Prelude To Romney Make-Over

++Forget about any of Romney's positions until after the Convention. And forget about Romney amending his tax return to show his Swiss bank account. And forget about Todd Akins and his role in co-sponsoring with Paul Ryan the restrictive abortion laws in the House let alone mentioning "legitimate" rape.Forget about the anti-immigration laws. This convention is about the start of the real campaign against President Obama and all the above is irrelevant. 

++The Washington Post/ABC poll dutifully has Romney 1 point in the lead despite others showing the President ahead. So we start tied--if you also forget the last two Pennsylvania polls and the recent Quinnipiac poll of Ohio. The media narrative of the Swing States will play out as planned through the election. People will grasp at the Columbus-Dispatch's  tied poll in Ohio, the latest marginal poll in Michigan.
It's like the table is set for a lot of fancy vote-rigging in the fall when the money starts flooding the country.

++The RNC Convention is a police state like last convention. The military, the state police, the secret service, the police and the FBI are out in force to ensure there are no disruptive demonstrations.

++Inside the Convention Center the RNC has changed the rules of the party against the wishes of conservatives and libertarians so that any insurgent groups that master the caucus process like Ron Paul will not show benefit. Meanwhile the Platform Committee has written the most conservative platform in modern memory.

++But before Willard Romney re-invents himself once again in life and in this campaign, let's not forget some of his positions in the last week alone. 
     ...Against the heritage of Theodore Roosevelt, he advocated drilling for oil in national parks and that this drilling would be approved by the states, not the federal government. Most observers flashed on the "drilling" aspect not the transfer of authority to states that now can be bought by the extraction industry like the old days. This is a radical notion that has been fostered by modern federalists. 
     ...He claims that he will make North America energy independent by 2020. And he reiterated his desire to exploit the Canadian tar sands and upgrade the Mexican oil industry. He claims this will generate 3 million jobs. He also wants to expand oil drilling off Virginia and the Gulf Coast. 
     ...He scoffs at any linkage of him and Todd Akin. The barrage against him on women's issues he countered by finally embracing his healthcare plan in Massachusetts. When politically convenient, he will go anywhere.
      ...For those who missed it, he promised to put troops on the ground in Syria and wage war against Iran to stop them from getting a nuclear weapon. He also promised to restore the "cuts to military spending" that he conveniently neglects to mention were agreed to by the House Republicans, including Paul Ryan. He also promised to increase military spending since America only accounts for 41% of military spending worldwide and is Number 1-17 countries combined in this area. 
       ...Even though every news outlet has debunked his attack on President Obama allegedly removing "work" requirements from welfare, he continues on bring to solidify white lower class resentment about minorities. He is deliberately playing a race card even though one wonders whether it will work.
       ...He did reiterate his desire to cut taxes for the wealthy this past week but denies that his program would entail raises on taxes on people earning less than $250,000. It would but maybe even that doesn't matter since the middle-class now composes only about 51% of the population. 

++But you can forget all this because the RNC line is that if they had passed a stimulus then unemployment would be below 6%. Since half the stimulus incorporated Republican suggestions but only three voted for it, it is a peculiar argument. But it is a vulnerability because the Obama Administration underestimated the scale of the economic collapse. The other fact is that employment in the public sector has vanished over the last 3 years since the explosion in the Bush years.

++The good news is that the networks will have minimal coverage since everything is so choreographed. The actual nomination process will be held tomorrow before the evening recess so no one will see the Ron Paul delegates get up and make speeches. Like the whole Romney campaign, it will be conducted out of sight.

++You will see plenty of Republican women, who will try and steer the conversation toward the economy, and you will see Marco Rubio introduce Romney and a handful of African-Americans to make the party look inclusive.

++You will not see the Donald--he can't make it-- but you will see at least seven speakers who are birthers. Sheldon Adelson, the Casino magnate, will be flying in and the David Koch will be feted by Americans for Prosperity, an astro turf group he founded. Vishnu Jindal may not make it because of Isaac bearing down on New Orleans.

++The anti-Obama rhetoric will be amped up. So it will be interesting to see whether Romney gets a bounce. The media is already preparing the ground for this. 

++One observation is that the economic proposals at the convention will be for a restoration of the FIRE economy--Finance Insurance and Real Estate, and maybe Energy. It will advocate the privatizing of the last vestiges of the public sector. But don't expect a frank discussion on Medicare or Social Security or Medicaid. Overtly arguing for the dismantling of the social welfare system would only change the topic away from the economy.

THE  MOST IMPORTANT EVENT TOMORROW IS THE RELEASE OF "BOARDWALK EMPIRE--SEASON 2". Save  your sanity and watch that instead.