Why I'm NOT worried about the debates

[Proud Liberal Dem]

Mitt Romney can't/won't stop being Mitt Romney. Does anybody truly believe that he's going to show up at any of the three debates and suddenly become this amazing candidate (that he hasn't been all campaign season) who's gonna whoop Barack Obama on policy and unmask him for the lazy, unqualified, and out-of-his-depth "Kenyan Muslim usurper" that he and the Republican Fox News Tea Party all firmly believe he is for all of the country to see and that Romney's poll numbers will rebound and suddenly he'll be favored to win the election in November? Yeah, me neither.

[Zambero]

1. Add inauthentic

He comes across as a wind-up robot and lacking conviction. Even if he is perfectly scripted and sticks to it, those "qualities" will be manifest. Still, not to be overconfident since general expectations for Romney are low. If he manages to exceed those expectations, some would proclaim it to be a victory for him.

[Grateful for Hope]

2. I'm with you on this

I am so looking forward to seeing him humiliated.

[cheezmaka]

17. you won't be disappointed

[TroyD]

3. Valid points, but debates can be unpredictable

Even the strongest candidate can have an off-night, and sometimes a weak candidate can find a good opening.

Romney will no doubt come quipped and try to have one of those famous one-liners from the Reagan days that puts Obama down and gets a lot of memorable spin the media.

Is it true that Obama canceled some of his debate prep with John Kerry in favor of campaigning?

[WCGreen]

26. The minute he deviates from script he gets lost...

This guy is not a really good thinker on your feet kind of guy.

But here I go again, almost anything can happen even under the tight choreographed confines of this "debate"...

[Laurajr]

4. His cracks are already showing

When someone changes positions like Romney does it means he has no core. He is like one of those 18 foot tall human like things they but in front of businesses that have hot air blowing up then that dance around with no core to keep them upright....someone post a pic of one...,please....I don't know what they are called!

[ejpoeta]

28. it's an air dancer

[Laurajr]

33. Now if we could just add

Mitts fAce to that air dancer it would be perfect!

[ejpoeta]

35. how's this:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

39. LOL! Just air!

[Laurajr]

41. Perfect! Thank you

[beac]

36. I thought it was a wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man...

[southernyankeebelle]

5. No for pete's sakes. I'm running for president. I only have to show up and I can leave

my brain at home.

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. The debates serve only as phony "evidence" in the next media "narrative"

The problem (for Romney and the MSM) is that all their media narratives thus far have failed miserably. That the Dems aren't enthusiastic: FAILED. That the GOP convention would bounce, and the Dem wouldn't: FAIL. That the job reports would flatten the Dem convention bounce: FAIL. That foreign policy issues in Libya and Egypt would sink Obama: FAIL. That Obama would be running out of money because he spent to early: FAIL. That the public would reject criticisms of Bain, or Romney's business record: FAIL.

Every narrative they've put forth has failed. The public seems fairly firm in its support of Obama; indeed, his support is growing as he makes his case. So, the media and the Romney camp will jump on the debates - really, their last and only hope - as some additional feature in a "narrative." But they know as well as we do that you don't see massive 5,6, or 7% shifts on the basis of debates. It's ludicrous.

The basic narrative is and has only ever been this: a majority of the American people trust Obama to do the job, and like him. Nobody - not even his supporters - particularly likes Mitt Romney, or envisions him as President. At this late date. Two days before October, people STILL can't quite see Romney as President. That's game over, debates or not. This guy's been running non-stop for 6 years, and has been on teevee every day for a year. People still don't like him. He's debated 30 times in all the states since January. People still don't like him.

That's not going to change in 38 days, even if you held a debate every day that he won. People don't like him, and don't want him to be President. It's pretty simple.

[johnlucas]

27. Another phony media narrative is "this race is close"

It is NOT close.
It has NEVER BEEN close.

Obama will win in a LANDSLIDE.
FACT.

And even Republicans cheating by voter fraud won't save 'em.
Obama WILL be a 2-term President.
The only question outside of "Can he get Democrats over on the downticket?" is "Will Obama finally become Progressive once he gets his 2nd term?"

That's the media narrative I wanna hear.
John Lucas

[pamela]

7. At this point, he can not get the stench off of himself.

Seriously. I think Romney has crossed into territory from which he can not recover. He's repulsive to most voters. It started in the primaries when he tried to make that $10,000 bet. Perry physically recoiled from Mitt like Mitt had feces on his hand. It was an absolutely repulsive moment and Perry's reaction mirrored America's reaction.

A small portion of Americans might have still been swayed. They weren't paying attention and were still open to seeing what this guy was like. Then he repeatedly opened his mouth and spewed more repulsive shit. Insulting London, insulting Nascar fans, insulting nice people offering him cookies. At his convention, the speakers acted like they were in the dentist chair every time they tried to say something nice about him. His big, get-to-know-me speech went over like a lead balloon. Then came the big one-two punch: his repulsive reaction to the deaths in Libya and his even more repulsive 47% remarks.

A person can recover from a lot in American politics but once they get "the stench," it's over. He could be brilliant and charming at the debates but he can't overcome the stench. The debates don't even matter. Nothing he says at this point matters. He reeks so bad, I honestly don't think anyone is really paying attention any more. I've honestly never seen anything like it. Even his supporters don't really like him. I just hope he doesn't get any of his stench on President Obama during the debate. One of his debate preppers ought to give him some menthol rub to put under his nose so he can stand there for 90 minutes without puking.

[K8-EEE]

8. Mitt literally cannot take one strong position in which he hasn't contradicted himself

I get the feeling watching him talk, he can't SAY a fucking thing! His whole schtick is running around the block not to say anything like "I'm going to sit down with congress and fix everything!" Yeah sure. If Obama keeps needling him to come up with SPECIFICS he's cooked.

Besides that I think he is really and truly FREAKING OUT over the debates, LOL.

[lunatica]

9. Obama has already won

Just listen to the non-answers from Romney to virtually every single question asked of him and then listen to Obama's answers to virtually every question asked of him.

Only the dunces and the cynical political manipulators like Rove are betting otherwise.

[hrmjustin]

18. +1

[Wounded Bear]

10. Mitt might have survived in an earlier age....

but the internet kills him. Not only does all of his shit get out, but it gets out fast.

Back in the day, when newspapers had an hour or so to fact check and edit before the paper hit the press, a lot of Romney's shit would have be fumigated and perfumed a bit by friendly editors. Now, we get the raw sewage.

I expect these debates to be the least watched in history. It's feeling a lot like most people have already decided.

[TroyD]

12. The NYT says 50 million are expected to watch them

Don't know if that's higher or lower than usual.

[GallopingGhost]

11. This is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but

one thing that is going to be difficult for Romney during the debates, non-answers aside, is his smile.

Maybe it's just me, but his smile comes across to me as really plastered on and phony. Almost patronizing. It's not genuine, and it irritates me to look at him when he is speaking publicly.

President Obama has a great, genuine smile that makes you smile right along with him. It's not fake; HE'S not fake. And appearance counts for much in arenas like debates.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

13. Not to mention he tends to smile at inappropriate/inopportune times

like right after his Libya presser (I'd cut and paste the picture if I knew how to do it but I think that everybody probably knows what I'm talking about).

[ejpoeta]

30. i know which one you are talking about, but for future reference

if you want to copy and paste a pic, you go to the pic and right click. copy image url. and then paste it into your message text box. no need for anything added. make sure it isn't encrypted. i just posted an air dancer pic and i went through like 5 before I found one that wasn't encrypted.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

40. Thanks for the instructions

easier than I thought.

[Wounded Bear]

14. Sincerity.....if you can fake that, you've got it made....

Last edited Sun Sep 30, 2012, 02:28 AM - Edit history (1)

George Burns

[leftynyc]

24. Mitt doesn't smile, he smirks

Big difference and not one that favors him at all. I agree the Pres has smile that reaches all parts of his face - that's a genuine smile.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

15. think back to the Repub primaries

[hrmjustin]

19. +1

[johnlucas]

29. Even the Republicans were like "Come on!"

Boy I can't wait to see this ass get squashed at the debates.
John Lucas

[Rosa Luxemburg]

38. The tax thing is bound to come up

or maybe they will pay the debate organizers not to?

[cheezmaka]

16. A "gaffer" vs. a Constitutional Law Proffesor?

Go figure...

[smorkingapple]

20. The town hall debate is gonna be a killer for him

somehow he needs to come across as relatable while standing next to a very relatable President.

[leftynyc]

25. That's why he has to win this one

The format debate format is the only one that he can deal with. I think he's gonna crack under the pressure. During the primaries, he knew he had the bucks to bury the others in ads and that's what won it for him. Newt won the debates during the primaries, not Mitt. His wife is already worried about his mental state if he becomes President. The pressure of the debates may be more than he can handle. I'll have popcorn ready (all members of family have this tradition in watching the debates - we always seem to want to throw something at the tv and would rather not do any damage).

[NCLefty]

21. He's going to show up stuffed full of other people's advice/lines

So once again we will see a facade and not a real person.

[freshwest]

22. My only concern are unfair moderators. Otherwise, Obama will mop the floor with the Mittens.

[freshwest]

22. My only concern are unfair moderators. Otherwise, Obama will wipe the tables down with the Mittens.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

31. I am bothered by the fact that Crowley and Schieffer are moderating

the two have a history (especially Crowley) of shilling for the right, and they could frame an entire debate in a matter that puts Obama on defense the entire time while giving Willard a pass.

and the rightwing has already been working the refs, accusing them both of being part of the lib'rul media. It wouldn't surprise me to see those two slant things to the right in order to appear 'fair and balanced'

[TroyD]

43. Schieffer is not too bad

It's Crowley that appears to be a hard-core Republican, so it's unfortunate that she got chosen for the first debate.

[Princess Turandot]

44. Jim Lehrer is the moderator for the first debate..

Crowley has the town hall one:
http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=cpd-announces-2012-moderators

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. He's a robot, he's had 12 debates in 2012, Obama last debated 2008, & Mitt's goofs lower expectation

[Bluenorthwest]

34. Official rules and details from the Commission On Presidential Debates

In case anyone has interest...
http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=format

[rock]

37. Strongly agree

[ailsagirl]

42. The only times I've ever heard him appear "relaxed"

is when he's talking about money, investments, offshore bank accounts, shutting down companies, etc.

Or what he was saying on the "47 percent" tape, and he can scarcely talk about those subjects at the debate!!

Ergo, he'll come out stiff as a bored (er...board)

The President was a constitutional law professor for 12 years-- he knows all about speaking well and incisively.