"And he told me that Romney scares the **** out of him so he's voting for the President..."

[Skidmore]

One of my brothers called yesterday and we were chewing over the campaigns in our states. He lives in Illinois and works in a factory there. He told me about a conversation he had with one of his coworkers about the election. He said this guy is a Republican who voted for Bush twice and held his nose to vote for McCain last election. This election he won't support Romney. He is scared about what a Romney administration would do for his prospects for retirement, taxes, and medical care.

My husband has run into a couple of these kind of voter concerns in his travels during the work days. I'd say the politics of greed are probably looming large for some now that the Rs are this close to accomplishing rich man's utopia.

[Tx4obama]

1. I absolutely LOVE to hear about republicans that are now going to vote for Obama!

Thank you for posting

[MrMickeysMom]

7. Yeah, but really...

... It's nice for you to feel good, but what about the basic promise under Obama "effect".

For the rest of us who would love to believe it, we are still not motivated as much by what seems good, but what pans out to assure an Obama presidency.

I'm going to make a prediction that the feeling has to be more than personal love, or it's going to be a "Bush -v- Gore" election fuck up again, Tx...

I'm not saying anything more than what the majority of America is feeling, according to my walking human meter of how much people are likely to stay with good feelings and commitment to the polls.

[sarge43]

2. May their numbers become legion.

Except for the very rich, who haven't the Repubs scared or insulted?

[tclambert]

3. This is why I hoped Romney would be the Republican candidate, so the debate

would center on rich vs. poor, the 1% vs. the 99%. If they had gone with Santorum, we'd debate moral issues, the state of Santorum's mental health, and foamy mixtures. We would win that debate, too, but I really wanted to focus on rich vs. poor.

[SmittynMo]

4. Rmoney is clueless

The stick man with a fake smile is going to lose, big time. He scares the hell out of a lot of people, me included. With his constant flip flops, no one really knows what he stands for. Now he's flip flopping on parts of Obamacare? Can't this guy ever make a decision and stick to it? We don't listen to fact checkers? Vote for me and I'll give you my budget after the election? This guys is a total joke. I predict a landslide in November. Anyone with half a brain can see what's going to happen.

[Skidmore]

5. I agree. Everyone can see except the media which keeps promoting

the notion of a photofinish. But then, the media has been bought.

[AverageJoe90]

16. There might indeed be a landslide.....

But I'm still pretty concerned about voter suppression and other shenanigans. They're not going down without a fight.

[mojo2012]

6. I err on the side of caution....

For every Republican who may vote for President Obama this year, there are at least 2-3 that are so hateful that they will be voting against President Obama rather than for Mitt Romney. I have family that are so racist that they cannot or will not see Romney for what he is. Rather they would vote for anyone as long as it isn't President Obama.
Pretty shallow thinking, but unfortunately very true. I am positive and optimistic that President Obama will prevail, but I also want to be cautious at the same time by continuing to encourage everyone to VOTE, VOTE, VOTE if they want President Obama back in office.

[dkf]

8. David Walker just showed the numbers...our promised obligations are $70 Trillion.

Even more shocking, total federal liabilities and unfunded promises now exceed $70 trillion, up from $20.4 trillion at the end of fiscal 2000. This represents an almost $50 trillion increase in just 12 years, and this amount is growing by about $10 million a minute! We also face a fiscal cliff at the end of this year.
Level with voters
The numbers are huge and unsustainable. As a result, the Comeback America Initiative (CAI) is partnering with a range of other organizations and individuals on a nationwide fiscal responsibility bus tour.
The purpose is to engage voters on these critical issues by stating the facts, explaining the stakes, outlining the tough choices we face, and discussing a range of non-partisan fiscal reforms that should be able to gain bipartisan support. All in the name of keeping America great and the American dream alive for our children, grandchildren and future generations of Americans.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-08-22/perot-deficit-budget-economy/57217860/1

If you think that will work out...I wouldn't count on it.

It bothers me that the American people have no clue how much we have over promised.

[HereSince1628]

10. "a range of non-partisan fiscal reforms" ??

We need reform, but I'd really be surprised if a thing that can be described as non-partisan reforms exist anywhere beyond a self-defined 'non-partisan' think tank. And such reform plans have a life-span much like sporting clays...they aren't even out of the box and someone is planning on blasting them to smitherines.

[Skidmore]

11. You know, I'd wring my hands in angst if I didn't also recognize that

we have a very wealthy segment of our society who have elected not to invest in this nation but want to continue to siphon wealth real or created from it. How many more jobs could have been created over the past four years should that segment stepped up and shared the pain instead of creating more? How much could have been accomplished if the Boehner-McConnell team had agreed to put the welfare of the nation ahead of political party ideology? The increase in debt has something to do with the lack of investment. Now I don't claim to be an economics expertype but I do recognize that when you don't put fuel in an engine it will not run. When you do add fuel, you can move forward.

Some of those promises could likely be calibrated to reflect a changing economic environment as investment impacts markets and people's lives. Until then, it will be all speculation.

[dkf]

13. The entire value of all the world's stock markets is $57 trillion.

http://m.seekingalpha.com/article/253604-world-stock-markets-rebound-to-three-year-high-of-57-2-trillion

Well it was a year ago.

The entire US household wealth topped at $65 trillion in 2007. In 2011 it was Less than $60 trillion.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/09/news/economy/household_wealth/index.htm

They've basically promised more than US households own.

[Skidmore]

14. And who is "they" exactly?

And all the more reason for the wealthy to step up to the plate and sacrifice too.

[dkf]

15. The government. Our government.

This is the present value of savings needed to pay for all the stuff as promised now. Paying back the debt, interest on debt, pensions, health care, social security, etc. And this is only Federal obligations, not counting state pensions or debt.

This is why most who see the numbers know the promised entitlements are going to be scaled back. You might as well believe in the tooth fairy I figure.

[TBF]

9. Close? Well at any rate

I'm glad he's voting for our president. Never mind retirement, taxes, and medical care - women will be lucky if they can get birth control with those clowns in office. I would love for this election to be a referendum against the tea party but we'll see.

[Dawgs]

12. I think the RNC & DNC conventions showed the country the difference between crazy and sane.

Last time it was about Obama. This time it's about party and policy.

[jsmirman]

17. He scares the **** out of me, too

I fear what he'd do to the people of this country, to our country, and to the world.

I think he intends to treat America like a sick company, load it up with more debt, and loot it in the Bain way. I think his intentions point to that finish line. Horrifying.