The American Spectator : La Boca Grande

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La Boca Grande

By George Neumayr on 10.23.12 @ 6:10AM

Obama talks big in the final debate in Florida.

Barack Obama came to the last presidential debate ready for a fight. But he didn’t get one. Romney seemed more interested in talking to moderator Bob Schieffer than engaging Obama in a scuffle.

That relaxed strategy didn’t hurt Romney very much. At worst, the debate was a draw, which will only serve to seal the tightness of the race.

Though Romney kept stepping back from his punches, Obama didn’t tire of throwing them. Apparently Romney not only kills his sacked employees’ wives he also takes glee in outsourcing jobs to China and (in a new line of attack from Obama) invests in an Iranian company. Obama was unloading all the opposition research that he couldn’t cram into the previous debates.

Obama’s posturing as the tested executive versus a neophyte challenger looked pretty silly. “One thing I have learned as commander-in-chief,” he started off one bragging answer. In another, he said Romney had never “actually executed” a foreign policy decision. This is big talk from a community organizer whose only foreign policy experience prior to 2008 was, to paraphrase Pat Buchanan, having eaten at the International House of Pancakes. His Libyan debacle vindicates Hillary Clinton’s ad that he can’t be trusted with a ringing phone at three o’clock in the morning (little did she know that she would be the one making the calls), or three o’clock in the afternoon for that matter, which was around the time he learned that his ambassador had gone missing.

Apparently trying out a jujitsu move, Romney just let the Libyan matter pass. This left Obama with a number of talking points to unload on his own, one of which, ludicrously enough, was that Libya is better off today than it was four years ago. Obama droned on about “ten of thousands of Libyans marching for America.” Right. Obama said that his foreign policy is “keeping America safe.” It couldn’t even keep his ambassador safe.

An uninformed listener to this debate, full of rosy, “people tend to vote for peace” platitudes and empty uplift, would have no idea that popular jihadists have been recently torching U.S. embassies, killing U.S. diplomats, and replacing American flags on consulates with black flags of radical Islam. “There is no doubt that attitudes about Americans have changed,” said Obama. Yes, for the worse.

Romney, determined to appear bipartisan, didn’t really challenge the nonsense that the Arab Spring has made the world safer. The replacement of unpopular dictators like Mubarak with popular ayatollahs and militias certainly hasn’t made American embassies any safer. But to Obama radical Muslims in North Africa and the Middle East have the “same aspirations” as Americans. Apparently they too toss and turn at night worrying about class sizes for their little Osamas. Not even the killing of his ambassador makes him hesitate before regurgitating this drivel from his Cairo speech that “reset” America’s relationship with the Muslim world.

America’s foreign policy is going so swimmingly that Obama says it is time “for nation building” here at home. What does that say about his first term? It implies that he razed the place and now has to rebuild it. This is not a very reassuring task to assign to an incumbent.

The emptiness of Obama’s more-of-the-same schemes was transparent. Somehow he is going to turn America’s economy around by increasing the budget of the Department of Education. “We have reformed education,” he said. How exactly? By making his Chicago crony Arne Duncan education secretary? Duncan’s idea of education reform as superintendent in Chicago was to propose the first gay and lesbian high school in the country. It was going to be called “Social Justice High School,” but the idea was so stupid that the Chicago board refused to fund it and the plan was dropped.

Obama skimps on nothing, save ships, which he likened in the debate to “horses and bayonets.” At the same time, he wanted to sound bellicose, promising that “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon” in his second term. Given the durability of his promises about reducing unemployment and debt, the Iranians probably aren’t quaking at that one.

Obama did come up with a novel line of attack against Romney: he compared one of his “critiques” to one leveled by Joe Biden. Now that is a put down. Obama prefers to take all the credit for the glorious policies of his first term, starting off one line with the words “This nation” and then correcting himself and saying “me.”

There was a droning, slightly desperate tone to Obama’s answers. Out of curiosity, Schieffer asked Romney suddenly, “What is your position on drones?” Unfortunately, he wasn’t referring to the president.

About the Author

George Neumayr, a contributing editor to The American Spectator, is co-author, with Phyllis Schlafly, of the new book, No Higher Power: Obama’s War on Religious Freedom.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (68) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

drudge ette obama| 10.23.12 @ 6:20AM

Whenever I hear Obama talk about Dick Cheney, I think to myself, "there you go again."

I remember when he said "me", thinking he should have said "I" - but he's been advsied there are too many "I" in Obama.

But then, this is the president of the gonnas, have-tas, the uhs, and so much more that we usually try to teach out of our children's speech.

Aristocat| 10.24.12 @ 2:08AM

Romney won by keeping his cool...

Appleby| 10.23.12 @ 6:36AM

I thought that as usual he sounds like a college sophomore lecturing his father on a visit home from Berkeley. I expected him to burst into a chorus of "Aquarius" at any moment or get up and throw in some dance moves. At one point when he was piling on the talking points, talking loudly over Romney, Romney said, "People can look it up" and Obama agreed, not realizing that he had just sealed his own doom. Is there anybody left in America who doesn't know that everything Obama claimed to have done is easily revealed to be nonsense if you just look it up? And the "You Are An Old Guy" line about the horses and bayonets lost him the biggest group in America: the people who are the same age as Romney far outnumber the gang in Obama's cohort. I was very tired of Obama by the time they finally blew the whistle.

Aristocat| 10.23.12 @ 8:44AM

Obama revealed himself as the thug that he is..
A very nasty, vicious person...Like Biden, he has given up his only asset, likeability...Who could like this street mugger we saw last night?

Jacob McCandles| 10.23.12 @ 10:39AM

Very well put...his only asset. I agree, silly ass facial expression was enough to turn stomachs all over America. Am I remembering correctly that BHO said he used to "brawl" in school? That is without a doubt the most absurd thing I've ever heard.

gene| 10.23.12 @ 1:04PM

Listen, Mr. Aristocat. We have a big enough mess, without you insulting Thugs and Street Muggers by comparing them to the Butt Heads in Washington. They may be criminals, but that is no excuse for cruel comparisons such as these.

PolishKnight| 10.23.12 @ 1:24PM

I have friends who are leftists and in our arguments, they usually say an outright whopper and I'm only now getting "used" to it. It surprises me that people would outright lie, but they do. In the last exchange, a leftist claimed that Sean Hannity had apologized to George Soros for an alleged smear. Then later, he claimed that Clinton's impeachment was about Republicans prosecuting him based upon sex. He later recanted.

I go and look these things up but I wonder if many of the rubes don't. Busy housewives, retired steelworkers or senior citizens who get their news from CBS or ABC because that's what they grew up with.

Cats1cowboy| 10.24.12 @ 1:05AM

Latest report on bayonets is that today's military personell use more bayonets that the 1916 military . Also, hours before the debate started, HuffPo ran an article about a statue being re-dedicated to the Horsemen in Afghanistan. It had been previously dedicated by (drum roll) VP Biden. Last but not least, submarines are boats, not ships. A real Commander-in-Chief would know these things.

Parker| 10.23.12 @ 7:04AM

As an 'old' Navy vet myself, I found the 'bayonets and horses,' comment to be overboard snarky and snotty. I didn't appreciate the fact that this 'smack down,' came from the same clown who was not long ago, blaming high unemployment on the ATM and the kiosk at the air terminal. Of course, Romney needs to be a bit quicker on the uptake and rebuttal but, I skipped the debate this time due to having made up my mind to vote for the other guy the day after the 2008 election returns were in. Since we are on the subject of National Defense; when are Americans going to realize the biggest domestic enemy of this country is found in your local Public school?

Von Mises Jr| 10.23.12 @ 7:52AM

Thank you for serving, Parker. I made the same observation about ATM's in my comment in the previous article.
Mitt schooled Obama taunting him like a bull fighter does skewering the bull before the final death blow.
Mitt could have been confrontational, but he preferred to be presidential. Others can make the point that his Muslim outreach in Libya got an Ambassador tortured, corn-holed and suffocated to death. Obama's outsourcing of the Ambassador's security to a Muslim thug whom it was advertized in the job opening could be in a same sex marriage or relationship did not work out well for the Diplomat.
This was a lesson in leadership. The central figure does not make the aggressive and insulting shots like I just took at the neophyte want-to-be King. He sets the policy directives and lets guys like the authors at this fine site and commenter’s flay the dead carcass of Obama the road kill.

Al Adab| 10.23.12 @ 9:35AM

It sure should be clear to us all by now that we have before us one fellow who knows how to fire up true believers on street corners and another who makes his case in boardrooms. Any question remaining about what the job of Chief executive entails?

Von Mises Jr| 10.23.12 @ 11:52AM

Street corners and crack houses, my friend Al. He found Perp in the latter.

Parker| 10.23.12 @ 2:31PM

Quite happy to do my part- Only regret I have is Gerald Ford signed my Hon. Dis. what a dunderhead. Anyway, I only wish Romney had a bit more wit. I wasn't looking for aggression. I should take solace in the fact that, "Brevity is the soul of wit." And Romney was rather concise. "Witty," was the one thing I loved about Reagan. Romney seems a bit slow in that regard. As for the Obama's, I piss in his and her general direction.

Cat Shot| 10.23.12 @ 11:29AM

Parker - Spent a little time 'haze gray and underway' myself back in the day.
Only an ignoramus who says "corpseman" would fail to realize that Marines still use bayonets. Am I the only one who thought that Zero's glowering, head-bobbing demeanor made him look more like Chimpy that the leader of the free world?

KennesawJack| 10.23.12 @ 11:57AM

I had a Redbone hound once that used to get that same look on his face when he'd been caught sucking eggs.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:03PM

I don't know that song.

Occam's Tool| 10.23.12 @ 1:01PM

By the way, I wish to apologize to Schieffer. the old Libtard did a good job of moderating.

Obviously, his TCU journalism training triumphed over his Libtardedness. Once again, a good show for the Horned Frogs.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.23.12 @ 8:14AM

“There was a droning, slightly desperate tone to Obama's answers. Out of curiosity, Schieffer asked Romney suddenly,’What is your position on drones?’ Unfortunately, he wasn't referring to the president.”

I recall an episode of “The Odd Couple” TV series from the early 70s. In a classic move of cross marketing, the guest star was Howard Cosell (Jack Klugman’s Oscar Madison character was a fellow sports journalist). Tony Randall’s Felix Unger was upset because Cosell referred to him as “an inane drone”.

After reading the above paragraph, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps it was a title appropriately applied to another self-obsessed tall skinny subject of ambivalent sexuality (though I doubt Tony Randall would have ever referred to himself as “eye candy”).

gene| 10.23.12 @ 9:38AM

Oscar - "What is an inane drone"?
Felix - "It's kind of a dull bee".
Oscar - "YOU ARE an inane drone!"

Jacob McCandles| 10.23.12 @ 10:29AM

This......is Frank Costanza.......I'm gonna come down to Del Boca Vista.....I'll be in the pool.....I'll be in the clubhouse......

Parker| 10.23.12 @ 4:48PM

Please tell me you won't be shooting pool.

SUBVET| 10.23.12 @ 9:48AM

Jr. is that your entry for friday ?

Tim......Jr. started early....not fair.

Pecos Pete| 10.23.12 @ 9:55AM

SUBVET: Exactly. Not fair. I'm only at the stage of looking at silent movies for Friday's game, and here JR. is trying to bag it early.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.23.12 @ 1:30PM

I spent all that time in front of the TV as a lad so that I could make common cultural references whenever possible. I'm particularly impressed that Gene remembers the dialogue.

I promise that I will have a fresh entry for Friday.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:05PM

"I recall an episode of The Odd Couple."

I think that you might be stuck in a Contest Loop.

Then again: Practice makes Perfect.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.23.12 @ 4:41PM

Just trying to keep myself limber in all categories for Friday by exercising my sitcoms...

Parker| 10.23.12 @ 4:51PM

I think only, "proper," practice makes perfect. Hell there are all kinds of lawyers and politicians who 'practice' their craft on an hourly basis and they still can't get it right. Now prostitutes, they now how to practice their craft. But then, I have a hard time differentiating between lawyers, politicians and prostitutes. So, who knows?

Nancy in NC| 10.23.12 @ 8:41AM

Was I the only one who found his explanation of aircraft carriers and submarines insulting? I bet Romney can pronounce the word corpsman.

It really looked like Obama was the challenger rather than the incumbent. To anyone other than the devoted Dim, Obama appeared petulant, flippant and a liar to boot.

I found my self screaming at the TV (and Romney) but it seems Romney had a plan, and it worked. Krauthammer and I wanted to hit Obama with a bat; Romney preferred a velvet glove.

Appleby| 10.23.12 @ 11:11AM

Most of the people my age (and Romney's) who have commented on the debates have mentioned this, and all have found it sophomoric. Doesn't this Nimrod know that the 79,000,000 Boomers and their parents from the Greatest Generation are the ones who vote?

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:09PM

Let me see if I've got this right.

We have Aircraft Carriers that have Airplanes on them? I get it. Like a Car Carrier, only this one's for Planes.

And, we have Submarines, that are Boats that go underwater.

So, what does a Sub Sandwich do?

The Russians must be laughing their Asses off.

Peppermint Tea | 10.23.12 @ 9:01AM

"Nation building at home" ?

THAT was hilarious! Romney might have suggested that we need a new copy of the Constitution after Obama has trampled all over it. But I guess Mitt didn't need to.

JP| 10.23.12 @ 9:27AM

The problem with the "Nation building at home" meme is that the President isn't the challenger. One may just as easily aksed, "What the hell have you been doing with that $5 trillion of borrowed cash these last 4 years?"

Al Adab| 10.23.12 @ 1:53PM

Nation building at home is another term for centralized planning and command economy. What we need to recover our strength is free markets.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:11PM

We need Nation Building.

We've been Under Attck since January 21, 2009.

Ralph Novy| 10.23.12 @ 6:56PM

"What the hell have you been doing with that $5 trillion of borrowed cash these last 4 years?"

Trying to pay off the tab Bush/Cheney ran up, pal.

JP| 10.23.12 @ 9:28AM

I wasn't waiting for Mitt to announce that if he is elected the US will no longer subsidize the Chicom military.

gene| 10.23.12 @ 9:41AM

"....Krauthammer and I wanted to hit Obama with a bat; Romney preferred a velvet glove....."
Nancy

I felt the same way.

However, it appears that Romney made a good judgment call. When you are ahead, be "Presidential". He stayed in control and let Obama show his desperation. His "Velvet Glove" routine showed what he is made of.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:19PM

I felt the same way, gene.

I thought he shoulda said, when asked about Beghazi: I'll tell you what I wouldn't have done. I wouldn't have flown off to Vegas, and Jay Z's House, to Party and Raise Money, the day after our Embassies were attacked, and our people Murdered.

But I think, in hindsight, that his strategy was perfect.

vtwin's "Nigga" (his words, not mine) went there looking for a fight, and Romney didn't take the bait. And we saw The Real Marxist Street Hustler show his real Colours.

He looked like the PUNK, that he is.

Ralph Novy| 10.23.12 @ 6:54PM

If by "presidential" you mean vacuous, stuttering and dishonest, I wholeheartedly agree that Romney was "presidential."

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.23.12 @ 9:43PM

By your qualifications listed above, I don't believe the current POTUS can be beat in any of the categories you identified by anyone in any of the 57 states that he visited in the 2008 campaign. I've been particularly impressed with his repetition of " uh,uh,uh,uh, uh", but that might have resulted from the trauma associated with being exposed to the trailer for "The Innocence of Muslims" on You Tube.

Kwan| 10.23.12 @ 10:51AM

Obama is a well rehearsed master of deception who specializes in the "Big Lie". When your dumb leftist policies cause disaster after disaster such as with Libya and the economy, all you can do is try to lie your way around it in a desperate effort to make the voters believe you actually are qualified to be President, and know what you're doing.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:21PM

Just so you know, Mr. Kwan?

This week's Contest will be about my trip to the Toilet, to take a Poop.

I'm Serious.

Maybe you can use your: "Something Wicked This Way Cometh" again?

RJ| 10.23.12 @ 10:57AM

After seeing how John Kerry's snarkiness influenced Obama's debate performance, I can only hope that Obama serves as the mock debate challenger for the next Democratic Presidential nominee. Let's keep a good thing going.

Tom Kyba| 10.23.12 @ 11:07AM

Since Obama talks only in self-serving platitudes and lies, Romney would never be able to rebut properly in the time alloted. It would take a series of documentaries to parse Dumbo's inane fairy-tale generaliities. "We have reformed education" being one of an endless litany of examples. I suppose he expects, as all Dems do, that the media will fill in the gaps by explaining the nuance to us plebes. Must be another example of his elusive genius I guess.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:24PM

That's the purpose of The Big Lie.

A lie goes around the world, before the Truth even gets its shoes on.

Or, some such thing.

gene| 10.23.12 @ 11:42AM

Let us all hope and pray that in the future, John Kerry has a permanent job of preparing Presidential Democratic Candidates for their debates.
"John Kerry reporting for duty"

BackToBasics| 10.23.12 @ 11:47AM

I was surprised that Romney never said Obam has not put forth any plan for his second term in either domestic policy or foreign policy. Obam never did in 2008 either except for the "Hope and change" mantra but he does not even have that this time around.

It has not been mentioned much in this campaign and after 4 years of Obam's failure it's incredible that it has not been pointed out more often.

Alej| 10.23.12 @ 2:42PM

Romney did once respond that, "Attacking me is not the same as an agenda."

Death of a a thousand cuts. Did anyone notice that after the final whistle, obama went to Michelle, put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes for several seconds ? He wanted to evaporate right off the stage.

Ralph Novy| 10.23.12 @ 6:38PM

He was trying to get the Romney stench out of his nostrils, friend.

BackToBasics| 10.23.12 @ 7:46PM

He did mention it but was cut-off quickly by Obam which muted its' effect, and it is still a roundabout way of making the point and lacks the strength of a more straightforward remark. Again, I think it's incredible that this point has been used so rarely by Romney, Ryan and the campaign in general.

Leftists on this an other sites atack Romney for lack of specifics in his plans. Yet Romney gives some specifics and mentions often the general direction he wants to go. Obam gives nothing at alll which ought to scare anyone concerned about what plans he really has if he wins; try a blamket amnesty for all illegals by executive order if necessary before the 2016 elections for starts.

Dave Williams| 10.23.12 @ 11:58AM

Well, that makes a nice set of THREE well-cleaned clocks that King Zero can take off with him to his Hawaiian mansion....and GOOD RIDDANCE!!

Robert| 10.23.12 @ 12:29PM

"Boca Grande" works, too. But I think in the case of our Dear Leader, let's leave it at "Boca Raton" (rat's mouth)!

JimH| 10.23.12 @ 12:57PM

If someone would just get O to put Dukakis’s helmet the election would be in the bag.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:26PM

I'm pretty sure that he'd rather put Purp's "Helmet" in his mouth.

I'm just sayin.

Brian Richard Allen | 10.23.12 @ 1:04PM

Zero reckoned Libyans are better off today than they were four years ago.

President-elect Romney saw Zero's unemployment folks' cooked books and asked America's twenty-five million unemployed if they're better off today than they were four weeks ago!?

Occam's Tool| 10.23.12 @ 1:04PM

As to Mitt's calmness:

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte.

Listen to the Corsican on games of power.

PolishKnight| 10.23.12 @ 2:51PM

Not the best source of advice considering how Bonaparte wound up: Losing his army in Russia the first time and getting beaten by the Brits a second time.

TLP| 10.23.12 @ 4:28PM

That's like saying: Don't listen to JESUS, because he ended up on the Cross.

Press 9 for Polish.

PolishKnight| 10.24.12 @ 4:30AM

TLP, that's a REALLY bad analogy. Comparing Bonaparte to Christ? Really?!?! I can't even "go there."

AhiaBoy| 10.23.12 @ 1:29PM

Not only do Marines still use bayonets, the British army used bayonet charges twice recently, once in Iraq, and again in Afganistan. Both times the Taliban set up an ambush and both times, the British troops, God bless 'em, routed the bearded creeps with cold steel.

bison cookie| 10.23.12 @ 2:03PM

OBAMA’S FOREIGN POLICY FAILURE: BENGHAZI, LIBYA. The one minute video below shows just one massive Obama foreign policy failure which led to the death of a U.S. Ambassador and three other American diplomats in Benghazi, Libya on 9/11/12. Tonight is the third and final debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and the topic of … READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/10/o.....azi-libya/

Robert| 10.23.12 @ 4:31PM

El Forecast Grande:

http://www.colorado.edu/news/r.....university

Butch| 10.23.12 @ 4:31PM

" . . . this nation, me . . . " sounded better in the original French.

Albert Constantine Jr.| 10.23.12 @ 4:42PM

and is likely to produce a similar result...

Ralph Novy| 10.23.12 @ 6:36PM

"57,000 conservatives can't be wrong"?

Really?

I'll bet the Ninth Circle of Hell has a lot more than 57,000 souls in it.

jmulcahy1| 10.23.12 @ 9:33PM

Yeah, and they're keeping the light on for you.

AmandaFitz| 10.23.12 @ 6:49PM

In Texas, we describe men like Obama as "All hat, no cattle." Much easier than explaining narcissistic personality disorder.

Cats1cowboy| 10.24.12 @ 12:59AM

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” – Mark Twain. Romney chose not to argue with the fool.

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