Since I'm usually up each day two or three hours before the sun, the hours between 9 and 10:30 are kind of late for me. Because of this nocturnal habit I watched last night's debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney from the comfort of my bed. It's a good thing that I was lying down, too. I would have fallen out of my chair otherwise. The president should have been able to pull this one off with both hands tied behind his back and blindfolded. That didn't happen. For ninety solid minutes Romney successfully and effortlessly defended the indefensible.
While watching this debacle I got the feeling that Barack Obama has not read a newspaper in over a year. No mention of Bain Capital. No mention of Romney's sick and insensitive "forty-seven percent" remark or of his undisclosed tax returns. The Cayman Islands? Not even a dishonorable mention. If the president was waiting for moderator Jim Lehrer to bring these subjects up, he waited in vain. Lehrer is a terrible moderator. He proved it twelve years ago during Bush v Gore. Last night he merely sealed his reputation. He allowed Romney literally to control the night. He's perfectly fine on PBS. I respect his journalistic integrity, but please - PLEASE! - let this be his very last debate.
Obama's performance was beyond abysmal. The split screen shots were devastating. While Romney vomited out one lie after the other (while hardly being called on them by Obama) the split-screen shots showed the prez staring down at his notes, his lips pressed tightly together. He was hardly recognizable! And to make matters worse, all through the night he was caught nodding in smiling agreement with Romney! I couldn't believe it! It was the most inept performance I've ever seen.
I had a bad omen when I heard that John Kerry would be sparring with him during the debate preperations. John Kerry? JOHN KERRY? He couldn't beat a half-witted like jackass like George W. Bush! Did the complete irony of that choice dawn on any of the people on Team Obama? It dawned on me!
MEMO TO THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN: Bring in Bubbah.
You people need Bill Clinton now more than you ever needed him - more than you needed him at the convention in August. You need Bill Clinton more than a first degree burn victim needs a mega-dose of Dilaudid; more than a staving dog needs a plate of filet mignon. To paraphrase a seventies soft rock band, "Like a flower needs the rain, you know you need him."
John Kerry is a smart guy and a good senator - no one is arguing that fact. But why settle for a PT boat when you have an aircraft carrier at your disposal? You people need to bring in the heavy artillery, okay? Three words: William Jefferson Clinton. Just a suggestion.
If the Republican party is ever again allowed to take over all three branches of our government, it's all over. The next four years will see - at the very least - two more appointments to the Supreme Court. One more uber right winger within that body will mean the end of democracy in this country within a decade. Obama has got to win this thing. As Will Rogers once said, "Or else? Or else nothin'. There ain't gonna be no 'else'"
This should have been the political equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. Obviously it wasn't. Although the campaign of 2012 is far from over, last night was a wake up call. If any of us were over-confident prior to nine o'clock on Wednesday, October third, we were just fed stern spoonful of nasty-tasting reality.
You people need Bill Clinton now more than you ever needed him - more than you needed him at the convention in August. You need Bill Clinton more than a first degree burn victim needs a mega-dose of Dilaudid; more than a staving dog needs a plate of filet mignon. To paraphrase a seventies soft rock band, "Like a flower needs the rain, you know you need him."
John Kerry is a smart guy and a good senator - no one is arguing that fact. But why settle for a PT boat when you have an aircraft carrier at your disposal? You people need to bring in the heavy artillery, okay? Three words: William Jefferson Clinton. Just a suggestion.
If the Republican party is ever again allowed to take over all three branches of our government, it's all over. The next four years will see - at the very least - two more appointments to the Supreme Court. One more uber right winger within that body will mean the end of democracy in this country within a decade. Obama has got to win this thing. As Will Rogers once said, "Or else? Or else nothin'. There ain't gonna be no 'else'"
This should have been the political equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. Obviously it wasn't. Although the campaign of 2012 is far from over, last night was a wake up call. If any of us were over-confident prior to nine o'clock on Wednesday, October third, we were just fed stern spoonful of nasty-tasting reality.
Tom Degan
AFTERTHOUGHT:
The Kennedy/Nixon debates of 1960 and the Carter/Ford debates of 1976 were held within the confines of a television studio - no audience. It's time to go back to that format. A huge studio audience and auditorium is a distraction.
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Kerry Lauerman
Joan Walsh
Salon.com
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