Romney did three things at the debate:
1) He totally randomized his policies, thus putting into effect an excellent version of the Chewbaca Defense;
2) He made up his own rules, forcing Obama to follow them and embarrassing PBS and Jim Lehrer; and
3) He made a bunch of independents giddy, so when the post-debate polls were carried out, he ends up winning or being statistically even in key swing states.
Today's polls are worrisome unless you hate America and The Earth. Obama is up only 2 points across the board, and Romney has pulled ahead (though statistically even) in Florida and Virginia. Ohio has become a toss-up.
Future debates might be different. For one thing, the Obama camp will probably have a better strategy. Both Obama and Lerher were blind sided by Romney's approach. There will be a different moderator for the next debate, CNN's Candy Crowley. I know nothing about her, but I imagine she watched the first debate and is already trying to figure out how to contain Mr. Priv. So, a second factor will be both the moderator and the approach taken. Third, the next debate will be in a town meeting format. Obama always does well with real people, and Romney tends to say the wrong things when confronted with real humans, often demonstrating his well known disdain. Also, this will be a "crowd" that the Romney camp will have less than the usual control over.
Over the days before the first debate, almost everybody seemed to have decided that the election was already over.
The election is not already over.
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Take a pill. It may not be that bad. First, many of the whoppers that Mittens told are being debunked on CNN and other mainstream outlets. While the Faux people will always vote 'right', the swingers will be back when the hear about the con job. We have three more debates and it doesn't look like Mittens will be loved by the extremists who now consider him a turncoat and the midline Repubs who now see him as a flipper. Ohio is still blue. Virginia will stay blue. Nevada will stay blue.
Style versus substance has no weight. Those listening to the Kennedy Nixon thought TD won it. Those watching knew better. Mittens came off as a bully.
What kind of pill? Cyanide????
I personally agree with what you are saying, but the polls remain sobering and relevant.
Here is the really scary thought. There are people out there who have not yet made up their minds. They have had months to assess the positions and character of the two candidates, they have been bombarded with endless ads, tons of information is available to them, but in this complete no-brainer of an election they still cannot choose. What is even scarier is your future and the future of your country is likely to be in their hands.
Having watched your elections for some years I feel you would all be a lot better off if you outsourced your election to a less crazy electorate. If you let the rest of the world decide for you, Obama would win by a landslide not be about to win or loose by some measly few votes.
Who? Which country? Or a committee of small countries perhaps? Let's do it.
Well you could try the European countries, but while they might help you elect a decent president, they cannot be trusted to run their own countries, because they, like the republicans, think the answer to a recession is austerity, which is completely the opposite of what I was taught in university in London some 50 years ago.
By the way there is a sense in which the US is already outsourcing its elections. I seem to remember back when Clinton was campaigning interference by a foreign country was downright illegal. Only Americans could give to presidential campaigns. Citizen United has completely changed that equation and opened the US election to anyone with cash through superpacs. I have read almost nothing about this in any paper on on any blog and wonder why it has gone unnoticed.
I would pick a selection of Caribbean and African countries. More attention to real people issues combined with a sense of humor.
Yes well, as far as the Caribbean is concerned maybe you should check out some of the leaders we have there before you decide that. I am not sure I blame the electorate however, the choice is often between and honest man who is completely ineffectual and crook who gets things done.
Not the leaders!!!
"Romney tends to say the wrong things when confronted with real humans"
So true. This gives me hope.