Random thoughts on last night’s debate

Didn't live blog, but there are still some points to make.

 

1. Obama obviously did way better than the first debate, and to this observer he won both on style and substance.

2. Not sure how the interrupting, which both candidates did, will play.

3. Will someone finally point out the economic illiteracy of Romney's continued harping on small business owners who don't want to add employees because it will make their taxes go up? Businesses are taxed on income, not revenue. Whatever fraction of their increased revenue they spend on new salaries isn't part of income, so it isn't taxed at whatever the higher marginal rate is.

4. Economic illiteracy, part 2: marginal tax rates apply to the next dollar, not to all the earlier dollars. Thus, if Obama gets a higher tax rate for households over $250,000 in income that doesn't increase the tax rate on all the dollars below $250,000. If your pretax income goes up your after tax income goes up, even if a larger share of that next dollar goes to taxes.

5. I wish Obama had said more clearly that on the question of increasing income equality for women the Affordable Care Act prohibits discrimination against women in insurance premiums. 

6. Kind of baffling that Romney went to talking about his desire to represent 100% of the people in his closing. It just opened the door for Obama to talk about Romney's attack on the 47%. 

10 thoughts on “Random thoughts on last night’s debate

  1. Found this explanation of those supposed “binders full of women” Romney claimed he solicited in order to gender balance his cabinet appointments at The Phoenix blog (the Phoenix is a long time Boston-based alternative newspaper similar to Seven Days), via Tricia McKinney at the Maddow Blog.

    As Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story.”

    Romney really has no compunction whatsoever about claiming others’ work for his own. I suspect he has no compass with regard to the truth. He is “mission” driven, and his mission is to acquire the presidency, and if buying it or lying is the way it gets done, that’s okay with him, mission accomplished.

    NanuqFC

    The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles. ~ Gandhi

  2. 3. Will someone finally point out the economic illiteracy of Romney’s continued harping on small business owners who don’t want to add employees because it will make their taxes go up? [emphasis added]

    It’s not illiteracy, Jack. It’s demagoguery. Illiteracy is ignorance of facts. Romney et al. know better but prefer to imagine they will get away with simple, erroneous pronouncements. It’s clear that they think they’re the smartest liars in the room, and they condescend to rest of the electorate, those without megamillions in their pockets, who, they believe, are too stupid to know the difference.

    NanuqFC

    We now know that government by organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob. ~ FDR

  3. If I were a woman, I wouldn’t want this fish-eyed freak having a file on me.  I see a ‘smoking-gun’ here.  Perhaps we should DEMAND Romney make these ‘binders full of women’ public, like his goddamn taxes.  Be interesting to see how many single mothers or gay women are in his files.  Also consider that these ‘binders full of women’ may be part of a larger file on ‘potential troublemakers’–like Nixon’s old Enemies List.

    He’s probably also got ‘binders full of children’ for when he takes over and creates all those new ‘low paying’ jobs–Child Labor, like he invests in in China.  What a hoot listening to him go on about China’s economic threat to us.  If I had been Obama, I would have said:  “Hey, douche, you’re the one helping China to screw us!”  Or:  “Hey, Mitt, I need an order of beef lo mein TO GO!  And don’t forget the FORTUNE cookie.”

    Next debate, I hope Obama brings some heavy duty bug spray.

     

  4. You take away good paying jobs (outsourse them to China, India, where ever) and create millions of low paying jobs.  Of course, at $6.50 an hour (Romney’s new ‘improved’ minimum wage), all these workers will be paying lower taxes (their tax break).  And with Child Labor (like in China), why, hell, the rich will be making so much more profit, they’ll have to get a tax break too.  The I Ching says: “The YEAR OF THE DOG may not wait for 2018.”

  5. are very likely just low-er paid little ladies he could surround himself with & boss around.

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/

    At the very least Mittuns is a narcissist who stays in his comfort zone surrounding himself with his stepford-like adoring wife, not an innocent bystander but an accomplice, as well as his clone-like sons. I consider those who seek the demise & destruction of others, particularly Ayn Randers, sociopaths as what other kind of person could entertain such notions.

    Has also aligned himself with fellow narcissistic nutjob Glenn Beck & his crazed nuttiness:

    VIDEO: Romney Aided Fringe Utah College Founded by Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorist

    http://www.motherjones.com/pol

    It gets worse:

    http://crooksandliars.com/john

     

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