JAB writes in from the double-wide.

Your Czarness:

I apologize for my lack of correspondence lately, but have things ever been hopping at the Double-wide! And I mean that in a good way, not that I’ve been on the lam from my parole officer or anything like that.

Business is brisk, the young-uns are back in school, and our elder son is a senior in high school. Tempus fugit! And that means it’s time for college applications. Even though he is a double-legacy at Billy Bob’s School of Auto Repair and Hair Care (Go, Fightin’ Mullets!!!), we are not trusting to that advantage, and so we have visited many institutions of higher book-learning, including New Atlantis Ivory Tower U., where oddly enough not a single soul could tell me where to find Dr. J. Curious, huh?

Anyhoo, reading Your Czarness’ report on last night’s debate, I realize that I have been remiss in reporting a little something I observed this past weekend. We were visiting a relation who lives in a heavily Democratic neighborhood, hard by a university. We visit often, and know several of the neighbors, whose yards are usually festooned with signs for whatever Dem is running for dog-catcher. This time four years ago, you could not swing a dead cat without knocking over an Obama sign. 

As we often do, we took a stroll through this lovely old neighborhood, and I began to notice a dearth of Obama signs. I counted five. Cinque. Funf. Cinco. The funny thing was that I also counted five signs to re-elect the incumbent Dem to Congress. And here’s where it gets REALLY odd. Only one single yard of the five that had a Re-elect Dem. Congressman sign also had a companion Obama sign. To put this in a stranger perspective still, I counted two “War is not the Answer” signs [and here I thought those had disappeared with The One’s inauguration!]. Neither of those yards sprouted an Obama sign. Finally, I can report two yards with Romney/Ryan signs. Sacre bleu!
Totally whack, right??? 

Now, I know that a stroll on a sunny Saturday does not a scientific, statistically valid survey make. But still it was sooooo weird that I thought I’d share. We’ll see if it means anything.

Yours from The Double-wide,
JAB

Not surprised, my dear, at all.

The Czar and Mandarin were discussing this just yesterday, when you apparently were also typing your email. Or, rather, two days ago because we are writing this on Thursday evening. Our discussion was along the exact lines of your observation: overwhelming support for Romney taking unlikely directions.

A Mitt Romney commercial comes on at a large screen movie venue—audiences instantly cheer. Romney yard signs are sold out in most areas; and it isn’t like they didn’t anticipate demand. Obama and other Democrat signs are few and far between. Communities around big cities are practically painted red with Romney/Ryan regalia. Employers of the small businesses Obama claims to protect are blasting out emails warning employees of what will happen next. A Hollywood actress issues a pro-Romney tweet and the cruel, hateful responses she gets make news. A hiphop performer makes a pro-Romney song (allegedly, some on the blue side say, merely to rhyme with “economy”) and it sails up the charts.

Of course, the Obama campaign says this is because (a) Romney’s millionaires and billionaires have teamed up to push nothing but negative ads about Obama on television, and (b) Americans are too stupid to understand that and need Obama to point it out.

Try again. The reason is because Mitt Romney is way more popular than popular culture will admit. People have basically had it with Obama’s hope and change, and when pop culture gets tired of someone, support topples exponentially like dominos spreading out. The President—whether he really means it or not—is intensely polarizing. And people are being turned off by him…even those who claim to support him. And many millions of people will pull the lever for him in a couple weeks, but secretly ardently wish they could be voting for someone else besides Obama or Romney.

President Obama’s record is the biggest negative ad there is. And until he stops running it, in January, he will continue to lose votes. While the Czar does not predict the election to be a landslide for Romney, neither will it be close. Indeed, it will be decisive.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.