Pete Spiliakos

So the first presidential debate is coming up. Most of the polls indicate that Romney needs a strong performance to cut into Obama’s (narrow) lead. So here are my thoughts on the pros and cons of what we can expect from Romney against Obama: pro, 1. Romney isn’t as bad a speaker as he . . . . Continue Reading »

1.  The circumstances (even taking account demographic changes favorable to the Democrats) are favorable to a narrow Republican win.  The circumstances of 2008 were the most favorable for a Democratic win that I’ve ever seen.  So Romney has that going for him. 2.  I don’t . . . . Continue Reading »

1.  So I have an article on the frontpage of First Things today.  It adapts part of the first chapter of my Master’s Thesis to the 47% flap (sorry about that Mrs. Romney.)  2.  Great Medicare speech by Paul Ryan at the AARP today.  It hit all the right notes in . . . . Continue Reading »

The Romney flap has revealed a divide among conservatives about those who receive government transfers. Those who insanely, self-destructively urge Romney to keep sticking it to the 47 percent are advocating a type of rhetoric that conservative outlets like the Wall Street Journal and National Review deliberately abandoned in the 1960s as they sought to build a broad-based political coalition… . Continue Reading »

even as Obama’s RCP average job approval rating gets up near 50%, 1.  The economic fundamentals are still pretty bad.  Median income is still down.  The unemployment rate is both high and stagnant.  This is the raw material for a campaign message.  What Romney needs . . . . Continue Reading »

Sometimes, when Romney is trying so hard to convince an audience that he agrees with them (on what? who cares? Romney doesn’t), he comes off like the Matt Dillon character in There’s Something About Mary , when Dillon is trying to explain how much he likes the mentally handicapped. . . . . Continue Reading »

1. As Reihan Salam , Rich Lowry and others have pointed out, Romney’s comment about the “47 percent who are with him [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they . . . . Continue Reading »

Reihan Salam notes a piece by an ex-Obama aide who argues that, given Obama’s persona, it has proven tough for Republicans to make attacks on Obama stick. Like Salam, I think that the Obama’s persona is less than half of the story. The vast majority of those who produce the news at . . . . Continue Reading »

or why I don’t think the Washington Times is not quite right. 1. I’m not at all sure the Iranian Embassy situation did all that much to hurt Carter in the end. Take a look at Carter’s job approval numbers in his last two years. From Spring 1to mid-November of 1979, Carter’s . . . . Continue Reading »

The Washington Times thinks yes. I think not, and I’ll explain why tomorrow.  For starters, I don’t think the Middle East carterized Carter. . . . . Continue Reading »