"Anyone here ever competitively run the outdoor one-mile race ?" Some thoughts on the debate...
So when I would go to an invitational track meet, I was generally unfamiliar with the runners or their tactics, so what I would do was at the starting gun, I would fall into line behind the first six runners and evaluate their performances during that first 220 yards based upon past experience, and quickly determine who might have certain elements which might defeat me, i.e. stride length increasing; the nature of their perception: incessantly turning the head to check nearby runners; faltering or reduction of pace followed by catch-up behaviors including pace and stride length, etc. which might demonstrate inability to last to the 'kick' at the end. Some runners would feel the need to lead in the early part of the race: except for the most talented this can be a real mistake: over-exertion, over-confidence, and inability to set pace with others is hazardous.
So it was with the President: he allowed the competitor to come out of the blocks and set his pace, fast...real fast. Instead of playing rock/paper/scissors, he allowed Mitty to sprint for nearly the entire time he was allowed to speak by that ineffective Lehrer, and Romney, who had memorized his lines well, TOO well by half, was blurting them out at a fantastic pace. In fact, one had to listen carefully to the sentence structure and illogic in order to understand the antecedents for many of the pronouncements. this the hackneyed expression: 'He was running off at the mouth'.
The President did not employ the usual debate tactics promulgated by experts: he didn't stare at Romney, he looked down at his notes, he often did not address the camera but talked directly to the so-called moderator. He also deliberately 'hemmed and hawed' at the beginning of each sentence which only stoked Romney further and made him frustrated and so he began to blurt out a few outrageous lies and statements which will be parsed to infinity (and beyond). The President addressed issues, did not prevaricate, and was clearly smiling grimly to himself and occasionally to us, as he performed these maneuvers. The result was that Romney performed a Banzai Charge last night, and then promptly fell on his Sword of Big Bird.
Now in the second lap, we shall have the Vice President hold his own against an amateur serial prevaricator (read: lying sonofabitch) which will be mildly interesting, but dismissed by the pundits as simply a warm-up to the third lap which is the important one here. During this lap, the President will leave Romney in the dust in one fashion or another, in order that the gun-lap, the fourth one, is a clear sprint for the President to the finish line. Romney will have no kick left and will be finishing about forty yards behind the winner.
Oh yes and one more thing: Eddy Rendell, STFU.
