# Finally...a break for the Romney campaign! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 19, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258 "2013-11-19T15:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/1 "2013-11-19T15:10:54Z")
[Looks like things just got interesting in the 2012 presidential race](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/mitt-romney-barack-obama-2012-election-poll-100044.html#ixzz2l6WOaPqK). How will things end up at the ballot box between Obama and Romney? Only history holds the answer, but the Romney team has to be especially happy this morning. With so much momentum swinging, can a break for the McCain campaign be far behind? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/2 "2013-11-19T15:56:49Z")
That comment section is absolutely infested with “THE CRAZY.” ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/3 "2013-11-19T16:06:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That comment section is absolutely infested with “THE CRAZY.” God why did I read that? Now I need a drink. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/4 "2013-11-19T16:09:49Z")
There’s one guy on the comments – Vince Stagbaugh, as if that is his real name – who is winking and wearing a cowboy hat. My first thought was, what kind of loser creates a profile to post comments to Politico articles? And I thought CSPAN junkies were insufferable. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/5 "2013-11-19T16:26:07Z")
Those comments just show how much Romney supporters are winning in another area this morning: Political PUN-ditry. “BOzo,” “Demwits,” “Ovimit.” Pack it up, Obamanationalists. We’ve lost this one. Through their wit and wisdom, conservative Internet commentators have proven that America is full of “Buyer’s ROM-morse.” If things keep going this way, Bob Dole may have a fighting chance yet! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/6 "2013-11-19T16:27:51Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That comment section is absolutely infested with “THE CRAZY.” Surely the crazy part was where someone actually paid for a survey asking such a stupidly pointless question? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/7 "2013-11-19T16:42:13Z")
There were outlier polls that showed Romney ahead nationally all the way up to the actual election. Obama’s campaign team is excellent (and far better than Romney’s team was), so it’s not actually that surprising that the outcome might be a bit different when there’s been no Presidential campaign. Basically, this is Politico wasting time and being stupid (which is not out of the ordinary for them). ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/8 "2013-11-19T17:01:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > …so it’s not actually that surprising that the outcome might be a bit different when there’s been no Presidential campaign. Especially given that there’s been a full year of Romney not constantly reminding the voters why his election would be more unthinkable than Obama’s. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/9 "2013-11-19T17:19:30Z")
So, ummm… Are you guys actually celebrating Obama’s rapidly declining approval ratings? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/10 "2013-11-19T17:25:30Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So, ummm… Are you guys actually celebrating Obama’s rapidly declining approval ratings? That depends. Has he done anything to deserve those declining approval ratings? For most people, the answer is probably no. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/11 "2013-11-19T17:26:50Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So, ummm… Are you guys actually celebrating Obama’s rapidly declining approval ratings? Obviously! Look at the positive energy in comments #1 through #8… how could anyone read anything into them but celebration? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/12 "2013-11-19T18:43:43Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > So, ummm… Are you guys actually celebrating Obama’s rapidly declining approval ratings? So here’s a newsflash: Most rational people in online discussions don’t wear their politics like a sports jersey. That means, we don’t go about our day attacking the other side blindly and defending “our team” with the rah-rah-rah enthusiasm of a drunken tailgater. We don’t actively seek out stories and polls that only paint a glorious picture of “our team” and “our team’s chances.” Most of us don’t feel the need to declare our political bent through our online usernames or silly puns. Most of us don’t take politics so seriously that we can’t mock some aspect of it from time to time-- in this case news coverage that has no relevance to anything whatsoever. And most of us don’t take politics so seriously that we can’t actually reference a story that points out something less-than-stellar about a candidate or politician we support. In a nutshell: Not everything posted here is meant to celebrate a political victory or score political points. In this case, it was meant to mock Politico, the Washington Post, ABC News and silly political reporting. But then the discussion here turned to the hyper-political nature of people posting in the comment section of stories like these. We took a turn to sort of mock those people that \*do \*wear their political stripes like a sports jersey in the online world. But I could see how someone who actually \*wears \*their politics like a sports jersey could misinterpret things in this thread. Not everything has to be Liberals BAD, Conservatives GOOD, or vice versa. Are Obama’s numbers down? Yes. Does that change the fact that this was a really stupid poll/story? No. And does it change the fact that there are some really nutty conservatives out there who take things waaaaaayy too seriously and deserve to be called out for their nuttiness in stories like this? No. So back on topic, let me ask you **OMGABC** : How do you think these numbers will affect Carter’s chances against Reagan? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/13 "2013-11-19T18:59:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That comment section is absolutely infested with “THE CRAZY.” I knew better, but I did it anyway. And it’s all your fault, you bastard. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/14 "2013-11-19T19:24:38Z")
Lead us not into temptation, we can find it ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/15 "2013-11-19T19:30:46Z")
Excellent news for John McCain! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/16 "2013-11-19T20:11:39Z")
An even _newer_ survey finds that if the election were held 50 years ago, neither candidate would’ve been eligible because Romney was a teenager and Obama was a toddler, and 1963 wasn’t even an election year anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/17 "2013-11-19T21:03:04Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > An even _newer_ survey finds that if the election were held 50 years ago, neither candidate would’ve been eligible because Romney was a teenager and Obama was a toddler, and 1963 wasn’t even an election year anyway. True, but Kennedy should watch his back. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/18 "2013-11-19T21:25:44Z")
So the game is to take today’s voters and project them onto past elections? That could be fun. Strom Thurmond would have won in 1948 of course; and Barry Goldwater by a landslide in 1964. The 1968 election would be close to call; after a tumultuous primary season it might have been George Wallace versus [Pigasus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigasus_(politics)) in November. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/19 "2013-11-19T21:38:01Z")
I cannot fathom what went on in the head of the editor that decided to run this story. What pointless drivel. What is its purpose and how does it think this story will help that cause? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258/20 "2013-11-19T23:26:09Z")
It is much-pondered mystery: what the fuck happened to _Politico?_ I think a lot of it has to do with a fruitless search for a truly non-partisan position. Do you do it by finding the middle ground between centrist Democrats and moderate Republicans? Except there are plenty of centrist Dems and about three moderate Republicans. Or is it the middle ground between _Democratic Underground_ and Louie “Goober” Gomert? Seemed to me that’s what they were hoping to sell, non-partisan news without any spin. Not much point in launching another _Daily Kos_ or _Talking Points Memo_, even less point in another _NewsMax_ or _Blightbart._ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finally-a-break-for-the-romney-campaign/674258.md?page=2)