2012 Debates

[angrysoba]

"appalling performance"? Jesus, has it really been that long since you guys on the right had any good news? When was the last good news cycle for Romney? How "appalling" is that?

I'm going to try and watch this tonight but the consensus does seem to be that Obama's performance was poor.

 

[Tricky]

I'm going to try and watch this tonight but the consensus does seem to be that Obama's performance was poor.

No doubt it was. Obama was blindsided. It was brilliant of Romney to change so many of his positions prior to this debate so that all of Obama's points were nullified. I'm guessing that may not play out too well in the long run though.

 

[angrysoba]

Kerry also creamed Bush in all their debates. These days, debates don't matter as much. It's a long time since Nixon's five-o-clock shadow and Reagan's "there you go again".

I dunno. Didn't most people agree that Gore came off worse from his debate with Bush because Bush looked so unfazed throughout Gore's performance? That's how I understood it.

Also, although I haven't seen it, most people who have an opinion on the Cheney-Edwards debate suggest Cheney just made Edwards look completely out of his depth. Cheney may be utterly charmless but he played to his strengths as someone authoritative and intelligent.

 

[angrysoba]

No doubt it was. Obama was blindsided. It was brilliant of Romney to change so many of his positions prior to this debate so that all of Obama's points were nullified. I'm guessing that may not play out too well in the long run though.

Yeah, in the end it could be flip-flop fodder.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Reagan's "there you go again".

Reagan: "Here I go again, on my own. Walking down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone. And I've made up my mind. I ain't wasting no more time."

 

[Tricky]

Reagan: "Here I go again, on my own. Walking down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone. And I've made up my mind. I ain't wasting no more time."

Give that man a See-gar!

 

[SkepticalDrew]

I think the one of the more blatant lies was that he said he wasn't for cutting taxes on the rich. It takes you about five seconds to google and see he plans to cut taxes on individual incomes 20% across the board, making the top rate 28%, which is lower than it's been in years. So after listening to Mitt for 45 minutes I still have no idea what his plan actually is, what loopholes he will close to pay for this massive tax cut (is the 5 trillion dollar number Obama put forward accurate?).

 

[Richard Masters]

I'm puzzled by the cynical comments pretending that Obama won the last debate and Romney performed poorly. Those are the kinds of comments I would expect from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or conspiracy theorists... or fanatics.

Yes, Romney moved toward the left and didn't give any details about his policies, but he still dominated the debate.

 

[angrysoba]

I'm puzzled by the cynical comments pretending that Obama won the last debate and Romney performed poorly. Those are the kinds of comments I would expect from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or conspiracy theorists... or fanatics.

Yes, Romney moved toward the left and didn't give any details about his policies, but he still dominated the debate.

I'm puzzled too. Which comments are these?

 

[leftysergeant]

I got kind of tired of that "Oh, you silly peasant" smirk on Romney's face.

Swiss Mittens has still not told us what deductions and tax credits he is going to elimiinate that will not hit the middle class like a boot toe to the danglies.

Winning is supposed to be about substance, not form.

 

[Richard Masters]

I'm puzzled too. Which comments are these?

Pretty much any comment posted in this thread during and immediately after the debate.

 

[Richard Masters]

I got kind of tired of that "Oh, you silly peasant" smirk on Romney's face.

Swiss Mittens has still not told us what deductions and tax credits he is going to elimiinate that will not hit the middle class like a boot toe to the danglies.

Winning is supposed to be about substance, not form.

I don't think Mitt can help that look and it certainly looks condescending.

 

[angrysoba]

Pretty much any comment posted in this thread during and immediately after the debate.

Are you sure you're posting in the right thread?

 

[Tricky]

I'm puzzled too. Which comments are these?

Oh, there are a few. Lets face it, hard-core partisans always believe their candidate won. But I'm a liberal, and I freely admit that Romney won this debate, because after all, the winner is whoever is perceived as the winner, and that is clearly Romney.

But I don't think this completelly portrays the picture. The spin from this, particularly the things Romney said that may alienate his base, may be more important than the nominal winner in the post-debate polls.

 

[SkepticalDrew]

Pretty much any comment posted in this thread during and immediately after the debate.

What comments? I didn't see anyone say "Obama won" and "Romney did poorly".

edit: I did see some people declare they thought it was a tie. I'm not sure. Didn't give an opinion either way. We'll see what the polls say in a few days!

 

[RandFan]

Pretty much any comment posted in this thread during and immediately after the debate.

A.) I don't see that. B.) I don't know how one objectively determines who won. But fine, I'm happy to go with argument ad populum. It's only a skeptics forum.

 

[BenBurch]

No doubt it was. Obama was blindsided. It was brilliant of Romney to change so many of his positions prior to this debate so that all of Obama's points were nullified. I'm guessing that may not play out too well in the long run though.

I think this is a flight to the center he may have cause to regret with his base, but who knows?

He managed to get Obama out of his prepared topics, and Obama is smart enough not to improvise up there. You don't say something just to have something to say in a debate like this, because you will regret that later.

Next time Obama will have two answers for every question depending on which polar opposite position Romney assumes.

The etch-a-sketch is shaking.

 

[Richard Masters]

What comments? I didn't see anyone say "Obama won" and "Romney did poorly".

edit: I did see some people declare they thought it was a tie. I'm not sure. Didn't give an opinion either way. We'll see what the polls say in a few days!

The comments below and a few more.

What debate are you watching?

Again, what debate are you watching?

The one through the tinted glasses.

Are you being sarcastic?

I think he explained it well.

Your comment bears no resemblance to the reality of what I'm watching.

Wow...Obama struggling to defend Obamacare...

Wow....really, really struggling....

???

Exactly.

Like it or not, no matter what the policy positions of a candidate, if they come across with bad body language in a debate, it will hurt them. Such is the landscape of politics in the TV/Internet age.

And Romney cannot afford to be displaying this kind of body language right now.

He's screwed.

Incidentally, since - from what I've heard about the Romney Smirk and his body language - I don't think this will really go that well for Romney, how long do you think it will be before the GOP starts to complain about how the "liberal media" took camera shots specifically geared to make Romney look bad?

Anyone want to take that bet?

He's an idiot.

Between that and the Romney Smirk, I think he just blew it. Well, allow me to clarify: by "blew it", I mean that he blew his chance at scoring any kind of knockout against President Obama. If Obama came across as stuttering, etc in the debate, Romney could have really made some headway, but he had to have the damn Smirk on his face the whole time. Which basically screams "I'm an arrogant jerk".

Moron.

As Mitten's goes down in flames. Please remember to use the lighted exits. Have a good night and a happy tomorrow.

Tim

Exactly.

Romney's done.

 

[Cleon]

Interesting. Based on my (superficial, non-scientific) observations of the Interwebz over the last 24 hours, despite the fact that most think Obama got creamed, the only thing from the debate that's resonating revolves around Big Bird.

 

[TellyKNeasuss]

The comments below and a few more.

I don't see a whole lot of comments in your list that claim that Obama won the debate.