Listening to all the pre-game commentary for this debate I’m struck by the wild mix of incredibly high and also incredibly low expectations for Barack Obama. It has a surreal sort of feel to it.
Before things get started this evening and we slip into history, I wanted to take a moment to look back at the last debate and also forward to this one.
Everybody has a theory about why President Obama so underperformed in the first debate. Indeed, it’s drilled so deeply into many people’s psyches that it’s become almost a prism into their own hopes, wants and insecurities. Basically, I don’t think there’s any real knowing. I also suspect that if most people watched the debate again now they’d be surprised at how relatively normal it seems. Not that Obama did great. But the whole thing has become so vast and hyper-discussed and stressed-over that it’s become vastly bigger in the retelling than it really was.
So with all that here’s my theory. I won’t say this is ‘why’ he did poorly. I’ll just put it forward as what resonated for me. Read More
There are far too many things that could, and almost certainly will happen in tonight’s debate to know what’ll ultimately shape public perceptions of the outcome — and as a rule candidates themselves have less ability than they normally do to shape those perceptions in a town hall format.
But there’s one major exception to this rule tonight, and it has to do with Romney’s secretly taped comments about the 47 percent. Read More
As I suggested earlier, tonight starts with an eerie mix of wildly high and wildly low expectations for President Obama. Some are insisting he’ll have failed if there’s not some point in the debate when he calls Mitt Romney “bitch” or perhaps puts Mitt in a headlock. So he clearly faces the challenge of being more spirited and passionate while not coming off as unpresidential or getting himself arrested. Read More
9:01 PM: I’ve started watching the debates on the Google feed because it’s the only place I can watch without chyrons and those live-dial wiggles from swing voters.
9:06 PM: Well, he’s showed up. Let’s see how it goes from here.
9:11 PM: Looks like Obama got under Romney’s skin in a big way on the auto bailout. I’m curious how the follow-on from the press will be. In the past the press has gotten spun a bit on just what Romney was proposing and Romney’s change his position repeatedly.
9:17 PM: Interesting to me that neither candidate is treating this as a town hall. At least not in the Bill Clinton, direct engagement sense.
9:19 PM: Well, they’re not holding back. And both these guys are on their game.
9:22 PM: It’s interesting how little a role audience members have played so far in this town hall. 2 questions so far?
9:23 PM: Ding, Iowa. Ding, Colorado.
9:28 PM: 4,000 dollar number from Mitt another big lie.
9:29 PM: Obama focusing on themes. Much better than two weeks ago.
9:32 PM: This is Romney’s fourth or fifth explanation of his tax plan. Cutting taxes. Cutting rates. Not cutting the net percentage of taxes that the top 5% pay?
9:34 PM: Strong run from Obama about Mitt not giving the details. A far more effective approach than getting into this or that study.
9:36 PM: “Of course, they add up. I was someone who ran businesses.”
9:37 PM: Road to Greece.
9:38 PM: Obama: lookin’ forward to it. Love to be here. Not bored, nothing. Happy to be here!
9:40 PM: Key moments. Obama says Romney has no five point plan. He has a one point plan. Watch the video. Romney hits Obama on oil permits.
9:42 PM: Whole binders full of women.
9:45 PM: Romney’s been on his game tonight. But he’s had a number of ‘but, but, but, but’ moments.
9:46 PM: How are you different from Bush. Good question!
9:47 PM: Okay, not a very good answer so far to Bush question.
9:49 PM: Romney: I came through small business. Really?
9:49 PM: The Romney answer on Bush. Not good. Apparently Bush was against domestic energy production and against free trade agreements. Okay then.
9:57 PM: A lot of misleading malarkey. But solid answer from Romney … Probably the best run of the night for Romney.
10:00 PM: Pathway to become a “permanent resident.” Key phrase from Romney. No path to citizenship.
10:05 PM: Self-deportation. No, Candy.
10:06 PM: Curious what the fact check will be on Mitt and the Arizona law.
10:07 PM: Remember, one of Romney’s immigration advisors is Kris Kobach, the guy who popularized ‘self-deportation’, and came up with the idea for the Arizona law.
10:08 PM: Obama hits Kobach.
10:11 PM: Obama takes Libya back to Romney. “You don’t turn national security into a political issue.”
10:12 PM: Obama’s answer put Romney off balance for delivering his main attack. Weak answer … Apology tour. Leading from Behind. Unraveling. Lots of jargon.
10:16 PM: Romney lost this round on Libya.
10:17 PM: Nope. Romney’s just wrong on this one. Surprised he wasn’t well prepped on this one. Pretty bad when Candy Crowley has to call you out as straight out wrong.
10:18 PM: The big anticipation from the right was that Romney was going to crush Obama on Libya. He totally flubbed it. Thought he had a gotcha on the President’s Rose Garden statement. But he didn’t.
10:21 PM: Flashback: Obama tells Americans not to fall for Mitt’s ‘sketchy deal’. Watch.
10:24 PM: Why is it that you changed your mind?
10:25 PM: New hunting opportunities.
10:26 PM: Flashback: Crowley live fact checks Romney on President’s statement on Libya attack.
10:29 PM: Flashback: Obama says Romney more extreme than Bush on social issues.
10:35 PM: Huh, misperception. Interesting question.
10:36 PM: Mitt goes to the 47% (implicitly through the 100%).
10:37 PM: Mitt: We don’t have to settle. Good rhetorical angle. “President hasn’t; I will.”
10:38 PM: Fair shot. Playing by the rules.
10:40 PM: Decision to watch debate on Google feed suddenly seeming like a really flawed idea.