Not Romney

Greetings,

Polls released on Wednesday, October 31, 2012, show Obama with a 5% lead in Ohio and 1% leads in Florida and Virginia.

Polls are fickle - but not as fickle as Mitt Romney who, in light of his leveling attack on FEMA, must now flip-flop again. http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/romney-shut-down-federal-disaster.html 

Since Mr. Romney's views - all across the political spectrum - have been liberal, conservative, "severely" conservative and wishy-washy (according to Sketchy's political needs du jour),  the entire range of flip floppery seemed exhausted.

But lo! The Age of Miracles is not over! 

And so Romney's unflinching inconstancy reminds us that "the world is indeed a marvelous place!"

Furthermore, Willard Romney's well-documented ping-ponging will greatly facilitate the work of historians. Not infrequently, this "principled" Mormon elder expresses contradictory opinions, first in the morning, then in the afternoon. (See "Mormonism, Christianity and Ayn Rand" - http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/mormonism-christianity-and-ayn-rand.html)

For a hoot, check out "The Ultimate Mitt Romney Flip Flop Collection."  Of course, this compendium is only a sample... but who among us has time to review all 54 years of "As The World Turns?" http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-ultimate-mitt-romney-flip-flop.html 

The irony at the heart of Mitt's mutability is that conservatives themselves -- most notably Romney's presidential primary opponents -- are fullly aware of the man's unprincipled slosh and only support his candidacy because "the Republican philosophy might be summarized thus: To hell with principle; what matters is power, and that we have it, and that they do not.” Pat Buchanan, the living American who has served longest as Oval Office counselor. "Where the Right Went Wrong" - http://www.amazon.com/Where-Right-Went-Wrong-Neoconservatives/dp/0312341156 

Remarkably, Mr. Romney has overcome his constituents' erstwhile fondness for "Not Mitt" by becoming, well... "Not Mitt."

On November 6, Americans will choose between a chameleon who would dismantle FEMA and Barack Obama, who - in the words of a Texas newspaper's endorsement of Mitt Romney - gave this summary of Obama's accomplishments: "He averted a second Great Depression. He intervened to save the U.S. auto industry. He moved the nation toward universal health care, a too-long-delayed undertaking in a country too prosperous to accept having citizens suffer because they couldn't afford or were denied insurance." http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2012/10/irrational-romney-endorsement-by-san.html

And that was just his first term.

Pax on both houses

Alan

PS Diane Rehm's October 31st discussion of "Hurricane Sandy and The 2012 Presidential Election" is a useful source of information about FEMA, private sector disaster relief, and pertinent positions taken by President Obama and Governor Romney.  http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-10-31/hurricane-sandy-and-2012-presidential-election

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October 31st, 2012

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/31/polls-close-contests-in-ohio-florida-and-virginia/

Polls: Close contests in Ohio, Florida and Virginia

Posted by

CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser

(CNN) - With six days to go until the presidential election, new polls in arguably the three most important battleground states indicate President Barack Obama with a small advantage over Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Ohio, and the race basically deadlocked in Florida and Virginia.

According to a CBS News/New York Times/Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday, the president holds a 50%-45% edge among likely voters in Ohio. Obama's five point advantage is within the poll's sampling error.

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The poll is the fourth non-partisan, live operator, survey of likely voters in Ohio (where 18 electoral votes are up for grabs) that's been conducted over the past nine days. A CNN Poll of Polls that averages all four Ohio surveys indicates Obama at 49% among likely voters and Romney at 46%. In modern times, no Republican has won the White House without capturing the Buckeye State.

In Florida, the CBS/NYT/Quinnipiac poll indicates the president at 48% and Romney at 47%, which is well within the survey's sampling error. A CNN/ORC International poll released Monday in the Sunshine State also suggested a very close race, with Romney at 50% and Obama at 49% among likely voters. Twenty-nine electoral votes are at stake in Florida.

The CBS/NYT/Quinnipiac poll indicates the president with a slight 49%-47% edge in Virginia, where 13 electoral votes are up for grabs. The margin is also within the survey's sampling error.

According to the poll, Romney is now ahead among seniors in Florida, and has increased his lead with white voters. He also has a large lead in Virginia among independent voters. Both candidates are pretty much even in Florida and Ohio on the question of who would do a better job running the economy, while Romney has the edge on the economy in Virginia.

The survey indicates that the president leads 60%-34% in Ohio and 50%-44% in Florida among those who say they've already voted. Only a very small percentage of people in Virginia say they've already cast a ballot.

The three CBS News/New York Times/Quinnipiac University polls were conducted Oct. 23-28, entirely after the final presidential debate, with 1,073 likely voters in Florida, 1,110 likely voters in Ohio, and 1,074 likely voters in Virginia questioned by telephone. The surveys' sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.