What I'd like to hear Obama say in the next debates

[magical thyme]

He needs to memorize 2 minute "elevator speeches" on all the key topics. It really is that simple. He is great at speeches, not so much at debates. He seems to approach debates as discussions and then seems surprised to be overwhelmed by attacks. He needs to see them for what they are: performances and competition.

He should practice his elevator speeches, and he should even copy them down day after day. Yes, I learned from a co-student in pre-med microbiology that writing down your canned paragraphs even just 2-3 times commits them to memory. And all through school, I boiled down my notes to key sentences and copied the overall notes over and over. It wasted a lot of paper, but I passed the majority of my exams with ~100% averages. I could actually see my notes in my mind's eye. What was on which part of which page, and "read" off of them in exams.

EG:

Hit on jobs, in a few sentences:

I inherited an economy that was losing over 700,000 jobs per month. It is now growing at over 100,000 jobs per month on average. That is a net reversal of 800,000 jobs per month. Not as fast as I would like it to grow, but heading in the right direction.

Now, had the Republican congress not blocked my jobs bills, including my most recent one, I expect we'd be creating even more jobs right now. That's what I'd like to do. Get all my jobs bills implemented and get jobs growth up where it needs to be.

My opponents record on jobs, on the other hand, dropped Massachusetts to 47th in the nation in jobs growth. Those are facts, and facts matter.

Hit on the economy:
The economy was in free fall when I started. The stock market was cut in half, which meant people couldn't even afford to retire. Now, the stock market is strong again, and GDP is up again, along with jobs growth. Foreclosures are down, new applications for unemployment are down. We're just starting to gain momentum.


Hit on Libya:
The CIA initially believed the attack started with protests against a movie, and that's what they told me and my staff. It wasn't until they had time for in-depth investigation that they determined that it was a planned terrorist attack.

My opponent jumped the gun on Libya, holding press releases and making dangerous and reckless claims before the facts were known.

On embassy security:
My office was not informed of requests for additional security by Ambassador Stevens. We have since reviewed and increased security at all our embassies and consulates as a result. Had congress not cut our embassy security by $300M, we could have bolstered security before a tragedy could occur.

On bipartisanship:
I have repeatedly reached across the aisles and more than met my republican opposition halfway. Congressional leadership, including Congressman Ryan, are known to have adopted, right from my first day, their goal of making me a one-term president by a policy of obstruction. This is a fact, and appears in a memo they signed.

Personally, I find this incredibly disturbing. That in the face of the worst economic crisis in our nation in decades, certain members of the opposition party in congress would put their partisan goals ahead of the needs of the American people.

On cutting Medicare:
I did not cut one dime from Medicare benefits. We saved $700B in fraudulent payments to insurance companies and providers. But I did not cut one dime from Medicare benefits and that is a fact.

In fact, I was able to fill most of the "donut hole" that some of you reached each year. I'd like to go further and eliminate that donut hole.

Now my opponent would like to change Medicare for people not yet in the system. Do you think that it is fair to charge them, on average, $6,400/year for their Medicare. Because that is what xyz study has shown it will cost. That is a fact.

and so on. It took me less than an hour to compile this. I have to go to work, or I'd keep going.

[shayes51]

1. Here's what I'd like to hear:

If you can't handle Great Britain, insulting them on your recent trip, how are you going to handle Russia, China, Iran, Libya,....?

[mary195149]

2. Excellent!

Right to the point. Easy to understand. Sometimes making it as simple as possible is the best way to keep people's attention.

[ModLibCentrist]

3. Great Post By Magical

Great Post Magical

I have been saying this to my family for days now. I am not sure why in the first debate in the opening statement and closing statements Obama didn't just summarize whats been good with his term. Here's my prepared opening statement from Obama in the next debate:

"Simply put, we have come too far now to change leadership back to the very same people who got us into our previous messes in the first place. I came into office with the worst economic situation since the great depression. We have taken unemployment from 9.5% down to 7.8%. A new report on Friday showed that foreclosures are now taking a nose-dive. Jobless claims also last week fell yet again even after the new 7.8% unemployment report. Banks are lending again and home buying is once again on the way up. We did this while pulling out of 2 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and strengthening our ties with our world-wide allies that had been strained by the previous administration. I told you we'd make getting Osama Bin Laden a priority, and we got him. We're on our way to tax relief for the middle class and healthcare that will for the first time in this country get all Americans covered. Yes, of course we'd like a quicker recovery and we are not there yet. I know a lot of Americans have been helped but more importantly I know a lot of Americans still need help. We are almost there, we cannot afford to change directions now by changing leadership."

A simple opening statement like above would set the tone for the debate and have Romney on the defensive the rest of the night. It would also quickly summarize why he needs another 4 yrs before a lot of people start hearing all the debate details and start changing the channel.

[begin_within]

4. What I want him to do is:

Address directly the person who asked the question. Then as he's answering it, shift to the camera and talk directly to the viewers at home. Then finish by going back to the person who asked the question. He needs to connect with the viewers and demonstrate that he is in touch with the concerns of one person, therefore in touch with everyone who shares that concern. Biden addressed the camera directly during his debate and connected with the viewers, particularly seniors. I think attacking Romney is a secondary consideration.