That wasn’t a tingle going down Chris Matthews’s leg during the Presidential debate. Apparently four years of media worship, avoiding meaningful questions, and reliance on teleprompters are not great debate preparation. Consequently, the Obama campaign failed to set expectations low enough for President Obama.
President Obama must have expected to be able to keep the debate about his (four year old) promises for the future and debunked lies about Romney’s plans. He failed; he couldn’t keep the debate away from his own failed record.