# Romney beats Obama to Louisiana. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 1, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329 "2012-09-01T01:51:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/1 "2012-09-01T01:51:04Z")
Somebody screwed up in the Obama circle. He should have been on Air Force One first thing Friday morning. Instead he went to Texas to campaign. What really matters is getting aid to a state that is in desperate shape right now. We had massive floods too around Pine Bluff Arkansas. 8 inches of rain in just one day. Federal Aid is needed to cleanup and rebuild. > **['I'm here to learn': Romney preparing for presidency as he shows up Obama...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196389/Mitt-Romney-heads-storm-hit-Louisiana-President-Obama-hits-campaign-trail.html)** > > Mitt Romney has cancelled a campaign trip to Virginia to visit a storm-ravaged area outside New Orleans while President Obama heads off to Texas to campaign. > [@](#): > > Jindal said he had been in contact with both Romney and Obama in recent days and said he welcomed them both to the state in their time of need. > > ‘We’re not talking politics. That’s not the right time to do that. We’re solely focused on the hurricane and the response,’ he said. > [@](#): > > ‘I’m here to learn and obviously to draw some attention to what’s going on here,’ Romney told Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who he accompanied to the town hall to meet with emergency workers. ‘So that people around the country know that people down here need help.’ > > Romney had changed his schedule to head to the affected town outside New Orleans while Obama, who has yet to visit the Tropical Storm Isaac zone, headed off to Texas to campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/2 "2012-09-01T01:57:42Z")
Well, thank god for that. Getting down their first helped, uh, to do what, again? ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/3 "2012-09-01T02:00:16Z")
Romney dashing off to Louisiana (why, exactly?) seems like a tacky move. He wants to draw more attention to what’s happening? Yeah, I’m sure. Has he been watching the news? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/4 "2012-09-01T02:05:33Z")
Campaigns live and die by the photo op. This time it’s Romney in the pics first. Obama’s strategists should have anticipated this. Instead he’s in Texas campaigning. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/5 "2012-09-01T02:08:36Z")
Romney’s just there to ask the important questions. Like, “[Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57504615-503544/romney-in-new-orleans-asks-where-the-water-came-from/)?” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/6 "2012-09-01T02:12:22Z")
So in other words, some self-important guy who has \* no official duties \*, no skills in emergency management, and who isn’t going to be stacking any sandbags except in a purely symbolic way flew to Louisiana with his entourage and is now taking up officials’ valuable time that they could otherwise be using to handle the emergency. Is that what you’re saying? ---
**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:** [September 1, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/7 "2012-09-01T02:23:37Z")
Glad they could pull resources away from the people that need them just so Mittens can take a grip-n-grin for political purposes. He’s doing what there exactly? Being there first (or second) does nothing to help those people. Being in charge of the federal response does. I’m more interested in how the feds help rather than what political candidates show up and how important they think they look. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/8 "2012-09-01T02:23:42Z")
I appreciate a great photo op just like a forward pass to the end zone. Doesn’t matter which team you support. A nice play has to be appreciated. Modern elections are all about the sound bites and photo ops. Why else would candidates attend state fairs and eat hot dogs? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/9 "2012-09-01T02:24:41Z")
Oh no doubt **ace** , I’m sure Team Obama hates the current CNN Headline - anything that implies Obama is following Romney around is bad politics. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/10 "2012-09-01T02:25:26Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I appreciate a great photo op just like a forward pass to the end zone. Doesn’t matter which team you support. A nice play has to be appreciated. Choose a different metaphor. Football sucks, and there’s no such thing as a “nice play.” ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/11 "2012-09-01T02:31:25Z")
Maybe Romney could put some people on top of his car and get them out of there. Now, _that_ would be a photo op. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/12 "2012-09-01T03:30:20Z")
And, if Obama had made the effort the out-hustle Romney there, you’d be applauding, right? No cheap shots, no "he’s taking too much credit, politicizing, none of that, right? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/13 "2012-09-01T04:53:44Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Romney’s just there to ask the important questions. Like, “[Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57504615-503544/romney-in-new-orleans-asks-where-the-water-came-from/)?” I don’t believe he is that stupid. I _refuse_ to believe he is that stupid. No. Not gonna, can’t make me, no. Just forget it, OK? It isn’t possible that a candidate for the most powerful single person in the fucking world can be that fucking stupid!! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/14 "2012-09-01T05:09:38Z")
Normally Obama’s campaign is a well oiled machine. Obama is the master of the photo op. Romney’s campaign is known for amateurish missteps. He made a bunch of publicized gaffes just a few weeks ago when he visited London and Israel before the Olympics. It is funny to see the Obama campaign out foxed this one time. But, I think overall the Obama campaign will come out ahead on photo ops and sound bites. They’re pretty darn slick. That Hope campaign poster was pure genius in 2008. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/15 "2012-09-01T05:09:51Z")
Is Louisiana in play? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/16 "2012-09-01T05:30:35Z")
Considering some of the posts in this thread, Romney is taking a risk rushing there. He may come off as some sort of vulture if his opponents spin things right. ---
**Author:** ![Terraplane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Terraplane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terraplane)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/17 "2012-09-01T05:48:04Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Normally Obama’s campaign is a well oiled machine. Obama is the master of the photo op. Romney’s campaign is known for amateurish missteps. He made a bunch of publicized gaffes just a few weeks ago when he visited London and Israel before the Olympics. > > It is funny to see the Obama campaign out foxed this one time. But, I think overall the Obama campaign will come out ahead on photo ops and sound bites. They’re pretty darn slick. That Hope campaign poster was pure genius in 2008. Out foxed. Yes, sure. Do you remember when the 2008 financial crisis started and McCain suspended his campaign to deal with it and Obama didn’t? Do you remember how dumb McCain looked after that? Louisana is a red state, a state that will certainly vote Romney, but they aren’t fucking stupid. There’s the President coming in, because he’s the goddamn President, and then there’s the guy who can accomplish fuck-all to improve the situation. Yeah, a real masterstroke. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/18 "2012-09-01T05:55:15Z")
Well, Obama campaigns during the Republican convention but doesn’t go to LA because the state is not in play. Then Romney beats him there. Remember how bad Bush looked for not going to NO after Katrina because it might “pull resources away from the people who might need them”? ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/19 "2012-09-01T06:00:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Somebody screwed up in the Obama circle. He should have been on Air Force One first thing Friday morning. Instead he went to Texas to campaign. That was my first thought when I saw Romney there tonight: where’s Obama? It has nothing to do with what they can do personally to help. Campaigns are a lot about optics, and in this case, Romney upstaged Obama. Tonight on Charlie Rose, Tom Friedman mentioned something that’s been gnawing at the back of my mind for a few months: Obama isn’t running a very good campaign. Considering Romney’s image, Obama should be way ahead in the polls, but they’re too close for comfort. I hope he’s saving his best for last because if he isn’t, he could be in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329/20 "2012-09-01T08:03:49Z")
You could equally argue that considering all the bad economic conditions, Obama “should” be way _behind_ in the polls. Why does Thomas Friedman think one outlook is stronger than the other? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-beats-obama-to-louisiana/633329.md?page=2)