KO’d in Denver [Blind sow alert]

The Washington Post ^ | October 5, 2012 | Kathleen Parker

[2ndDivisionVet]

Contrary to conventional wisdom that debates are rarely, if ever, game-changers, the first presidential debate was a demolition derby.

And no amount of post-debate fact-checking, spinning or dances of one’s choice (Barack Obama has cited Mitt Romney’s tap-dancing and soft-shoe) is going to alter the impression of Romney’s winning-ness.

It was quite simply a knockout performance by the Republican challenger. Or, as Notre Dame professor and political observer Robert Schmuhl put it, “Romney gets a gold medal, and Obama wasn’t even in the same competition.”

Schmuhl, a professor of American studies and the author of “Statecraft and Stagecraft: American Political Life in the Age of Personality,” told me that, on optics alone, the victor was clear:

“All one had to do on Wednesday night is turn down the volume and study the body language of the two figures. After a short period of time, there was no comparison in terms of performance.”

As anyone watching the debate couldn’t avoid noticing, the president rarely looked at Romney, seemingly riveted by something on his lectern. He may have been taking notes — or studying the wood grain — but the effect was to appear disengaged. Or miffed. Or rude. Refusing to look at people when they’re talking, whether a debating partner, a spouse or a colleague, is a blatant act of passive hostility. One need only be human to recognize it...

[2ndDivisionVet]

Kathleen, as Military Intelligence officer Colonel Sam Flagg on MASH said to Captain Hawkeye Pierce after he suggests using nuclear weapons in a search for the missing Major Houlihan "Don't try to make friends with me this late in the game."

[Paladin2]

0bama’s resume is that of one occupying the empty chair (set).

[gaijin]

He’s not used to being refused or even confronted —multicturalists would have us all believe that denying withholding anything from a member of the grievance elite consisitutes a new type of sin for some new form of secular fundamentalism.

[uncbob]

Even after being exposed as the fraud he is there are enough idiots who still will vote for him What a sad commentary on the American voter

[Windflier]

Like a lot of media pundits, Kathleen Parker seems to have been suddenly mugged by reality. That said, this was a very good article that pulled no punches and told the truth about Wednesday night’s debate.

Here’s another excerpt:

“...the Romney who appeared in Denver to duke it out with the president is the one supporters once knew. It was the most recent Romney — the awkward, gaffe-prone Romney — who now seemed the stranger. Friends and close associates talking among themselves had been wondering what happened to their Romney — the smart, over-achieving businessman who was never at a loss for solutions.

He’s back. The dog is off the roof. Likability is now moot.

And likability, it turns out, isn’t about a winning smile or a cross-court shot. It’s about competence. Romney may not be able to perform the miracles he promises. Most presidents, once in office, discover that doing is harder than saying. But Wednesday night he conveyed a depth of knowledge as well as a level of confidence that is infectious.

Obama gave rebuttals that failed to convince.”

[Grampa Dave]

Somehow I ended up on a left wing mailing list of Move On. This is an email re how the left wing progressives feel about the debate:

Dear MoveOn member,

That was infuriating.

During last night’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney smirked his way through dozens of mischaracterizations, distortions, and outright lies. The moderator, Jim Lehrer, never cut him off. And now the mainstream media is saying that Mitt won the debate.

We can’t let Romney “win” the debate on a boatload of lies.

He lied about his tax plan, his deficit plan, and Medicare. He lied about what “Obamacare” would do. He lied, baldly and convincingly, about Obama’s entire presidency.1

We need to move quickly to set the record straight. Our online team worked overnight preparing a media blitz—including online ads targeted at swing-state voters—correcting the worst lies in an easy-to-share format.

Chip in $5 to get the truth out—countering Mitt’s lies.

If we don’t fight back now with the truth, some of those lies will stick, and Romney could pull ahead.

Already, Romney and his Super PAC friends have spent millions on blatantly false ads attacking President Obama for gutting work requirements for welfare and cutting $700 million from Medicare.

Last night was more of the same.

And research shows that when lies get repeated enough times people will believe them—no matter how outlandish they might seem. The only way to keep Romney honest is to make sure the facts get corrected on the spot.

We’re now in the moment when millions of undecided voters who don’t usually pay attention to politics start to focus.

This is it. This is what MoveOn’s massive online network is for. Let’s use it.

Please chip in $5.

Thanks for all you do.

–Angie, Mark, Lenore, Tate, and the rest of the team

1. “Presidential Debate Fact-Check and Updates,” The New York Times, October 3, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=281980&id=53824-21930683-_smjiTx&t=4

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