Informed Not Inflamed Take On Debate 1: Obama vs. Romney

Here is my take on the debate from last night. 

The podcast is here.

Here is the Washington Post piece and the Reuters piece on factchecking the debate.

Here is the link to my previous post on who I back in the race.

The script follows here if you would prefer to read.

CLEARLY THE WIN GOES TO ROMNEY.

LET’S PUT THIS THROUGH THE INFORMED NOT INFLAMED FILTER.

YOU COULD SAY ROMNEY WON THE PERFORMANCE, BUT LOST ON THE FACT-CHECKING.

THE OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF FACTCHECKING GIVES THE ADVANTAGE IN TRUTHFULNESS TO OBAMA.  GRANTED, OBAMA HAD SOME EXAGGERATIONS OF HIS OWN.  BUT AS I WATCHED, ROMNEY PLAYED WITH THE FACTS.  I POSTED SOME OF THE FACTCHECKING LINKS ON INFORMED NOT INFLAMED.

ROMNEY ALSO TOOK A CHAPTER OUT OF THE OLD RICHARD NIXON G-O-P PLAYBOOK.  RUN TO THE RIGHT IN THE PRIMARIES AND THEN RUN TO THE MIDDLE IN THE ELECTION.  IN THIS DEBATE, ROMNEY HAS CLEARLY STARTED RUNNING TO THE MIDDLE.

THIS MAKES GOOD POLITICAL SENSE – IF YOU THINK THE FAR-RIGHT AND THE TEA-PARTY ARE IN THE BAG FOR ROMNEY – NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES.

ONE OF THE THINGS I NOTICED ON MY TWITTER FEED – AFTER THE DEBATE – WAS THE TEA-PARTY TWEETS BLASTING ROMNEY FOR SAYING HE WOULDN’T CUT EDUCATION AND HE WOULD KOW-TOW TO WALL STREET.  I SAW REMARKS LIKE ROMNEY IS NOW 29-PERCENT MORE SOCIALIST.  OR, ROMNEY JUST MADE IT A GOOD NIGHT FOR RON PAUL AND OTHER THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES.

I DON’T HEAR MUCH OF THE MEDIA TALKING ABOUT THIS.  BUT I DON’T KNOW IF TEA-PARTIERS WILL STAY AWAY FROM THE POLLS.

AS IMPORTANT AS FACTS ARE, DEMEANOR PLAYS A BIG ROLE.  IT IS ANOTHER FACTOR ON HOW WE JUDGE OUR PRESIDENT.  WE NEED TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT OUR PRESIDENT.

CLEARLY, ROMNEY APPEARED ENERGIZED AND PREPARED.  IN MY PREVIOUS POST OF WHY I LEAN TOWARD OBAMA, I THOUGHT ROMNEY APPEARED STUMBLE BUM AND OLDER THAN OBAMA.  ALTHOUGH I DON’T THINK OBAMA SEEMED OLDER, ROMNEY CERTAINLY DIDN’T MEET MY PREVIOUS PERCEPTION OF HIS OLDER AGE AND STODGINESS.

ROMNEY DID A GOOD JOB OF STORY TELLING AND BRINGING IN REAL LIFE SITUATIONS.  HE HELPED REMOVE THE PLASTIC, ROBOTIC LABEL – AT LEAST FOR NOW. 

HOWEVER, HE SEEMED TO BE PLAYING ON PEOPLE’S IMMEDIATE FEARS – LOSING THEIR JOBS AND NOT HAVING ENOUGH IN SAVINGS.  BUT I THINK HE FAILED TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND THE NEW ECONOMY.  I STILL THINK HE PLAYS TO THE MAJORITY OF THE CORPORATE WORLD THAT IS TRYING TO STIFLE INNOVATION – AND HOLD POWER.

I ALSO THINK HIS ARGUMENTS FOR CREATING JOBS WERE LAME.  JOB CREATION IS DOWN — BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING BUSINESSES MORE PRODUCTIVE – NEEDING LESS WORKERS.  THE OTHER JOB KILLER IS LOWER WAGES AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.  TO SAY HE WILL CREATE 12-MILLION JOBS OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN NO MATTER WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT.

NO DOUBT, THOUGH, IF SOMEONE WAS ON THE FENCE ABOUT ROMNEY – THEY MIGHT BE LEANING OR FALLING OFF THE FENCE TO THE ROMNEY SIDE TODAY.

PERSONALLY, I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT ROMNEY IS THE ONLY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE – IN THIS ELECTION CYCLE — WORTHY OF HANDLING THE WHITE HOUSE JOB.  I THINK ROMNEY’S DEMEANOR IN THIS FIRST DEBATE HELPED HIM WITH HIS DETRACTORS.  I EVEN THINK PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE HIM ARE AT LEAST MORE COMFORTABLE IF THERE IS A ROMNEY PRESIDENCY.    

MEANWHILE, THE DESCRIPTIONS I HEARD ABOUT OBAMA’S PERFORMANCE HAVE BEEN APATHETIC, DISGUSTED, DISCONNECTED, AND ALOOF.  I CAN SEE WHERE THEY WOULD SAY THAT. 

BUT I CAME AWAY WITH A PRESIDENT WHO DIDN’T WANT TO BE TOO OPTIMISTIC OR COCKY.  HE COULD HAVE DANCED ON ROMNEY’S FAILURES AND GAFFES OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS, BUT HE CHOSE NOT TO.  I THINK HE WAS TRYING TO BE PRESIDENTIAL BUT HE FAILED TO HIT THE MARK.

I ALSO DON’T MIND THE UMMS THAT EVERYONE CRITICIZES OBAMA FOR.  THIS COULD BE MY BIAS AS SOMEONE ON-CAMERA WHO MAKES SURE EVERYTHING IS THOUGHT-OUT BEFORE I OPEN MY BIG MOUTH.  (YES, I WROTE THIS OUT BEFORE I RECORDED IT.) BUT — I PERCEIVE OBAMA’S UMMS AS SOMEONE FINDING NUANCE IN COMPLEX ISSUES.  FOR OTHERS, I CAN SEE WHERE IT COMES ACROSS AS INDECISIVENESS OR SINISTER.  THAT – OF COURSE — IS A MATTER OF SUBJECTIVE PERCEPTION.

WILL THIS DEBATE CHANGE ANYTHING?

WE DON’T KNOW YET.  GIVE IT A FEW DAYS.

OBAMA COULD GO THE WAY OF JIMMY CARTER IN 19-80 AND AL GORE IN 2000.  OR HE COULD REBOUND LIKE GEORGE W BUSH DID – IN 2004 – FROM A TEPID FIRST DEBATE.

KNOWING OBAMA’S COMPETITIVENESS WE SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE A DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE IN THE NEXT TWO DEBATES.  PLUS, IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE A MORE CONFIDENT ROMNEY WHO IS NO LONGER FIGHTING FOR HIS POLITICAL LIFE – AS HE DID ENTERING LAST NIGHT’S DEBATE.

PLUS, WE GET TO SEE BIDEN VERSUS RYAN WHICH PROMISES TO BE NASTY.  YOU WILL PROBABLY HEAR THINGS ABOUT LEGITIMATE RAPE AND 47-PERCENT THERE.

IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKE A LONG TIME UNTIL ELECTION DAY.  AND IT ISN’T.  BUT IN POLITICS IN THE 21^ST CENTURY, IT IS AN ETERNITY.  THERE ARE MORE ECONOMIC REPORTS COMING OUT.  THE SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST COULD BE JUST BREAKING WIDE OPEN – NOW THAT TURKEY HAS STRUCK BACK IN SYRIA.

ONE THING IS CERTAIN – THIS IS GOING TO BE A TIGHT RACE.

AGAIN, MY INFORMED NOT INFLAMED ADVICE – STAY AWAY FROM FOX NEWS AND M-S-N-B-C – AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.

 

Tagged as: 2012 presidential Republican candidates, A Measure of Media Bias, conservative media bias examples, examples of bias in the media, John Daly NECN, MSNBC goes nuts over Obama debate, Obama gets beat, presidential debate and the Tea Party, Romney wins, simpson-bowles report, Tea Party