OK, I never had binders full of women when I was single; a few scattered numbers in my phone is a lot closer to the truth. It's weird that this is the line that people are giving Romney grief for. In context, it doesn't seem bad to me. He's basically just saying that he reviewed a lot of women for staff positions, what's wrong with that? Of course, in typical Etch-A-Sketch Mitt fashion, he's probably not being honest about it, but that's not what has the Internet astir. I guess it comes off as kinda condescending, and it's a funny meme (my favorite joke on the topic is by one of my Facebook friends, "Romney also has Trapper Keepers full of minorities"), but it's pretty low on my list of things to criticize Romney about. I'd much rather have the "gotchas" be on his bullshit tax plan (this link is funny), or his utter disregard for any sort of environmental or economic regulation, or his contempt for people who aren't rich, or his general willingness to do or say anything to anybody to get elected, or... well, you get the point. So it's strange to me that people are focusing on this "binders full of women" line. It's a bit like when a call goes for your team in a game, but you thought objectively it shouldn't have been called -- you just shrug your shoulders and accept it because there's going to be one that breaks against you down the line, so it all evens out. If people want to dis Mitt for what seems like a mostly benign comment to me, have at it, it slightly balances all the BS he gets away with, and I certainly don't want him to win, anyway.
As to whether or not he's going to win, who knows? Obama is still a 68% favorite in FiveThirtyEight Forecast. This is up a bit from his pre-second-debate odds, but way down from his pre-first-debate odds. The national polls are right around 50-50, but Obama has held a slim but consistent advantage many swing states, particularly Ohio, and it might all come down to, whoever wins the Buckeye State wins the election.
Given the state of the economy (bad), it's quite an achievement for Obama to be leading at all. But given the dreadfulness of Mitt Romney as a candidate, it's a feather in his cap that Obama's not ahead by more. I mean, you have a guy who is openly campaigning against his opponent's signature bill (Obamacare), despite the fact that he implemented the same basic law as a governor and called it, "a model for the nation". If this isn't a definitive example that the guy doesn't have the integrity to be president, I don't know what is. Of course Romney claims he meant his healthcare law was a model for the nation "state by state", but that's not what he meant. I know it's not what he meant, because if it is what he meant, it's what he would have said. He would have said, "It's a model for other states" or something like that. He said "the nation", and didn't mention anything about individual states, because clearly he meant the nation and not individual states. It's only after Obamacare actually came to fruition, and Mitt realized he couldn't win the GOP primary and support it that he came up with his clearly bogus, post hoc rationalization. I think even most Republicans would admit this if they were being honest (I know an honest Republican is quite a fantastical notion, but you can imagine it, if you try), they're just going to support him anyway. Fine, but hardcore Reps are only about 33% of the country, where the other 17% of soon-to-be Romney voters come from is beyond me.
Anyway, enough about politics. Let's talk about other things. Like how men's testosterone levels drop after they have kids especially if they co-sleep with their babies. I don't generally share a bed with my baby (sometimes I don't even share one with my wife), but I do feel like my testosterone is dropping. I haven't felt the desire to curb-stomp anybody in at least two months. I've been doing my best to keep the levels up by watching copious amounts of football and MMA. It's been mostly working, but sometimes I do get sucked into S's chick shows like Project Runway and House Hunters. My favorite part about the latter is when people hear their house is worth 50 grand less than they were expecting. I don't know why I like this, it's a weird sort of schadenfreude. It's even better when they act as if the appraiser is personally insulting them. As somebody who tries to look at things critically and objectively, it's refreshing to watch people get a reality check, even if it's a harsh one. I think that's why I like it. Or maybe I'm just a dick, that's another a possibility.
Ever since we bought our house, I've started keep an eye on real estate prices in the DC area. I always take a peek at the listings in our neighborhood paper, and I make it a point to check out any "For Sale" signs I see; I never did either of these things before. They actually had an episode of House Hunters in DC; the couple's budget was about 75% of what we paid for our house, and I kept thinking, "They better not get a better house than ours." When they settled on a fixer-upper in a not-horrible-but-not-great neighborhood (albeit one with a Metro stop, unlike our neighborhood) I was satisfied. I don't want to put this house on the market someday and have it be worth 50 grand less than we were expecting. Then I'd have to smugly laugh at myself.
Alright, that's all for this entry. Until next time...
[It's pretty remarkable that Trapper Keepers were insanely popular during my grade-school days. Why would any kid care about a plastic portfolio? I guess that's marketing at its best or worst, depending on how your feel about manipulating the minds of impressionable youths.]
As to whether or not he's going to win, who knows? Obama is still a 68% favorite in FiveThirtyEight Forecast. This is up a bit from his pre-second-debate odds, but way down from his pre-first-debate odds. The national polls are right around 50-50, but Obama has held a slim but consistent advantage many swing states, particularly Ohio, and it might all come down to, whoever wins the Buckeye State wins the election.
Given the state of the economy (bad), it's quite an achievement for Obama to be leading at all. But given the dreadfulness of Mitt Romney as a candidate, it's a feather in his cap that Obama's not ahead by more. I mean, you have a guy who is openly campaigning against his opponent's signature bill (Obamacare), despite the fact that he implemented the same basic law as a governor and called it, "a model for the nation". If this isn't a definitive example that the guy doesn't have the integrity to be president, I don't know what is. Of course Romney claims he meant his healthcare law was a model for the nation "state by state", but that's not what he meant. I know it's not what he meant, because if it is what he meant, it's what he would have said. He would have said, "It's a model for other states" or something like that. He said "the nation", and didn't mention anything about individual states, because clearly he meant the nation and not individual states. It's only after Obamacare actually came to fruition, and Mitt realized he couldn't win the GOP primary and support it that he came up with his clearly bogus, post hoc rationalization. I think even most Republicans would admit this if they were being honest (I know an honest Republican is quite a fantastical notion, but you can imagine it, if you try), they're just going to support him anyway. Fine, but hardcore Reps are only about 33% of the country, where the other 17% of soon-to-be Romney voters come from is beyond me.
[The state that's "round on the ends and 'hi' in the middle... O-HI-O". I bet Sandusky, Ohio has really taken a PR hit since the Penn State scandal. Speaking of which, hilarious Onion headline, here.]
Anyway, enough about politics. Let's talk about other things. Like how men's testosterone levels drop after they have kids especially if they co-sleep with their babies. I don't generally share a bed with my baby (sometimes I don't even share one with my wife), but I do feel like my testosterone is dropping. I haven't felt the desire to curb-stomp anybody in at least two months. I've been doing my best to keep the levels up by watching copious amounts of football and MMA. It's been mostly working, but sometimes I do get sucked into S's chick shows like Project Runway and House Hunters. My favorite part about the latter is when people hear their house is worth 50 grand less than they were expecting. I don't know why I like this, it's a weird sort of schadenfreude. It's even better when they act as if the appraiser is personally insulting them. As somebody who tries to look at things critically and objectively, it's refreshing to watch people get a reality check, even if it's a harsh one. I think that's why I like it. Or maybe I'm just a dick, that's another a possibility.
Ever since we bought our house, I've started keep an eye on real estate prices in the DC area. I always take a peek at the listings in our neighborhood paper, and I make it a point to check out any "For Sale" signs I see; I never did either of these things before. They actually had an episode of House Hunters in DC; the couple's budget was about 75% of what we paid for our house, and I kept thinking, "They better not get a better house than ours." When they settled on a fixer-upper in a not-horrible-but-not-great neighborhood (albeit one with a Metro stop, unlike our neighborhood) I was satisfied. I don't want to put this house on the market someday and have it be worth 50 grand less than we were expecting. Then I'd have to smugly laugh at myself.
Alright, that's all for this entry. Until next time...
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