Who Was That Guy Who Showed Up At The Debate Last Night in an Obama Suit?
That was not Barack Obama.
Barack Obama would not let Mitt Romney strap him to the roof of his station wagon and drive it around the country for 90 minutes.
Barack Obama would not stand there taking notes and shaking his head yes while Mitt Romney lied so much that now his dog won’t even come if he calls him.
Barack Obama would not completely ignore Mitt Romney claiming to be a friend of the middle class while disdaining 47% of this country.
Barack Obama would not let Mitt Romney get away with Magic Math.
Barack Obama would have fought for you, me, and Aunt Lizzy Mae.
I do not know who that guy was, but somebody needs to find our President and send him to the next debate.
That said, I still believe that most of the American people will still not vote for Mitt Romney.
And has anybody discovered what was on his flag pin? Diamonds? The blood of small children who would starve under a Romney administration? A black heart?
I bow to the genius of Margaret and Helen.
That was Obama protecting his lead in the likeability polls and triangulating himself into a pretzel debating on Republican turf.
1Disappointing, I still love him, but disappointing.
2The sky is not falling. Just sent off my absentee ballot this morning (FL).
3I think he was coached to not attack him so he would not look like a not-so-nice guy. But they weren’t prepared for him switching his views and acting like that was what he said all along. Mittens better be careful over the next 2 – especially in a Town Hall format! The Great Flipper needs to be held to account, and if Obama has to act not-so-nice to do it, he needs to.
4All I could think of was how is his base going to react to his (Romney’s) new/old positions?
5I’ll give Obama’s strategy a chance to sugar off, but since I have confidence in him I think he’s using the “Rope a Dope” strategy. The other shoe hasn’t dropped yet and if anything Obama is credited with being a strategic player, I’m hoping I’m correct and the carnage will begin with the ads after the “debate”.
You know, one of the things I keep in mind about the Prez is that he is furlongs beyond me in intellect. That’s why it’s good for him to be the Prez, and why I want to keep him there.
There are two more debates to go. Y’all may remember a tale about a tortoise and a hare. The hare came out gangbusters, the tortoise crossed the finish line first. Aesop’s advice was slow and steady wins the race. Also it’s football season. This was the first quarter, and Rmoney came out throwing, and maybe even scored a field goal or two. But increasingly in the NFL, it’s which team makes the fewest mistakes and which team capitalizes on the others’ mistakes that determines who the winner is. Any comments about replacement moderators may be inserted here. Finally, I love the looney tunes featuring Wile E Coyote and either Bugs or the Road Runner. Wile E (super genius) always winds up looking like a prize ass. Similarly. Br’er Fox always looked like a prize ass when Br’er Rabbit was done w him. So, two out of three isn’t bad for the rabbits, and we still have two debates to go, and Mr Obama didn’t have any unforced errors either (oops baseball now)
Hey sports fans, how bout the first triple crown in 45 years! Congratulations to Mr Cabrera!
6Romney’s repeated reference to “my plan” or “I have a plan”, reminds me of a Monty Python skit: Graham Chapman as a television interviewer and John Cleese in drag as a palaeontologist, Anne Elk, appearing in a television talk show titled Thrust.
The plot of the skit is that the interviewee, Anne Elk, cannot bring herself to describe the actual basis of her supposed new palaeontological theory on dinosaurs, specifically Brontosauruses. After several false starts during which she repeatedly and noisily attempts to clear her throat, Ms. Elk spends most of the interview circuitously leading up to the “theory of dinosaurs by Anne Elk bracket Miss brackets”, making assertions like “My theory, which belongs to me, is mine.” It turns out that in the end Miss Elk’s new theory on brontosauruses is rather shallow: “All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much, much thicker in the middle, and then thin again at the far end.” Her true concern is that she receive full credit for devising this new theory: “That is the theory that I have, and which is mine, and what it is too.”
7Be very afraid! Lying for the Lord has been LDS doctrine since Joseph Smith’s day.
8Now it is being done in order save the “Sacred Constitution.”
I mentioned to my “R” coworker that most people who vote for Romney are, in fact, voting against a black man.
He said, “You got that right, lefty!”
What bothers me is that big group of “undecided” voters, which is another term meaning “clueless”. They have not been paying attention until now, and do not realize that Mittens lied. They will never hear the fact-checkers later. It’s up to Obama to call him on it DURING the debates. Otherwise, that “undecided” will just think Mittens has it right and vote accordingly.
9When was the last time any of you played Texas Hold ’em? Did you not see the occasional ear to ear grin on POTUS’ face? Our man in the White house is a PLAYER, y’all. He done snookered Mittens AND the media.
10I hope you’re right, Gramiam. It’s the only explanation I can think of for POTUS’ reserve.
11What’s going to do Mittens in….. is his threat to fire Big Bird.
Nobody much cares if he fires Jim Lehrer.
But, you don’t mess with Big Bird.
12So call the White House 202 456 1111 and tell them. Or go to the White House website or Facebook page and tell them again. Come on Obama, we know you can do it! Go git ’em. Too bad they don’t have little handouts for folks to take home. Maybe TVs should be hooked up to printers….
13People need to remember, Obama is not a great debator. Trust me, I train them and was a fair one in my day. He isn’t wired to deliver gotchas off the cuff. He is more professorial, which is something he fights against (and lost last night) in these forums. That’s part of his appeal to me, is he is more willing (and wants ) to have a real discussion on these problems than focus on the optics and rhetoric.
I remember when he had the health care discussion with members of the GOP. That was Obama at his best, and what I’d like to see more of: the wonkish, get to the details, hammer out the solution type of guy.
He’ll be better in the other debates. It was clear his strategy tonight was to play defense, not come off aggressive (he could have pounded Romney on at least 7 occasions that I counted).
He is a great orator, even writes a lot of this stuff himself, but he’s not a great debator, and that’s ok.
14I dunno, Gramiam. Your take on Obama’s performance reminds me of another Monty Python sketch, “The Dead Parrot”, where Michael Palin tries to convince John Cleese that the parrot he recently bought at his pet store is not dead. “He’s pining for the fjords.” I hope you’re right. Really, I do.
15Juanita Jean, I’m old enough to remember Errol Flynn and some wonderfully theatrical sword fights. I can remember curling into my theater seat and squealing while the hero character backed up, and backed up, and seemed to be retreating and retreating. And then, when the bad guy was exactly where the hero wanted him to be, the hero-actor struck like lightning. I hope this is what’s happening.
16I imagine you all got the email from the campaign- “I hope I made you proud.” Disappointed is more accurate. But, I’m with aggieland liz- Barack Obama is wicked smart and he rarely makes mistakes, he has proved me wrong more often than not. That said, where the hell were women last night? Did either candidate acknowledge that 51% of the electorate are women and will be affected differently by choosing one of these two men as President?
17Cheryl, the myth of the undecided voter is a media vector to increase advertising revenue. There is a teensy percentage of the population who is agonizing over their choice between the two but most undecideds are people who don’t care enough to get information or process it when they see it on the way to the sports pages.
It plainly showed last night that Willard’s day job for the last 4 years has been Running For President while Barack’s debate prep time has been taken up with being President.
Yeah, he was less than stellar. But I agree with some other folks here – Obama plays the long game. I’m certain this is part of his plan.
18MO’bama – 2012
I, too, was disappointed. I agree with Cheryl – there were moments that just *begged* for POTUS to call b/s and he simply let them slide. I don’t think likeability is as critical now as credibility and that’s going to take some Whoa-ing. I kept waiting for it, especially that “716 billion pulled from Medicare to pay for Obamacare” lie, and was sorely miffed it didn’t happen. Golden opportunity and… nothing……
Unless it happened before I had a chance to start watching. I was late getting home and then had to throw something together for supper. For the record: Any leftover that won’t actually leak out the ends can be wrapped in a tortilla and called a burito; shepherd’s pie totally qualifies. 🙂
19I feel sure Romney’s base was happy to hear that they are not his base.
20Behold! The George Bush smirk in alive, well and living at Mitt’s place.
I just learned what “rope a dope” means. I’m sure hoping that this is my Prez’s strategy. If he let’s Rmoney and crew get too cocky they may really screw themselves. I say next debate we are going to see a sparkly-er version of Barak Obama.
21Obama was way off his game and looked at times bored, confused and lame. He must do much better in the future debates. But we should not forget that he said that his plan for Social Security and Mitt’s were “similar” and that should send shivers down our spines.
22Lance, I also used to be a debater (I debated in college and judged college debate all through law school). The best speakers do not always win in the debate world where the emphasis is on arguments and facts. Romney was very lose with the facts and the fact checkers are having fun. For example, Romney claimed that his health plan covered pre-existing conditions and Romney’s staff had to admit that this claim was a complete lie after the debate.
I counted more than a dozen Romney statements that are going to be easy to convert into very effective campaign commericals. For example, the claim that half of the green job investments have failed has already been walked back by the Romney campaign. See http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/10/04/960881/romney-admits-pushing-misinformation-in-debate/
I am very disappointed in the moderator who is getting too old to handle these debates. Hopefully this will be his last debate. My middle child was Lt. Governor of the State of Texas for an organization called Junior Statemen of America and she is convinced that any of her classmates could have kept better control of this debate. JSA does a legislative type debate style that I really do not like but is very similiar to the format used in Congress and state legislatures.
I agree that Romney sounded better and that President Obama was not as aggressive in this debate as I would like but that is not how I or other college debater types judge a debate. Romney is going to be paying a price for his lies in this debate over the next couple of weeks and President Obama is going to be able to exploit these lies.
I may be wrong but I really believe that facts matter. As the facts get looked at, I have a feeling that this debate will not be helping Romney that much.
23I apologize for not recognizing the younger fans in the audience when I used the Term “Rope a Dope” comes from the old Ali days when he was fighting.
24Also, a little pity on Jim Leahr who might be on the unemployment lines with Big Bird if Romney’s folks get their way. That had to be a little unnerving for him.
I still think the campaign ads from Obama’s side will be amazing with a lot of takes from the debate if I figured him out. Facts do matter and that will become very clear.
President Obama seemed largely disinterested in anything Romney had to say last night, and in a way, I don’t blame him…he really had nothing to gain by engaging in a word-for-word battle with His Lordship, who was at his oily, bullying, used car salesman, say-whatever-to-fit-the-moment best. I’m pretty sure he won’t get away with that next time
25The moderator looked like roadkill after totally losing control of this debate.I was shocked at how poorly it was handled. As for the President, I have repeatedly posted that only a fool would play poker with the POTUS…….I still say that and am looking forward to Debate v.2!
26I turned the sound off and followed along withe the fact checking at Think Progress. I’m sure – how does one debate a shapeshifter?
27“Think of the intelligence of the average person and realize half of the
28population is stupider than that” – George Carlin. Mitt was trying for that lower 47%
Someone on Maddow’s show said debating Mitt would be like trying to nail down Jello. It pretty much was that. How can you debate someone that shifts every 5 minutes? You cannot keep up with the argument.
29I thought President Obama looked ill. I hope he will get a chance to get a little rest in the next few days. Meanwhile, I expect mild mannered Joe Biden may very well tear LyinRyan several new orifices, using the Romney statements from this debate.
The blob on Romney’s flag is a gold elephant. Shows me what Romney thinks is valuable and what he thinks is just red, white, and blue.
30Margaret and Helen are spot on again. If you tweet, follow Helen and although she doesn’t tweet real often, she does tweet to let her followers know when a new column is up.
31I kept an eye on POTUS and I saw time and again his little smile and a mere shake of the head … shaking his head “no” to some of the stuff Romney was espousing! I believe the POTUS was simply letting Romney dig his own hole … showing his lack of control by railroading ole Jim Lehrer and demanding that he be first … me, me, me first!!
Barack Obama is one smart cookie … he knew what he was doing last night just like he has known what he has been doing for the past 4 years and … I say … we have to make sure he does what he does best for another 4 years and we have to make sure we get a Congress in there that will work with him!! Onward and upward, Folks!!
32Well, I didn’t see the debate and the President is way smarter than me, but I have a theory. All the polls have been showing events leaning toward an Obama victory and his campaign may have some concerns that our side may become complacent. Remember it’s all about keeping your side excited and motivated to vote! So, maybe Mr. Obama bobbles this first debate and gets everyone’s adrenaline pumping again. Just a theory.
33What I heard from my Twitter stream (because I was stuck fighting the dranglefrabbing netbook into submission–it’s now behaving and packing is going well) was that Jim Lehrer was too nice and they need a tougher moderator.
I’ve thought that before. What they need is a Marine Lt. Col with combat experience who’s also a good speaker (they exist.) Keeping things on track and the unit moving is what they do (the good ones; we won’t discuss the bad ones.) Someone who will say, backstage, “Listen up gentlemen. I am the moderator. When I say ‘Your time is up’ I mean it. Don’t make me go all Marine on you because I will. I ask the questions. You answer the questions. When one of you asks the other a question, you answer it. You don’t “reframe” anything. You don’t try to wiggle around the question…because I’ve whipped more young wetears butterbars in shape in my time than you can count…and I will call you on it. In public, in front of voters. You will each get a fair amount of time, but neither of you, including my Commander in Chief, is going to waste the American peoples’ time. Is that clearly understood, or do I need to drop into Marine-speak for you?”
And there would be whining and complaining and GOPsplaining from one of them and his “team” but nothing but God Himself (and I’m not sure even then) will move a Marine Lt. Col who knows he’s right. At some point, he’ll say “Son, listen up. You can have an easy time or a hard time. You’re aiming for a hard time. This is how it’s going to be, and if you don’t like it, you–unlike the Marines who’ve served under me–can walk away because *you’re a civilian*. And you’ve never been in a hot spot you couldn’t get out of….the Presidency of this nation is the hottest of hot spots, so if you can’t handle being told to stick to the rules here, how the [string of Marine language] do you think you can handle a crisis when you’re President? You want my respect–EARN it.”
Ah, veteran dreams….
34I’ve become accustomed to politicians like Mitt changing their policies every minute. What I don’t get is their drooling followers agreeing with every stance taken.
35Who are these booger eating fools?
Was I the only one who noticed the sly little smile on Obamas face every time Mittens spouted one of his lies. I think he was letting him hang himself. Keep the faith, y’all!
36I was wondering who that replacement Romney was on stage. He’s worried about the middle class? The rich don’t need tax breaks because they’re doing well enough? If I had to guess, the Republican strategists have looked at that thin sliver of undecideds, determined what they want, and that’s what Romney will promise from now until election day.
37Heh, heh. Emoon, that is flat brilliant. Or if we can’t get Marine Lt. Col., how about a retired Navy Chief Warrant? Jim Wright for Moderator! Jim Wright for Moderator! {ahem} Pardon. Got carried away.
Another solution, possibly easier and involving less cussing, is to give the Moderator a big ol’ round red OFF button to the microphones. Candidates get one warning that they’re either off subject or out of time. ONE. Then *smack*! Not only would it cut the rude run-ons, I think the reactions of the candidates would be telling. Very, very telling. I’d *pay* to see that! 😀
38EMoon … I so truly love your comment!
39I didn’t mind the format – – having a strict moderator or a way to cut the mike sounds too much like Bill O’Reilly or Stephen Colbert. Maybe it wasn’t loose enough. The moderator could have a cooler of beers that he and Barack shared. Then, when the beer drinkers of America figure out Mitt isn’t drinking, that he isn’t someone they could have a beer with, run a few ads suggesting he might bring back Prohibition. It’s as fair and honest as Mitts new I’m all concerned about you middle class folks and your problems.
40Okay, myp boyfriend kept getting so angry at Mitt that he was yelling so much I didn’t hear the whole thing–but one thing I have noticed, perhaps from growing up in a very mixed environment–is how pcarefully President Obama walks around appearing angry, and I mean this most gently, because the “angry black male” would find himself lynched by outraged white men–and I truly believe that the gorm-like Republicans would be all over that–part of the faux southern white
41outrage and racism would be uncovered so fast our heads would swim–try imagining Newts response to anger in a black man and see what I’m thinking…that being said, the thing I have been worried about from day one is assassination and that is also one of the reasons the President chooses to stay calm in the face of idiocy–giving the crackers a reason to get actually angry in a he must be stopped, my 2nd amendment rights and all that malarkey…I am spending time in prayer for protection of a family and leader that I hold as very skillful, and intelligent–qualities we desperately need in the years ahead—given what happened to Rep Giffords in Az and how many loosely connected nut cases we have free (in Ca we have Reagean to thank for that and so much more) I suggest we all do that, and send as much money and effort as we can to the campaign…We saw a wonderful author speak onhow the Black migration North and West in the 1920’s changed the South’s history– it reminded me of my barrio childhood in the West, “Ni***rtown” was what my mother called it when I was growing up in the 60’s–she would be appalled if you reminded her of that now, if she can change, anyone can…our nation NEEDS Obama to win–growing up rough, I am scared of the world Rmoney wants to condemn my grandchildren to…
We may have seen a new defining moment in Politics, it used to be said that Social Security was the third rail, now it looks like it might be Big Bird.
42Big Bird has a higher approval rate than Mitt!
43Just glad to know the little doo-hickey the Rs deface the colors with is an elephant. Should be a great big pile of elephant excrement.
44Since one of the major complaints against Obama seem to be that he seemed tired, I’d like to make a point: the man is currently working two full time jobs, as both President and fervent campaigner.
I, for one, would rather have a POTUS who is fully briefed on the current, escalating troubles in the Middle East (especially since Iran, never the safest place in the world, has just this week begun to experience hyper-inflation, which, because it tends to destabilize a nation drastically, can have critical international importance regardless of whether or not they’re friend or foe), the prospects for break-up of the Eurozone, and a vast multitude of problems in the ‘lil old U.S. of A., than have him hand off decisions only he can truly make just for the sake of looking rested.
Mitt, on the other hand, has been criticized repeatedly for not being out on the stump enough. After all, he hasn’t got any other job at the moment. No wonder he looked fresh as a daisy.
45