The Romney Administration

[OSR stands with Israel]

CNN Polls after RNC


Wolf Blitzer: Lets go over to the magic wall and see what the state by state polls are showing

John King: Right now Romney is headed for the biggest electoral win since 1988

Romney/Portman 355 54.2%
Obama/Biden 150 42.7%

John King: Now while this looks bad remember Romney got a 5 and a half point bump at this convention nationally and that resulted in a pretty large lead for Romney Now. Also, remember these polls show what the election would be like if it were held today, not what the official battleground map is which really wont come out till after the DNC. In that map likely the whole MN,MI,WI,PA will all be tossups and OR and WA at worst would be lean dem.

[_]

RomneySlide

[Canis]

I think your being a bit hackish for romney. Romney's best case scenario in 2012 was this

[OSR stands with Israel]

I think your being a bit hackish for romney. Romney's best case scenario in 2012 was this

Convention Bump , Obama will get one too



Also, there are many differences to OTL 2012 in this TL

- Obamacare doesnt pass

- Romney wins the Primaries quickly and easily(so he doesnt get pushed too far to the right as he got pushed in OTL )

- Romney choose Portman as VP and not Ryan


So that was the best case in OTL 2012 but with all these factors changing, things will be different(He wont win this big though)

[OSR stands with Israel]

2012 DNC : Barack Obama's and Joe Biden's Acceptance Speech



Excerpts from Joe Biden's Convention Speech:

Biden: Hello my Fellow Democrats (Crowd Replies Back). I want to thank you for nominating me for the Vice Presidency of the United States, and with great honor I accept that nomination(Applause). 4 years ago our nation decided to vote for change and turned away from the failed policies from the previous 8 years, and elected a leader who would bring our country back out of the mess it has fallen in , and while it has not yet fully recovered it is definitely in better shape today than it was 4 years ago(Applause).

4 years ago our country's Auto Industry was on the verge of collapse, today our auto industry is back and stronger than it has been in a long time(Applause). This was thanks to the Auto Bailout which Governor Romney opposed(Boos). He instead said it should have gone bankrupt, which would have meant that millions of more jobs would have been lost and our auto industry may never have recovered. I am not surprised he took that position because Governor Romney throughout his business career invested in companies that shipped good-paying American jobs overseas(Boos). Now this is the same man who claims he will make our country's economy great again(Laughter), which is funny cause he supported letting an American Industry die out.

The choice is very clear between both our party's nominees. There party's nominees believe that we should help the people who need help the least, let an American Industry go Bankrupt, and restarting the Cold War. On the other hand President Obama and I believe that we should help people who need help the most, make American industries stronger not weaker, and improve our relations with countries we are no longer enemies with so we can unite to defeat our new enemies(Applause). It has been true throughout my life and thats why President Obama and I are happy to be part of the party of FDR and Truman because our party is for the common man or women (Applause). Thank You and May God Bless America


Excerpts from Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech:




Obama : Thank You , Thank You , Thank You . I am honored to have the opportunity to be the nominee of this great party once again, and hopefully, have the chance to be this nation's President for 4 more years(Applause) . I want to thank you for this opportunity and I accept your nomination(Applause).  8 years ago when I first addressed this convention, I was just a senate candidate who was very optimistic and hopeful for our future.While we have had a lot of struggles in these past 8 years , I can tell you that optimism has never left me(Applause) , because we will get out of this mess we currently are in (Applause).

I told you 4 years ago during my Victory Speech , that the road ahead will be long, and steep and we may not get there in one term , but we will get there. It has proven to be exactly that but what is important is that we are making progress(Applause). 4 years ago we had the worst economic crash since the depression, and for the first year it seemed like we were headed in that path, but unlike the depression which got worse year after year , the slide down stopped and we were able to start our climb out of the recession much more earlier than we did in the 1930s. So while Governor Romney may try to claim things are worse of than they were 4 years ago , in an attempt to make this year's election a repeat of 1980 things unlike in 1980 are not worse of(Applause).

Another reason we are better of today than we were 4 years ago , is foreign affairs . 4 years ago we were in a middle of a war in Iraq, the image of our nation had gotten worse throughout the world. Over the past 4 years: we were able to hunt down and kill Osama Bin Laden, end the War in Iraq,  people all across the middle east are taking action to fight for democracy, and our nation's image has improved(Applause). Now my opponent has claimed that our foreign policy has failed because unlike him our administration isnt interested in restarting the cold war. Instead, we believe we must improve our relations with Russia so we can fight our enemies of today: Terrorism (Applause) . The fact is our nation must work with our allies and former enemies to make our world a different place, and we cannot go back to the policy of antgonzing both of them as defeating our enemies is harder if the world isnt united agaisnt them. Thank You and May God Bless the United States of America

[OSR stands with Israel]

CNN polls after DNC:


Wolf Blitzer : Here is the New CNN state by state polling

Romney/Portman 275 52.2%
Obama/Biden 183 45.8%

King: Well Romney still has a 6.4% lead nationally and still would get to 270 without winning any tossup state, so he still has the advantage but as we all know it can dwindle. For example in Oregon Obama holds around a 1.5-2 point lead in the polls and if Obama can reduce Romney national lead he should lock that state up and in all of the tossup states with the exception of New Hampshire, the President is outperforming his national numbers meaning that if he can reduce to Romney lead to a a point and a half the map would stand at 279-259 Romney and all Obama needs is to improve his margins in One of these lean Romney states and NH and then he will win. So this election is not close to being over yet.

[OSR stands with Israel]

State of the Race before the first debate

Romney/Portman 224 49.9%%
Obama/Biden 206 48.7%


Wolf Blitzer: What would you say is the reason behind the surge President Obama has has since the DNC


Dana Bash: In my opinion, it is because of how Obama so far since the DNC has gone on a relentless attack against the Republicans in congress , and blaming them for gridlock and many of the issues not being solved. Also he has been claiming that the economy is in better shape than it was 4 years ago , its just not enough to fully get the country out of the recession, and finally he has been attacking Romney on Foreign Policy over and over again and so far it looks like his Truman style strategy is working. One thing though is unlike 1948, President Obama will have to participate in 3 televised debates, which gives Romney the chance to refute all those points in person.

Gloria Borger: The debates will be very critical for both sides , because if Romney is able to win these debates , the President's strategy will fall apart and its likely Romney will rocket up in the polls , thus meaning President Obama will lose the election.

[UWS]

I guess there is no 47 % comment in this scenario?

[OSR stands with Israel]

I guess there is no 47 % comment in this scenario?

Nope

[Grassroots]

YES GO MITT

[TPIG]

YES GO MITT

[OSR stands with Israel]

1st Presidential Debate Highlights:



CNN Analysts: Now lets look at some key moments from this debate, in which we believe Governor Romney overwhelmingly won

1st Important Moment :


Lehrer: What are some differences in both of your tax plans, and why would they help grow the economy and help create new jobs. Governor Romney you first

Romney: My tax plan is to cut taxes for both individuals and buisnesses, to increase the amount of disposal income Americans have so they have more money to spend, which then will increase consumer demand in our economy. This will help the economy because this will result in the number of revenue businesses receive to increase and to keep up with the increase in demand they will need more employees, thus they will hire more people. The reason we need to cut taxes on Buisnesses is that currently, the United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the world, which means in a world which is getting more globalized year after year, our high tax rate will incentivize buisnesses to not do business in the United States. Finally, the reason we must cut taxes on all buisnesses and not just corporations is currently small buisnesses pay taxes at the income rate, and not the corporate rate which means despite making less in profits than a large corporation would make they are charged with a higher tax rate, and that impacts small business negatively. If we do cut taxes for small buisnesses they will get to keep more of their money to use to grow their business, which thus creates new jobs.


Lehrer: Mr.President

Obama: My Plan is to cut taxes for individuals who make under $250,000 dollars a year because they are the people who need the tax cut the most, as they have been hit by this economy the most. We then will end the Bush tax cuts on people making over that amount, so we can give the middle class a tax cut . This will not raise taxes by a lot , in fact it will just be the same rates they were in the 1990s when our economy was booming and significantly lower than it was from the 1940s-1970s. What we won't do is to cut taxes on the wealthy, and the biggest corporations, as that will cause our treasury trillions of dollars, and hurt the middle class

Romney: Mr.President those are simply not the facts , my tax plan does not add trillions to the deficit ,as my plan closes tax deductions which dont grow the economy and only benefit the wealthy. Also the reason why it wont explode the deficit is that my tax plan will help our economy grow, and the only real way to get to a path to a balanced budget is by having a strong economy. The reason for that is as strong economy will mean that more people will have jobs, and more buisnesses will be successful, thus the number of people who are paying taxes will increase.

Obama: The fact is in the 1990s , President Clinton signed a tax increase , the economy boomed and due to the great economy, 20 million more people got jobs .


Romney: Well the fact is the 1990s boom didnt start in 1993 , it started in the early 1980s when our economy like now was in the worst shape since the depression, and then we had high inflation along with high unemployment. President Reagan in response to that cut the top tax rate from 70% to 28% , and also cut Corporate taxes and by the end of the 1980s  our nation had created 16 million new jobs, unemployment had been cut in half, and revenues doubled.The only reason the defict increased in the 1980s is the growth of spending also went up signifacntly. This boom lasted until 2000 other than a couple bad years in 1990 and 1991.

Obama: The fact is yes it may have worked in the 1980s but the reason it worked was cause economic situation was different than then now. On the other hand the economic situation in 1992 was similar to how it is now and the fact is the tax increase didnt hurt our economy. The fact is we cant afford cutting taxes on corporations, as most people are not CEO's or Members of the Board Governor.

Romney: Actually the economy started to recover in 1992 not in 1993 or 1994. Lastly, while it is true most people aren't CEO's and Board Members but they do work for companies and benefit when companies have more money to hire people. Here's an analogy if you were looking for a job , would you be more likely to get a job at a company what has the money to hire you , or the ones who dont have the money to hire you.


Lehrer: Ok we will be moving on to a new topic now.


Important Moment Two:

Lehrer: One issue what divides both of you as well , is the issue of Regulations. President Obama why do you believe we need more regulations, and Governor Romney why do you think we need less .


Obama: Well the reason we need stronger regulations is to make sure our economy doesn't crash like it did in 2008. Regulations are a safeguard which protects our overall economy from the type of behavior we saw before 2008 which crashed our economy. Does anyone believe that too much regulation caused the economic crash in 2008, and if we just let wall street do whatever they wanted our economy will be booming right now? If you do Governor Romney is certainly your candidate


Romney: What you just described about my plan is just not accurate Mr.President. The reason for that is I do believe buisnesses need regulations, as we cant have people creating their own banks from their own homes , and giving our mortgage loans from their own homes, and we cant go back to how things were in the 1890s when some food could be unsafe to eat. The thing is yes , we need regulations, but they have to be smart and not overly excessive. For example, some regulations in dodd-frank that passed were necessary, like the ones that stopped banks from giving out unqualifies loans, but there were somewhat were totally unnecessary like the ones which designated some banks as too big to fail , while allowed community banks to fail ,and doesnt specifiy what a qualifed loan is .

Lehrer: Would you repeal dodd frank

Romney: The parts that are not beneficial yes. This is why I believe we need to put in a system in place which requires any new proposed regulation to have to do a cost-benefit analysis, so we can weigh the positives and negatives on each new regulation. What this will do is make sure proposed regulations are well throughout , and dont hurt small buisnesses and the economy.

Obama: Well the fact is Governor Romney, your plan would gut many existing regulations that do benefit the economy, and the fact is we cant afford that. During the 8 years before I took office , President Bush significantly pushed through the policies of deregulation, and they didnt work.

Romney: The fact is President Bush didnt start the policies of deregulation, Clinton did and they helped our economy grow. Second all I am saying is there needs to be a better proecess on how regulations are proposed and implemented to guarantee we dont get bad ones implemented. But once again Mr.President , because you dont have a record to run on your , your just running a negative campaign where all you do is attack the other side but not propose anything of your own or expalin why your policy is better than mine. The reason for that is they are not better , and the last 4 years have proven that.



Important Moment Number 3:

Lehrer: Both of you are promising a lot during this campaign, but many voters are skeptical whether you can actually make those promises reality. If elected , what will you do to make sure you can get the things that you promise passed


Romney: What I would do is took look at what the composition of the new Congress is , both party wise and ideology wise. Using that I will prioritize pushing through policies what we can get through Congress first , and once we get that done first , we will move on to policies that have more opposition in congress . What I won't though is spending more than an entire year trying to get through policies that are unpopular in Congress and refuse to compromise one bit, because all that does is result in gridlock, and that does not solve problems.

Obama: The fact is the reason we didnt get through many of the policies we wanted over the past 4 years is due to Republicans refusing to compromise. If Republicans decide to work with Democrats, then yes we can get many things done together

Romney: Once Again , Mr.President you refuse to take responsibility of your own failures . The fact is when you were elected Democrats controlled the House and had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate so you had the ability to pass much of your agenda. The reason you didnt is you spent a year and a half trying to push through a government-run health care program which was not only unpopular among Republicans but many moderate Democrats as well, and whenever moderate Democrats such as Joe Lieberman gave their input on how they felt the bill should be like, you refused to budge and thats the reason your plan failed. Due to this you failed, to pass any type of healthcare reform, and immigration reform in your first two years. Then when in 2010 the Republicans reduced your Senate Majority from 60-40 to 52-48 and took the house, they said they wanted to do immigration reform but because you felt there proposal was too right wing you refused to compromise on that proposal as well. Instead you decided to do executive orders and push through temporay solutions instead of long term solutions , and we can afford more of that.

[OSR stands with Israel]

State of Race after First Debate:

Wolf Blitzer: CNN is ready to release its first poll since the debate and what the poll show is Governor Mitt Romney has indeed has had a pretty big bump since the debate and now leads nationally by 6 percentage points overall. What really matters though is the electoral college and for analysis of how that stands we will head to John King. John has the electoral map changed since the debate,

John King: Yes it definitely has and here are some of the changes, we are moving Ohio from being a lean Romney state to a Solid Romney state , and Florida and Virginia from Tossups to Lean Romney states. We are also moving Michigan from being a lean Obama state back into the tossup category, and while we kept Oregon in the Lean Obama category it very well could be a tossup as well as the President's lead there has dropped to 2.1 percentage points.

Romney/Portman 266 52.7%
Obama/Biden 190  46.7%

John King : From this map Romney just needs to win one of these tossup states and he will be elected the next President of the United States, while Obama needs to sweep every tossup states if he wants to win.


Wolf Blitzer: The Obama camp though still believes that they can win Virginia, due to the fact that the states largest growing part are the suburbs of Washington DC and the foreign policy debate hasnt happened yet.

John King : Well if the President wins Virginia, then the path to 270 will certainly be easier for Obama but even then he will need to hold on to every swing state with the exception of Colorado and New Hampshire. Even then Governor Romney has a counter to that and that is to win to Pennsylvania a state the Governor currently has a lead-in , and if he does so he will win the Presidency even without Virginia.


Wold Blitzer: Thank you John , and we will go back to other news

[OSR stands with Israel]

Vice Presidential Debates Highlights




CNN analyst: Now let's look at some key moments from this debate which most of our analysts think was a tie - to a slight Biden win


Important Moment 1:


Matha Raddatz: Senator Portman, if you are elected Vice President this November what role would you play in a Romney Administration.

Portman: One role I would play is getting involved in the budget process, from helping writing up the White House proposal, and working with Congress to get it passed. I would also work with the heads of each department to get rid of wasteful and outdated spending programs in each of their departments as well as help reform inefficient spending programs. Another role I would play is in helping the President negotiate trade deals , and help get those negotiated trade deals get passed in Congress.

Biden: In my opinion, it is a mistake for the Vice President to get deeply involved in one or two specific areas. The reason for that is it undermines the power that the cabinet secretaries are supposed to have, and also gives too much power to the Vice President that the President is supposed to have. In my opinion, the areas you just talked about should be run by a potential President Romney, and if their is a conflict between multiple departments say when it comes to the budget it should be Romney who resolves that not you. For example my role in President Obama's administration has been to advise him directly on a wide variety of issues, and work with him to implement his agenda .

Portman : If Romney is elected, don't get me wrong he still will have the final say when it comes to the budget, but the fact is he will be dealing with so many other issues as well , that it is critical that someone works on budgetary issues even when the President may not be there all the time. The reason for that is , that can allow us to have a budget proposed right on schedule even when the President is dealing with other matter.

Biden : That is what Cabinet Secretaries are for

Portman : Yes but when proposing a budget we have to work with all the departments, and each cabinet secretary only is the head of his own department.

Biden: So will the Budget be based on your personal goals or Romney's


Portman : A President Romney's of course. What will just happen is a President Romney will list out all the goals he wants when it comes to budget and fiscal policy , and my role will be to help implement it.


Important Moment 2:

Raddatz: As you know the budget Deficit for the 4th consecutive year has been over a trillion dollars. In the case of you Vice President Biden if you are reelected what would be your and President Obama's Plan to reduce the deficit, and in the case of you Senator Portman what would be yours and Governor Romney's plan.

Biden : Our plan is to let the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy expire at the end of this year , and that will raise revenues by hundreds of billions of dollars. We also plan to wind down the war in Afghanistan, and we believe our economic plan will create millions of new jobs which will also increase revenue and lower the deficit. My opponent's plan, on the other hand, would give the wealthy trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts, and that will only cause our defict to skyorcket even further unless you pay for the tax cuts by closing loopholes such as the Mortage Deduction , the Healthcare Deduction and other deductions middle class families rely on.


Portman: Well what Vice President Biden just said isnt true . Our tax plan will not increase the defict or elimante deductions for the middle class.

Biden: Its mathmetically impossible to pay for your tax cuts unless you close those deductions

Portman : We do close some deductions, for example, we will close the overseas deferral deduction, and cap State and local tax deduction at $30,000 a year. Now one thing to remember one reasons why the deficit has skyrocketed is due to how bad shape our economy is in , and the fact is we have tried their plans for the last 4 years , and they just do not work. Our plan will make our nation's economy prosperous again and that what will reduce the defict , along with cutting waste from the budget.

Biden: The fact is we tried those policies you are proposing for 8 years and they were proven not to work

Portman: Well our policies are different than Bush's as we will close tax loopholes ,Bush never did , and unlike Bush we will cut spending

Raddatz: Ok lets move on


Important Moment 3:

Raddatz: Senator Portman, many voters in a recent poll are concerned about Governor Romney and your's foreign policy experience. Why shouldn't people be concerned


Rob Portman : It is because our ticket does have experience. Governor Romney as Governor Of Massachusetts was governor of a state that has one of the top most globalized city in America, Boston. This meant he had to deal with world leaders on many occasions to make sure the state and the city of Boston can remain a Global City. I was our nation's Trade Representative, and that means I had to sit down and negotiate with many world leader if we want to get a trade agreement. In my tenure we negotiated CAFTA, and other new trade agreements with other countries, and lastly we cracked down on unfair trade practices too .


Biden: Being Governor of a State and working with world leaders to improve your state's domestic policy , as well as negotiating trade agreements are good achievements but that is not all that there is to foreign policy. A President must have to work with our NATO and UN allies to ensure peace, as well as dealing with many of the changes in the middle east what has gone by over the past couple of years . Making statements indicating you want to restart the cold war, and making many mistakes in your European Trip proves that you are just not ready .

Portman : The fact is Governor Romney has in fact on this campaign trail met with different world leaders and hes gotton to know the many issues in the middle east and in NATO as well. So our adminstration would be ready.


Biden : Next time then dont make statements indicating you want to restart the cold war , and make many mistakes on your next overseas trip, because as a candidate that may not amount to much , but as President it will lead to severe consequences.

Polls After Debate


John King: While the battle ground map hasnt changed , the Romney lead has dropped from 6 points to 5.6 points

[OSR stands with Israel]

List of Senate Races with potential to flip :

Candidate from Incumbent Party is bolded

Florida: Jeb Bush(R) vs Ben Nelson(D); Chance of Flipping: 52%

Maine: Charlie Summers(R) vs Cynthia Dill(D) vs Angus King(I); Chance of Flipping: 85%(to the Independent)

Massachusetts: Scott Brown(R) vs Elizabeth Warren(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 52%

Missouri : Jim Talent (R) vs Claire MaCaskill(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 73%

Montana : Danny Rehberg(R) vs Jon Tester(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 83%

Nebraska: Deb Fischer(R) vs Bob Kerrey ; Chance of Flipping: 93%

Nevada: Dean Heller(R) vs Shelley Berkley(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 37%

New Mexico: Heather Wilson(R) vs Martin Heinrich(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 47%

North Dakota : Rick Berg(R) vs Heidi Heitkamp(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 90%

Ohio : Josh Mandel(R) vs Sherrod Brown(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 56%

Pennsylvania: Steve Welch(R) vs Bob Casey(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 43%

Virginia: Bob McDonnell(R) vs Tim Kaine(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 60%

Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson(R) vs Tammy Baldwin(D) : Chance of Flipping : 50%

[OSR stands with Israel]

2nd Presidential Debate Highlights:



CNN Analyst: Now let's look at the important moments in the debate where most of us believed that it was a tie or at best a slight win for Governor Romney


Important Moment 1:

Audience Member: My Question is to Governor Romney. Over the past many years, my friends, family and I have seen our health insurance premiums go up , and I am worried that if this trend continues we no longer will be able to afford our insurance. If you are elected President what would you do to reverse it.

Romney : My health care plan would do 4 things, one it would improve our primary care system that helps keep people healthy, instead of reacting when people have an emergency and need a surgery.This will lower the cost of health insurance because it reduces the number of people who need to get catastrophic care or surgeries. Number Two is we will allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, so we can lower the price of prescriptions and the cost of Medicare , and this will allow us to use that extra money to lower costs in other areas well. Third we will increase competition by opening up state lines, and incentivize insurance companies to enter counties which only have one provider to create more competition, and if we increase competition we can reduce the price of insurance and improve services at the same time. Lastly we will make it illegal for health insurance companies to deny someone health insurance because they have preexisting conditions, and this wil ensure that people can count on getting healthcare when they need it.


Obama : While the plan you just said would be better than the current system, it would still not achieve the goal of universal coverage. My plan to do that is to put in place a public option which allows individuals to buy a publically run plan , which offers the same benefits as a private plan does but at a lower price. The reason why it will be cheaper for individuals to buy is that publically run plans, unlike privately run plans, do not need to be profitable. This then will force health insurance companies to reform themselves and reduce their prices while not reducing the number of services they have. While we were not able to get that plan passed we were able to pass an Medicaid expansion which makes it easier for people who struggle to afford to pay for health insurance to afford it.

Romney: First of all you tried to push that healthcare plan for 18 months and you couldnt even get members of your own party to support it. The reason for that is because a public option just would not work unless you raise taxes to pay for it. You just said that publically run plans do not need to be profitable, but the reason for that is that the government, unlike private insurance, can raise taxes to make up for that fact that they arent possible. So the idea that publically run plans can offer the same services for a lesser cost without raising taxes is just no accurate.


Obama : With a public option we can reduce the costs of Medicaid as well , as more people will be able to afford their insurance.


Romney: You can also reduce the costs of Medicaid and health insurance in a faster time than your plan will be by increasing private competition, reducing the costs of prescription drugs ,and keeping people more healthy.

Crowley: Ok time to move on to next topic

Important Moment Two:

Audience Member: My question is to President Obama, over the past few years gas prices have gone up steeply and now costs around $4 a gallon. Why have gas prices gone up so steeply in the past few years , and if you are elected to a 2nd term what policies would you pursue to make the price of gas cheaper?

Obama: The reason gas prices were so low in January of 2009, comparatively to now was because of the fact that our economy was in the worst recession since the Great Depression. If you remember in June of 2008 , which was two months before the economic crash Gas Prices were just as high or even higher than they are today. So the first goal of my administration was to ensure that the recession didn't get worse than it already was, and we did that and now we are in the recovery stage. Now Governor Romney claims that the reason gas prices are so high is because of the fact that we limited domestic oil production is not true. In fact over the last 4 years we have increased domestic oil production, and are on pace to hit a 25 year high when it comes to domestic oil production, so what he is saying is just not true. Not only did we increase domestic oil production , we reversed the trend of the Bush Administration which relied more on middle eastern oil production while domestic oil production decreased.

Romney: The fact is the President of the United States has taken away the number of permits which allow for drilling on federal lands .

Obama: Well the reason we took them away is because, they would sit on those public lands and not drill until it was most profitable for them too. We said you cant do that anymore and if you want to get a permit you have do to it in a specific time period.

Romney: Also The fact is that the energy prices of the past 4 years has failed, and the price of Gasoline has increased. Now were the policies of the previous administration good on this regard, no they were not and the fact is we have to reverse both your's and President Bush's policies on energy . If I am elected President this is what I would do : I would increase domestic oil production and increase the number of permits given for drilling on some federal lands, approve the Keystone Pipeline so we can work with our neighbors in the north to make both our countries energy independent,stop demonizing coal miners,  while at the same time giving tax credits to Alternative Energy Companies.

Obama: To get this on the record, when you were governor you stood in front of a coal plant and took great pride in shutting that plant down. So the idea you are a coal guy is just not true , and your record as Governor proves it. Lastly the fact is coal jobs were declining long before I took office, so the idea that the policies we put in place caused that problem is false.

Romney: Well the fact is your policies on energy have failed and the price of energy today proves it.


Crowley: Ok its time to move on to the next question

Important Moment 3:

Audience Member: This question will be for both candidates . If you are elected , what will you do about the millions of immigrants with work visas who have lived here for a long time and have applied for green cards but havent recieved it yet, which means if they lose their job they potentially could have to leave the country.

Crowley: Governor Romney

Romney: In my opinion, this is one aspect of our immigration laws which have been broken for years. If I am elected, I will ask Congress to pass a law which expedites the process of receiving a green card: for immigrants who have been here with H1B visas for multiple years, college graduates who have received degrees in careers which have great future potential, and for immigrants who own buisnesses.

Obama: I agree with Governor Romney , on the issue and the reason is because the US needs to be the place where we can attract top talent.

Crowley: Ok lets expand the issue to immigration as a whole, how would you reform the system as whole. Governor Romney

Romney: Along with expediting the process of green cards for high skilled immigrants, which I believe will help our country attract top talent , I believe we need to solve the issue of illegal immigration. To do that I will increase border security whether by adding more border security technology, agents, or fencing of some vulnerable areas . I will also mandate all companies to use an E-Verify and once that is in place, we will increase fines on buisnesses who hire illegal immigrants and sanction the ones who are repeat offenders. For illegal immigrants who were brought here as kids, they would be eligible for a path to citizenship, just as long as they dont have a criminal record, have a college degree and have a good paying job.


Obama: Well the problem is your proposal would still result in parents of those children to be subject to potential deportation, and that will still break up families. In my opinion, I believe illegal immigrants who dont have a criminal record should be eligible for a pathway to citizenship sometime in the future , and I also believe that we do need to increase border security and I have done that. Under my presidency, we have deported more illegal immigrants with criminal records than any other president, but I just believe people who have led crime free lives should be allowed to stay here, as their lives are here. We just need to get the Republicans in the House agree to hold a vote on this issue and we will reform it

Romney: Well the fact is I would allow illegal immigrants to stay here but I wont allow them to be eligible for citizenship because people who came here illegally should not be rewarded for the fact that they jumped the line. Also Republicans did not control the house in your first two years in office,the Democrats did along with having a filibuster proof majoirty in Congress. The reason you didnt pass immigration reform then is you spent your first two years trying to push for a goverment healthcare program which didnt even pass , while neglecting issues such as immigration. Then once you didnt get it passed you did an executive order which just gives a temporary solution, and that is no way to solve a problem.

Obama: Once again ,if Republicans in the House agreed to hold a vote on the dream act or immigration reform I wouldnt have had to sign that executive order.

Romney: Mr.President, when are you going to take responsibility for your own failure. Your party controlled the house, and a filibuster-proof majority for your first two years, and you still failed to pass immigration reform. If I am elected President I will take responsbilities for both the successes and failures , because as one democratic president once said , the buck stops here.

Polls after Debate:


John King: Governor Romney increased his lead by .2 points to 5.8 points nationally and in the battle ground map we are moving New Mexicon from Safe Obama to Lean Obama.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

List of Senate Races with potential to flip :

Candidate from Incumbent Party is bolded

Florida: Jeb Bush(R) vs Ben Nelson(D); Chance of Flipping: 52%

Maine: Charlie Summers(R) vs Cynthia Dill(D) vs Angus King(I); Chance of Flipping: 85%(to the Independent)

Massachusetts: Scott Brown(R) vs Elizabeth Warren(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 52%

Missouri : Jim Talent (R) vs Claire MaCaskill(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 73%

Montana : Danny Rehberg(R) vs Jon Tester(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 83%

Nebraska: Deb Fischer(R) vs Bob Kerrey ; Chance of Flipping: 93%

Nevada: Dean Heller(R) vs Shelley Berkley(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 37%

New Mexico: Heather Wilson(R) vs Martin Heinrich(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 47%

North Dakota : Rick Berg(R) vs Heidi Heitkamp(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 90%

Ohio : Josh Mandel(R) vs Sherrod Brown(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 56%

Pennsylvania: Tom Smith(R) vs Bob Casey(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 43%

Virginia: Bob McDonnell(R) vs Tim Kaine(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 60%

Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson(R) vs Tammy Baldwin(D) : Chance of Flipping : 50%

This list is overly generous to having Republicans nominating strong candidates (mainly in Florida and Missouri, where Jeb Bush and Jim Talent running in 2012 is unrealistic, while Connie Mack and Todd Akin were essentially inevitable nominees from the start).

[OSR stands with Israel]

List of Senate Races with potential to flip :

Candidate from Incumbent Party is bolded

Florida: Jeb Bush(R) vs Ben Nelson(D); Chance of Flipping: 52%

Maine: Charlie Summers(R) vs Cynthia Dill(D) vs Angus King(I); Chance of Flipping: 85%(to the Independent)

Massachusetts: Scott Brown(R) vs Elizabeth Warren(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 52%

Missouri : Jim Talent (R) vs Claire MaCaskill(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 73%

Montana : Danny Rehberg(R) vs Jon Tester(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 83%

Nebraska: Deb Fischer(R) vs Bob Kerrey ; Chance of Flipping: 93%

Nevada: Dean Heller(R) vs Shelley Berkley(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 37%

New Mexico: Heather Wilson(R) vs Martin Heinrich(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 47%

North Dakota : Rick Berg(R) vs Heidi Heitkamp(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 90%

Ohio : Josh Mandel(R) vs Sherrod Brown(D) ; Chance of Flipping : 56%

Pennsylvania: Tom Smith(R) vs Bob Casey(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 43%

Virginia: Bob McDonnell(R) vs Tim Kaine(D) ; Chance of Flipping: 60%

Wisconsin: Tommy Thompson(R) vs Tammy Baldwin(D) : Chance of Flipping : 50%

This list is overly generous to having Republicans nominating strong candidates (mainly in Florida and Missouri, where Jeb Bush and Jim Talent running in 2012 is unrealistic, while Connie Mack and Todd Akin were essentially inevitable nominees from the start).

Well the reason I think Jeb Bush didn’t run in 2012 was because in OTL Obama was the favorite , so he was planning to run in 2016. Now with Romney as the favorite (and having a pretty healthy lead in the polls) , the next time Jeb could run for President is in 2020 . This means if he wants any chance to win the nomination in 2020 he will have had to hold elective office during the Romney administration, and due to that he is running and due to being a popular Governor he would be the inevitable senate nominee.


Also Akin was not the favorite in the 2012 Missouri GOP primary (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Missouri,_2012 ). 

[OSR stands with Israel]

Highlights from the 3rd and Final Presidental Debate



CNN Analyst: Now lets look at the key moments from the 3rd final debate which all of us agree that while it was a tie, it benefited Governor Romney, as one of President Obama main arguments against Governor Romney throughout the campaign was Romney's not ready to lead in the foreign policy area. Now lets go to the key moments.


Important Point 1:


Bob Schieffer: Governor Romney, you have claimed throughout this campaign you believe President Obama's policy towards Iran has failed.Why do you believe it has failed, and if you are elected President what would you do differently

Romney: The reason it has failed is simple, and its because the Iranians are closer to acquiring a nuclear weapon than they were 4 years ago. This is unacceptable because Iranians getting a nuclear weapon would be a threat to the United States, Israel, and the World and if I get elected President I would make sure that never happens. Unlike the President, I would increase sanctions on the Iranian government, and our administration will support uprisings by the Iranian people against their oppressive government.

Obama : I have said it a number of times, and I will say it again, our administration will not tolerate a nuclear Iran, and not only have we said it , we have taken action as well. The ways we have taken action is we have imposed the strongest sanctions in history against Iran , which has seen their currency drop by 80% , and seen their oil production drop to the lowest level in 20 years. So their economy currently is in shambles and we have made it clear to the Iranian Government that they either choose to continue down this path, or they can choose to come to the table and end their nuclear program. Some disagreements like I have with Governor Romney is that he has made statements that seem like he is advocating premature military options.

Romney: I never said we should take unilateral military options prematurely. What I said was we would take military option against them if they attacked Israel as Israel is a true friend and ally of ours and we cant let them be attacked under any circumstance.

Obama: You said if the Iranian people decide to have an uprising against the Government you would support them. Can you specify how because it would be a mistake in my opinion if we sent in troops to Iran in that situation .

Romney: We would help them by giving those rebels funding, and arms.

Important Moment 2

Schieffer: President Obama, you have repeatedly said throughout this campaign, that if Governor Romney is elected, he would restart the Cold War. Why do you think that is

Obama: The reason why I believe Governor Romney would restart the Cold War is because of his statements on this issue. He has repeatedly said if he is elected, he would reverse the Russian reset which was a policy that has the goal of improving relations with Russia, he has said the US and Europe should take a more confrontal stance against Russia, and called them one of our biggest enemies. Governor Romney the 1980s are calling for their foriegn policy back because the cold war has been over for more than 20 years , and it would be a terrible mistake to return to the cold war.

Romney: First the principles of the 1980s foreign policy of Peace through Strength worked with great results. Second, it is not my intention to restart the cold war , but to prevent one from restarting. The reason for that is the Cold War began because of how much influence the Russians had in Europe , and how that gave them the ability to dominate all of Europe if the US didnt deter them. So it is my intention to not let Russia get that much influence beyond their borders again so we dont return to the cold war.

Obama: Governor Romney , your plan would still require confronting Russia in a time when we need to work with them to defeat bigger enemies such as terrorism. The US cant do all the work by itself and needs to work with whomever we can to defeat our current eniemes , and thats how we defeated enemies in the past. In World War Two we worked with the British and the Russian to win that War, in the Cold War we worked with the British and other anti communist countries to win the Cold War, and now we need to work with Russia to win this new one.

Romney: The problem is Russia's top allies with Iran , and without them being an ally of Iran maybe Iran wouldnt have been the problem it has become today. Also we do have allies to work with in this war as well, we have the British, the Canadians, much of the EU, and the Israelis to help us win this war.

Obama: I agree , but is it not better to have more Allies than less

Schieffer: Ok its time to move on to the next question

Important Moment 3:


Schieffer: Governor Romney , you have proposed that we should expand trade relations all around the world. Why do you think we need to do that

Romney: The reason we need to do that is for these reasons: 1. To help both our countries economies, to improve diplomatic relations with other countries and potentially become allies altogether. An example of this is in Latin America , where I believe we should sign a free trade agreement with them as I believe that would help us export more of our products overseas thus boosting our economy, while importing products to help reduce the price of goods here, and help Latin America's economy. If Latin America's Economy Improves that would reduce poverty , crime , and reduce the infleunce of the Drug Cartels which would benefit not only Latin America but our nation as well. Another example is India , which I believe expanding economic ties to will help both our economies, and help us become allies with them .

Obama: Well I agree we do need to expand trade ties but we also need to do it smartly , so it doest just result in Corporations taking advantage of cheap labor , and outsource good paying US jobs. My administration has cracked down on these types of practices and for that reason, we have seen an increase in manufacturing production in the United States, which as improved our economy and increased American exports which has improved our trading partners. We have also improved US ties with many countries all around the world as if the world unites together , we could solve many of our problems better.


Romney: I agree but you havent signed new trade agreements yet . We have to do that as well as countries our more likely to help us if their economy is strong , and not weak.

Obama: We are working on that, as negotiating new trade agreements takes time Governor. NAFTA was proposed by President Reagan and didnt officially signed till President Clinton took office  .
,

More debate highlights to come

[OSR stands with Israel]

Polls after Debates

Wolf Blitzer: Now lets go look at CNN's New State by State polling:

John King: In this new map we moved New Hampshire and Colorado from being tossups to now leaning Romney. We also moved Oregon and New Mexico from being Lean Obama to being tossups, and Washington and Maine from being Safe Obama to Lean Obama.

Romney/Portman 279 53%
Obama/Biden 178 45.9%

Blitzer: Why did the debate give Governor Romney such a bump over the past few days even though the debate was a tie.

John King: The reason was that President Obama ran much of this campaign on attacking Romney's  foreign policy plans , calling them reckless, not being ready to lead in that area and that helped Obama gain many points in the polls. In this debate, Romney was able to prove to many voters who were worried about that issue , that he indeed was not reckless and does know foreign policy so he was able to get many of those voters back to his side.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Breaking News: President Obama and Governor Romney to suspend campaign for two days due to Hurricane Sandy





Wolf Blitzer: We have gotten word that President Obama and Governor Romney will suspend their campaign for two days due to Hurricane Sandy,  Currently the President is in New Jersey overseeing recovery efforts , while Governor Romney is at an event helping to collect, gather, and pack supplies for the victims of this terrible hurricane.

[OSR stands with Israel]

CNN - America's Choice 2012 (Exit Polls)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9xY_CoC_M

Wolf Blitzer: We will head over to John King who will show us the results of our exit polls

John King: Wolf here is what our exit polls are saying


Direction of Country:

Right track : 30% ; Romney 22% , Obama 77%
Wrong Track : 70% ; Romney 66% , Obama 33%

Race:

Whites : 72% ; Romney 63%, Obama 36%
African-American : 12% ; Romney 6% , Obama 93%
Hispanics : 10% ; Romney 39% , Obama 60%
Asians : 4% ; Romney 52%, Obama 47%
Other : 2% ; Romney 39%, Obama 59%


Sex:

Males : 48% ; Romney 57% , Obama 42%
Females: 52% ; Romney 49% , Obama 50%

Age:

18-29: 18% ; Romney 47% , Obama 50%
30-44: 27% ; Romney 50% , Obama 49%
45-64: 39% ; Romney 56% , Obama 43%
65+ : 16% ; Romney 56% , Obama 44%


President Obama's Approval Rating:
Approve : 44%
Disapprove : 55%

[_]

Whites:  Romney +4% from OTL
African-American:  No Change
Hispanics:  Romney +12% (!) from OTL
Asians:  Romney +26% (!!!!!!!!!!!!) from OTL
Other:  Romney +1% from OTL but Obama +1% from OTL as well so no change.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Whites:  Romney +4% from OTL
African-American:  No Change
Hispanics:  Romney +12% (!) from OTL
Asians:  Romney +26% (!!!!!!!!!!!!) from OTL
Other:  Romney +1% from OTL but Obama +1% from OTL as well so no change.

Republicans won Asians in 2014 (50%-49%) : http://www.cnn.com/election/2014/results/race/house/#exit-polls

Also with Romney being more of a moderate Republican than OTL (especially on Religious, Healthcare, Education and Immigration Issues) he wins the Asian vote .

[OSR stands with Israel]

CNN - America's Choice 2012 (Hour One)



7:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz9xY_CoC_M

Wolf Blitzer: CNN is ready to make its first projections of the night, and CNN can project that Governor Romney will win the States of Kentucky, Georgia, and Indiana while President Obama will win the State of Vermont . The States of South Carolina, Virginia, and New Hampshire are too early to call Now here is what the map looks like so far.

Romney 35
Obama 3

Blitzer: Now to go to our election team tonight, and their thoughts on these results and the exit poll

Gloria Borger: These states being called right now were no surprise,  but the exit poll is definitely not good news for President Obama or the Democrats. In fact if you remember in 2008 the reason Democrats were really optimistic about the future was about how the Obama Coalition or the coalition of the ascendant was their big wing among young voters and Hispanic voters and it was believed that if that margin holds the Democrats could dominate politics for a generation. Well today it looks like Governor Romney really made inroads into that coalition with nearly winning young voters and nearly getting 40% with Hispanics.

Cooper: I agree if I am a Democrat those Exit Polls numbers are concerning


7:30

Wolf Blitzer: The Polls have closed in 3 more states and we can project that Governor Romney will win the State of West Virginia, and we can also project he will win the state of South Carolina. The states of Ohio, and North Carolina are too early too call.

Romney 49
Obama 3

Wolf Blitzer: Lets head to the magic wall where John King will explain us the results in Florida

John King: Things here do look really good for Governor Romney right now, with him winning all the counties he needs to , and by even more than he needs to like reducing the margins in Democratic counties. While much results havent yet come in Broward , or Miami -Dade the President is underperforming in the few precients that have come in.

Now if we go to the Senate race , between former Governor Jeb Bush and Senator Nelson , currently both candidates are performing about where they need to in the Republican and Democratic counties so far and in the swing counties its very close. While Governor Bush currently has the edge it easily could flip .