The presumptive Republican nominee for President Mitt Romney has spent the past couple of days in Ohio whipping up support in a key battleground state. During an interview yesterday with a Cleveland TV station, Mr. Romney claimed credit for the revival of the U.S. auto industry following the U.S. government's bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. His exact quote was "I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that this industry (auto) has come back" ..... hold up, wait a second ..... while I'm ROTFLMAO!!! Brief history lesson for you younger readers: Auto Bailout edition - In September 2008 (During George W's presidency (BTW a Republican)) Ford, Chrysler and GM asked the government for $50billion to avoid bankruptcy. Congress initially loaned $25billion, and in December President Bush promised another $17.4billion to be distributed by President-elect Obama the following January and February. Chrysler and GM accepted the government's money, but both still had to declare bankruptcy in early 2009. The U.S. government basically owned both companies at the time of their bankruptcy and forced both companies to merge or sell off as many brands as possible. Okay ... lesson over ... back to Mitt and his Gore-ish claims taking credit for the recent successes of Chrysler and GM. In November 2008, days after John McCain lost the election to Barack Obama, Mitt wrote an OP-ED for the New York Times in which he advocated giving no money to the Big 3 automakers and allowing them to go bankrupt. To quote directly from the article, "Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check." Mitt wanted the auto industry to go through bankruptcy before government help, which he now claims is exactly what happened. Skrillex couldn't spin this better than Romney's campaign!! Uh heeelllllllooooooo ... does Mitt really think the American public is dumb enough to believe what he is now saying??? Did he consult the Magic 8 Ball for his answer??? Does history still exist??? Did Al Gore invent the Internet and solve global warming??? Politicians all too often try to freestyle history, relying on the ADHD nature of America's collective memory to permit any distortion of facts or events they try to co-opt into their campaign rhetoric. Mitt Romney was the Governor of Massachusetts in 2008 .. he had as much to do with the auto bailout as I did .. which was nothing. His OP-ED advocated a completely different path toward rebuilding the auto industry than Presidents Bush and Obama chose. Now the Big 3 are profitable again, thank you very much, and Mitt rolls in like the ice cream truck on the first hot day of spring to claim credit for something he didn't do. Maybe he thinks all his shouting about his role in the auto industry's recovery will quiet the skeleton rattling around in his closet named Romneycare .. which is identical to Obamacare .. which Romney must oppose in the upcoming election. (Nevermind the fact the Boston Globe, Beacon Hill Institute and National Bureau of Economic Research all said Romneycare has worked better than expected.) In an effort to be more fair and balanced than Fox News, another day soon I'll look at Obama's seventeen minute "Road We Have Traveled" campaign video. Just another sacrifice I make for you!!
How effective are commuter train parking lots for picking up married women to sleep with? Inquiring minds want to know!!! Because if Pete Campbell can do it, every man watching Mad Men Sunday night thinks they can do it too!!! He failed every dude test known to Casanova, and still managed to bag Beth Dawes - former Gilmore Girl turned 60's desperate housewife. As he stalked her into her house I was fearful Pete would sexually assault Mrs. Dawes like he did the au pair in Season 3, but when a girl says "you can have me" it definitely quells any fears of handcuffs - police variety - in your future. Pete's batting 2 for 3 in extramarital affair attempts this season, taking the lead from a newly monogamous Don Draper (if you foresaw this plot twist, please examine the horses running in the Preakness and let me know your picks!). I give Pete a few bonus points for conniving a way into the Daweses' (grammatical incorrect I think) residence to talk to Beth after she told him not to call again, but he loses a couple points for getting angry when she didn't show up for their hotel room rendezvous. If only he had listened to Naughty by Nature, he would have known it "was a thing, a little thing, you shouldn't have put your heart." Of course Beth used her feminine wiles to keep Pete entranced by drawing a heart in the window fog while sitting beside her husband, but even Pete laments "why do they get to decide what happens?" Well Pete .. oh wait this is a PG-13 blog. We'll continue this discussion over drinks on the veranda. Meanwhile at the Draper residence (I wish I had that cool Batman music from the TV show when it switched scenes!), Megan's commie pops has her headed back into acting. Don's dream of combo work wife/home wife is shattering, which I fear will leave Don further detached from the reality of the 1960's. I can only empathize with Don as he tries to find his niche in a decade where what was once celebrated is now excommunicated. Through the first four seasons of Mad Men Don was the epitome of 60's cool, but now by 1965 he's become as outdated as the Edsel. Youth is the new "in thing", and Don doesn't understand youth - from music to fashion. He's your dad's Crosby, Stills and Nash to your Jay-Z, his Chuck Berry to your Eminem. Megan was Don's constant link to youth, and he depended on her in ways he never could or would depend on Betty. Without Megan at work or home 24/7, Don is back on his own but in a different way than before. It's a sadder alone with no side dishes.
I'm running long today, so wrapping it up quicker than a Troja ... sorry ... PG-13.
Red's update: Beat Brewers last night 6-1. Good Bronson played sidewalk magician against the Brewers's bats. They would have needed a butterfly net to catch Arroyo's curveballs fluttering toward the plate. Five runs in the fourth sealed the deal. Willie Horton Harris was designated for assignment and Smokin Todd Frazier's cup of coffee went from Grande to Trente. Hopefully he hits enough to make Dusty and Walt consider inserting him ahead of Rolen (who is still Gold Glove on defense, but elephant trunks move faster than his bat right now!). Bailey v. Gallardo tonight should be a good game!!
Arsenal update: Poor Pat Rice ... Arsenal's erstwhile defensive assistant will be replaced by Arsenal playing legend Steve Bould. Rice's defenses lately have been as porous as a colander, although the personnel have been substandard for several seasons. A new right back is a must, as well as cover at central defense for Bould to produce results better than Rice. 1-nil to the Arsenal is fine with me!!!
Hasta manana!!
How did you know that Beth was a former Gilmore Girl??????
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