Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Rupert, come get your orange boy, you petrified old dinosaur turd.

When they say they are pro-life, they do not mean yours.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

Washington Post Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Accountability, motherfuckers.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

Compromise? There is no middle ground between a firefighter and an arsonist.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

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Reader Interactions

211Comments

  2. 2.

    catclub

    Is it a coincidence that every person in the background is a woman?

    As Freud said, There are no accidents.

    ETA: Yes, I suspect it was a rally at a woman’s college.

  3. 3.

    TaMara (BHF)

    I like Myth Romney.

    ETA: To add, I am loving this though, President can say it and it sound cute, not mean or obnoxious.

  4. 4.

    Tim I

    The President was excellent. Using humor to highlight Mitt’s lying is perfect. This is a major attack on Romney’s record and veracity, but it is couched in Jeff Foxworthy comedy (i.e., “You might be a Redneck if …”).

    This allows Obama to be very biting without coming across as mean or angry. And it was really funny. There is no better attack than to be laughing at your opponent.

  5. 5.

    Michael

    The ultimate punchline, about pre-existing conditions (the most popular aspect of Obamacare), is perfect.

  6. 6.

    The Bearded Blogger

    @catclub: The visuals are great… plus woming laughing at Mitt is sure to make republicans feel emasculated. Maybe their Mitts will shrink, like Rush said.

  8. 8.

    gocart mozart

    Stop romneying around the issue and get to the point.
    You romney this and you romney that, pick a position and stick with it.

  9. 9.

    Hill Dweller

    “Romnesia” alone is kind of “meh”, but with Obama doing what amounts to a comedy routine, and going through the list of Willard flip flops or symptoms, it gets really good. The bit about Obamacare covering preexisting conditions is the icing on the cake.

    Also too, Obama looks happy and energetic in the clip. I think they were a bit down after the first debate, but have seem to find their footing and, hopefully, gained momentum for the stretch run.

  10. 10.

    kindness

    Oh I can see the talking heads dismay and disgust now.

    Somehow in MSM world, a Republican can lie their asses off and a Democrat has to fight with one arm tied behind their back and not bring up major faults of their opponent for an election to be ‘fair’.

    It no longer is the maxum to kill all the lawyers. I myself would be happy if we started our pitchfork & torch revolt with the media.

  12. 12.

    Hill Dweller

    @kindness: Let the Village whine. This is a very effective attack on Willard.

    Obama can eviscerate Willard while remaining happy and appealing. Something Willard will never be able to do.

  14. 14.

    japa21

    The thing that really sets Romney off is being mocked. Obama didn’t do any mockery of McCain because he had some respect for the Senator. He has no respect for Romney so I expect to see a lot more mockery.

  15. 15.

    The Bearded Blogger

    @kindness: But it’s gonna be hard to find a negative spin on this. That’s the beauty of it. I expect FOX to say something along the lines of “president not being serious enough about our lies”, but that doesn’t really fly well outside foxland

  16. 16.

    kindness

    @Tim I: I’ve been reading Pete Townsend’s biography and in it Pete said that when he destroyed his guitar after the Who’s Monterrey performance people were very unhappy and agitated but when Jimi Hendrix destroyed his people were blissed out. Pete said he thought it was because when Jimi was doing it he had a sweet smile on his face the whole time.

  19. 19.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @bcinaz: Grandpa, Cousin Dewey who’s on disability for a bad back but plays golf three times a week and bitches about young bucks on welfare, and The Daily Show writer who drew the short straw this week. Why?

  21. 21.

    artem1s

    I know I was suppose to pick up milk on the way home Honey, but I had an attack of Romnesia.

    Yea, I think that could catch on…

  26. 26.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    @The Bearded Blogger: I’m guessing the butthurt defenses are going to pound the idea of “context” a lot.

    And then they’ll shift to bleating about “you didn’t build that.”

  28. 28.

    blingee

    This is a winner. Mark my words. Flip flopper no longer works the way it did originally but this one wraps his name in it. It’s brilliantly simple.

  31. 31.

    Evolving Deep Southerner

    Expect a lame “Obamnesia” coordinated talking point in all the usual places. I’m sure it’s already started, but I’m too lazy to Google it.

  34. 34.

    Michael

    In contrast, this is not a winner:

    Good luck with that. Mitt Romney is pro-life. He’ll govern as a pro-life president, but you’re going to see the Democrats use all sorts of shiny objects to distract people’s attention from the Obama performance on the economy. This is not a social issue election.

    Romney Campaign Surrogate Eric Ferhnstrom

  36. 36.

    catclub

    @Ding dong: Of course, this was an exact copy of Foxworthy. But I bet Foxworthy stole it from someone earlier.

    Talent borrows, genius steals.

    Bach stole from the best, himself.

  37. 37.

    trollhattan

    Speaking of Republican idiots and idiocy, Joe Walsh:

    Asked by reporters after the debate if he was saying that it’s never medically necessary to conduct an abortion to save the life of a mother, Walsh responded, “Absolutely.”
    __
    “With modern technology and science, you can’t find one instance,” he said. “… There is no such exception as life of the mother, and as far as health of the mother, same thing.”

    http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/joe-walsh-abortion-health-mother.html

  38. 38.

    trollhattan

    Attack of the strikethrough: hyphen leader in #34. Haven’t seen this WP trick for awhile. Aaaand, it’s gone. That was fast.

  39. 39.

    Schlemizel

    @artem1s:

    I think Romnesia would be
    No you told me to buy beer on the way home
    You should have planned to have milk here now
    I would have gotten milk had it been up to me
    I never bought any beer
    You didn’t mention the word milk for 14 days!

  41. 41.

    Lavocat

    Wow! That was awesome. That certainly looks like a man who is very sure of himself.

    I want to hear ROMNESIA all the way up until we make Rmoney cry on November 6th.

  44. 44.

    amy c

    @catclub: This is not at a women’s college. It’s at George Mason University – a large and incredibly diverse public institution that has hosted the president twice this month.

    (Some of you will recognize Mason because of the Koch-funded libertarians that are associated with us. They are a deep shame, but we do good things here, too.)

  45. 45.

    YellowJournalism

    If you say single-parent families cause gun violence, but you and your wife raised a son who would punch the President, you might have Romnesia.

    This is fun!!

  46. 46.

    dmsilev

    @Evolving Deep Southerner: I’m slightly less lazy. There are a few hits (like ~1000 all told), most of which date from anywhere up to a year ago and feature such scintillating wit as “OBAMNESIA – The disease when one conveniently forgets details about things like Solyndra or Project Gunrunner”.

    In other words, standard wingnut talking points that make no sense at all to someone not attuned to their particular dogwhistles.

  47. 47.

    catclub

    @japa21: I still hope Obama is working up to saying that Mitt is claiming he was brainwashed to sound conservative by the far rightwing of the GOP.

    Brainwashed has a notable Romney history.

  48. 48.

    blingee

    @Ding dong: I don’t think Foxworthy and Larry the Cable guy are wingnuts, they just know who butters their bread.

    Can you imagine what would happen to their careers if they came out as Dems? It would be over instantly.

  50. 50.

    Southern Beale

    Already trending on Twitter!

    Speaking of Romnesia, just watched this video where Romney claims the barbed wire and armed guards surrounding factories in China is not to keep workers in, oh no! It’s to keep people out! You see, there are so many people eager to work in these factories, where Romney tells us the women sleep 12 to a room, that people will just overrun the factory, just bust down the doors and start working!

    He really said that. Unfuckingbelievable.

  51. 51.

    Southern Beale

    Already trending on Twitter!

    Speaking of Romnesia, just watched this video where Romney claims the barbed wire and armed guards surrounding factories in China is not to keep workers in, oh no! It’s to keep people out! You see, there are so many people eager to work in these factories, where Romney tells us the women sleep 12 to a room, that people will just overrun the factory, just bust down the doors and start working!

    He really said that. Unfuckingbelievable.

  52. 52.

    KXB

    @trollhattan:

    I expect politicians to be dicks, but Walsh can go fuck himself. A former co-worker had to get an abortion late in her second trimester because her health was at serious risk. I don’t remember all the details, but she had to go to another state, because it was not offered by anyone closer. She and her husband later had 2 beautiful daughters.

  54. 54.

    aimai

    @Michael:
    I laughed so hard watching this over at Kos. I can’t wait to show it to my daughters. I’m excited and I think its a terrific line.

    aimai

  55. 55.

    trollhattan

    @Michael:
    Some kind of indoctrination that eventually snares everybody. It’s like a WP bar mitzvah: “Now, you are a man.”

    Next, a 12x post. Think big!

  56. 56.

    nemesis

    Shrill.

    Beltway punditocracy will be oh so saddened.

    The discourse has fallen so far.

    You go Bamz. You go.

  59. 59.

    Midnight Marauder

    @rikyrah:

    LOVE this attack by POTUS

    I think moments like this are exactly why the freakout after the first debate was so counterproductive. This is who Team Obama has always been. Something doesn’t go well? They make adjustments on-the-fly and continuing their overall masterful execution with an ever steady eye on the ground game.

    This is the captain of the ship, ladies and gentlemen. Chill the fuck out. He’s been waiting his whole life for this.

    Really, he’s got this.

  60. 60.

    aimai

    @japa21:
    I think Obama hated McCain. McCain attacked Obama as an uppity young whippersnapper for failing to sign on to a pet project of McCain’s because Obama and the Dems had a better bill that would do the same thing. That public letter, and the public tonguelashing, would have removed any illusions Obama had that McCain was in any sense respectable. I really don’t think McCain’s manly man shtick has much traction with someone like Obama.
    aimai

  62. 62.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    The doctor said I’ve got Romnesia, and I’m afraid it’s terminal

    Help! I was badly constipated and the doctor told me to drink Milk of Romensia. But now I have the runs and every time I go to the crapper I can hear Fox News coming out of my ass!

  64. 64.

    Culture of Truth

    You may have Romnesia. Obama can help. Side effects may include continued job creation, deficit reduction, defeating terrorism, health care, equal pay for women, marriage equality, and opportunity for young immigrants.

  65. 65.

    aimai

    @Culture of Truth:

    Yeah, I was waiting for that line too. I think they figured the resulting hysteria over a potential naughty joke wasn’t worth it. But its a natural.

    aimai

  66. 66.

    Villago Delenda Est

    “Your Honor, I forgot that I had to pay taxes on my 250 million dollars. I suffer from Romnesia.”

  67. 67.

    Culture of Truth

    I wonder if this grew out of prep work with the comedians on staff for the Al Smith dinner, and then they realized it was too good to waste and evolved into a whole routine.

  69. 69.

    amy c

    @catclub: Well, I don’t know if they purposely only allowed women in the bleachers, or what. But it’s definitely not because the school is all-women! Obviously there was a strong female turnout regardless.

    I work on campus and though I couldn’t go to the rally (had to be at the office this morning), I stepped outside for a while and could hear the President’s voice booming all over the place as I was just wandering around. And, the crowd roaring. It was really awesome.

  70. 70.

    Sayne

    I was there, it was pretty damned awesome. Everyone busted out laughing and cheering. Great rally.

  71. 71.

    Hawes

    Do you suffer from Romnesia? Take Paulryanix. Side effects include gaseous oily discharge, spontaneous prevarication and uncontrollable mansplaining. If these symptoms persist or if you find yourself with an acute case of aynrandism, please call your doctor immediately.

  73. 73.

    Parrot

    That was excellent…backdrop had womenz, but no binders?? Liberals … they implement health policies that help those who hate their health policies… bloody water walkers

  76. 76.

    Yutsano

    @danimal: Foxworthy is from Georgia. They do grow some strange things down there sometimes. Poor Atlanta.

    @jrosen: Good one, but you might get some funny looks mentioning that.

  77. 77.

    blingee

    @comrade scott’s agenda of rage: yea because ummm that’s what I said he would do so ummm…reading comprehension problems?

    I don’t know what side he is really on or how much of the whole southern redneck hick schtick is still for real given that he’s a multimillionaire. Being from the south I wouldn’t be surprised but no matter what, he is going to always play the part.

  79. 79.

    ? Martin

    @burnspbesq: I wouldn’t get your hopes up too much. The PC market is contracting vastly faster than the Mac market is growing. The iPad is what’s destroying the consumer PC market, whether Windows 8 is out there or not.

    The interesting question is what happens with enterprise. Apple doesn’t have a good case to make there, and Windows 8 is really a problem in that space. We’re preparing for an upgrade cycle and with money hand, have no idea what to buy. Everything looks like shit.

    But man, interesting times in the technology space. I may pick up some Jan options at this level, though. Almost can’t lose here.

  80. 80.

    sempronia

    Hey mistermix and DougJ, Bill Clinton’s coming to Rochester to hold a rally for Louise Slaughter and Mary Hochul this afternoon. It’s at the Armory at 3:30. Either of you (or other Rochesterians) planning to be there? Wish I could get out of work in time….

  81. 81.

    sempronia

    Hey mistermix and DougJ, Bill Clinton’s coming to Rochester to hold a rally for Louise Slaughter and Mary Hochul this afternoon. It’s at the Armory at 3:30. Either of you (or other Rochesterians) planning to be there? Wish I could get out of work in time….

  82. 82.

    Rommie

    I think this is the first of those fabled “Big Guns” the Obama Campaign was supposed to have in reserve to use…just about now! It’s a great opening if it’s the alpha strike for turning Mittens to Marshmallow Man.

  83. 83.

    OGLiberal

    Halperin has his panties all in a bunch over “binders” and he’s already starting to hyperventilate over “Romnesia” – so this must be a good tactic.

  85. 85.

    eyelessgame

    Yep, Obama’s definitely doing Foxworthy (who, as far as anyone knows, really did invent the genius “you might be a redneck” cadence), and yes, Foxworthy is a wingnut and very likely pissed as hell.

    Somehow I fail to feel bad. I was eighteen in 1984 and I remember Reagan using ‘Born In The USA’ as a patriotic reelection anthem. At least Obama is putting his own material into Foxworthy’s template.

  86. 86.

    ? Martin

    Gallup:

    Fewer 18- to 25-year-old Americans are uninsured in the third quarter of 2012 than in past years, with the 23.4% now lacking coverage down from a high of 28.7% in the third quarter of 2009.

    Young voters – Obamacare is working for you. Don’t throw it away.

  87. 87.

    trollhattan

    Nate Silver’s odds of Willard winning just dipped below 30% for the first time in quite awhile. I’ll take my slim comfort where I find it.

  88. 88.

    MCA1

    Once again, a big THANK YOU is in order for the Big Dog. He’s spent the last month ragging on Romney and making it feel acceptable to mock the guy publicly, starting at the DNC.

    It’s nice to see everyone on the Democratic side playing their designated roles based on their positions throughout this campaign – Bubba as the guy who can tell it like it is and do some dirty work for the Pres, Biden as the proud, protective big brother to his immensely talented younger sibling, Hilary as the competent team player who just wants to serve America. They’ve all three taken on those roles and stuck to them relentlessly, and each of them has laid significant rhetorical groundwork and established frames, allowing the President to go places he wouldn’t otherwise be able to. But for one 90 minute period that set off two weeks of unjustified panic, the D side has been the better campaign every day of this race.

  90. 90.

    burnspbesq

    @Southern Beale:

    You see, there are so many people eager to work in these factories

    That part is true. Yes, those jobs suck by American standards (I’ve been in shoe factories in China and apparel factories in India), but the alternative isn’t working in a clean, well-lighted, air-conditioned call center. The alternative is subsistence agriculture in the middle of nowhere.

  91. 91.

    Darkrose

    I love Obama so much because he thinks he’s the most hilarious guy ever. Not in a smug way, but in an “I’m a giant dork” way.

  92. 92.

    gogol's wife

    Beautiful delivery, and I love the reactions of the women behind him. We have the nice people on our side!

  94. 94.

    Culture of Truth

    I haven’t seen this video but Obama has good comic timing, as can be seen from last night (deadpan during “spoiler alert”) But also laughs during his own jokes sometimes making it more endearing, liked when he poked fun at Chris Matthews.

  95. 95.

    JoyceH

    @aimai:

    I think Obama hated McCain. McCain attacked Obama as an uppity young whippersnapper for failing to sign on to a pet project of McCain’s because Obama and the Dems had a better bill that would do the same thing. That public letter, and the public tonguelashing, would have removed any illusions Obama had that McCain was in any sense respectable. I really don’t think McCain’s manly man shtick has much traction with someone like Obama.

    Maybe, but Romney is a whole other kettle of fish. Anecdotally, EVERYONE who’s ever run against Romney has wound up hating him with the white-hot heat of a thousand burning suns. Obama, only human, would not be immune from that natural reaction. (And it really doesn’t bode well for the success of a Romney Administration, does it, that he inspires such lizard-brain-level revulsion?)

  96. 96.

    Dave

    What will be great is when Romney tries to come up with a condition that is afflicting the president. It will be clunky and unoriginal and Mitt will deliver it badly.

  99. 99.

    Culture of Truth

    @JoyceH:

    (And it really doesn’t bode well for the success of a Romney Administration, does it, that he inspires such lizard-brain-level revulsion?)

    Say what you will, the man managed to unite the Tories and Labor for once.

  100. 100.

    dmsilev

    @peggy: Some decent stuff on Twitter as well:

    sfpelosi ‏@sfpelosi
    You might have #Romnesia if you think your Paris mission was really a deployment to Vietnam.

    Jennifer Granholm ‏@JenGranholm
    You might have #Romnesia if you think the President followed your plan when he saved the auto industry.

    LOLGOP ‏@LOLGOP
    #Romnesia: Who created Romneycare again?

    Predictably, the conservative attempt to push #Obamanesia is way lame:
    Kevin Eder ‏@keder
    If you’ve ever booed God or Israel (or both!) at your party’s convention, you might have #Obamnesia.

  102. 102.

    Culture of Truth

    If you’ve ever booed God or Israel (or both!)….

    cripes as usual that never happened and makes no sense for the joke

  103. 103.

    mds

    @amy c:

    (Some of you will recognize Mason because of the Koch-funded libertarians that are associated with us. They are a deep shame, but we do good things here, too.)

    You could always spin it by noting how nice the rest of the campus is thanks to the Mercatus Center acting as a roach motel.

  104. 104.

    mingo

    You might have Romnesia if you think your binders full of women just want to rush home to make you a sammich.

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think Obama hated McCain.

    I think it was more disappointment, admittedly disdainful disappointment, at how far the old man had allowed himself to sink in his slightly mad quest to be President. I think Romney and McCain share a messiah complex–Romney’s based in a combination of Mormonism and MOTUism, McCain thinks he’s a soldier-statesman in the mold of Washington and Cincinattus–that makes them think their mere presence in the Oval Office will bring greatness.

    @OGLiberal:

    Halperin has his panties all in a bunch over “binders” and he’s already starting to hyperventilate over “Romnesia” –

    I thoroughly despise most Villagers, but he confuses me. I really can’t wrap my brain around his combination of would-be wise guy/ink-stained wretch (his middle school nerd attempts to use catchy nicknames and headlines), and a prissiness that would have Broder rolling his eyes over an orange blossom (only half a shot of gin, of course).

  109. 109.

    mds

    @dmsilev:

    Kevin Eder ‏@keder
    If you’ve ever booed God or Israel (or both!) at your party’s convention, you might have #Obamnesia.

    On the other hand, if you’ve ever wrestled God at Peniel, you might be Israel. #IrrelevantComebacks

  110. 110.

    gbear

    @Hill Dweller:

    Obama looks happy and energetic in the clip. I think they were a bit down after the first debate

    Can’t find the link for you right now, but go find the video of the rally that Obama held in Colorado the day after the first debate. He was fired up and in a good mood. I’ve never seen a video of an Obama rally that wasn’t fun to watch.

  113. 113.

    handsmile

    “Romnesia” is now screaming through the intertubes (61,000+ Google results as of a moment ago) and fainting couches are being set up throughout the Village.

    And here may be the term’s origin: a September 24 essay by Guardian columnist George Monbiot:

    http://www.monbiot.com/2012/09/24/romnesia/

    “Romnesia: the ability of the very rich to forget the context in which they made their money. To forget their educations, inheritance, family networks, contacts and introductions. To forget the workers whose labors enriched them. To forget the infrastructure and security, the educated workforce, the contracts, subsidies, and bailouts the government provided.”

    (Thus it would seem Elizabeth Warren might be owed some credit in helping to coin this term.)

    ETA: Just to be clear: origin is irrelevant. This is effective mockery of the highest order!

  117. 117.

    mingo

    @handsmile:
    that’s excellent – the only thing wrong with it would be that in order to forget something, you had to have been conscious of it at one time.

  119. 119.

    Hoodie

    “I’ve got Romnesia and the only cure is more cowbell”- a series of ads with recovering Romnesiac Chris Walken reprising Bruce Dickinson appealing to Clint Eastwood for the latter to seek professional help.

  120. 120.

    The Dangerman

    Most excellent, especially the channeling of Foxworthy. He should also channel Engvall, hold up a Romney sign, and say you can’t fix stupid, here’s your sign.

    I’d say he should also channel Ron White, but that would be rated at least PG-13. I suppose “Hater Salad” might work.

  121. 121.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @blingee:

    reading comprehension problems?

    No. You mused, I provided a direct answer and a link.

    I don’t know what side he is really on or how much of the whole southern redneck hick schtick is still for real given that he’s a multimillionaire…

    Again, let’s take his statements at face value. It wouldn’t have hurt him professionally to say nothing and he certainly doesn’t need any help professionally, ie., making money doing what he does, by endorsing a candidate.

    I will say I couldn’t find anything saying he’s a total batshit, insane wingnut, just that he’s endorsed Rmoney (and I vaguely remember him endorsing McCain).

    In another “who woulda guessed” endorsements, Alice Cooper is also a Republican. Endorsed McCain and has endorsed Rmoney.

  126. 126.

    feebog

    The beauty of “Romnesia” is that it pokes fun at rMoney’s lies in such a playful manner that there is virtually no comeback. Plus, anyone can play. You can bet there will thousands of facebook posts this afternoon and evening playing the “Romnesia game”.

  128. 128.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @feebog:

    You can bet there will thousands of facebook posts this afternoon and evening playing the “Romnesia game”.

    The problem I’m having is one continual Emily Litella moment in that I see “Romnesia” and I keep thinking “Rhodesia”, thus “Why are all these people playing the ‘Rhodesia Game’?”

    Nevermind.

  130. 130.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Ding dong: Foxworthy is a Republican, not a wing nut. (Less can be said of his fans.) When he’s talked about Obama I’ve never gotten the impression that he has that seething ragehatred going on for him that so many wingnuts do.

    Maybe post some video evidence otherwise, if you’re going to make assertions like that?

  131. 131.

    Tom Q

    @feebog: Which is also why that GOP attempt with God/Israel doesn’t work — it has no sense of play about it; like most Republican humor, it has a nasty edge (and dwells on things only their base cares about).

  132. 132.

    hueyplong

    “Romnesia” looks like a winner, but I’m not committing until Dick Morris calls it a loser that constitutes the seventygazillionth thing that clinched the election for Mitt Romney.

  133. 133.

    Joel

    @Liberty60: On a related note, the Democrats have an ~15% chance to control 60 or more seats in the Senate forecast, as well. Interesting…

  134. 134.

    Davis X. Machina

    Haven’t thought about the Pousette Dart band in 35 years….

    I hope that it’s only amnesia
    Believe me I’m sick but not insane.
    Yeah,I hope that it’s only amnesia
    My friends they don’t look at me the same.

  135. 135.

    Another Halocene Human

    @catclub: Too mean. Not his style. And younger voters–the base he needs to motivate to actually go vote instead of following the election on twitter–won’t get it.

    OfA is trying to get me to mobilize for the last push but I told them I promised AFLCIO I’d work for them first. Hmm.

    If AFLCIO says they don’t need me OfA said I can give them a call.

    I was ready to drive wherever but my car broke down! FUUUUUUCK!

  136. 136.

    Origuy

    @Hill Dweller: Another endorsement, this one from the Tampa Bay Tribune.

    I’m not sure what newspaper endorsements are worth these days. I look at them for local races, where they’ve usually interviewed the candidates. At least they can tell you when someone is batshit.

  138. 138.

    catclub

    @Tom Q: The difference in the God/Israel thing (even if true) is that Romnesia was something the ROMNEY (not the GOP – they never forget an insult) is known for doing.

    The Obamnesia is something blamed on faceless democrats, not something that Obama actually did.

  140. 140.

    Another Halocene Human

    @KXB: What’s really frightening are the stories of women who’ve had late miscarriages and are bleeding out and the Catholic hospital refuses to do a D&X.

    One of these days, one of these women is going to DIE and blood will be on their hands. Catholic hospitals are taking over a lot of hospitals in mergers and some areas don’t have another hospital close by.

    The shit that went down in AZ is instructive.

    Also, if you care about these issues, donate to PP, etc, I would suggest also joining Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Reproductive rights have always been part of their advocacy. They also, with the ACLU, have been going after local gov’ts and school boards who try to impose a certain sect of Xtianity on everyone. They did a bunch of stories on Griswold lately. Probably quite shocking to them to be going back there. And they have been following Timothy “Fuck You, I Wanna Be Pope” Cardinal Dolan’s every move for the last three years. He is one nasty piece of work.

    I admire Obama for standing up to Dolan this year–and thank Michelle and Kathleen Sebelius for their work talking him into it.

  142. 142.

    quannlace

    Oh jeez. I sure hope Tagg “anger management issues” Romney doesn’t see this.

    Cue Reince Priebus’ next hissy snit.

  143. 143.

    Another Halocene Human

    @catclub: So all the women in the background was a coincidence!

    It’s not a coincidence. OfA probably worked with a particular club on campus, maybe Women for Obama or NOW or whatever, and invited supporters to sit in the bleachers close to the President and hold the FORWARD signs.

    When Michelle came to UF they had about 50-60 kids from Gators for Obama and she was introduced by one of the group. They all dressed in Gator colors and held the signs. Then there was another ring below the podium for VIPs who had to go through special security and wear pink bracelets.

    So it was probably a campus club who fights for reproductive freedom. Obvs more men should join.

    What was super funny was Ryan’s Ft Myers footage from the other day where some of the people seated RIGHT behind him weren’t cheering, clapping or laughing at his stump speech. They appeared to be white men in their 20s. Some of the people behind him were into but I saw at least two who were just bored. Hahahahhahaa.

  144. 144.

    sweaver

    Just got back from this rally. It was great. When Obama said the word “Romnesia”, the crowd went crazy! It doesn’t reflect it well on this video, but I was in the way back and the entire crowd of several hundred (maybe a couple thousand) people started to howl and clap and jump up and down. I hope it catches fire on the internet, it’s short and catchy.

  145. 145.

    dmsilev

    @Hill Dweller: The Onion also issued their endorsement today:

    And so it is without ambivalence or hesitation that The Onion endorses former U.S. senator John Edwards for president.
    […]
    Furthermore, Mr. Edwards conducted a protracted extramarital affair with a younger woman while his wife was dying of cancer, and we like that he did this. Our reasons for liking that he did this are tenfold:

  146. 146.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @Davis X. Machina:

    Haven’t thought about the Pousette Dart band in 35 years….

    Became a fan of theirs when I first heard “Freezing Hot.” Have most of their songs on vinyl and all of them on MP3. Half a dozen of their songs are in permanent residence on my MP3 player.

  147. 147.

    Redshift

    @Another Halocene Human: Yup, that was it exactly. (I just got back from there, too.) It’s not a women’s college, but they did invite all women to sit in the bleachers behind the podium.

    It was an excellent rally, very energetic, especially considering that most people had been waiting in line since 8am (some as early as 3) to get in. It was between five and ten thousand, I believe. (I got some of the texts from the line counters, but I’m unclear whether they were all counting the entire line, or combining.)

  148. 148.

    Steve Finlay

    This is a winner, for sure. It is enough to make me believe in a God of Karma: The Republican whose flip-flopping vastly outclassed all his competitors during the primary season is also the only one whose name perfectly fits with the word “amnesia”. If Huckabee or Perry had been the flip-flopper, this word merger could not have worked. With Romney, it cannot fail.

  149. 149.

    Ash Can

    @Tim I:

    Using humor to highlight Mitt’s lying is perfect.

    Absolutely. In addition, I’d bet that making fun of him is the most effective way to get under his skin by far.

  151. 151.

    dmbeaster

    @Yutsano:

    East Germany called. Their attorneys are drafting a cease and desist order for trademark violations.

    Good luck collecting on a violation of intellectual property claim against China.

  153. 153.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    @dmbeaster:

    Good luck collecting on a violation of intellectual property claim against China.

    I imagine the Chinese will be happy to get onboard with western concepts of IP as soon as they’ve finished collecting their residuals on silk, porcelain, paper, moveable type, gunpowder, the magnetic compass, paper money, etc…

  154. 154.

    Shana

    @catclub: Actually it wasn’t. It was at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, one of Virginia’s fine public universities. I agree that it wasn’t accidental that all the people behind the stage were women, but it isn’t a women’s college. And a good 1/3 to 1/2 of the audience were over college age.

  155. 155.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    What is with all the freaking stuttering? Has the White House been checked for lead water pipes?

  157. 157.

    danimal

    @Another Halocene Human: @catclub: I think the Obama folks knew they had a winner on their hands, and they are Machiavellian enough to want a picture of dozens of wimmin folk laughing at Little Lord Romney. In other words, PsyOps in a campaign setting.

    A little emasculation goes a long way.

  159. 159.

    gbear

    @sweaver: I just watched the clip and it was sure obvious to me that the crowd went absolutely nuts when he said Romnesia. I loved it. If the video doesn’t do it justice, all the better. It must have been fun to be there.

  160. 160.

    GregB

    I just listened to Boston talk radio wherein a GOP relative of a man killed on 9/11 blamed the release of a Guantanimo detainee in 2007 on liberals.

    I too recall how President Bush was pushed around by liberals on the issue of terrorism in the years following 9/11.

  162. 162.

    NonyNony

    @aimai:

    I think Obama hated McCain.

    See, I don’t think so. It may be a really good act, but Obama just doesn’t seem to have the character to truly hate that many people. He may have been annoyed by the Honorable Senator Grumpy McWalnuts by the end of the whole Presidential run, but I didn’t get a vibe of actual hate off of him. (McCain clearly hated Obama. But McCain seems to have the temperament where there are a lot of people he hates).

    Romney is different – it’s very obvious that Obama does not like the man. Not as obvious as it was that Newt Gingrich and some of his other Republican opponents didn’t like him, but obvious nonetheless. And that says a lot – if there’s one word I can use to describe Obama’s emotional displays it’s “controlled”.

  163. 163.

    danimal

    @NonyNony: Agree with just about all your points. The ‘tell’ for me was the blazing fury evident in Obama’s voice as he riffed on the Libya attacks in the 2nd debate. Obama clearly wanted to express contempt for Romney, and while that can be a performance piece for most politicians, I don’t believe Obama was acting in this instance. He had a clean shot to punch down on Romney, and he took it.

  165. 165.

    The Other Chuck

    If you can’t tell the difference between 14 days and 4 minutes, you might have Romnesia

  166. 166.

    schrodinger's cat

    @NonyNony: Apart from his family who likes Romney. May be Ann’s irritability is not because of the campaign, but from the strain of being married to Mitt.

  167. 167.

    FlipYrWhig

    @danimal: Romney makes a particular face just before the “Proceed, Governor” that got _me_ on edge. Eyebrows up, chin lifted. If there’s such a thing as “fighting words,” that was a fighting face.

  171. 171.

    The Other Chuck

    @FlipYrWhig: “Please proceed, Governor” was basically a polite way of saying “Keep digging”.

    The expression on the other hand had to be hiding a whole lot of thoughts, from “man, I am going to fuck your shit up when I stand up and reply” to “I can’t believe he’s so totally fucking up the one issue he might have been able to hit me with.”

  172. 172.

    blingee

    @dmsilev: Their come back is Obamanation which has been around for some time. It’s a much more dark sinister sounding thing that won’t play as well in a general election like Romnesia will.

  175. 175.

    Lojasmo

    @? Martin:

    I will never buy another PC. My ipad with solar bluetooth keyboard is all i will ever need (google docs) We will be getting a second powerbook (for the boy) because he likes a full function computer, but windoze is dead to my household, and i am a tablet guy for life.

  176. 176.

    Seanly

    @Ding dong:

    Larry the Cable Guy sets off my gaydar – especially after hearing his real voice. Not to say he isn’t a wing nut, but the Cable Guy is a schtick.

    Anywhoo, humor is a great weapon to use.

  177. 177.

    Chris

    @Tom Q:

    like most Republican humor, it has a nasty edge

    Quoted for truth.

    Seems to mostly consist of tired old racial/sexist humor, combined with jokes in which the people they don’t like end up suffering. Too nasty to be actually funny, most of the time, but there are people who go for that kind of humor. And most of them vote Republican.

  178. 178.

    Seanly

    @burnspbesq:

    I bought a new PC earlier in the year & was offered a free upgrade to Windows 8. However, I heard some negative things about it on a gaming forum I belong to & decided not to aggravate myself. EDIT: these were Windows-fan buddies who do networking & such, not just the usual trolls on 90% of gaming forums.

  179. 179.

    Chris

    @NonyNony:

    Romney is different – it’s very obvious that Obama does not like the man. Not as obvious as it was that Newt Gingrich and some of his other Republican opponents didn’t like him, but obvious nonetheless. And that says a lot – if there’s one word I can use to describe Obama’s emotional displays it’s “controlled”.

    I don’t think I can remember the last time there’s been a presidential candidate quite this despicable (or this despised, going by how his base feels about him). Heck of a way to run a campaign.

  180. 180.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    @burnspbesq:
    I tried the preview version in a dual boot setup on my Windows 7 box. Phew! The lack of old Win functionality is a PITA. The attempt to make a PC act like a tablet or a smartphone is, to my mind, one of the dumbest moves I’ve ever seen MS make.

    I’ve been around computing long enough to be OS agnostic; whatever works for you is just peachy. Windows 8 strikes me as the next Windows 98 ME.

  181. 181.

    Enhanced Mooching Techniques

    @Chris:

    I don’t think I can remember the last time there’s been a presidential candidate quite this despicable (or this despised, going by how his base feels about him). Heck of a way to run a campaign.

    yes, amazing to watch him get the GOP nomination with that amount of loathing from his own side.

    I suppose the bright side of a Romney is win is he will be so unpopular he won’t be able to pass anything major and plenty of GOP politicians will be waiting their chance the stick a shiv in him. But with all that’s going on four years of basically not having a president will really suck.

  182. 182.

    Enhanced Mooching Techniques

    @Chris:

    I don’t think I can remember the last time there’s been a presidential candidate quite this despicable (or this despised, going by how his base feels about him). Heck of a way to run a campaign.

    yes, amazing to watch him get the GOP nomination with that amount of loathing from his own side.

    I suppose the bright side of a Romney is win is he will be so unpopular he won’t be able to pass anything major and plenty of GOP politicians will be waiting their chance the stick a shiv in him. But with all that’s going on four years of basically not having a president will really suck.

  183. 183.

    Hal

    @Chris:

    I don’t think I can remember the last time there’s been a presidential candidate quite this despicable

    That’s exactly how I would describe Romney. Despicable. The man is an astonishingly fake human being with no ideological center of any king. He sees which way the wind blows and goes with it.

    At best you can say he believes in being Republican, but if Republicans tomorrow decided they supported gay marriage and free abortions, you can be damn sure Romney would not only suddenly support these positions, but he would act as though he had always supported those positions.

  184. 184.

    BruceFromOhio

    I sense the onset of a bout of “george tierney of greenville south carolina” here.

    If you run for for president, but can’t seem to tell the truth about any details of your policies, you might have Romnesia.

  185. 185.

    Marshall

    I intended to use a condom, but i get Romnesia when I take my clothes off.

    It’s a pre-existing condition.

  186. 186.

    Chris

    @Enhanced Mooching Techniques:

    I think he’ll rubber stamp whatever Congressional teabaggers want him to pass, until there’s enough real opposition for him to do otherwise.

    Blow with the wind, etc. Captain Renault’s politics with Major Strasser’s charm.

  189. 189.

    Chris

    @Hal:

    I think being a Republican is a combination of three things. One, it’s the hand he was dealt – family heritage and all that. Two, it’s the party that promotes one of the few things he does sincerely believe – that people like him are demigods lifting the rest of the country on their backs, and the teeming masses should just kneel and be grateful for his awesomeness. (That part’s not an act, even if his positions on foreign policy, health care, abortion et al are).

    Three, it’s the party that’s been on top for the last forty years. And I think that’s what matters to him most of all. Like you said, he blows with the wind – whoever’s winning gets his support.

  190. 190.

    BruceFromOhio

    @Culture of Truth: There’s some substance here. Comedy is about timing and delivery, and good comedy connects the comedian to the audience. What is political campaigning without all three?

    Paging John Rogers …

    ETA: And Romnesia is now yielding 136,000 results on teh Google …

  192. 192.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @kindness:

    It no longer is the maxim [FTFY] to kill all the lawyers. I myself would be happy if we started our pitchfork & torch revolt with the media.

    Way back when I was (as my late Uncle Johnny from Joizee useta say) a college stoont, I was happy to tell folks that if I had the bombs & could choose my targets with impunity, I’d pass the brokerage houses right by & start in on Madison Ave. Kill a few of the lying whoreson flacks & scare the rest of them into hiding under their beds pissing their pants & the MSM dies from starvation. Next, double back & festoon Wall St with the bloodsuckers strung upside down on lampposts, leaving piles of cash & coke below. And only then go after the lawyers with mallets ‘afore thought…

    (That’s what I said back in my salad days, when my head was green & leafy & swimming in oil & vinegar…)

  193. 193.

    GregB

    @Seanly:

    You can find old sets of him on the You Tube. His accent is just part of a character. He’s from Ohio if I recall. When he started out he wore sneakers and a cheezy 80’s mullet and nary a Southern accent to be found.

  194. 194.

    muddy

    The CBS Evening News has Romnesia as the 2nd story, after Benghazi.

    ETA: Now they are fact checking “what the Administration knew and when they knew it…”

    ETA again: they were teasing about Romnesia, maybe it’s at the end.

  195. 195.

    hep kitty

    I really liked it a lot when I heard it. But then, here it comes,

    Fox bleats out “Obamnesia” 3, 2, 1 . . .

  196. 196.

    Kerry Reid

    @JoyceH: Oh, I’m sure he’d have TONS of support from the career diplomatic corps, after basically gnawing on the bones of their fallen comrades for political gain.

  197. 197.

    SFAW

    @Seanly:

    Anywhoo, humor is a great weapon to use.

    Mocking works well, too. For example, the 1988 commercial of Dukakis riding around in a tank, with a helmet on, did more to make him a laughingstock than anything the asshole Rethugs did to Kerry in 2004 (e.g. Purple Heart Band-Aids).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRPZQ3UEN_Q

    As someone, somewhere, has said, the Rethugs only know how to be nasty. I guess some of that can qualify as humor, but most of it ain’t.

  198. 198.

    Uncle Cosmo

    BTW, that preexisting condition seems to be evidence of a serious genetic flaw running through the Romney DNA.

    First, George gets brainwashed on Vietnam.

    Then, son Mitt develops galloping Romnesia.

    Later the same day, grandson Thug Twig Tagg has an eruption of WACWYPHTYFCEC* syndrome. (* Pronounced “whack wiff tiff seck”: Writing Asinine Checks With Your PieHole That Your Fists Can’t Ever Cash)

  199. 199.

    Bago

    @The Other Chuck: You forgot the “I just lost my best Libyan asset and you think I’m flipping it for political points?” sort of dumbshittery that he wasn’t concealing very well.

  201. 201.

    Patty K

    It absolutely will not catch on with the general public. Is Obama trying to lose? First, that horrible debate. Now this. It’s a strain to try to remember what Romnesia is all about. The starting point: amnesia. So what is Romney trying to forget? Or making us try to forget? It’s just too damn complicated and really not that clever in the end. Why doesn’t he go after Congress the way Truman did? Congress is at an all time low in popularity. It’s blocked him and the American public at every turn. Why hasn’t he come up with his own version of a “do-nothing Congress.” The public would welcome that.

  204. 204.

    E.

    @Patty K

    I think maybe Obama is fusing the word “amnesia” with Romney’s name, “Romney.” Amnesia is when you forget things, like who you are. So maybe the message here is that Romney has forgotten who he was and what he used to say, and is now saying different things.

    Does that clear it up for you? Maybe just a little bit?

  207. 207.

    Robin

    If you want to dismantle the government program your family depended on when you were a kid, you might have Romnesia.

    If you ran a marathon and can’t remember whether is was a bit under 3 hours or a bit under 4 hours, you might have Romnesia.

    If you can’t remember whether you are supposed to wash pots and pans when they’re clean or when they’re dirty, you might have Romnesia.

  208. 208.

    Thor Heyerdahl

    @Southern Beale: Really late to respond, but isn’t that something similar to what the East German’s said about the Berlin Wall…have to protect the people from those trying to get in from the west?

  211. 211.

    Patty K

    Thanks for your explanation, E., but it’s perfectly clear what the term means. That doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s tedious. And I am not a troll. On that here’s part of my recent letter to a local paper: “Taking issue with my statement that Obama did not dodge the draft, Perry Collette notes that Obama was too young for it, which ignores the more salient point that Romney did dodge the draft during the Vietnam War, with four deferments. Then, as a presidential candidate in 2007, he had the temerity, the effrontery, the unmitigated gall to say: “I longed in many respects to actually be in Vietnam…” Oh, right. As a veteran Mr. Collette might want to consider this record of cowardice….

    As for Romney’s admission to Stanford and Harvard, all doubts on the part of those schools would have been resolved in favor of the son of a governor and head of American Motors. And there must have been doubts. Romney may be diligent and focused but he can’t be very bright to say so many stupid things. In a time of high unemployment, he said he likes to fire people; his clumsy insults on the Olympic preparations brought down upon his head the wrath of the UK

    Even more stupid: his statement that on Day 1 of his Presidency, he would declare China a currency manipulator, so he could put tariffs on Chinese goods.. “That is really cool,” wrote Thomas L. Friedman in the New York Times. “Smack China on Day 1. I just wonder what happens on Day 2, when China, the biggest foreign buyer of U.S. debt securities, announces that it will not participate in the next Treasury auction, sending our interest rates soaring. That will make Day 3 really, really cool.”

    What a wonderful candidate!”

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