My advice to President Obama for tonight's debate.

[Liberal Veteran]

Don't read anything on DU or listen to any kind of talk radio.

It seems to me every bit of advice and what he must do has been promoted and demoted in the last few weeks.

I'd be a nervous wreck trying to distill all the contradictory advice into something helpful for the debate. Some of it sound like a combination of the 12 labors of Hercules and 6 impossible things before breakfast.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

1. The problem was that he took the advice last time

to "act Presidential."

In sports, there's a phrase "playing out the clock," which is
what a team that is comfortably ahead does in order to maintain that
lead as time dwindles down. It has spelled defeat for many a leading
team, because they stop doing exactly what got them the lead in
the first place.

Obama was comfortably ahead before the first debate and the
advice he got & took was basically to play out the clock.

The first debate was part of a series. Many an over-confident team
has lost the first game in a series and then, slapped awake by that
defeat, stormed back to take the series just as decisively--if they're
smart and they learn from their mistakes and they return to playing
with the heart of a champion, all of which applies to Obama.

What gives me complete confidence in Obama for the second debate is
that he learns fast. He "was taking the wrong advice" (as Van
Morrison says to John Lee Hooker) but "I got wise, I got wise to myself"
(as John Lee says to Van). Obama has taken responsibility for the
first debate, which to me means he blames only himself for
taking somebody's bad advice to play out the clock, to act Presidential,
to stay above the fray, to let Romney look bad by appearing to be
unfazed by his aggression, to take lots of notes, look thoughtful, don't be
offensive, be humble, admit mistakes, agree with Romney on a few
things, etc. All bullshit, but he took it, took the wrong advice, betrayed
himself and what got him where he is.

Obama knows himself, knows what to do, knows how to do it,
and he'll do it tonight. Enjoy.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

2. You said it, bub.

Good post. Right on.