Stuart Stevens, Republican, Romney strategist: Obama won because he's black.

[pinto]

"There was a time not so long ago when the problems of the Democratic Party revolved around being too liberal and too dependent on minorities. Obama turned those problems into advantages and rode that strategy to victory. But he was a charismatic African American president with a billion dollars, no primary and media that often felt morally conflicted about being critical. How easy is that to replicate?"

Stuart Stevens was the chief strategist for the Romney presidential campaign.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-good-man-the-right-fight/2012/11/28/5338b27a-38e9-11e2-8a97-363b0f9a0ab3_story.html

[jberryhill]

1. No, it was the popular appeal of his middle name

All the GOP needs is a guy named Adolf Stalin, and it'll be a cinch.

[iemitsu]

4. Makes about as much sense.

Obama's winning the election had nothing to do with his being black, it was because he offered us better gifts.

[catbyte]

9. You're so right! my Obama/Biden In-the-Shell Egg Scambler came today. Still waiting

On the Bo Obama Chia Pet, though.

Republicans are idiots.

[iemitsu]

11. Idiots they are. With their heads buried in the sand.

[Renew Deal]

2. Democrats have won the popular vote every time since 1992 except 2004

That's 5 out of the last 6 elections

"How easy is that to replicate?" It looks pretty easy right now.

[pinto]

3. Yep.

[x2 vancouverite]

5. Yeah. Riiiiight.

[iemitsu]

6. They can't admit to themselves that their ideas and priorities suck.

At least for most of us.
Yet they have convinced themselves that they deserve the fruits of our labor and that we should want that for them too.
Guess it time we woke them up.

[politicaljunkie41910]

31. No they think that if a black man did it, it must be easy. Therefore the Presidency

was Mitts for the taking, with no effort required. He didn't have to tell us what his plan was for creating jobs. All he had to do was tell us he knew how to create jobs and we were just supposed to accept his word as fact. That is the ultimate in arrogance. He didn't have to tell us how he planned to cut taxes by an additional 20%, increase defense spending, (after all we need more SHIPs) and balance the budget. We didn't need to know any details, even thought the nonpartisian CBO had said that his tax plan did not add up and that even though he had provided no details, they used every possible assumption in his favor to try and make it work and still couldn't. Again, YOU people have been told all you need to know. Sorry, but as a voter that "because it said it, makes it true" BS just didn't fly with most people.

Also, Ryan's own budget would have increased the deficit for the first 10 years and was projected to balance the budget 28 years from now after having reduced medicare to a voucher program, and further increasing defense spending to fight more wars in the middle east that we can't afford.

[iemitsu]

34. Your points are valid.

I believe that many Republicans, including Romney have a problem with a black president. The problem being, that they believe they are better than black people. When really, they are mediocre fuck-ups, whose narrow views of ethnic people blind them to the reality of President Obama's character and ability, which they can in no way match. They can't stand to think that a black person is smarter or better equipped to be president than a white man.

The Romneys are just gross. Both husband and wife exude disdain for everyone with less wealth then they. They measure everything with money. They are the worst PR disaster that the republican party or the Mormon Church have ever seen. Mitt's flip-flopping lies shocked me, as they must have shocked many other viewers. I certainly said that very thing to my wife as we watched the debates and Romney on camera. I think a president ought to have integrity, or at least be able to appear to be honest (actually I think everyone ought to be honest in their dealings with others, that integrity is an important aspect of of a good person). Romney makes no attempt to convince his audience that he is anything other than a charlatan. This makes his, "because it said it, makes it true" argument very hard to accept. Plus he and his campaign just looked bad. I wasn't convinced until after the first debate that he even wanted to win then it turns out he believed he would. He is delusional.

Ryan is dangerous but not because he is smart or clever or a policy wonk, who "is the only one seriously working to solve the problems of America", he is dangerous because he is a creation of ALEC and the Koch brothers. He takes marching orders from them and they, in turn, provide him with that horrendous budget proposal to pass off as his own. This provides cover for the lazy, immoral, gym rat who has to lie about his running speed and climbing feats in order to feel good about himself. Ryan is hollow, a man who has been given everything and yet wants to take from people who have little or nothing. He is pathetic, the side-kick of a delusional, god-king wannabe, who will be remembered (if at all) as the man who washes clean dishes for the camera. A phony through and through.

[CTyankee]

7. Incredible. WTF?

They just don't know when to shut up and go away, do they?

And the MSM caters to them and publishes their drivel. That's pretty incredible too!

[Cha]

8. Well, Obama Did have "a primary" in 2008 and beat that disingenuous

propaganda popper from AZ and his trusty sidekick, the failed gov of Alaska.

And, while I'm at it.. Why didn't you get mitt to mention the troops in his acceptance speech at the rnc or anytime, really? How about you having a Billion Dollars, too and such a charismatic candidate? Oh wait.. poor mitt is about as charismatic as a wet noodle. My bad.

The whole thing is self promoting lies..except the part about the Obama Team running a great campaign.. actually it was brilliant.

Poor Stuart didn't have much to work with ..much less a "good man" but then neither is he.

[Tutonic]

10. And Romney lost because he was frighteningly stupid. Oh and so was Stuart.

After all, he thought Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair was kind of appealing ot the voters. Where I'm from, when grown men talked to empty chairs, they were whisked away in a white van marked Sanitarium.

[Cali_Democrat]

12. He's right

Just ask all the other black presidents that came before Obama. They had an advantage being black and history has shown that

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

15. Don't forget all the black Fortune 500 CEO's

Last count, I think there were five...

[wilt the stilt]

13. republican's are the worst whiners I have ever seen

Can you imagine if any of them ever had to actually put up with discrimination. How about some personal responsibility- you ran a crappy campaign and you didn't win in Florida in 2000. pathetic people.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. No, he won because Romney had YOU for a campaign strategist

This guy was criminally incompetent, and now he's offering lame excuses.

Yes. Obama won because he was black. Because black males run EVERYTHING in this country -- they have ALL the power, ALL the influence, ALL the wealth.

Christ, what a tool!

[Ken Burch]

16. It's not because he was black...it's because he's a gay Muslim from Hawaii

(or something like that).

[Lugia]

17. He was born in Kenya, you idiot

[Ken Burch]

18. But Hawaii was PART of Kenya back then, wasn't it? n/t.

[NewJeffCT]

22. you forgot that he was also

a commie-socialist-nazi-fascist-atheist, too.

[Ken Burch]

25. I thought "Muslim" was a Tea Party abbrieviation for all that. n/t.

[Jennicut]

19. Many sitting Presidents do not have primaries.

And now his race was an advantage? After these idiots mocked him about his birth certificate? Barack Obama had to overcome a lot in terms of racial prejudice to become President.

[pink-o]

20. Oh, cuz African Americans have had it so easy here!

Just look at their history: The ruling class, sailing through life getting everything they've ever wanted. Must be cuz they are so good at music and sports, so that's why Society has always favored them so much!

(I guess I have to, just in case the literalists get up in my grill: )

[WI_DEM]

21. Obama won because 1) his record and 2) Romney is a dick

[NewJeffCT]

23. If it was so easy for blacks to win the presidency

why have blacks only one it once in 230 years? If blacks have it so easy, why are a far greater percentage of blacks in poverty than whites?

[LiberalFighter]

24. If Jesse Jackson had ran the Republicans would had won.

He didn't win years ago and he wouldn't have won now.

[Enrique]

26. the day will come

when a white man can become president of the United States.

[BeyondGeography]

27. Autrement dit

[libdem4life]

28. Nope, no White House lunch for you, cupcake.

[treestar]

29. The media felt morally conflicted about being critical ??? Puh-leeese

[LeftishBrit]

30. Then how come every other president has been white?

[sakabatou]

32. Ah, racism out in the open... again.

[boingboinh]

33. So Alan West really won?