Video: Obama In Tonight's Late Show With David Letterman

[koheesti]

Getting back to the OP topic, I've downloaded and watched all last week's Letterman shows. By Thursday, it was hilarious, with Letterman making a direct to the camera appeal to Mitt to please appear on his show, any time, at any notice, and he said he can even bring his little buddy, Gilligan, or whatever the VP too. They swung the camera to his producer, who confirmed they had asked Romney over 100 times to be on the show. His mocking of Romney will just increase until he shows up. Again, this is not a debate with hard news people - it's just a sitting on the couch of a late night entertainer. What is Romney afraid of?

I think you might have found the Letterman strategy. Ridicule Romney until he comes on and when he does, attack him and ridicule him more. Letterman has made it clear for years that he is an Obama man. Romney should reply that he'll go on Letterman when Obama goes on Hannity. Letterman has MUCH better writers so that deal favors Obama - doesn't it?

On a related note, Romney was on 60 minutes, doing more damage control, defensively stating he did not need a turnaround, as suggested by some GOP pundits.

I haven't seen it yet, but was Obama also put on the defensive - like his Univision interview? Or was it like his other interviews where he is asked softball questions like what music is on his iPod?

[keemapoot]

@koheetsi - Letterman made an interesting, arrogant, and perhaps true statement the other night. In lecturing Romney for not showing up, he pointed at his guest chair and said "...you don't get to the White House without spending some time in that chair...." I guess it proves the power some entertainers now have in shaping public opinion. Jon Stewart won his 10th straight Emmy award tonight, and I suppose the same can be said of his chair.

[koheesti]

Koheesti and Chuckd knew that Obama was a drug addled Marxist without a birth certificate, a penchant, taste and even desire for thousands of crushed cranium abortions and no doubt a real liking for the destruction of personal responsibility and and individual initiative way back in 2008 if not in 1963. How come you got taken in by the hollow rhetoric?

I don't know how I got dragged into your flame-fest but I didn't know Obama was a Marxist until he started on his relentless us-against-them class warfare jihad, nationalized General Motors and added that to his bragging in his memoir about hanging out with the Marxists in college. I've never claimed he wasn't born in Hawaii and while he may not call for thousands of partial birth abortions, he does support it (and no, the babies aren't alive when the process begins, they kill them first) . At least my opinion if formed based on what Obama believes and has done whereas people like you who prefer to focus on what kind of clothes a candidate wears or how he got his tan.

Edited September 24, 2012 by koheesti

[harryfrompattaya]

Romney is already winning the white vote. It will depend on how many blacks come out with more than 14% unemployment and if hispanics can be bought off by pandering for their votes with the last minute, temporary, immigration reform bribe.

Careful there, thats awfully close to a racist comment. And a very unattractive one at that.

Do you read the Newspaper? In my Family they will vote 100 for Obama.

[koheesti]

@koheetsi - Letterman made an interesting, arrogant, and perhaps true statement the other night. In lecturing Romney for not showing up, he pointed at his guest chair and said "...you don't get to the White House without spending some time in that chair...." I guess it proves the power some entertainers now have in shaping public opinion. Jon Stewart won his 10th straight Emmy award tonight, and I suppose the same can be said of his chair.

Stewart would give Romney much more of a fair shake than Letterman. It would be a rough ride for him but at least Stewart can be more reasonable and would discuss things with Romney. I'd like to see that interview. Letterman wouldn't listen to anything Romney said, just go with his prepared jokes and quips. Then again, since Letterman will make it a weekly Top Ten Reasons and hammer Romney for the next 6 weeks, maybe it's better to just get it out of the way.

[Chicog]

Frankly, I think it is just more empty rhetoric and I rather take a chance on a successful businessman than a president who has completely failed at fixing the economy and has no real plan to do anything different than what he has been doing - which just does not work.

Successful businessman? Good lord, and there was me thinking he's a pampered daddy's boy who's made a living letting others manage (and hide) his money, and asset stripping companies that other people built.

[koheesti]

Frankly, I think it is just more empty rhetoric and I rather take a chance on a successful businessman than a president who has completely failed at fixing the economy and has no real plan to do anything different than what he has been doing - which just does not work.

Successful businessman? Good lord, and there was me thinking he's a pampered daddy's boy who's made a living letting others manage (and hide) his money, and asset stripping companies that other people built.

This is why people who believe like you should not be allowed anywhere near the White House except if they buy a ticket for the tour.

[Chicog]

Sorry, I'm merely stating facts. Even Bain Capital was set up on the strict agreement that Romney himself was not at any financial risk if it bombed, and a lot of the time, it did.

[koheesti]

Sorry, I'm merely stating facts. Even Bain Capital was set up on the strict agreement that Romney himself was not at any financial risk if it bombed, and a lot of the time, it did.

Facts? Facts like 80% of companies Bain has invested in are still profitable? Or that Union pension funds have invested $1.5 billion in Bain?

Here's a recent article about Bain...

The truth about Bain Capital

Disparaging Governor Romney’s record at Bain Capital is a large part of President Obama’s campaign strategy. I find this baffling as Romney’s record at Bain is stellar. Even former President Bill Clinton

has noted

that Romney was a successful business leader and is qualified to be president. Unfortunately, the media usually echoes the attacks on Bain rather than checking their veracity.

Read more:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/20/the-truth-about-bain-capital/#ixzz27N7rIs88

[Ulysses G.]

Frankly, I think it is just more empty rhetoric and I rather take a chance on a successful businessman than a president who has completely failed at fixing the economy and has no real plan to do anything different than what he has been doing - which just does not work.

Successful businessman? Good lord, and there was me thinking he's a pampered daddy's boy who's made a living letting others manage (and hide) his money, and asset stripping companies that other people built.

Sounds like you've been getting your information from Media Matters and dishonest Obama campaign ads. The guy is a success.

The man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold.

-Bill Clinton

Edited September 24, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[keemapoot]

I've always thought it was silly to argue about Bain. I spent much of my career involved with private equity and understand that world and its winners very well. They are not a bunch of Darth Vader and Gordon Gecko types, they, and Venture Capitalists are financiers who understand business almost as well as people who actually start them. Clinton had the right approach. Congratulate Romney on a great career, even if it was seeded with daddy's silver spoon in his mouth.

Similarly, the argument about tax avoidance, offshore etc., is just a smokescreen. Any successful businessman will employ those methods wherever possible. It is not some great conspiracy to hide his money abroad. Again, any sophisticated business people understand both these points.

The real issue about his wealth is his character. He seems to possess uncaring, and elitist character traits, and those won't work well for any president, but the Bain and offshore points seem like salt in the wound to people who largely don't understand these relatively sophisticated business elements. If you add to that perception his Mormon affiliation, and if you have ever had deep association with these people you would rightly feel he is wrong for the country, as I do.

[metisdead]

A post has been removed due to possible violation of copyright and non compliance of fair use. It is generally accepted, but not written into law, that quoting the first two or three sentences of an article and giving a link to the source is considered “fair use” and not a violation of copyright.

[Ulysses G.]

If you add to that perception his Mormon affiliation, and if you have ever had deep association with these people you would rightly feel he is wrong for the country, as I do.

If we are going to disparage religion, spending years going to the radical Reverend Wright's church is a lot more scary.

[Chicog]

A post has been removed due to possible violation of copyright and non compliance of fair use. It is generally accepted, but not written into law, that quoting the first two or three sentences of an article and giving a link to the source is considered “fair use” and not a violation of copyright.

Noted. Mea Culpa and apologies.

[chuckd]

<snip>

Koheesti and Chuckd knew that Obama was a drug addled Marxist without a birth certificate, a penchant, taste and even desire for thousands of crushed cranium abortions and no doubt a real liking for the destruction of personal responsibility and and individual initiative way back in 2008 if not in 1963. How come you got taken in by the hollow rhetoric?

I knew what he was in 2007, not 2008. In 1963 he was only two years old so he wasn't even into his marijuana induced fog yet. He still hasn't learned anything about personal responsibility, although he seems to be eaten up with individual initiative.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan...Liberals are not stupid. It's just that they know so much that isn't so.

[Scott]

Personal remarks directed at other posters is nothing more than baiting. Baiting people into an off-topic discussion is against the forum rules. You have been warned and posts have been deleted.

[koheesti]

I've always thought it was silly to argue about Bain. I spent much of my career involved with private equity and understand that world and its winners very well. They are not a bunch of Darth Vader and Gordon Gecko types, they, and Venture Capitalists are financiers who understand business almost as well as people who actually start them. Clinton had the right approach. Congratulate Romney on a great career, even if it was seeded with daddy's silver spoon in his mouth.

Similarly, the argument about tax avoidance, offshore etc., is just a smokescreen. Any successful businessman will employ those methods wherever possible. It is not some great conspiracy to hide his money abroad. Again, any sophisticated business people understand both these points.

The real issue about his wealth is his character. He seems to possess uncaring, and elitist character traits, and those won't work well for any president, but the Bain and offshore points seem like salt in the wound to people who largely don't understand these relatively sophisticated business elements. If you add to that perception his Mormon affiliation, and if you have ever had deep association with these people you would rightly feel he is wrong for the country, as I do.

Yeah! Only an uncaring, elitist snob would donate $4 million of his $13 million to charities!

[koheesti]

On a related note, Romney was on 60 minutes, doing more damage control, defensively stating he did not need a turnaround, as suggested by some GOP pundits.

I haven't seen it yet, but was Obama also put on the defensive - like his Univision interview? Or was it like his other interviews where he is asked softball questions like what music is on his iPod?

I guess there just wasn't enough time in the program so they had to edit something out...

CBS Doesn't Air Obama Admitting Mistakes in Campaign Ads

Tonight, CBS aired a

60 Minutes

interview with President Obama. But curiously enough, the news magazine show did not air a clip of Obama admitting to interviewer Steve Kroft that some of his campaign ads contain mistakes and that some even "go overboard."

60 Minutes

did, however,

post the clip online

.:

http://www.cbsnews.c...ch/?id=7422786n

http://www.weeklysta...ads_652973.html

Edited September 24, 2012 by koheesti

[rijb]

Afraid of Obama? Don't worry!

“I am the confidence fairy!”

[Chicog]

Yeah! Only an uncaring, elitist snob would donate $4 million of his $13 million to charities!

In this case charities = the Mormon church.

Are charity donations tax deductable?

[chuckd]

Yeah! Only an uncaring, elitist snob would donate $4 million of his $13 million to charities!

In this case charities = the Mormon church.

Are charity donations tax deductable?

How much did Obama give his church? You know, the one where Jeremiah Wright's Black Liberation Theology is espoused.

Edit in: This just hot off the wire about the charity of the Democratic candidates.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Romney Gave 1,000 Times as Much to Charity in a Year as Biden Gave in a Decade

8:34 AM, SEP 24, 2012 • BY JEFFREY H. ANDERSON

The release of Mitt Romney’s 2011 tax returns shows that he freely gave away more than $4 million to charity last year (about 30 percent of his income). In comparison, when Joe Biden was first running for vice president, his tax returns showed that he had given away just $3,690 to charity over the previous ten years (about 0.2 percent of his income). In other words, Romney gave away a thousand times as much to charity in one year as Biden gave in a decade.

<snip>

Last year, Romney freely gave away more than $10,000 a day to charity — an impressive sum by nearly any standard. Of course, it’s not too hard to beat Biden’s tally. Over the span of that decade, or 3,650 days, he gave away $3,690 — an average of $1.01 a day.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romney-gave-1000-times-much-charity-year-biden-gave-decade_652977.html

Edited September 24, 2012 by chuckd

[Chicog]

Yeah! Only an uncaring, elitist snob would donate $4 million of his $13 million to charities!

In this case charities = the Mormon church.

Are charity donations tax deductable?

How much did Obama give his church? You know, the one where Jeremiah Wright's Black Liberation Theology is espoused.

Edit in: This just hot off the wire about the charity of the Democratic candidates.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Romney Gave 1,000 Times as Much to Charity in a Year as Biden Gave in a Decade

8:34 AM, SEP 24, 2012 • BY JEFFREY H. ANDERSON

The release of Mitt Romney’s 2011 tax returns shows that he freely gave away more than $4 million to charity last year (about 30 percent of his income). In comparison, when Joe Biden was first running for vice president, his tax returns showed that he had given away just $3,690 to charity over the previous ten years (about 0.2 percent of his income). In other words, Romney gave away a thousand times as much to charity in one year as Biden gave in a decade.

<snip>

Last year, Romney freely gave away more than $10,000 a day to charity — an impressive sum by nearly any standard. Of course, it’s not too hard to beat Biden’s tally. Over the span of that decade, or 3,650 days, he gave away $3,690 — an average of $1.01 a day.

http://www.weeklysta...ade_652977.html

Fascinating. But how much Tax did Biden pay over the last ten years compared to Romney?

Oh, hang on........

[koheesti]

Yeah! Only an uncaring, elitist snob would donate $4 million of his $13 million to charities!

In this case charities = the Mormon church.

Are charity donations tax deductable?

Only part of his donations were tax deductible. But so what? Look at what the Mormon Church's charities do:

Since 1985, LDS Charities (aka Humanitarian Services) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided aid regardless of cultural or religious boundaries. Emergency assistance is provided through the Humanitarian Aid Fund, and long-term aid is provided through major initiatives such as clean water, wheelchairs, neonatal resuscitation training, vision care, immunization, food production, and a variety of local area initiatives.

Two tenets of humanitarian aid define LDS Charities: 1) One hundred percent of every dollar donated is used to help those in need without regard to race, religion, or ethnic origin, and 2) LDS Charities helps people attain self-sufficiency so they can be self-reliant long after LDS Charities departs.

In 2011, help was provided to more than 2 million people in 132 countries. Currently we are receiving donations for:

• 
  
  Humanitarian Aid Fund
  
  
• 
  
  Clean Water
  
  
• 
  
  Wheelchairs
  
  
• 
  
  Neonatal Resuscitation Training
  
  
• 
  
  Vision Care
  
  
• 
  
  Food Production & Nutrition
  
  

http://www.ldsphilanthropies.org/humanitarian-services/

It is extremely sad that some can be criticized for donating to these causes because of the tie to a religion or that he was getting a tax deductible for some of it. DO YOU REALLY THINK THE PEOPLE IN NEED GIVE A SH*T? At the end of the day, a lot of good has been done with the $4 million and it really makes Obama look bad. He hasn't given squat to charity. Why should he? Liberals believe giving is the what the government takes other people's money for.

I think it is pretty obvious that part of why Romney was waiting was to maximize what should have been some positive press closer to the election instead of months ago. But go ahead, call him an uncaring elitist snob.

[keemapoot]

@koheetsi - yeah, that sounds all fuzzy and wonderful, until you realize that virtually all so-called charity activities by the LDS church exist for one key reason: to convert those less fortunate to Mormonism. In most of those charities there is a hook, either explicit, or subtle, that reels the recipients into some type of recruiting effort into the church.

I have known several wealthy Mormons, a few of whom were very good friends. Such inner workings have been described to me in detail, and if you google this, I'm sure you will find lots of stuff the church doesn't want you to read about it. In this connection, Romney seems to have only directly given about $1 million to the church directly somewhat less than the 10% required tithing by Mormons, but believe me, dig deeper and you'll find the indirect giving amounts to substantially most of his giving. And, whatever was not given to promote Mormon causes, was designed that way years ago, knowing he would be running for national office for 8 years.

Mormon leaders have dreamed for generations about having their man in the White House, and believe me, the church has probably helped Romney in many untold ways. Unfortunately, they picked the wrong one. Huntsman would have been a better choice, and one that I would probably actually support. Having said that, I will say Mormons are impressive in their drive for excellence,their level of financial success and ability to expand their religion. It is one of the fastest growing in the world, and has been for decades - in spite of the magic underwear and ban on coffee and booze. Any religion that tells you that you can be your own God of your own empire in the next life is attractive to many....

[Scott]

Personal remarks directed at other posters continue to permeate the thread. Last night at 19:23 I posted a public reminder to stay on the topic. Suspensions will be forthcoming.

if you have nothing intelligent to say, stop posting in this thread.

[chuckd]

Beat you to it, Scott

Edited September 25, 2012 by chuckd

[maidu]

When I was a little kid, one of my best buddies was Gordie Smith. He was from a BIG mormon family. Daddy was rich. Gordie went on to become US senator from Oregon. Just thought to mention that. It doesn't color my opinion about Romney one way or another.

[Scott]

When I was quite young, there were Mormon missionaries in our town. They used to take a group of us camping on weekends and keep us otherwise engaged in productive activities during the week (in the summer months).

They were very amiable, nice, caring people. While camping, there some discussion of Mormonism, but it was very, very light. No arm twisting, no proselytizing (or at least very little). All-in-all, a very positive experience.

[koheesti]

@koheetsi - yeah, that sounds all fuzzy and wonderful, until you realize that virtually all so-called charity activities by the LDS church exist for one key reason: to convert those less fortunate to Mormonism. In most of those charities there is a hook, either explicit, or subtle, that reels the recipients into some type of recruiting effort into the church.

People who are suffering don't really care about the motivations of those who are helping. "A free wheelchair? No, thanks, I'd rather crawl around on the ground than talk to a Mormon" or "Clean water? No, thanks, I'll take my chances with Cholera than get help from some religious organization".

How many charities out there are run by atheists?

[Ulysses G.]

Besides the fact that the Mormon Church gives a lot of help to people who are not Mormons there is the other fact that Romney has also contributed to many charities that have nothing to do with the Mormon church. He has been very generous and that is beyond dispute.