The Debate Thread

[Kulindahr]

And government regulation.

Romney's pitch was squarely to the idiot who has not been paying attention until now and doesn't know he's been saying the opposite for months.

Yep. Every newspaper with any honesty should have as their morning headline, "Mitt v 7.0 -- the new lies".

[chance1]

How THRILLED you must be that YOUR guy had such a good night.

- - - Updated - - -




How THRILLED you must be that YOUR guy had such a good night.

the OPPOSITE

i wish he had been this communicative the past several months

prob. too late

[DigitalFudge]

It's hard to beat a guy with memorized scams.



However, when they talk foreign policy I doubt Romney will even show up.

[chance1]

loved obama saying he liked the term "obamacare"

to date his most personal moment

he's too professorial/removed

[Kulindahr]

romney killed obama on oil companies

obama tried the "oil co. = bad" play

romney says "really"

u have provided 90 billion breaks to green energy

oil co. tax breaks = $2B

so obama's demonization of exxon /mobil is BULLSHIT

"states are the laboratory for democracy"

not the federal govt.

Obama should have responded to that very simply: "National security is worth ninety billion".

The "demonization" isn't "bullshit", BTW -- no corporation should be handed billions in subsidies when they're doing quite well anyway.

[chance1]

It's hard to beat a guy with memorized scams.



However, when they talk foreign policy I doubt Romney will even show up.

i guess we're not watching the same debate

or one of us is watching and listening

[Stardreamer]

Yep. Every newspaper with any honesty should have as their morning headline, "Mitt v 7.0 -- the new lies".

I'm sure FactCheck and Politifact will have there analysis up by tomorrow.

[hotatlboi]

LOL

he's destroying Obama

total destruction

get real

It's hard to give the impression of beating someone on substance who delivers such a slick memorized fake used car sales pitch.

Obama has to figure out how to do that.

[chance1]

It's hard to give the impression of beating someone on substance who delivers such a slick memorized fake used car sales pitch.

Obama has to figure out how to do that.

memorized?

jim lehrer is asking the questions

[chance1]

dodd frank

romney says it's killing small banks

he's ginned up

obama is detached

i get it

obama is the president

he didn't expect romney to be so strong

who would've???

dodd frank:

we have to have regulation

i wouldn't designate 5 banks as too big to fail

and give them a blank check

not thought through properly

killing regional banks

qualified mortgages are good

never defined in 2 years what a qualified mortgage is

[Sammie13]

CNN instant poll of registered voters...67% said Romney won vs 25% for Obama.

Obama better step on the gas pedal for next debate cause he just got hit by a locomotive. Obama really disappointed me...hoping he can pull it together.

About 3 weeks ago when I posted how well I thought Romney would do in his first debate and pull this election back into a nail-biter I got flamed on here by some for making an absurd claim. Romney's a smart man and there is plenty to attack with the Prez; he took full advantage People had dismissed him because he's a gaffe machine. Debates are so programmed that I'm not shocked that Romney was gaffe-less tonight.

Now, I expect Obama will go after his ass in debate #2.

[Benvolio]

The story of the emperor's new clothing comes to mind. The media have been supporting Obama and largely shielding him from criticism. Now the public sees how little Obama really knows about our economy. Their polls will not be able to continue the illusion that Obama is winning by exaggerating the Democrat turnout.

[Spiff]

I don't think there was a real knock-out by either one. Each one held their ground in their usual ways. No obvious gaffes. I did notice early on Romney was going to rely on lies the whole night. It started early with his first lie about how gas prices have doubled since Obama has been president. If that were true, I would be paying $7.00 gallon right now. I was disappointed that Obama did not call him out on that blatant lie and just took it.

In short: Mitt - mostly all lies. BO - calm, perhaps too calm and not aggressive enough.

[Sammie13]

memorized?

jim lehrer is asking the questions

Are you sure? Lehrer was weaker than Obama tonight. LMAO.

[JayHawk]

The bilderberg group called Obama just before the debate and said " Let him back in"


Just a little conspiracy theory.

I think Obama will be out there with nuclear bombs and shotguns next time around.

[chance1]

Are you sure? Lehrer was weaker than Obama tonight. LMAO.

romney effectively has been making sure he follows ups

i agree

[chance1]

The bilderberg group called Obama just before the debate and said " Let him back in"


Just a little conspiracy theory.

I think Obama will be out there with nuclear bombs and shotguns next time around.

why don't u admit that mitt is kicking his mother fucking ass

why not?

[GiancarloC]

The polls aren't exaggerating democrat turn out.

[chance1]

if mitt had done this the last 8 mos.

it would be mitt by 10 points

we all know that

"i had 5 seconds before u interrupted me"

obama to lehrer

yikes

frustration much ?

mitt is explaining how he did massachusetts HC on a bipartisan basis

while BO did it behind closed doors

WOW

obama talking about obamacare is painful

droning ON and ON

jim lehrer fell asleep it appears

[Lostlover]

The bilderberg group called Obama just before the debate and said " Let him back in"


Just a little conspiracy theory.

I think Obama will be out there with nuclear bombs and shotguns next time around.

He will. And it's going to be ugly and entertaining seeing Romney backtrack.

LMAO. Line of the night from Marco Rubio: "He [Obama] doesn't understand the American free enterprise system." Coming from a Cuban. I guess they teach the American free-enterprise system in Cuba and at the University of Miami School of Law.

[Benvolio]

It's hard to beat a guy with memorized scams.



However, when they talk foreign policy I doubt Romney will even show up.

Obama must be dreading that debate. He will be called upon to explain the Administration's mishandling and lies about Libya; His dithering while Iran develops the bomb and builds its military; his abandonment of Israel; his mishandling of Afghanistan by announcing in advance the date Taliban will win and we will leave.

[Thynight]

Just once I would like a debate where the mod has a button to kill the mikes of those talking over their time.

[refujiunderground]

man, the news is saying romney won the debate but the reality is he didn't win squat. obama is good. romney actually flip flopped if you ask me and it will be evident when his lies that he said in the debate are used against him. if romney wants to win this election, he needs to stop lying. dude is once again setting himself up.

[MystikWizard]

Hard to tell whether there is more buzz about Romney's positive performance tonight or Lehrer's horrendous performance tonight.

Romney was up all night preparing as evidenced by his glossy eyes that look like he hadn't slept in 3-4 days .... and Lehrer looked like he didn't prepare at all.

No control over the candidates.

Allowed Obama to speak for 4 additional minutes (I guess he didn't have a clock in front of him of the candidate's time similar to what CNN did ... that would have been helpful)

His only questions were "Are there differences between the two of you on _________?"

No follow up questions.

People like this don't deserve to have moderator slots ... regardless of how long he's been around the business. My guess is given his horrendous reviews and the amount of them, he won't be back in another 4 years and this was his last one.

[maxpowr9]

I would say Romney won this one. The president did a lot of dithering which hurt him. I don't think it will honestly be the "game changer" that the media will have an orgy to tomorrow morning but Obama needs to get his shit together.

[chance1]

man, the news is saying romney won the debate but the reality is he didn't win squat. obama is good. romney actually flip flopped if you ask me and it will be evident when his lies are basically used against him. if romney wants to win this election, he needs to stop lying.

imagine that

a liberal biased media admitting romney won

u know what that means

[Thynight]

"i had 5 seconds before u interrupted me"

obama to lehrer

yikes

frustration much ?

That was funny, but came off as childish.

[chance1]

Hard to tell whether there is more buzz about Romney's positive performance tonight or Lehrer's horrendous performance tonight.

Romney was up all night preparing as evidenced by his glossy eyes that look like he hadn't slept in 3-4 days .... and Lehrer looked like he didn't prepare at all.

No control over the candidates.

Allowed Obama to speak for 4 additional minutes (I guess he didn't have a clock in front of him of the candidate's time similar to what CNN did ... that would have been helpful)

His only questions were "Are there differences between the two of you on _________?"

No follow up questions.

People like this don't deserve to have moderator slots ... regardless of how long he's been around the business. My guess is given his horrendous reviews and the amount of them, he won't be back in another 4 years and this was his last one.

haha

he didn't "help" obama enough??

jesus

[bw92116]

I was embarrassed by Romney's behavior. You do not "win" a debate by bullying the moderator. That was not Presidential. I hope they change the format, or at least turn off the microphone once a speaker has used up his 2 minutes. That way Romney can't get away with that again. And his glassy eyes looked like he had just taken methamphetamine an hour before the debate...

Obama on the other hand was shockingly subdued. I don't get it. When you look back at his performances in the debates with McCain 4 years ago he was in top form... don't know what happened to him tonight.

[reone]

Neither of them showed any respect for the time limit, really. I was actually baffled at how adamant they were about going over. It was clear that they were needing a moment to get their thoughts together on their responses, but it was still surprising.

[JayHawk]

The five seconds commentary was more of what i expected out of Obama. he just wasnt connected tonight.

[chance1]

bill maher

as partisan as they come .....

says Mitt won big

http://www.politico.com/news/stories...998.html?hp=l2

[chance1]

I was embarrassed by Romney's behavior. You do not "win" a debate by bullying the moderator. That was not Presidential. I hope they change the format, or at least turn off the microphone once a speaker has used up his 2 minutes. That way Romney can't get away with that again. And his glassy eyes looked like he had just taken methamphetamine an hour before the debate...

Obama on the other hand was shockingly subdued. I don't get it. When you look back at his performances in the debates with McCain 4 years ago he was in top form... don't know what happened to him tonight.

LOL

Obama talked MORE than Mitt

please reconsider and rethink

[bw92116]

No, Romney was like that fast-talking used car salesman that won't get into any details, won't let you look under the hood, just bullies his way through the sale. That was very unpresidential. I was embarrassed to have the world see him. He could never be trusted to take on a powerful position.

Obama was off his game tonight, I grant that... I kept waiting and hoping for him to challenge one of Romney's outrageous lies, but he just wouldn't... disappointed in him tonight.

[Lostlover]

I would say Romney won this one. The president did a lot of dithering which hurt him. I don't think it will honestly be the "game changer" that the media will have an orgy to tomorrow morning but Obama needs to get his shit together.

The media hypes these "stories" through controversy to get people to watch. They now have a story for the next week to live off of since they're going to run with this debate after they give it legs tonight.

It's really no different than Pepsi selling soda, except people think CNN and the other outlets are telling it like it is.

[andysayshi]

romney killed obama on oil companies

obama tried the "oil co. = bad" play

romney says "really"

u have provided 90 billion breaks to green energy

oil co. tax breaks = $2B

Great example of the debate content. Romney sounded like he got a win with this "zinger".

But it's not true.

The "$90B spent on green energy" actually includes major (and desperately needed) expenditure on EXISTING infrastructure, like $3B on carbon capture at existing coal plants (supported by Romney), $11 billion on energy efficiency initiatives, $5 billion to clean up old nuclear weapons sites, $4 billion to modernize existing electricity grids, $2B on energy research and development (supported by Romney).

Much of the remaining expenditure is loans and loan guarantees, the majority of which will be repaid. (Not by Solyndra, obviously, before anyone mentions it for me.)

Much of the green energy money is one-off stimulus spending, as opposed to oil co. subsidies which are permanent.

The $2.8 b to oil companies is also a distortion - that $2.8 billion is DIRECT MONEY the Gov will never recover, and excludes all the other subsidies and support oil companies receive from Government infrastructure like railroads.


AS I said, great example of how Romney won the debate - little "zinger" factoids that don't stand up to real scrutiny.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...12/10/03/9082/

[chance1]

No, Romney was like that fast-talking used car salesman that won't get into any details, won't let you look under the hood, just bullies his way through the sale. That was very unpresidential. I was embarrassed to have the world see him. He could never be trusted to take on a powerful position.

Obama was off his game tonight, I grant that... I kept waiting and hoping for him to challenge one of Romney's outrageous lies, but he just wouldn't... disappointed in him tonight.

fair enough - i thought he was sensible vs. ideological (obama)

again, fact check had obama talking MORE than romney - more filibustering

it is harder for the favorite to be psyched or motivated - a sports analogy

i totally expect obama to be better

feels like mitt is finding his stride

perhaps too late

[chance1]

87% democratic state he was guvnor

met every monday to discuss issues

COLLABORATION

common ground - not giving up your principles

deficit could crush us

repubs and dems BOTH love america

we need LEADERSHIP

wow

obama does joke on repealing obamacare

crickets

[bw92116]

The Republicans have always loved the "zingers" and I'm surprised they didn't give Romney more of them for tonight... but they have never cared about the truth... they only care about the "shock value" of a zinger or sound bite. Whether it's true or not is irrelevant... they only go after what sounds good and stimulates a reaction in people. They are masters at labels and buzzwords, though they are always meaningless, they have an effect on people when they hear them. And that effect causes a reptilian response. It's a very cynical strategy but they have used it to win elections.

[chance1]

closing statements:

obama first
2 minutes

4 years ago - major crisis - faith in america undiminished - he's doing the "people in america" thing - mentioning people none of us know

it's cliche and frankly not as effective as it once was

2008 redux

he's not saying ANYTHING

"everyone is getting a fair shot" - means nada

terrible 2 minutes


romney:

important election
direction of last 4 years is troubling
what kind of america do u want
look at our records
middle class squeeze - incomes down prices up
chronic unemployment
12 million new jobs with rising income
obamacare is a big problem - health premiums go up
each state does programs - designed to keep costs DOWN

military - obama's SOD says this is a problem to cut

it's over

romney destroyed him

[chance1]

diane sawyer and george stephanopolous are tragically dull btw

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

hmmmmmmm

Mark Halperin on MSNBC says Mitt hit conservative buttons and indy buttons - well said

MSNBC is doing what they can to pretend tonight did not happen

Matthews looks disheveled

msnbc just did a clip reel on romney "bullying" lehrer

LOL

what a joke

matthews to his credit is saying obama should've asked follow up questions

chris tingles matthew says obama was not prepared

so true

i love it

progressive commentators are saying all the things obama didn't

LOL

he's the president

[chrisrobin]

Man he's living in the land of makebelieve about Health Care.

No, he's just lying... as usual. In all sincerety, I would like to hear a Romney statement that isn't a boldface lie.

[star-warrior]

I read a disappointing review of Obama's performance. He lectures too much, and that might make him seem removed from his audience. As for Romney, wft - accusing Obama of trickle down?

[chance1]

No Obama 47 % mention

Surprising

[Sammie13]

man, the news is saying romney won the debate but the reality is he didn't win squat. obama is good. romney actually flip flopped if you ask me and it will be evident when his lies that he said in the debate are used against him. if romney wants to win this election, he needs to stop lying. dude is once again setting himself up.

I agree that Romney got away with a lot of half-truths and more shocking flip-flops....as we've seen his whole career he can bounce from the right to the middle to the left and back...whatever it takes to win. This Romney was no where to be seen in the GOP debates.

However, what you're ignoring, is that is was Obama's job to call him on it. Obama could have ripped apart so many claims made by the governor, but he just stuck his fingers in his ears. Romney was like 'hey, I can say whatever I want tonight..."

Obama's game suffered from front-runneritis...he was playing not to lose.

[chrisrobin]

I read a disappointing review of Obama's performance. He lectures too much, and that might make him seem removed from his audience. As for Romney, wft - accusing Obama of trickle down?

For the remaining debates, Pres. Obama needs to leave his professor shoes behind, or he's going to get the royal butt-kick this November. The electorate responds better to 2-3 word sentences.

[TX-Beau]

I suspect that the new and improved rebound Romney is going to have a problem in the right. Oh wait, next week he'll be someone else.

[andysayshi]

Obama ...
terrible 2 minutes

Agreed. Flat.

romney:

important election

Aren't they all?

direction of last 4 years is troubling
what kind of america do u want

Political blah. I'd say the direction of the past 30 years is troubling, but nobody's gonna do anything about that.

look at our records

We are Mitt, we are!

middle class squeeze - incomes down prices up
chronic unemployment

Global phenomenon, even in China this year. Welcome to the real world.

12 million new jobs with rising income

Sounds great? But ... how?

obamacare is a big problem - health premiums go up

Proven false. 2012 US healthcare rises are the lowest in decades.

each state does programs - designed to keep costs DOWN

Mitt did a great job of lowering healthcare costs with Romneycare - which is almost identical to Obamacare! Oh, and ask Mitt who funded most of it's introduction... the federal government. That certainly helped to keep his state deficit down.

it's over

romney destroyed him

I don't think it was quite so major. Romney definitely won, but all in all there was nothing exemplary about either performance. A bit dull all in all. The media, of course, are harping and hyping for hours to make it sound like it's important.

[chance1]

I suspect that the new and improved rebound Romney is going to have a problem in the right. Oh wait, next week he'll be someone else.

Stroked my cock earlier

It was an ass kicking

By any measure

Even the fools at msnbc look depressed

The truth will set u free TX

[terminal11]

Didn't expect to see such ardent neocon support here. Is there no safe haven left on earth?