And so we came to round two of the job interview for leader of the free world, last night. After a lackluster and essentially anemic showing by the big O in the first round, all were expecting this one to be a spark-filled encounter between the two men in Hempstead, New York.
Well, we got more or less what was predicted, and unquestionably Obama did give the impression this time that he actually wants the job, and the four more years of livin' large that comes with it. His demeanor now shows that he has begun to take his opponent more seriously, at least, and finally sensed that he has a real fight on his hands. Duh.
The Gallup poll taken before the debate showed Romney in the lead, perhaps for the first time clearly, with the numbers being Romney 50% Obama 46% and that represents a lead outside the margin of error in the polling. But only just! Nevertheless, the country is as split down the middle as ever, and it is all up for grabs in these critical debates.
This encounter was as much a political rumble as it was a so-called "town hall debate" with the two men sparring, jabbing, and even circling each other as if in a boxing ring proper. Once again I found the moderation to be on the edge of adequacy, as each man interrupted and refused to listen to the moderator, Candy Crowley, and on occasion, both men spoke over each other while each ignored Candy totally.
Reading reports this morning, of course everyone is eager to give a win to Obama. This guy has it so easy compared to almost any other I can think of, and I am not sure if it is because of his reputation as "a nice guy" and/or his Hollywood-sanctioned "star power". So this time, now that he showed up, showing even a little aggression over trying to keep his job, the pundits go all oh-ah over him. This is not enough to classify it as a Dem win, however, in my book!
This isn't about the big O showing up, and arguing a little. It is about addressing the lack of progress in four years under his regime, and what he is going to do in the next four years to help the struggling American public. I find it incredibly disingenuous that he continues to criticize Romney for lack of details in certain aspects of his "five point plan" while he (even last night) basically said nothing new about how he intends to make the second four years better than the first. It's a tactic that the Obama campaign lives on, and I don't get it at all.
It takes some balls to be told by millions of people that they aren't happy with what you have done, and haven't done, over a four year term of livin' large, but stand on a nationally-televised debate and demand four more without specifying what you are actually going to do differently, to improve their lives. The very fact that the Obama campaign has been 90% focused on negative campaigning against Mitt Romney says it all. It is the ultimate sign of political weakness, based on weakness in one's own record.
Romney was also light on specifics, but what Obama doesn't seem to get is that there is a certain luxury in facing an incumbent who has hardly excelled at keeping his rhetorical promises. The challenger is of course expected to attack the record of the incumbent, but the sitting President should limit outright attacks on his opponent and focus instead on what he has achieved, or more particularly in this case, on what he intends to do next. I found Obama to be severely lacking in the capacity to convince people that anything will change in the next term.
There were a few memorable moments that included Romney's "binders full of women" and the spat over the Libyan affair in Benghazi. Commentators were quick to jump on Romney claiming that he made an error and then was not the same candidate in the debate afterwards. It's simply a case of trying to find something to hold onto: the number of errors (by omission) of Obama in the first debate, or walking away from real numbers in this debate on coal, gas and oil drilling reductions (among other items Romney threw at him) under his leadership thus far, hardly confer any victory to Obama.
One of the most interesting aspects of such debates is the very fine line that the participants have to walk. It is a very, very fine line between the anesthetized anemic of Obama's first debate persona, and a nastier, more combative one who showed up for the second. Already, pundits are wondering if he took a step too far and sacrificed his likability to please political commentators everywhere.
In Obama's case, he has ridden a massive wave due to this likability and sacrificing it to please hardliners could be very costly, because if you combine his record with decreased or sacrificed likability, well then, it would be like Romney fighting for the job with someone like George Bush! For all the talk of likability and nice guy style, don't forget who approved all of the mud-slinging and low ball attacks on Mitt Romney: Barack Obama.
I prefer my dirty fighters out front with no apologies. I don't like the backroom dirty fighters, who sanction all the nastiness and personal attacks that we have seen, but then appear out in public all smiles, all touchy-feely, celebrity-huggin' and butter-doesn't melt-in-my-mouth, folks. He isn't that nice a guy, when it comes to keeping his job and lifestyle for another four years - he just wants y'all to think that he's like that. It's good for "bidness"!
Overall, this debate for me mirrored the polls: more or less 50-50. At best (worst), a split decision with the edge given to Romney due to Obama's missing statements on what he intends to do in the second term. Sorry, but by default, as sitting President, the onus weighs more heavily on you than on the candidate because you have a record and it simply must be addressed moving forward.
The saddest thing about the numbers, and the debates, is that they just illustrate how divided the country actually is, and how much that neither candidate in the end is clearly identifiable as the one best suited to lead the nation back towards prosperity, growth and health. Dare I say it, if ever there was a moment for a third party, it is now.
So we now move on the final and deciding encounter, debate #3, scheduled for next Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida. This is probably going to be the one that counts, given that it is the last round and everything is so tight thus far. Round one went to Romney clearly, and I think most would agree that round two was more or less a tie. So it's down to the wire.
I expect there to be some real fireworks on Monday night, but my message to the two candidates would be clear: be ready to get specific and show even a little of what you do intend to do and why it will work, or get ready to either go back home to sleep or go back home to pack! - Kevin Mc
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