILL SEE THIS COUNTRY TURN AROUND.

Also reign versus rein, though Ronald Reagan certainly acted like a god at times. And clearly you worship his memory.

Actually, no President has ever had presidential experience before taking office, except for Grover Cleveland, who back in 1893 started serving his second non-sequential term as President. I know Romney was a CEO of Bain & Company and governor of Massachusetts, but whether or not these qualify as "presidential experience" in terms of the Oval Office is under debate.

As far as the sovereign nations issue is concerned, Romney has proclaimed that he will prevent Iran from building a nuclear arsenal, which obviously doesn't rule out invasion of that particular sovereign nation. So this kind of foreign policy may unfortunately continue regardless as it has done over the past decade, maybe with drones, maybe not. Then again, it can be demonstrated that Romney's position on any issue is always subject to change, given the weather.

As for Obama's being a "Marxist Socialist", it's hard to see how he got that label, especially after he had signed up people like Goldman Sachs alum Timothy Geithner and free market cheerleader Lawrence Summers in 2009 to join his administration.

Do you honestly believe this nonsense? Do you know anything about economics? Do you know where the debt came from and who is responsible for what portion of the debt? Heck, do you even read something like the BBC to be knowledgeable about world affairs? Do you understand the war we are fighting over there? Do you talk to the troops who are on the front lines, and understand what is going on? Or are you just another verbose windbag with absolutely nothing of substance to add to a discussion. A shill for the lunatic right wing of America where up is down, black is white and women have mechanisms in their bodies to stop themselves from getting pregnant when they are legitimately raped. I looked at your posts, and you did post a Newsroom clip, you should watch that show. Because if you did, maybe instead of being part of the problem with America, you could be part of the solution.

Could not have said it better!! Obama had his chance and he blew it. Obama never had the experience to handle the worlds most important job---because he never had a job!! Look at the experience difference between Obama and Romney-- huge!! Romney will be great for this country.

EXCELLANT Anne!

We did the GOP tax cuts for the rich, deregulation and it took us to the precipice of disaster. If it wasn't for Obama, we would be in a lot worse shape than we are now, and you want to get the keys back to drive the car so soon??? Don't you realize it is going to take a generation before we trust you with our government?

Really? a "ruinous" course? Hmmm, I seem to remember him getting an economy that was loosing 600K jobs a month, a stock market in the middle of a freefall to 6500k and the nation on the edge of disaster. If not for Obama, our country would be kaput, people like yourself are just too ignorant to understand basic economics, let alone how to run a country. The ironic thing is that you don;t even see the perils of your ways, and that is really sad.

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/08/a-big-version-of-the-biggest-chart-in-american-politics/080312jobschart-3/

Just admit it, you care more about your wallet than you do our country. What is it they say on the interwebs? Game over man. . ..yep, the ruse is done, you will see. You can only stay away from the truth for so long before your house of cards begins to fall. I am just enjoying watching the GOP eat their own in the process.

I had not realized that loving one's country meant loving big government spending -- that you for that insight, Michael. After all, we didn't create that, the government did, and the government is the one thing to which we all belong. I am beginning to think that these aren't merely slips of the tongue, but that Democrats actually believe that government and country are one and the same.

Michael, here are the facts: conservatives are more generous than liberals. In every measurable way, conservatives give more money to charities, donate more time, and give more blood than do liberals. Indeed, both Obama and Elizabeth Warren donate an exceedingly small portion of their earnings to charity. So, it's not about which party cares about helping other people -- both do. It's about believing that we are all grown ups and that we don't need government to be daddy and mommy. And it's about believing that a desire to spend other people's money is just as selfish and greedy as a desire to keep one's own money.

Ron, if conservatives are more "generous" then liberals are, then where were they when the economy blew up? Oh yea, they took ALL THEIR MONEY AND FROZE OUR COUNTRY. Who helped us out? The government you idiot. I am amazed at the shear amount of lunacy and idiocy on the right wing.

So let me get this right, you value things like individualism right? Selfishness is good, greed is good. You don't want $0.10 of your pay check to be used for food stamps, but you are "generous".

Funny, how much of your "generosity" is given to things other than churches? Oh, that isn't extortion for acting like an ass and trying to pay your way to your imaginary heaven though huh. You greedy bastards almost bankrupt our country, start two wars why? SO THE POLITICIANS BENEFACTORS CAN GET MONEY!!!! Yes, war for profit, absolutely disgusting. And you proudly wear the R? Are you serious? You should be hiding in a hole counting your money. Generous, what a joke, the only thing you are generous about is robbing the poor people so you can get another tax cut, you are not american, you are greed that is all. Just greed, the $20Billion you have isn't enough, you want to kick people off medicare out in the street so you can have more money. You are disgusting, your politics is disgusting, you should be EMBARRASSED to call yourself a citizen, what a joke the GOP has become.

Well, aren't I an evil-so-and-so? I hardly knew -- thanks, Michael, for the heads up. For until your comment, I was relying on what liberal columnist Nicholas Kristoff noted: that conservatives were more generous than liberals even when it comes to giving to secular charities .

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21kristof.html

But I think that an even better indicator of generosity is the fact that conservatives are 45 percent more likely to donate blood -- it's really the best indicator because 1) there's no financial incentive to do so 2) it's moderately uncomfortable, and 3) it benefits people in need 100% of the time. That, even more so than the fact that conservatives donate more money and time to charities, is far more convincing that conservatives are more generous.

But being more generous isn't the only reason to be a conservative. See, it turns out that conservatives are not only more generous, but they are also happier (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/opinion/sunday/conservatives-are-happier-and-extremists-are-happiest-of-all.html) and have better sex lives (http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/020612-600162-republicans-enjoy-a-better-sex-life-than-liberals.htm). Er -- or so I'm told. Liberals, on the other hand, are stingier and less happy -- quite possibly because of all that bad sex that they are having.

Given all of this, who wouldn't want to be a conservative?

Ron, you can believe what you want, and when you use the links to back up your claims, such as you did, it just reinforces your own belief system. The stuff is meant for you to think that way, and you buy into it hook line and sinker. Now, ask yourself this question, where would conservatives be on the "generosity" scale if religion was removed from the equation? You see, you COUNT giving to a church as donating time and money to altruism, when the reality is there is nothing to connect the two.

Now, do you want to know both how they derrive the statistics, as well as where the money goes I will GLADLY tell you. The funny part is you are not going to like it, because it removes yet another veil of noise to expose the reality, and the frauds that are the republican party and conservatives as a whole. Here, read what he says. . .
average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.
do you know what the key word there is? Oh yea, it is REPORTED. you know stuff reported on taxes. Altruism is not about reporting the stuff to taxes, that is not charity, that is sheltering. You know hiding stuff in accounts. For me, I don't claim anything on my taxes for charity, but i probably give around $5-8K out of my salary throughout the year. This is done at places like Dunkin Donuts every day, the local pizza shot, my mechanic that helps me out etc. I will pay more that the bill if they give me a break, not report it on taxes.

Here is the second link, my god no wonder why you people are SOOOOO gullible, you don't read the links. Here is what they say.

In fact, a majority of self-identified conservatives reported that during sex they reach orgasm just about every single time. That's way higher than the Democrat's national job approval.

They interviewed people on Match.com. Do you know what the reality of this "survey" says? Ummm, listen closely, it says that conservatives LIE more than democrats. Yea, conservatives lying about their own sexuality, who would have thought a conservative would lie huh?

Do you know HOW I know liberals are not only better at sex, but have better sex and know more about each others anatomy? because we don't suppress our sexuality. Yep, truth hurts doesn't it. I can make a woman cum with my fingers, penis or tongue. I can give her a clitoral or an internal orgasm. I can make a girl squirt, and make them convulse like you would read about. Why am i able to do this? not because I have a huge dick, it is actually pretty average, probably on the smaller side of average in the grand scheme of things. The reason is because I listen, and learn. Your path to a woman's orgasm isn't through her clitoris, or her g-spot, but instead through her mind. You need to make her feel relaxed, loved and cherished, but once you do, they are like putty in your hands. I don't expect you to get this, because you are conservative, you lack the knowledge to.

Looks like the No True Scotsman fallacy to me, Michael. BTW, I was being facetious with my original comment. I don't really see it as a serious study and I'm not even sure that it was peer reviewed let alone published in a scientific journal. Oh, and by the way ... TMI. The study that reveals that conservatives are happier, on the other hand, was peer reviewed and published.

Lastly, you must have failed to read this part of the article that I linked you to: "According to Google’s figures, if donations to all religious organizations are excluded, liberals give slightly more to charity than conservatives do. But Mr. Brooks says that if measuring by the percentage of income given, conservatives are more generous than liberals even to secular causes."

So, you see, liberals, on average are richer than conservatives, but they give less -- they give less to churches, and they even give less, as a portion of their incomes, to secular causes. And, of course, you have failed to explain why it is that conservatives donate more blood than do liberals.

The point of this exercise wasn't really to prove that conservatives are better people than liberals. There are happy, generous liberals, and there are stingy, unhappy conservatives. But I think that the data as a whole support what I believe is the true philosophical difference between liberals and conservatives: conservatives believe in local control while liberals also do, but less so.

Yes, 13%, but check out what percent he gives to charitable organizations. He probably paid a higher percent in taxes and charitable contributions than most paid in taxes. What percent did President Obama pay in taxes and what percent did he give to charitable contributions.? Let's stick to the issues and respect the opinions of others.
Inform yourself by reading the whole Health Reform document and see what is really in there...not all good.. There is way too much division in this country right now, much of it caused by President Obama. And his "surrogates". Read what the Romney/Ryan camp is really saying about Medicare, and stop relying on campaign ads and the media for information on their beliefs.

Sue, he gives to a church, a church is not a charity, it goes to the people who run the church. Just like the money the catholic church gets goes to defend pedophiles. . .but I guess in the GOP's eyes, that is charity. You disgust me, your politics disgust me, your greed disgusts me, and the mere fact that you would use something like "look how much he gives to charity" shows you how completely out of touch with reality you are. People like you, who value money above substance, always die alone, at least that is something I can take solace in.

Barrak Hussein Obama walks like an arrogant thug from Chicago. Or is his name Barry Sotoro or who--and where the heck are HIS college records, friends from college, social secuurity card from Ct.,-- where he never lived, or--admitting to coming from Kenya---and is an admitted Muslum---who blew up the twin towers!!

YES--YES---YES!!

Well, you've got all the misinformed talking points DOWN! Impressive.

The tragic irony is that you don't even see the person you are rallying against is yourself. Sorry, but it is true. . .sometimes the truth hurts, doesn't it. Well, you will have to be smart enough to understand what that means, if you can garner up the energy to be outraged at me, you should be using that energy to be outraged at the people who are lying to you in order to get you to vote against your best interest.

WOW, Saber, why is it that a South Dakota Senator voted to punish a woman for LIFE IN PRISON for getting an abortion after she was raped? Please, you are a joke, someone who is a sheep and you don't even see it, that is a sad thing.

"Has anyone seen Kettle?" asked Pot, as she interrupted her Labor Day to comment on an online political news article about politics.

Then why are you reading a column titled "Sound off, the Republican Convention" instead of a joke book? Here, I have a joke for you...."A pompous blowhard walks into a bar......."

I actually agree, but when something as important as our country's future is at stake, I kind of get pissed, and call it like I see it.

Good thing our FOUNDING FATHERS--who wrote the Constituion wern't like lazy you!! This is called free speach and even though it we do not agree, it is our voice and vote that counts. You just go along and let everyone get things done for you!!

I actually do agree with you, by the way; but I have trouble eluding the irresistible gravitational pull of a spirited online conversation between five people who hold seven different opinions -- all of them "right." :)

I would suggest you stop hiding behind a false name because you don't want everyone here to know who you really are. . .Charlie is it?

Hmmm, comparing the USA to Ireland is like comparing Walmart to a local 5 and dime. Do you have anything of substance to compare this to, because the last time I checked rich people pay less than 15% of their salary to tax, they don't pay SSI over 120K and 1 out of 4 companies pays no tax. So comparing us to a country that doesn't now how to run, has nowhere near the infrastructure, culture, business climate, economics, knowledge base, banking policy, (I could go on and on here) is a joke. Do you have something of substance to add to the conversation, because you have added only "OMFG LOOK AT IRELAND!!!! YOU ARE A MARXIST!!!"

You see, I live in the real world, and post with my real name. Hey, maybe you are Charlie Baker, and you don't want to be exposed for the fraud you are here, so you use a pen name. For me, I use my real name, because I have nothing to hide. I base my life on facts and reality, so here are some facts for you.

Under Obama, we have had over 4million private sector jobs added to the economy, this is more than Bush added in private sector jobs in 8 years, with nowhere near the mess given to him that Obama was.

We have seen the stock market go from 6500 to 13000 since he has been in office, an increase of 100%.

Are you serious!? There is no continuous boom of wealth creation in Ireland; their economy is in the toilet. In case you live under a rock, the housing bubble burst in 2007 and now they have 14.7% nat'l unemployement. Worst example ever.

Michael, Thanks for all your articulate and informative postings. The ignorance of the Republican Platform is evident and revealed as the comments mount, so keep up the good work!!! Republican policies have done nothing but wreak havoc on our country. It is obvious by what they've already done that they just want to hoard the wealth of the world in a swiss bank account, so what they say lacks credibility. Don't be a cheerleader for the super wealthy, stand up for what is right, and VOTE FOR ALL THE DEMOCRATS!!!

If only your facts were accurate. The U.S. economy has created a net 415,000 private-sector jobs—less than 0.2 percent of the 155 million-member American workforce. But labor force participation is at 63.5 percent, its lowest level since 1981. Many people have simply given up looking for work. We're in the slowest recovery in 70 years, and job creation has not recovered since the recession began in 2007. The employment-population rate has remained unchanged since 2009.

Ron, I love how you are using republican talking points. Here is something you just MIGHT understand, because you know I can already tell you have no idea about economics, foreign policy, or anything else. So do a google search for monthly jobs created, do it in google images. Here is what you will see. When Obama took over, we were loosing jobs at a rate of 750K a month. For 2 years we saw improvement up to creating jobs at a rate of 100K per month. What happened? the tea partiers came in and they OBSTRUCTED government. They stopped government, why? Oh yea, politics, they would rather keep people unemployed instead so Obama was a one term president than help our country. What happened to the jobs? YOU FUCKING GREEDY MOFOS stopped any jobs bill from being passed for 2 years. So PLEASE spare me the feigned rhetoric, and BS, it doesn't suit you. Your party is a disgrace, your politics are a disgrace, the mere fact that you back the people who tried and continue to try to STEAL OUR FREAKING COUNTRY FROM US is sickening. Wake up and either get on the bus, or get the heck out of the way because there is about to be a BIG BLUE DONKEY that is going to run your party off the face of the map. Your party is dead, just like your politics, you can only breed stupid people for so long, even then they start to see they are getting fucked.

Well, Michael, I must admit. I don't get the feeling that you are very happy about things and such. I can't quite put my finger on what it is -- a certain je ne sais quoi about your tone and writing style. Clearly, personal abuse and hyperbole are your strong suits. Michael, "creating" 100,000 jobs per month to replace the ones already lost, as well you know, hardly keeps up with the growth of the labor force. This is why the employment rate per population has been mired at about 56-60 percent for the last eight months. Not even the Fed buys your argument, as it is now prepared to initiate QE3. We don't need to print new money -- we need to make old money more liquid. Let's make credit easier for well-qualified home-buyers and small businesses. And let's help homeowners who are underwater by guaranteeing the difference between the value of their loans and the value of their homes. Well, I've got to go, but I promise to follow up later.

Ron, you are correct, we are creating on average about 100K jobs a month. That is not good, and you are right about QE3, it looks like Bernarkie will be putting it in I would say announced around the October time frame if he doesn't consider politics, but after the election if he does. Now, do you want to know WHY we are only creating 100K jobs a month? Ummm it is because of the GOP. Yes, you read that right, the republicans are the problem.

Here, look at any jobs per month graph, ill drop a link. From the first 2 years we went from -750K jobs to +100K jobs. That is a +850K jobs/month swing, pretty impressive. What happened 2 years ago? Oh yea, the Tea Party took over congress and STOPPED ALL JOB BILLS!!!!

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-07-19/politics/politics_senate-bring-jobs-home-bill-blocked_1_gop-senators-senate-republicans-jobs

That is why it is horizontal for 2 years, your party cares more about politics than our country. So please spare me your data, I know the truth. they even said what they were going to do, but you will never see it on Faux news. That's ok, you still think you have a chance for the white house, when the reality is you are going to lose congress too :)

Fight the power people, keep up the fight, and expose these frauds one at a time XD

Jobs created per month.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/obama.3cdn.net/600e8a43eaf45f3059_pejmvyh1l.jpg

How much of the "Obamacare" document have you actually read?

YOU WILL!!

Michael harris: a legend in his own mind.

Sue, I am not angry at all, the reason republicans are angry, and construe my post verbiage as angry is because their value system is threatened. That's truth not anger. Go back and re-read what I stated. I used no words against the person I was debating with, and instead showed how people who used those words to describe me, were instead revealing who they truly were as people. There is nothing hateful about truth.

Now, if you have lost "a lot of your 401k wealth", that is your issue of not being able to manage your money. Where is the ownership the GOP professes all the time? The stock market was 6500 within a month of Obama taking office its now over 13,000. If your stocks lost a "lot of retirement money" then you have your funds in the wrong accounts and are trusting the wrong money managers. That is not an attack, that is the simple truth.

You then, in your next sentence, after insinuating Obama for the loss of your own money, you accuse me of "blaming the past administration" for the shape our country is in. Do you even see what you are doing? You are blaming me for the stuff you are doing. Projection people. It is the SAME THING the other conservatives are doing. I can tell you why you do it as well,it is about introspection, personal growth and discovery. If you want to debate on what is going on, what the numbers are, I will gladly debate you on them. I will also point out to you and others what you are doing because you can't even see it yourself.

HORRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! let's hope Romney says that soon!

Are you serious? LOOK AT OBAMAS RECORD FOR GOODNESS SAKE---ZERO ACCOMPLISHMENTS! JUST WAIT FOR THE DEBATES!!

Still blaming Bush---you should read too. No one is better off. I personally know Romney and his family, He is a very warm and generous family man and has tons of experience. Obama had none excapt a commuinity organizer and he has lid to the American people.

The debates WILL tell a lot and we will see!! Did you see and hear at the RNC all the people that voted for Obama and are Democrats that talked who have completely changed their minds about Obama? The DMC was so flat and boring and---had to change venues to look like they had a lot of people---had nothing to do with storms. Biden is fun to listen to but makes no sense and can't compare to Ryan. God help us if anything were to happen to Obama.

Keep exposing the frauds one at a time people, keep up the good work.

"Keep exposing the frauds one at a time people, keep up the good work." Your wish is my command. I've included this link elsewhere, but here you go. If the labor force participation rate were the same as it was in January 2009, the unemployment rate would now be 11.0 percent. Actual unemployment rate is 8.1 percent, and Obama himself projected an unemployment rate of 6.0 percent without his stimulus. The problem is that we are adding new private sector jobs, but not enough to keep up with the decline in public sector jobs.

Now, that is the problem. Now, how do we fix this mess?

One way is to reduce the crowding effect that government spending is having. But it is over-regulation that is killing the ability of businesses to expand -- more than half of all business owners identify regulations as the top obstacle to growth. A healthy start would be to delay the credit requirements of Dodd-Frank, but a full repeal of Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Community Reinvestment Act, as well as Dodd-Frank would help far more than any federal stimulus or quantitative easing monetary policy might.

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/08/a-big-version-of-the-biggest-chart-in-american-politics/080312jobschart-3/

You know what---let's hear exactly what you think Obama has accomplished. Sollendra--(sp.?) and stealing tons of "our" $$$ from us to fund Obama Care? Ask the doctors --about how they feel about it.

I truly believe the good voters in this country will give the republican congress their pink slips during re-election. They have been obstructing progress for this country. The voters are not blind to that fact. We can only blame the President for so much. I have faith that this congress, especially the extreme Tea Party, will be on their way out.

YES HE WILL ---JUST WATCH HIM---THE DEBATES ARE COMING! RYAN WILL MAKE MINCE MEAT OF BIDEN AND OBAMA WILL BE CAUGHT IN MANY LIES. BARRY HUSSIEN IS ON HIS WAY OUT---TG.---THAT STANDS FOR "THANK GOD"!

Romney and Ryan will also gut Medicare. Watch out you Seniors who love their Republican candidate. You'll all be sorry if he gets in office.

Didn't you say you were finished blapheming like 3 days ago? I mean posting? It may be cool outside, but the hot air you're exuding it like a New England Summer. Also, stop typing in all caps. It's makes you seem obnoxious. Muah!

Ridiculous. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!