You political junkies are probably just twiddling your thumbs waiting for the debate to start. So, here’s a thread where you can discuss your predictions, your anxieties, or just what kinds of things are crossing your mind today. Personally, I am a little anxious just because something could always go wrong. But I really feel like Romney has over-prepared for this. He’s got his list of zingers and all kinds of conflicting advice and it’s probably too much pressure. He shouldn’t try to do too much. Just know his facts, the points he wants to make, and leave it at that. But I get the feeling that he’s been consulted to death.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
33 Comments
Recent Posts
- Day 14: Louisiana Senator Approvingly Compares Trump to Stalin
- Day 13: Elon Musk Flexes His Muscles
- Day 12: While Elon Musk Takes Over, We Podcast With Driftglass and Blue Gal
- Day 11: Harm of Fascist Regime’s Foreign Aid Freeze Comes Into View
- Day 10: The Fascist Regime Blames a Plane Crash on Nonwhite People
I’m not worried.
The Prez has been through the wringer for 4 years now. There isn’t a question that he hasn’t been asked up to and including “Why are you a Socialist?”
Romney, on the other hand, has spent most of the summer avoiding answering questions. Almost all of his questions have come from Fox News and have been such softballs that Chris Wallace made news by pressing for an actual answer.
We’ll see what happens, but my guess is C+ Obama and C- Romney.
people like to talk shit about VP Biden, but the man is awesome and stuff like this is why people love him and Dr Jill as much as they love the Obamas:
“Keep The Faith”
http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/keep-the-faith
The picture accompanying the blog post is emotional..either that or I’m just a sap…lol
Awesome! Take a moment and go to lamh31’s link.
In the 2008 debates Sarah Palin made an “accidental” reference to Joe Biden’s first wife, presumably to throw him off his debate. He became very emotional and talked about losing his first wife and his experience as a single parent. SP’s attempt to throw him off by a very cruel strategy worked completely counter to her intent as his response revealed a compelling side of him that most voters didn’t know about, especially since media accounts the next day filled in the history of his first marriage, Ted Kennedy (? or Byrd?) convincing him to be sworn in by his son’s bedside, his raising his children and commuting by train.
My husband and I are going to a friend’s house for a debate party and play-by-play. We just went there a week ago for a “Romney is a Wiener” party. So because we are all smart, clever, funny, and politically charged up, this should be a great time.
I can’t help feel a little worried about the debate, but I agree that Romney seems to have been over-prepared. Knowing he has difficulty coming across as a real, spontaneous human being makes me worry a little less.
Can’t wait!
Obama will score a B+. People are irritated he couldn’t do more, but when you get in a room with him, you realize he’s very competent, likable and has a plan. But he won’t be very zingy because his audience is independents and they don’t like zing.
Romney on the other hand has non of the Obama advantages, and isn’t even sure what audience to pander to, as Booman has pointed out. He will score a D+ according to the snap polls, which will show Obama with about an 8-point advantage.
The media will try like hell to see some Romney good news, and it will fade by late Wednesday, with a small bump for Obama in the national polls, about a point, the net result.
Now, I think I’ll go take my son to soccer practice.
Happy 20th Wedding Anniversary Barack & Michelle Obama
http://youtu.be/qhNvRs-EZtU
My main worries:
I’m not worried about zingers or Mitt coming across as likable, because his personality precludes such a thing.
This is my first comment ever, Booman. Been a daily reader since 2007. Great insight. Thanks for the insight.
Great first comment – now that the ice is broken, keep them coming.
Thanks much
I think that is spot on. The only real worry is how the media might play on it. Otherwise Obama can take care of it pretty well and in general debates don’t matter much.
Good one. I don’t think Obama will be caught flat-footed, though. To get caught flat-footed you have to take the bait. Obama won’t. We’ll see!
I’m too nervous to watch, which is really strange.
I have a lot of confidence in Obama, but there’s always the chance for a mistake.
And the media just makes me nuts. They’ll spend hours pre- and post-debate, telling everyone what they will see and just saw, as if we’re all too stupid to judge it ourselves. In other words, the spin is more importaant than the substance.
And since Romney doesn’t have an ounce of substance or character, in my mind Obama shouldn’t even have to be on the same stage as this clown. It’s like Milli Vanilli performing with The Who.
Both Romney and Obama will do pretty well. Obama will do slightly better on account of being under less pressure and not being Mitt Romney, but it won’t be a night-and-day difference. The press will give a split decision, with half saying that Romney is on the comeback trail because frankly they’re sick of the “Romney’s a loser” narrative, and the other half saying that he lost badly on account of the fact that nobody likes Mitt Romney, and that includes the press.
Most people will think that the President won because most people went into the debate expecting him to win, and confirmation bias is a powerful thing. Regardless, the polls will move a point or so in Romney’s favor.
When I put it like that, I’m not even sure I’m why I would bother watching it.
Not an overall fan of Somerby, but I think his coverage via “Debate Watch” is pretty good. Then again, I also think his view of Al Gore is clouded by his personal relationship:
http://dailyhowler.blogspot.com/2012/10/debate-watch-cooper-blames-voters.html
Wow, what’s that they say about a broke clock being right twice a day???
Fox & Friends’ Brian Kilmeade On `Race Tape’ Fail: Obama Hasn’t `Governed In A Racist Way At All’
I predict that Mitt Romney will, at one or more times, act like a spoiled jerk.
Further, I predict that the sight of a rich white guy acting like a spoiled jerk to the first black President will not go over very well.
My advice to Barack Obama: make sure you don’t act like a jerk at all, and it will draw a very sharp contrast.
Worth adding to this that recent polling shows a majority of Americans expect Romney to lie, and for Obama to tell the truth. This is really rather remarkable: “The new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll did something I haven’t seen any other pollster do: it read the quotes, in context, and asked respondents for their reactions. After hearing Obama’s quote, a plurality liked the president more, not less. This was not the case with Romney’s quote — a plurality said the Republican’s comments made them feel “more negative” about the candidate. (Other recent polling found similar reactions.)” http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/10/03/14204372-a-tale-of-two-sound-bites?lite
Oh puh-leaze, are these guys for real. who the heck they think they fooling?
Restless Romney Braces For High-Stakes Debate
A sleepless night in Denver.
I always sleep better when I hear freight trains passing near my window. Maybe he’s not an American
I too love the sound of trains–strangely comforting.
As I take the train to work every morning, let me just say that I’m with Rmoney. Screw those train whistles.
But if you live sort of near the rail line, when you open your windows at home you hear it in the distance.
I think that’s the key part: in the distance.
“The logistics” are never too tough when you have a zillion dollars to throw at them. Anybody with his money that can’t do something as simple as change his hotel is just incompetent. Which might also explain why the dog ate his homework.
I generally like Booman’s thoughts and everyone’s comments. I just think Mitt is in a terrible box there is actually no way out of. If he strives to please the rapacious right wingers, the rest of the country will wonder what the hell he is talking about. If he tries to please the middle, the wingers will scream. If he belittles the President in any way, it will go badly for him with everyone but the base, but the base will expect him to show how Obama is an empty suit who can’t think without a teleprompter.
As for Obama, his biggest challenge will be keeping his answers to 2 minutes. I doubt there is any substance he will have the slightest trouble with, and he frankly doesn’t have to remember what lie he is supposed to be telling today.
I remember reading somewhere that one of the things POTUS was working on was keeping his answers short.
The funny thing is that I think that POTUS would do well to keep his answers short and Romney would actually do well to try to make his answers longer and more substantive.
I am home recovering from surgery (thank you Obamacare!) and have watched more tv in the last two days than in the previous year. So until I started watching the tv I wasn’t worried at all but the meme is definitely building that the debate will be a game changer for Romney and the media have a way of making this the case no matter what the reality.
It is also strange to go from campaigning non-stop to doing nothing. When you are campaigning it is much easier to tune out all the chatter and just focus on your small part.
I’m not anxious at all about the debates. Obama will be dignified and forceful, Romney will continue to look like a frightened angry schoolboy.
Gotta go make sure somebody’s streaming the debate on the Net, though, as the dear leader of this house finds it intolerable to hear anything political on the tv — too much fear and loathing at the sight/sound of Reps.
The Nation is streaming it.
There’s a debate tonight? I was watching the Yankees smack around Boston until now.
Cspan ran a bit of video from the 2008 debate as part of its pregame coverage. About taxes. Obama was presidential and informed, McCain was flustered and just kept repeating himself.
McCain was certainly not the fastest pol on his feet, but Romney will prove far more flummoxed as soon as Obama says something Willard doesn’t have a talking point memorized for. Unless his debate coaches performed some kind of miracle. But as Ann might put it, no matter what, Romney will be Romney. I’m even less anxious and more psyched now after seeing that old clip again.
Two pre-debate thoughts.
1) Unlike Boo, my predictions are usually wrong. However, it occurs to me that unlike any other debate in history one of the candidates is basically steeped in easily verified untruths. He says Obama has cut defense, that 47% pay no federal tax, that Obama ended workfare. His VP passed through the House – and he endorsed, a bill to replace Medicare with a partial-payment voucher program for those under 55 – something he denies. Obamacare, that he wants to repeal, is the same as Romneycare, and the main consultant on both has said so. And his tax plans – both vague AND bad on the middle class – as they are written on his web site.
Sure, we’ve had lies before – Reagan’s Voodoo Economics and Bush’s Fuzzy Math. But nothing this deep. Obama is more than capable of doing a Bill Clinton and pointing out all the falsehoods. I can’t see that Romney can defend his policies without a long string of lies that the fact checkers can’t miss.
2) If I could ask one question of Romney/Ryan, here it is: You believe abortion should be illegal because you care about the unborn also that Obamacare should be repealed. You have said we already have universal health care, the emergency room. If your policies are enacted and a poor woman is pregnant, how should she obtain preventative pre-natal care for her unborn child that you care so much about?
As usual, my prediction was wrong. Obama played it safe and didn’t highlight Romney’s untruths with very few exceptions. In many cases he left them unchallenged.
Possibly that was the right choice. I mean, that might be the perfect thing for the middle voters. But I feel like it was an opportunity missed. Obama’s team seems very good at protecting their guy, but pathetic at advocating for the rest of the party.