Quick thoughts on the debate now that it is over. - Granite Grok

Quick thoughts on the debate now that it is over.

Heh!: “Obama ‘death stare’ is the new Biden smirk.”

It doesn’t matter if Obama wins tonite or not – it is whether or not Obama’s performance overall will cause people to change their minds when compared to Romney’s performance.  I think that while Obama may have squeaked out a win (barely), I’d call it a draw + or -.  Obama came out stronger and it took a bit for Mitt to find his sea legs, but he did.  Obama made a tactical mistake when he did interrupt too much – a bully spoiling for a fight.  That might be fine in a schoolyard, in a street fight, or a legislature, but it is not Presidential.  It was simply another Organizer trying to overpower “The Other” – it is what Community Organizers do.

Obama also has worked on his game face – no sneering or smirking the vast amount of time.  But he sat there too much during the second half as he realized what he had done and lost steam but his snark picked up – really, bayonets and submarines?  That was a straw man too far.  Given the trajectory of the polls, Obama came into this debate having to win and win decisively. Problem for him is that he played to “not lose” in the second half – and that won’t change the Mittmentum.

To win, Mitt had to play to tie and have folks see him as President.  A win would have been better (he did not get that).  A tie would continue to show the voters that he is a credible Commander-in-Chief and Diplomat-in-Chief; I believe he did that, + or -.  Sufficiently well.  More importantly he could not, from a strategic standpoint, lose.  Romney did not lose.  Thus, he may have gotten the worst in this battle, he still walked away. Credible even after months of the Obama campaign trying to paint him as otherwise.

Overall Result: Obama lost because I don’t think this debate will radically change anyone’s minds.  We’ll find out in two or three days as the polls start to incorporate these results.  Even if Romney does not continue to pull away, I don’t believe they will show Obama gaining.  With that, Obama lost and Romney won.

Romney: “We do not dictate to other nations – we liberate them“.  Best line of the night, akin to Powell’s answer of “American Empire”: “we ask only for enough land to bury our dead”.

Update: that dustup over the American auto bailout / sell outs in which Obama called out Romney for NOT talking about government support?

Obama is not entitled to his own facts: The Corner already has the Romney Op-ed up:

…The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

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