For the past two days, we’ve been hearing about how we
should expect a much different performance tonight from President Obama. Like, he’ll be more aggressive and that town halls
are his element. All this means is that
no matter what transpires – and I have every expectation that Obama will do
much better tonight – the media will declare him the winner, much the same as
they declared Joe Biden the winner of last week’s debate in spite of his
overly-aggressive, somewhat mean-spirited performance. So, expect fawning reviews of the president
in the morning and unstopping hype saying that this is the turning point. I expect Mitt Romney to do very well, as
well. People say that he’s uncaring,
cold, or un-personable. I disagree 100%,
and I think people will realize that tonight.
Though, I’m pretty sure the deck is stacked against him, as is usually the
case with Republicans.
Would I be surprised if Obama crashed and burned tonight
(again)? A little, given how he should
expect Romney to bring it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the expectations for
him are not met. He has no record to run
on, and scare tactics only go so far.
Romney has some serious momentum.
I still think Obama’s got a good chance of winning again, but Romney has
got a real shot here if he can keep it going.
Let’s face it, the swing states (particularly Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin) are the real prize here.
Romney is within striking distance in all of them, but he’s got to win
tonight and next week to completely shift the momentum in his favor. Though, you can’t discount the machine that
is behind Obama. I’m trying to remain
cautiously optimistic, but I’m also a realist.
Candy Crowley of CNN is tonight’s moderator, and she’s
already gone on record basically saying she won’t be sticking to the
rules. You know, like most
Democrats. Oh, was I supposed to assume
that she’s unbiased? Yeah right. She works for CNN. That’s just a half a step up from the pathetic
Obama campaign surrogates at [P]MSNBC. So, you understand how low my expectations are
for her.
Okay…now that we’ve got my pre-coverage commentary out of
the way, it’s now 8:00, and time for the real deal. Let’s get this over with.
Hello, Shepard Smith.
Once again. Have I mentioned that
I don’t really care for this type of debate?
It’s a domestic and foreign policy debate. And so it begins…
CC: “My goal is to…get
questions answered…”
And here they are.
CC: First question
from a college student, how will he support himself after graduation?
R: Pell grants,
etc. “I want you to be able to get a
job.”
O: “Your future is
bright.” Really? “the 5 million jobs we’ve created in the last
23 months…” Um…okay? He’s pointing his finger, Biden-esque. Student loans. “the jobs of the future” Huh? And
now he’s on to energy. Where did he get
here from? Reduce our deficit, fair
share. Come on! The Debbie Wasserman-Shultz talking points
are already free-floaing.
CC: “What about the
long-term unemployed?”
R: “The president’s
policies have been exercised over the last four years, and they haven’t worked.” Nice.
He called out the real unemployment number: 10.7% And now he’s calling out Obama on Detroit. The president is actually looking him in the
eye tonight.
O: “What Governor
Romney says just isn’t true.” Aggressive,
he’s trying to be. Now he’s on to class
warfare. “go back to the same policies
to just got us here” Blame Bush.
Next question: Gas
prices, and Secretary Chu’s statements on not lowering gas prices.
O: Touting his
administration’s alleged energy record.
Mileage standards, green energy.
Blah, blah, blah.
R: “I want to make
sure we use our oil, our coal, our nuclear…”
North American energy independence is brilliant. Not going to lie. The Keystone pipeline. “How in the world the president said no to
the pipeline, I’ll never know.” Love it!
CC: “…are we looking
at the new normal?”
O: “Very much of what
Gov. Romney just said is not true.” “…the
last president is an oil man.” He’s
trying to label Romney as anti-coal. Is
there a plank in his eye? “What I try to
do, is be consistent.”
Ooo…a back and forth.
Obama is trying to spout facts, and I think he’s getting testy when
Romney is throwing facts at him and he can’t rebut them with his own.
R: “The truth is what
you’re paying at the pump.” “If the
president’s energy policies are working, you’d see them working.” Again, the Keystone pipeline.
O: And he’s blaming
gas prices on Bush. Typical. The DWS talking points. “I’m all for pipelines.” Wow. I
can’t believe this. I mean, it’s typical
for him to lie through his teeth, but he’s so obviously lying.
Okay, Candy. You’re
obviously trying to save Obama’s [posterior].
It’s too obvious. Ugh.
Next question: Reducing
tax rates. Eliminating deductions.
R: This is good
stuff. Prices are up, incomes are
down. “I am not going to have people on
the high end paying less than they are now.”
No taxes on interests, dividends, and capital gains. Preach.
“The president’s spending, the president’s borrowing will [cause higher
taxes]…I’ll get us on track to a balanced budget.”
O: “My philosophy on
taxes has been simple.” Yep. Class warfare. “If we’re serious about reducing the deficit…the
wealth [need to] do a little more.” And
now we blame Congress and tout the Clinton years. Come on.
You have nothing to run on. Now
we’re on to fairness.
R: “For me, this is
about jobs.” Simple. The Five Point Plan. What could be more simple? This is the distinction between the governor
and the president. The governor has a
plan, the president has a speech.
O: Estate tax. What’s wrong with eliminating that? What’s wrong with funding the military? This guy is a joker. Why would anyone vote for him? “The math doesn’t add up.” “Either…this blows up the deficit…or you’re
going to be paying for it.” “Nobody that’s
looked at it that’s serious [says it will work].”
R: “I was someone who
ran businesses for 25 years and balanced budgets…the Olympics….as governor…” “We have his own record…he said he’d cut the
deficit in half. He doubled it.” “I know what it takes to balance
budgets. I’ve done it my entire life.”
Next question
O: “Looking forward
to it.” Yeah, because you can’t win in
this arena.
Question: Inequality
in the workplace.
This is a plant question.
This is about the only “success” of the Obama administration.
O: Typical
response. Lilly Leadbetter Act. Talking points. Again, this is CC saving his
[posterior].
R: He’s propping his
successes nominating women to his cabinet.
“I know what it takes to get an economy that works…an economy with 7.8%
unemployment isn’t one that works.”
O: What a pompous
[donkey]. And now we’re on to the faux
war on women. “This is not just a health
issue, it’s an economic issue.” Contraceptives
are an economic issue? Now he’s
defending Planned Parenthood, claiming they’re all about mammograms and cancer
screenings, as opposed to the chief promoters of infanticide that the facts
point to.
Next question: The
Bush administration’s failures.
Really? “What’s the biggest
difference between you and George W. Bush…?”
Are you [fracking] kidding me?
Another plant question.
R: He totally just
squashed Obama’s claims from the last question.
The five point plan. Promoting small businesses and jobs.
O: This is just a
chance for him to rail on Bush. What he’s
been doing for the last four years! Come
on. “Governor, you’re the last person
who’s going to get tough on China.” Are
you kidding me? This aggressive strategy
is failing, but I bet Chris Matthews has got a thrill down his leg. Now we’re on to somewhat propping up Bush’s
immigration policies.
Next question: What
have you (Obama) done to make me vote for you, even though I’m not as optimistic
as I was in 2008? This is a joke.
O: Shut up. All you’re spewing is the DWS talking
points. “The commitments I’ve made, I’ve
kept. And those I haven’t kept…” Such a contradiction. Blah, blah, blah. Go away.
R: “I think you know
better. I think you know the last four
years haven’t been [that good].” No
commentary necessary. Pointing out the
failed promises of this president. Oh,
and the failed policies. Touting
Reagan. Look, I love Reagan, but you can’t
relive the past. “Median incomes down $4300…23
million people out of work. That’s what
this question is about.”
Next question:
Immigrants without green cards.
R: “We welcome legal
immigrants into this country.” “We
should make sure that our legal system work…We need to stop illegal
immigration.” No amnesty. Nice.
Pathway to permanent residency.
O: “We’re also a
nation of laws…” Oh, is that why you
issued an executive order to gain votes, er, um, fix immigration? So bored with his answer. Heard it all before. He’s a robot.
Now he’s ripping on Arizona – you know, one of the few states that’s
actually trying to fix the broken immigration system. And now he’s blaming Congress. Again.
Broken record. Literally.
R: He just slapped
back, before answering CC’s question on self deportation. Oh, and the president wants to cut in.
O: “I haven’t looked
at my pension. It’s not as big as yours.” Come on.
I’ll give him credit for getting back on topic, but he’s still ripping
on Arizona. Lame. And there you go on ripping Congress. Yet again.
Next question:
Libya. Who denied the
security? Another plant question. He’ll defer blame to Hillary.
O: “Nobody’s more
concerned about their safety than I am.”
“Investigate exactly what happened.”
Is that why you blamed it on a YouTube video for a week instead of
telling the truth?! Come on! Now he’s saying that Romney was just trying
to score political points. “You don’t
turn national security into a political issue.”
Hypocrite. And there it is: Osama
bin Laden. Shut the [front door]. I’m surprised that he didn’t blame Hillary.
R: “It was a
terrorist attack.” “Whether there was
some misleading…” Now he’s calling Obama
out for fundraising while the feces was hitting the fan. “This calls into
question the president’s policy in the Middle East.” Obama looks like a cat perched on his
stool.
CC: Hillary took
blame.
O: “She works for me.” “I said this was an act of terror.” No you didn’t. You blamed a YouTube video. Oh, now he’s offended that the governor
inferred that they played politics.
R: Totally calling
the Obama out. Okay, not his best
answer, but he’s right.
Next question: Gun
control. Again with the [fracking] plant
question.
O: Oh, and there’s
Aurora. This is a joke. What does this have to do with banning
assault weapons? “We’ve got more to do.” “Weapons that were designed for soldiers…don’t
belong on our streets.”
R: “I’m not in favor
of new pieces of legislation…taking guns away.”
“…enforce the gun laws that we have and change the culture of violence.” He’s propping up a two-parent family to help
curb the culture of violence. Yes! Bring up Fast and Furious. “It’s one of the great tragedies…under this
administration…executive privilege…”
O: Ugh. Now he’s knocking the NRA. Bad move.
“Governor Romney was for an assault weapon ban before he was against it.” Yawn.
Heard it all before. Oh, so you
want to make sure the time keepers are doing their job, unless you’re
talking. He’s talking over CC. Ugh.
What a douche.
Next question: Outsourcing.
Yet another plant question.
R: China. “We have made it less attractive for enterprises
to stay here.” “It’s not by trickle down
government…[it’s] never worked here.”
Chinese manipulation of currency.
“What’s key to bringing back jobs here…make America the most attractive
place for jobs…” “We have to be
competitive, if we’re going to create more jobs here.” Regulations.
Comparing Canadian business tax at 15% to ours at 35%. Knocking ObamaCare as a job-killer.
O: “We need to create
jobs here.” Now he’s saying Romney wants
to expand tax incentives for companies who ship jobs overseas. Again, scare people into voting for you.
CC: Bringing
manufacturing home.
R: Play by the
rules. Make America attractive.
O: “There are some
jobs that aren’t going to come back. … I want high skill, high wage jobs.” How
about jobs, period?! Come on.
R: “Government does
not create jobs. Government does not
create jobs.”
Next question:
Biggest misconception about you as a man.
R: “I care about 100%
of the American people.” Way to get
ahead of the inevitable 47% comment. “We
don’t have to settle for what we’re going through…gas at $4/gal…47 million
people on food stamps…”
O: “I believe the
free enterprise system is…the greatest the world has ever known.” Did it give you physical pain to say
that? Fairness. Blah, blah, blah. And there’s the 47% comment. Predictable.
“I want to fight for them.” I’m
sure you do, because they’re about the only people who are willing to vote for
you now.
Ended about the way I expected to. At worst this was a draw. Romney won though. I know I’m biased, but this debate was a
joke. It was almost as if the questions
were handpicked for Obama.
Unsurprising. CC is like Rachel
Maddow-lite. However, I don’t think this
will shift momentum. The Democrat
machine will do everything in its power to spin this as a decisive Obama
victory. It was not. At least he showed up to this debate. He got a couple decent digs/answers in, but
he’s a broken record. In fact, he’s not
even that. He has no record to run
on. Romney didn’t just go on the offense
all night. He held his own against Obama’s
best shots. For such a hostile
environment, Romney did quite well. I
could elaborate further, but I need to cool off.
Obama 17, Romney 30
Let’s get the next one out of the way, so I don’t have to
watch another Obama robot show. I really
hope said robot is shutting down in exactly three weeks…
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