Romney campaign embraces fantasy need to `vet’ Obama

[babylonsister]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/romney-campaign-embraces-fantasy-need-to-vet-obama/2012/07/18/gJQA97NbtW_blog.html

Romney campaign embraces fantasy need to `vet’ Obama
By Jamelle Bouie

snip//

But with Romney reeling from relentless criticism of his career at Bain Capital, and bipartisan calls to release further tax returns, he has apparently decided to break the seal on personal attacks. McKay Coppins describes a new plan to hit Obama for corruption and general degeneracy:

{F}acing what the candidate and his aides believe to be a series of surprisingly ruthless, unfounded, and unfair attacks from the Obama campaign on Romney’s finances and business record, the Republican’s campaign is now prepared to go eye for an eye in an intense, no-holds-barred act of political reprisal, said two Romney advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity. In the next chapter of Boston’s pushback — which began last week when they began labeling Obama a “liar” — very little will be off-limits, from the president’s youthful drug habit, to his ties to disgraced Chicago politicians.

“I mean, this is a guy who admitted to cocaine use, had a sweetheart deal with his house in Chicago, and was associated and worked with Rod Blagojevich to get Valerie Jarrett appointed to the Senate,” the adviser said. “The bottom line is there’ll be counterattacks.”

These counterattacks aren’t original; they are the bread and butter of conservative bloggers across the country, and were pushed heavily by the late Andrew Breitbart as part of his attempt to “vet” President Obama. There is a belief, among some on the right, that Obama is still an unknown quantity. According to them, Obama escaped thorough vetting from the McCain campaign, and as a result, is still vulnerable to revelations about his past. The attacks on his drug use are part of this, as well as the focus on Tony Rezko, a disgraced Chicago businessman.

Even if these attacks were effective — and given the degree to which they haven’t worked in the past, I’m skeptical — it will be clear to everyone that this is nothing but a distraction. The real story is, and will continue to be, Romney’s refusal to release further tax returns. Pundits and newspapers will continue to speculate that he’s hiding something, and the Obama campaign will continue to hit him for secrecy.

Try as he might, Romney can’t turn the controversy over his tax returns into a game of he said, she said; the questions are too widespread, and the concerns are too deep. Releasing the returns are the only way to resolve the issue, even if it means a massive, and damaging, hit to his campaign.

[Politicalboi]

1. Desperado

You don't know what you're doing
Your lies and excuses are too far now
Your freedom, well that just some people talking
Your prison is walking through this vet all alone
You better let somebody vet you
Let somebody vet you
You better let somebody vet you before it's too late.

[Texas-Limerick]

6. Give Mitt a Chance, by John and Yokels

Everybody's talking about reverse racism, anti capitalism, cronyism, socialism,  fascism , corporatism, elitism, this-ism, that-ism, 
ism ism ism

The games we are playing, will give
 Mitt a chance
The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance

Everybody's talking about perverse associations,  Larry Sinclair,  Derrick Bell, Saul Alinksy,  Jeremiah Wright, Bernadette and Bill Ayers,  
fast and furious, bi-curious, 
And smoking pot, 
Pot pot pot

The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance
The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance

Everybody's talking about dwindling commerce, unemployment,  job creators, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, Eric Kanter, what a snob, where are the jobs, 
Jobs jobs jobs

The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance
The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance


Everybody's talking about obverse certificates, long form, native born, Donald Trump, polling bumps, 
Damn his mother, he's the other
Madrassa, Mombasa, 
Kenya Kenya Kenya

The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance
The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance
The games we are playing, will give Mitt a chance

[tanyev]

2. Be sure and ask Obama for many years worth of tax returns;

that's usually the best way to vet somebody, NittWittMitt.

[Zen Democrat]

3. You can't "vet" a man who has been POTUS for 3-1/2 years!

The weed and coke didn't effect Obama's abilities; he was and is a brilliant and well-educated man. The weed and coke didn't effect the brains of George W. Bush either, he was a born nitwit.

[HooptieWagon]

5. Mitt, voters have 4 years of vetting Obama.

We know what kind of president he would be. We want to know what kind president Mitt Romney would be. Your promises are vague. You're running on your business record. Part of the vetting is examining the candidate's tax filings. If the candidate doesnt make them public, the natural assumption is they have something to hide. Mitt, youve been running for president for six years now. You know the process. If you think you can unilaterally change that process six weeks before the convention, then you're too stupid to serve as president.

[Maeve]

4. Vet this, Mittens

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php/

6. Eliminated Osama bin laden: In 2011, ordered special forces raid of secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was discovered.

7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.

8. Recapitalized Banks: In the midst of financial crisis, approved controversial Treasury Department plan to lure private capital into the country’s largest banks via “stress tests” of their balance sheets and a public-private fund to buy their “toxic” assets. Got banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

7. Romney's campaign is useless

[GoCubsGo]

8. They should "vet" their own goddamn candidate first.

It's not like they're going to believe anything about the President that hasn't been pulled out of their asses, anyway.

[ailsagirl]

9. Not again with the vetting

Team Romney must be at its wits end trying to come up with something against Obama. Now they're warning it's going to be "no holds barred."

[Monk06]

10. They have 110 days left. Do they think they've got the time to waste on old blogg fodder?