It isn't just that, it was the same way 4 years ago.... Obama is just good at getting his way without pissing people off. Ehh Obama did not do terrible in the sense that there is no real bulletin board material or major mistakes that will plastered over the air waves over the next month. However, Obama was in a position to really take control and did not. Remember, in the primaries Romney had to be someone other than whom he really is, he had to appeal to a far more conservative agenda. I give him an "A" based on the fact he had to come through, and he did, and the timing was perfect. However, he left himself open a few times and Obama just simply refused to attack. It wasn't just speech patterns, the strategy of this debate was uncomfortable for Obama. Yes, and Team Romney spent weeks talking up how well Obama would do, and lowering expectations for Romney... that played a huge part in it, but that is politics, and Romney did a better job.
That is like saying that because the Texans had more time of possession in a football game it is impossible that the refereeing favored their opponent.
We don't know And apparently neither does Romney At First Debate, Mitt Romney Admits That He Would ‘Absolutely Not’ Support His Own Tax Plan
The purpose of a football ref is not to even out time of possession..... One of the purposes of a moderator is to even out speaking time. So stating Lehrer gave Romney an edge sounds childish since OBama got 4 more minutes.
In this scenario, yes they are. The reason Romney pushed around Lehrer is because he tried to control the time. The reason Obama didn't push around Lehrer is because he didn't try to control the time with him.
Watching the debate last night was like watching my favorite fighter "Dr Steelhammer" Wladimir Klitschko knocking out his opponents.
This was the "gaffe" of the night if it gets used correctly. I don't know how much it will matter to people, but I can see ads in my head right now laying out Romney's tax plan including him talking about it on the stump (video of him describing it) and then ending with " if the tax plan he described were a tax plan I was asked to support, I’d say absolutely not." You cleverly tie that and it would be deadly.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Yo Mitt Romney, Sesame Street is brought to you today by the letters F & U! <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23debates">#debates</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23SupportBigBird">#SupportBigBird</a></p>— Big Bird (@BlGBlRD) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlGBlRD/status/253672264539709440" data-datetime="2012-10-04T01:45:55+00:00">October 4, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
(just finished watching the debate) Darn good win for Romney. He surprised me while Obama was just par. Going to be an interesting seeing how the prez is going to bounce back from this loss.
I think Romney did well and that gives the Rep hope such that they will keep throwing money at him instead of directing it to the down ticket. Which means the Dem can win more seats in Congress. It's all part of the grand plan. Go Obama.
Obama should have done something very simple - ran home the fact that Romney hasn't been specific about his tax plan. His plans are vague, and ambiguous ... so any assertion Obama makes about them is easy to counter by just adding details that no one else knows about (because no one has made them clear). Obama really should have driven home the point that no one other than the Romney campaign has any knowledge of the details of the Romney tax plan.
I am sure in debate #2 and #3 Obama will do just that. The only real negative fallout for Romney is that he has thrown his own plan under the bus and now has to massage the next few debates away from the specifics of his own plan. My guess is that Romney has to go even more on the offensive to do that, and make the debate about the failings of Obama and not what Romney will actually do.
This was my original point. Romney's whole debate strategy last night seemed to be to run as far away from everything he campaigned for the last 2 years. To go from an ideal Randian conservative to a center-aligned populist overnight. That's the political windsock he has always been. And while it plays well at first, the facade fades quickly and will come back to haunt him. You can't be all things to all people, despite how badly he wants to be.
It was more like Roberto Duran pleading for "no mas, no mas" while begging the moderator to move onto a new topic. I'm looking forward to Round 2 because Romney will be prepared as usual while Obama will forego any more Beyonce dinners to keep from getting battered. Obama looked like a deer caught in the oncoming headlights of a Mack truck. Bill Maher, for once, had it right when he said that it looked like Obama really does need a teleprompter. Unlike McCain in the 2008 debates, Romney had a command of the facts while looking Presidential. Obama had neither. All Obama can do now is damage control and backtracking.
Last night was a great night for America, I was actually tearing up. This morning everything seems to be better:breakfast, traffic even the air that I breathe. I think I'm going to give my staff a raise today.
Damage control, yes. Backtracking, no. That will be Romney's plight, as he has to answer for and undo the number of contradictions he made to his own platform last night. Part of the strategy in playing it defensively is that you don't have to clean up any messes you make for yourself later on.
