An unprepared, unfocused Obama pays the price
Remember the classic nightmare in which you show up unprepared for a test in a class that you completely forgot you had?
That’s what Barack Obama looked like last night. From the opening question, he came off as unprepared, unsteady and almost uninterested in the task at hand. He found himself on defense throughout the debate, and when opportunities arose, he failed to recognize them.
As I noted last night during the live blog, Obama seemed overconfident coming in, as if he had underestimated both his opponent and the occasion. By the end of the evening, overconfidence should no longer have been a problem. As CNN noted, 67 percent of those polled who had watched the debate declared Mitt Romney the victor.
“No presidential candidate has topped 60 percent in that question since it was first asked in 1984,” CNN polling director Keating Holland pointed out.
And a good part of that was caused by Mitt Romney. He came in hungry, needing a win, and it showed in his focus and preparation. He got the better of almost every exchange, in part because at some point in his debate prep he decided to finally make the transition from “severely conservative” GOP primary candidate to general-election candidate.
The new Romney endorsed regulation of business. He dismissed tax cuts as an economic policy. He embraced his own Massachusetts health-care plan. He talked of compromise and working together. A surprised Obama wasn’t ready to handle this latest Romney incarnation and repeatedly failed to tie the moderate, genial GOP candidate on that stage in Denver to the GOP candidate on the campaign trail.
Will the outcome of this debate, the first of three between Obama and Romney, create a ripple in the polls? It almost certainly will. I doubt it will cost Obama his lead, but it should shrink it and introduce doubt in many minds that had not previously doubted. Romney had the night that he needed to keep his funders happy and his base engaged.
The next debate, covering foreign and domestic policy in a townhall forum, will be Oct. 16 at Hofstra University in New York. I suspect that they’ll be scrambling at the White House this morning to clear more time from the president’s calendar for prep work between now and then. He can’t afford a repeat of what happened last night in Denver.
– Jay Bookman
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1,788 comments Add your comment
Butch Cassidy (I)
October 4th, 2012
9:56 am
JHM – “Peggy, Butch has proven his knowledge and insight time and time again on this board.”
Thanks man!
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
9:56 am
td — “Romney said that he thought some parts of Dodd-Frank was good regulation. Did you not hear that part?”
I didn’t catch that, and Oscar pointed it out. I will be reading that part of the transcript in detail over lunch to see if it indicates support for more/new regulations on Romney’s part. And thank you for pointing it out.
mm
October 4th, 2012
9:56 am
“What polls are you watching son? A big lead is 5 points or higher. Where does Barry have a lead like that and what poll are you citing? CNN? NYT / CBS?”
Maybe you should turn off Fox News and educate yourself. Here’s a couple.
FLORIDA (NBC News/Marist): Obama 47, Romney 46, Others 1 (LV); Obama 48, Romney 43, Others 2 (RV)
OHIO (NBC News/Marist): Obama 51, Romney 43, Others 1 (LV); Obama 51, Romney 42, Others 2 (RV)
Oscar
October 4th, 2012
9:56 am
we need leadership, Romney showed he has that, Obozo never has and never will
_______
Bluster is not leadership. It’s just noise. Don’t confuse the two.
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
9:56 am
I lover this place… you learn something new everyday… take for instance this little nugget of wisdom:
“He refuses to eat the crap that Michelle forces him & the school children to eat – carrots, spinach, etc.”
I was completely unaware that carrots and spinach were “crap”… Now I’m going to have to go to a therapist to deal with the fact that my parents literally forced me to eat crap growing up… no I really mean that, they FORCED me to eat “crap”…
This just proves my assertion that no matter what it is, if Obama or anybody connected to Obama came out in support of it, wingnuts automatically oppose it…
Welcome to the Occupation
October 4th, 2012
9:57 am
JHM: “but I’m one of those under-55 people that Romney and Ryan seem to want to experiment on with regards to Medicare.”
Oh no! You’re on the wrong side of the age warfare divide. Sorry, too bad for you. Gate closing! (Says Mr. Paul Ryan.)
USMC
October 4th, 2012
9:58 am
Michael Moore to Obama – ‘This is what happens when u pick John Kerry as your debate coach’
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2012/oct/4/picket-michael-moore-obama-what-happens-when-u-pic/
I can’t believe I agree with Michael Moore.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
9:58 am
B. Cassidy — “Thanks man!”
Dude, I thought I knew about trusts and I’d never even HEARD of a CRUT until you mentioned it.
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
9:59 am
“Its been 4 years! You said you would cut the deficit in half and you haven’t. We’re still running trillion dollar deficits”- That would be Romney taking the conservative Thor hammer of truth to Obama’s ass.
Road Scholar
October 4th, 2012
9:59 am
A person on tv said that they counted the words said by each candidate and Romney had 500 more words, FYI. Who cares! It is what those words mean is what is important. Who spoke longer…who cares. I thought Romney was a little “rabid” in his delivery, like the kid school (Horshatz) who wants to answer everything first! Romney did better than Obama overall though.Obama put me to sleep!
The question I have is how the right will embrace many of Romneys’ middle of the road answers versus him being “conservative”. Will Romney say anything to get elected, and then hand over control to the far right?
ahnald
October 4th, 2012
10:00 am
Obozo avoided Bain Capital, easy to see why, Romney will eat his lunch on any Business discussion, Obozo has zero experience, his comments on the $90B deduction were amazing and clueless…Even Romney could not believe his ignorance
Mick
October 4th, 2012
10:00 am
You gotta love these commentaries, a lot of chest thumping going on over romney, which is a bit silly, he wasn’t all that, but he was energetic in a way that a challenger needs to be. Now, that he is being proclaimed a great master debater and all that, round two should be interesting to see if the same character shows up. He still weasels around those tax cuts he wants so badly for the upper class..
USMC
October 4th, 2012
10:00 am
“oh please. The Republican base are a bunch of easily-led suckers. They’re Charlie Brown, trying to kick the football, and Lucy is telling them “go ahead.” They’ll fall in line like they always do.”–SFD
Case in Point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAOwJvTOio
TaxPayer
October 4th, 2012
10:00 am
Romney finally showed up and what a result…Obozo ignorant of the facts, lack of leadership, appeared disinterested,etc…Mitt expressed a lot Ameica’s frustrations with Obozo, especially his comment on ” why did you spend two years on Obamacare, while the economy is a disaster ”
Shouldn’t you have used the word “Obozocare” in order to be consistent with your rhetoric.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:01 am
Occcupation — “Oh no! You’re on the wrong side of the age warfare divide. Sorry, too bad for you. Gate closing! (Says Mr. Paul Ryan.)”
Yeah, it’s like the azz end of the baby boom gets to be first in line for the Ayn Rand Experience.
BTW, I there was actually a commercial for Atlas Shrugged Part II on last night. My wife goes “guess we need to go see a *different* movie that weekend. Maybe two of them.”
TGT
October 4th, 2012
10:01 am
Obama didn’t “stumble” simply because he was “unprepared.” Obama got creamed because: There should be little surprise at the results of 2012’s first presidential debate. What the heck else was Obama going to do or say?! This is what happens when you have to run on your sorry record. This is what happens when there is no teleprompter. This is what happens when you don’t have the mainstream media to run cover for you. Chris Matthews essentially said as much, when, in his post-debate tantrum he asked, “Tonight wasn’t an MSNBC debate tonight, was it?”
In the 2008 campaign, Obama had no such concerns. There was little for his critics to point to. He stormed through the campaign elevated by his lofty rhetoric. Isn’t it ironic that one of the most repeated criticisms of Romney is his lack of details on the issues, when in 2008, running on his autobiography and a couple of speeches , Americans elected as President the least experienced man to ever have held the office?
Last night’s debate, and for that matter, the last three-and-a-half years, are the results of having an amateur in the White House. Romney, with his successful business and political career, distinguished himself well last night and helped paint a clear contrast between the two campaigns. More of this will be necessary as there is little doubt that the mainstream media, as they have managed to do for the last several years, will now attempt to clean up this mess by Obama.
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:02 am
peggy — “butch cassidy, your an idiot.”
Should be “butch cassidy you’re an idiot”. Grammatically correct. Still factually incorrect though.
Oscar
October 4th, 2012
10:02 am
h no! You’re on the wrong side of the age warfare divide. Sorry, too bad for you. Gate closing! (Says Mr. Paul Ryan.)
____
Anyone who examines the budget knows that medicae expenses will have to come down. Don’t think voucher are the way to do it. But there is a lot of fat and waste there that needs to be cut out. Overbilling and fraud are two examples Obama pointed out that need to be stopped.
Medicare, just like private insurance companies has to determine what treatments it can afford to pay for. Insurance companies do it, Medicare has to do it. Decisions have to be made about expenses and payments. If insurance companies didn’t do that, they would have all gone bankrupt years ago.
USMC
October 4th, 2012
10:03 am
Romney spoke to Obama like the Experienced CEO speaks to a JUNIOR executive with NO experience.
Obama looked ANGRY and Unprepared.
Obama is an empty suit!
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 4th, 2012
10:04 am
MM,
All those polls (unless you have Rasmussan included) assume turnout for BO will be same as 2008…doubtful that will be the case…and BO didn’t help his turnout cause..
http://www.bsudailynews.com/smaller-turnout-expected-in-november-compared-to-previous-presidential-race-1.2772258
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
10:04 am
Jay
October 4th, 2012
9:14 am
Somebody here has been posting under multiple names in an effort to deceive. Those posts have been pulled down, and if it recurs, that person will be banned.
Yellow card!
But debates are about attitude not details and the election got a little bit closer than it needed to because Obama showed up not only not ready to play, but unwilling to run up the score.
That needs to change.
Ivan
October 4th, 2012
10:05 am
I still find it absolutely hilarious the left constantly tries to portray a Republican from MA as an extreme, right wing zealot, conservative.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
10:07 am
Yep, it’s all over now, baby blue!
With his fact-filled (LOL) stand up comedy routine/monologue Romney now sweeps Florida, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa and new Hampshire and ekes out a victory!
Woo Hoo!
Happy days are here again! For the super wealthy and corporations! (Who ARE people, my friend!)
Mick
October 4th, 2012
10:07 am
Obama did not get creamed, can anyone on the other side please tell me what romneys tax plan is? Why does he keep repeating the lie about medicare and 716 billion, it has been proven false. Notice that romney wants to keep all the good things in obamacare, how does he do that when he says he wants to repeal it ALL on day one? Inconsistent? You betcha…
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:07 am
Mick,
Round 2 will be on Foreign policy which was a strong point for O until the Middle East began a descent into meltdown. I expect O will come back much better prepared and with more energy and composure. But its going to be hard to withstand the withering criticism over the Libyan embassy coverup and the radicals taking over in the middle east. He will be more prepared and more energetic but he’s going to have a hard time defending the meltdown over there. There’s only so many times he can say he got OBL.
USMC
October 4th, 2012
10:07 am
“…Obama seemed overconfident coming in, as if he had underestimated both his opponent and the occasion.”–JAY
OBAMA has been passed up the line his whole life and told how “wonderful” he is; never having accomplished anything in his entire life besides moving up the ladder through AFFIRMATIVE ACTION and Chicagoland Dirty Political Tactics.
The proof is in the pudding; Mitt is Presidential. Barry isn’t!
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 4th, 2012
10:07 am
OSCAR,
Obamas’ lack of leadership skills is apparent in most aspects of his ME policy, the backseat he took to Pelosi in HC debacle, his poor showing and continued back peddling on cliff debate, his leaving pelosi and reid out of cliff debate…the list goes on…no leadership skills which is not surprising given his credentials.
Ben Shockley
October 4th, 2012
10:08 am
I heard Obama claiming he cut the average middle class person’s tax bill by $3,600. I know he reduced the social security tax from 6% to 4%, so that’s a $1,000 savings for someone making $50,000.
I assume the other $2,600 comes from him taking credit for extending the Bush tax cuts, which is hysterical because;
1) Extending tax rates that have been in place for years is hardly a “cut”
2) He campaigned against Bush’s eveil tax cuts in 2008
3) Now he is admitting that the Bush tax cuts included significant relief for hte middle class, after years of all the libs claiming the Bush tax cuts were “only for hte rich”
4) He can’t wait to repeal the Bush tax rates
You can’t make this stuff up.
Liberals are so funny.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:09 am
Oscar — “Anyone who examines the budget knows that medicae expenses will have to come down. Don’t think voucher are the way to do it. But there is a lot of fat and waste there that needs to be cut out. Overbilling and fraud are two examples Obama pointed out that need to be stopped.”
Absolutely no argument from me on this. I’m infuriated by doctors who just pencil-whip paperwork (for example) so they can defraud Medicare. You won’t catch me shedding a tear for fraudsters who get busted trying to jack Medicare.
“Medicare, just like private insurance companies has to determine what treatments it can afford to pay for. Insurance companies do it, Medicare has to do it. Decisions have to be made about expenses and payments.”
FWIW, it does. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to deal with Medicare, but there are all kinds of exclusions and limitations; it’s not some sort of medical blank check.
For those on Medicare and those not yet there, you can call up the customer service number and just tell them you have no idea how the system works. I did that when my mom got sick (and I had to take over her affairs) and I got a VERY nice CSR about my age. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon going over procedures, exclusions, limits and tips to get claims processed correctly the first time. And we’ve never had a problem since then.
Medicare Tip #1 — ALWAYS make sure you’re including ALL the paperwork. Missing or incomplete paperwork will get your claim hung up (this is true with private insurance as well, as Doom can testify).
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:09 am
“Why does he keep repeating the lie about medicare and 716 billion, it has been proven false”
If it were false then why did Obama not even try to refute it? He stood there like a deer in headlights as Romney hammered him repeatedly on the 716 billion. Silence is a form of consent.
Mark in mid-town
October 4th, 2012
10:09 am
Jay Bookman writes: “I suspect that they’ll be scrambling at the White House this morning to clear more time from the president’s calendar for prep work between now and then. He can’t afford a repeat of what happened last night in Denver.”
——————————————————-
I don’t think for a second that Obama didn’t massively prep for the debate. That wasn’t his problem. I watched Obamsa’s many debates in 2008 and thought his performance last night was consistent with how he performed then. Back in 2008, I thought Hillary Clinton usually clearly out-pointed Obama in the Democratic Party debates, even though it was quite obvious that Obama was often given easier questions by many of the moderators of those debates. Obama is just not a great speaker without the telepromter and his powers of persuasion have always been massivley over-rated by a lap-dog media, though he is still an adequate debater and communicator without the teleprompter. I didn’t think Obama was all that bad last night. The problem for Obama was that Romney was far superior and that made Obama look far worse than he was. Kind of like what happens when a good chess player plays a chess master. The chess master will beat a good chess player 100% of the time, making the good chess player appear terrible. That’s what Obama ran into last night.
TaxPayer
October 4th, 2012
10:09 am
Will Mitt allow insurance companies to keep the insurance mandate while letting them ditch the requirements such as paying out 85+% of premiums to customers and caps on coverage and rescinding coverage if you get sick and coverage of pre-existing conditions… and will Mitt’s planned changes require any new legislation from Congress.
Ben Shockley
October 4th, 2012
10:10 am
“Chris Matthews essentially said as much, when, in his post-debate tantrum he asked, “Tonight wasn’t an MSNBC debate tonight, was it?”
He didn’t seriously say that, did he?
Wow…I guess the tingly leg has gone dormant.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
10:10 am
Michael Moore: ‘This is what happens when u pick John Kerry as your debate coach’…
Lost, bewildered without teleprompter…
drudgey spam.
Soldier Mom
October 4th, 2012
10:10 am
True story:
My husband was on my ins. Policy. Family of four. Policy = 890.00/mth. He turned 65 but the premium still went to 2090 per mth. Why? Because they could. Medicare pays for the most expensive part on health issues – hosplitalizations. So why would the ins. Co charge that much more? Now if Ryan gets his way, and Romney likes the voucher thing, guess how much that $425 per qtr we pay for medicare will actually help on your ins. policy, at age 65 when it goes up to the 1200 per mth? As I see it, an annual ins policy on a 65 yr old, in very good health by the way, ran $14,400 vs. $1700.00 we pay now. So how is the voucher thingy going to help all of us who cross over the republican age line? I am 57 so I fall into that gap. You guys do the math.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
10:10 am
I still find it absolutely hilarious the right constantly tries to portray a Republican from MA as something other than an unprincipled, shape shifting, weather vaning, severely conservative, say anything to get another vote neocon!
And Luckovich, as always, hits the flip flopping nail smack on the head…
http://blogs.ajc.com/mike-luckovich/2012/10/03/104-mike-luckovich-cartoon-the-great-debate/
USMC
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
“Obama did not get creamed…”–MIck
Chris Matthews MSNBC Meltdown after Presidential Debate…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wgJoepQmS4
Well, the truly delusional like Mick will cling to their ignorance while more intelligent Americans realized the significance of the debate last night.
Ignorance is BLISS!
BADA BING (imagine an umlaut above the i, I'm trying to class things up a little)
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
Shouldn’t have worn his Mom jeans last night. I bet his female parts were tightening up by the end.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
MICK,
I think Romney successfully deflected lack of specifics on taxes…yes, they were 60K feet policy statements but that is presidential…..the details need be sorted by lawmakers…
Obama’s self serving allegations of his $4 trillion tax cut as well as 5 trillion decifit by Romney both were awarded half-truths…
Mick
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
doom
The libyan embassy coverup? That incident is barely a month old and that’s the way you frame it? Please aloow some time for a sufficient investigation of the facts, that’s something even you call for, what exactly is it thats being covered up?
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
Missing or incomplete paperwork will get your claim hung up (this is true with private insurance as well, as Doom can testify).
Joe mama and Doomy in another rare moment of agreement. It do happen on occasion.
Dirty Dawg
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
Relax guys…remember the ‘Rope-A-Dope’?
Ben Shockley
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
“Ivan
October 4th, 2012
10:05 am
“I still find it absolutely hilarious the left constantly tries to portray a Republican from MA as an extreme, right wing zealot, conservative.”
The left portrays whatever the DNC and Debbie Wasserman Shultz tell them to portray.
TaxPayer
October 4th, 2012
10:11 am
Silence is a form of consent.
I think I saw that used on one of those teevee crime shows about a rapist.
Marty Huggins'
October 4th, 2012
10:12 am
Granny Godzilla – Union Thugette
October 4th, 2012
9:54 am
Ok they both lie
I was curious as to why you only mentioned one persons half truths and not the others.
Me if something bothers me it bothers me when all people do it, but I’d something doesn’t bother me it doesn’t bother me when any do it. Like you know I wouldn’t complain about the drunk driver if I just let my friend drive off drunk and i didn’t say anything to him/her about it, but then ran to go get the cops because I saw another driver leaving drunk.
The responsible thing to do would be report both my friend and the other driver.
I see them both as having told lies. But I expect it out of politicians and don’t really hold it against them because I am aware they both do it. I try to judge them off of their record not their words.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 4th, 2012
10:12 am
JAMVET,
Obama is right there with R with saying anything to get a vote…we don’t need to go back to 2008 again…with all his promises left unfulfilled
Mick
October 4th, 2012
10:13 am
usmc
Gomer the lesser has spoken and we all follow his lead that one debate performance does a president make; please have your steel cap ajusted, your brain is being squeezed!!!
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
10:14 am
MSNBC MATTHEWS: ‘What Was He Doing!’
drudgey spam.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:14 am
Doom — “Silence is a form of consent.”
Now you know why I’m so “persistent.” Be sure to tell Towncrier,
Jm
October 4th, 2012
10:15 am
Don’t underestimate the Biden
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:16 am
Mick,
Donna Rice was out saying that the Libyan assault was a mob attack on our embassy. The administration knew within 24 hours that it was a planned terrorist assault but didn’t want to acknowledge it for the sole reason that a terrorist attack would reflect poorly on them. Eventually they had to come out with the truth and admit that it was a terrorist attack. They lied. And lets not forget fast and furious. 2 years later and they still won’t or can’t tell us who authorized the gun running. Is it gross incompetence, a coverup, or both?
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:16 am
TaxPayer — “and will Mitt’s planned changes require any new legislation from Congress.”
Repealing the ACA in whole or in part would require Congressional legislation, I presume.
Steve-USA "None of the Above"
October 4th, 2012
10:16 am
I thought Chris Matthew’s was going to have a stroke last night.
jms
October 4th, 2012
10:17 am
What I saw was Romney acting more presidential than the president
Ben Shockley
October 4th, 2012
10:17 am
“Why does he keep repeating the lie about medicare and 716 billion, it has been proven false”
Ummmmmm……no, it has been proven true. Clicjk here and you can see video of the words coming out of Obama’s own mouth…
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/08/15/video_obama_admits_he_cut_billions_from_medicare_to_fund_obamacare
TRANSCRIPT:
TAPPER: “One of the concerns about health care and how you pay for it — one third of the funding comes from cuts to Medicare.”
BARACK OBAMA: “Right.”
TAPPER: “A lot of times, as you know, what happens in Congress is somebody will do something bold and then Congress, close to election season, will undo it.”
OBAMA: “Right.”
TAPPER: “You saw that with the ‘doc fix’.”
OBAMA: “Right.”
TAPPER: “Are you willing to pledge that whatever cuts in Medicare are being made to fund health insurance, one third of it, that you will veto anything that tries to undo that?”
OBAMA: “Yes. I actually have said that it is important for us to make sure this thing is deficit neutral, without tricks. I said I wouldn’t sign a bill that didn’t meet that criteria.”
Liberals are so gullible…..
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:18 am
Silence is a form of consent. I love planting a seed. Lets see how far this tree grows.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:18 am
Doom — “Donna Rice was out saying that the Libyan assault was a mob attack on our embassy.”
This isn’t the same Donna Rice that was gettin’ it on with Gary Hart while he was running for President, is it?
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
October 4th, 2012
10:19 am
JM,
Biden is a loose cannon and anyone, even DEMS are surely have to do damage control as it’s a certainty that he will say at least one dumb thing….the last one about the last 4 years was classic Dan Quayle…I don’t think Ryan will do as well as is thought but Biden is weak..
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:19 am
Doom — “Silence is a form of consent. I love planting a seed. Lets see how far this tree grows.”
Mighty D-bags from little seeds doth grow
–Emily Dickinson
barking frog
October 4th, 2012
10:19 am
Obama is now the
underdog with at least a
two point lead in all polls.
Amazing.
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:20 am
uh oh. Looks like factcheck and Obama disagree about cutting 716 billion from Medicare. Even when trying to protect Obama they can’t stop him from damaging himself with the truth.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 4th, 2012
10:21 am
Marty
What does your curiosity say President Obama lied about?
jose
October 4th, 2012
10:21 am
Obama’s problem is that he failed. He can’t blame Republicans because he has been in office for four years, two of which Democrats controlled both the U.S. House and Senate. All he has left is the rhetoric which convinced a lot of Americans in 2008 that he was the choice. Now, that same rhetoric sounds old and tired.
Thulsa Doom
October 4th, 2012
10:21 am
Joe Mama,
You didn’t know Donna morphed from ho into politics. The correction is duly noted. Susan Rice.
Train Wreck
October 4th, 2012
10:21 am
Am I the only one that thought PBS and Leher we pro Romney? Obama constantly interrupted and given much more time. I thought the healthcare debate went to Obama, I mean it is freakin Romney’s own plan and he couldnt tell us what he would do better except kill medicare. Never watching the racist PBS again…..
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:22 am
Ben Shockley: Obama quote from February 2009. “If we do not pass this economic stimulus, unemployment will rise above 8 percent.”
Yahoo Answers does not agree with you. I read your link, thoroughly, and no one has presented an actual quote from Obama that says what you say he said.
LMFAO OMG WTF BBQ
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:22 am
Our President acted like a President was consistent in his positions
The opponent was not consistent, walked back policies and changed positions.
Our President called out his opponent on these facts.
I suggest Americans read the transcript of what was said to see these facts.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:22 am
S. Ray — “…I don’t think Ryan will do as well as is thought but Biden is weak..”
I think that Biden is unpredictable at best, and that makes preparation a tough hill to climb for Ryan. Biden could be Dopey Grandpa Joe or he could be Crazy Aggressive Off-His-Meds Joe, there’s just no telling. Consequently, I wouldn’t put my money on Ryan to win, but I wouldn’t put it on Biden to win, either.
One thing’s for sure, the Veep debate ought to be a good one to watch.
barking frog
October 4th, 2012
10:22 am
Obama is not Carter he is
Truman.
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:23 am
Stevie Ray: there exists no shortage of BO’s flipping nature…they all do it..make promises or create expectations they can’t likely accomplish.
Big difference between failing to live up to a promise and changing your promise several times before the election.
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:24 am
Thulsa Doom: But it certainly seems that the administration sold that bill of goods to the Rs because every major R seems to have been saying that forever.
And you can tell they were fooled because they voted for the stimulus… oh wait.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:24 am
Doom — “You didn’t know Donna morphed from ho into politics.”
From ho ho to news ho to political ho. Not such a stretch to believe..
An observer
October 4th, 2012
10:24 am
Unprepared and unfocused, the story of Obama’s presidency for the past four years. We do not need four more years of an unprepared President who promises more spending, more debt, and continued high unemployment and a weak economy for four more years. For how long do we give this guy a chance to continue failing before we give up?
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:24 am
RB: So, it’s not a “tax break for shipping jobs overseas” as Obama put it, it’s a tax deduction EVERY business is entitled to take for their cost of doing business.
Every business that hires overseas instead of in the U.S. Which is the point.
zeke
October 4th, 2012
10:25 am
The same Obama as last election! Inept, inexperienced, never had a real job, no more that a socialist community organizer, NOT QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB, AS WE HAVE WITNESSED! The real problem before was that the leftist , all in for Obama, were so intent on portraying Sarah Palin as not qualified, you forgot to find out about this socialist empty suit! Man, was Clint’s production with the chair spot on or what? In fact Palin was eminently more qualified than Obama!
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:25 am
“we don’t need to go back to 2008 again…”
And we CERTAINLY don’t need to go back to 2006 again… Mittens has a 5 point plan to get us there…
TaxPayer
October 4th, 2012
10:26 am
So Mitt is going to put 716 billion back into Medicare. Where will that money come from. Cuts in social security perhaps. Nah. How about Medicaid. I know! A payroll tax hike!
Jm
October 4th, 2012
10:26 am
Ivan 10:06 amen
Stevie. Biden will fight hard
He may screw up, but he’ll at least put up a fight
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:26 am
Thulsa Doom: You just don’t get it. The office of the presidency is supposed to be above making attacks against private citizens who are critical of the president.
So Mitt should be immune to criticism?
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:28 am
Adam — “Every business that hires overseas instead of in the U.S. Which is the point.”
I think that tax break should be barred for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. Americans that renounce their citizenship get slammed with an exit tax on all their wealth. So IMO, businesses who ship American-held jobs overseas shouldn’t be allowed to write off that cost on their taxes.
You wanna close that assembly plant and have Chinese workers do it instead? Fine, you can shoulder that cost on your own. If you’re going to eff American workers, then IMO you deserve some effing right back.
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:28 am
Were the 47% watching last night on their new flat screens? Or their iPhones?
What really pisses me off is that sh*t like that is what was causing Obama to lead in the polls,a nd now Obama will lose because attention is drawn away from this nuttery that Romney and Ryan both believe but isn’t true.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:29 am
I suggest you cons read the transcript of what your nominee’s new positions are.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:30 am
How many of you believe he will not cut taxes on the wealthy?
TaxPayer
October 4th, 2012
10:30 am
If Mitt adds back in that 716 billion to Medicare with no other changes, how much sooner will the Medicare trust fund run out of money. There’s something for retirees to look forward to.
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:31 am
“I still find it absolutely hilarious the left constantly tries to portray a Republican from MA as an extreme, right wing zealot, conservative.”
I find it hilarious that Romney tried to portray hisself as an “extreme, right wing zealot, conservative.” in the primaries… Last night proves “HE LIED” to you wingnuts to get up there on that podium… Maybe Obama can “etch-a-sketch” his way out this, maybe not, no matter what happens on Nov 6 very little, if anything, will change n the lives of any of the posters here… well, maybe your Klan rallies will be a little more upbeat…
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:32 am
OBAMA has been passed up the line his whole life and told how “wonderful” he is; never having accomplished anything in his entire life besides moving up the ladder through AFFIRMATIVE ACTION and Chicagoland Dirty Political Tactics.
One of the major reasons I want Obama to win again is because sh*t like this isn’t true, but I’d love to see your head explode when a black man wins. Because you just can’t stand it. That is one hell of a racist statement, no matter how many “race card” crying wolf cards you throw out.
Jm
October 4th, 2012
10:32 am
Getalife 10:22
Sorry your guy can’t dance
Ben Shockley
October 4th, 2012
10:32 am
Adam,
The 10% of Americans who are unemployed are still waiting for the stimulus to kick in.
LMAO
A dad
October 4th, 2012
10:34 am
Late to the debate one again (me, not the candidates). I was struck by Obama;s performance. I expected much, much better from him if nothing more than as an orator. I liked Romney’s use of numbers and stats, but that’s just me. But one thing that struck me loud and clear last night was Obama’s repeated reference to the Clinton years. It was if Obama was not trying to run on his record of the past 4 years, but instead tie his administration to Clinton’s, which it clearly is not. One thing that bothers me without respect to party is how politicians can repeatedly misrepresent things and not get called out. Case in point, Biden (and echoed by Obama last night) claimed the Obama administration has created 4.5 million jobs, but one of those political fact-checking entities exposed that as false, and after explaining seasonal employment, UI, jobs lost, etc., exposed that it’s actually more like 415,000 new jobs. Or that Romney’s claim Obama is taking 800-some billion from medicare actually consists more of projected savings, future cost controls and so on. I must be turning into JOe Friday as I age … I want “just the facts”, and want the facts to be accurate.
Will be extremely interesting to see the Ryan-Biden debate, and also to see how, or whether, Obama changes his preparation for the next debate with Romney. Have a great day y’all.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:34 am
” But I’m not going to reduce the share of taxes paid by high- income people. High-income people are doing just fine in this economy. They’ll do fine whether you’re president or I am.” romney
Do you believe that?
barking frog
October 4th, 2012
10:35 am
Romney thinks Obama
should adopt Simpson-
Bowles but he won’t
because he has his own
plan.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
October 4th, 2012
10:36 am
Maybe He’ll go back the View next week and enjoy himself as eye candy. Never seen anything like this guy. This next debate when Romney gets to tell how this tragedy really unfolded will not this guy. The hole get deeper. The guy is really inept as a leader. Chickens coming home to roost for real.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:36 am
“I also lower deductions and credits and exemptions so that we keep taking in the same money when you also account for growth”.
Still no details in that.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
10:37 am
SR, granted. But at least like Mitt he doesn’t change fundamental policy positions as often as most people change theri underwear.
td
October 4th, 2012
10:37 am
“Is it worth borrowing money from China to continue this program” Mitt Romney last night
This is exactly how every program should be looked at and budgeted next year.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:38 am
“I want to underline that — no tax cut that adds to the deficit. But I do want to reduce the burden being paid by middle-income Americans. And I — and to do that that also means that I cannot reduce the burden paid by high-income Americans. So any — any language to the contrary is simply not accurate.”
No tax cut on the wealthy? Yeah right.
independent thinker
October 4th, 2012
10:40 am
So we got a political bully who is a pathological liar and great debater who has a split personality- one minute severely consevative and the next severely moderate whose tax plans change by the hour!
As to the big lie about Obama stealing $716 billiuon dollars from Medicare:
“”"”"”"”"”To some voters, it may sound counter-intuitive at first to think that cutting money from Medicare would improve, not weaken, its finances. But, again, this is a reduction in the future growth of Medicare spending over 10 years. And spending less is a good thing for Medicare’s finances — as it is for most people’s.
For instance, let’s say someone has a dedicated coffee budget but decides to drop a daily latte habit and instead buy regular coffee. That person’s coffee budget took a big cut in spending, enabling the budget to last longer. Instead of one month of lattes, this java fan can have two months of coffee.
The biggest savings from the Affordable Care Act come from reductions in the future growth of payments to hospitals — about $415 billion over 10 years. That’s Medicare Part A. Income for Part A comes mainly from payroll taxes. If Medicare doesn’t need to spend that income immediately, it’s credited to Part A’s trust fund, and Medicare gets a Treasury bond that it can cash in later. Anytime Medicare needs to cash in that bond, Treasury must pay it. Even if Treasury spent the original money on something else, it must pay the bond.
So, campaign claims that imply that Obama has taken money out of Medicare, and Medicare won’t ever get it back, are simply not true.
At an Aug. 21 campaign stop in West Chester, Pa., Ryan said Obama and the Democrats “turned Medicare into a piggy bank to fund Obamacare. They took $716 billion from Medicare to pay for their Obamacare program.” On the other hand, he added, Republicans are “being candid with our current seniors” and “saying stop the raid on Medicare.”
Unfortunately for Medicare there isn’t $700 billion in any kind of “piggy bank” to “raid.” The trust fund doesn’t have anywhere near that much money — the Part A trust fund only contained $244.2 billion at the end of 2011. And the president can’t actually take money out of the trust fund. Medicare holds those Treasury bonds, and, as we said, it can cash them in anytime it needs the money”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”.
From fact check.org.
How do you steal 716 billion dollars from a fund that has only $244 billion dollars and is paying bills daily ou of that fund without going bankrupt?
Oh I forgot Mitt is not getting elected for his math skills, just his business skills.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
10:40 am
Having read the posts here, it is obvious that conservative media bias helped Romney out immensely.
The same conservative mainstream media that gave the (W)orst ever a free pass for eight straight years.
Shameful…
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:40 am
Ben Shockley: The 10% of Americans who are unemployed are still waiting for the stimulus to kick in.
It’s not 10%
LMFAO OMG GG KA HF
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
October 4th, 2012
10:40 am
47% watching on flat screens??? I would think if so they bought them with money they earned……Don’t you think?