Five thoughts, One lesson.

[Sparkly]

1. Having a job matters. The debate showed the difference between being a full-time campaigner and a president. What else does Romney have to do? The man has no work. He had plenty of time to memorize a smooth pack of lies, vague defenses, and feigned empathy for the plight of the 47%. President Obama has been working at his job rather than the "retail" stuff, but he's got to take the time to hone his chops as a campaigner. Now that he's an incumbent under attack, he needs to fight back the way he did in the 2008 primaries.

2. The "liberal" feedback can help. If the more liberal side of the media (MSNBC) seems critical of Obama tonight, maybe it can be constructive in reining things in before they spill out of control. The campaign should listen carefully.

3. The jury is still out. Many of us want the president to be more aggressive in the next debate. On the other hand, although Kerry and Gore won all three of their debates handily in every way (as I saw it), the Chimperor got the bounce as "more likeable." The CNN tracking showed that Rmoney's favorability went down when he quoted percentages and technicalities about benefits for the wealthy. He was smirky and smarmy. So who knows -- wait for the poll results.

4. A change can do one good. Maybe David Plouffe (or whoever is Obama's main advisor now) is as great as, well, David Boies, Jeanne Shaheen, and other disappointments. There's time for corrections.

5. History is a great teacher. It's not enough to be right, to be honest, to be smarter, to have better policies. We learned that from Al Gore's campaign in 2000; we learned it again from John Kerry's campaign in 2004. We know Obama has long been a uniter, a bipartisan, a reacher-across-the-aisle. That worked in a race without an incumbent, but now that he is the incumbent, he must take on the rhetoric -- the LIES -- point by point. He can do that while staying dignified and laid back, and without falling into the trap of being "angry" (we know what they're after there).

The lesson: Never overestimate the intelligence of the American populous. Yes, many ARE stupid enough to believe anything. There's no other choice, Mr. President. Take the gloves off.

[Sparkly]

1. Thanks for the rec, Skinner!

[Moostache]

2. President Obama is NOT going to swing back...

I have watched his entire political career with great interest and I can definitely say he is NOT going to come out swinging in any debate. He will hit back in ads, through surrogates, in stump speeches and sound bytes, but if you are waiting for him to go in guns-blazing and fight, you'll be waiting a looooooooong time....

I thought he would have more fire in Illinois, but he never really needed it after the convention speech. He did not always get what he wanted, but he also had an easier time in Illinois than he would have in other states.

I thought he would really hammer Clinton in the primaries, and while they were ugly and tough, that race could have been far, far more nuclear if Obama had given the OK and fully taken off the gloves.

I thought he was actually losing the election to McCain and Palin by not defending himself enough or attacking Palin's pure idiocy with enough furor.

In nearly every case, he has remained the tortoise to every hare he has run against. He stays in the "No Drama Obama" persona so long that everyone is screaming to get out and fight and he has been successful with it to date.

It won't change over the next 5 weeks either...

[Sparkly]

3. I am hoping you're wrong.

Really, reeeeeeally hoping you're wrong.

He's smart. Savvy people compete to advise him.

And, "likeability." I never got it with Chimpy, but it counts... and Rmoney is a jerk.