The president's narrow victory
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama spar over energy policy during the second presidential debate at Hofstra University, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in Hempstead, N.Y. / AP
This post originally appeared on Slate.
In the seal of the United States, the eagle turns its head toward its right talon, which holds an olive branch, and away from the talon holding 13 arrows. It is meant to suggest a preference for peace. The eagle that hovered between the two candidates in the second debate had the same design, but for one difference: The eagle's head was turned toward the arrows. It was a fitting symbol for the pointed and sniping contest between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney. It was a night of barbs, interruptions, and charges and counter-charges. "Very little of what the president said is true," said Romney. "It's not true governor," said Obama. "Not true. It's not true." During one exchange, Romney said, "You'll get your chance. I'm still speaking," as the audience in the arena seemed to gasp. At another point, the two men got so close and huffy, I thought moderator Candy Crowley might just ask them to take it outside.
It's a pretty good bet that undecided voters missed the important matter the boys were squabbling over--was it about a barbecue grill or the Lions and Bears football game? The debate was the only town hall-style contest in which voters posed questions. Just as the candidates seem to be speaking past the electorate, it often felt like they were speaking past the questioners. Both candidates avoided answering questions about gas prices. Romney continued to show an aversion to specifics in explaining his tax plan, and the president didn't do a great job of answering a voter who wanted to know what Obama was going to do to earn his vote.
If you had to score a winner (and I am obligated by the memorandum of understanding to do so), you'd give the night to the president--barely. He was a forceful advocate for his policies, kept Romney on defense, and gave Democrats plenty to cheer. He probably stopped his slide in the polls. He looked like a person who would fight for the middle class. In the first debate, he had looked like a person who wanted to skip middle class and get out to recess. In Round 2, Obama's closing remarks about fighting for the 47 percent of the popular vote that Romney disparaged in that secret video were among his best of any debate he's done on the national stage. When you finish strong, you are usually in a good place.
But Mitt Romney showed that his first debate performance was no fluke. He gave as good as he got, and he consistently offered a confident alternative to the weak Obama recovery. "I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you're going to get," he said. "You're going to get a repeat of the last four years. We just can't afford four more years like the last four years." Both candidates had bad moments: President Obama tried to reinvent his initial reaction to Libya in front of millions of people, and Romney tried to tell a story about women in his cabinet that was certainly off-key and perhaps not even true.
In a CBS poll of undecided voters after the debate, the group split nearly in thirds, with Obama winning slightly with 37 percent over Romney's 30 percent. Thirty-three percent thought the contest was a tie. Voters in the CBS poll by almost 3-to-1 thought Romney could better handle the economy, but the president won by a large margin on the question of which candidate cared about the middle class. A poll of "Wall Mart Moms" gave the edge to the president, but not by much. The CNN poll gave the president a victory by 7 percentage points. A race that was tied--or at least very close--may now be even more tied than ever. (Tied with a double knot?) It is as if the ups and downs of the last several months never happened.
In a conversation with one of Obama's top lieutenants in Ohio last week, I asked what he could say in the second debate that he didn't say in the first. "Outsourcing, offshoring, and autos," was the response, referring to Bain Capital's investment in companies that outsourced American jobs, Romney's use of offshore accounts, and his refusal to back the auto bailout. The president hit all those themes in the first 15 minutes. He also tied Romney to the very unpopular Republican Congress. He had the Midwest in mind when he mentioned his plan to create more manufacturing jobs, and the debate over the car bailout put Romney on the defensive.
Each candidate accused the other of not telling the truth, and both of them offered us examples of what that looks like. Romney told a false story about the past, and Obama told a false story about the present. During a politically charged exchange about fair pay for women, Romney recounted the early days of his Massachusetts administration. "I had the chance to pull together a cabinet, and all the applicants seemed to be men," Romney said. And I--and I went to my staff, and I said, 'How come all the people for these jobs are--are all men?' They said, 'Well, these are the people that have the qualifications.' " In recounting how he went on a search for qualified female candidates, Romney remembered, "I went to a number of women's groups and said, 'Can you help us find folks,' and they brought us whole binders full of women."
On its face, the answer is odd. Romney sounds a little out of touch with the inequities of the workplace. The notion that women had to be scared up from the bushes seems from another era. But the main point for a candidate whose veracity is a key talking point for his opponent is that the story may not be true. The Boston Phoenix has fact-checked the story and claims that the binder of women was presented to Romney when he came into office. He didn't appear to ask for it, as he claimed in Tuesday night's debate. Perhaps he asked for another binder. In the end, however, as governor, Romney did hire a lot of women.
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President Obama planned and had executed 15 top leaders of alQuida including Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Yahya al Libi. His methods included drone strikes,smart bombs, accurate intelligence and strike forces like the Navy seals who took out Osama.This was done with no loss of American lives,no wounded,minimal cost and limited civilian casualties. The President certainly knows constraint, careful planning and decisive action are the keys to success over the terrorists.
Let me point you to your Man Mitt who doesn't care one bit about any of you'll. Once he gets your vote that's all that matters and he will leave you in the gutter like he does his own staff
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-c-reed/arrogance-of-the-entitled_b_1938518.html
Sigh, I really wish all of you would grow up. Here maybe this will help clear the fog from your eyes.
http://memspoliticalscrapbook.blogspot.com/2012/09/like-myself-some-republicans-do.html
Nobody likes a bully so why vote for one? Mitt Romney talks down to people. Obama talks to people. America is already on the track to 12 million jobs in the next four to five years because of Obama's efforts so Mitt's claims are ignorant. I also love how Mitt Romney says Government doesn't create jobs but my Government will create jobs.
Look, here's Mitt Romney's debates in a nutshell:
Mitt Romney: As President I'm going to make everyone in the USA CEO's of McDonalds.
Obama: Uhm, that's not true, you're lying.
Mitt Romney: As CEO of McDonalds everyone will have alot of money which will create growth and new jobs and everyone will be rich so the economy will be great.
Obama: Uhm, there's only one CEO of McDonalds. You're math doesn't add up. You're just lying and telling people falsehoods.
Mitt Romney: Do you know how much McDonalds CEO's make? Like a gabillion dollars. Everyone will be super rich like me and you can eat Big Mac's everyday. etc........
Obama in his own words and what are his father's dreams for his son? Which direction should America go?
More and more government?
Or less government?
"There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty contracts," said President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) in his farewell address on January 11, 1989.
He was relaying a conservative maxim that smaller government is better for the people. The more government interferes in people's lives, the less freedoms they have.
about rejecting the rehashed and discredited economic policies and ideas
of the Republican Party which would be implemented IF he were to win. The
election is about accepting the Obama policies which are working, (Moody's of Wall Street is the one saying that 12 million jobs will be created in the next 4 years no matter who gets elected thanks to the way Obama handled the mess) The progress to date has been slower than we would like, but, it is working none-the-less. This election is also about rejecting a return of the entire Republican Machinery to the White House and Cabinet Departments. They're the ones who got us into Trillion$$$$ of Dollar Deficit Wars amongst other things. Mismanagement under Republicans includes the Katrina response. Wars in which, we spent our money, our credit, as well as our sweat, blood and tears on the infrastructure of countries that will never appreciate it. This was money and credit that the Republicans, with the idiot at the helm, didn't even bother to budget. BUT NOW, all of a sudden we have a deficit that they say was created by President Obama. That's a NO. President Obama has spent Trillions trying to get us out of the near meltdown mess that Bush, Mitch McConnell, Boehner, Cheney, Romney, Rove and the entire Republican Party "leadership" got us into in the first place. By every expert's analysis, Romney's plan will create a $5,000,000,000,000 Trillion Dollar deficit, but he doesn't explain what he's going to cut to make up for it and continue to cut the deficit like Obama has (already begun). Romney has spoken in private and stated what he really stands for. As the election nears, he has performed a "song and dance routine" to alter what he has said privately to accommodate his statements with the polls when his positions have been rejected. The bottom line: He is lying to the American voter in order to get elected.
In a manner of speaking, this election is also about whether American
voters make an informed decision on that which is working or, whether we have a
collective form of Alzheimer's and, forget or, did not fully understand what
Bernanke meant by a Financial Meltdown, or if we vote for what we like to hear,
even if it's pie in the sky. (like gas prices will come down. ......fat chance). When I visited Europe more than 25 years ago, they were already paying more than $5.00 dollars for a gallon of gas. Today they are paying $10.00 dollars per gallon of gas. Read and be informed !!!!!
I already voted for Obama and Democratic, straight up and down, and I urge anyone and everyone reading this to put aside prejudices and do the same for the good of our country and the sake of our children. We already have an idiot (and a thief in my opinion) as Governor in the State of Florida, we don't need another idiot in charge in the White House.
You are to far gone, the kool aid has already infected your brain.
The meltdown was created by borrowing to much money that could not be paid back. Creating more and more debt is not the answer. To get out of a hole you have to stop digging.
ANSWER: These folks watch too much FOX NEWS that lies to the American Public 24/7.
Real American's can think for themselves and decide who is lying and who is being honest.
Your projection is obvious for all to see.
"and act like a bully trying to hog the spotlight"
Obama had almost 4 more minutes to speak, just like the first debate and the moderator had to help him out with lying to the American people about what Obama said in the Rose Garden. When the moderator has to help you out, you lost the debate.
I so much wish we had grown-up behavior coming out of Washington and between our two parties. How is the idealogical divide ever going to be resolved??
Your empty chair is going to lose. And you know why? Because the American people are sick and tired of being lied to, being called racist and being disrespected by you Obamabots.
It had nothing to do with a movie or video.
Do you also believe that the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 were from the video as well....lol