"..he stabs you in the face but does so in a way that makes you thank him and shake his clammy hand"

[Turborama]

Excerpt from Bob Cesca's latest piece in Huffpo...

=snip=

In contrast to Mitt Romney's used-car salesman approach in which he stabs you in the face but does so in a way that makes you thank him and shake his clammy hand in the end, Barack Obama's natural and authentic -- underscore authentic -- style might've seemed like he wasn't as polished.

No, the president wasn't as energetic as he could've been. Yes, he was far too kind and deferential to an opponent whose entire goal is to roll back every Obama administration achievement. But there was zero chance that President Obama would appear in Denver last night and suddenly reveal himself to be a snappy, idealized Aaron Sorkin character. Furthermore, many of my friends on the left lapsed back into this weird chronic amnesia in which they forget how Barack Obama carries himself, how he debates and who he is. With a few exceptions, the Obama you watched last night was the same Obama we watched win all three debates against John McCain four years ago, say nothing of all of the various town halls, press conferences and Question Time forums he's hosted. He's thoughtful and deliberate and, yes, he sometimes stammers during pauses, but that's no reflection on his leadership qualities or unrivaled intelligence. For the most part, this is how he's always comported himself. The problem, however, was that it might've come off as too deliberate and thoughtful when contrasted against Romney's caffeinated morning zoo deejay persona.

Speaking of which, let's talk about Romney's performance in terms of what he said.

Romney -- not the president -- made the biggest mistake of the night and almost everyone missed it....

Continues: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/bob-cesca/mitt-romney-won-the-debat_1_b_1940025.html

[mzmolly]

1. Love Cesca.

Great piece. ty

[Cha]

4. There you are..

Big Bird

mzmolly

[mzmolly]

14. :D

[Turborama]

10. Hi mzmolly, great to see you!

It's been ages. How's it going?

I've had to take a break from DU and just popping in during the election, as and when looking after a 1 year old allows, lol.

[mzmolly]

13. Great to see you also, Turborama.

Things are well with me. Thanks for asking.

So glad all is well on your end, and that you're enjoying precious moments with your baby.

[Hissyspit]

2. Here's the pay-off:

"The second topic, which is you said you get a deduction for getting a plant overseas. Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant." In other words, Why didn't I get that tax break when I shipped jobs overseas?

Right there, and on a televised presidential debate, Romney accidentally admitted to shipping jobs overseas -- but claims to have never received such a tax break, obviously when he's shipped jobs overseas with Bain Capital. In an alternate dimension of punditry that isn't an superficial as ours, this might have been the headline today, especially given that American job creation was a central point of debate. Romney appeared on television last night and was tasked with describing how he would create jobs, he ended up copping to eliminating American jobs and sending those jobs to China and elsewhere. Romney needs to be pressed on this point. Over and over and over.

[Cha]

5. Gawd, he's stupid. Wonder what he would have

been like if somebody hadn't mainlined him with Red Bull?

Hope that comes out in an AD. Thanks Hissyspit

[Turborama]

9. Thanks for posting that

Good call to have this excellent observation in the thread for anyone who doesn't follow the link.

[demgrrrll]

3. Something Romney said that is getting very little coverage, instead of 55 years old for a break

for social security, you know the if you are 55 or older you will be alright he said something about 60. That comment needs to be explored.

[Cha]

6. Thanks Turborama.. good analysis from

Bob Cesca!

[Turborama]

12. You're most welcome, Cha

Glad you liked it.

I love his sense of humor, and his commentaries always seem to say pretty much what I've been thinking.

[treestar]

7. The idea that someone is too polite and kind

underscores the idea that we admire rudeness and unkindness. We consider someone a "winner" because they are selfishly pursuing what they want and don't care about consideration of others. Energy by itself and in service of that is not to be admired either.

[BarackTheVote]

15. Rugged individualism vs. the social contract

Well, I believe the country works a whole lot better "when we're all in this together and not all on our own."

[seabeyond]

8. For the most part, this is how he's always comported himself.

this is what i do not get. the demand obama be someone he isnt. not gonna work. we tried with gore. we tried with kerry.. it FAILS.

[msanthrope]

11. Jerry Lundergaard's selling us the TrueCoat.

[onecent]

16. KICK this up...this needs to go viral!!!!!

I hope someone in the Obama camp is working on getting this viral
AWESOME CATCH

[Turborama]

18. That's the spirit!

[Tennessee Gal]

17. Boom!!!! This is good! nt