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The Final Presidential Debate: My Take-Aways

As Mitt Romney prepared to sit at the same table as Barack Obama and debate foreign policy last night he had to know that this would be his most difficult debate yet at the same time know that it was a meeting which would be filled with rich opportunities.  As it turned out Mitt took the safe road and hit pay dirt.

With the Middle East and Northern Africa in such turmoil, with the recent attack on our consulate in Libya, the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Obama's very public snubs of our ally Israel all in the forefront of the news, Romney had a shot at slamming Obama's foreign policy failures in great detail.  Instead he chose to speak more broadly about what America's role should be and how we get back what we have lost over the past four years.

Obama on the other hand was seen on the split screen giving Romney an evil stare.  His body language was as if he was coiled and ready to jump over and hit Romney.  In other words, Obama came expecting a real fight.  When that didn't materialize as he had expected, Obama showed himself to be the same kind of disrespectful, mean spirited, sound bite laden, shallow campaigner that Biden did in his debate.

Obama's attempts to provoke Romney included personal attacks rather than policy debates.  And despite the number of "yo momma" jabs Obama threw at Romney, Mitt took the high road and rarely took issue with a sitting president on current foreign policy decisions, a criticism lobbed at him repeatedly in the aftermath of Benghazi.

With the advantage of a bit of election fatigue, a football game gearing up on another channel and the snooze inspiring energy of Bob Schieffer orchestrating the affair, what anybody who might have been watching with an open mind came away with was that the president is very thin skinned, shallow and spiteful while Mitt Romney is confident, knows what he is talking about and has a plan for America to regain its place as the leader of the free world.  And that plan, when it comes to national security, is based in large part on the USA not continuing our economic decline.

Romney will continue gaining on Obama in the polls right up until election day.  The big question remaining is whether Romney will win in the key counties in the key states so that he secures enought electoral college votes.  Last night he helped himself on that count.

Are The Results Of The Election "Fixed"?

You tell me what you think this means:

 

Final Presidential Debate Tonight - What To Look For

Tonight's debate will focus on foreign policy.  It will be moderated by Bob Schieffer another known liberal  plant. (You will recall his open dislike for Sarah Palin)  Considering the recent poll numbers which seem to be trending toward Romney and what the media has been forced to admit were two good performances by the Governor, look for Schieffer to play the "war hawk" card.

It cannot be rationally disputed that our standing with foreign countries has not improved under Barack Obama.  The world is a much more dangerous place.  We've seen another terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi and the administrations shifting narrative suggests ineptitude at a minimum, a cover up of something as the middle ground, and direct involvement as the most incredible possibility but certainly not beyond the pale.

But do you think that Schieffer is going to go hard after Obama on any of these failings?  That is doubtful, but don't expect Romney to go lightly.

What Obama and Schieffer will do is tag team Romney and accuse him of being all too ready to go to war with Iran, Syria and others.  Schieffer will also bang Romney hard over his opposition to announcing withdrawl dates from Afghanistan suggesting that the public wants us out of there and that Obama is responsive to that demand.

But more importantly watch for some bombshell from Gloria Allred or some other lefty troublemaker to capture the headlines today in advance of the debate and cast Romney in a scandalous light.  I've caught wind of two possibilities which are "on deck" as the October surprise to sink Romney's chances.  And don't forget that Obama plays by the Chicago rules.

Expect viewership of tonights debate to fall below the last one leaving far more room for spin in the morning.

The debate will air at 9 pm tonight.

Krauthammer Predicts Jaw Breaker In Next Debate

Charles Krauthammer has a warning for Obama and a criticism of Mitt in advance of Monday's final presidential debate.  He says that Romney missed an opening in the last go around but shouldn't miss it again.  And, says Charles, it is enough to knock Obama out of the race.

Referring to something Obama said in the first debate, Charles advises Romney to be ready.

Substituting unctuousness for argument, Obama declared himself offended by the suggestion that anyone in his administration, including the U.N. ambassador, would “mislead” the country on Libya.

This bluster — unchallenged by Romney — helped Obama slither out of the Libya question unscathed. Unfortunately for Obama, there is one more debate — next week, entirely on foreign policy. The burning issue will be Libya and the scandalous parade of fictions told by this administration to explain away the debacle.

Romney will be ready Monday.

You are offended by this accusation, Mr. President? The country is offended that your press secretary, your U.N. ambassador and you yourself have repeatedly misled the nation about the origin and nature of the Benghazi attack.

The problem wasn’t the video, the problem was policies for which you say you now accept responsibility. Then accept it, Mr. President. You were asked in the last debate why more security was denied our people in Libya despite the fact that they begged for it. You never answered that question, Mr. President. Or will you blame your secretary of state?

If he gets it right this time, Obama’s narrow victory in debate No. 2, salvaged by the mock umbrage that anyone could accuse him of misleading, will cost him dearly.

It was a huge gaffe. It is indelibly on the record. It will prove a very expensive expedient. [Washington Post]

***THE ARMED CITIZEN*** An Every Friday Feature

Martha Lewis was at home with her two daughters when she heard a loud noise. It was 3 a.m., so Lewis immediately called police and grabbed her gun. She went to her daughters’ room and told them each to get something with which to defend themselves. They were at the top of the stairs when a man, who had kicked in the door and entered the home, spotted them. When the man started up the stairs toward them, Lewis warned the intruder that she would shoot him. When he ignored her warnings, Lewis fired causing him to stumble outside where police found him. The 25-year-old male was hospitalized in stable condition. After the incident, Lewis said, “There’s so much talk about banning guns and gun control, but they’re for protection. There’s no way that I could have fought him off.” (The Blaze, Dora, AL, 8/17/12)

Reprinted with the encouragement of the NRA

Governor Romney Roasts Obama At Al Smith Dinner

Nice guys can be funny too.

 

The Politics Of Perception

Of course I have my own opinion about how the latest Presidential debate turned out, and I have listened to and read the words of many pundits on both sides.  I have also talked with several people from both parties here locally and gathered their ideas as well.  In my opinion the outcome had little to do with substance.

My democrat friends who will be voting for Obama think that Romney blew it.  They are high fiving over content that was missed by most viewers.  They of course are drilling down into the sentences and words used trying to find things to spin.

My republican friends are doing much of the same thing.  They have found things either Obama or Candy Crowley said which they are spinning like crazy into a story of lies and cover ups.  I get it .  We want our guy to win and so we will use any bit of evidence we can find to bolster our case.

But as I've said before, most of the people in this country are not fully engaged.  They don't wake up everyday thinking about politics.  They have many other things to worry about and see politics as a game which has very little direct effect on their lives.

Sure the national debt, our deficit budgets, foreign policy and stock market trends do impact everybody, but most people are struggling to pay their mortgage payments, keep their cars running, get their kids through school without incident and then, maybe, have a few minutes to spend enjoying themselves with a ball game and a beer.  They don't need Harvard economists plotting a future they might never survive to see.  They need stuff now.

That's why the democratic strategy has worked so well over the years.  Union workers, welfare moms, out of work dads and kids without jobs love it when they get something for free, now, when they sense that they need it the most.  Lots of people don't really see much change in their lives or a pathway to success.  They see the obstacle right in front of their noses and anybody who can help them today will get their vote.

And this is why the republican strategy has not worked so well over the years.  A guy in an apartment with a low paying job and a car that barely runs does not connect well with men in suits who talk about small businesses, big businesses and how the government should be helping THOSE people.  To the guy with a name patch on his work shirt THOSE people seem to be doing pretty well already.

But Mitt Romney said something the other night which I have not heard talked about much.  I picked up on it immediately during my live Facebook commentary.  He said "our party has been focused on big business too long."  I literally stood up and cheered.  He nailed it.

The republican leaders may have been raised to believe that when big business is successful more jobs are created, the economy improves, government revenues increase and the standard of living of all Americans goes up. And while that philosophy may have some merit it had much more merit in those years when most of the businesses in the world were being started by individuals.

Today however the size and scope of corporations which literally dominate the markets has given them an incredible amount of power.  They now can spend billions of their own money electing the kind of people who will make their world better.  And this fact has not been lost on the average voter.

Romney's comment is not getting any play, but it should, because despite what else they might have said, the politics which will sway voters in the next three weeks will have much more to do with the way each party and its contenders are perceived.

People will not recall exactly what Obama said during the debate unless they are political devotees, but they will keep their impressions of the candidates and which one seems more genuinely concerned about the ordinary person foremost in their minds as they vote.

The republicans might have good ideas and I freely admit that the democrats do too.  But what will really count between now and the election is how people perceive the two parties.  Romney opened the door to changing the perception and his words and his life story (one of unparalleled compassion) should be echoing throughout the blogosphere and pushed in the mainstream media.

"Our party has been focused on big business too long."  Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery and Romney's vision of recovery for America should start right there.

All News Today Is About The Debate, So Here's My Take

First of all thanks to all of you who participated on Facebook last night as we shared our thoughts in real time.  Today the pundits and reporters from across the political spectrum are writing and spinning away about the "performances" last night, choosing to focus on particular moments.  I have a different take on it.

As Lincoln said in his Gettysburg Address, "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."  While the campaigns and writers for the media will harp on things like Candy Crowley's comments siding with Obama over his rose garden comment about Libya (she has since apologized, and admitted Romney had the better point) most of what counts will not be any specific words spoken, but the impression left by the two men.

Nobody is going to switch their vote from Romney to Obama because Obama accused Romney of being a rich guy.  Nobody is going to switch their vote the other way because of any one line delivered by either of them.  But people will develop an over all feel about the two men based upon body language, demeanor, confidence, perception of honesty, clarity of thought and the little things that we all use, subconsciously perhaps, everyday, to make crucial decisions in our lives.

On that score card it is  my take away that Romney was more engaged with the questions, less preachy, seemed truly interested in finding solutions, brought with him an undeniable record of success in turning around failing businesses and all of this contrasted starkly with Obama.

Obama actually had puffy eyes, a tired kind of look.  He didn't smile much at all in the beginning, appeared to be a bit intimidated and when Romney was talking about how Obama's attempts to fix things were not working, Obama's face revealed that he was fully aware that what Romney was saying was right.

I think that the audience, except for the most devoted supporters of Obama, had to have come away with the feeling that Romney is a sincere man of good intellect and compassion who not only has a desire to help this country, but who also has the skills to get it done.

They will have seen Obama as more the showman, the speaker, the guy with the gift of gab, but without a record of success, without a history of success in anything else and a guy who has been propelled to a job for which he was ill suited in the beginning and now has proven that he was not up to the job.

I believe that though the numbers might not show it for a few days yet, this race is now Romney's to lose.

The Debate Tonight...What To Expect

When President Obama and Governor Romney step out in front of the Town Hall type meeting at Hofstra University tonight the race for president will be on the line.  Another poor performance by Obama and his future will be headed for Hawaii.  If Obama draws first blood from Romney the media will peck him to death.  So here is what to expect.

The president will probably flash his smile almost as many times as Biden, but in a different way.  Instead of being condescending he will do it with self deprecation and humor and an attempt to appear warm and likable.  Look for the teeth, ALOT.

The president will also repeat many times how he stopped the economic free fall, bailed out the auto industry, created jobs and has put us on the right course away from the "failed policies" of the past to which Governor Romney would take us back, not forward.

But the president will more likely than not get pretty personal with the governor and accuse him of re-inventing himself.  Expect Obama to directly accuse Romney of being a "flip-flopper".  This will be the theme which the media will harp on beginning immediately after the debate and do so relentlessly until the election.

Romney needs to be prepared for all of this.  The president's people know that the whole enchalada might be on the line tonight.

Romney will come armed with the facts, but against Obama that's a little like bringing a knife to a gun fight.  He better be ready for what is coming.

Romney needs to be ready to throw Obama's record up for him to see using credible sources, not partisan research.  He needs to make the case that under Obama's administration the world has become a much  more dangerous place.  But then he needs to be ready to answer the big question whether a Romney administration would be more interventionist or non-interventionist.  Falling back on "imminent threat to the security of the United States" won't cut it.  Romney better have details and specifics.

Each man will try to out "nice guy" the other.  Here Romney has the edge.  He really IS a nice guy, Obama just plays one on TV.  Obama has a chip on his shoulder and we all know what it is, thanks to Dinesh D'souza.  Obama has a seething hatred for what he perceives to be the oppressive, predominantly white, colonialist mentality that he sees in everybody except the kind of Marxist professors he sought out in college.

Romney will have the chance to really get under Obama's skin by repeatedly pointing out Obama's failures to him.  He needs to do it in a nice way, and he has the capacity to pull it off.  If he can get Obama to flash anger.... game, set, match.

The subject matter is supposed to be foreign policy and the questions are supposed to come from open minded voters, but since "Too Much Candy" Crowley will be moderating and has pre-selected the questions, don't look for a fair fight.  She has already called the Romney/Ryan ticket the "death wish ticket".

Obama will go after Romney on his various statements regarding abortion, his health care law in Massachusetts, what will be characterized as the "lack of details" in his economic plan and his hawkish statements regarding foreign policy and the use of the military.

Romney needs to have a very successful answer for each of those things because without a teleprompter, Obama will only have a single shot with no comeback.  Romney needs to exploit that weakness.  Obama is not a debater, he is a poser and when pressed for depth beyond the sound bite he will crumble before our eyes.

I predict that anything but a decisive win for Romney will be portrayed by the media as a big win for Obama and that with wall to wall propaganda on that point the pendulum will swing back to Obama and may stay there.

Personally, I think there is much more on the line tonight than many people might think. 

I will have real time comment on my Facebook page during the debate. Join me beginning at 9pm.

Hillary Takes The Fall For Obama...Wonder Why?

Okay, call it spin if you must, but Hillary falling on her sword over the Libyan consulate mess stinks on ice. The president senses that he might lose this election and he will "go to the mattresses" if necessary to keep his people in power long enough to "fundamentally transform" America, "level the playing field", "redistribute the wealth" and become very flexible with the Russians during a second term.

What do they have on the Clintons, or what have they offered to the Clintons to bring this about? I smell a rat.

Lima, Peru (CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday tried to douse a political firestorm over the deadly assault on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Libya, saying she's responsible for the security of American diplomatic outposts.