I half-seriously wondered if they'd let O bring TOTUS to the stage tonight. I bet he wished he had.
The best metaphor I can apply to this bout is the first Balboa-Lang match in "Rocky III," except there was no equivalent of Mickey Goldmill warning Rocky against overconfidence. Dr. Chicago's lackluster performance was a textbook illustration of Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling." This was the wages of four years of boot-licking sycophancy and ego-stroking and idolatry: He clearly believed all the BS his campaign has been throwing at Romney for months. BO really appeared to believe that Mitt would be that Thurston Howell III caricature, and that he would blow him away just by showing up and polishing his halo. Instead he ran into a buzzsaw of facts, presidentially delivered. He belatedly realized he wasn't going up against his usual army of strawmen. He was facing a real opponent who had done his homework and wants to win as much as he does. And he didn't know what to do.
In retrospect you could see this coming a mile away - whining about debate prep being "a drag," playing hooky yesterday by going to see Hoover Dam. O didn't think he needed to prepare because, well, gods are already omniscient, right? And surely Mitt wouldn't have the gall to actually challenge him to his face - NOBODY blasphemes The One!
Until tonight, that is. Governor Romney showed respect to Barack Obama by treating him as an equal rather than a demigod. He wiped the stage with the Li'l President on every exchange but did so civilly and with a smile. He was engaged, passionate, and maintained consistent eye contact with O, Lehrer, and the audience, while Red Barry kept looking down and, as more than one observer mentioned tonight, "making faces." Whatever else you can call it, it didn't look presidential. And that, I think, will be the lasting impression from this first encounter.
I would say Debate #1 was equal parts Romney winning it and Obama losing it. Will it move the polling needle? Probably a little. Will Mitt be this good in the final two debates? Yes, I think he will. The $16 trillion question will be if Obama can bounce back from this, yes, shellacking. Will he start taking Romney seriously? Will he prepare the next time? Or will his cultists and his ego shield him from the reality check he got delivered to him tonight? I know how I'd bet.
Exit thought: Given that the next debate will focus on foreign policy with our embassies sacked and burned across the Middle East, Syria and Turkey exchanging artillery fire, Iran and Israel on a collision course, Red China and Japan clashing, and his Libyagate coverup disintegrating, O's sudden predicament isn't going to get any easier.
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I half-seriously wondered if they'd let O bring TOTUS to the stage tonight. I bet he wished he had.
The best metaphor I can apply to this bout is the first Balboa-Lang match in "Rocky III," except there was no equivalent of Mickey Goldmill warning Rocky against overconfidence. Dr. Chicago's lackluster performance was a textbook illustration of Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling." This was the wages of four years of boot-licking sycophancy and ego-stroking and idolatry: He clearly believed all the BS his campaign has been throwing at Romney for months. BO really appeared to believe that Mitt would be that Thurston Howell III caricature, and that he would blow him away just by showing up and polishing his halo. Instead he ran into a buzzsaw of facts, presidentially delivered. He belatedly realized he wasn't going up against his usual army of strawmen. He was facing a real opponent who had done his homework and wants to win as much as he does. And he didn't know what to do.
In retrospect you could see this coming a mile away - whining about debate prep being "a drag," playing hooky yesterday by going to see Hoover Dam. O didn't think he needed to prepare because, well, gods are already omniscient, right? And surely Mitt wouldn't have the gall to actually challenge him to his face - NOBODY blasphemes The One!
Until tonight, that is. Governor Romney showed respect to Barack Obama by treating him as an equal rather than a demigod. He wiped the stage with the Li'l President on every exchange but did so civilly and with a smile. He was engaged, passionate, and maintained consistent eye contact with O, Lehrer, and the audience, while Red Barry kept looking down and, as more than one observer mentioned tonight, "making faces." Whatever else you can call it, it didn't look presidential. And that, I think, will be the lasting impression from this first encounter.
I would say Debate #1 was equal parts Romney winning it and Obama losing it. Will it move the polling needle? Probably a little. Will Mitt be this good in the final two debates? Yes, I think he will. The $16 trillion question will be if Obama can bounce back from this, yes, shellacking. Will he start taking Romney seriously? Will he prepare the next time? Or will his cultists and his ego shield him from the reality check he got delivered to him tonight? I know how I'd bet.
Exit thought: Given that the next debate will focus on foreign policy with our embassies sacked and burned across the Middle East, Syria and Turkey exchanging artillery fire, Iran and Israel on a collision course, Red China and Japan clashing, and his Libyagate coverup disintegrating, O's sudden predicament isn't going to get any easier.
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