I am trying, but I can't get past Obama's terrible performance last night.

[ClusterFreak]

Last edited Fri Oct 5, 2012, 01:05 AM - Edit history (4)

I've even posted on a thread or two since last night where I talked him up and pushed all that 'chess player'/'playing the long game' stuff, etc. But I just can't stop feeling wildly disappointed.

Ok. He didn't want to 'punch down'. He wanted to stay above the fray, and not get into a brawl with Romney. He wanted to be 'presidential'. The fact checkers will take care of Romney, not to worry. All of that.

Not to mention the meme that I myself have pushed in the last 24 hours, and am struggling to really believe myself, that Obama was laying a trap for Romney. Let him hang himself with his own words.

But...ya know....60 million people were watching last night. No matter how much post-debate spin emanates from the Obama team and the President himself, that spin will not reach the level of audience it could have reached last night. Today Mr. Obama is saying a whole bunch of things about Romney he should've said on stage in Denver, but for some inexplicable reason chose not to. Fuck the fact checkers. Obama is the Fact Checker-In-Chief.

Instead 60 million Americans saw a President with his head down, pursing his lips, shaking his head, and looking for help from the completely useless moderator Jim Lehrer. I think Eastwood's chair would've done a better job. Still, neither Lehrer nor the chair could've helped him with that listless final two minute closing statement.

Well...what's done is done. There are two more debates. I like the Town Hall format, and I think that plays to Obama's strengths. Will he flex his muscles to show that strength? I think he will. But I swear to God I can't say for sure that he will. And that scares me.

Will 60 million be watching debate number two? 40 million? 30? Maybe 70 million will be watching but I doubt it. Anyhow, no matter how many millions do watch... President Obama can absolutely not afford to put in another lackluster performance. He flat out can't. If he does... I don't even want to think about what that might mean.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Edited @1am...Friday, Oct. 5....

Wow...lots of passion here....lots of great responses....lots of reasons to feel both silly for perhaps hyperventilating a little too much....and also to feel somewhat justified in what I said. I'd say it's a saw off. Oh...and one more thing...to those of you who felt the need to be enormously sarcastic and/or sanctimonious with comments something like "Climb off the ledge" etc. ... I think you know what you can do with your bilious smarm. Besides, out here on the 'Obama Sucked Ass In The Debate' section of the ledge you get the chance to meet some famous peeps! Just ran into Jon Stewart. Great show tonight, btw.

Night all!!

[bluestate10]

1. I am disappointed too. Spent the day in a funk. nt

[treestar]

2. Try spinning it

It's what the right wing would do.

[elleng]

3. Guess you only saw the debate on network or commercial cable.

At suggestion of a DUer, I watched 2d time on C-SPAN.

I had quite a change of perspective. The C-SPAN rerun has both candidates side by side, full frontal view of both. In a word... The president was SPECTACULAR!

The president was calm, forceful, intense, focused, and completely in control.

Romney was frantic, wild, fake, wordy, patronizing not to mention inaccurate.

It's the setting of the venue the first time around with the distant, side split screen thing that really hurt the accuracy of the candidates demeanour.

I really encourage people to go to C-SPAN and watch it again in this perspective. I think you will be quite surprised.

www.c-span.org/Debates/

AND NOTE Gallup today, +54, highest ever I think.

[ClusterFreak]

9. If C-SPAN were the broadcast networks, where most people watched the debate...

....and Obama called Romney on his lies...I would feel great today.

But it isn't, and he didn't.

I like your positive attitude though. I sincerely mean that.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. I had the same experience as Ellen's

I missed the original broadcast, but caught the post-game show on msnbc. Everyone was going on like the debate was such a debacle that I almost didn't watch it but I finally decided to flip on cspan late at night. I was so pleasantly surprised. I was fully expecting it to be awful, but instead I saw a bullying and arrogant mitt and a calm and bemused Obama basically ignoring him and effectively laying out his own positions. I don't understand why everyone is so down in the dumps today. People pay too much attention to the pundits.

[elleng]

18. Thanks and glad we're on the same page, Blue!

'Bemused,' good term.

[ananda]

40. That's exactly what I saw when I watched it on network tv.

My first reaction was, what the hell is going on? Mitt doesn't sound
like Mitt. Who is this man?

At first, Obama seemed weak and befuddled, especially with the non
rebuttal of SS. That really got me down.

But then the tide turned after Romney went after PBS, Big Bird, and
Jim Lehrer. He was just a fucking bully who enjoys firing people.

It got even better when the topic came to healthcare. Romney
was agreeing with Obama, taking credit for Obamacare, and saying
things that completely contradicted everything he'd been saying
on the trail. Obama came back with some very good messaging on
that one and did well from then on as well.

I came away feeling as though Romney was playing the race card
in a new way, by bullying Lehrer and Obama, taking up stage time,
a classic sign of racism and oppression which has historically and
always been a white male prerogative. It also gives the rightwing
media a chance to play up Romney's so-called new "strength" and
Obama's perceived new "weakness" without actually bringing up race.

But the media aren't the people. Every online poll I participated in
had Obama winning handily. Not that many people have been fooled
by the snake oil guy.

[Blue_In_AK]

53. Not only racist but sexist, as well

I've seen comments today that seem to indicate that the women are less disappointed in obama's debate performance than the men are. The men have wanted a more aggressive and "manly" Barack getting down and dirty with his opponent rather than this more passive, nonaggressive "feminine" Barack. Maybe I'm simplifying, but as the survivor of an abusive marriage, I can appreciate the president's more pacifistic demeanor. I've had quite enough of bullies in my life.

[elleng]

17. Thanks. Also seen gallup, highest Obama ever, +54,

and LOTS of anecdotal pro-Obama reviews.

[arthritisR_US]

21. Can I catch the debate via Cspan tonight? n/t

[elleng]

26. Its probably in C-SPAN's archive/Debates.

[arthritisR_US]

64. Thanks! I'm going to check it out. n/t

[NotThisTime]

52. That gallup poll was pre-debate

[HuckleB]

4. So don't.

Go get drunk.

[ClusterFreak]

10. Hey!

I like the cut of your jib!

[BumRushDaShow]

5. The President has started a new theme

I just heard a clip of his Denver speech from today and saw an ad that came out today that is posted here on DU called "Mostly Fiction".

He is now de-humanizing Rmoney by a statement about the "guy who played Mitt Romney" and other similar references. It is building and should get interesting....

[SGHTF]

6. Good thoughts

I think that Romney is just better at debates, Obama benefited from debating McLame in 08' who could barely remember what day it was. Romney is a formidable debater and he showed that last night. Obama will need to step up his game if he wants to win one of these debates and I don't think he has it in him.

[zappaman]

7. "Obama...if he wants to win one of these debates and I don't think he has it in him".

Enjoy your stay.

[Indpndnt]

11. And a very short stay it was!

Tombstoned after two posts! Only 22 minutes!

[RBInMaine]

14. PISS ON YOUR "I don't think he has it in him." STUPID BULLSHIT. Good Christ.

All this STUPID WHINING AND BITCHING AND SKY IS FALLING CHILDISH FUCKING BULLSHIT. RobMe LIED and is being HAMMERED today and there are two more debates. Christ ! Obama went toe to toe with Hillary Clinton and he and his team beat HER. If he can do that, he can beat RobMe. He played it safe, DID counter on RobMe's lies, but RobMe just kept LYING. So he is hitting him today bigtime, and in ads, and they debate next in 12 days. So quit the SHIT.

[Lex]

16. Romney is just better at LYING smoothly and no

Obama doesn't have it in him to do that.

[CTyankee]

8. Call a friend. I called my liberal Dem neighbor and he ranted and I ranted and we ranted

for about 30 minutes, then he had to take another call from another friend who wanted to rant!

I still have to get the bad stuff completely out of my (emotional) system. Hopefully, this too will pass like a viral infection...

[RagAss]

12. Well, he got over it.....

The President is on the road today pushing on with the facts !

[bluestate10]

29. The President has to bash Romney's face in with facts on the same fucking stage with Romney.

Not at rallies. The President put on a fucking dismal performance last night. Romney threw meatball after meatball at the President and the President didn't respond to a fucking one of them directly. The Obama team miscalculated badly, they could have ended Romney's campaign, they and President Obama failed to do that.

[Lex]

13. "Polling shows debates don't affect elections, despite myth of Kennedy-Nixon"

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121003/POLITICS01/210030430/Polling-shows-debates-don-t-affect-elections-despite-mythy-Kennedy-Nixon

It matters not.

[StarryNite]

19. The thing is...

the Rmoney backers will have loved his performance last night because that's the kind of people they are. They are pushy, arrogant, people who lie when they think it benefits them. In Rmoney they see themselves and it justifies the terrible things they do. On the other hand, those are the very traits we disdain. None of us will change our votes for Rmoney because of that debate. We see right through him. It's the undecided people that these debates are aimed toward. I think for whatever reason, Obama was having an off night. He will come back strong in the next one. People have short attention spans and last night's debate will be long forgotten in short order.

[Hamlette]

20. I watched part of the debate on CNN with the auto audience reaction graph

It would go up a little and down a little but I didn't see much difference between the reaction to Obama vs Romney. It was sort of interesting to watch the reaction from women vs men. women liked Obama more but there were still places where men were liking what Obama said.

If this was Obama's one and only rodeo I'd be worried but we know him and one night won't make the difference.

Stop spinning and go do something fun. I think you are over reacting.

[Chorophyll]

22. I was bummed out for a few minutes, but I seriously don't think

this one debate is going to change anything. Besides which, Romney looked like a screaming, lying hyena. He didn't actually "win" crap.

Also, the President has been President since January 2009. Everyone has heard him debate and make speeches -- unless they live under a rock. Romney's the challenger. It was his debate to lose, and in my opinion, he lost it. He's a bullying sh*t.

I think we have to keep moving forward now.

[Raine]

23. You need to get past it because Obama did just fine and

the talking heads on MSMBC need to stop dumping all over Obama and get back onboard. FUCK them all ... except for Rev Al who isn't crapping all over Obama like everyone else. GO AL you tell em!

[mainer]

24. I have so little faith that American voters will value substance over style

Which is why I too am feeling depressed today. I wanted Obama to push back, and he didn't. He thought truth would win out and it won't. Not with half of American voters.

The GOP thrives on testosterone and dominance, which is why they think they've won last night. And they are now giving more money than ever to Romney.

[dionysus]

25. i bought stock in Pampers, and i'm making a killing today...

[scheming daemons]

27. *THIS* is the most damaging thing about Obama's (lack of) performance last night.

It was an enthusiasm killer.


Obama supporters are down in the dumps today, Romney supporters are sky high.


Independents will notice... and they always want to be on the "winning team". That's why our convention was so good.... it put all the enthusiasm on *OUR* side and the Republicans were down in the dumps.


Last night flipped the script.

[BumRushDaShow]

33. 30,000 folks showed up to see the President speak in Wisconsin today

Seems some didn't get the memo?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

45. exactly! He said he couldn't fake emotion. Well he had better start

[rudycantfail]

59. True.

[Orangepeel]

28. I don't understand what you mean by "can't get past it"

Let's stipulate that he did a piss poor job. And? It is what it is.

They are still the same people who would do the same things as President that they would have done if there had no debate. Will it make it marginally more difficult for Obama to win? Debatable (no pun intended) but again, what is there to get past?
It doesn't change the fact that a Romney presidency would be a disaster.

[TwilightGardener]

30. Jesus, did he drool and piss his pants? The fucking melodrama!

He has something to lose. Mittens doesn't. Mittens HAS to go all-out. Why should Obama take any risks, in the FIRST debate? He doesn't have to act as manic as the other guy, or get drawn into a tit-for-tat on each lie. There's nothing wrong with letting Mittens crank it to 11 on the first debate--where's he going to go, performance-wise, in the second one? Hopping up and down? Popping veins and releasing spittle?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

31. Step away from the ledge.

Today's Gallup tracking poll has Obama with a 54% approval rating.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/Presidential-Approval-Center.aspx

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. Will try to cheer you up

yesterday I came back form a debate (In El Cajon)... and turned to this site. It was like a funeral march.

So I turned to the Mirror site... you'd think they would be hooping and hollering right? Nope. They agreed that mitt won, but just barely.

My dear, that means we had a draw.

Here is another little factoid of US Political history... incumbents have yet to do well on the first debate. It's the bubble effect.

It helps not to be a hard core partisan I guess.

[Honeycombe8]

34. It was just one night, one debate. Romney won, so what? Move on. O isn't perfect.

Romney didn't win the election. He did better at ONE debate than O...or O did worse, whichever way you look at it.

Tomorrow is another day. There will be other debates.

[bhikkhu]

35. "well, that lyin' n****r learned a thing or two last night"

was the opening line of an old guy who walked in the shop this morning, with a twinkle in his eye, to talk politics and gloat.

That was about how my day went, as we live in a RW town, and the older people are pretty comfortable with the N-word lately...I pretty much keep my mouth shut except where the opportunity to correct a fact comes up, but conversations about facts don't come up very often.

I'd like it very much if things were different. but I can only cringe at the idea of what a Romney presidency would look like - ACA repeal on day one (probably by executive order), social security and medicare privatized and wrecked by the time I reach eligible age, another big tax cut like the one's that built the debt, another round of deregulation like the one that triggered the recession, the supreme court becomes Scalia & friends...etc, etc.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

43. I fell for you...I live in a similar place. And, I am so jealous of people who get to live in a

blue place. You hit the nail on the head - "facts don't matter" where we are.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. You are 100% right. Every thread about potential Obama comebacks/strategies pre-debate

got many "leave it to the brilliant Obama campaign handlers" responses here. They know what they are doing. Well. They. Don't. Their strategy showed incredibly poor judgement. They may be brilliant about playing the electoral number crunching game - but not brilliant on political savvy.

Of course nothing we bring up here, nothing Ed comes up with, nothing Chris or Rachel comes up with matters - since they obviously pay no attention to any of us - a combined treasure trove of ideas on Romney's weaknesses.

the Obama Team would be wise to fly them into Camp David this weekend

All that said...we can't do anything but let it go - and hope the media starts to actually dissect the lies Romney told.

He is spinning so fast he is standing still

[Blue Idaho]

37. Get off the cross - we need the wood.

Seriously, the President is out there every day working his ass off trying to win this election to advance progressive causes for all of us - so what exactly are you doing to help?

Get over it - "President Rmoney" is an unthinkable alternative.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. that strikes me as the 'bury your head in the sand' strategy.

[Blue Idaho]

51. Really?

How many days have you volunteered? How much money have you donated? What are you doing to get Democrats elected this year? Or are you just taking pot shots from the cheap seats?

Stop wringing your hands and start moving FORWARD.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

54. I have donated multiple times and I am also an active volunteer. I am registering voters

as a a deputy registrar.

How dare you presume otherwise !!!!

Some of us know good political savvy when we see it. We live it and breathe it.

Others do not

Obama needs a shot in the arm from people who do and his closest handlers are not providing it

that is just the pure and simple reality of the matter. It doesn't make anyone a bad person. The people who are crunching the electoral numbers may be genius at what they do. But, no savvy, plain and simple.

[Blue Idaho]

57. Good for you

But exactly how is my advice to the original poster to let it go and get into action helping elect Democrats a "bury your head in the sand" attitude? Would you be happier if I wore sack cloth and ashes and went into mourning? Do you really think the President or his handlers are going to read this thread and have a burning bush experience that causes them to alter their campaign plans?

I'm not going to take the time wringing my hands about events that have passed.


BTW I'll put my efforts up against yours any day of the week if you want to get into a pissing contest.

Have a nice day.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

58. You are the nastiest, meanest person I have encountered today. Good riddens !

[Blue Idaho]

60. Right back at ya. nt.

[zellie]

38. His SLOOOOWWW answers without any passion was upsetting.

No more looking down
Stare down that lying mittshit
Show some excitement and passion
Call the lies what they are...Lies
No more responses that start with "uhhh..."
Get Loud with fire in the belly

And SMILE...... while youre kicking him in the balls.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. good ones. Although NYT called it a "battle of the fake smile" nt

[zellie]

46. All WINNING candidates for President SMILE...its just the way it is.

no one like a sad face for president.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

48. oh, I agree...but last night the smiles were forced

[undeterred]

39. Try harder.

[otohara]

47. Ha, We Said The Same

thing in the OP, at almost the same time.

[otohara]

44. Try Harder

the President did a fine job, the media fucking sucks as usual, Romney lied his ass off.

[MrsBrady]

49. Obama did not perform terribly...

he just decided to let Romney act like an ass...
and didn't take the bait to argue with a flip-flopper.

Romney was rude and showed his ass and the true ass he is by running over the moderator.
Romney sounded like he was suddenly a Democrat by his answers.
He's lost already.

The media wants this to be a close race, because that's how they sell
ad space is if the news is juicy.

Chill. Obama's playing rope a dope.

And go vote.

[Hutzpa]

50. Put it this way

some people are not cut out for critical thinking.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

55. most true thing I have heard all day !!! Genius, Hutzpa

[hughee99]

56. Don't worry...

Obama was cool, calm, presidential and in command of the facts, and also if I understand correctly,

Romney Cheated
Romney was on "something"
It was his lack of high altitude training (according to Al Gore)
It was a rope-a-dope.

Obama is the chess master and this is 77-dimensional chess. He has a good lead in the key states, didn't do anything to lose supporters and has a few more weeks (and 2 more debates) to bring in new ones. It will be fine.

[Warren Stupidity]

61. then go away and hide in a hole.

sheesh.

[ClusterFreak]

63. I...I...I...

I think I'm gonna cry!!

[MineralMan]

62. Sounds like you're really concerned about Obama's reelection.

I think you can relax. He'll win just fine.