Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:40 AM

MSM should be asking Romney camp why the concession was delayed so long.

Networks made the call around 10:15 PM.
Romney's concession speech was around 1:00 am.
That is almost 3 hours. And I don't buy the crap about needing to rewrite a victory speech. That should have taken about 5 minutes.

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24 replies	Author	Time	Post
MSM should be asking Romney camp why the concession was delayed so long. (Original post)	yellowcanine	Nov 2012	OP
they needed to make sure the margin of victory was beyond the reach of theft.	unblock	Nov 2012	#1
Wasn't it 11:15?	MgtPA	Nov 2012	#2
You are correct, got central time and eastern time mixed up.	yellowcanine	Nov 2012	#9
I agree! As soon as MSNBC called Ohio for Obama, I switched to Fox in order to watch the tears,	MgtPA	Nov 2012	#20
Yes, it was 11:15 p.m. EST....	DonViejo	Nov 2012	#10
They were in denial.	madaboutharry	Nov 2012	#3
OH hasn't even counted 200,000 provisional ballots yet.	LisaL	Nov 2012	#12
it wasn't lost just because of Ohio --it was lost when Ohio no longer mattered	CreekDog	Nov 2012	#24
They had to use a defibrillator on him.	lalalu	Nov 2012	#4
I think there was a reason for not writing a concession speech.	TwilightGardener	Nov 2012	#5
The theft always happens when most are asleep.	peace13	Nov 2012	#6
Actually NOT = They were waiting for votes to be counted	Coyotl	Nov 2012	#7
I agree.	Third Doctor	Nov 2012	#11
There was enough information to know Obama had won.	yellowcanine	Nov 2012	#14
And in 2000, they came to conclusion Gore won FL.	LisaL	Nov 2012	#15
But they did not call the election for Gore at that point. Besides, they were	yellowcanine	Nov 2012	#17
NOT! There was enough information to infer Obama had won.	Coyotl	Nov 2012	#22
If it was up to OH, Romney wouldn't have conceded to this day.	LisaL	Nov 2012	#8
Votes decide the presidency: concession was not necessary	Bad Thoughts	Nov 2012	#13
Question of courtesy - not necessity. All the more reason why he should have conceded.	yellowcanine	Nov 2012	#16
GOP called foul when Gore retracted	Bad Thoughts	Nov 2012	#18
Romney lost	gravity	Nov 2012	#19
he was busy cancelling the staffers credit cards	leftyohiolib	Nov 2012	#21
Simple. He didn't have one written. All he could squeak out was a sub-5 minute speech.	HopeHoops	Nov 2012	#23

Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:43 AM

unblock (23,771 posts)

1. they needed to make sure the margin of victory was beyond the reach of theft.

Last edited Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:44 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:43 AM

MgtPA (701 posts)

2. Wasn't it 11:15?

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Response to MgtPA (Reply #2)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:58 AM

yellowcanine (24,444 posts)

9. You are correct, got central time and eastern time mixed up.

But still, 2 hours is way too long and unprecedented I do believe. By midnight, Karl Rove aside, it was clear to everyone the race was won by Obama.

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Response to yellowcanine (Reply #9)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:24 AM

MgtPA (701 posts)

20. I agree! As soon as MSNBC called Ohio for Obama, I switched to Fox in order to watch the tears,

and got to see the Karl Rove act live. What fun that was!

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Response to MgtPA (Reply #2)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:58 AM

DonViejo (4,538 posts)

10. Yes, it was 11:15 p.m. EST....

Yesterday, there were numerous articles from the NYT, the WaPo and other media outlets explaining the delay. Those articles are here on DU, in OP's. Sorry, you'll have to search for them. One article reported on Romney's reaction to Rove going bat shit crazy on FOX...Romney allegedly told his campaign staff to concede Ohio, just as Rove was swinging from the coconut trees.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:44 AM

madaboutharry (21,228 posts)

3. They were in denial.

Or maybe they were on the phone with the Ohio SOS.

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Response to madaboutharry (Reply #3)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:01 AM

LisaL (22,818 posts)

12. OH hasn't even counted 200,000 provisional ballots yet.

By OH law, they have to wait until Nov 17 to count these ballots.
Since the number of outstanding ballots is larger than the margin of victory, at least theoretically it is possible that OH could flip. Of course since these ballots normally favor democrats, Obama lead should only grow once they are counted. But I don't think Romney would have conceded to this day if it was up to OH. No way.

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Response to madaboutharry (Reply #3)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 03:17 PM

CreekDog (37,145 posts)

24. it wasn't lost just because of Ohio --it was lost when Ohio no longer mattered

Once Colorado came in (right around the same time) and Nevada and Iowa held and the West Coast does what it always does (at 8pm), Obama could have lost Ohio, VA, NC, and Florida and still have won.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:44 AM

lalalu (1,663 posts)

4. They had to use a defibrillator on him.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:45 AM

TwilightGardener (39,681 posts)

5. I think there was a reason for not writing a concession speech.

It's the same reasoning behind not packing a parka when you visit Hawaii. Why would you need it? Mittens was guaranteed to win, by somebody or a group of somebodies. He had fireworks and a victory speech ready, and that's it.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:47 AM

peace13 (8,456 posts)

6. The theft always happens when most are asleep.

Too many people witnessing the computer go down in Ohio would draw attention. That is why KKKarl was so upset. They didn't give time for the flip!

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:56 AM

Coyotl (5,157 posts)

7. Actually NOT = They were waiting for votes to be counted

and wisely so. When the networks call a state, that is based on inference, not the results. They waited for the results.

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Response to Coyotl (Reply #7)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:58 AM

Third Doctor (1,025 posts)

11. I agree.

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Response to Coyotl (Reply #7)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:06 AM

yellowcanine (24,444 posts)

14. There was enough information to know Obama had won.

All the networks, including Fox (except for Karl Rove) had come to this conclusion.

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Response to yellowcanine (Reply #14)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:10 AM

LisaL (22,818 posts)

15. And in 2000, they came to conclusion Gore won FL.

Then Gore un-won FL and the rest is history.

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Response to LisaL (Reply #15)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:18 AM

yellowcanine (24,444 posts)

17. But they did not call the election for Gore at that point. Besides, they were

relying more on exit polls in that election. And the exit polls were actually correct - people thought they had voted for Gore but it turned out a lot of them did not have their vote counted for Gore. Probably at least 10,000 Gore votes were lost in Palm Beach County because of the butterfly ballot. No one could have anticipated such an event. It was a fluke.

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Response to yellowcanine (Reply #14)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 12:52 PM

Coyotl (5,157 posts)

22. NOT! There was enough information to infer Obama had won.

That's the difference. Remember when there was enough information "to know" Bush had won Florida.

I e-mailed the Gore people and told them they were wrong as Gore drove to his concession speech. I proved that he was winning Florida with a simple algorithm. They had accepted an "inference" and I offered a different "inference" based on a math equation. To "know" is to have all the votes counted, while to "infer" is to use the votes counted to make a prediction, which can be wrong!

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 10:57 AM

LisaL (22,818 posts)

8. If it was up to OH, Romney wouldn't have conceded to this day.

You have to realize that OH still has ~200,000 provisional ballots that has not bee counted. Which is larger than the margin of victory for Obama. So, however unlikely, theoretically it is still possible that Romney could win OH.
So no way he would have conceded if it was up to OH alone. But after CO came in strong, it become impossible for Romney to win, since, even if he were to win OH, he still would lose.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:03 AM

Bad Thoughts (1,462 posts)

13. Votes decide the presidency: concession was not necessary

Unless Romney planned some legal challenge to the obvious vote lead Obama was building in Ohio and the other outstanding states, no concession was necessary. The presidency is not a negotiation between great men.

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Response to Bad Thoughts (Reply #13)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:13 AM

yellowcanine (24,444 posts)

16. Question of courtesy - not necessity. All the more reason why he should have conceded.

Concessions can be taken back, as Gore did in 2000, if events change drastically. The Gore concession unfortunately turned out to be premature but no actual harm was done. OTOH in this case, Romney looked churlish by delaying the concession when it was clear Obama had won.

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Response to yellowcanine (Reply #16)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:19 AM

Bad Thoughts (1,462 posts)

18. GOP called foul when Gore retracted

Do you remember how the Republicans felt that Gore had effectively "folded" when he conceded, and that his challenges should be illegitimate? I agree that concessions help move toward the next stage of the nation's political life, but they don't mean anything constitionally, and there's no need to know why Romeny waited three minutes, three hours or three days.

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Response to yellowcanine (Original post)

Fri Nov 9, 2012, 11:23 AM

gravity (4,157 posts)