Stick and stones: The state of political discourse

(CBS News) You have to drill deep into modern American politics to find something to feel good about these days.

But the sharp-eyed Ashley Parker of The New York Times actually found something - deep down there, among the sleazy ads, the obscene amounts of money, and the ridiculous, mind-numbing talking points.

And what was it? Well, she reports that for all of his criticism of Barack Obamas policies, some of Mitt Romney's supporters are upset that he continues to say the president is a "nice guy."

But, she reports, Romney's people have decided that won't change.

Tom Rath, one of Romney's key advisors, says Romney will continue to argue the president is not a bad guy, just the wrong guy to fix a bad economy.

Which is much the same strategy the Obama team has settled on - they may compare Romney's old company Bain Capitol to a blood-sucking bat, but the president describes Romney as a "patriotic American who has much to be proud of."

Maybe it's all just political posturing. Maybe both sides just decided this was the best strategy to get votes.

But if you will excuse me for being a hopeless romantic, it could be because both of these men have looked at the sorry, crude state of what passes for political discourse these days and have decided it disgusts THEM as much as it repulses the rest of us.

As I said, I am a hopeless romantic . . .

[sjc_1]

People can talk about civility, but this is not what we have now. People are polarized and we need to resolve the differences before we go further. I don't think anyone really likes the nastiness, but to take the high road leaves you open to attack and neither side wants to lose.

This is a fundamental battle about capitalism and the role it plays in our lives. This is the same capitalism that goes into recession every 7-8 years and crashes every few generations. WHY do we depend on a system that we can NOT depend on? Tradition...

[audemus]

One can hope Mr. Schieffer....

[marychgo]

Obama and Romney are certainly both nice fellows, good to their wives and children (and, in Mitt's case, grandchildren). But policy MATTERS! A candidate who supports the free-market fundamentalism policies of the past 30 years that PRODUCED the Crash of 2008 cannot possibly get us out of this mess. "Trickle down" and deregulation has come close to destroying the middle class; it didn't "create jobs" then, and certainly won't create the jobs we need NOW!

[vsmit]

And the government controlled "trickle up" economic policies of Obama have failed. Success is the Reagan Revolution. Perhaps you were not alive and enjoying the economic success from 1980 to 2008 and you just don't know (including the pro business policies of Clinton, of course).

[skeezix06]

I was alive and I clearly remember the disaster for most of us called the Reagan years, vsmit. If you're part of the 1%, you might have been happy with Reagan but if you were like most of us it was financial disaster. The difference between then and now is that the economy was not as sick then as it is now. You can thank Dumbya for most of it and Obama's refusal to reverse Dumbya's policies for the rest of it.

[sjc_1]

You could call them percolate up rather than trickle down. It has been show that when someone at the bottom of the economy gets some money, it goes right back into the economy. When someone at the top gets more money, they put it into a hedge fund buying foreign treasury bonds.

[skeezix06]

I am reminded that it was a republican who "joked" about poisoning a democratic Speaker of the House a while back and just last week it was reported that a republican campaign spokesman for a New York House of Representatives race, who I hope has lost his job by now, suggested acid be hurled at women democratic senators. That is a little bit more than mere sticks and stones. "Nuff said.

[Zann-Zel]

Amen : (

[vsmit]

How about a few quotes from Maxine Waters. Amen!

[skeezix06]

Has Maxine threatened violence, vsmit? I haven't heard her say anything of the sort.

[skeezix06]

"I've been in this struggle for many years now. I understand racism. I understand that there are a lot of people in this country who don't care about the problems of the inner city. We have to fight every day that we get up for every little thing that we get. And so I keep struggling."
Maxine Waters quote

"I have a right to my anger, and I don't want anybody telling me I shouldn't be, that it's not nice to be, and that something's wrong with me because I get angry."
Maxine Waters quote

"We're building a growing movement against the war in Iraq that will give people who feel uncomfortable about the war a place to share their concerns and discuss and work through a solution -- should it be immediate withdrawal or an exit strategy. We want to build a consensus that we want to get out."
Maxine Waters quote
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How do these quotes compare to people like Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, and whoever that nitwit was who suggested it was a good idea to throw acid on people?

The real problem here is not the possibility that the people who talk about these things would do what they're talking about. They won't. The problem with the republican statements is the fact that there are too many people out there who would actually do what these nitwits say.

[hdc77494]

Ever since Obama was elected the left has been wringing their hands about the state of political discourse, the "radical" tea party, supposed racism, mean Republicans. It's all a lie. While everybody and their brother in law were smearing g Bush, hanging him in effigy, making movies about his assassination and calling him a drug ken fool on a daily basis, we didn't hear a peep about civility. Let's be frank. The left just wants people to leave their guy alone while they crank out propaganda hoping to get him reelected.

[AOCGUY]

Oh give it a break, this cr@p has been going on long before Obama even got into politics. You are just sniviling.

[saturn05]

I too dislike the political lies that go back and forth. I am a staunch Democrat, so I do not like the policies of the right. But unlike the right, I do not make up lies about the right. I base my opinion on facts....voting records and statements that come straight out of the mouths of the right.