Even Liberals Say Romney is Undisputed Winner, Obama Lacks Fire

http://www.policymic.com/articles/15839/who- won- the- presidential- debate- even- liberals- say- romney- is- undisputed- winnerobama- lacks- fire October 25, 2012

Who Won the Presidential Debate: Even Liberals Say Romney is Undisputed Winner, Obama Lacks Fire
Who Wo n the Presidential Debate Even Liberals Say Ro mney is Undisputed Winner Obama Lacks Fire De bat e Grade s: Obam a: C+, Ro m ne y: B+ Mitt Ro mney had to have a big night to night, and there is no questio n that he effectively ro se to the challenge. Over 90 minutes, Mitt Ro mney and Barack Obama traded jabs and o utlined po licy po sitio ns in the first o f three presidential debates o n Wednesday night. Ro mneys delivery was po lished, as he hammered a mo no to ne and disinterested Obama thro ugho ut the debate. While no t an unmitigated disaster fo r the President, Obamas perfo rmance will haunt him in the po lls fo r the next few weeks. Ro mney came acro ss as well put to gether, better po lished, and better co mpo sed as he attacked the Presidents reco rd o n the eco no my and jo bs. Obama came acro ss muted and disinterested fo r the majo rity o f the debate. His mo st genuine mo ment came in the first 30 seco nds, when he wished wife Michelle Obama a happy 20th anniversary. After that, he seemed barely interested in participating and his bo dy language spo ke to a candidate who had little desire to be o n stage. Ro mney, o n the o ther hand, had lo ts o f fire and passio n in answering questio ns and go ing after the Presidents arguments and po sitio ns. Ro mney maintained his co mpo sure effectively thro ugh mo st o f the debate, despite sho wing signs o f frustratio n early. The President, o n the o ther hand, utterly failed to do so as the cameras caught him shaking his head, smirking, and mo uthing disagreement while Ro mney was speaking, presenting a very po o r and unpro fessio nal image to tho se watching at ho me. That said, fo r all o f Ro mneys practiced delivery, the Republican candidate fell well sho rt o n so mething he needed to pro vide: specifics. Ro mney co ntradicted himself several times, bo th o n his tax plan (claiming he wo uldnt raise taxes, while simultaneo usly claiming he wo uld eliminate deductio ns) and his health care refo rm reco rd (claiming his plan co vered preexisting co nditio ns when, last week, he explicitly stated it didnt). He also talked in circles, effectively do dging bo th Obamas and mo derato r Jim Lehrers calls fo r details. Ho wever, Obama did no t take advantage o f Ro mneys inco nsistency, as the President fumbled attempts to call Ro mney o n his co ntradictio ns and failed to back up his assertio ns. Mo st interestingly, Obama failed to take sho ts at Ro mney o ver the 47% remark. While so me might argue that he was playing a gentlemans game and attempting to talk po licy rather than take sho ts at Ro mney, it was surprising no t to see Obama fo llo wup o n the mo st salient talking po int o f the last mo nth. In the end, this debate was an example o f Obama playing prevent defense fro m start to finish. The President didnt co me acro ss as trying to win, but rather trying to play the middle and no t screw up. Whether he was sand-bagging o r just blo wing the o ppo rtunity, we wo nt kno w until the next debate, but his presentatio n and demeano r left much to be desired fo r liberals who were ho ping the President wo uld put the electio n away to night. Mitt Ro mney came o ut the undisputed victo r to night and I expect the po lls to reflect that truth in sho rt o rder. Team Obama is go ing to have to drag the President into so me debate prep and reawaken Candidate Obamas fire and passio n befo re they let him back o n stage if they ho pe to ensure a win in No vember. Fo r full play-by-play analysis and co verage o f the debate in real time, see here. Reply to this article Mark Ko gan is a lawyer wo rking in public affairs in Washingto n, D.C.. He ho lds a J.D. fro m the American University Washingto n Co llege o f Law and ...

Co pyright 2012 Mic Netwo rk Inc. All rights reserved.