ilgipper nailed it. Tonight was not about us or the disgust we have with Obama. Tonight was a final chance to reassure splinter-crotched wafflers that Romney is a safe choice. Based on our emotion Romney was wrong. Based on pure logic he was correct.
The trend line will remain with Romney. The rest of us made up our mind long ago.... tonight was about the undecided voters.
Again, I don’t think Romney lost the election tonight but what he did lose was momentum. All he needed was a first round knock out and he didn’t deliver it to the utter SHOCK of every cable news reporter who by the way are just as shocked that Obama didn’t use the 47% line again.
Undecided voters = uninformed lazy voters. Therefore, they don't know when 'the boy' was lying.
This 3rd and final debate was Romney’s last chance to sway the “undecided”’s. So instead of being a firebrand and blasting the Liar in Chief and coming across to squishy “undecided”’s as a “meanie”, Romney chose to come across as a responsible, well-mannered adult...giving the yet undecided’s a good feeling that Romney would be the “moderate”’s choice.
After all, anyone who still had not decided after the first two debates is no partisan, but rather are people who decide at the last minute based on feelings. Romney came across as a “nice man” and the LiarInChief came across as rude and mean.
I agree with you
They don't know enough to listen to the rather complex set of facts and lies about Benghazi or Fast & Furious. Way too easy for Obama to lie his way out of it because these people would have no assumed set of facts against which to compare what he said, or from which to draw contradictions - so it would have been a playground name calling contest - "did too" "did not" "did too."
We saw it last debate. At the moment Romney had Obama on Benghazi, Candy jumps in, turns the issue into a loss for Romney (as far as low info voters know) ... even SNL only quoted Candy's 'it's right here in the transcript' without the 'but you're right Mr. Romney they then lied for 2 weeks.'
The election is over, Romney was speaking to people who weren't even watching the debate - he's speaking to a small percentage who don't know anything, but will vote, and maybe, half by mistake, will read a headline written by a pundit, which will not read "Romney Trapped In Lie."
Meanwhile he actively convinced women again that he's not HItler. Remember - Ohio has been drinking Romney's-Evil Kool Aid Kommercials for 6 months at high doses. An on-stage shouting contest of issues their undecideds know nothing about would not have played well at the booth.
Obama learned in debate two that he could counter Romney by childishly saying into the microphone 'not true Governor' every 7 seconds. And the moderators and media proved they would pitch in if Obama would do his part.
Smart play by Romney Campaign. If the election were tied - that would be a different story, but it's not tied. Tonight's debate is proof RR internals show them comfortably ahead of 270 EVs - or Romney would have gone for some points. He didn't even try. He just looked relaxed and presidential to solidify the switch many have made recently.
Right or wrong, he didn't miss any opportunities, he consciously stepped over them. One, because he had nothing to gain in terms of actual votes, two, because he's in foreign, hostile, enemy territory during these debates - the crowds, the moderators, the media - and the enemy has had a month to figure out how to counter Mitt's style of presenting the truth - how to force him into a single little semantics mistake that would have captured headlines.
Contrary to popular belief, there IS a time for a prevent defense. If you're a soccer team, up 3 to 1 with 5 minutes left, and 3 or your players have been red carded and hence kicked out of the game - that's what you do, and you're dumb if you don't.
Mitt's outnumbered by the audience (who has twice proven they will laugh and clap after agreeing not to,) moderators, and media. In other words, the other team has a 3 man advantage with 5 minutes go, and has had a month to plot the final 5 minutes.
Not a time to send your forwards and half backs up the field.
In a tied match with even sides, a prevent defense is usually fatal. I don't think RR went into this thing thinking it was anywhere near tied, and they definitely went in outnumbered, against a well prepared enemy, 2 goals ahead. Mitt only had to show he knew what he was talking about.
In the meantime - he did touch on the real problem in the Middle East - no long term planning, and no respect for or fear of the US - no projection.
I too would have liked to see him tear apart Obama's lying, but it wasn't necessary, and it was high risk - a calculated RR decision.
It shouldn't have been. The reason "undecided voters" are "undecided" is precisely because they are morons who have no interest or curiosity in this or any other campaign. I would guess very few watched any of the debates, and I also suspect that "undecided" people are the people most likely to "forget" to vote, or will have something more pressing to do than go to their polling place - - a favorite TV show, for example.
I think both parties have always way overestimated the value of the "undecideds". As far as I can tell from my 25+ years of studying politics, smart, experienced candidates who excite their base are more successful than those who try to talk out both sides of their mouth and pander to everybody. Yeah, the strategy worked for a few people during the time when the old media was dominant - - Arlen Specter, for example - - but it's a new world out there. Candidates can't get away with it anymore. Arlen sure couldn't.
“Tonight was a final chance to reassure splinter-crotched wafflers that Romney is a safe choice”
Lol. Exactly right.