The Good, the Bad and the Chair

++We close this month, wishing everyone a safe,enjoyable Labor Day weekend.

++the Romney campaign has given us more laughs than should be allowed. From the dancing horse through his historical defense of "Anglo-Saxon" values, his pledge to liberate Czechoslovakia, his global tour to Poland, Israel and the United Kingdom, his graciousness in telling the Brits they weren't ready to host the Olympics. The list goes on and now the memorable Andy Kaufman skit performed by Clint Eastwood, providing fodder for comedians through the next week. 

++Today in Louisiana ,Romney asked, "Did the water come from the sky, or the rivers, or the ocean?" A man who imitates the profundity of Chauncey Gardner of Being There.

++One wag quipped that at the RNC the only thing that didn't lie was the Chair.  Others thought Eastwood should star in "The Chair Whisperer". The gags continue on with Pee Wee Herman weighing in about his secret chair and others nominating Eastwood/Chair 2016 being the ideal ticket. 

++The news from the networks is not good about the ratings and viewers. They are down 31% from 2008 and Willard's speech drew about 12 million less than Sarah Palin's.

++We haven't seen any real polling from the last days of the RNC. The tracking polls conflict. Some speculate that the electorate is to as volatile as the past. Nate Silver wrote that the highest bounce from a convention was 25 points. He estimates about 4 points from this one but you have slight shifts in some polls to Obama. By the weekend, we should know whether the Romney bounce will make political science history as "the Medicine Ball" bounce. Sam Wang at Princeton's Consortium says that we all should give polls a rest for three weeks because the September data is baked and nothing meaningful will be registered until then.

++Democrats worried that Romney beat Obama to the punch by flying down to the Gulf Coast. But the President had already been on a conference call with all the affected Mayors and Governors of the Gulf. Harry Reid blasted Romney for his hypocrisy because his running-mate was against approving FEMA funds.

++President Obama celebrated the two year anniversary of the end of the Iraq War at Fort Bliss by saying "The United States is safer, the United States is stronger and the United States is more respected than before."

++Michael Steele asked David Axelrod ,"How many times are you Democrats going to mention George . Bush at your convention?" Answer, "As many times as you did at yours." Smackdown.