Comments on: Thoughts on the Recent Presidential Debate, and the Real Reason Why Obama Lost to Romney

By: catsandbooks

catsandbooks — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 17:08:26 +0000

In the next debate, I fully expect Obama to be snotty, spiteful and try to run right over the moderator (not a really hard task given that the moderator is a hard-core O supporter)in an effort to keep Romeny from getting more than a couple of words out. He’ll be so determined to “win” this debate, he will make an even bigger ass of himself than he did with the first one.

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By: Susannah Fleetwood

Susannah Fleetwood — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 04:19:26 +0000

Adjoran, as I indicated in my column, I strongly agree with you in that the left looks ridiculous railing about Lehrer–especially since (as you pointed out) Lehrer actually gave Obama more time than Romney!

Take care, and have a nice evening.

Sincerely, Susannah

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By: Adjoran

Adjoran — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 00:38:17 +0000

The fantasy world Obama backers occupy was also exposed by their railing against Lehrer for daring to allow Romney to interrupt him – although he allowed Obama to arrogantly dismiss his time calls, and to have 4:29 more speaking time over the course of the evening, and even gave Obama hints to start his replies on three occasions.

They truly believe it is the duty of the press to protect and honor Dear Leader.

By: Susannah Fleetwood

Susannah Fleetwood — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 21:57:47 +0000

Hopeful,

The president’s attitude has always been that way in every debate. During the 2008 Democratic primary debates he spent much of his time sighing, ummming, and looking down. The most memorable quote from all of those debate performances was the dreadful, “You’re likeable enough, Hillary”. (Cringe.) Obama acted no differently with Romney–it’s just that this time, his behavior was fully on display for the whole nation to see (oh, and it was probably made worse by the fact that he was so out of practice). In other words, I fully agree with you that this is something that his team absolutely HAS to work on with him, otherwise it won’t really matter what he says because his presentation is simply so amateurish.

Take care, and thanks for the insightful comment.

Sincerely, Susannah

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By: hopeful

hopeful — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 18:27:27 +0000

I caught a lot, but not all, of the debate. The most glaring thing to me was the President’s attitude. It wasn’t even so much what and how he said things but how he looked and his body language. He can practice all day everyday until the next debate but if he doesn’t check his attitude he won’t come off well.
The other thing I noticed, at least in the parts I saw, was that Jim Leher seemed to be reasonably unbiased. He just asked questions without the rambling spin that I’ve seen other moderators add before the question. Hopefully that trend will continue for the remaining debates. Either way, it seemed like Mitt Romney was able to get his points in even when he was cut off or not given a chance to respond to something the President said.

By: Susannah Fleetwood

Susannah Fleetwood — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 17:23:11 +0000

Jack,

I think that if President Obama and his team are truly honest with themselves about Obama’s obvious shortcomings (one being that he is, in all honesty, a weak debater), then they can probably get the President to up his game a bit. Obama is an intelligent man, so I’m sure that he could learn to perform somewhat better (or less embarrassingly so) if he practiced and prepared really hard.

However, as far as actually performing really well–or well enough to consistently beat Romney (someone who is already a really good debater & who has been preparing hard for years), well I just don’t see that happening. A reasonably intelligent person can learn to appear more coherent and knowledgeable (instead of asleep at the switch) with some intense practice sessions; however, really mastering a new skill (like the art of debating well) takes years of practice.

Just my thoughts. Take care, and thanks so much for your highly interesting (and well thought out) insights! Have a nice Sunday.

Sincerely, Susannah

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By: JackBurtonJr

JackBurtonJr — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 16:28:01 +0000

Susannah…

What you wrote about was pretty much a systematic failure as opposed to a one night disaster. Obama didn’t fail at one level, he failed at all levels, and the failure was not at the surface but rooted in the very system that comprises the person and his support.

The only way to overcome a systematic failure is to change the system. One can gloss over it, but if it is stressed hard enough, the breakdown will occur again naturally.

So…

How do you view the upcoming debates? Do you think that Obama can paper over his deficiencies sufficiently enough to get him through the two events? Or do you think that his failures run so deeply that it has gone beyond his control and the next two debates will go at least somewhat poorly for him?

By: Susannah Fleetwood

Susannah Fleetwood — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 15:39:33 +0000

Thanks so much for the kind words and the great insights. Your points about the president being thin-skinned and not quick on his feet without a teleprompter (and that most of his speeches/debate performances are full of liberal cliche’s) are excellent.

Again, I always appreciate it when my readers provide well-thought out insights.

Take care, and have a nice Sunday.

Sincerely, Susannah

By: EastofEden

EastofEden — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 15:25:55 +0000

Nice, and all very true. I would just add two other things:

He’s not a very good debater in part because he’s petulant and thin-skinned, and to paraphrase John Wayne from El Dorado, “The more thin-skinned he is, the better I like it.”

Worse, in addition to not being very quick on his feet, he’s not a very original or deep thinker. He has simply memorized a litany of liberal cliches, and when those cliches have to be used in different or novel way, he is at complete loss. Pull a lever and you get a cliche, but that’s all there is. Hence, the reason his speeches are so dependent on the teleprompter.

He continues to believe he is a superior intellect when almost nothing supports that view. (If Tribe at Harvard or Edley at Berkeley have evidence that he’s genuinely a gifted intellect, let’s see it.) Of all the liberal press that he believes, this is probably the most unforgiving reality.