The First Debate
Troy Senik, Ed. ·
October 4, 2012 at 5:00am
Over the next 24 hours, Ricochet is going to be ablaze with debate analysis, including a new episode of the flagship podcast tomorrow (which requires a Ricochet membership to hear).
I'll be overtaken by my betters momentarily, so let me just give you a one-sentence summary of the debate: it's just become a seller's market for the owners of Hawaiian mansions.
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May '10
Re: The First Debate
What astonished me (although really, I shouldn't have been surprised) is that while Romney was incinerating Obama, the usual conservative commentator suspects were chiming in with a litany of nitpicks.
When your guy is in the ring demolishing his opponent, give it a rest for a little bit.
Jul '11
Re: The First Debate
That's funny. Perhaps I'll go check one out soon. Kailua methinks.
Nov '11
Re: The First Debate
Only negatives I can see from tonight are 1) the expectations game is now working against Romney for the next debate, and 2) the Obama team now knows what they're up against for the next debate and will take it seriously.
(Also, Romney said a few things that were politically smart but might tie his hands as President in the future. I'll worry about that when we have him in the White House).
We're about to find out if the debates really can shift votes. Because this one should.
His answer on the role of government was superb.
Apr '11
Re: The First Debate
What really hit home for me is how much smarter Romney is than Obama. I know we all know that, but man Obama didn't even do a good act.
Aug '12
Re: The First Debate
Wish I were better at Photoshop, because I've got this great picture in mind summarizing tonight's debate. It's a picture of the two podiums, with Romney standing at his, and Clint Eastwood's empty chair standing forlornly behind Obama's.
Apr '11
Re: The First Debate
CNN Report: Romney's personal physician reports the fmr. Governor may have had up to 3/4 of a cup of half-caff prior to walking on stage Wednesday night. Cries from the Left call for Romney to eat a large meal and sit in front of the TV for at least 20 minutes prior to the second debate in the name of fairness.
Apr '12
Re: The First Debate
Romney has the resume and a big shout out to the prep guys for the debate. Hard work paid good dividends tonight.
Nov '10
Re: The First Debate
Romney showed tonight that he is willing to talk specifically about what he wants to do and why Obama is bad for America. He is notafraidof factcheck.org. I'll take tied hands. He didn't say anything that I am not comfortable with being part of the adminisration that follows the current train wreck.
Mar '11
Re: The First Debate
Michelle is signing the papers now....
May '10
Re: The First Debate
My only real complaint is that Obama had the gall to drop some variant of the "budgets show what's important to you" line, and Romney failed to smash that out of the park.
"I'm glad you mentioned budgets, Mr. President, because I want to remind the audience that yours have garnered zero votes in Congress since you entered office in 2009."
Otherwise, Romney was no conservative dream-date, but he utterly demolished Obama's failed record, hitting Solyndra, Medicare cuts, and unwieldy bureaucracy like a slugger. To belabor the baseball analogy, by the end it felt like Obama was just intentionally walking him to get the whole thing over with. Ramble, ramble, try repeating the "100,000 teachers" talking point again, let Romney take over.
When the MSNBC panelists say you lost and blame Jim Lehrer, it's a very, very bad night for the progressive candidate!
Mar '11
Re: The First Debate
I read somewhere that Mr Obama has already bought his $30 million mansion through his finance advisor - um, where did he get that money from?
May '11
Re: The First Debate
oh, man. I went and checked some sites that I knew would be pro-obama. MSNBC and NYtimes... I am seeing a TON of "Fact Check:"
They are on the defensive. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Feb '11
Re: The First Debate
I listened to the debate from my home office (working on my business that I supposedly "didn't build"). I have reached a point where I cannot stand the sound of Obama's voice. I am so tired of being lied to and my intelligence insulted by him and his minions, that the sound of him speaking ellicits a violently negative reaction from me. However, I girded my loins and did my patriotic duty. Listening only, the debate was probably 60-40 Romney. Romney got great lines in, but let too many of Obama's lies stand. Obama got in some of his tried and true lies that have worked so far and also did a pretty good job at distraction. However, the little video I saw astonished me with how badly Obama presented himself. Obama's shifting and staring down at the ground (a classic liar's pose), compared to Romney's confident gaze at Obama or the camera, made this a Romney knock-out.
Tonight Romney has started to win the 10% (and it might be a bigger number) who know Obama's bad, but aren't yet convinced that Romney's for anyone other than the rich.
Aug '10
Re: The First Debate
Although Romney missed a couple of opportunities, he landed enough blows to make it a very uncomfortable night for Obama.
Obama = lazy and not too bright
Romney = extremely hard worker and very bright
Big problem for team Obama in the debates.
May '10
Re: The First Debate
Romney won by having answers and smiling while Obama grimaced and smirked.
He shouldn't hesitate to shake his head when Obama misrepresents his positions, though. If he communicated more through body language, he might not always need to reply. I could be wrong.
I suspect that most swing voters will probably continue to dislike both of them because they both repeatedly ignored the moderator (ignored the rules of the debate), thereby acting like typical politicians. "Who thought of them as anything else?" Swing voters, of course — the same fools who think without qualification that bipartisanship is grand and thought "Hope & Change" actually meant something.
Romney did well by remaining cheerful, but he was too eager at times. Look at Reagan in debates. Reagan spoke leisurely, so he appeared presidential by seeming to be in command. Romney does well once he is into whatever he has to say, but he shouldn't rush his responses. And don't disregard the moderator entirely. It's a short step from commander to bully.
Aug '10
Re: The First Debate
I will predict right now that the MSM play is to set up Obama as the "Comeback Kid" in the next two debates.
In the words of Rush, "Don't doubt me!"
Oct '10
Re: The First Debate
I've got to share a great comment my wife ran across on Twitchy:
"I think the tingle in Chris Matthew's leg moved to his left arm."
I'm still laughing.
Edited on October 4, 2012 at 5:54amMay '10
Re: The First Debate
I also got the impression that Obama doesn't truly know Romney's positions or history. All he knows are the summaries and talking points his political advisors give him.
Even if he did know them well, he would still hammer his lies into voters' memories over and over. But Obama can't anticipate specific responses if he doesn't know the material. He is trapped in generalities when not delivering rote answers.
Oct '10
Re: The First Debate
I don't know if Obama's arrogance was the reason he wasn't prepared or if he really does need a teleprompter to speak effectively. Either way, Whoopee! Ryan and Biden next.
Aug '12
Re: The First Debate
I see people complaining that Romney didn't hit Obama on some points. I sympathize.
But the man's only got two hands, and both were busy dealing body blows.