INSTANT DEBATE ANALYSIS: I'm calling it a draw (judging from the standpoint of the average moron who doesn't know who's telling the truth). Romney was solid and knowledgeable, Obama was glib and had an answer for everything (whether truthful, relevant, or not).
Schieffer did a pretty respectable job of moderating - much better than Candy Crowley. Summation: I don't think Romney got hurt, and I don't think Obama got helped. I'd give more detail, but after watching B. Hussein for 90 minutes, I'm not actually cold sober.
In candor, I'm extremely disappointed that Mitt didn't beat Barry over the head with his numerous foreign policy failures. I don't know if Mitt's pollsters told him not to risk it, or it Mitt just didn't have the stomach for it. But it SHOULD have been said that this president has endangered American lives, undermined the confidence of our allies, emboldened our enemies, and generally made a complete mess of every conceivable foreign policy decision he's made.
That didn't happen, and frankly I'm damned disappointed.
Monday, October 22, 2012
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38 comments:
yeah, I was hoping the can of whoop-ass would get opened, but the only shot Mitt took at 0bama was the crack about being "more flexible after the election".
I can see, hear, feel, and smell MASSIVE voter fraud coming.
@DRjim- All I can guess is that Romney's internal polling said that things are good, and that he shouldn't jeopardize it by going on the attack. That being said, I WANTED HIM TO GO ON THE F**KING ATTACK.
And I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm also feeling like massive voter fraud is heading our way.
After the joy of sending in my ballot today, it's a little disappointing to not have seen Romney a little more forceful. But time will tell...in a couple weeks, eh?
On one hand I had wished Romney would have uncorked the whoop-a**, but on reflection, I think he did what was necessary which was to appear presidential. Obama did not help his case with the expression of a mongoose ready to attack, nor his petty jibes and interruptions. I tend to rely a little on Luntz's group, but what was surprising to me, they all agreed that without a strong economy you couldn't have a strong foreign policy, and when asked who won the economy side they agreed Romney, when asked who won the foreign policy side they agreed Obama - ????
Romney won the majority of the available points in the first debate - I think it was Rove that said there are only so many points in the polls available, whomever won the first would maintain throughout, because at best they could only pick up 1 or 2 points in the 2nd & 3rd debates. All Romney had to do was appear presidential and not make any errors, which he did. I think his tactic will prove to be the overall winner of the evening and continue the move in the polls towards the Romney/Ryan ticket.
Another note - when Obama said, as a put down, the they (the military) don't use horses or bayonets anymore, Chris Wallace said he had a Marine text him the the Marines still used their bayonets. Yes we did, and do.
Mr. President:
http://www.marines.com/operating-forces/equipment/weapons/bayonet
I'm not too worried about Romney's performance, he was in control and he had his facts straight. It was Obama who came across as terribly aggressive -- a good offense is a good defense. But here is a rather heartening tidbit concerning those hard-to-figure Judeans [of which I am a tribesman] and their devotion to all things Democrat. It appears the secular-leaning Israelites cohort is finally waking up.
@SeaDog52 -- Not only was Obama a snotty, condescending, overdressed sparrow fart, he was wrong about the nature of horses and ships as military assets.
I had to turn it off again. Øbama relied - as usual - on blaming Bush and Cheney (even after all this time), belittling Romney every chance he could get, and spewing lie upon lie about his record. I was particularly entertained when he tried to paint his aptly named Apology Tour as anything other. See what happens when a lying, literal bastard makes it to the presidency? A perfect representative of the "entitlement class" in all manner of behavior.
In any case, I think Mitt did a pretty good job in the hour or so I made it through, He painted Øbama's policies as abject failures without descending to Øbama's level - though he inferred it, he abstained from directly calling him a liar every chance he could (and, in Øbama's case, hoping not to get fact-checked to death when he did so).
Per the massive voter fraud scenario, I think there will be violence - some half-hearted rioting - sponsored by the likes of the "New" Black Panthers, The Department of Justice, and other radical, left-wing militant groups - but I honestly think an Øbama win in November will plunge this country into something akin to a civil war. Mostly because the voter fraud aspect will be extremely difficult to hide, and those who won't countenance it are also those who are most able to participate in such an "insurrection" without having to be armed by the government. So, the course of our country will then be decided by not the electorate, but by the military. If the military is complicit, and turns the might of the country against those who would fight this tyranny, the constitutional conservative (or conservative constitutionalist, if you prefer) will become literally extinct, and the USA will become the new Greece. I hope for the sake of all around me; for the sake of my children and my grandchildren, that it does not come to this, but it is a fear that has nagged me every morning for the past year.
I wish Romney had hit harder, but I can understand why he didn't -- the Press would have turned it into a net negative for him.
Aside from President Think-Skin's ... well ... his thin-skin, ask yourself something:
Who looked like the incumbent, and who looked like the challenger?
Romney came off very presidential, and Obama like the challenger. Romney came off like someone with a huge lead that didn't NEED to attack over and over. Like Krauthammer said last night, Obama played very, very small.
Here's hoping last night was the last nail in Obama's figurative coffin.
Thanks!
I was very happy with the way Mitt handled the ass-hole's interruptions this time; he just kept talking! During the last debate, when BO would inturrupt, Romney would stop talking and let the rude bastard take the conversation. Not so last night. I was highly impressed because this has to be a damn hard thing to do.
I also thought BO stepped in it with the whole horse, bayonete, carrier and submarine thing. Mitt said we needed more ships, and Barry's comeback was "we have carriers and submarines now, not horses???" Umm, 'scuse me, Brainiac. I think that's what Mitt just said; we need more SHIPS!
It was also special when Schiefer said "Obama Bin Laden." I'll bet Barry cringed.
Maybe I'm imagining things, but I swear BO was getting pretty hot under the collar at times. Perhaps Mitt could have pushed him over the edge without much effort, but I think his strategy was a good one. He looked, as they say, "presidential." I think Barry just looked like he was hanging on for dear life and seemed relieved when it was over.
@Stilton,
I too badly wanted the can-o-whup-ass opened, but in retrospect, perhaps Romney did the wise thing. There will be ample opportunity to hammer the Benghazi raid in the coming two weeks, and it is nigh to impossible to retort a TV ad with your own ad immediately following.
There, I've blathered enough for now!
@Earl Allison -- "Who looked like the incumbent, and who looked like the challenger?"
Were you referencing this outstanding piece by Yuval Levin?
I watched the entire debate - heart racing most of the time. Being alone I was able to yell a couple of times at the tv, but it didn't help to quiet my racing heart. Mitt did look presidential & perhaps his demeanor appealed to women who dislike confrontation (not me, though). While I continued to hope Mitt would have attacked O on Libya, many talking heads confirm that Mitt showed himself to be presidential by not stooping to O's level. I hope & pray that Romney lost no support and becomes president.
Yes, I was very disappointed about Mitt's seeming timidity. I couldn't believe it when he used part of his time at the very beginning to make small talk. The question was Libya, and instead of jumping right in with a good stong comment about how Libya illustrates exactly what is wrong with Obama's feckless foreign policy, he thanks the moderator for accepting the invitation? Huh? Then bungles a line about how the humor might not be intentional this time. HUH? If he was going to waste time on small talk, how about saying something like "it was great fun trading barbs with you at the comedy dinner, Mr. President, but tonight we are here to discuss serious matters."
I bailed after about a half-hour. My cringe muscles couldn't take any more.
I haven't watched any video yet, but the reports say things got better.
I love the horses and bayonets line, since (as I have only just learned today) a statue was just dedicated to our brave special forces on horseback in Afghanistan!
Krauthammer says Mitt did the right thing strategically to stay cool, calm, and collected and not sound like a warmonger. Let's hope that is correct.
As promised, I watched the Bears (lackluster) performance last night and am waiting for the debate highlight reel (really guys, it was the Lions...you should have done much better). The comments from the pundits seem to indicate that few minds were changed and yes, Mitt looked calm and presidential in not viciously ripping Obama a new A-hole. I think Romney is far less concerned with missed attack opportunities than the end result on election day. I believe he has his eyes on the real prize and not random "points-scored" here and there.
Last Friday I read that Obama was going to be sequestered for at least 3 days for debate prep & I think it showed - other observers noted that he seemed well scripted & somewhat relaxed (although you could see at times that he was having a hard time being "calm, cool, and collected"). For the first debate, Obama blew off the need for prep (he's the "expert", can do his own prep without any one's help, ya know.)
I think they both were walking a fine line lest the womens get alienated - Obama couldn't come off as the angry, scary black man & Romney couldn't be seen as the one provoking the black man to anger.
@Cookie- Charles Krauthammer's analysis was interesting. He thought Romney looked presidential by being thoroughly versed in the issues, and not stooping to easy attacks on Obama. And this was probably the smart play.
@SeaDog52- My visceral dislike of Obama is such that I wanted to see him really interrogated - but that's not how elections are won. I think Romney looked like a president, and Barry looked like a shifty little weasel.
And the "horses and bayonets" line felt pre-scripted and petty. Not to mention wrong.
@Gang of One- Barry must have been wearing noncombustible pants when he claimed to be a friend of Israel and a foe of Iran.
On a nearly unrelated note, Mrs. Jarlsberg thinks "snotty, condescending, overdressed sparrow fart" is the best description of Obama to date. Well done!
@Emmentaler- I wanted to turn it off, but duty stayed my hand. And whiskey stayed in my hand, and I've got a slow start on the day to prove it.
I think Mitt did a good job throughout, and he landed a few solid punches (like the apology tour reference, and "being more flexible after the election").
Regarding violence if the election goes the wrong way, I'm not expecting more than a kerfuffle or two - though I do worry about something bigger happening. Then again, I also filled a closet with canned chili, fruit salad, rice and bottled water for Y2K.
But I don't think something truly huge is impossible, and that's sad.
@Earl Allison- I think Romney played it right. And as you watched the split-screen images, it seemed like Barry was getting more tense, more terse, and more desperate looking as the evening went on. And why wouldn't he? He surely had prepped for every legitimate attack Mitt could make, and all of those things were churning under the surface. Mitt calmly spoke about foreign policy and kept Barry off-center by NOT going into the specific charges which would have let Obama use a pre-scripted zinger reply.
@Colby- Good analysis. Barry was hot under the collar and seemed desperate. And if Mitt had gone on the attack the way my id wanted him to, the press would be saying today that Romney has no thoughts on foreign policy beyond attacking the president. Which reminds me, Mitt cleverly unleashed that sentiment on Barry a couple of times- something along the lines of "attacking me is not a foreign policy." He phrased it better, but it cut like a knife.
@Gang of One- That is an outstanding piece. Thanks for the link!
@Irene Peduto- I'm confident that Mitt lost no ground, and more likely gained ground. I think the conflict I was hoping to see was more about my desire for justice (or even vengeance) and probably would have scared off some of the undecideds who haven't tuned into the news since hearing that Mitt was allegedly a prep school bully.
@Sarah Rolph- I definitely wouldn't categorize Mitt's performance as timid; rather it was strong but not overtly aggressive. He spoke about countries and policies while Barry spoke about personalities and political campaigns. And Krauthammer is right (as always) that Mitt steered away from sounding like a warmonger, which is obviously how Obama wanted to paint him (and which Biden clumsily did of Ryan in their debate).
@Angry Hoosier Dad- You've got it exactly right. I think Mitt's internal polling told him that he needed to be credible and presidential last night rather than combative. And while it lacked the visceral fun of gladitorial combat, I'm increasingly sure it was the right move to put him into the Oval Office.
@alan markus- I agree that both candidates were aware that Joe Biden had alienated women with his literally hysterical performance in the VP debate, and so tried to keep it cool.
Which reminds me - when Barry got in a shot about Mitt wanting to take women's health back to the 1950's, that's when I fantasized about Mitt whacking the little sparrow fart over the head with a folding chair. (Special note to Secret Service: "metaphorically," of course)
@Emmentaler Limburger, Your post election scenario is my chief concern as well, especially with these reports of UN monitored polls and the links posted the other day that already declare "0" the winner. And to think, 4 short years ago I recall hearing plenty of libtards moaning about a certain GWB attempting to pull the same stunt to hold on to power indefinitely. Again, I am sickened by what this nations population has allowed itself to become. We are living in the last days of Rome... The barbarians are not at the gates, they're in the city.
AHD - was dellighted to discover that the game was avail over the air, so didn't have to go out to watch it. So, I actually saw most of the debate, flicking over occasionally, then watched the game until about the last 3 min... here's a re-post from last night.
-------
Awwww, crapness. Only thing worse than watching Romney ALMOST hammer President SpinWeasle was watching Lions offense utterly fail against Chicago. Da Bears had their number, defensively. Question - if the QB you're using is NOT able to score from inside the 10 in 3 attompts in the 1st half, why the HELL do you not pull him? WTF?!?! D was good, but offense, special teams, utterly lacking.
Oh, was I talking football? Gosh, you could say the same for the debate. Fmeh...
I mean, to those of us who follow 'real' news, not just the LSM, President CrapWeasle looked like he was holding a bag of turd burgler profits, and trying to sell them as 'magic beans'. To the Obama Phone crowd? He was golden! Problem is, a gilded poo is still, at it's core, poo... What a total dick.
Early in the debate last night, I was hoping for a more aggressive Romney, and I was disappointed. As the debate continued, I started thinking the same thing that a lot of talking heads brought up afterwords; that Romney looked to be more Presidential than his challenger.
After the debate I started wondering... Did Romney prepare for each debate? Or did he develop a three debate strategy? It almost seems that he started as the aggressive challenger early on, then gradually shifted to placing himself as the "campaign victor" by the end of the trio.
If so, kudos to him for playing the long game, and once again showing that Øbama is not even playing the same game, let alone in his league.
Stilton - "I think Romney looked like a president, and Barry looked like a shifty little weasel."
I think there is a VERY GOOD reason for that...
((-'pb
Necron - Yes, exactly, and we're nto allowed to kill them!
>sigh<
Of course, that would get messy and ugly too...
Gang of One,
You are correct, sir! (or madam, no intention to offend). It was a great read, and spot-on.
Thanks!
I felt Mittens won because his body language and bearing came off as far more "presidential." I think BHO's snarky glibness work to his disadvantage in the context.
@Earl Allison -- " ... sir! (or madam ... "
It depends on my mood that day.
"... no intention to offend) ... "
None taken!
Maybe that's TMI?!
Just for kicks:
http://silencedogood2010.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/massive-voter-fraud-in-NC/
I don't know if I'd call this "massive" fraud, but if one considers the "tip of the iceberg" theory...
I feel the same way Stilton. I am disappointed that Mitt didn't nail Obama's big ears to the wall with Libya (and Fast & Furious).
@Necron99- I don't like the international monitors or (ahem) "accidental" posting of election returns (with an Obama win) either. I'm not too worried about it all, but there is an element of stress which won't go away until Barry is safely barricaded in Hawaii.
@Pete D- Didn't Shakespeare originally coin the phrase that a gilded poo is still poo? Or was that A.A. Milne?
@txGreg- The more I think about it, the more I believe that Romney's strategy was perfect, and my visceral approach was wrong. So I'm a pretty happy camper today.
@LibertyAtStake- No question that Barack looked like a pickpocket and Mitt looked solid. It's pretty clear who you'd want representing our country during times of crisis.
@Gang of One- Not sure if you're a sir or a madam? Must be one of those bipartisans we've heard so much about... (grin)
@Colby- I'm not sure if that story is funny or disturbing. After 2 days of early voting, NC is showing 758 of the votes were cast by voters who are 112 years old. NC officials say this is just a little glitch in the system, because they give voters a birthyear of 1900 if they don't have the actual birthdate for someone being registered as a voter. (Banging head on desk...)
@David B Finlayson- Of course, Mitt can (and should) still do that on the campaign trail!
Wow. Long read, but wow. Warning signs
Again, I couldn't watch. Not because of Mitt's performance, but because the CrapWeasel grates so horribly on my nerves. I probably couldn't stand him even if he wasn't lying. (Love that label, by the way. Wonder if we can get that on the portrait they'll eventually have to place of him in the capitol? I can see it now...Ronald Wilson Reagan...George Herbert Walker Bush...William Jefferson Clinton....George Walker Bush....A CrapWeasel... Wouldn't that be grand?!)
Emmantaler, you take that BACK! Why I never...!
@Stilton,
The good news is, Mrs. Colby went to vote today and she said everybody, both black and white, were offering their I.D.'s to the folks behind the counter, even though our POS governor vetoed the voter I.D law. She said they asked her to tell them her address without looking at her I.D. I'm about half afraid to bring that up for fear some bunch of liberal loonies will try to make them stop asking for addresses.
@Emmantaler,
Wow! That was quite the read you posted. Some of that was in the movie 2016, but a lot wasn't. CrapWeasel stinks like a sewer because he has lived in one his whole life! Apologies to Crap Weasel above.
Emm - That was pretty cool - think he could do the same for Kwame Kilpatrick? (For those who don't know, he's the former mayor of Detroit, currently on trial by the feds for racketeering, embezzlement, contract fraud. Dirty as the mud in a pig pen, and ruined everyone he knew, possibly involved inthe drive-by murder of a stripper who was main entertainment at a wild "party that never happened"...)
Ever had a guy sit and glare at you like BO did? Makes ya wanna slap the s**t out of him!
But Romney was not intimidated. Strong man, good man. Did not say perfect...but miles better than what we have now!
@ Emmentaler - I did read that article sometime within the past two weeks. Today, however, I copied & pasted it to my Word program. It is being printed as I type. While I remember some of the "just happened" events, most escaped my memory. Thanks for the link - I will share it now.
MSM isn't as much in Obama's pocket as I'd have thought:
In a new TV ad, President Obama makes an inflated claim to have added 5.2 million new jobs. The total added during his time in office is actually about 325,000.
@ colby
Kudos to the Missus and the other voters in your area. I think it is ridiculous that I have to show more id to cash a check at my bank (where they've known me for over 40 years) than I do to exercise a citizen's most important civic duty - to vote. (Although Barry and Co. would insist that paying taxes was more important. It's always the money with the Dems)
As for the debate, I think Mitt made the right decision. He acted Presidential and Barry came unglued. He is being fact-checked nearly to death even on the MSM. Maybe now SOME of the thinking public will come to it's senses. For the Obama phone people there is no hope. The willfully stupid will be with us always.
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