"Vote for me, since we have plenty of letterhead left over."

I hope the voters prefer a change this year.

I wonder how many folks who think they might support a Romney/Ryan ticket have actually read Ryan's budget document, which calls for closing such tax "loop holes" as the mortgage interest deduction, numerous medicaide programs, and the very social security benefits, that Ryan himself used to pay for his college education.
If Romney is elected there may be many changes that the average middle class voter is not expecting.

The folks on the left were never going to vote for Romney anyway, with or without Ryan. The selection of Ryan to the Romney campaign will help swing votes from the middle to the right. People want a change at the top, but were afraid of Romney and his flip-flop mentality. You can hate his politics, but Ryan ties an oftentimes unwieldy Romney to a solid right hand man, one who can actually articulate a plan. Something neither Presidential candidate has been able to do.

PN- Too few to matter

Part of the enthusiasm last time around came from the joy of replacing George W. Bush. That gave the election a breezy, optimistic feel. If you don't like President Obama, imagine if you knew he wasn't running again. Wouldn't that make this autumn seem more like a celebration? The rhetoric would be hopeful rather than the angry, worried tone his detractors have now.
That's how it felt knowing W. was on the way out.

This election is more like when W. was campaigning for a second term. People, including me, couldn't imagine how we could cope with 4 more years of Cheney, and Condi, and the rest of the crew. Just as the many people who hate President Obama, can't even think about 4 more years with him.

So what happened? The most telling part of the last election was immediately afterwards, when President-Elect Obama replaced his campaign economic team with the usual suspects from Wall Street. Nobody among his excited supporters could have suspected what a complete and utter suck-up Barack would be to the Street, but looking back it's obvious a deal had been struck. It happened too quickly. I don't know how willingly he went along, but he sold out his campaign well before the election and the results came within days after the vote. One way or another, the powers-that-be had gotten to him.

The results of the deal were immediate and continue on to this day. By the way, did anybody get that warm, fuzzy feeling from hearing that Jon Corzine, the former CEO of MF Global, will not be prosecuted even after a billion dollars of his clients' money disappeared? Not only that, but he's thinking about starting another hedge fund. Priceless.

Then last week, both the SEC and Justice announced that after an exhaustive look at Goldman Sachs, nobody would be prosecuted for meltdown-related crimes. It's so obvious that Wall Street is untouchable by the Obama administration, that they don't even pretend to hide it anymore. It's blatant.

Part of this criminally negligent policy of not prosecuting the gangsters of the economic meltdown, is now coming back at President Obama big time. He probably knew that it would, and accepted it as the price of being allowed to be president.

By not focusing on Wall Street, Barack lost a chance to educate the American Public about derivatives and fraudulent Triple A ratings, and the actual reasons things are so bad. These bankers essentially were given a pass to the point that sweethearts like Jamie Dimon now give F-bomb tirades about being hassled at all. It's breathtaking really.

The bankers realize that if the American Public ever really focuses on who is really responsible for this mess, there will be dramatic consequences, so they didn't just need immunity from prosecution. They needed a cover story as well. They needed someone - besides themselves - to take the blame. How about a president? Not just any president, either. How about someone many in America would be predisposed not to like? It was a good plan. Hell, it was damn near perfect, and it worked.

Just look at the end result: The Sarah-Palin-types now blame the entire thing on President Obama. They actually think the reason the trillions have flown out of the Fed, is not because of what Wall Street did. It's not the derivatives. It's because of President Obama. It's all his fault. He is the problem, and if America is turned over to this former hedge fund manager, Mitt Romney, all will be well.

Just watch Fox Business News sometime. If you can take it. The level of deflection away from blaming the banks for what has happened is astonishing. Wave after wave of smart-sounding hotties come forth to shift blame for the meltdown. In fact, they claim all will be well if Wall Street is just allowed more freedom to do what they want. Gee, I wonder who's behind that message?

I personally heard one of their star pundits on Fox Business say that he doesn't really know what derivatives are. I bet if you asked Caribou Barbie she would switch into her cutsie "You Betcha" voice and promise to look into it. I mean she didn't even know what the Bush Doctrine was. But they all know one thing: President Obama is the worst President we've ever had. You betcha.

It's a classic deflection and refocusing of anger, orchestrated at the highest levels of the real power in this country. Barack made a deal: "If you let me be president, I'll give you a pass."

Not exactly a profile in courage, except those were the terms. He didn't have to take them, but that would have meant no presidency. And I doubt he wakes up in the morning wondering why the Street is turning on him now, when he did everything he could to give them a break. I bet he knows. I bet he's always known.

Part of the deal was for him to protect the Street and take the blame for Wall Street's crimes. He raised his right hand after the Hope and Change campaign and said on the Capitol steps, "I, Barack Obama, agree to be your patsy."

That's what I think happened.

Bill - I'm thinking the banks have been engaging in a payback for Barak by holding off on a whole new wave of foreclosures till after the election. We will see in Dec/Jan.

I noticed the passionate war protesters have gone away too. Where is Cindy Sheehan or the 1400+ families of soldiers that have died since Obama took office promising pease? She was on the news almost every day during the Bush years.

Since taking office:
- increased US Troop Deaths in Afghan War, now twice that under Bush
- Signed the NDAA into law -- assassinating US citizens w/o trial now legal
- Personally oversaw a 'Secret Kill List'
- Waged war on Libya without congressional approval
- Started a covert, drone war in Yemen
- Escalated the proxy war in Somalia
- Escalated the CIA drone war in Pakistan
- Will maintain a presence in Iraq even after "ending" war
- Sharply escalated the war in Afghanistan
- Secretly deployed US special forces to 75 countries
- Sold $30 billion of weapons to the dictatorship in Saudi Arabia
- Signed an agreement for 7 military bases in Colombia
- Opened a military base in Chile
- Defended body scans and pat-downs at airports
- Signed the Patriot Act extension into law
- Continued Bush's rendition program
- Kept Gitmo open

Foreign policy is just one major area where his promises have either been broken or unfulfilled. Where is the increased transparency? When will the deficit be cut in half? When will unemployment fall below 8%? What happened to the television coverage of the health care debates? What happened to the increased taxes on dividends and cap gains? etc, etc, etc...

I am one of those apparently few people in the middle and I have been going back and forth on who I would vote for.

I was disappointed that Obama ignored his own committee (Simpson Bowles), did not even indict Corzine for financial fraud, and has kept the Afghanistan was going because he does not want to get painted as a wimp.

With Romney, he is no better with the deficit because you cannot correct the problem without both raising taxes and cutting benefits. As for other things? Who knows. Romney talks only in generalities.

Like the Mayor position, I might just not vote for anyone as President. Hard for an independent to like either one.

What's funny is last time around Bush was going to be replaced, no matter what.
Why did the left settle for such a marginal person ?

Here in Nevada the Obama campaign seems to get more desperate by the day. As a tossup state, we are getting 24/7 TV, cable and radio ads from both parties; with the Republicans looking like they are outspending the Democrats. And both candidates will be making visits to Reno later this month.
It doesn't help that major campaign movers like casino owner Steve Wynn have abandoned Obama; and that the US Senate race looks like it will be won by Dean Heller (R).

Mentions of beer in his campaign have brought attention to the fact that Obama has a micro-brew going in the white house, brewed by the white house cooks. Is this down-home average guy, or is this elitism run amok? What, no local breweries he can support? Obama's beer, as well as his ideas, must be better than everyone else's.

BHO lied to us. So, sure, I'll vote for him.

Nolo-
If only we had some down to earth Joe the Plumbers running things we'd be set!
Cain was really on to something. No law should be longer than 3 pages long. Every issue should be condensed into a 5 minute power point presentation. These darn elitists thinking they are smarter than the average person really irks me. Anybody should be able to be President. Like it was back in Kindergarten.

Did anyone else notice the news that both campaigns (and I presume all those PACs that supposedly neither control) have spent nearly half a billion dollars so far? And there's still 80-plus days to go until the election.

Plus, some survey indicated a very large number of people (including registered voters, even) already plan to not vote.

Perhaps HRM Queen Elizabeth would consider re-annexing the US?

Bill, there's a bit of a flaw in your logic, there:

They actually think the reason the trillions have flown out of the Fed, is not because of what Wall Street did. It's not the derivatives. It's because of President Obama.

I think it'd be silly to blame Barry for that. He's got enough "on his plate" as it is. Personally, I blame Barney (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are fine) Frank, among others.

Tank - Marginal person? What, prior to the 2008 election, could have possibly painted Obama as a marginal person? For that matter what since then paints him as a marginal person?

That sounds like Fox News blather. There are plenty of things to criticize about this president. Except for his color I see nothing marginal about him.

Robert - I'll be voting for a 3rd party candidate. A protest vote. So many people just get frustrated and quit voting. These a-holes rely on that. Apathy.

Vote anyway. Screw 'em. Vote Green. Vote Socialist. Vote Communist. Vote Libertarian. It doesn't matter. They won't win, but you'll have sent a small message.

Jo -

Two years in the US Senate and a bunch of years voting "present" in the Illinois state senate do not and did not raise Obama even to the level of being "marginal".

He was unqualified in 2008, and he's proven to be a disaster. Just another Republican.

I fondly remember a guy with guts and passion -- like Howard Dean, I'm from the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Its a shame that yet again the Democrats will decline to nominate a Democrat.

Jon Corzine belongs in jail - NOW!

Here's an actual quote from this morning. Lori Rothman is a very attractive co-host of a FOX Business Network show. She was asked on another show if she was surprised that the Justice Department decided not to press charges against Goldman Sachs. Here's her answer:

"Was I surprised? No, you know I think we pretty much knew that going in. To be honest with you, I don't know a whole lot about that story. Uhh, the Big Banks? I feel like it's one thing or another day after day after day, whether it's JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs...I know it's like a whole range of stories but all these implosions and mistakes, I mean they're just such huge entities, I feel like it's impossible to cover all the units and know what's going on. I mean if you were really going through them with a fine-tooth comb, you'd fine something wrong or something questionable with so many aspects of those businesses. "

Thanks FOX Business, for being on top of this. And this isn't a contributor or guest. Lori has her own show on the FOX Business Network.