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
Adam
October 4th, 2012
10:41 am
Having read the posts here, it is obvious that conservative media bias helped Romney out immensely.
EXACTLY
td
October 4th, 2012
10:41 am
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:31 am
What in the heck are you talking about? I am still in shock at just how fiscally conservative Romney sounded last night. He laid out the most clear fiscally conservative message since Reagan.
barking frog
October 4th, 2012
10:42 am
When you lower tax rates
on high earners that do not
itemize deductions, you
lower their taxes no matter
how many deductions you
disallow.
azazel
October 4th, 2012
10:42 am
wo cares these guys suck!!! — iwatched on democracy now, who, had the green and justice party presidential candidates answering the questions posed to mr and bo by the zombie/robot moderator jim what’s his name.both the grren an justice party candidates offered feasible, specific, and more in depth and advanced thinking than the elephant and jack ass
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:43 am
“I will not reduce the taxes paid by high-income Americans.” Sure buddy.
The zinger on his tax plan was “nevermind”. True.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:45 am
” MR. LEHRER: OK. (Inaudible) –
MR. ROMNEY: Jim, the president began this segment, so I think I get the last word, so I’m going to take it. All right? (Chuckles.)
MR. LEHRER: Well, you’re going to get the first word in the next segment.
MR. ROMNEY: Well, but — but he gets the first word of that segment. I get the last word of that segment, I hope. Let me just make this comment.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Chuckles.) He can — you can have it. He can –
MR. ROMNEY: First of all –
MR. LEHRER: That’s not how it works”
That is called being a bully.
Jm
October 4th, 2012
10:45 am
Romney showed himself to be the better person to run this large and complex country
Elect Romney
Mike
October 4th, 2012
10:45 am
I am enjoying watching our beloved “Granny” in such a tizzy!
EJ Moosa
October 4th, 2012
10:45 am
Obama’s #1 plan for jobs? Education.
So how long will it take for the education system to improve for this to occur?
It’s not going to happen overnight. It’s not going to happen for the seniors in school this year. Not even the juniors who graduate in 2014.
So what are we being asked to wait? Another four of five years after whatever improvements Obama wants for education to be implemented?
For many of the answers Obama provided during the first 30 minutes, you would not have even known he has been POTUS for four years, or that he had control of the House and Senate for his first two years.
If there is some tax credit for businesses to move jobs overseas, then why was it NOT removed during his first term?
What has he been waiting on?
As a Libertarian, I have to say that Romney did impress me. Not specifically because of his policies. But because he was willing to call BS on the rhetoric we have been subjected to for the last four years.
Romney is not the final answer for Libertarians and Conservatives.
But he is a step in the right direction. Every change in course begins with a first step.
More importantly, this was not a John McCain submissive performance. Romney was prepared. The man who claimed prepping for a debate was a drag, was not
And the thing is, if someone really loves what they are doing as a job, they would not need to prep. They would already know this material inside and out.
Because it is their job to know this inside and out, on a daily basis, not once every four years.
That tells you all that you need to know.
Erwin's cat
October 4th, 2012
10:46 am
The race has always been Obama’s to lose as the incumbent…and it appears he’s doing his best to do just that.
Too much time has been spent by O’s base and to some regard the media that this was never a contest….guess what?
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
10:48 am
azazel,
Rock on.
Infatuated rubes for the Tweedledeer and the Tweedledummer will never get it.
The sad part is that most of our “contributors” here are plenty old enough to know that neither of these glib talkers are going to do a damn thing to make we the people’s lives any better.
THAT is not what Washington DC does anymore. It serves at the pleasure of their true masters – the VERY wealthy.
Ralph Nader got Mitt down to a tee – a corporation masquerading as a human being running for president.
deegee
October 4th, 2012
10:48 am
It looked like Obama approached the debate with an expectation that there were going to be some rules to follow. Romney approached the debate with an expectation that the rules don’t apply to him. Romney bullied Obama and Obama stood there and took it from him. Aside from the fact that Obama was pretty boring. Why can’t Obama channel Bill Clinton for a mere 90 minutes?
Jm
October 4th, 2012
10:48 am
Getalife
Your candidate is submissive
Wazzup wid dat? He’s the prez.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
October 4th, 2012
10:49 am
Mike
There’s another Granny?
I’d love to e-meet her.
Can you arrange it?
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:49 am
“Number two, I’ll take programs that are currently good programs but I think could be run more efficiently at the state level and send them to state.”
He outsourced fed government to State government five times.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
10:50 am
EJ Moosa — “If there is some tax credit for businesses to move jobs overseas, then why was it NOT removed during his first term? What has he been waiting on?”
As I’m sure you know and contrary to the con rhetoric in here that Obama’s a “dictator,” among other things, any President requires the consent of Congress in order to make changes to the tax code. Without that, the President is unable to act as you wish. Therefore, he engaged in no “waiting,” despite your apparent indication to the contrary.
ahnald
October 4th, 2012
10:51 am
Again, what in the world did Obozo mean when he said, ” Re-elect me for four more years so I continue the fight”…Fight what ? Corporate greed, ” the Man” , Whitey,etc.. that is a scary comment
bob
October 4th, 2012
10:51 am
clem ,October 4th, 2012, 7:48 am
having one party rule is nuts…..the house is foursquare repub, the senate because of fillibuster is a wash, and thus the prez needs to stay democratic; otherwise the already rich and powerful will dominate that much more. it’s like telling alabama they can have more football scholarships than other sec schools”
Clem, did you vote for Obama last election when dems held both the house and 60 votes in the senate ?
ahnald
October 4th, 2012
10:54 am
EJ Moosa 10:45…..Well said….Agree with you 1000 %
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:54 am
mitt did say that big oil welfare could be cut or President said woud be cut.
“PRESIDENT OBAMA: First of all, I think it’s important for Governor Romney to present this plan that he says will only affect folks in the future. And the essence of the plan is that he would turn Medicare into a voucher program. It’s called premium support, but it’s understood to be a voucher program. His running mate — ” Voucher care..
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
10:54 am
that is a scary comment
Socialism — BOO!
godless heathen
October 4th, 2012
10:54 am
That is called being a bully.
I didn’t get to watch the debate last night, so I logged on here to get the skinny. I knew we could count on getalife to give us an objective analysis. So Obama, the President of the US, got bullied by the guy with the magic underpants?
Bloomberg Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:55 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.
-yes
A TAT
October 4th, 2012
10:55 am
Among the millions of underemployed or UNEMPLOYED, this little exchange from last night should’ve gotten their attention last night:
Romney—I just don’t know how the president could have come into office, facing 23 million people out of work, rising unemployment, an economic crisis at the — at the kitchen table, and spend his energy and passion for two years fighting for Obamacare instead of fighting for jobs for the American people. It has killed jobs.
Obama (speaking about his push for Obamacare)—“So we did work on this, (Obamacare) alongside working on jobs, because this is part of making sure that middle-class families are secure in this country.”
But at the time, a majority of Americans were opposed to Obamacare. He was pushing something Americans didn’t want.
Alongside? A side order of JOBS?
Politifact—“Did Barack Obama hold 100-plus fundraisers while his jobs council never met?” TRUE!
Checking the lack of recent meetings was straightforward. The council’s own web page cites four meetings of the council so far — Feb. 24, 2011, at the White House, June 13, 2011, in Durham, N.C., October 11, 2011, in Pittsburgh, and Jan. 17, 2012, at the White House.
Asked about the lack of meetings in a July 18, 2012, press briefing, Carney said “the president solicits and receives input and advice from members of his jobs council and others about economic initiatives all the time. … There’s no specific reason (why they haven’t met) except the president has obviously got a lot on his plate.”
Squab?
Obama’s Jobs Squab.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:55 am
“MR. ROMNEY: Regulation is essential. You can’t have a free market work if you don’t have regulation. As a business person, I had to have — I needed to know the regulations. I needed them there. You couldn’t have people opening up banks in their — in their garage and making loans. I mean, you have to have regulations so that you can have an economy work. Every free economy has good regulation. ”
mitt reads like a lib con.
bob
October 4th, 2012
10:56 am
The debate surprised me, I thought the smart guy would chew up the guy that scored 1600 on his SAT’s. I am glad we now have al gore telling us why Obama did not do well against mr. 1600 !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtkw8stAlrM&feature=share
Denver is 5000 feet above sea level and Obama had altitude sickness so you right wingers can stop the gloating, Mr. Choomgang was just to high !
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
10:56 am
I knew we could count on getalife to give us an objective analysis.
Can we continue to count on you to make derisive comments about the first lady and her weight?
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:57 am
“MR. LEHRER: You want to repeal Dodd-Frank?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, I would repeal it”
This ends in another collapse.
Brosephus™
October 4th, 2012
10:57 am
jconservative @ 9:10
Based on the transcript of Romney’s answer, I think the Etch-A-Sketch got whiplash from the violent shaking. That doesn’t sound anything like the Primary Romney. I wonder how well his chief financiers liked that answer. Most of his campaign contributions have come from the top 10%-20% income people.
EJ Moosa
October 4th, 2012
10:57 am
Joe,
And as you know he had control of both the House and Senate the first two years.
So what happened?
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:57 am
Judging from the comments here, Romney said exactly what the wing nuts wanted to hear last night, even if the positions he put forth last night were completely contrary to positions he’s staked out previously… very telling… wingnuts are now for more regulations and oversight…
BADA BING (imagine an umlaut above the i, I'm trying to class things up a little)
October 4th, 2012
10:58 am
A new low in the Mile High City. Romney debated like his male parts depended on it. Maybe o should get some Mormon underpants.
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:59 am
“A new low in the Mile High City. Romney debated like his male parts depended on it. Maybe o should get some Mormon underpants.”
Now THATS funny…
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:59 am
Here is the transcript to put romney on record:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/us/politics/transcript-of-the-first-presidential-debate-in-denver.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Read it, then decide who won.
Verbal Kint
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
Somebody throw getalife a life preserver because the kool-aid is over his head the arms are flailing…
td
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:49 am
“Number two, I’ll take programs that are currently good programs but I think could be run more efficiently at the state level and send them to state.”
He outsourced fed government to State government five times.
A very good conservative value and philosophy. The states should be doing or not doing everything the Federal government currently does that is not prescribed in the Constitution.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
I always knew that PBS was in the tank for the Republicans, but Lehrer’s groveling before Mr. Romney leaves little doubt, huh?
Lina
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
This election, like all of them do do will hinge on social issues. Mitt Romney will eventually have to talk about them. This is when he has his Little Bighorn moment. If he doesn’t say “during my presidency a woman will always have the right to choose” and “during my presidency I will bring about a sensible, comprehensive immigration reform solution that keeps families together”, he will lose. If he does he will lose. Mitt is in a lose lose position here because of the social neanderthals on the rightwing of the republican party. Republicans need to realize that their future depends on bringing moderates and independents back into the fold. The rightwingers are a dwindling demographic with an ever greater return on investment to the republican party.
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
11:00 am
Romney bullied Obama????? THat’s beautiful…… A sitting President. Armed with more actual info that Romney could ever get his hands on……Looks……At the end of the day, Obama is a smooth talking left wing ideologue from a world that really doesn’t exist, or can’t work in a capitalistic society, which is what we are. A philosophy of giving everyone a trophy on the team regardless of contribution weakens the team….There is a place for them. It’s called the bench….or practice squad….. Get out of the way and let the winners do what they do.
Verbal Kint
October 4th, 2012
11:01 am
getalife…why do I need to read the transcript when I saw the debate last night. O lost that debate. Own up.
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
11:01 am
RT, Mitt flipped (or is it flopped?) again?
How does he keep his balance???
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
11:01 am
Romney want to strap Big Bird to the roof of his car.
td
October 4th, 2012
11:02 am
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
10:57 am
Judging from the comments here, Romney said exactly what the wing nuts wanted to hear last night, even if the positions he put forth last night were completely contrary to positions he’s staked out previously… very telling… wingnuts are now for more regulations and oversight…
Please point out where Romney wants “more regulation”? I think he talked about the right amount of regulation.
Bloomberg Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:02 am
“Read it, then decide who won.”
No need, watched it last night. Thanks all the same.
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
11:03 am
LIna……………make that argument to the 23 million looking for work….or the 50% of recent college grads working a frigging coffee shop………Social issues my butt.
td
October 4th, 2012
11:03 am
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
11:01 am
Romney want to strap Big Bird to the roof of his car.
Romney want big bird to pay his own way and to get off the government dole.
Lina
October 4th, 2012
11:03 am
Ever diminishing return on investment I meant to say. Sorry
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
11:03 am
I think he talked about the right amount of regulation.
What pray tell, is the “right amount of regulation”?
Huge LOL!
getalife
October 4th, 2012
11:05 am
Our President was consistent and so am I .
I don’t buy anything romney has to say and listen to the words not the style.
Jm
October 4th, 2012
11:05 am
Someone help jamvet
He’s flailing in dejection
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:05 am
Substance, there wasn’t much… Romney won this by appearing more prepared (he was) and by appearing more in control of the “facts” (as he knew them), demeanor and confidence won the night.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
11:06 am
If you read the transcript romney read like a liberal.
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:06 am
“I think he talked about the right amount of regulation.
What pray tell, is the “right amount of regulation”?”
It’s very similar to the trees being “the right height”…
godless heathen
October 4th, 2012
11:06 am
Can we continue to count on you to make derisive comments about the first lady and her weight?
Only on Friday nights.
willie lynch
October 4th, 2012
11:06 am
Mitt Romney: That’s not what I’m going to do. Oh maybe it is. Or maybe I just haven’t decided yet.
Great policy…if you’re stupid.
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
11:07 am
Life in Lina’s world…..” husband comes home, say’s to wife, it cost 94 dollars to fill up the Tahoe today…..wife say’s, get over it, I had to spend $9 of our money on birth control pills today…..That is not right…….Geez.
Ben
October 4th, 2012
11:08 am
Are you surprised? With most of the media fawning at Obama’s feet and declaring the Romney campaign dead over and over again, is it really any surprise Obama didn’t take the debate seriously and didn’t prepare well enough? With the media covering his ass, he didn’t expect to have to do any actual work to win. Sort of like how he skips a lot of briefings, he already knows everything and is the smartest man in the room [according to himself] so why would he need to prepare?
HDB
October 4th, 2012
11:08 am
td
October 4th, 2012
11:00 am
getalife
October 4th, 2012
10:49 am
“Number two, I’ll take programs that are currently good programs but I think could be run more efficiently at the state level and send them to state.”
He outsourced fed government to State government five times.
A very good conservative value and philosophy. The states should be doing or not doing everything the Federal government currently does that is not prescribed in the Constitution.
——————————————————————–
Question: If you outsource certain federal funding to the states, where is the FUNDING coming from?? All you are advocating is either a tax SHIFT to the states (a tax INCREASE)…..or an UNFUNDED MANDATE (as has been evident during the Bush Years….NCLB…and Medicare Part D)……
BADA BING (imagine an umlaut above the i, I'm trying to class this place up a little)
October 4th, 2012
11:08 am
o got ‘Rooftopped” last night. Daddy, did you win last night?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 4th, 2012
11:10 am
Today, for the first time in Walmart’s fifty-year history, workers at multiple stores are out on strike. Minutes ago, dozens of workers at Southern California stores launched a one-day work stoppage in protest of alleged retaliation against their attempts to organize.
salon.com
Cool!!!
td
October 4th, 2012
11:10 am
Jam and RT,
The right amount of regulation is the amount that protects the citizens without causing an undue burden on business. Left wingers can never get this balance correct so they should never be in charge of regulation.
EJ Moosa
October 4th, 2012
11:10 am
“What pray tell, is the “right amount of regulation”?”
You know the “fair” amount….
Ben
October 4th, 2012
11:10 am
If you go look at the 2008 debates, you’ll see that Obama hasn’t followed through on an awful lot of things he said he would do. Debates are a big waste, and don’t mean a thing except to superficial fools. They certainly don’t reflect how a candidate will act once in office.
meinpvb
October 4th, 2012
11:11 am
Gee, Jay, hope Obama can clear time from his busy schedule of the View, David Letterman and going out with Beyonce and Jay Z. Oh, and don’t forget those golf games. C’mon people. The reason Obama did bad was because for the first time ever he ACTUALLY had to answer questions and didn’t have the mainstream media fawning all over him and letting him get away with not giving answers. He also had to defend the last 4 AWFUL years! Blame Leher, blame Romney, but put some blame on Obama. He looked bored, he barely looked at Romney and his hubris shone through.
godless heathen
October 4th, 2012
11:11 am
This election, like all of them do do will hinge on social issues. Mitt Romney will eventually have to talk about them. This is when he has his Little Bighorn moment. If he doesn’t say “during my presidency a woman will always have the right to choose” and “during my presidency I will bring about a sensible, comprehensive immigration reform solution that keeps families together”, he will lose.
Because no Republican has won an election the past 20 years without doing that.
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
11:11 am
Correct. Obama’s results last night were the results of having Doctors remove lips from his hind end all day and listening to Brian Williams on NBC as his pulse of the country.
DannyX
October 4th, 2012
11:12 am
So are all you Romney fans calling it? Romney wins in November?
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:12 am
If Mittens had said any of the things he said last night in the primaries, it would’ve been Bachmann, the Newtster, or Cain up there last night…
jj
October 4th, 2012
11:12 am
Let me start by saying Bush left office nearly 4 years ago……
When O was running for office did he ever talk about specific plans to fix the economy??? If he did how are they working????
O had great international plans, How are they working?????
last question, are YOU working?
As a Republican I don’t think O did as poorly as the turncoat media would like everyone to believe. I don’t care if he looked down, or made funny faces, I listened to what he said and he was pretty much on point for what he believes. My problem is he and I don’t believe in the same things.
GT
October 4th, 2012
11:13 am
Apparently more than I questioned the moderator. I woke up this morning wondering if I was losing it, that motivator sucked last night. Even Jay, my buddy, defended the guy. Headlines just coming out now are saying both sides thought Jim Lehrer got raped by the candidates, last night.
azazel
October 4th, 2012
11:13 am
Global Technologies,check it out– follow the money, and board of directors
JamVet
October 4th, 2012
11:14 am
Jm, how about you helping me out? Oh that’s right, in regards to useful and relevant information you are useless. My bad.
td, you sound like the narrator of Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Not too hot, not too cold, just right. (Yumm!)
You guys have become so specific-averse and so staggeringly ignorant of any pertinent details that you now talk in fairy tales!
Lina
October 4th, 2012
11:14 am
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 ….make your argument to the high percentage of women that will vote against Romney just because of the right to choose issue and the 75% of Latino voters that won’t vote for Romney according to your prompters, FOX News. When 25% more Latinos are going to vote in this election than did in 08 combined with the the numerical fact…and this comes from Karl Rove…Romney has to have 40% of that demographic to win, it doesn’t take more than simple arithmetic to know republicans have a big problem. If you don’t realize what issues are costing republicans national elections you better go back to school. Just take blogs for instance. You take 3 blogs, 1 on abortion, 1 on immigration, and 1 on the economy, and see which one fizzles out 1st. Blogs on the 1st two have to usually be taken down after days of fireworks. If you don’t believe elections are won and lost on social issues bet your house that they don’t. Then research homeless shelters. You’ll need one.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 4th, 2012
11:14 am
Romney said exactly what the wing nuts wanted to hear last night,
I don’t think they pay attention past the drone of his voice. Romney could have mooned the audience and yelled “Hey, 47%, bring the car around.!” and he would still get their vote.
A TAT
October 4th, 2012
11:15 am
21:54:42: ROMNEY: Sorry, but that’s just not — that’s just not the facts. Look, we have to have regulation on Wall Street. That’s why I’d have regulation. But I wouldn’t designate five banks as too big to fail and give them a blank check. That’s one of the unintended consequences of Dodd-Frank. It wasn’t thought through properly. We need to get rid of that provision because it’s killing regional and small banks. They’re getting hurt.
Let me mention another regulation in Dodd-Frank. You (Obama) say we were giving mortgages to people who weren’t qualified. That’s exactly right. It’s one of the reasons for the great financial calamity we had. And so Dodd-Frank correctly says we need to have qualified mortgages, and if you give a mortgage that’s not qualified, there are big penalties, except they didn’t ever go on and define what a qualified mortgage was.
It’s been two years. We don’t know what a qualified mortgage is yet. So banks are reluctant to make loans, mortgages. Try and get a mortgage these days. It’s hurt the housing market because Dodd-Frank didn’t anticipate putting in place the kinds of regulations you have to have. It’s not that Dodd-Frank always was wrong with too much regulation. Sometimes they didn’t come out with a clear regulation.
As is often the case with government. Regulations piled atop regulations.
It’s overkill!
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
11:15 am
NBC News tonight……………”Good evening, there was debate last night………And in other news, we go to Yellowstone to talk about the bears hibernating early and a cold winter is coming”……LOL
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
11:16 am
Not too hot, not too cold, just right. (Yumm!)
Baby Bear.
Too funny!
Verbal Kint
October 4th, 2012
11:16 am
“So are all you Romney fans calling it? Romney wins in November?”
Nope but Romney did not disappoint last night. The pressure is now on Obama to defend his record. Maybe that’s why Chris Matthews said “it certainly wasn’t an MSNBC debate” meaning “we’ll protect you, Mr. President, and smear Romney”
getalife
October 4th, 2012
11:18 am
I think if mitt repeals ObamaCare, there would be zero cooperation from the dems and our President was right. I think even if he did not the dems would act like the gop because that is what congress does. Tit for tat politics.
I think the fact checkers destroyed mitt’s arguments as pants on fires as usual.
I think there are still not details to his plans and he will leave that up to congress that will only pass more corporate welfare.
Bloomberg Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:18 am
Let’s discuss an old Bookman post. Which one? This one:
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/05/09/heres-18000-reasons-why-govt-regulations-work/
The premise was: 18,000 lives have been saved by government regulations. Because… look, fatalities were going down, and that doesn’t happen without government regulation.
Well. Here’s the latest data.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/03/u-s-traffic-deaths-rise-by-9-in-first-half-of-2012/
Traffic deaths have gone up 9% year over year. I guess those same regulations caused the increase using Bookman logic. Why the increase? Must be some awful new regulation, but who knows which one….
Or, maybe both the decline and the increase HAVE ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATION.
The insane logic sometimes wandering around in Jay Bookman’s mind is why one would be crazy to accept anything Jay writes as fact. In particular the ones that supposedly use numbers to back up his viewpoint.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 4th, 2012
11:18 am
Obama had to play dead in the first debate – to get all the cons excited about their candidate. The beatdown will happen in a few weeks.
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
11:19 am
War on Women…………….What happen to women so bad during 8 years of Bush?????? Nothing…….It’s first cousin to ” They gonna put y’all back in chains”……. It’s crap……
Dave W.
October 4th, 2012
11:20 am
As much as I hate to say it Lina is right. What’s wrong with the economy and how to fix it is pretty much out of the hands of all of us. Issues like the right to choose and immigration are very personal and hit close to home. She’s right. These are the issues that win or lose elections. Take the Missouri Senate race for example. Akin most likely will lose because of the “legitimate rape” debacle. He can talk economy till the cows come home and still lose. This guy was up comfortably until he hit the hot button. Now look.
willie lynch
October 4th, 2012
11:20 am
I like Jim Lehrer but I thought he did a terrible job last night. The moderator should remember he is the voice of the people. He should ask questions and control the exchanges so we can get answers. He shouldn’t allow himself to be run over by either candidate.
DannyX
October 4th, 2012
11:20 am
“And in other news, we go to Yellowstone to talk about the bears hibernating early and a cold winter is coming”
How about you Lib? Are you calling it for Romney?
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
11:20 am
Finn………..you’re a pretty smart guy……Your hoping that…..I know you don’t believe it….your man is standing on sand…..
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
October 4th, 2012
11:21 am
The insane logic sometimes wandering around in Jay Bookman’s mind is why one would be crazy to accept anything Jay writes as fact.
You’re back on permanent ignore, sport.
If you wanna get Jay’s attention, you’re gonna hafta up your game.
Was it you that got yellow cared earlier?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
October 4th, 2012
11:21 am
Bloomberg Troll, you still think seat belts don’t lower the body count in traffic accidents? Airbags are useless? Headrests are a distraction?
You probably let your kids ride in the back of your pickem up truck too.
Fly-On-The-Wall
October 4th, 2012
11:21 am
I think Romney did a very good job of being prepared and presenting himself. However as the Rev. Al Sharpton said (paraphrase), all we have to do is play back what he said and we’ll see that he really said nothing new or just plain lied.
woodstockmimi
October 4th, 2012
11:22 am
The republicans/tpartiers are so used to hearing lies from Romney that they applaud them. Here is a summary of the fact check on Romney:
Romney again promised to “not reduce the taxes paid by high-income Americans” and also to “lower taxes on middle-income families,” but didn’t say how he could possibly accomplish that without also increasing the deficit.
Romney claimed a new board established by the Affordable Care Act is “going to tell people ultimately what kind of treatments they can have.” Not true. The board only recommends cost-saving measures for Medicare, and is legally forbidden to ration care or reduce benefits.
Romney accused Obama of doubling the federal deficit. Not true. The annual deficit was already running at $1.2 trillion when Obama took office.
Romney claimed that middle-income Americans have “seen their income come down by $4,300.” That’s too high. Census figures show the decline in median household income during Obama’s first three years was $2,492, even after adjusted for inflation.
Romney sometimes came off as a serial exaggerator. He said “up to” 20 million might lose health insurance under the new law, citing a Congressional Budget Office study that actually put the likely number who would lose employer-sponsored coverage at between 3 million and 5 million. He said 23 million Americans are “out of work” when the actual number of jobless is much lower. He claimed half of all college grads this year can’t find work, when, in fact, an AP story said half either were jobless or underemployed. And he again said Obama “cut” $716 billion from Medicare, a figure that actually reflects a 10-year target for slowing Medicare spending, which will continue to grow.
Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed on our website:
http://factcheck.org/2012/10/dubious-denver-debate-declarations/
Brosephus™
October 4th, 2012
11:23 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”
That’s funny as hell especially considering that you and every other conservative that b*tches about those tax cuts try to call them the Obama Tax Cuts now.
Rightwing Troll
October 4th, 2012
11:23 am
“Obama had to play dead in the first debate – to get all the cons excited about their candidate. The beatdown will happen in a few weeks.”
If it doesn’t… that could very well be the “game changer” the wingnuts have been desperately seeking…
Hell even if Romney loses the next one but it’s a close loss, he’ll still come out in a very good position…
Jm
October 4th, 2012
11:24 am
Kam 11:21 – nope
Finn – nope. Those have been around for decades and have nothing to do with the decline purported by Jay to be the result of magical government regulation
By his logic, we have regulation to blame for at least 3,000 deaths. I hope Jay apologizes.
getalife
October 4th, 2012
11:24 am
“I’m not going to cut education funding. I don’t have any plan to cut education funding and grants that go to people going to college. I’m planning on continuing to grow, so I’m not planning on making changes there”
Somebody should tell him his party already did at the State he wants to outsource federal government to. The man lives in his own make believe world.
The reason government steps in is the private sector failed on health care.
Steve
October 4th, 2012
11:25 am
Imagine the treat if you were a fly on the wall when Michelle got her hands on Zero last night.
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
11:26 am
Oh no Danny….long way to go…..But last night gave America a chance to hear about this guy, his record, his shortcomings, his broken promises…..without being censored. He really looked lost and weak last night. Tough job when you can’t say……….Let me tell you about all the things I’ve done..
Joe Hussein Mama
October 4th, 2012
11:27 am
EJ Moosa — “Joe, And as you know he had control of both the House and Senate the first two years.”
That’s a con fable, which has been debunked her many, many times. Jay’s even debunked it himself a time or two.
Hannah
October 4th, 2012
11:28 am
Just look at the arguments here. Everybody has a set of figures, stats, and arguments about this economy, economic “plans” and you know what? Not many people can or will sort through and the murkiness. But when you say I’ll take your right to choose, I’ll make birth control illegal, or I’ll deport your mom and dad, that’s when it gets real easy to understand. That stuff definitely will win or lose an election for you.
Scuba Steve
October 4th, 2012
11:28 am
Debating as an incumbent is an entirely different beast. Ask W.
Not an excuse though, Pres. Obama got beaten pretty soundly. No way to really sugar coat that.
Mitt lacked substantive FACTS last night, though. But that doesn’t particularly matter in debates, and he used that to his advantage — fair game (unfortunately) in modern politics.
Good news? Debates don’t decide elections. Florida & Ohio folks, Florida & Ohio.
paulo977
October 4th, 2012
11:29 am
Mary E…..”Those who don’t have money will be further victimized and looked down upon as inferior. So much for “all are created equal. . .” not to mention “I am my brother’s keeper.” That would not be an America I would like, and I wouldn’t like the president who helped to create that America,”
__________________________________________________________________
Please don’t despair…..
“Ring the bells that still can wring.
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in ”
LEONARD COHEN
Peace Mary