Posted on 10/13/2012 2:17:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
President Obama is in trouble. Poll after poll shows Mitt Romney gaining ground almost everywhere, and Gallup even has the governor ahead by two points nationally. Also, reports say there is a low-level panic going on inside the Obama re-election headquarters in Chicago. So it's crunch time for the president. He must perform well in the debate next Tuesday night or begin auditioning for a cable pundit job.
Anyone who knows Obama understands that he likes being the underdog and will most likely deliver a rousing performance at Hofstra University. Obama is certainly aware that another emotional no-show will doom him. In Denver, he looked like he spent the pre-debate hours at a medical marijuana shop.
But the "town hall" debate format on Tuesday gives a slight advantage to Romney. The candidates will field questions from undecided voters selected by the Gallup organization. After the question is posed, Obama and Romney will have two minutes to answer it. The moderator, Candy Crowley, a CNN correspondent, will then jump in to "facilitate a discussion."
What this means is simple: The regular person asking the question will most likely frame it in a general way allowing the candidates to pretty much say whatever they want.
For example:
Question: "My cousin Otis has been unemployed for eight years. How can you get him a job?"
Answer (President Obama): "If Otis had worked at an American car company, he'd be employed today because I saved that industry."
Answer (Mitt Romney): "I had a cousin named Otis, too, and when I turned the Olympics around, I gave him a job.
You get the idea.
What will most likely happen during the town hall is that Obama will hearken back to the first debate and list all the "lies" he and his handlers believe Romney told. Only he won't call them "lies." He'll imply that and try to paint the governor as a charlatan who changes positions the way Lady GaGa changes costumes.
But the governor should easily be able to counter because he has to know what's coming. All he has to do is watch MSNBC, which chronicles his "lies" daily. So Romney will most likely retort with the old Reaganism: "There you go again." He can't actually say that, but he'll use words to that effect and continue portraying the president as a clueless socialist.
In the end, the town hall debate will be less punchy than the Denver back and forth. The smart money is predicting a draw, with both candidates bloviating at will. It will be almost impossible to pin them down.
Next up: foreign policy in Boca Raton, Fla. With the Libyan fiasco hot in the news, that debate could be quite a challenge for the president.
Liberty vs the Marxist jackass.
Americans are known to gather around someone who is honest and forthright... and if he were to release his birth certificate and college documents it would be a huge plus and help him in his re-election campaign..
Without that filter the people saw the real Romney and we have seen the result in the polling. Obama will present nothing new to change any ones opinion of him which has been formed over the past 6 years including the primary races.
The very best Obama can hope for is a draw save Romney committing some monumental gaffe, which I doubt will happen if he simply sticks to the issues and keeps hammering Obama’s record.
LLS
Disagree with this writer’s solution. If Romney gets reactive but parrying the “lies”, then he will lose. And trying to assuage every independent’s obsession is a fool’s errand. He needs to keep this at a higher level - collectivism doesn’t work, versus freeing up Americans to help themselves and others. That’s what Americans understand.
For our next question we go to Mr. RWA, a custodian at Hofstra.
RWA: “Mr. obama, why did your vice-president act like such a jackass in the Ryan debate?”
Romney was better each time during the Republican primary. Obama is on the ropes and desperate. The MSM is desperate too. The MSM will not want to see their invention called Obama to fall apart.
Romney must assume he's going to get chris matthew type tripe w/ plenty of set-ups for oboy.
I feel confident he won't go on the defensive when attacked - after the first debates, I would guess the plan is to leverage each preceding event, add it to current events and attack the attacks. They understand that a the best defense is a good offense. The Dims have substance problems with their own offense and all they seem to be doing is offending people instead of reeling them in these days. The air smells fresher and cleaner every day.
If Obozo doesn’t affect a way to accuse Romney of racisim during the debates then he will accuse America of racisim as he goes down in flames with the election. He will try to stir up a race war as he goes. This is who this evil pig is.
I believe we will see a different president in this next debate because of the Biden performance. Although he expressed his VP did a terrific job, he knows Biden’s flailing about, flashing his super white teeth and ‘mugging’ was a disaster.
Because of that, he will have to restrain ‘using’ his flashing boyish smile.
He will HAVE to avoid using any semblance of a smirk as he did in their first debate.
He will have to avoid any kind of mugging for the camera like shaking his head in disbelief in statements Romney is making.
He will have to look at his nemesis, a man he truly hates, in the face while he talks.
I think, the president will try to copy the Romney style of looking at his opponent with a slight but respectful smile on his face.
In short, the last thing he can do is be himself.
And BOR is certainly an expert on bloviating.
Semper Fi,
You got that right! Semper Fi always.
LLS
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