50 Responses to Harry Truman Hates Lobster (and Republicans)

  1. patd says:

    “All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.”

    Harry S. Truman

  2. Tonyb says:

    The first time I even became aware of politics as a kid, I heard all I needed to hear to know I wanted to be a Democrat. Back then, it was known as the party for the little guy, the working guys party. Republicans were for ‘big business’.

    Hi Chloe,
    I heard the same thing and i believed it most of my life..Oh god how i want that party back..The two parties have become such a blur in governing…

  3. http://craigcrawford.com/2012/09/03/lbj-justice-lets-roll/#comment-296779

    Nash 2.5…

    So True…I stopped thinking about the similarities several years ago since we’ve already crossed that Rubicon.

    This is a important election year and I hope and pray that we don’t reach that point, at least not in my time, but instead finally all work together to move our country forward into a better future instead of backward into the past.

    Have a great evening.

  4. Oregon Democrat says:

    Truman was great…I disagree with the film comments that use terms such as negative and scare tactics…

  5. patd says:

    “Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”

    Harry S. Truman

  6. whskyjack says:

    Harry was a practical politician, not well loved by the left either.

    Jack

  7. whskyjack says:

    Ha, I thought I heard my father in law in that story, the fil was a great story teller and that was one he would have enjoyed telling.
    Truman was a great politician, he remembered people, even nobodies such as my father in law. the Fil loved to tell his Truman encounter stories.

    Jack

  8. whskyjack says:

    Ya know, I just watched the Big Dawg’s commercial for Obama, 2 thoughts: one Hillary is running in 2016, two, Who gave Bill a bj cause it must have been really fine to get him to do that commercial.

    Jack

  9. whskyjack says:

    One of the major advantage that Truman had was he was running against Dewey. A man popular with the east coast elites but the east coast elites never elected anybody.

    Jack

  10. jace says:

    Oh, soooo, this is what real Democrats sound like?

    Damn, it has been a spell since we heard one. Wink

  11. jace says:

    Jack,

    I think that Clinton would do the commercial for a marginal bj.

    I expect HRC to make her intentions known in one way or another by early 2014. Chris Christi is about to meet his match. Wink

  12. bethyboo says:

    Oh, you sceptics! I think Bill would have done the commercial with no incentive. He enjoys being such an idol
    and he’s jut going to incease his good rep -- why should he let it die?Aside from that. of course he’s thinking of Hillary, but also I think he really wants this for the country. I think he really believes what he says. Just saying.

    I agree completely re the lack of effort to fight voter
    suppression and have said so here -- I keep asking, What’s going on? Another story that gets so attention, as KGC pointed out, is the fact that mitt had to go back and re-file his mass tax return because he signed in on it “incorrectly”, or one might say, illegaly. Why are these stories left hanging?

  13. patd says:

    Harry was a practical politician, not well loved by the left either.

    jack, when has the modern day left ever loved anyone who’s not rich, handsome and effete (with emphasis on effete)? being brought up poor and practical ain’t their style.

  14. patd says:

    They’ve taken on big banks and workers’ rights abuses, now the progressive activists at Change.org have their sights set on bringing comedienne Betty White, 90, to the Democratic National Convention.
    [....]
    By 4:30 p.m. Monday, 3,817 people had signed on to the cause. Facebook’s “Bring Betty White to the DNC” page is more popular, having accrued nearly 22,000 “likes” since being registered on Aug. 31.

    The Obama campaign has no plans — yet — to invite White, who is eight years older than Clint Eastwood and endorsed the president in May Charlotte, N.C.

    http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/some-dems-want-betty-white-to-make-their-day/

  15. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    I’m just wild about Harry…

    I haven’t heard a single word about Mittens convention bounce yet…I guess the media is going to ignore the dip and pretend Mittens still has a chance to win

  16. Jamie White says:

    When the GOP says “We”, they mean me me me Fun commentary on Eric Cantor Labor Day tweet by Electablog.

  17. Jamie White says:

    I’ve come to the conclusion that Right Wingers are right wingers simply because they don’t get the jokes. Today has been declared “Empty Chair Day” and they are being encouraged to place an empty chair on their lawn.

  18. MadMustard says:

    You’ve gotta love Harry’s bluntness. I can’t abide lobsters… I have a shellfish allergy… nor Republicans… I have a memory. 

  19. Jamie White says:

    New Republic article on Rupert Murdoch’s dislike for Mitt Romney

  20. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    When Shrub was president (oy) the job creation was largely in the low-end service jobs. Mitt believes that’s fine for most people too.

  21. nemo says:

    “You’ve gotta love Harry’s bluntness”

    I love when they take away the flowery talk. Then all that’s left is the truth.

  22. Jamie White says:

    Paul Ryan vs Jesus vs Ayn Rand

  23. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    Mitt’s idea of ‘color blindness’ he doesn’t see people of color… they just aren’t there for him.

  24. pogo says:

    It appears only Rasmussen finds a Romney post convention bump -- up 1-2 points over the last two polls they released. Every other poll since Ryan was disclosed has the race a virtual tie. I can’t imagine how naming the darling of the RW as VP pick and a 3 night red, white and blue extravaganza brought the race back to where it was in April. Maybe that’s a bump?

  25. pogo says:

    I guess one could argue that the vp/convention effect largely negated what looks like an Obama poll bump of 3-5 points in late July/early August, but you kinda have to squint and hold your head at just the right angle to see it.

    What has changed is that since the convention MO has gone from toss up to leans Romney and Wisconsin has gone from leans Obama to toss up on the RCP EC map.

  26. pogo says:

    Oh, and Harry, I love lobster.

  27. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    Rasmussen Liar for the Right and F--ked Up news Sycophant

    I don’t believe this race is tied. Only in the minds of people who need it to be a horse race for $$$

    I can’t wait to hear the excuses when Romney is a BIG LOSER about why they all got it wrong…or I guess they will blame poor Mittens

  28. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    I think this guy (538) has it right.

  29. Jamie White says:

    KGC

    He usually does. Silver is my go to person for odds on just about everything and that is a major jump on the Obama side in just 48 hours.

  30. pogo says:

    KC, I don’t think it’s tied either -- I’m just talking about polling (mostly done by media orgs that need to sell stuff). While almost all the national general election polls show the race in a statistical tie, RCP shows Obama with a 30 EC vote advantage not counting toss up states, and a 126 EC vote advantage if tossup states are forced based on most recent polling. I’m not predicting anything -- my predictions generally being well known among friends and family to be the kiss of death for my predicted winners. Confused: Oops!

  31. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    Pogo sez

    my predictions generally being well known among friends and family to be the kiss of death for my predicted winners

    kinda like mine which are less prediction and more wishful thinking --although in keeping with our family motto “Often Wrong Never in Doubt”

  32. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    Silver has the excuse for the pundit class — “the race was never as close as it appeared” wtf

    I think we need a national intervention -- the television industry makes a boatload of money off of political advertising. They need to get a grip and allow storylines that are fact-based. Mittens is a big fat liar and loser and no matter how much lipstick they put on him he is not going to win. And people DO NOT vote for president based on first lady

  33. pogo says:

    Silver’s column and site are excellent -- very good explanation of his analysis and the weaknesses of it. btw, Silver’s State-by-State probabilities map is identical to RCP’s “no toss-ups” map.

  34. pogo says:

    KC, terrific motto. I’ve got plenty of friends who would accuse me of the same.

  35. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    Pogo

    I think that motto has many family trees

  36. pogo says:

    I do get a kick out of the stats -- polling being an inexact science at best. I took stat as a minor in grad school -- one of the first things we were taught was that you cannot average averages to get what a non-sampled result would yield. Something about mixing sources of sampling error or something like that. Of course the only way to figure out what a slew of different polls means is to average them, so we know what the polls say, but we don’t know how they relate to the outcome of the election -- except among the samples in the polls. (Of course after over 30 years of disuse after learning that stuff, I could have it exactly backward).

  37. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    If they have imprisoned Bradley Manning for releasing documents --shouldn’t the author of the book just released also be detained

  38. Katherine Graham Cracker says:

    I think you have to throw out the obvious ringers
    they are factoring in all kinds of whatifs to get to their conclusions

    There are some polls which historically have been accurate. In this race for some reason — they are not even close to an accurate reflection of what is going on

  39. RebelliousRenee says:

    Jamie… ROFL! LOVED that Paul Ryan vs Jesus vs Ayn Rand video. LOVED the last line… “if Jesus came back today we wouldn’t be able to hear his message with all those screaming that he’s a socialist”… indeed.

  40. RebelliousRenee says:

    Whereas I hate answering polls, my 80 yr white female registered Democrat friend loves to answer them. Most of them nowadays are automated… you know… press 1 or press 2. She told me the other day that she’s answered at least 4 polls in the last week. Press 1 if male, press 2 if female. She presses 1. Press 1 if caucasian, press 2 if African American, press 3 if other. She presses 2. Press 1 if you’re between the ages of 18-30, press 2 if between 31-45, press 3 if older. She presses 2. If the election were held today, press 1 if you’d vote for Obama, press 2 if you’d vote for Romney. She presses 2.

    oh yeah…. ~~~ one can trust polls ~~~~

  41. Nash 2.5 says:

    From Maine… a lobster joke:

    Tourist: What’s that green slimey goo inside a lobster?

    Mainer: That’s lobster, too.

  42. purple-in-tampa says:


    Mortgage Settlement Monitor Hires Firm that Has Worked on Countrywide Matters

    By Michael Olenick and Yves Smith, Naked Capitalism, September 4, 2012

    Sadly, there is a reason that the Obama Administration believes that any problem can be solved by better propaganda. It often plays out that way. Consider the horror show of the mortgage settlement. Even media outlets generally friendly to the Administration, like the New York Times, have found it impossible not to ‘fess up to the fact that Team Obama failed to implement serious measures on the housing front, and the resulting economic damage has put Obama’s reelection at risk. Yet these accounts, in keeping with Democrat efforts to put the best face possible on failed policies, omit how the Administration made saving bank balance sheets a top priority, and airbrush out the biggest sop to the banks, namely, the “get out of liability for close to free” card of the mortgage settlement.

    But even with the settlement designed to favor banks, its monitor, Joseph Smith, looks to be failing to make sure even these weak terms are adhered to. It appears that Smith is either unable interpret conflict of interest properly or is simply unwilling to implement the settlement’s clear requirements.

    Curiously, most commentators skipped over the part of the first report of The Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight that was highlighted at the front of the report, that of the selection of a consultant that will serve as their primary oversight firm, BDO. Yet the choice of this firm and the partner managing this engagement, Anthony M. Lendez, appear to in violation of the conflict of interest provisions of the settlement.

  43. Flatus says:

    I used to write letters to President Truman. My first was asking him what the ‘S’ in his name stood for. His secretary replied that it was there because the president thought that it looked nice and that it stood for nothing beyond that.

  44. whskyjack says:

    I know we have a few doom and gloomers that believe we are on a down hill slide. I occasionally point out their disconnect from the real world. This Economist article points to real numbers that back up my general point that as a whole the human race is improving.

    THE past four years have seen the worst economic crisis since the 1930s and the biggest food-price increases since the 1970s. That must surely have swollen the ranks of the poor.

    Wrong. The best estimates for global poverty come from the World Bank’s Development Research Group, which has just updated from 2005 its figures for those living in absolute poverty (not be confused with the relative measure commonly used in rich countries). The new estimates show that in 2008, the first year of the finance-and-food crisis, both the number and share of the population living on less than $1.25 a day (at 2005 prices, the most commonly accepted poverty line) was falling in every part of the world.

  45. pogo says:

    If you want a chuckle, you should go to WaPo and read the comments after Jennifer Rubin’s “are you better off” column. Better yet, Plouffe and Axelrod should.

  46. purple-in-tampa says:

    The Fake Election: 10 Arguments The Republicans Aren’t Making
    By Matt Stoller, Naked Capitalism, September 4, 2012

    Even authoritarian systems require legitimacy to retain the support of the governed, and the new authoritarian America is no exception. Since 2004, the brilliant public journalism advocate Jay Rosen has been asking, what is the point of a political convention? No news is made, yet over 15,000 journalists show up, ostensibly to cover the pomp. But everyone knows that coverage isn’t so much the point; these conventions trade shows for the political class, where party insiders, journalists, politicians, celebrities, corporate types, and lobbyists mingle to organize political hierarchies. The public is simply irrelevant, a mass of jeering and cheering message imbibers or apathetic and cynical former citizens, people who are unseen behind their TV screens. The only fresh elements are protesters, and they are met by a police state, lest they disrupt the insider deal-making.

    If the Republicans were interested in winning, you’d see a very different campaign. Here are ten ironclad arguments you’d see. These are arguments the Republicans could make, but aren’t.

    1) The Tax Cheat Administration

    2) Obama Doesn’t Keep His Promises to You

    3) Obama Administration, Brought to You By Wall Street

    4) Obama Administration’s Handling of the Foreclosure Crisis

    5) Inequality Skyrocketing Under Obama

    6) Obama Administration Is Corrupt

    7) Obama Pushing Offshoring of American Jobs

    8) Subversion of the Rule of Law

    9) Suppression of Dissent

    10) Endless war

  47. pogo says:

    Jack, the Romney crowd (and Obama as well in all likelihood) only uses a global reference to make the US look like it is weaker than it was when O took office. The arguments are not justified. The answer to the question of the day is yes and no. Here’s one answer …

    Depends on who “you” is. The “you” that took the hardest hits from the effects of the Bushian economic policies are not better off. The “you” that benefited are. The “you” that is the country overall IMHO is better off. The “you” that is the economy is demonstrably better off. The “you” that is the republican base -- (the 1%ers) -- are manifestly better off.

    I’m one of those who believes that the policies in place now will result in in something like the gradual improvement we’ve seen over the past 3 years. None of this silver bullet stuff is likely to occur. And I don’t think we’ll see any runs at big changes regardless of who wins in Nov. The Senate will be close to even, so (1) dramatic legislation floated by the house will fall to inaction or filibusters (depending on how the Senate control ends up and assuming Reid can gather the gumption to mount them if the R’s take the senate) or (2) the veto pen will kill it if (1) fails and O is re-elected.

  48. RebelliousRenee says:

    NEW THREAD