Post-debate thoughts

By tmcbpatriot 

Man. Why do I feel depressed today? Is it the non-stop cloudy week? Is it that winter is coming? Is it that the president could very well have handed the election to a lying liar who cares nothing for anyone making less than he does?

Last night may have been, for all intents and purposes, the end of Barack Obama's presidency. I came, I saw, I guest live-blogged, but what I came away with, after I had time to let it all sink in, was watching Obama bring his meeting face, his Commander-in-Chief face, but not his game face. Sure, we all know Obama may be too smart for his own good. Sure, he likes to think a lot and is careful about his words. Sure, he could talk about policy all day long. But this is an election, it is not a policy meeting! The people watching this debate last night were not policy wonks or economists salivating over minutiae of detail. These were folks who literally were expecting to see Ryan Seacrest as host and a half-time show featuring Beyonce.

In other words, Mr. President, you failed to deliver!

It is hard to understand how the president allowed Mitt Romney to walk all over him, how he allowed Mitt Romney to spew lies and rhetoric without so much as a zinger from Obama about the 47%, flip-flopping on every single issue or about what economists have said about his grand lie to create 12 million jobs. All we heard were dry policy discussions and a president who looked tired, bored, annoyed, and a little too comfortable.

Perhaps Obama was thinking that the less he said the better. Perhaps he was thinking that since he is doing well in the polls he would just let Romney hang himself with all his lies. Maybe he was thinking that the fact-checkers would sort it all out in the morning. Perhaps, and I hope this is not true, Obama thought he was doing a great job and really handling his opponent well.

Folks, we live in a reality-show world where TV is nothing more than a place where good-looking people act out stories of betrayal, deception, murder, and crime-scene investigations. Throw in some redneck crocodile hunters and this is what Obama was up against. Television, ever since the very first debate between Jack and Dick, has been about style. Nixon was sweating while Kennedy looked "presidential." We all know how that turned out. Al Gore acted strangely during his debates. John Kerry put people to sleep. All the while, George W. Bush looked like a deer in headlights with a power pack taped to his back and getting his answers read to him and he still won against those two!

Now we are just weeks from this election. Again, we have a real choice, as we always do. The two parties are not the same. We know this, but think of how many people don't. During the remaining debates, Obama has to realize that just knowing the truth is not the same as talking about it. He needs to remember that people do not remember what was said and only recall how the people on the TV acted. Were they agressive? Boring? Tall? Short? Tan? Sweaty? It has nothing to do with what was said.

Nevertheless, there are those of us who still want to hear Romney called out on his lies, not to mention the fight for abortion rights and a woman's rights on a multitude of issues. Sure, nobody will remember what was said, but that doesn't mean we don't want to hear it!

There are two more presidential debates. If Obama does not bring up Romney's million flip-flops, if he doesn't look right into the camera and talk to the 99% and the 47% and remind everyone how we got into this mess and that Romney wants to send Latinos back whence they came and the stellar job he has done given what he was handed, then he deserves to lose and we deserve what's coming to us... AGAIN!

If Romney wins in November, all it will have proven is that a man can win an election based on nothing more than body posture and the volume of his voice. It will prove that we are nothing more than TV watchers and credit card numbers. Instead of honoring the Founding Fathers, this country will have been proven to be totally commandeered by the Funding Fathers, and history will forever be destined to repeat itself over and over and over again.

If that happens, Republicans will have proven themselves right and we will truly be on our own, again, with nobody to save us from ourselves, again, and now with a corporate raider in the White House who will sell us out for a profit, again.

Luckily, politics doesn't stagnate. It is as perishable as the milk left out on the counter. By tomorrow, this first debate will be a memory. Nothing will be remembered, except for Mitt wanting to fire Big Bird and Jim Lehrer. Sure, Romney will be remembered for his agressive tone and will have gained some points in the polls and for that alone Obama needs to seriously think about what happens next, or at least save the best for last. Romney understands this. If you recall, he won the coin toss and chose to close last.

Public speaking is like plane flights. People remember takeoff and landing but nothing in between, unless of couse someone starts running up and down the aisle and banging on the cockpit door. Otherwise, it is non-eventful.

Last night, Obama played it at 30,000 feet while Romney had control of the beginning and the end, with a little act of agression in between. Mr. President, take my advice and run up and down the aisle next time and then take us home for a safe landing. It is effective and important. In the meantime, I will keep my eye on the weather and hope my mood improves. It is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. That should be a nice change from today.

(Cross-posted at Take My Country Back.)