Today on the Dish, Andrew made the conservative case for addressing inequality. He then critiqued Romney's strategy, posed a question toward the candidate and flagged the need for a Romney breakthrough tomorrow night. And after he reflected on the latest Ralph Reed mailing, he rounded up the marriage equality outlook.
Meanwhile, Obama faced high debate expectations, Stanley Crouch ranted and John Sides noted the significance of post-debate spin. And as Josh Marshall argued it would be hard for Romney to attack Obama, Nate Cohn said the race was tightening and kept tabs on young voters. Matt Viser then detailed Romney's clawback to victory in 2002, Elspeth Reeve called the debate a "reality show" and Ron Brownstein pinpointed the source of Obama's swing state advantage.
As the market priced in an Obama win and Felix Salmon mulled the finance industry's relationship with the president, Derek Thompson noted the implications of the fiscal cliff and Bartlett made the case for jumping off.
Molly Ball then evaluated Romney's Ohio prospects, Scott Brown stepped in it with his Scalia mention and Rove's Crossroads spent more. And while John Sides found evidence of increased interest in Mormonism, Bernstein begged for a sane Republican. Plus, Romney reflected on Chipotle … and then got photobombed, sort of.
Andrew then promoted "How to Survive a Plague," and responded to a reader's dissent about MGM. Elsewhere in the world, Christopher Stephen checked in on Libya's religious extremism, while William Saletan reflected on the freedom to hate.
And in assorted commentary, Ernest Shackleton fought colic with chronic, Le Whaf flavored and readers defended organic food. Readers chimed in on the law school debate, Nate Silver recalled his gambling days and Christopher Ryan explained sexless marriages. Neighborhood get-togethers dwindled, Harry Molotch explained how terrorism hotlines compromised safety and "Gangnam Style" was rendered musicless. VFYW here and VFYW winner here.
– G.G.
(Photo via Andrew Kaczynski, who rounded up "20 Photos Of Mitt Romney Doing Dirty Jobs")
The Dish 