Spin, spin, spin--it is all the TPGOP has right now! Since the party of "responsibility" and "accountability" actually have none, they need to find external reasons as to why they lost the presidency in this election. Every other excuse they can contrive, rather than the actual reasons will do.

"If you keep doing what you are doing, you will keep getting what you got!"

"We have met the enemy and he is us!" Pogo by Walt Kelly

It's time for Republicans to look at their Party for the answers to why Romney lost.

Republicans,

You should have won the Presidency; you should have taken the Senate. You failed … Why?

It is your far Right agenda, your small tent ideals, your belief that the US should be a Theocracy, your world domination thesis, you unwillingness to compromise, your idea that the government should control what goes on in the bedroom, your projection that government is bad, etc.

It is acceptable to have ideals that lean toward that agenda but not to the extent that anything less is unacceptable.

How American expats in Canada saw the whole dang thing,

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/us-election/expats-debate-my-greatest-hope-coming-out-of-this-election-is-that-leaders-learn-to-compromise/article5064337/

Dennis, I believe that the GOP tactics are right on, they should stick to what works!

Keep going right GOP. the further the better.

Don't quote me but I think the electoral vote was a massacre like 308 Obama to 210 Romney?? The GOP tries to spin a complete @ss whipping to blame a storm?? LOL

The problem is the GOP was asleep at the wheel and the wave of middle class Americans rolled all over them. Numbers don't lie, please rethink your delusional party for next time 4 years from now.............

Well, the Army Votes came in late, If The Army Votes were Counted, the Republicans would have Won.

This is a total lie. The story was a bit of political humor, not an actual news article. How sad people want to find conspiracy theories everywhere, even in comedy. www.duffulblog.com says "The content of this site is parody."

The low information of some of these voters is pretty appalling.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/absentee.asp

If The Army Votes were Counted, the Republicans would have Won.

Well, first of all, that's bullcrap!

But you just gotta love it! When I went to your link they were advertising a T-shirt. It said:

The maximum effective range of an excuse is ZERO meters!

and that is all this story is - yet another excuse for why Republicans lost the election. Because Republicans are willing to believe anything, anything, ANYTHING except that American voters just didn't want what they were selling!

More news from F6Zman's dufflebag site

MARIETTA, GA – Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has surged ahead in the polls, following his pledge that, if elected, he would not only refuse to cut the Department of Defense, but would personally pay for the entire US defense budget.

Saying it was time for “every American to do their part”, Romney made the pledge while touring the Lockheed-Martin aircraft plant in Marietta, Georgia.

www.duffelblog.com/2012/10/romney-surges-in-polls-following-promise-to-personally-pay-entire-defense-budget/#ixzz2BezMc400

Seven2Seven, the current standing is president Obama at 303 and Romney at 206. We are still waiting on Florida's 29 electorals, which obviously will not affect the outcome. Obama is destined to take Florida which would give him a whopping 332 electoral votes which goes along with also having the popular vote. That is historic in that he becomes only the second president in history to become a two term democrat president to do so. I believe I have that little fact correct.

Ahhh, I believe he already has the mandate, WCA. Dubya got the mandate in 2004 so why should it be any different for president Obama?

Haley Barbour needs to find a job outside of government...

And lay off the BBQ.

F6Z -- Please read more carefully and go find that sense of humor you left in the Duffleblog.

I'll give you credit for being tenacious though.

WCA -- Quit whining and get back to work.

Dennis, you nailed it!

I'll add that voters looked at the two choices, remembered they liked President Obama, remembered why they voted for him in 2008, remembered the challenges he faced before taking the oath, remembered how bad it was and saw it getting better, and decided President Obama the better man; he says what he means and means what he says. No one knew what Mitt Romney really stood for or against because on any given day, he changed his mind.

Future Career Ideas for Mitt Romney

1)Cayman Island Secretary of Treasury

2)Shoe check counter at any Muslim mosque (all those flip flops)

3)Fifth personal assistant to "stay at home mom" Ann Romney

4)Security advisor and/or public relations guru for next Olympic games

5)Dog transporter for Humane Society

6)Secretary of Labor-People's Republic of China

7)IRS auditor

8)Special advisor to Iranian terrorist organizations

9)Mexican Minister of Tourism

10)Campaign advisor to next GOP Presidential candidate

FZ6man - no Snopes is not BS but of course you would think so since it totally debunks your "facts."

Thank You Obama for the VOTER Fraud You have Committed

^ Thank you for confirming my low opinion of GOP lackeys. :)

formerGOP -- Laughing out loud. Funny stuff.

F6Z-- Have you found your sense of humor yet?

FZ is just ticked off because all the GOP cheating efforts to suppress the vote, block people's right to vote, eliminate early voting days to discourage the vote, intimidate and threaten voters, ridiculously long ballots to confuse voters failed. That has to sting as much as Mitt Romney losing because the GOP tried cheating everyway they could and still couldn't get a victory for Willard.

Dont_carry_it_all

It's time for Republicans to look at their Party for the answers to why Romney lost.

Q: why did Romney lose?

A: ROMNEY

bayllie -- We should all pitch in and buy a huge mirror for him and all the others who cannot seem to figure out what went wrong. LOL

formerGOPlapdog

that is some funny stuff

how about:

11) Fox News Contributor - It seems to work well for all the rest of the losers

F6Zman ... so which one are you?

Libertarian Party,

Green Party

Americans Elect

Constitution Party

Justice Party

Party for Socialism and Liberation

American Independent Party

Peace and Freedom Party

Socialist Workers Party

Socialist Party USA

America's Party

Objectivist Party

American Third Position Party

Reform Party USA

Socialist Equality Party

Grassroots Party

Prohibition Party

Boston Tea Party

Freedom Socialist Party

Modern Whig Party

My Place Tonight Party?

Dont_carry_it_all

bayllie -- We should all pitch in and buy a huge mirror for him and all the others who cannot seem to figure out what went wrong. LOL

I don't think that will do the trick...Mitt and the rest of them would have to remove their heads out of Grover Norquist's azz first.

When the news is handed to reporters from nowhere, it is not likely that it is news that the reporter would have found on their own. Reporting should be harder than having it volunteered to you.

Reporters should go and find some real news on a real issue that really has a solution that we can really use.

If you have to make it up news, then you have at least to defend it, so being part of a solution is better that mouthing the news that some else made up for you that they won't defend.

Always remember Reporters are purchasing access to celebrities, and have to cooperate to get that access, only rarely are reporters ever involved with problems or solutions, thus we get reports that have no content worth reading.

This kind of commentary is a worse time waster than doing nothing.

LOL, ballie! It is so nice to see all the humor today!

I think the election results are due to a few things- 1. I do think that urban populations tended to vote for the President, while more rural voters went Romney- thus the 51%/49% wins in many states were based on a few population centers, and 2. I think that people were thoroughly burned out on the election and having a few days of no election news- other than seeing the President helping out likely did draw him into people's minds.

Since it's over I think it's important to consider where we really are (post election year of media coverage) and the very real issues our country faces (eventhough our Congress decided to take half a year off from doing their jobs to get through the election). My point- regardless of your income we are about to step into a wild new world. We are about to hit the spending ceiling again, we are about to shut down many tax incentives that people are used to, we are about to see quantitative easing #4 to pump more money into the economy, and we are about to see the dollar's value go down (and the cost of everything go up). Congress couldn't get a budget done for 3 years(that IS their job) because they couldn't talk to each other and then it was an election year so they couldn't bother. Well, now that the election is over will they be able to talk again and will the President push them to do their jobs (together)?

Things I think we'll see very soon: 1. Immigration reform- this has been long coming and I think it's really going to happen now. With the President campaigning about it again, the DOJ stopping states from doing it themselves, and Romney's noting that he would do it if he were elected I think it's going to happen. My only hope is that they are smart enough to put legal immigrants at the front of the line and incentivise educated immigrants to stay/work here(per Romney- good idea). Got to keep the brains here, that's where the research and ideas come from. 2. Healthcare- Nationalized healthcare is a lock now, so it'll be a matter of making it work. We'll see more implementation of the law and more about the upcoming costs (now triple original estimates btw). I think we'll see more restrictions and more government influence in what is going to be provided. 3. Gun Control- Clearly the President is calling for an AWB and some sort of handgun ban/law, and the US is back on board with the UN's Small Arms Treaty (today's news) so there are going to be some tense moments on the Hill. Though the statistics don't support gun control, I think we'll get another AWB. 4. Supreme Court- 2-3 appointments are coming. Notice that Reid is calling for filibuster limits- I'd venture that it's in part to get appointment candidates to a vote. Remember that they used the filibuster as a tool in the past to force legislation out of the required action windows and the same is true for appointments to the state/regional benches. Now that it's advantageous they'll attempt to get changes made. In any case, once the Supreme Court gets rebuilt there will be a flood of very important suits brought in front of it (I'm sure that there are many activist cases that are literally waiting for the shift). Very dangerous and very real.

My best hope- I pray that the President steps up and unifies the nation, pressures Congress to work together and do their jobs, and our representatives actually step beyond partisanship to get this country back on track. I didn't vote for the President, but I'm over that and it's time to right the ship.

I was watching the Colbert Report last night and I almost peed myself when I heard:

well, it's over. and as usual, a guy from Kenya won

it was priceless...

Dont_carry_it_all

LOL, ballie! It is so nice to see all the humor today!

yes, humor for us, and severe depression for the Obama-haters!

It's fun to think what might have been:

...if Republican leaders had publically rebuked Donald Trump for smearing the President.

...if Republican leaders had publically rebuked Rush Limbaugh for calling Sandra Fluke a "slut.

...if Romney had released a decade of tax returns and taken the heat for what they contained.

...if Romney had chosen Marco Rubio.

But, then, they would have been Democrats, not Republicans.

I take it F6Z got lost somewhere. Hope he finds his humor though.

So is Haley Barbour saying that God caused Sandy so that Barack would be reelected?

Dotties girl - still more than slightly demented, aren't ya? Chris Matthews NEVER said he was glad Sandy hit - no one was glad. Eveyone of us feels badly for those people who are suffering. Many or most of us are doing what we can to help out.

When you talk about bottom feeders - make sure you'e looking in a mirror because you are by far the lowest of the bottom feeders! Your comment about those already hurt by Sandy and now having to endure a n'oreaster is disgusting. But that pretty much sums you up - disgusting!

Republicans,

You should have won the Presidency; you should have taken the Senate. You failed … Why?

Dennis: I have to disagree; there was nobody Rep. or Dem. that could of beat President Obama. There was also nobody more qualified.

It is your far Right agenda, your small tent ideals, your belief that the US should be a Theocracy, your world domination thesis, you unwillingness to compromise, your idea that the government should control what goes on in the bedroom, your projection that government is bad, etc.

It is acceptable to have ideals that lean toward that agenda but not to the extent that anything less is unacceptable.

Not why they lost! They lost because 1) Minorities will always vote for minorities no matter have badly they have run amok... (Need to look no further than Jesse Jackson Jr to prove that analysis) 2) they failed to make their case as to what Obama has done to prevent the economy from rebounding (The Rep could have hammered him on Obama's record of shipping jobs overseas but they didn't as well they could have hammered him on wasteful spending and pandering to the top 1% as he did with Solyndra) 3) Romney looked like a deer in the head light and never seemed to warmly connect with people. Additionally, during the debates his answers seemed rehearsed and orchestrated and not off the cuff normal conversation which would have made him seem more real to listeners.

In short, Obama is a street savey politician and knows how to as we used to say "jive" his audience. He is a hustler and we are at a stage in our history where we don't mind being hustled if it is what we want to hear!

Nonetheless, the next 4 years will determine the fate of his legacy and our future as a prosperous nation. The debt cliff is real and Obama will not be able to jive talk his way out of it. He'll have to come up with real solutions that get the job done!

Welcome back Mr. President... Now finally give us that change you promised!

So you are saying that at this very moment with the votes that have been counted now, that Romney is the winner? What is up with Republicans having their own facts? They see THE FACTS and rebuke them with "they aren't our facts." The military votes have been counted by now and at this very moment Fox News scores the popular vote at 60,800,050 for Obama and 57,905,399 for Romney, 303 Electoral for Obama, and 206 Electoral for Romney. Same score on MSNBC and same score on CNN, but you are all pasting links to a blog as if it provides some sort of evidence that tells a different tale.

Here is the definition of the word Blog: a Web site containing the writer's or group of writers' own experiences, observations, opinions, etc. As Daniel Moynihan once said: "You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts."

Dottie is slightly dotty.

It's amazing how none of you understand what Barbour meant. A change in less than 600,000 votes in key states and Romney would have reversed the electoral vote. That total still might be hard to attribute to the storm, but that was his point, not that it would have changed 2.9 million votes.

But did the president’s perceived leadership during the immediate aftermath of the storm really move 2.9 million votes? That’s highly unlikely.

Romney lost by 2.9 million votes... so only half that number (1.45 million) had to "move" from Obama to Romney for a Romney overall "win"... and a little less than that in swing states to win the electoral college. And since 800,000 in Romney's favor in a single locale sounds reasonable to the author, so must 1.45 million on a national basis. So the article is based on bad math and inequitable comparisons to begin with.

Look. Romney was losing big time before Moderate Mitt lied his way into the lead at the first debate. Romney lost that lead as the truth came out and doubt set in. Obama's actions with Sandy may have firmed up the choices but it likely moved very few... the momentum for Obama had already begun.

The only way Romney could have won this election was with excellent timing of trickery or swift-boating... "Moderate Mitt" just showed up to early... and Sandy probably killed the swift-boat.

F6Z,

From the link you supply for the "Constitution" Party:

The Constitution Party advocates a platform which aims to reflect the principles of theDeclaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the Bible, and the Bill of Rights.

Do you realize that the 3rd document listed makes their name a complete contradiction. You cannot base your platform both on the bible and the Constitution. They cancel each other out. Also, see the 1st Amendment in the Bill of Rights.

So is Haley Barbour saying that God caused Sandy so that Barack would be reelected?

bobh-2312123, that would make you smarter than Haley Barbour because you connected the dots while he cannot.

this is exactly like the Mourdock comment, if God intended for the pregnancy from rape then God must have intended for the rape to happen as well (cause and effect)....but these people are either too stupid or too arrogant (or both) to see how logic works!

Well, the Army Votes came in late, If The Army Votes were Counted, the Republicans would have Won.

Let's see, by the most recent count, Obama won the popular vote by 2,894,548 votes. The total amount of people in the military (both active and reserves) is around 3 million. So, even if every one of those people were deployed and had to vote absentee, approximately 97% of those votes would have had to be cast for Romney. Now according to the Army Times, only 66% of the military polled were for Romney, while 26% were for Obama. Of course, since we don't have all 3 million of our service people voting absentee, that theory is pretty much debunked anyway.

Haley Barbour's point is that it wasn't GOP policies to blame, as he's part of the whole mess. Nor was it ethnic voters and women flocking away from the Republicans. Nor was it tax breaks for the wealthy. It was a hurricane that controlled this election!!! Romney didn't blow it, the hurricane did...

That's what we call a blow job...

Really people...Chris Matthews summed up the progressive viewpoint pretty bluntly, loud and proud. After all Chris gets paid big bucks because he can think on his feet and people delight to the emotional orgasm he has every time he talks about Obama.

I can't imagine anything that Governor Barber had to say could even come close to the openly stupid remarks about being glad the EAST COAST was struck by such a horrific storm with over 100 dead. Go figure, I don't think anyone can truly understand the motivations of progressives. Obviously he intended to say such a callous thing and thought nothing of offer a lame apology after the fact.

Perhaps Chris is once again all tingly over the nor-eastern that has hit the east coast with some many displaced because their homes were destroyed just last week. Thing is I never thought of Chris Matthews as an opportunist or political predator until he spouted his true feelings...with a true disregard for those who were suffering. He never seemed to even consider the additional effort it took the good people in New Jersey and New York to get to a polling place to cast those votes. Must be nice to be one of those elite progressives that live so a far above the masses.

DarkShadow,

great point but I will add that even if 100% of soldiers voted for Romney it still would have not mattered unless every single one of them was from a swing state(s). The popular vote does not determine who wins so none of matters anyways. I guess some people are desperate to make excuses why Romney won (other than Romney being a horrible candidate).

@Seeking -- Matthews did say something horrible. He has apologized and unlike those on the left who would never accept an apology from those on the right, I accept his.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/11/07/chris_matthews_apologizes_for_saying_he_was_glad_for_hurricane_sandy.html

There needs to be some common ground here and civility for people who make mistakes in the heat of the moment. Can we agree that if the reports are true that about 10 FEMA offices closed their offices "due to bad weather" in anticipation of the Norester this was wrong.

@bayllie...

Good day...hope all is well. This is absolutely not meant to be a jab, just a question.

I can't stand Norquist and he does not speak for me, but how is he and the Koch brothers any different than George Soros and the millions he threw at the democratic party and democratic super pacs.

They are ALL bad for politics and the elections. I dont get why one is bad and the other is ok?

For the posters above wishing ill will on the East coast, that's pretty low regardless of whether you are still upset your candidate lost. Hey it sucks losing, but wishing bad upon others...not such a good thing. If you believe in karma.

Ballie ~ Yea, I just didn't have time to put together a whole state/electoral college breakdown. Just an overly simplified explanation to debunk a ridiculous theory.

DarkShadow1701

Ballie ~ Yea, I just didn't have time to put together a whole state/electoral college breakdown. Just an overly simplified explanation to debunk a ridiculous theory.

I know, you gave an excellent analysis. Too bad that you even have to do it because that means people don't understand how the election process works.

Seeking Approval, when it is so easy to prove you wrong, why do you bother trying???:

Chris Matthews apologized Wednesday for his controversial election night comments about Hurricane Sandy.

Matthews covered the election on-air from 5 p.m. Tuesday to 3 a.m. Wednesday. He said In his closing comments, “I'm so glad we had that storm last week

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/08/chris-matthews-sandy-apology_n_2092419.html

So how about it SS, want to admit you have your head buried in the sand?

If anyone got a mandate from this election, it was republicans, "stop the we hate this president bullcr@p and get in there and help keep this good ship America from sinking !"

R & R were Banking on Sandy to win the Election, they care less about the hardship !!!!!!!!

E. Deboo

@bayllie...

Good day...hope all is well. This is absolutely not meant to be a jab, just a question.

I can't stand Norquist and he does not speak for me, but how is he and the Koch brothers any different than George Soros and the millions he threw at the democratic party and democratic super pacs.

2 important differences:

1) To Grover Norquist, Romney was a guy with a pen. Not a leader - a guy with a pen to sign bills that Norquist has already selected PRIOR to the election date. Here is the quote:

"We are not auditioning for fearless leader," Grover Norquist told conservatives at the CPAC convention in February. "We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate."

"Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared."

2) Soros supports a candidate who was going to raise his taxes. Do you know w that means? He was supporting a candidate against his own interests.

They are ALL bad for politics and the elections. I dont get why one is bad and the other is ok?

where did I say only one is bad? I think all PACs should go to hell.

The right wing CRAZIES are back today. Perhaps F6Zman is really Boss Hog in disguise.

BCWC...

Prohibition Party

A lot of people make the idle threat that if their opponent's party wins they are moving to Canada or somewhere outside the US...but no one really follows through on it.

I pledge right now...that if the Prohibition Party ever wins the Presidential election, there will be a vapor trail behind me as I flee the country!! LOL!!

@PA -- Don't you think this country has had enough of comments like yours in 1.60? There is no contest anymore. It's over. I'm a gracious loser so please be a gracious winner. Have some class.

Romney's lies about Jeep production moving to China probably cost him a million votes.

Looks like the right wing CRAZIES and throwing up on the garbage from fox, sean Hannity with his BS News !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@bayllie....you didn't say one was bad and one wasn't...I was simply asking why one is bad for a party while on the other side, you basically have the same thing going on.

I didn't mean to imply you said that, sorry.

At least we agree super PAC's should go away.

I'm sorry, I disagree with you about Soros. Simply paying more taxes...that's chumps change to billionaires...they invest millions in elections and super pacs with the goal of influencing politicians for their own personal gain...period. BOTH are just as bad.

Honestly, do you really think that $250,000 more in taxes is really anything to Norquist or Soros? Or Romney or even Obama for that matter....these guys all made multiple millions last year.

Norguist could give a crap less about paying a measly $250,000 more in taxes. With the amount they invest in the elections, both he and Soros are looking to influence politicians so they can turn that few million into a few billion. Dont give me that Soro paying more taxes goes against his own self interest. Please.

This is where is wish some demarcates could as least concede that some of the dirty tricks are played by both sides. At least be consistent in your message for "Change".

Lets say for sake of argument that I agreed with you about Norquist. Then hows is Soros different that the Koch brothers?

They are all the same and ALL bad for the middle class when it come to politics.

LMarcT - Romney lost by 2.9 million votes... so only half that number (1.45 million) had to "move" from Obama to Romney for a Romney overall "win"...

It's evident that you STILL don't understand the Electoral College. Less than 600,000 votes affected the election. And none of the "missing" votes in the hurricane-affected states would have changed the outcome (since those states already went for Obama), so the author of the article seems to be ignorant of the Electoral College and Barbour's points as well.

F6Zman, it's hilarious that think you get serious news from the duffel blog! Don't you know the definition of satire? To your defense, I have to admit that the percentage of real information in the duffel blog may actually be higher than on fox news.

After everything that happened Tuesday night and still all this denial?

The American People have spoken. Next election will be more of the same if all the Republicans can do is fall back on what lost them the election. Yet it seems old habits are hard to break in the Old Grandparents Party.

Fine, go after the minorities, gays and women. Let them all become Democrats. That ought to be amusing. :)

Barbour is absolutely 100% correct! Regardless of how many votes Obama didn't get because of a lack of polling facilities here in the Tri-State, he certainly GAINED votes in Ohio, and Florida because of the ass-kissing photo-op with Chris Christie.

I really wish you wouldn't get me started on this because, as of yesterday before the snowstorm hit, we still had somewhere around half-a-million-or-so people in the region without heat, hot water & electricity. Garbage was/is piling up in the streets in some neighborhoods, the gas lines were anywhere from one to two hours long, there are food shortages and FEMA (Barrack Obama) just didn't do jack-stink to fix any of this!

The hardships that people have endured up here, the devastation, and the despair people have suffered here, for going on ten (10) days now, is NOT being covered by the national media the way it was when Katrina hit New Orleans.

Those of you in other areas of the country aren't seeing what's REALLY going on here! People are freezing their backsides off because the electricity went out AGAIN in some areas after the snow hit. The situation is so bad that electricity crews from as far away as Florida are here because the local utility companies can't handle the volume of outages throughout the Tri-State area. There is a shortage of gasoline, and odd-even rationing is going to start tomorrow out on Long Island and throughout the outer burroughs of NYC.

Obama came here ONE DAY, and one day only. Shook hands with Chris Christie, kissed his fat-ass, took a photo-op, and then beat feet back out on the campaign trail.

If that had been George Bush, the media would have LAMBASTED him unmercifully, and would still be on his back about it today.

But, Obama gets a FREE PASS from the media, and I just don't understand why. (?) There has to be some ulterior motive for it, besides the fact that they are/were "in the tank" for him.

I mean, the media is always honest, right?

E. Deboo

@bayllie....you didn't say one was bad and one wasn't...I was simply asking why one is bad for a party while on the other side, you basically have the same thing going on.

I didn't mean to imply you said that, sorry.

no worries, I just wanted to make sure that I clear it up. I think the whole Citizens United thing is evil regardless of what side I'm on.

I'm sorry, I disagree with you about Soros. Simply paying more taxes...that's chumps change to billionaires...they invest millions in elections and super pacs with the goal of influencing politicians for their own personal gain...period. BOTH are just as bad.

I don't know what Soros' agenda is but I know this: Soros will never touch the amount donated by the Koch Bros or Adelson. And guess what, more money BUYS more power - or at least that's what they were hoping for.

With the amount they invest in the elections, both he and Soros are looking to influence politicians so they can turn that few million into a few billion. Dont give me that Soro paying more taxes goes against his own self interest. Please.

stop looking at the total amount donated to each candidate and start looking at the number of people who donated to each candidate. There is a huge difference between 3 people donating $1 billion collectively and 100 people donating $1 billion collectively. These are made up numbers but I hope you get the point.

This is where is wish some demarcates could as least concede that some of the dirty tricks are played by both sides. At least be consistent in your message for "Change".

yes, tricks are on both sides but ask yourself this: why was majority of Obama's money donated in small amounts by MANY "little" people as opposed to Romney's large amounts donated by a few?

Trust me, if there were no PACs this time around, Romney would not have the billion to spend. And ask yourself this, can you guarantee that people like Soros would have donated to PACs if Romney did not have the financial support of the 3 (Koch, Koch, and Adelson)? Or did he do it so give Obama a fair financial chance? I don't know - I'm speculating but I guess this is the "chicken vs egg" question.

They are all the same and ALL bad for the middle class when it come to politics.

forget the money and concentrate on policies: tell me, what has the Republican Party done for the Middle Class? You give me examples and I will try to comment on that.

I hear Dick Cheney's asked Mitt Romney and Karl Rove to go hunting....problem solved.

Dennis

by the exit polls

Romney was favored by over half over Obama for Economy, Government taxes, and even foreign policies.

Obama was favored by 80% as likeable. Seems that was bouyed by the Photos of Him walking the Beach made people believe he cared.

Second, you seem not to be aware of the Parade of the Ron Paul tea party branch coming out of the woodwork proclaiming they either didn't vote or voted for a third party candidate because Mitt Romney wasn't conservative enough.

Obama was lost over 9 million democrat votes and Romney 3 million conservative votes. Obama won by maybe 3 million when all the votes are in.

doug

Romney's lies about Jeep production moving to China probably cost him a million votes.

Apparently the left is hiding this from you. You see, what they did was go to Fiat and try to get them to say what they want to hear. Here is the whole story.

http://nlpc.org/cached/fiat-says-chrysler-jeep-production-may-move-italy.html?q=stories/2012/10/29/fiat-says-chrysler-jeep-production-may-move-italy

Fiat has done the same kind of crap with New Holland after they bought that unit from Ford years ago.

BTW, there are disgusting comments on the article about the break-in of Nancy Pelosi's house; the sore losers aren't here, but there attacking a Representative of Congress who was lucky that she wasn't home.

You bet the storm kept people away from voting, even if they had wanted to. I would hope that the sore losers would have some decency as Americans to care about those people facing disasters.

The way I heard it was that having the personality, charm, and intellect of belly-button lint cost Romney the Presidency. It's all over them interwebs.

If they keep up this shrill little (racist) tantrum, we'll have to color the red states Maroon next time.

I was shocked to hear that Mississippi still has a Governor... I thought that sink-hole had been turned over to the corrections division.

If you read between the lines of the "accusation" that Obama won because of an act of God... Hmm. Well you see where that gets dicey even for all those good Krischins a-wantin to believe it as an affront to somebody.

Too stupid to even keep an insult from falling back on top of them... What in the world does that say about their "followers"?... Sheesh.

Ok. The storm did it. Obama was re-elected over-whelmingly by an act of God. You got us brainiacs.

The vote was likely diminished across party lines. Obama won.
Some are reluctant to admit it, and that's ok. 5 Stages of Grief.

Let's get the legislators to get back to work and come up with solutions.

First one to pass a jobs bill wins.

Go.

The people that are saying the storm caused the outcome of the vote, are the same people that refused to look at the math that Nate was sharing with everyone-in fact they were angry about Nate's arithmetic- and now they are expecting people to believe their next myth- it was caused by the hurricane. These people are allergic to facts. What more can you say?

Due to their brutal undemocratic platform, Romney and Ryan lost.

Under a Romney and Ryan administration there would have been: Huge tax cuts for the rich, tax Hikes for the middle class and the poor, a lowering of the minimum wage, war on unions, global and foreign wars, no Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the repeal of the Lilly Ledbetter act, less medical care for women, no family planning, a whittled down and ineffective U.S. Departments of Education, Environmental Protection, Agriculture, FEMA and the doors to courts slammed in the faces of ordinary Americans.

The GOP brought failure upon itself.

The American people rose above the GOP's bag of exclusion, tricks and dishonesty.

The American people stood up for the common good of all of our citizens.

The problem with the Republicans is that they are sore losers. Instead of gathering up their fallen ego and joining together with the Democrats to get this country back on track for success they are still licking their wounds trying to figure out how they are going to win the next election.

I'll tell you why they lost the election and probably won't win another unless they change. Outside of being out of touch with reality, they tried to suppress the vote by making it harder for high Democrat areas to vote. That only made the people more determined to vote. They showed Rick Scott of Florida, John Kasich of Ohio, Scott Walker of Wis., plus all the other Republican governors, that nothing they did was going to keep them from exercising their constitutional right to vote. Now will someone please tell me why it's only the Republican governors that try to suppress the vote. When Republican Charlie Crist was governor of Florida during the 2008 election, everything went smoothly because he made decisions to insure that everyone had a chance to vote. His reward...the Republican party abandoned him for a TEA party nut named Rubio. Another reason is their desire to tell other people what they can do and cannot do with their lives and in their bedroom all that while saying government should stay out of people's lives. They cannot see the irony of their position.

Now FOX News is putting every sorry ass on the air telling how an act of God caused Romney to lose. Well, if Hurricane Sandy caused Romney to lose let me borrowed a paraphrase from a senate candidate that lost. "That is something that God intended to happen."

The icing on the cake is where Rove has been on FOX crying that the Democrats suppressed the vote. Good Lord, hasn't he been paying attention about what has been going on in Pa., Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, etc.? The man has lost it...he has gone wacko. He cannot justify spending over $400 million dollars of suckers money for nothing so he said it was worth it. Maybe if not for the super pac money Obama might have won the election by 10%. Then again according to Lawrence Wilkerson maybe not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoVm2VgLgmo

In the final analysis, the GOP proved they were poor businesspeople and even worse as conservatives spending millions on a losing strategy for poor candidates and completely missing out on their greatest political opportunity. Nothing expresses that better than Karl Rove's meltdown over Faux News calling the election early for President Obama. Truly clueless they were.

Sandy was an act of God... But voter suppression by numerous governors across this country, especially in Florida cost more votes... But as hard as they tried to deny the president a second term, the PEOPLE spoke up and waited hours in line to cast their ballots...

This country needs to improve the way voting is done in this country... Voting is a right, not a privilege...

The reason that the Republicans lost, is that most Americans don't agree with the agenda they are pushing. Simple.

Dennis, I believe that the GOP tactics are right on, they should stick to what works!

Works? The GOP has lost two presidential elections in a row. The GOP lost ground in both the Senate and the House. If those tactics are "right on", I can't imagine tactics that you'd consider to be failures!

I don't know about the total votes they said obama lost due to the hurricane, but i do know that our two votes were part of them. we had to evacuate and leave the area. with no hotels nearby we went to be with family over 500 miles away, no way to vote absentee.

So yes Obama would have had at least 2 more votes...and I know many others similarly impacted.

First time in my life I failed to vote in a Presidential Election. I was at least comforted to know that my state NY was solid fo Obama anyway.

AlaskaGirl - so true - Haley Barbour is part of the problem. Instead of saying "maybe we need to find a way to attrack a more diverse base," he panders to the ignorant - once again!

So true Alaska Girl! Been reading a lot of articles on the Vine this morning and I cannot believe the hate still being spewed about the election. They don't want to move forward, they just want to point fingers and blame. I plan on spending a LOT more time calling my Congressman and Senators to move things forward for this country. I'm sick of what the tea-party and Fox have done to the Republican party. There used to be dialogue ... now it's just sound bites.

No kidding, Layton and SS! I finally broke down, against the "forces" that said "don't do it", and watched some of Fox last night and some of the guests on there still just don't get it. There was one man, Mark Bickel, who really gave O'Reilly a run for his money. He really tried to explain why the GOP is so far removed from what this country's demographics now are, but O'Reilly wasn't having any of it. I also heard little talking points that have overwhelmingly made their way to this site and it really showed me just how the talking heads on Fox have really screwed up alot of people. Fox really should be shut down. Their "reporting" is nothing short of shameful and flammable, as we have all seen and witnessed right here.

AlaskaGirl, well said. You, too, Seeking and Layton.

The biggest disservice to our democracy has been FOX News. I have no problem with FOX being conservative, I do object to their distortion, their lies, their wild conspiracy theories, their crazy talk. Not sure what group, probably several, found that FOX News viewers were less informed and more misinformed that people who don't even watch the news. That's pretty sad.

The ONLY reason FOX is still on the air is FREEDOM OF SPEACH ,the courts said so , sometimes that makes me wonder.

That is correct, Jody - there have been several studies that confirmed this, including one that was conducted by the University of Maryland. More information on this should be readily available on the Internet.

Of course, when you mention the conclusion of these studies to the devotees of Fixed News, they shift into denial mode. So sad, that there are enough dumb clucks that help make them, and right wing media in general, so commercially successful. Our nation can only succeed through an informed, educated citizenry, know it?

Jody,

FOX News viewers were less informed and more misinformed that people who don't even watch the news. That's pretty sad.

when I have conversations with people, I can tell when they watch Fox News. I had a conversation today with a guy who told me that people who don't pay taxes whould not be able to vote since they don't contribute. I said fine, let's prevent grandma, soldiers in combat, college students and single moms from voting. He said grandmas and soldiers should be able to vote but not the college students since theyy pay no tax. I asked him if he watches Fox News. His answer: why, do you watch CNN?

Then he went on to inform me that Democrats should not be able to vote because they don't pay taxes. Voting should only be done by those who pay for it - just like corporate stockholders can vote - if you do not own the stock, you cannot vote. And he also told me that Maryland State colleges announced that they will give free tuition to all illegals.

At that point I picked up the phone and said I'm too busy. No point in arguing with these idiots. I feel bad for people this ignorant...

I can tell you that not all Republicans think that way...I would have stopped talking to him as well.

Understand that some of us are still very much in the middle....I actually feel party-less for the first time and maybe that's a good thing.

I feel the left has moved too far left and the right too far right. Who is the party in the middle anymore?

E. Deboo, first of all I am sorry that you feel party-less. Secondly, you said something interesting that I would like you to expand on, if you don't mind. You say that you feel the left has moved too far left. Could you please give me some thoughts or examples as to why you feel that way? I really would be interested in hearing your thoughts as I think it is important to get those "outside" of the party's perspective. I also truly believe you when you state that not all Republicans think the way that Bayllie's conversation with the guy went. My thought is that the Republican party has been taken over by an extreme right ideologue and it is past time for you and those like you who may take a much more moderate, yet still conservative view, to build a movement and take your party back.

E. Deboo ...

Understand that some of us are still very much in the middle....I actually feel party-less for the first time and maybe that's a good thing.

Thank you for stating that. It's what I've been observing all along. Living in Utah (yes it was the ONLY totally RED State I believe - sigh -) I have many friends that are Republicans and truly wonder what happened to their party. They don't identify with the craziness at Fox. They are hard working, thinking, researching individuals who are simply stunned as to what has become of the GOP. I sincerely hope that some good comes out of all of this and the GOP can rise above the few and once again become a viable party.

E. Deboo

Understand that some of us are still very much in the middle...

I believe that we need people of different views in our government - it's checks and balances. My life experiences, my religion, my race, my background, and my sex will result in different views than yours or of any other person on this planet. My views are not better or worse than yours and vice versa. That being said, today, I reject what the Republican Party represents. I don't reject you because you seem to be a fair, open-minded person who has different expectation than me but unfortunately you are being thrown into a Republican-label bag that consists of people like Akin, Mourdock, Norquist, Paul Ryan, and even Romney. These people, for some reason, are more interested in women's vaginas and making the President a one-termer (which they failed at) than working together to make this country as great as possible especially after the 2008 Financial Meltdown. Republicans were more interested in the tax cuts for the rich than they were interested in helping the 911 First Responders - the very brave men and women who ran into burning buildings to help others. The Republicans are more interested in making the president look bad than passing bills to help our Vets whether physically, mentally or financially.

You say that the Left moved more to the Left so I will 2nd AlaskaGirl's request in you providing examples of what you mean because I don't understand it. I am not saying you are wrong, I am saying please educate us so we have a way to respond.

@alaskaGirl & @bayllie.....

First....I can understand where both of you are coming from with comments made by Akin & Mourdock...these guys don't and would never speak for me...period. But I get that moderates get a black eye because of close minded and frankly, quite idiotic people that get grouped in with us. Stepping out of the race would have been the most prudent thing to do after those comments, at least in my opinion.

I will certainly be glad to answer both of your questions...I have to run to get my kids from daycare (favorite time of day....they come running like they haven't seen me in months...makes the worst day better immediately)...

Anyways, I digress....I will try and get back on tonight to share my thoughts...and would welcome your comments. If I can't get back on this evening, I will be sure to email both of you through the newsvine system if that is ok with you as well.

They definitely need a bigger tent if they expect anyone to show up for their circus. I see Trump as ringmaster and Rick Scott as the human cannonball. Christie wants to be a clown, but how much fun is it watching just one pile out of a full-sized sedan and run around? They'll have to redirect his aspirations. In any case, I don't think pre-ordering tickets will be necessary.

E.Deboo, I welcome the chance to hear your thoughts. I think it is extremely important that there begins to be an open dialogue between the people of both parties so that we can all open our minds and try to really understand each other. So, yes, get back to me when you can. I would never want to deprive anyone of that moment in picking up your kids. My daughter is 23 years old, but I will never forget those days when I would pick her up from daycare and she would practically throw me backwards running into my open arms, just as you said, like she hadn't seen me in months. I often felt the same as she did. Oh, such sweet memories! I have recently gotten news from my daughter that she is expecting and that I will become a first time Grandma! I am so excited now that I've gotten over the thoughts of becoming a Grandma at the ripe young age of 46! HA!

E. Deboo... You sound like a reasonable person. Thanks for that. In my opinion any group that wants to be viewed a certain way, even generally, has to police those that become identified with it or prevent them from doing so. The GOP sort of picked up the serpent expecting not to get bitten. Candidates were advanced in GOP alignment simply by identifying themselves as representing the serpent. All this was allowed in an effort to expand the base without coloring it. I know there are good republican people identifying with the small government myth, etc.. Their hearts are in the right place but they must either expell the serpent and begin to recover, embrace it and pay the piper, or self deport from the ruins created by the affiliation with the snake-like element.

If the tea party has any fabric of their own, they need to be the third party because they will NEVER be part of a viable one. I think that so long as people equate the tea party with the R party they will be walking in the desert together. If totally shunned asap, it will still take years to recover from having consorted with it.

AlaskaGirl ...

I have recently gotten news from my daughter that she is expecting and that I will become a first time Grandma!

Congrats! I just became a grandma in June and my gbaby totally has melted my heart! NDD is going to be a g'ma soon as well! So love all my fellow-posters and our wonderful life stories!

E.Deboo ... I too miss those day care moments and am going to relive them with my granddaughter. You're a delightful poster and I hope to see more of you!

E. Deboo,

I think you need to know that there's a majority of progressives and liberals that are truly worry about the deficit, and the debt. But what Democrats deemed wrong is to start cutting the Medicaid and medicare, and help for the poor while giving Tax cuts to the rich and increase the military spending. That does not means that we should not examine the entitlements, I think that a lot of people abuse the system too. We post our thoughts on the vine and NBC news.

If you look on the history of my comments, you'll find some of my past comments will ratify these inquisitive points and provide the 2012 numbers. In a nutshell:

- The Federal government spent (budget) 3.54 trillion in 2012 ( down from 3.6 trillion in 2011),The budget encompass Social security, medicare and medicaid, military spending, non defense discretionary spending, interest and other spending.

- USA estimate to collect 2.45 trillions in taxes (up 148 billions from 2011). then they return 1.1 trillion back for deductions and credits, leaving only 1.35 trillion dollars income in a year.( 1.15 trillion from personal taxes and 200 billion from business). (yes the USA only collect 200 billion in taxes from big business, those are Apple, IBM, GE, .... and most small business report taxes as personal taxes).

-Social security in 2010 had a $68 billion surplus. total benefits of $713 billion were paid out versus income (taxes and interest) of $781 billion. Since the Greenspan Commission in the early 1980s, Social Security has cumulatively collected far more in payroll taxes dedicated to the program than it has paid out to recipients—nearly $2.6 trillion in 2010 (This surplus amount is commonly referred to as the "Social Security Trust Fund"), Social Security spending will increase sharply over the next decades, largely due to the retirement of the baby boom generation. The number of program recipients is expected to increase from 44 million in 2010 to 73 million in 2030. Examples of solutions for the future include: reduce the payment (COLA), increase the payroll tax by 1.8%, raising the retirement age and raising the income limit subject to the payroll tax ($106,800 in 2009).

-Medicaid and Medicare spending for FY 2011 $835 Billions. While the same demographic trends that affect Social Security also affect Medicare, rapidly rising medical prices appear to be a more important cause of projected spending increases.

-Military spending during FY 2011 was approximately $740 billion in expenses for the Department of Defense (DoD), $141 billion for veteran expenses, and $48 billion in expenses for the Department of Homeland Security, for a total of $929 billions.

-Non Defense Discretionary expending (executive departments (e.g., the Department of Education, Dept of state...) and independent agencies(e.g., the Environmental Protection Agency) during FY 2011 was approximately $640 billions.

- Interest: Budgeted net interest on the public debt was approximately $251 billion in FY2011 (6% of spending). During FY2011, the government also accrued a non-cash interest expense of $203 billion for intra-governmental debt, primarily the Social Security Trust Fund (the government borrow the surplus from the Social security) for a total interest expense of $454 billion.

-The annual budget deficit is the difference between actual cash collections and budgeted spending (a partial measure of total spending) during a given fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. Since 1970, the U.S. federal government has run deficits for all but four years (1998–2001 the Clinton's years)contributing to a total debt of $16.1 trillion as of September 2012. From FY 2003-2007, the national debt increased approximately $550 billion per year on average. For the first time in FY 2008, the U.S. added $1 trillion to the national debt as the effects of a severe global financial crisis became apparent. Debt increases rose to $1.88 trillion in 2009 and $1.65 trillion in 2010 as the crisis continued. In relative terms, from 2003-2007 the government spent roughly $1.20 for each $1.00 it collected in taxes. This increased to $1.40 in FY2008 and $1.90 in FY2009.

As you can see, we spend in military $929 billions almost as much as the taxes collected $1.35 trillions in 2012.

we spend in medicare and medicaid $835 billions,

But don't hear it from me, listen from Republican Senator Alan Simpson and former Clinton;s chief of staff Erskine Bowles (The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (often called Bowles-Simpson/Simpson-Bowles)

video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news/49037136#49035859

video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news/49037136#49036397

video.msnbc.msn.com/nbc-news/49037136#49036487

The ONLY reason FOX is still on the air is FREEDOM OF SPEACH ,the courts said so , sometimes that makes me wonder.

Fox News is on the air because people are watching it. In great numbers. It is a money-maker, pure and simple. Now, THAT makes me wonder about the electorate in this country.

He he... You said they think... Very generous of you. Must be the afterglow!

They're acting like wounded animals that don't realize we just pulled the thorn out of their paws. Ingrates until the pain subsides I suppose.

Al, exactly.

Not to mention that Romney refused to release more than two years worth of tax returns, even though the wisdom and fairness of extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest, was a major issue in the campaign. Not releasing the tax returns fit right in with the picture the Obama campaign painted of Romney as an entitled, out of touch millionaire.

Correction, Amy, that would be one year of tax returns and a summary of 2010. I know it's really semantics on my part!

Ya, and they wonder why Republicans didn't get out and vote!!!

Al, good one. Those stunned republicans wouldn't be so stunned if they hadn't claimed the polls were cooked up just as they claimed the jobs reports were cooked up. People who can't accept a birth certificate as REAL aren't likely to recognize their candidate was a liar, was losing let alone lost.

Amy -- Even the two that were released have three years to be amended so those don't really count.

Jody,

Those stunned republicans wouldn't be so stunned if they hadn't claimed the polls were cooked up just as they claimed the jobs reports were cooked up. People who can't accept a birth certificate as REAL aren't likely to recognize their candidate was a liar, was losing let alone lost.

That was a good one. If they couldn't accept that the President's birth certificate was real, no wonder they couldn't accept the polls and the jobs reports. Like Mitt, they just kept telling one another (and themselves) lies, and, like all habitual liars, they began believing their lies. It's a pretty sad commentary on the state of the Republican Party.

AlaskaGirl-759554

Correction, Amy, that would be one year of tax returns and a summary of 2010. I know it's really semantics on my part!

Correction, AlaskaGirl-759554 tht would be one year of MANIPULATED tax returns! Why would a successful, rich, educated ex-CEO - with best accountants money can buy - not take a full deduction on money given to "charity"????

This is a rhetorical question, of course, because we all know (when I say we all, I mean those NOT in denial), that it was done to INCREASE his tax rate. I mean how can a guy bitch about being overtaxed while he shows a single-digit %????

Yes, bayllie, I stand corrected, and happily so! We(well the normal people) all know that he has three years to amend that return and get a refund, which he was waiting until AFTER the election to do. I am soooooo glad that I do not have to look or listen to that puke for the next four years!

Obama/Biden: OH YES WE DID!

Call me cynical, but I think he was backstage working on amending those tax returns when he was supposed to be writing his concession speech. That's what the delay was.

I also think they had the dancing horse backstage and it was set to perform if he won. That might help explain the stricken look on Anne's face... No therapy after such a taxing day.

I have trouble saying anything serious at all about them. I try, but it feels like if I address them seriously i may be corrupting others.

Sure, hurricane Sandy was the reason Obama won, that and the increase in the number of Hispanics in Florida (have they finished counting Florida's ballots yet?)

Meanwhile, Republicans lost control of the Maine state legislature, Elizabeth Warren was elected to the Senate, Claire McCaskill won re-election, an openly gay woman was elected from Wisconsin, California voted to raise taxes to pay for schools, and yet America remains a center-right nation, or so we are told.

So why do we now have 30 GOP Governor seated?

Don't forget Donnelly winning in Indiana and McCaskell in Missouri. Iowa's State Senate remains democratic majority, adding one or two; the GOP controlled House lost seats to dems.

thetotas -

Because most of them did not run as far-right wing Tea Party whackos....

...and because some states will vote for anyone with a 'R' or a 'D' after their name.

How did Schwarzenegger win in California?

Because you flipped North Carolina. It wasn't like it was a gubnatorial wave on Tuesday. Democrats won six races and Republicans 4, with one race left to call where the Democrat is winning.

Amy B & Jody -- To add to your lists, Minnesota also flipped both chambers of our state legislature from 'R' to 'D.' With Gov. Dayton (D) in place, we, too, might actually make some legislative progress this term...

The point might have some validity if there was any time during the entire campaign when Romney was really ahead. There wasn't. I ran a battleground analysis every day. Nate Silver ran his analysis every day. RCP's map was there to see every day. There was never a single day during the entire campaign when any legitimate aggregator site looked at the data and said, 'Romney has a lead in the electoral college today.'

The lowest electoral count I ever had for the president was 277. The lowest percentage Silver ever had for him was, I think, 64%.

Sandy did not win the presidency for Obama because Obama was always already winning.

Agreed! I also do not think that anyone will ever discount Nate Silver again! The man is spot on.

Tony: The response to Sandy, by Obama, was extremely quick, especially when compared to the disaster that was Irene. Obama and his admin and the governors had already begun the work before the storm even hit.

Help was NOT slow to arrive from the government, and republican Gov Christie didn't think so either. The Obama Administration, FEMA, had emergency aid on the ground prior to the storm hitting.

George W. Bush, heckofajob Brownie, and Hurricane Katrina come to mind (your second sentence). You're right about everything else.

It wasn't Sandy and it wasn't the President's response or Christie's appreciation. It was the GOP's attitude for FEMA and helping people in need and that lies directly on Haley Barbour and his ilk. So he can just blame himself.

That's a false accusation. Matthews was not GLAD that storm hit; no one--right, left or center--was glad to see such destruction, deaths, suffering. Your comment is shameful.

@Jody

Chris did say,as his last thought late Tuesday night when MSNBC was winding down their coverage,"Thank God for Hurricane Sandy".

What navyvet98 omits from his post is that Matthews immediately corrected himself and also opened Hardball yesterday with a 5 minute act of contrition,calling his statement inexcusable and stupid several times. Jon Heilman and his other opening guest (may have been Bob Shrum,I forget...) both tried to say things along the lines of "It's OK Chris,we all know what you meant...",but Matthews would have none of it and totally owned up for his mistake.

You would NEVER see anyone at Fox do the same thing.

At least Democrats admit the truth when it hurts. They were the first to admit that President Obama gave a poor debate performance in Denver. Obama himself admitted the shellacking they took in 2010.

In 2012, the Republicans took a shellacking, no matter how you look at it. I have not heard any of them admit it. Until they do, they will be a permanent minority party.

Navy Vet - not sure when you heard Chris say that, I watch him at least 4 to 5 times a week and never heard him say that. I can't imagine anyone being glad that others in our nation are suffering and that includes anyone in the news media. Perhaps you are so bitter that you were glad it happened?

@Union Baby

It wasn't on Hardball. He said it as his last thought when MSNBC was wrapping up their coverage late Tuesday night. I was actually watching as he said it and was immediately thinking..."Whoa Matthews,you better pull that one back pretty damn skippy...". Which he did,pretty much as Rachel was trying to lead him to clarifying what he meant.

He opened Hardball yesterday with a 5 minute mea culpa,didn't make excuses,totally owned up to saying something stupid and made a complete,non-qualified apology.

Maybe WCA,if he's not too "in the tank" (or more likely "in the bag") can tell us all the last time he's seen or heard Limbaugh,Hannity,Malkin,Savage or any of the rest of those jag-offs apologize for any of the BS they spread.

Speaking of which has anyone seen The "Nuge's" classy tweets about the election results?

Hey Nugent,seeing as Obama DID win reelection...shouldn't you be dead or in jail by now? Please get cracking on that (preferably the former...) ASAP.

For every action there is a reaction... One thing that the newly minted "SandyGate" conspirators fail to take into account is the instantaneous nature of public back-lash to all the thinly vieled wishful thinking about the disaster becoming larger, being handled poorly, and landing at one half-black persons feet for blame.

If Sandy had any affect on the outcome, It was to Obama's favor because of the despicable nature of these un-American individuals hoping for the worst of the worst for their fellow man. And all of these wastes of space identified with one party and one candidate...

I also noticed that the people having come through the worst of it and still without power with a noreaster coming in didn't warrant word one from Romney in his concession speech. He treated them like he treats veterans. Like his party treats veterans.

I guess you know you've made it when you no longer have to concern yourself with the cannon fodder.

to the 800K the article alludes to.

Because he would have had those 800K anyway and if the tide shifted, it just made up for the 800K he "lost" due to the inability to cast a vote in those states.

My suggestion is for McConnell and Boehner to figure out how to work with President Obama and do it now. Obama reached out to them time after time, and each time, they pushed him back; each time they said "our way or no way". The GOP has done nothing but obstruct, delay and deny for four years and now they point their finger at President Obama--well, three fingers are pointing back at them. Any party that meets the night the oath of office is taken by a President to plot his defeat and plot blocking every action that president attempts in times of great crisis as we had in 2009, is despicable.

Work with Obama or... oops... off the cliff. Throw Grover into Oscars garbage can.

(such irony with the Sesame St. ref)

The Republicans underestimated the respect Americans felt for President Obama, built up over four years of watching him during various times of crisis.

Romney acted as if it were self-evident he would be a better President, but the public never blamed the President for the slow recovery to begin with. It seemed like the Republicans learned nothing from the Bush debacle, not even to disregard Karl Rove's advice.

The poor GOPers

Jody, can you blame them? They've been taught to do exactly that by their candidate and their media. When did it become acceptable to out and out lie, ignore facts, and carry on like nobody noticed? I so hope the GOP does implode and can come back as a reasonable opponent.

Amy, true, good point. What republicans failed to recognize is that President Obama's likability rating is close to 70%. I posted once before that likability equates to trust.

Layton, nope, can't blame them; good points. They have been carefully taught by their candidate and their media to ignore the truth.

Jody--excellent analysis. I am enjoying Karl Rove getting the blame for the debacle of this election. He nurtured the rabid right wing of his party in order to get Bush re-elected in 2004; the whole party is reaping what they have sown.

Hurricane Sandy hurt Romney, plain and simple. He showed no act of leadership before, during, or after. That little "relief event" that he held could have helped him but he wound up screwing that up, too. The event he held did not come from his heart. That is fact. He held that event for purely selfish reasons and there isn't a soul who could lead me to believe otherwise.

Alaska Girl, Of couse one would have to have a heart to properly react to the storm aftermath. Romney, being a sociopath, actually is capable of faux caring and charity so HE looks good. If he didn't think there was something in it for HIM he wouldn't have given it a second thought.

mike, terrific post.

He was also a Bush advisor , and we all know how that ended.

Barbour should remember that Bush had his chance to shine too, with Katrina rescue and cleanup. Maybe Bush got to sit on Barbour's 'new front porch' as promised, but the rest of the operation was fubar and changed the world's opinion against Bush forever. It's ironic that Barbour would bring that up as an excuse for this election.

Bravo, Jersey! Bravo! I liken your response to that of it being God's will that a woman's pregnancy due to a brutal rape is also God's will and thus we should all rejoice!

Hijinx12 - let me guess, missed your meds today, right? Go find those nice men in the white coats and they'll help you find the way back to your room.

Sheish! They're out in droves today!

Hijinx12, have you ever heard the words sarcasm or perhaps even satire? Sometimes you need to read between the lines. And, since you've gone there, what makes you believe there is this so called fable called "Satan"?

Seeking,

Hijinx12 could be right. Reports have been circulating Little Nicky was seen at a New York polling station voting for Obama.

SeekingSanity,

I love your posts, but the one above made me laugh twice. The first time because it was funny on the face of it and I liked seeing you put Hijinx12 in his place. The second time because in the context of your own moniker, it was . . . well . . . just plain funny!

Hijinx: Your hatred blinds you to the simple fact, that the Jersey Devil is an old folk tail. Even made it's way onto the X-files.

Seriously? I thought it was a hockey team! Seriously.

Tales of the Jersey Devil used to scare the beejezus out of me as a kid, especially when we would ride thru the pine barrens going to Long Beach Island at night. My brother and sister would tease me until my Dad told them to zip it.

RJ, why do you like to pick the dumbest article of the day?

I prefer to choose the most intelligent article of the day. Do you watch Faux News also?

Obviously because his historical popular vote count is important.

You must be a right-winger...dumb as a post.

formerGOP-- it is pretty fun to do, with the intelligence at NBC & MSN, some days it is really hard to pick the most stupid, because the are usually all stupid.

Lighten up....If you don't see the stupidity in an article , that somehow , lost votes for Obama really mattered in states that he would carry regardless, then I can't help you...

And has far as historical popular vote count is important...Ask Gore how much that helped him...

We feel the same way about Sarah Palin here in Alaska. I feel your pain!

I have stopped apologizing for Rick Santorum on behalf of all Pennsylvanians (especially here in the southwest, his home territory--but don't get me started on how he ripped off his local school district for home schooling money). I guess I'll have to start again in 2016.

AZ raises it's hand.

NikNik---I really thought after the election that the GOP would wake up and smell the coffee. It isn't rocket science what is going on and I thought they would figure it out. After what I've heard and read the last 2 days I think you are right. They are not going to listen to the sensible people in their own party (let alone outsiders) who have made reasonable suggestions for change.

. Screwed yes, I think so...wait till he doesn't deliver again. Oh my "something for nothing" takes a long long time to get and is a hard way to make a living, hug? Obama as it turns out isn't quick pay...bummer. So no concerns about the deficit?

The number of votes no longer affects the election results, but it certainly does have some impact on the perceived legitimacy of his mandate and the amount of so-called "political capital" his victory gives him.

You already here voices from the Right saying Obama doesn't have a big mandate to do much because he won by only a small margin (notwithstanding that this sort of margin is actually common in Presidential elections and he got over 50% of the popular vote, which itself is quite a rarity).

Oh, and what about mouths like Trump and Rush being in love with Romney? People just like to voice their opinions don't they? Nothing wrong with that I suppose. I am voicing my opinion when I say this: we WILL be able to relax and breathe...and be thankful for another 4 years too!!! Way to go President Obama and everyone of you who gave him your support!!!

See, careful consideration and thought obviously went into your vote. Good for you, and I don't just mean that because you obviously voted for Obama. I think there are many who did what you did and came up with the same answer, and I would also bet that there were quite a number of moderate Republicans who voted "quietly" for Obama over Romney once they really took a hard look at the Republican candidate.