Politico e-book: Obama campaign roiled by conflict

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79867.html

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Whole thing is worth a read.  Also:

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[Politico]

No surprise considering sinking ships tend to be characterized by conflict and blame. For whatever reason(s), the president refuses to take any responsibility for anything that has gone wrong. The powerful message of 2008's "hope and change" has been turned into 2012's "fear and smear." Why? Because the political calculus has shown since this time last year that Obama's only hope of re-election is scorched-earth tactics. Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

Most notably of all, Biden and his crew have totally screwed over the campaign with gaffe after gaffe (i.e., the recent faux southern accent race-baiting maneuver, but also blowing the "support for gay marriage" surprise MONTHS before intended, apparently blowing a carefully orchestrated distraction away from the jobs report that comes out the day after the president's acceptance speech).

What a train wreck compared to the business-like behavior of the Romney/Ryan team.

[Ebowed]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

[Politico]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right? I can't imagine. It is telling how little she appears with Obama on the campaign trail. At least Romney's kids are grown up, mostly living their own life, and Ann Romney clearly enjoys her role and wants to be First Lady.

[The Ex-Factor]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term, and now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this. It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right?

I would ask you to source your "rumor" but honestly I don't really care. P.S. Nice stealth edit(s)

I don't think there's anything particularly shocking in this if you've been following the insider-ish White House stuff over the past few years, but it's still interesting. Axelrod in particular has always come across as a big egotistical and Wasserman-Schultz, well, not very confidence-inspiring. Bit amusing that Obama despises Romney more than Eric Cantor...he sounds like pretty much every other Democrat here.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Whenever Politico says "word is" or "rumor is," it should be infracted, because it tends to be horsesh*t either made up in his own head or some random right-wing crank's.

Politico.com is also trash, of course, but who's counting, at this point.

[Politico]

Whenever Politico says "word is" or "rumor is," it should be infracted, because it tends to be horsesh*t either made up in his own head or some random right-wing crank's.

Everybody has heard the rumors, dating way back to 2010. Just Google it.

Do you have an explanation for why Michelle is not on the campaign trail much this year? It is a stark contrast to Ann Romney, Cindy McCain, Laura Bush, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Tipper Gore, Liddy Dole, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, Kitty Dukakis and Nancy Reagan.

[Supersonic]

That was actually a very intriguing article.

It was also revealing to know that Biden didn't want Obama to announce support for gay marriage due to the potential loss of support amongst independents, and that loathing Mitt Romney is the sole force uniting his campaign team.

[anvi]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

They should hire Beet.

[Lief 🗽]

Glad Obama and I see to eye to eye on Mittens.

[Chaddyr23]

Obama and I fear the same thing: a 7-2 conservative supreme court!

[opebo]

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong.

Didn't know his place, eh?

[All Along The Watchtower]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right? I can't imagine. It is telling how little she appears with Obama on the campaign trail. At least Romney's kids are grown up, mostly living their own life, and Ann Romney clearly enjoys her role and wants to be First Lady.

joke poster

[patrick1]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right? I can't imagine. It is telling how little she appears with Obama on the campaign trail. At least Romney's kids are grown up, mostly living their own life, and Ann Romney clearly enjoys her role and wants to be First Lady.

Thanks for reminding me, Politico, I almost forgot I have to go to the supermarket today.

[MorningInAmerica]

I found these points particularly enlightening.

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So more than hope and change, or really anything else, Obama's driving force in 2012 is an insatiable desire to NOT lose?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Obama and I pretty much feel the exact same way about both Romney and McCain.  Cool.

[Averroës Nix]

Obama and I pretty much feel the exact same way about both Romney and McCain.  Cool.

As someone who believes that DWS is an immense liability for Dems, I was happy to see that the Obama campaign is skeptical of her effectiveness.

[DrScholl]

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right? I can't imagine. It is telling how little she appears with Obama on the campaign trail. At least Romney's kids are grown up, mostly living their own life, and Ann Romney clearly enjoys her role and wants to be First Lady.

Do you really take politics that serious? This is way too personal for you to even be concerned about.

[Likely Voter]

Whatever works for them. Can anyone say that the Romney campaign has outperformed the Obama campaign at this point?

[opebo]

It is Obama’s own burning competitiveness, with his remorseless focus on beating Mitt Romney — an opponent he genuinely views with contempt and fears will be unfit to run the country.

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In a word, he's 'uppity'.

[old timey villain]

Obama should have done the honorable thing by choosing not to seek a second term.

That is just not remotely close to even being a half feasible suggestion, last year or ever.

Rumor is that Michelle threatened divorce if he sought a second term until he talked her out of it. Now the rumor is she's going to divorce him if he loses because she told him not to run again. Supposedly she hates being First Lady, and never wanted any of this (hard to imagine her envisioning anything in the 1990s beyond Obama becoming a state Senator, maybe a Congressman). It sounds like Obama is losing a grip on everything? His wife and daughters are precious, so hopefully the rumors are wrong. All of the "fear and smear" has to be getting to them, though, right? I can't imagine. It is telling how little she appears with Obama on the campaign trail. At least Romney's kids are grown up, mostly living their own life, and Ann Romney clearly enjoys her role and wants to be First Lady.

Omigod you guys- Not only is politico working for the Romney campaign, he's also a reporter for the National Enquirer!!

[Yank2133]

This board has turned into a cesspool for hackery and joke posters.

[Likely Voter]

I'm not up on the rules, but there must be some limit to some of the hackishness and rumormongering and absurd postings we have seen lately

[MorningInAmerica]

It is Obama’s own burning competitiveness, with his remorseless focus on beating Mitt Romney — an opponent he genuinely views with contempt and fears will be unfit to run the country.

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In a word, he's 'uppity'.

Haha, that ole race card never fails to help change the subject does it? But either way, if you have a problem with the alleged racist tone of the article, take it up with Politico writer Glenn Thrush. They're his words, not mine.

[opebo]

The point is, MIA, that all of these guys are competitive type-A sorts.. otherwise they wouldn't doing what they're doing.