Dry was one thing the Giants were not. They wowed fans with a 9-0 win in a veritable Monsoon to clinch the National League Pennant and earn a trip to The World Series. The Giants made you feel good to be American, a feel-good glow it seemed rather difficult to get from either Mr. Romney or Mr. Obama if you changed channels.
Romney seems to be playing to the defense contractor lobby with his policy. He landed a few stinging accusations, but ran out of gas on substance in short order when asked to follow-up on what he’d do different. I kept hearing: I’ll do what he’s already doing, but somehow it will mean more coming from me.”
At one point, Sarah Palin apparently was his geographic advisor on Syria. being Iran’s only path to the sea. He probably misspoke there and meant Iraq. Or did he?
I also was creeped out by the televangelist vibe Romney projected, and his rapid eye-blinking, which is a “tell” when you’re lying.
Bears looked pretty good, St. Louis not so good and the debate was both sides talki g around the issues. First question was about Libiya and no one could say what really happened.
I was disappointed by Gov. Romney’s assertions, especially in regards to the U.S. Navy, that implied the United States is somehow not strong enough, militarily. He knows better than that.
It reminded me of, back in the day, when Sens. Symington and Kennedy, when they were exploring running for president accused Ike of somehow allowing a “missile gap” with the Soviet Union.
Yeah, like Ike was soft on the Commies. Those assertions were ludicrous and famously mocked by Kubrick in “Dr. Strangelove.”
The United States has eleven 100,000 ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and associated groups. No other nation has even one. Not Russia. Not China. Not even the Royal Navy.
In addition, we have another nine amphibious assault ship groups that can project power anywhere on Earth and would blow anything the world could throw at us out of the sky or the water.
Today, the fact of the matter is, the United States rules the waves, and the sky, like no other nation ever has. Ever.
No potential foe, or ally for that matter, is even in the ballgame. We are unchallenged.
And as former Secretary Gates and many others have pointed out, our awesome, dominant power has some room for cuttings costs.
- Senator Clay Davis - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:41 am:
The debate illuminated that the Ds and the Rs really aren’t that different in terms of foreign policy, especially Middle East policy.
Neither candidate disagreed that the US should have its fingers in the pot in any country. Whether Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq or elsewhere, they only disagreed over HOW to impact and control the governments in those nations, not whether we even have that right.
So much for the “Peace” wing of the D-party, or the non-interventionist wing of the R-Party.
- Chevy owner/Ford County - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:46 am:
Romney’s agreeing with President on nearly everything last night, coupled with his penchant for changing opinions, I was almost expecting him to endorse Obama before the debate ended…
Completely agree. One of my big problems with Romney & GOP is the idea of no defense cuts. American taxpayers have shouldered the cost of defending Europe, policing the Middle East and Asia for far to long. Major cuts to the defense budget are needed. Think of what the money could be used for with one or two less carrier groups.
In case you hadn’t noticed, Charley Tillman is a big-time ballplayer.
Love that dude. He’s been bringing the thunder ever since he ripped the ball out of Randy Moss’ hands in the end zone back in 2003.
- Nohopeforillinois - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:02 am:
Bears were lucky - games get tougher now. Cards were bad- but Detroit on a huge roll. Romney looked Presidential - all he had to do. Incumbent should be 8 points ahead by now - Obama is in trouble!
Sorry but as a cubs fan and I’m being serious, the concept of late october baseball is too foreign for me to follow or comprehend. Even when they made the playoffs in 2003, it just feels foreign and I can’t think of what to think about it.
As for the bears, I think it was the night that cutler finally won over the city of chicago for good after 3.5 years and that the defense, in particular urlacher and briggs and tillman made their defining career memory for bears fans. The 85 defense was pretty good, but last night they showed why for all the ups and downs, they’ll rank among the greats in chicago when they’re done, which could be soon.
Presidential-the bayonets line was brilliant by obama.
Thought the debate was bland but insightful in some aspects. Romney projects power when he speaks, but seemed less than willing to be detailed about certain policies, especially the cuts. Obama was in attack mode, with mixed results. Had some good points, whiffed badly on others. I noticed he completely cut out the Libya conversation at the beginning. 30 seconds and done on what was supposed to be a foreign policy focused debate. Neither Romney nor Obama was all that interested in talking about foreign policy. Lots of detours into domestic issues. Essentially a draw, in my opinion.
- Telling It Like It Is - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:07 am:
The edge went to Obama last night but that was to be expected from the beginning. The debate at least for Romney was just to showcase to the voters that Romney was not some whack-job when it came to foreign affairs. And, he was able to achieve that. It is near impossible to ever upstage anyone at any job that they have been doing for four years(unless they are totally inept). Obama is not a complete disaster in foreign affairs. He rates a “fair” rating. However, Romney showed last night that Mitt Romney can easily step into Obama’s shoes in that aspect of the Presidential job description.
Romney had already scored the most points by the end of the the three debates. Obama wasn’t even close when it came to dealing with the financial health of the country. The foreign affairs portion of the job is important but Romney has shown he will be a quick-study and will be up in running within a day. .
It is (as Jerry McGuire had said), “Show me the money!” The economy is what voters need to have their eye on. It is Priority # 1. The rest falls under Priority # 2. Romney is talented beyond all others in Priority # 1. He is also easily capable of dealing with any other issues that pose a threat to our nation.Bama is a decent guy but one who is ill-equipped or trained to lead us out of the financial wilderness. Romney is “the right guy at the right time” for our country. Don’t listen to the static and distracting noise. Don’t be paranoid and imagine you have fool’s gold sitting before you when you actually have the real precious metal (Mitt Romney) at hand.
This morning I am eating my words. Last week, I said that I was not worried about the Giants. Harumph. As a NL guy, I wish the Giants best of luck in the World Series. They earned it!
On the other hand, the bayonets and horses line was a classic!
Everyone’s talking about bayonets and horses, I thought the next sentence about the aircraft carriers was the kicker.
I heard an awful lot about strength and leadership from Romney, but absolutely nothing that would tell me what either of those terms meant. I got the impression that Obama is looking to engage with other nations and work with them to find solutions while Romney would expect other nations to fall in line because USA! USA! USA!
Romney may as well have said “You’ll get what you’ve got except it’ll be me saying it, which automatically will be more effective.”
I threw a flag on the debate…boring, and what was with the death stare?
Bears keep rolling, love it.
The Cards? Is that a soccer team?
- James the Intolerant - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:23 am:
Cardinals lose a 3 games to 1 lead, I remember having the Cardinals against the Royals when they lost the World Series after having a 3 to 1 lead, ouch.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:33 am:
Too much of a politics geek. The only sport I watched was the debate. For the first hour, I listened on the radio, so I had no visual and had to focus on what they were saying. My kids and I found it interesting that there was very little substantive difference between the two candidates.
I thought Romney was doing a lot of me-tooing. It would be akin to the Cards spending the evening admiring the Giants prowess on the field and talking about how they would like to do the same thing.
Bears “gave” the Lions seven points. It seems like every time Lovie goes into the prevent defense mode the opposition scores. Dropping the safeties so deep they could park cars just doesn’t work.
As a Cub fan I can’t feel the Card’s fan’s pain.
Romney is clueless which means he will, if he wins, rely on the neocons for foreign affairs. God help us.
I made a hell of a prediction yesterday afternoon!!!
1776 - Monday, Oct 22, 12 @ 5:57 pm:
Predictions…
The San Francisco Giants will score more runs than the Detroit Lions score points!! And they will both score more points than Obama and Romney combined who will circle without landing any serious blows.
Looks like Romney will be our next president. He was articulate and positioned us to becoming a great country once again under his leadership. No opology tours.
Obama won, but just barely. Romney played too much defense and stalled out the clock. That being said/written, Obama may never recover from the first debate. He single-handedly made America take a fresh look at a weak candidate and elevated Romney to his level. Obama may never recover.
Bears defense is awesome, but only scoring 13 pts. against turnover-happy Detroit makes me worry. No faith in Cutler.
Great year for the Redbirds! Can’t believe they made it as far as they did. I don’t envy anybody playing Detroit, however.
Obama has tons in common with Bush’s foreign policy (and pretends he doesn’t), and it’s probably the same for Romney and Obama. I skipped the debate, but reading the coverage afterwords pretty much confirmed what I expected. I don’t see this debate changing the race at all, unless there is something big I missed lurking in there. Domestic policy is going to decide this election.
The Bears overall were solid; the D was fantastic. I wish they hadn’t played gimme ball at the end and just locked down the shutout, but that is the coaches’ style. So relieved to see Cutler come back in the 3rd quarter.
As for the Giants, didn’t they outscore the Lions. ‘Nuff said.
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:08 am:
Glad to see ROmney backing away from his plans for ground wars in Iran and Syria — this week — but that etch a sketch moment should be his finale. Gotta worry when they are running out Cheney, Rummy and WhackyJack McCain
Cards out pitched, but great season anyway. Whatever happened to the guy who used to play first base
Bears- yawn. Even the Fox screeamers looked Better.
Noticed that they pulled CaribouBarbie out in public for the first time in a long time. She is getting some very disturbing wrinkles along side her mouth that run down towards the chin.
It seems to me that Cubs fans, who know nothing of October baseball, often abandon Wrigley right around Labor Day and devote their attention to the Bears. So while they can follow a football game and cheer on the hometown team, I wouldn’t give too much credence to whatever they might say about the Cardinals. Playoff baseball is almost a constant for Cardinals fans. But now that their season is over, attention can properly turn to politics. So, now, as we stumble toward Nov. 6 with four debates in the rear view mirror, it’s clear that the only winner was Martha Raddatz. Why can’t we vote now, get this thing over with and start looking forward to the holidays?
More interested in the Presidential debate tonight taking place right here in Chicago that’ll be on C-SPAN and Al-Jazeera. If Obama and Romney are too chicken to debate other candidates, they certainly can not be trusted dealing with the likes of Syria and Iran with anything other than more troops, more violence, and more animosity toward America.
Romney didn’t have one great debate performance, Obama had one really bad one.
The Bears are who we thought they were. The Lions are the dirtiest team in the NFL.
While the Cardinals’ collapse was fun to watch, they need to not make the playoffs for a few consecutive decades for their fans to truly appreciate how good they have had it.
Suh may still get himself a decent size fine for that takedown, because if you watched his arm movement as part of the sack, it was designed to take somebody out of the game. The Commish doesn’t like to see that type of play.
But, there’s still a lot of season left. And it doesn’t matter where you are today, it’s where you are after playing 19 (please, please, please!) games.
Hats off to SanFran. When you come back & win the last 3 games by 20-1 margin, not too shabby. St. Louis needs to look at their up-the-middle defense, because it failed them in the playoffs.
As to the third debate, Obama won on points, but just barely. Romney came across as credible as CIC, and that’s what he needed to accomplish. For practical purposes, a draw. Doubt the third debate changed anybody’s mind.
I keep hearing that Obama “won on points” - what does that mean? If he won 2/3 debates on points, doesn’t that mean that he “won the debates”? I guess I can’t see the hair that’s being split here.
Romney’s apparent goal for the debate was to suggest that he and the President are very similar in foreign policy goals and objectives, so that the election will turn on other issues — such as the economy.
But Romney is surrounding himself with George W. Bush era advisors, and that means the foreign and military policy of a Romney Administration will be whatever the Texas oil profiteers and the military construction companies such as Halliburton want. And on domestic policy, he has Karl Rove. Perhaps Romney would not be the puppet that W. was, but the signs are not good…
Colossus - It means neither candidate won by a ‘knockout’. Both got out relatively unbloodied.
The Bears defense may be as good as the ‘85 version, and definitely better than the 2005 season. But could someone explain how in the 3rd quarter, they ran the ball to inside the ten, and then had 3 incompletes in a row!!
I’m surprised that amid all the chortling about bayonets and horses commenters here this morning have not mentioned something actually important–President Obama’s very big sequestration mess-up last night.
President Obama’s vow during the debate that the sequestration cuts “will not happen” will certainly come back to haunt both him and the Dems during Congress’s lame-duck negotiations on the fiscal cliff if he wins reelection. That’s because what Obama blurted out has clearly given away leverage in any lame-duck talks.
After the debate the White House was immediately and furiously backtracking to reporters and David Plouffe said that what Obama meant to say was that he HOPED sequestration cuts would not happen. Oops.
Tell the truth, between Monday Night Football and the NLCS, apart from campaign operatives and news reporters, who actually bothered with the debate?
Obama lost the debate that the people watched in great numbers several weeks ago. That one counted.
Is it time for the Illinois Lottery to rethink its advertising featuring the Cards? Just kidding.
Cards manager lost that series. Why leave old and ineffective starters go south for innings on end with young relievers that can throw 100 sit on the bench.
The debate was a tie but “reaganesqe” still looked “televangilistic” last night.
–At one point, Sarah Palin apparently was his geographic advisor on Syria being Iran’s only path to the sea. He probably misspoke there and meant Iraq. Or did he?–
He did not misspeak. He stated that in the middle of a long monologue on Syria.
Syria and Iran do not share borders. Iran is on the Persian Gulf. That’s where they ship their oil. (Iraq also has access to the Persian Gulf at Basra).
The statement simply makes no sense. I have no idea what he was trying to say.
===Cards manager lost that series. Why leave old and ineffective starters go south for innings on end with young relievers that can throw 100 sit on the bench.===
Oh, please. Forget the pitching. The Cardinals scored just one run in their last three games. How do you win with that sort of non-production?
- Joe Bidenopoulous - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:49 am:
==The Commish doesn’t like to see that type of play.==
Please. Goodell couldn’t possibly care less, he’s a complete hypocrite. The only reason he’s “cracking down” on dirty play (inconsistently, I might add, IMO) is because owners are scared to death about the more than 200 concussion-related lawsuits that have already been filed and how much $$ they’ll be on the hook for. He’s a joke .
Maybe the “Big” question might be - Bears, that “good”, Lions that “awful” …Geez the Lions were bad, and Suh is dirty. Notice that you don’t see too much of Suh on the national commercials … like he was with Chrysler …
The Cards got caught like the Yanks. No bats, means no runs, and no runs means no wins. Pitchers who absolutely KNOW they are getting no run support, try to throw “too perfect” which means more strikes, which gives more opportunites to get hits for … in this case, the Giants.
Debate - Obama won on “points”, but being so angry and “Snarky”… will that backfire? Obama may have won the debate, but did he win the “arguement” that is decided in the voting booth?
Bears defense looked great, the sight of a potentially injured Cutler still terrifies the absolute daylights out of me, lolcards, and I hear Obama got a couple good zingers in but didn’t watch the debate at all so won’t comment on that beyond that single observation I’ve heard from friends.
Both candidates did well in the last two debates in the sense that neither one said or did anything goofy enough to matter. People will remember only the first debate. The first debate helped prove that Romney was not a religous whacko, and that’s why the race is as close as it is.
Bayonets and horses? A stupid line that revealed a disconnect with the military. Bayonets are still used by the marines, Army, and even sailors (my grandson in the Navy had bayonet training). And horses - does our Commander-in -Chief know that our Special Forces rode in on horseback to battle in Afganistan? We were talking high-tech Navy ships here - much more needed now than ever! Only hard-core liberals who dislike the military would like Obama’s “bayonets and horses” snide remark!
After the third inning I was able to turn over to the debate and really not miss anything.–got there just in time to hear Romney’s geography lesson on Iran.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:35 pm:
When someone writes that “Obama won on points” it’s a pretty good indication that the writer is a Romney supporter who is trying to put an asterisk by a loss for their guy. Obama won. Zingers and bickering aside, Obama came out on top because most of his policies were endorsed by Romney.
Going into the debate, I thought it would be foolish to give a whole 90 minutes over to foreign policy. The options for difference are pretty limited unless you want to go everywhere with guns blazing, which Romney had been implying he would do through the summer, but has since pulled way back on. And neither can share specifics, because those are negotiating points that only a fool would air with foreign countries watching every word.
C’mon Ace, that was the best line of the night and you know it. Obama said we have “fewer” bayonets and horses, not none. Try to keep up.
Romney, in a sop to Virginia ship builders, has been calling to bring the Navy to the same number of ships as it had in 1916, even though it’s completely unnecessary. Unless you’re a ship builder looking for a government contract.
And all this time I thought Romney was saying government doesn’t create jobs?
Ace, here’s a little help for you as you search for deficiencies in U.S. naval forces, from former Defense Secretary Gates.
–Despite its smaller fleet, the U.S. Navy is the world’s most powerful by any stretch of the imagination. Its fleet of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers gives the Navy overwhelming superiority, said Gates. “No other country has even one comparable carrier.” The Navy’s budget funds 11 carriers through 2040. Considering the massive overmatch over other nations, “Do we need 11 carriers when no other country has even one?” he asked.–
–The Navy has 10 large amphibious vessels. No other navy has more than three. And those that do are from friendly allied nations. The sea services have twice as many aircraft at sea and more submarines than the rest of the world combined, said Gates. With 79 Aegis guided-missile destroyers, the Navy outmatches the next 20 navies of the world. In overall firepower, the U.S. Navy surpasses the next 13 navies, and 11 of those are allies.–
Must be one of those “hard-core liberals who dislike the military.” Or, he could be a lifelong Republican, who joined the CIA while a student at Indiana U., who has a functioning brain.
Disagrees with Pot calling Kettle. Most of the liberal news outlets also used a variation of “Obama won on points”. It literally means there were no knock-out blows for either candidate, but that overall Obama did better.
You know, I’ve worked with Bob Gates, and I have no doubt that he also thinks that Obama’s “bayonets and horses” remark was both flippant and ignorant. The only people I’ve talked to who liked the crack are unabashed liberals. Does not play well with the normal center!
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 4:15 pm:
Word, I agree with you that we have the world’s greatest Naval forces. However, we don’t always have all of those assets available to deploy because they are down for repairs or maintenance or back in home ports.
Further, it’s no secret that we have a problem with the #1 tool that makes the aircraft carrier battle group so successful. The fighter/attack aircraft program development has been a disaster for years (fact check me please) and little has happened under Obama to fix it. Our air superiority is maintained as much or more by the skill and tactics of our aviators than what they are flying.
Unfortunately, Mitt gives us nothing but “hey, let’s throw more dough in.”
- Holdingontomywallet - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:14 pm:
Bayonets and horses, Big Bird, “Romnesia”, binders - really? Obama appears small, snarky, and juvenile. I have grown tired of the mocking. How about bringing some substance? What are his plans for a second term? How is going to reduce the debt? Are we going to continue to have $1trillion deficits each year of his presidency, if not, what will be different? Is he going to do anything about social security or immigration? I know more about Big Bird, than these subjects.
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:49 pm:
Holding, welcome to the mind of David Axelrod.
Quite the visionary, eh?
–You know, I’ve worked with Bob Gates, and I have no doubt that he also thinks that Obama’s “bayonets and horses” remark was both flippant and ignorant.–
That’s swell, Ace. I’m sure you believe you can speak for all sorts of people on many issues when it suits your purposes.
But expand on your own thoughts. Address your original contention that the U.S. Navy is deficient and requires more spending “much more needed now than ever” — whatever that means.
AA, as always, you bring light to the discussion.
My main point is that there has never been a time in history when one nation has dominated the seas as the United States does today. The rest of the world has basically given up. There are savings to be had here.
- doug dobmeyer - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 5:33 am:
The Chicago teams both won! Romney spoke in platitudes, while Obama spoke as someone with a serious job to do.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:16 am:
Wow that was a hurtin that the Giants put on the Cards…
Have to love the defense in the Bears game…
- Excessively Rabid - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:25 am:
I think Obama should have replaced Biden with Charles Tillman.
- Heh Heh - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:28 am:
Dry was one thing the Giants were not. They wowed fans with a 9-0 win in a veritable Monsoon to clinch the National League Pennant and earn a trip to The World Series. The Giants made you feel good to be American, a feel-good glow it seemed rather difficult to get from either Mr. Romney or Mr. Obama if you changed channels.
- Newsclown - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:29 am:
Romney seems to be playing to the defense contractor lobby with his policy. He landed a few stinging accusations, but ran out of gas on substance in short order when asked to follow-up on what he’d do different. I kept hearing: I’ll do what he’s already doing, but somehow it will mean more coming from me.”
At one point, Sarah Palin apparently was his geographic advisor on Syria. being Iran’s only path to the sea. He probably misspoke there and meant Iraq. Or did he?
I also was creeped out by the televangelist vibe Romney projected, and his rapid eye-blinking, which is a “tell” when you’re lying.
- Sir Reel - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:42 am:
Giants’ win convincing, better than a squeaker win, which would have left Cards fans wondering all winter.
Surprised Cutler survived that hit.
Debate mostly a repeat.
- Fed up - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:02 am:
Bears looked pretty good, St. Louis not so good and the debate was both sides talki g around the issues. First question was about Libiya and no one could say what really happened.
- Suburbs - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:02 am:
Great night…Bears won, Cards lost & Romney looked presidential as he heads to a strong win in Nov!!!
- Jimbo - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:09 am:
Burbs might feel like I do today come November 7. I’m still shocked the Cards blew it.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:25 am:
I was disappointed by Gov. Romney’s assertions, especially in regards to the U.S. Navy, that implied the United States is somehow not strong enough, militarily. He knows better than that.
It reminded me of, back in the day, when Sens. Symington and Kennedy, when they were exploring running for president accused Ike of somehow allowing a “missile gap” with the Soviet Union.
Yeah, like Ike was soft on the Commies. Those assertions were ludicrous and famously mocked by Kubrick in “Dr. Strangelove.”
The United States has eleven 100,000 ton nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and associated groups. No other nation has even one. Not Russia. Not China. Not even the Royal Navy.
In addition, we have another nine amphibious assault ship groups that can project power anywhere on Earth and would blow anything the world could throw at us out of the sky or the water.
Today, the fact of the matter is, the United States rules the waves, and the sky, like no other nation ever has. Ever.
No potential foe, or ally for that matter, is even in the ballgame. We are unchallenged.
And as former Secretary Gates and many others have pointed out, our awesome, dominant power has some room for cuttings costs.
- Senator Clay Davis - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:41 am:
The debate illuminated that the Ds and the Rs really aren’t that different in terms of foreign policy, especially Middle East policy.
Neither candidate disagreed that the US should have its fingers in the pot in any country. Whether Syria, Libya, Egypt, Iraq or elsewhere, they only disagreed over HOW to impact and control the governments in those nations, not whether we even have that right.
So much for the “Peace” wing of the D-party, or the non-interventionist wing of the R-Party.
- Chevy owner/Ford County - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:46 am:
Romney’s agreeing with President on nearly everything last night, coupled with his penchant for changing opinions, I was almost expecting him to endorse Obama before the debate ended…
- Soccertease - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:47 am:
Congats Bears and Giants. Cardinals should challenge again next year. DVR’s the debate-won’t watch it though as usual with the DVR thing.
- Small Town Liberal - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:50 am:
Two out of three ain’t bad.
- Fed up - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:51 am:
Wordslinger,
Completely agree. One of my big problems with Romney & GOP is the idea of no defense cuts. American taxpayers have shouldered the cost of defending Europe, policing the Middle East and Asia for far to long. Major cuts to the defense budget are needed. Think of what the money could be used for with one or two less carrier groups.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 8:53 am:
In case you hadn’t noticed, Charley Tillman is a big-time ballplayer.
Love that dude. He’s been bringing the thunder ever since he ripped the ball out of Randy Moss’ hands in the end zone back in 2003.
- Nohopeforillinois - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:02 am:
Bears were lucky - games get tougher now. Cards were bad- but Detroit on a huge roll. Romney looked Presidential - all he had to do. Incumbent should be 8 points ahead by now - Obama is in trouble!
- Shore - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:03 am:
Sorry but as a cubs fan and I’m being serious, the concept of late october baseball is too foreign for me to follow or comprehend. Even when they made the playoffs in 2003, it just feels foreign and I can’t think of what to think about it.
As for the bears, I think it was the night that cutler finally won over the city of chicago for good after 3.5 years and that the defense, in particular urlacher and briggs and tillman made their defining career memory for bears fans. The 85 defense was pretty good, but last night they showed why for all the ups and downs, they’ll rank among the greats in chicago when they’re done, which could be soon.
Presidential-the bayonets line was brilliant by obama.
- beserkr29 - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:07 am:
Thought the debate was bland but insightful in some aspects. Romney projects power when he speaks, but seemed less than willing to be detailed about certain policies, especially the cuts. Obama was in attack mode, with mixed results. Had some good points, whiffed badly on others. I noticed he completely cut out the Libya conversation at the beginning. 30 seconds and done on what was supposed to be a foreign policy focused debate. Neither Romney nor Obama was all that interested in talking about foreign policy. Lots of detours into domestic issues. Essentially a draw, in my opinion.
- Telling It Like It Is - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:07 am:
The edge went to Obama last night but that was to be expected from the beginning. The debate at least for Romney was just to showcase to the voters that Romney was not some whack-job when it came to foreign affairs. And, he was able to achieve that. It is near impossible to ever upstage anyone at any job that they have been doing for four years(unless they are totally inept). Obama is not a complete disaster in foreign affairs. He rates a “fair” rating. However, Romney showed last night that Mitt Romney can easily step into Obama’s shoes in that aspect of the Presidential job description.
Romney had already scored the most points by the end of the the three debates. Obama wasn’t even close when it came to dealing with the financial health of the country. The foreign affairs portion of the job is important but Romney has shown he will be a quick-study and will be up in running within a day. .
It is (as Jerry McGuire had said), “Show me the money!” The economy is what voters need to have their eye on. It is Priority # 1. The rest falls under Priority # 2. Romney is talented beyond all others in Priority # 1. He is also easily capable of dealing with any other issues that pose a threat to our nation.Bama is a decent guy but one who is ill-equipped or trained to lead us out of the financial wilderness. Romney is “the right guy at the right time” for our country. Don’t listen to the static and distracting noise. Don’t be paranoid and imagine you have fool’s gold sitting before you when you actually have the real precious metal (Mitt Romney) at hand.
- Old Shepherd - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:08 am:
This morning I am eating my words. Last week, I said that I was not worried about the Giants. Harumph. As a NL guy, I wish the Giants best of luck in the World Series. They earned it!
On the other hand, the bayonets and horses line was a classic!
- Colossus - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:16 am:
Everyone’s talking about bayonets and horses, I thought the next sentence about the aircraft carriers was the kicker.
I heard an awful lot about strength and leadership from Romney, but absolutely nothing that would tell me what either of those terms meant. I got the impression that Obama is looking to engage with other nations and work with them to find solutions while Romney would expect other nations to fall in line because USA! USA! USA!
Romney may as well have said “You’ll get what you’ve got except it’ll be me saying it, which automatically will be more effective.”
- WazUp - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:19 am:
I threw a flag on the debate…boring, and what was with the death stare?
Bears keep rolling, love it.
The Cards? Is that a soccer team?
- James the Intolerant - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:23 am:
Cardinals lose a 3 games to 1 lead, I remember having the Cardinals against the Royals when they lost the World Series after having a 3 to 1 lead, ouch.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:33 am:
Too much of a politics geek. The only sport I watched was the debate. For the first hour, I listened on the radio, so I had no visual and had to focus on what they were saying. My kids and I found it interesting that there was very little substantive difference between the two candidates.
I thought Romney was doing a lot of me-tooing. It would be akin to the Cards spending the evening admiring the Giants prowess on the field and talking about how they would like to do the same thing.
- Mouthy - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:39 am:
Bears “gave” the Lions seven points. It seems like every time Lovie goes into the prevent defense mode the opposition scores. Dropping the safeties so deep they could park cars just doesn’t work.
As a Cub fan I can’t feel the Card’s fan’s pain.
Romney is clueless which means he will, if he wins, rely on the neocons for foreign affairs. God help us.
- 1776 - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:45 am:
I made a hell of a prediction yesterday afternoon!!!
1776 - Monday, Oct 22, 12 @ 5:57 pm:
Predictions…
The San Francisco Giants will score more runs than the Detroit Lions score points!! And they will both score more points than Obama and Romney combined who will circle without landing any serious blows.
- Loop Lady - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:45 am:
3 for 3!
Foreign policy class was in session with special guest lecturer, President Barack Obama…
I guess I actually like Cutler, cuz when he took that vicious hit, I was worried…
Cardinals: OUT!
- Sunshine - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:46 am:
Looks like Romney will be our next president. He was articulate and positioned us to becoming a great country once again under his leadership. No opology tours.
Gotta love those Bears!
- LincolnLounger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:49 am:
Obama won, but just barely. Romney played too much defense and stalled out the clock. That being said/written, Obama may never recover from the first debate. He single-handedly made America take a fresh look at a weak candidate and elevated Romney to his level. Obama may never recover.
Bears defense is awesome, but only scoring 13 pts. against turnover-happy Detroit makes me worry. No faith in Cutler.
Great year for the Redbirds! Can’t believe they made it as far as they did. I don’t envy anybody playing Detroit, however.
- Liandro - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 9:52 am:
Obama has tons in common with Bush’s foreign policy (and pretends he doesn’t), and it’s probably the same for Romney and Obama. I skipped the debate, but reading the coverage afterwords pretty much confirmed what I expected. I don’t see this debate changing the race at all, unless there is something big I missed lurking in there. Domestic policy is going to decide this election.
The Bears overall were solid; the D was fantastic. I wish they hadn’t played gimme ball at the end and just locked down the shutout, but that is the coaches’ style. So relieved to see Cutler come back in the 3rd quarter.
As for the Giants, didn’t they outscore the Lions. ‘Nuff said.
- CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:08 am:
Glad to see ROmney backing away from his plans for ground wars in Iran and Syria — this week — but that etch a sketch moment should be his finale. Gotta worry when they are running out Cheney, Rummy and WhackyJack McCain
Cards out pitched, but great season anyway. Whatever happened to the guy who used to play first base
Bears- yawn. Even the Fox screeamers looked Better.
Noticed that they pulled CaribouBarbie out in public for the first time in a long time. She is getting some very disturbing wrinkles along side her mouth that run down towards the chin.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:11 am:
It seems to me that Cubs fans, who know nothing of October baseball, often abandon Wrigley right around Labor Day and devote their attention to the Bears. So while they can follow a football game and cheer on the hometown team, I wouldn’t give too much credence to whatever they might say about the Cardinals. Playoff baseball is almost a constant for Cardinals fans. But now that their season is over, attention can properly turn to politics. So, now, as we stumble toward Nov. 6 with four debates in the rear view mirror, it’s clear that the only winner was Martha Raddatz. Why can’t we vote now, get this thing over with and start looking forward to the holidays?
- Jeff Trigg - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:26 am:
Good to see the Cards lose. Now, go Tigers.
More interested in the Presidential debate tonight taking place right here in Chicago that’ll be on C-SPAN and Al-Jazeera. If Obama and Romney are too chicken to debate other candidates, they certainly can not be trusted dealing with the likes of Syria and Iran with anything other than more troops, more violence, and more animosity toward America.
- Siriusly - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:31 am:
Romney didn’t have one great debate performance, Obama had one really bad one.
The Bears are who we thought they were. The Lions are the dirtiest team in the NFL.
While the Cardinals’ collapse was fun to watch, they need to not make the playoffs for a few consecutive decades for their fans to truly appreciate how good they have had it.
- Judgment Day - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:33 am:
Da Bears Rock!
Suh may still get himself a decent size fine for that takedown, because if you watched his arm movement as part of the sack, it was designed to take somebody out of the game. The Commish doesn’t like to see that type of play.
But, there’s still a lot of season left. And it doesn’t matter where you are today, it’s where you are after playing 19 (please, please, please!) games.
Hats off to SanFran. When you come back & win the last 3 games by 20-1 margin, not too shabby. St. Louis needs to look at their up-the-middle defense, because it failed them in the playoffs.
As to the third debate, Obama won on points, but just barely. Romney came across as credible as CIC, and that’s what he needed to accomplish. For practical purposes, a draw. Doubt the third debate changed anybody’s mind.
- Colossus - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:39 am:
I keep hearing that Obama “won on points” - what does that mean? If he won 2/3 debates on points, doesn’t that mean that he “won the debates”? I guess I can’t see the hair that’s being split here.
- Capitol View - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:56 am:
Romney’s apparent goal for the debate was to suggest that he and the President are very similar in foreign policy goals and objectives, so that the election will turn on other issues — such as the economy.
But Romney is surrounding himself with George W. Bush era advisors, and that means the foreign and military policy of a Romney Administration will be whatever the Texas oil profiteers and the military construction companies such as Halliburton want. And on domestic policy, he has Karl Rove. Perhaps Romney would not be the puppet that W. was, but the signs are not good…
- Darienite - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:58 am:
Colossus - It means neither candidate won by a ‘knockout’. Both got out relatively unbloodied.
The Bears defense may be as good as the ‘85 version, and definitely better than the 2005 season. But could someone explain how in the 3rd quarter, they ran the ball to inside the ten, and then had 3 incompletes in a row!!
- Responsa - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 10:58 am:
I’m surprised that amid all the chortling about bayonets and horses commenters here this morning have not mentioned something actually important–President Obama’s very big sequestration mess-up last night.
President Obama’s vow during the debate that the sequestration cuts “will not happen” will certainly come back to haunt both him and the Dems during Congress’s lame-duck negotiations on the fiscal cliff if he wins reelection. That’s because what Obama blurted out has clearly given away leverage in any lame-duck talks.
After the debate the White House was immediately and furiously backtracking to reporters and David Plouffe said that what Obama meant to say was that he HOPED sequestration cuts would not happen. Oops.
- Esquire - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:13 am:
Tell the truth, between Monday Night Football and the NLCS, apart from campaign operatives and news reporters, who actually bothered with the debate?
Obama lost the debate that the people watched in great numbers several weeks ago. That one counted.
Is it time for the Illinois Lottery to rethink its advertising featuring the Cards? Just kidding.
- Madison - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:18 am:
Cards manager lost that series. Why leave old and ineffective starters go south for innings on end with young relievers that can throw 100 sit on the bench.
The debate was a tie but “reaganesqe” still looked “televangilistic” last night.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:21 am:
–At one point, Sarah Palin apparently was his geographic advisor on Syria being Iran’s only path to the sea. He probably misspoke there and meant Iraq. Or did he?–
He did not misspeak. He stated that in the middle of a long monologue on Syria.
Syria and Iran do not share borders. Iran is on the Persian Gulf. That’s where they ship their oil. (Iraq also has access to the Persian Gulf at Basra).
The statement simply makes no sense. I have no idea what he was trying to say.
- Cubbie Blues - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:30 am:
Bear Down!!! Go Giants!!! There was a debate last night?
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:33 am:
===Cards manager lost that series. Why leave old and ineffective starters go south for innings on end with young relievers that can throw 100 sit on the bench.===
Oh, please. Forget the pitching. The Cardinals scored just one run in their last three games. How do you win with that sort of non-production?
- Joe Bidenopoulous - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 11:49 am:
==The Commish doesn’t like to see that type of play.==
Please. Goodell couldn’t possibly care less, he’s a complete hypocrite. The only reason he’s “cracking down” on dirty play (inconsistently, I might add, IMO) is because owners are scared to death about the more than 200 concussion-related lawsuits that have already been filed and how much $$ they’ll be on the hook for. He’s a joke .
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 12:03 pm:
Maybe the “Big” question might be - Bears, that “good”, Lions that “awful” …Geez the Lions were bad, and Suh is dirty. Notice that you don’t see too much of Suh on the national commercials … like he was with Chrysler …
The Cards got caught like the Yanks. No bats, means no runs, and no runs means no wins. Pitchers who absolutely KNOW they are getting no run support, try to throw “too perfect” which means more strikes, which gives more opportunites to get hits for … in this case, the Giants.
Debate - Obama won on “points”, but being so angry and “Snarky”… will that backfire? Obama may have won the debate, but did he win the “arguement” that is decided in the voting booth?
- TJ - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 12:34 pm:
Bears defense looked great, the sight of a potentially injured Cutler still terrifies the absolute daylights out of me, lolcards, and I hear Obama got a couple good zingers in but didn’t watch the debate at all so won’t comment on that beyond that single observation I’ve heard from friends.
Bears.
- cynical - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 12:46 pm:
Both candidates did well in the last two debates in the sense that neither one said or did anything goofy enough to matter. People will remember only the first debate. The first debate helped prove that Romney was not a religous whacko, and that’s why the race is as close as it is.
- Ace Matson - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:28 pm:
Bayonets and horses? A stupid line that revealed a disconnect with the military. Bayonets are still used by the marines, Army, and even sailors (my grandson in the Navy had bayonet training). And horses - does our Commander-in -Chief know that our Special Forces rode in on horseback to battle in Afganistan? We were talking high-tech Navy ships here - much more needed now than ever! Only hard-core liberals who dislike the military would like Obama’s “bayonets and horses” snide remark!
- G'Kar - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:33 pm:
After the third inning I was able to turn over to the debate and really not miss anything.–got there just in time to hear Romney’s geography lesson on Iran.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:35 pm:
When someone writes that “Obama won on points” it’s a pretty good indication that the writer is a Romney supporter who is trying to put an asterisk by a loss for their guy. Obama won. Zingers and bickering aside, Obama came out on top because most of his policies were endorsed by Romney.
Going into the debate, I thought it would be foolish to give a whole 90 minutes over to foreign policy. The options for difference are pretty limited unless you want to go everywhere with guns blazing, which Romney had been implying he would do through the summer, but has since pulled way back on. And neither can share specifics, because those are negotiating points that only a fool would air with foreign countries watching every word.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:37 pm:
C’mon Ace, that was the best line of the night and you know it. Obama said we have “fewer” bayonets and horses, not none. Try to keep up.
Romney, in a sop to Virginia ship builders, has been calling to bring the Navy to the same number of ships as it had in 1916, even though it’s completely unnecessary. Unless you’re a ship builder looking for a government contract.
And all this time I thought Romney was saying government doesn’t create jobs?
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:43 pm:
–We were talking high-tech Navy ships here - much more needed now than ever–
Really?
How many more, at what cost, for what mission?
Please identify the deficiencies you see in United States naval forces.
- Loop Lady - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:47 pm:
Maybe if Romney wins he can put all his defense contractor buddies in the EPA building after he shuts it down…
- mokenavince - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 1:51 pm:
Bears won! Obama won! Rush thinks Romney was stateman like,It only took him a 1/2 hour to
figure out what Romney was doing.
Stay tuned Romney will change his mind.
- wordslinger - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 2:30 pm:
Ace, here’s a little help for you as you search for deficiencies in U.S. naval forces, from former Defense Secretary Gates.
–Despite its smaller fleet, the U.S. Navy is the world’s most powerful by any stretch of the imagination. Its fleet of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers gives the Navy overwhelming superiority, said Gates. “No other country has even one comparable carrier.” The Navy’s budget funds 11 carriers through 2040. Considering the massive overmatch over other nations, “Do we need 11 carriers when no other country has even one?” he asked.–
–The Navy has 10 large amphibious vessels. No other navy has more than three. And those that do are from friendly allied nations. The sea services have twice as many aircraft at sea and more submarines than the rest of the world combined, said Gates. With 79 Aegis guided-missile destroyers, the Navy outmatches the next 20 navies of the world. In overall firepower, the U.S. Navy surpasses the next 13 navies, and 11 of those are allies.–
Must be one of those “hard-core liberals who dislike the military.” Or, he could be a lifelong Republican, who joined the CIA while a student at Indiana U., who has a functioning brain.
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/lists/posts/post.aspx?ID=119
- cynical - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 3:02 pm:
Disagrees with Pot calling Kettle. Most of the liberal news outlets also used a variation of “Obama won on points”. It literally means there were no knock-out blows for either candidate, but that overall Obama did better.
- Ace Matson - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 3:47 pm:
You know, I’ve worked with Bob Gates, and I have no doubt that he also thinks that Obama’s “bayonets and horses” remark was both flippant and ignorant. The only people I’ve talked to who liked the crack are unabashed liberals. Does not play well with the normal center!
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 4:15 pm:
Word, I agree with you that we have the world’s greatest Naval forces. However, we don’t always have all of those assets available to deploy because they are down for repairs or maintenance or back in home ports.
Further, it’s no secret that we have a problem with the #1 tool that makes the aircraft carrier battle group so successful. The fighter/attack aircraft program development has been a disaster for years (fact check me please) and little has happened under Obama to fix it. Our air superiority is maintained as much or more by the skill and tactics of our aviators than what they are flying.
Unfortunately, Mitt gives us nothing but “hey, let’s throw more dough in.”
- Holdingontomywallet - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:14 pm:
Bayonets and horses, Big Bird, “Romnesia”, binders - really? Obama appears small, snarky, and juvenile. I have grown tired of the mocking. How about bringing some substance? What are his plans for a second term? How is going to reduce the debt? Are we going to continue to have $1trillion deficits each year of his presidency, if not, what will be different? Is he going to do anything about social security or immigration? I know more about Big Bird, than these subjects.
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Oct 23, 12 @ 7:49 pm:
Holding, welcome to the mind of David Axelrod.
Quite the visionary, eh?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Oct 24, 12 @ 7:26 am:
–You know, I’ve worked with Bob Gates, and I have no doubt that he also thinks that Obama’s “bayonets and horses” remark was both flippant and ignorant.–
That’s swell, Ace. I’m sure you believe you can speak for all sorts of people on many issues when it suits your purposes.
But expand on your own thoughts. Address your original contention that the U.S. Navy is deficient and requires more spending “much more needed now than ever” — whatever that means.
AA, as always, you bring light to the discussion.
My main point is that there has never been a time in history when one nation has dominated the seas as the United States does today. The rest of the world has basically given up. There are savings to be had here.