Posted on 10/14/2012 11:40:59 PM PDT by Arthurio
In his first debate against President Obama, Mitt Romney seemed to effortlessly pass his most critical test: appearing to undecided voters as presidential.
The Republican challenger was confident and relaxed as he stood behind his podium, narrowing in just 90 minutes a sizable “stature gap” between himself and the man who has been commander-in-chief for four years.
In Tuesday night’s second head-to-head contest, one of his new tasks will be something Romney has faced throughout the six years he’s essentially run for the nation’s highest office: demonstrating that he feels the pain of regular voters and is able to connect with them on a human level.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
OTOH: It could pose a challenge for Barry.
I look at it much more as an opportunity for Romney.
If he can overcome Bammy’s rudeness and Crowley’s double team and connect with voters, he will start to get some separation between him and the President.
Romneys inability to “understand” normal people has always been a media construct, not based in reality. Guaranteed he has dealt with 1,000 real people facing real problems for every ONE Obama has. This just by virtue of his positions in the church and business. He will be very natural here without them being able to edit him into the narrative.
Obama is the one who is utterly different.
Media lies are about to catch up with them again.
I could destroy Obama in a debate. It’s really not that difficult.
Obama has a problem with the truth.
ah ah ah ah err ah I I I a ........bracelet too is sooooo smooth
Assuming that the audience is chosen fairly (and that’s a big assumption) I don’t really see the format as that big of a change from a normal debate format. These people can’t think up anything new. They are going to ask the same questions that always get asked, whether from Jim Lehrer or Joe the Plumber or whoever.
On the other hand, if the audience is heavily stacked with obamabots, it could be tough going for Romney.
I don’t want someone who’feels my pain’. That was clinton propaganda and everyone knows it was as phony as the day is long. I want someone who will CURE my pain. I am sick of meaningless platitudes and slick rhetoric.
There have been “townhall” format events before as part of this year’s primary process and Romney has done well in them. Personally, I hate the format (that pony-tailed guy in the 1992 debates with his whiny “What about OUR needs??” schtick made me lose my lunch) but the politicians seems to like it and Romney is no exception.
“In Tuesday night’s second head-to-head contest, one of his new tasks will be something Romney has faced throughout the six years he’s essentially run for the nation’s highest office: demonstrating that he feels the pain of regular voters and is able to connect with them on a human level.”
Romney’s past suggests that he acts to alleviate the pain whereas Obama only FEELS the pain. I cannot recall any stories about Obama extending himself or contributing some sort of tangible aid to someone going through trying experiences.
In any 90 minute format, Romney will have the advantage since he will be the only candidate not jonesing for a cigarette after thirty minutes.
Also, Romney needs to do a more thorough job trashing 0bama's record, which includes detailing his hard Left background, his lemonade-stand level understanding of economics theory, and his refusal to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong. This is a virtual gold mine that Romney hasn't even scratched the surface of, and if he seriously wants to win the remaining debates, Romney needs to fully exploit them to make clear 0bama's complete unsuitability to resolve America's economic, social and foreign policy crises, much of which 0bama himself is responsible for perpetuating or exacerbating during the last four years.
Romney additionally needs to do a better job inoculating himself preemtively against 0bama's lies and distortions about himself and Republicans in general which includes misrepresenting and lying about his economic, social and foreign policy plans, and making false accusations of Republican 'extremism'. One way Romney could do this is to remind 0bama and the audience that Democrats thought Romneycare was so 'good', that they bastardized it for a Federal health care plan. And so on and so forth.
Again, Romney will be doing the Republican Party and America a huge disservice if he doesn't forcibly makes these kinds of points.
I hope Romney doesn’t wander around the stage while Obama is answering. I remember McCain doing that and he looked like such a dufus. That townhall debate was when I began to have the sinking feeling that Obama really would win the 2008 election... I hpe Romney and his team have thought this through and come up with a good strategy for the last two debates. We can’t take anything for granted and just coast at this point, but stay strong and principled.
If any of these debates are Obama’s it will be this one. I expect the final debate to be a replay of the first. I think some here are way over confident in Romney in not only the town hall format, but Romney’s need to walk a tightrope between his own indistinguishable (from Obama) social policies, and a stance conservative enough to not bleed conservative votes. If there is going to be a Dolesque, “I haven’t read the platform.” comment, it will be during this debate.
Agreed. The town hall format is tailor made for leftists. Whiney “what are you going to do for *ME*???” type of questions from “undecided” voters who are more likely plants, plus very short answer and rebuttal format. The less there is an actual debate, the more easy it is to drop liberal talking points and platitudes, and then we’re off to the next inane question.
Romney was able to smoke Obama in the last debate because it had a more open Lincoln-Douglas type of format. Obama couldn’t just ramble for a couple of minutes and then off to the next question.
Hopefully Romney will be well prepped for this new format.
Kool!
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