l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 August 25, 2012 Posted by Baron Von Ottomatic
Political football that is. A Monday night partay! The preseason ends
Monday when Mitt Romney is officially nominated by the Republican Party as
their presidential candidate. Preseason is a apt metaphor, hopefully, the
Romney campaign hasn’t showed much yet. I’ve been telling myself Romney’
s keeping his powder dry for the stretch run.
Being officially nominated changes the game. By law, Romney can’t tap his
general election funds until he’s the official nominee. Obama hasn’t had
to deal with that issue as the incumbent, unopposed Democratic nominee.
Obama’s been playing the starters for four quarters all preseason and he’s
only managed a tie. I foresee Obama and his media allies becoming very
dyspeptic over the next 60 days now that Romney can launch an all-out blitz
of his own.
You didn’t build that. Remember how that swell ad popped up and got Obama
really, really riled? Then the ad kind of disappeared. I have a feeling a
lot of people in swing states are going to be treated to similar versions
featuring local residents in the coming days. I hope they are, anyway.
That ad is a killer and so easy to replicate with business owners in
Pennsylvania, Oiho, Michigan, and every other state.
But I don’t want to see it until October 6th. Don’t shoot until you see
the whites of their eyes. Save the best for last.
I do enjoy that Romney enjoys a cash advantage over Obama at this point in
the campaign. There’s something about this that strikes me as odd:
…President Obama, whose campaign spent more than it raised in July,
federal election filings from Monday show.
…
The campaign spent about $40 million on advertising and nearly $60
million total last month despite raising $49 million.
Oddly familiar. He brought in $49 million and spent $60 million. What
makes me sad is by spending 18.3% more than his campaign raised Obama
managed his campaign funds far, far better than he has our tax dollars. In
2010 Federal tax receipts were $2.16 trillion and Washington spent $3.46
trillion – 59.8% more than they raised. In 2011 it was only 56.5% more –
$2.3T raised and $3.6T spent.
There’s a word for people who spend public funds a lot more freely than
they do their own – politician.
Not only has Romney spent far spent less on ground operations–the
campaign’s payroll, event, and travel costs were much lower than Obama’s–
but he has also not yet begun to agressively (sic) advertise. Media spending
constituted less than half of the Romney campaign’s haul last month.
One thing a person who’s run a business understands is managing costs. I’
ve heard similar stories about Romney at the Olympics coming in and cutting
costs. At my office we’ve gone through some lay-offs and restructuring
this year, are having to make do without some equipment and resources it
would be nice to have, and probably won’t have nearly as nice a Christmas
party come December. That’s not the best work environment but it sure
beats the alternative of going broke.Who knows if Romney would govern as he
runs his campaign. But if campaigns are indicative of how one would govern
it’s a promising sign.
Regardless of how Washington has gamed the tax code federal revenues average
18% of GDP. History has shown us how much we can reasonably expect to take
in. The only way to balance the budget is to reduce costs. Spend less.
At least Romney shows that instinct in how he manages his organization.
The legendary Bum Phillips once said of Bear Bryant, “He can take his’n
and beat your’n and take your’n and beat his’n.” We’ll see how Obama
holds up against an equally, perhaps better, funded opponent. Obama rose
to prominence on a promise to change how things are done in Washington. In
one respect he was an unequivocal success:
In capturing the presidency, Obama, 47, became the first major-party
nominee to reject federal funding for the general election. He spent $740.6
million, eclipsing the combined $646.7 million that Republican President
George W. Bush and Democratic nominee John Kerry spent four years earlier.
…
Arizona Senator McCain, unlike Obama, accepted $84.1 million in public
financing for the general election, a decision that barred him from raising
money privately. Obama outspent him by a 4-to-1 margin from Sept. 1 through
Nov. 24, FEC records show.
Outspending both candidates from 2004 combined and 400% more than his
Republican challenger in 2008. Maybe campaigns are an accurate predictor of
how a candidate will govern.
I guess we’ll find out. The regular season kicks off Monday. |
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