Obama Swallows Bitter Pill Losing Debate

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Oct. 7, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

         Looking lethargic and disinterested, President Barack Obama disappointed the faithful falling to GOP presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney Oct. 3 in the first debate.  After months of trading nasty barbs, voters watched a passive Obama get flogged by the 65-year-old former Wall Street executive.  Barack failed to put up his dukes, handing the debate by default to Mitt.  Had the 52-year-old president just fought back a little voters would have got their money’s worth.  While Barack probably won on substance, Romney’s energetic style made him the consensus winner.  When the two face each other again Oct. 16 in Hemstead, Long Island, Barack better not roll over.  Whatever one says about the country, Americans love a good fight—let the best man win.  Romney showed he had a puncher’s shot, though it’s clear Mitt added nothing new to his economic proposals.

            Barack’s loss to Romney had more to do with style than substance.  Showing empathy with the man in the street, Obama created a real difference between Romney and himself.  When Mitt told PBS’s Jim Lehrer that he’d pull the plug on funding Public Broadcasting before taking money from China, the public saw Mitt’s true colors.  He and his VP Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) aren’t kidding when they talk of slashing the federal government.  Romney said nothing new in the debate or gave no added details of how his economic bromides work, only hinting at the same fixes that would put the federal government on a crash diet.  Mitt actually admitted he’d let government jobs die by attrition and hinted at scaling back the federal work force.  Romney won the debate by showing the kind of feistiness admired by a country that likes a good old fashion fight—though they didn’t get one from Barack.

            When Barack returns to the ring Oct. 16 in the Town Hall format with moderator CNN anchor Candy Crowley, he’d better take off the gloves.  He could have hit Romney hard on many fronts but chose to let Mitt throw all the punches.  While Barack still leads  in national polls 47 to 45 percent, he can’t afford to roll over in the next debate.  “We haven’t seen additional gains from Romney.  This suggests to me that this is more of a bounce than a permanent shift,” said AP/Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.  Obama’s likeability ratings remained much higher than Romney’s 52 to 29 percent, giving Barack a second chance in the next debate.  Four years ago, Barack had a similar weak performance against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in their first encounter.  Americans don’t appreciate a boxing match when one of the parties pulls his punches.  Barack needs to stand up and deliver at Hofstra University.

            Whatever Obama’s strategy Oct. 3, it backfired.  Romney came away unscathed, unloading on Barack at will.  When you consider that Mitt said nothing new, only that he’d fix the nation’s sick economy with more tax cuts for the rich, he stuck out his chin for Barack.  Paying only 14% on his 2011 taxes, Barack had every opportunity to highlight Romney’s hypocrisy.  He says he wants more tax cuts when he’s already paying the lowest tax rates in modern history.  Mitt suggested Barack had no right to run for reelection with an unemployment rate over 8 percent.  When the Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8%, Mitt told supporters that the nation faced an employment crisis.  While Mitt should be lauded for sticking to his message, he continues blowing smoke about the economy since announcing for president June 2, 2011.

            Mitt never acknowledges any good news on the economy.  His advisors, especially his chief strategist Stuart Stevens, insist Romney talks only doom-and-gloom.  Mitt has never acknowledged the over 70% rise in the Dow Jones Industrials, S & P 500 and Nasdaq since Barack took office.  Mitt ignores things like Ford’s Dec. 11, 2011 announcement that it would add 12,000 more autoworkers’ jobs in 2012 and 2013.  While opposing Barack’s bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, the U.S. auto industry has roared back under Obama from near bankruptcy to profitability.  Ignoring the National Assn. of Realtors Sept. 27 announcement about a 7.8% gain in existing home sales, Romney showed he and his VP pick only talk about bad news.  While most economic indicators point toward a steady recovery, Romney continues to pound his apocalyptic economic message.

                When Barack jumps back into the ring Oct 16, he’d better be prepared to give Romney a dose of his own medicine.  For all the GOP talk of Barack’s Chicago-style politics, the president showed his genteel side, much to the dismay of his TV audience.  Americans like a good fight and expect combatants to put on a good show.  “There’s still a ways to go to close the gap between him and Obama on some of these important attributes,” said AP/Ipsos Clark.  “This suggests to me that while the debate was effective in energizing the Republican base and giving Romney a boost, it didn’t fundamentally change perceptions of either man a great deal,” still giving Barack the edge.  When the bell sounds Oct. 16, Barack needs to down one of Mitt’s Red Bulls.  Mitt scored some big points by showing more energy than Barack.  Now it’s Obama’s turn to show he can trade punches with Mitt.

 John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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