E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Updated 1:23 p.m. ET - President Barack Obama's re-election team emerged Tuesday to argue that the president is in the proverbial driver's seat heading into the closing two weeks of the campaign.
"We continue to feel very good about our prospects two weeks from tonight," Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in a conference call recapping last night's third and final debate between the president and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Recommended: Obama renews ridicule of Romney the day after final debate
Messina, along with senior Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod, argued that the president is well-positioned to win a second term thanks to the strength of early voting in states like Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin and stronger turnout the Democratic high command expects from minority and young voters.
Sen. John Kerry joins The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd to talk about the differences between the candidates on foreign policy during the final debate.
But Axelrod also acknowledged that his own words might well be a headfake in the end.
"We know what we know, and they know what they know. I'm confident we're going to win this race," he said. "We'll know who is bluffing and who isn't in two weeks."
Slideshow: On the campaign trail
"Three weeks ago Jim Messina was insisting they were ahead in the battleground states and today he is insisting they aren’t pulling out of any states. That doesn’t sound like ‘Forward’ to me," said the Romney campaign's political director, Rich Beeson, in response.
Both the Romney and Obama campaigns are full of bravado headed into the final 14 days of the campaign, each cherrypicking a handful of polls and statistics to argue they have the upper-hand in the election. More independent polls have shown the presidential contest tightening to a horserace nationally, a development that has played out in many swing states as well.
President Obama voiced his concerns over Governor Romney's foreign policy doctrine at a campaign event in Delray Beach, Fla., saying his opponent is "all over the map."
Even the slightest sign of weakness by Obama or Romney is seized upon by the other. When Paul Begala, an adviser to a pro-Obama super PAC, said yesterday on television that the Obama campaign was all but finished in North Carolina, the Obama campaign tried to dispute his characterization.
"We are tied or ahead in every battleground state, and we're not leaving any state where we're tied or ahead," Messina said Tuesday.
The Obama campaign manager also played up their efforts to encourage Obama supporters who might not be the most consistent voters to cast their ballots early in states where that is available.
"Every single day now is Election Day," Messina said.
Leave a Comment:
The Obama campaign projects arrogance. Arrogance is not strength.
You are kidding aren't you? Arrogance, elitism, special treatment...That's all Romney's life has been. He was willing to march for the Vietnam War - but did he go? He is willing to profit immeasurably (as in we don't know how much!!!!) from this country, but not willing to pay his fair share! The only foreign policy experience he has had was Paris (during the Vietnam War), Switzerland (when he visits his money) and the Cayman Islands (when he visits his shell corporations). You may have mistaken Obama's resolve to win this thing because he actually loves this country - he loves the chance this country gave him to succeed - versus Mitt who loves that his success was handed to him in a trust fund!
Lib in Oklahoma - SOS!
Romney paid 3+ million dollars in 2010 and again in 2011 in federal income taxes. How much do you think Romney should pay?
Go Obama!
Yes obama GO! Go back to Chicago just as fast you your sorry butt can take you.
0bama and his lapdogs=peices of dog sh1t t hat goes for all 0bama queer friends
Class, real class. You should be running for office ...as a Republican, of course. You've got the Republican stump speech down!
white house staff ,please contact a extermanating co. to git rid of the stinch and lice from our white house it will take a rehab or maybe torn down and replaced
You're sick.... do you realize that?
The Liberal's entire "lean forward" movement says it all.. We expect "leaning" to actually "move" us in a new direction. You can walk, run, or even crawl, but leaning never moves you anywhere... If we can somehow get paychecks, food, clothing, and anything else a person could want with no one working a real job (industrial/manufacturing) then let me know how this is sustainable and I'll jump right in.
Otherwise get your work clothes on and join the rest of us that want to "walk forward", into a place where we can bring the country together by hard work instead of thinking Politicians can somehow finance us to prosperity...
Giving the President another four years WITHOUT giving him a workable balance in Congress - preferably a super-majority in both bodies - is like condemning him to four more years of .... and the country will rot and crater from within itself from obstructed bowels!
Wow, Romney was the arrogant bully, who refuses to shut up and give the opposition time to reply. Romney was the big-mouth, talking over Obama and the moderators in all three debates!
Romney went on and on last night, regurgitating talking points, reminding us of the "tumults" in Mali, a land-locked African nation, Romney's new navy would never be able to reach! Romney continued to repeatedly babble about his love for the "crippling sanctions" that Obama and Hillary were able to put in place on the Iranians because they were willing to meet with world leaders and gather a consensus! Romney says he would have done it sooner......yeah, right!
Romney is not a consensus guy! Romney is the car salesman, who will sell himself on a corner for profit. He doesn't care if he is stealing jobs from Americans and shipping them over to slave labor countries as long as he can profit off of the transactions!
Do we really want to compare arrogance with the American people, about to vote for a responsible leader who says what his goals are and tries to get consensus to get us there? The only person that resembles that is President Obama!
Romney is the kind of guy, who has invested millions into Charter schools, and now intends to make them into a voucher program so he can profit off of them as soon as he is elected! Romney has given his five sons ten million each in Charter Schools investments!
Romney's statements about loving one hundred per cent of the people can only be understood when the hundred per cent he is referring to is understood to be his family and those willing to support his greed!
Romney has only one core value that never changes....greed!
Everything else is just words Romney will speak to make him money or to get him access to the job that can insure his continued profits, the shiny white jewel of the White House.
Romney likes firing people and hiding funds. Romney approves of slave labor! Romney approves of the rich getting more, while the poor lose benefits under his plans!
Romney promises to balance our budget, but refuses to prove to us how he will do it. It is all just fancy words spoken. He will not specify anything! He will not show us his tax returns. And stupid Republicans like him! I hope Republicans, willing to cast votes for Romney, enjoy the continued deterioration of our average wages, as they will dip, just as they did in Massachusetts, after Romney left the state in deep debt and the 47th lowest job creation record in all of the states!
He claimed to lower taxes in Massachusetts, but the tax relief was gobbled up by bait and switch tactics he is using today! He lowered taxes, then raised the prices of all the state costs for everyting. Car registration costs quadrupled. Court costs went up. Gun registrations quadrupled. State insurance rates increased. Romney laid off thousands of teachers, policemen, and firemen and called it a victory! Parking rates went up. Ticket penalties increase astronomically! Romney walked away knowing he would only remember the good things and use the tactics he learned nationwide, where he is doing it again!
Romney will lower our taxes, increase our defense spending, increase our military forces, rewarding the rich for their small business interests Romney calls small business relief, while the only way we will be able to cover the cost of our infrastructure repairs will be to make every interstate a toll road! If we want a bridge repaired, there will be a cost attached to it! He will not enforce raising the minimum wage or make the rich pay one cent more!
Romney's only solution will be to remove Home Interest Deductions for homeowners that depend upon the tax break to allow them to pay down the mortgages!
Romney will reduce our Social Security plans and make it a 401k system that will not sustain us when the stock market fails!
Romney will take MediCare coverage for those under 55 and make us hunt down the cheapest healthcare coverage or make us pay thousands of extra dollars to get coverage. Those with a pre-existing health issue will get no MediCare coverage at all, because no insurance company will accept us as clients!
But Romney will say he lowered taxes! Romney's love of personal profits is bigger than his American spirit to give the jobs to American workers to make the products Americans use! Romney will continue to send Freeport, Illinois jobs to China, while the 170 workers just made Romney a half a billion in profits in the last quarter and he doesn't care if these same folks are fired! Romney made them train their replacements from China......
Should we trust Romney? Hell, no!
Wow, Romney was the arrogant bully, who refuses to shut up and give the opposition time to reply. Romney was the big-mouth, talking over Obama and the moderators in all three debates
Moron---both Uncle drunking Joe and O went over in time in every debate. So every thing you said after that is meanliless.
But your willing to follow the Muslim to the gallows? all the BS you wrote means nothing when your dead.
It's amazing how white racists are so willing to screw themselves because of the color of the President's skin, without considering how they are being played by the Republican Party!
Don't see how opposing a Fu(kin communist relates to his skin color if so then you need your eyes checked and maybe your brain. None of us want to live under social communism, ya got that? DICK WEED
No what is truly amazing is that you can still get away with murder by playing the race card.
Most of this discussion only goes to show either how stupid or uninformed the general public is about big business. Going bankrupt is not shutting the doors it's about reshuffling the business fiances, the cars are still being built. (in GM'scase) Chrysler did it in the 70's and they didn't skip a beat, they got government loans and when they came out of bankruptcy payedthe loans off ten years in advance. Everyone took a pay cut but no one lost a job. Just giving them the money (Government buying stock) was a real bad idea and GM is really no better off, much of what they sell is being subsidised by the Government. So if you all want a big bunch more go ahead and vote for the Muslim.
All of you need to accept the fact the Romney is not presidential material. the guy was totally lost last night, and he was looking stupid all the way into the encounter. Obama is a seasoned champion on foreign policies, the guy knows what he is doing, and he will protect america as he did the four years of his excellent presidency. when you talk about the economy you need to talk about the degenerated performance of congress trying very hard to remove obama from the presidency, when the ones that need to be removed is all of the lousy tea party, and bush political doctrine followers left over from a very horrible period from 2000 to 2008 of the worse president ever this country ever had. you need to vote Democrat to bring the country back to the times of clinton, and not Bush. when a former president like Bush ruins the economy and he doesn’t care about corporations outsourcing jobs, and kills all regulation in banks and business you are looking for trouble, and we got it big time. almost crashing the whole economy. so do not keep blaming obama for the disastrous policies of the Bush, and the Republican party. when such a grotesque damaged is done to the economy it takes a long time to return to normalcy in the hands and work of a good president like Obama.. vote democrat november 6, 2012!
That did not stop you liberals from electing Obama.
Seems like there should have been martial music playing with that headline. Lib in Oklahoma wants super majorities in Congress to go along with Mr. Obama's re-election. Didn't we have that, or something close to it for two years already? If that's what it will take for Mr. Obama to be effective, then I have to seriously question his leadership abilities. He isn't the first President to have to deal with a divided Congress, and just simply pointing a finger at the other guy is a tired BS excuse. You work with what you have and you get the job done. Period, end of story.
The Obama campaign has come out with a so called plan for the next four years that was conveniently announced the day after the last debate. I went on the campaign website and here is just one small part of it.
Of course much of this is what we have heard before. Without conditions to include any action of congress, the President promised that the 2012 federal deficit would not exceed 229.27 billion dollars yet the actual deficit was more than 1.1 trillion dollars so we have expedience with how good the President is at keeping his promise and at budgeting. The plan also calls for using half of the money that is currently going into the Afghan war to run a budget surplus and start paying down the debt. Obama is promising to bring back the troops in 2014 so this surplus must be starting in 2015. How much is domestic spending going to be cut this year compared to last year and what exactly is going to be cut? The President does not say.
I am trying to understand the accounting there. For 2012 the federal government was almost 1 trillion dollars over the budget that the President promised. It is hard to understand how his unfulfilled promise for his first four years will be reflected in his second four years. Following his plan I would expect that next year's deficit will be reduced by at least 600 billion dollars but we do not know exactly how he is going to do that. Part of the plan calls for cutting military spending but it does not say exactly what is going to be cut and how much is going to be cut.
The plan calls for reforming Medicare to save money. Exactly what changes to Medicare are going to be made and how much money is the government going to cut from the program beyond what Obamacare is already suppose to take? If Medicare recipients are going to get the same level of care that Medicare currently provides then why have these changes not already been implemented. The implication is that our federal government has been paying more for pharmaceuticals than they should have yet the Obama administration has stood by and let it happen. The Obama administration has had 4 years to fix such problems with Medicare.
The Obama administration does not want to just ask the "rich" to pay higher taxes he wants to force them to pay higher taxes, but after 4 years he has not been able to get this tax hike through congress. At best this diversion of more money from the private sector will only net 100 billion dollars per year. Much of this new revenue will be eaten up by new spending that the President wants to do. We need a through accounting of this plan.
The plan calls for closing corporate loopholes and wasteful tax subsidies to big oil companies but there are no details as to what loopholes and to how much new revenue is going to be derived from this. The Obama administration has been talking about this for years yet they have yet to derive any numbers. We need to know how much money is the Obama administration talking about and what are going to be the economic repercussions like adding to the cost of fuel for us consumers.
In view of the promises that were not kept over the last four years, the Obama campaign needs to supply more details and full accounting for their next 4 years plan.
*yawn*
BO & Joe They Gotta Go!
Correct the Mistake of 08
If Obama's campaign is so confidant, why are they refusing to allow the release of an interview with the Des Moines Register?
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/10/24/obama-refuses-on-the-record-interview-with-leading-iowa-newspaper/
And funny how fast Plouffe. et al got that story on MessNBC pulled down about the email to the Situation Room showing Obama lied about not knowing the Benghazi attack was terrorism as it unfolded.
Yeah. Confident.
Bullsh i t.
Fact is Obama has created 325,000 jobs an lost 5.2 million , Mitt said auto companies bankrucpty with government help, u left try as u might but your movie star president is gonna lose . he has now for the 1st time in history called the UN to watch us vote lol Ok im ok with that aslong as the terrorist group new black panther party is barred from polling centers !!!!
MSNBC, when are you going to address the emails released LAST NIGHT proving that Obama knew about the attacks in Libya as they were happening??? These attacks were observed from one of Obama's dearly loved drones. Obama has lied about this time and time again and you never address that fact???