OK....I have waited to blog about last Wednesday's debate. I wanted to let my thoughts "marinade" for a little while. As I try to get the image of my President on stage with an "I'd rather be anywhere except Denver today" look in his eyes. As I try to get the reality of Governor Romney belting out inaccuracy after inaccuracy at the speed of sound, and neither the moderator or the President challenging him on it. And, as I try to get Chris Matthew's "Where was Obama?" whine out of my brain. I've listened to and read an avalanche of criticisms against the President. He "looked down", he looked like he didn't want to be there, he took notes, he stammered, he needed his teleprompter,why didn't he mention the 47%.....and the criticisms went on and on. Well...this is how I see it.
The object of this blog is not to make excuses for the President, but to put in perspective why I think the American people gave Romney a win on this debate.To start with, the expectations for the Governor were set so low, that all he really had to do was show up on the same stage with an incumbent President, and he would look good. After all, his entire campaign was hanging on his performance during this debate.The second observation is that Romney is indeed articulate and detailed, and has shown the ability to sell snow cones to an Eskimo. After-all, the debates are not "Meet the Press", so there was no David Gregory there to run a video clip to say...."Mr. Romney, this is what you really said about the five trillion dollar tax cut". There is no time or ability to fact check in the middle of a debate. To the uninformed, if it sounds good, it must be true.The third observation, the Governor appeared to be coached, perhaps even "over coached" if that is possible. Nothing wrong with being coached for a debate, but Mitt had all the time in the world to be coached and prepped. Barack has a full time job, he is President of the United States. Besides preparing for the debate, he still has domestic and foreign issues to deal with, and he still has to campaign. And let's not forget....it was his anniversary! My fourth thought is that Barack Obama has put the bar and expectations incredibly high for himself. Although I didn't think he looked that bad, most of my fellow Democrats, that I've had a chance to talk to, expressed disappointment. We look up to the President, and at this point, he may even be looking up to himself. The American people do expect him to be Superman. Anything that falls short of that is perceived as a failure.
One of the excuses that former Vice-President Al Gore gave, was that Mr. Obama didn't have time to adjust to the altitude. Most people laughed off that excuse, but I lived in Denver for about seven years, and I am a witness to altitude adjustment. Denver sits at a mile high above sea level...5280 ft. I, of course, got used to the altitude while I lived there. But whenever I return there to visit, it takes at least a day for me to adjust to the altitude. Denver greets me each time with a headache for at least a day. But with hydration and rest, I'm usually ready by the following day. Mr. Romney arrived in Denver about two days before the event, so naturally he had time to adjust. Mr. Obama arrived just a few hours before the debate, so naturally his body may not have had time to adjust. ( he had done most of his prep in Las Vegas, NV, which is only 200 feet above sea level) Although the altitude argument may not be an excuse for performance.....it is something to consider.
When I initially watched the debate, and even when I re-watched it, I really did not think that the President's performance was that bad, as I said previously. He did have a "vacant" look on his face from time-to-time, and he didn't look directly at Romney....really what else was he supposed to do? When the debate was watched on split-screen ( as most of the major networks showed it), you saw that "sickening" plastic look on Romney's face while the President was speaking. The split screen did show Mr. Obama looking down at the lectern, but listening and writing notes when the Governor spoke. If he had stared at the Governor, sneered, made faces, or smirked....he would have been criticized for that. The other criticisms...why didn't the President mention Romney's 47% comment. My answer....because he didn't have to. The discussion did not steer in that direction. Besides the leaked video has burrowed itself so deeply into the American electorate, that it is still doing damage. I don't think voters will forget his comments or his back-pedaling when they go to the polls. The President needs his teleprompter.....no he doesn't. The President speaks very well off the cuff...unlike some of his predecessors.(Reagan comes to mind) Although...admittedly...this debate wasn't his best performance...all of his answers were detailed....and most of all (as fact-checkers have since stated) they were accurate. He stammered through his answers....well, if anyone has noticed...the President stammers. His speech is halting and thoughtful. He does speak much smoothly with a prepared text, but, as a fellow stammerer, I can relate. I could go on and on. The bottom line is, Mr. Romney went on the attack, and he was called "aggressive". If Mr. Obama had went on to attack Romney, he would have been called "arrogant".
Criticism of the moderator, Jim Lehrer, was prominent too. I did think he almost "lost control" of the debate at one point. But how would you have liked to be in his place. He was sitting in front of a sitting President and a guy who wants his job. Hindsight is of course 20/20, but he should have asked more follow-up questions when there were obvious inaccuracies. He should have cut the speaker off when they reached the time limit.....whether it was the Governor or the President. But....I wouldn't have wanted to be in his place.
Overall, I learned a lot through the debate. One is that even if the words are downright fallacies, the people are awed by body language and style. I have made up my mind anyway, so this debate didn't really sway me. It seems that may have been the effect on most of the American people also. The polls really haven't changed much. Despite his "lackluster" debate performance (which was still better than Bush vs Kerry), the President is at 50% against the Governor's 45% among likely voters. (according to Gallup....which could be completely changed by the time you read this). The job reports came out last Friday, and the unemployment rate dropped below 8%. This has definitely taken away a plank and some steam from the Romney campaign. Even without anymore October surprises....I think that the Obama campaign is still on a very good track to victory on November 6th.
BUT....we still have two more Presidential debates in October and a VP debate during the upcoming week. I think that the President will look much better during his next two debates. I think that he may have been caught off guard by an energized Romney. He couldn't react to all the inaccuracies (OK.....lies), fast enough with his thoughtful, halting speech pattern. And I bet that he will LOOK (maybe even STARE) at Romney next time. Notwithstanding any major gaffes in the Vice Presidential debate (please Joe, please), I think that the Democrats will be OK. Governor Romney on the other hand did look sharp and prepared, and he gave a splendid performance. And that's exactly what it was.....a performance.
VOTE PEOPLE..........and Go Orioles!!!!
Early voting in Maryland starts on Saturday, October 27 and runs through Thursday November 1. Locations in Howard County are:
The Bain Center
5470 Ruth Keeton Way
Columbia, MD 21044
The Ellicott City Senior Center
9401 Frederick Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Ridgely's Run Community Center
8400 Mission Road
Jessup, MD 20794
Hours are 10:00am until 8:00pm except Sunday, October 28 when hours will be from 12:00pm until 6:00pm
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