Great Game

You know that experience you have the day after a big game, one everyone you know was watching, and your team won? Big! Everyone relives it, relishes it, the next day and beyond. That’s how I spent the day after the first Presidential Debate.

If you’ve been reading here a while, you’re already aware that I think Mitt Romney is an especially skilled debater, as well as a perfect fit to lead us through the problems we’re facing today, economic and otherwise. And you probably also know that I scratch my head in puzzlement at the very description of Obama as a good orator, or wise and principle-based in anything he does as President.

So I am not surprised that Romney debated the socks of the President the other night; I’m surprised that everyone else saw what I saw. I’m not used to that. The camaraderie has been great fun. I collected some favorite comments.

·         “That was the most brutal, one-sided presidential debate I have ever watched.”—Bryan Preston of PJMedia (wall post with link to his article)

·         “Memo to young GOPers: Savor the moment. You will likely never experience so comprehensive a debate win again.”—Hugh Hewitt

·         “Obama said it himself, Romney's ‘gonna have a busy first day [as President.]’”—comment on Texas State Senator Dan Patrick’s Facebook wall

·         "That wasn't a debate so much as Mitt Romney just took Obama for a cross country drive strapped to the roof of his car."—tweet attributed to @clasicaliberal, quoted on a friend’s Facebook wall

Image found on Leah Christie's Facebook wall
origin uncertain

·         “MSNBC is bringing in grief counselors.”—Leah Christie, of Not On This Watch and MittRomneyRadio

·         “Press saying Obama didn't bring his 'A game.' I argue that he did."—tweet attributed to @GregGutfeld, posted on Leah Christie’s Facebook wall

·         “In addition to his intelligence briefings, Obama apparently missed his debate briefings.”—Ann Coulter

·         “If Romney keeps this up Obama’s gonna vote for him.”—Dennis Miller

·         “Obama better hope a Kicked A** is covered under Obamacare.”—Dennis Miller

·         “Obama is being owned, refinanced and owned again!”—Dennis Miller

·         “Obama’s performance was so bad, I’m starting to think it must be some kind of strategy.”—S. E. Cupp

·         “Maybe debate commission should add that little league rule—when the other team is that far ahead, you just call it a day.”—Dana Perino

·         “It was delicious.”—Glenn Beck, on his radio show next day

I need to add just a few from very unlikely sources. This is the opposing team bemoaning their misfortune, not just at a single loss, but the loss of hope for the rest of the season:

·         “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Obama looks like he DOES need a teleprompter.”—Bill Maher

·         “Obama made a lot of great points tonight. Unfortunately, most of them were for Romney.”—Bill Maher

·         “This is what happens when u pick John Kerry as your debate coach.”—Michael Moore

I thought that last one was just a joke, but I heard it verified on radio this morning; Obama actually did have John Kerry as a debate coach—apparently because he wanted to come across as a man of the people instead of an arrogant, rich pedant? So, again, that verifies my assertion that, no matter the question at hand, Obama is likely to use the wrong judgment criteria and make the wrong decision—far more than you’d except from sheer dumb luck.

One online friend has taken to referring to him as GHEP, meaning, “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people, with a nod to Clint Eastwood and the empty chair speech. I saw a couple of amusing visuals. One was a cartoon with Romney at the podium debating against an empty chair. Another was a photo of an empty chair, with the caption that Romney had taken care of things.

Let me add that I, and I believe others who strongly push to replace Obama in the White House, still have respect for the office of President. Disrespect is what this person has for the office, as well as the nation he represents and the people who are entitled to liberty. Honor within the office is something that must be earned.

What I have been hoping for is clarity—that the American people would be able to see who Obama really is and what his intentions are for our country, and who Romney really is and what his intentions are for our country. I think we got clarity, and the glare of it was a bit shocking to the Obama team (media included).

Twitter photo from dgjackson

There’s a photo that was tweeted after the event, in the green room where the Romney family gathered. With Mitt Romney looking on, along with a granddaughter, Romney’s son Josh is making peanut butter and honey sandwiches, using a plastic fork, for the family. No caterer. No servants. Nothing gourmet. Just practical family people doing family things together. The Obama-campaign-designed image of Romney as too rich and out of touch is so very wrong. I have been seeing this Romney for a long time, because I have known so many people like him (but at different levels of overall talent), so I find Romney caring about people out of work totally believable. The opposition was foolish enough to believe the image of Romney they had invented. Obama excused his pathetic performance by claiming the Romney at the debate was a fake, and went ahead campaigning against the invented version.

We need to thank moderator Jim Lehrer who mostly stayed out of the way and let that happen. (Granted, there were times he tried prompting the President to stop wandering and make a point—check about 20 minutes in—and he tried unsuccessfully to interrupt Romney numerous times but still managed to give the President several minutes more time.) We’re used to the odds against us. At least the questions were not useless repetitions of the anti-Romney campaign. I especially like the question about the proper role of government.

The debate was informative in many ways, and I’ve taken some time to go over the transcript and mark it up. I think I’m getting better at identifying that backward-step-pivot-forward move Romney is so skilled at (I wrote about it here and here). The technique enhances our view of the contrast between the two and their basic beliefs. The debate content, I think, will remain pertinent throughout the remainder of the campaign, and beyond. So I want to spend some time on that in the next post.