With both the Republican and Democratic national conventions now over and the 2012 Presidential race officially in full-gear, politics was top of mind this week and that trend was reflected in online sharing. Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent or Green Party member, there’s been plenty of controversial fodder out there to sink your teeth into, comment on and share. Expect politics to be a hot topic through November!
Breitbart
Fact Check: First Lady’s False Fairy Tale of Struggle
This week’s most-shared post comes from conservative blog Breitbart. The article takes a look at claims by Michelle Obama that she and her husband sympathize with the struggling middle class because they too had to work hard to make ends meet. The story notes that the Obamas both went to elite prep high schools, Ivy League colleges and onto high-paying jobs at “cushy” law firms. Since Barack’s inauguration as president, they’ve taken lavish trips to exotic locations and “have enjoyed privilege funded by public money and public life.”
Forbes
New York Times Proves Clint Eastwood Correct — Obama Is Lousy CEO
Forbes takes a close look at a recent front-page story from the New York Times that examined President Obama’s obsession with winning at everything and his overestimation of his capabilities, described by Forbes as Obama’s “outstanding flaws.” The NYT article describes how Obama has played golf 104 times since 2008, practices bowling in the White House alleys and points out that his idea of a relaxing birthday is an Olympics-style athletic tournament in which close score is kept. It also describes Obama as someone supremely confident in his political skills who openly says that he is a better speechwriter than his speechwriters, a better political director than his political director and a better policy director than his policy directors. Forbes steps back and asks the question, “if Obama was the CEO of your company, playing golf, bowling and boasting that he’s better than you, would you approve?”
The Weekly Standard
Democratic Platform Endorses Taxpayer-Funded Abortions
In the midst of last week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., The Weekly Standard laid out the Democratic party’s platform on abortion, which the website calls “extreme.” According to the party’s platform, the Democratic party “unequivocally” supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose, “regardless of ability to pay,” which is an endorsement of taxpayer-funded abortions. The 2012 platform also endorses an unrestricted right to abortion-on-demand and, despite stated goals in 2000 and 2004 to make abortion “rare”, this year’s platform makes no such claim.
The Weekly Standard
That number the total public outstanding debt the U.S. owes, which has increased by about $5.4 trillion since Obama took office in January 2009. The Weekly Standard ran a chart from the Republican side of the Senate Budget Committee detailing the increase in national debt over the past 12 years, and the same committee warns that under Obama’s proposed budget, the debt will balloon to $25.4 trillion in 2012. No mention of Romney’s budget.
Mashable
Watch the Michelle Obama Speech That Destroyed Twitter [VIDEO]
In case you missed it, Mashable ran the video of Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC, which it says “destroyed” Twitter. Her speech saw 28,003 tweets-per-minute, smashing Romney’s acceptance speech, which drove 14,289 tweets-per-minute. The 25-minute video had, according to Mashable, “plenty of short, snackable lines easily packed into 140 characters or less.”