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The Spectacle Blog
I just finished watching the second debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney which took place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The debate was “moderated” by Candy Crowley.
Crowley could be more aptly described as President Obama’s tag team partner. She frequently prevented Romney from responding to Obama throughout the night and challenged him in a way she simply never did with the President (i.e. questioning whether Romney’s budget numbers would add up or on the “self-deportation” aspect of his immigration policy).
Crowley and her staff also selected the people who asked the questions and a vast majority of the questions were asked from a liberal-left point of view (i.e. equal pay, would Romney represent a return to the Bush Administration, deporting illegal immigrants, assault weapons ban).
Notwithstanding these conditions, Romney acquitted himself well for the most part and was certainly far more presidential than the incumbent.
President Obama was no doubt far more vigorous than he was nearly a fortnight ago and his performance was sufficient to reassure his base. But he was also petulant and prickly. Obama bristled at every criticism from Romney making him looksmall and thin skinned. Obama was also still making faces. He wasn’t as outrageous as Joe Biden but he drew negative attention to himself.
Obama was also far more audacious. He is the last person who should say with a straight face that we “need to be serious about reducing the deficit”. This from the President who increased the deficit by $5 trillion. Does anybody believe that Obama believes that free enterprise is the greatest economic systerm the world has ever known? Obama was especially audacious when he criticized Romney for “politicizing” national security. This is the same guy who has spent the past year and a half dancing on bin Laden’s watery grave claiming al Qaeda is on the run when al Qaeda is raising its flags over our embassies and consulates.
Speaking of Benghazi, Obama also claimed he called the attacks of September 12th acts of terrorism when he spoke at the Rose Garden the morning after the attacks and Crowley seconded his claim. Romney disputed this assertion and Obama responded by shouting, “Check the transcript.” So I did. The only time Obama used the word “terror” on the morning of September 12th was when he said, “No acts of terror will ever shake the great resolve of this nation.” But earlier in his remarks Obama was pointing the finger at the YouTube video, not al Qaeda. Obama said, “We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. But there is absolutely no justification to this type of senseless violence.”
The President also engaged in personal demagoguery against Romney. For instance, he assailed Romney for paying a lower rate of tax than a secretary. I wish Romney had explained the capital gains are taxed at a lower rate than regular income. Romney then could have pointed out that if Obama increase capital gains taxes he’ll increase taxes on millions of small investors many of whom are seniors.
Obama also assailed Romney for having investments with Chinese companies. Romney, to his credit, noted that his money was in a blind trust and pointed out the same was true of Obama. He then asked Obama if he had looked at his investments and if he had that he probably had some money invested in China as well. All Obama could say was that Romney had a bigger pension which made the President look envious and resentful.
I do think Obama deployed good strategy to mention Romney’s 47% remarks in his closing statements thus being assured that Romney could not respond.
Since Obama actually showed up and occupied a chair, the liberal media will hail Obama as the comeback kid. But I don’t think he kept the seeds of doubt that Romney germinated in the first debate from growing.
View all comments (31) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2012/10/16/obama-romney-ii-post-mortem
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Occam's Tool| 10.16.12 @ 11:47PM
I switch to buying gold again when Romney wins (both silver and gold will be going up thanks to the EU collapse; I will simply have more money under Romney than Obama). If Obama wins, I get to hurt for 4 years under that Doctor hating bastard.
Occam's Tool| 10.16.12 @ 11:49PM
The next time, when Romney is in office, one of the moderators for a debate needs to be El Rushbo.
Kitty | 10.17.12 @ 6:21AM
DITTOS!
BackToBasics| 10.17.12 @ 12:17AM
That Crowley saying Obam's 9-12 statement that, "Acts of terror will not shake our resolve," was a definitive statement about the terrorism in Bhengazi is TOO convenient. How would she know about that weak and misdirected one-liner burried deep in his speech and turn around to use it as a club against Romney, if she wasn't tipped-off and prepared ahead of time for it?
The entire question was a setup for Romney and Crowley was in on it.
Secondly, Clinton taking the fall about lax Bhengazi security today so that Obam could take the high-ground to "rescue" Clinton also looks like a setup to make Obam look good.
BackToBasics| 10.17.12 @ 12:18AM
corr - setup against Romeny
Trinacria| 10.17.12 @ 10:27AM
Spot on brother; can anyone reasonably believe that Crowley just happened to study the transcript of his rose garden remarks from 5 weeks ago? Crowley hasn't studied anything but the menu at Denny's in the last decade yet she knew the transcript word for word?
rocky01| 10.17.12 @ 12:54AM
Tag team is right. She shut Romney down good and allowed Mr. O more time and deferential treatment. Did you really expect any different? I blame the campaign for agreeing to these debate formats, venues and (cough, cough) moderators. More importantly the GOP candidate failed to pull the trigger (thereby putting Mr. O out of his misery) on more than one occassion. Luckily on the most important subject, the economy, the challenger shined on.
rocky01| 10.17.12 @ 12:58AM
Let's all have fun watching the mainstream media croon how well Mr. O acquited himself. Undecideds who describe themselves as such at this point have no intention of suffering through another four years.
RJ| 10.17.12 @ 1:07AM
Obama's answers often conflict with his record as President. Claiming credit for increased oil and gas production is silly in face of his administration's increased restrictions on them. Obama claiming he believes in free enterprise? We have seen the opposite in the last 4 years.
Government is about force, compulsion and monopoly power. Unrestricted government has given us corruption and national bankruptcy. Obama says we need more of it. I want less.
RCV| 10.17.12 @ 1:29AM
Don't you guys ever tire of blaming the media for your own failings?
JmsA| 10.17.12 @ 1:39AM
We do because your side never has to, RCV.
BackToBasics| 10.17.12 @ 1:49AM
Crowley partially admitted that she herself made an error, "After the debate, even Crowley seemed to acknowledge that she had erred. Romney was “right in the main” but “picked the wrong word,” she said on CNN.
rocky01| 10.17.12 @ 2:03AM
The mainstream is brazen and open about their political preferences; there is no attempt to hide anything. They leave nothing to chance and want the average Joe to KNOW what to do and what to say. Let's get serious.
Ryan| 10.17.12 @ 11:08AM
What was factually wrong?
CJW| 10.17.12 @ 1:37PM
Romney did not fail.
We are pointing out that Crowley did her best to help Obama.
Do you not agree that Crowley tried to help Obama with the "terrorrist" question?
Butch| 10.17.12 @ 3:34PM
Failings? Romney won to any thoughtful person. Only communists, Obama-bots, and morons thought Romney failed.
Butch| 10.17.12 @ 3:35PM
Supposed to be a reply to RCV.
BackToBasics| 10.17.12 @ 1:31AM
I think chances are good we will see an airstrike on some targets in Lybia as early as Wednesday, October 17. If this is done it will be to "cement" Obam as tough on terrorism and make the media focus mostly on this rather than the debate in which Romney did well enough, especially on the economy.
MikeBee| 10.17.12 @ 12:08PM
BTB,
Yes, and some poor, innocent bystanders will have their lives snuffed out by Obambi's need to pound his chest.
markinla| 10.17.12 @ 12:27PM
And this differs from what previous President?
geronl| 10.17.12 @ 1:47AM
"Get the transcript" which she just happened to have -gotten from the administration....
Not just a bald-faced lie but a rehearsed and well planned one.
geronl| 10.17.12 @ 1:51AM
I think this bald-faced lie should be the issue of the week alongside the economy, an issue that Romney is dominating.
soljerblue| 10.17.12 @ 4:06AM
Given a set-up, Romney still came across confident, able to challenge Obama several times, mostly sure of his ground, and continuing to hit him on the economy, on energy, and taxes. Yes, he missed some hanging curves, but there's no way Obama 'got' to him. In fact, in the last 30 or 40 minutes, Obama started to get shrill, strident, and pee-oh'd. Ed Fund's focus group probably nailed it -- these were former Obama voters, now undecideds, in Nevada -- just about the highest unemployment in the country. With perhaps three or four eexceptions, they decided tonight for Romney, and it was his stand on jobs and the economy that did it. America to Obama: 'it's the economy, Stupid!'
spike59| 10.17.12 @ 5:48AM
i thought it was very revealing when Croly-Poly sat on her hands while ObaMao was criticizing Romney for his 'blind trust' investments, but the SECOND Romney brought up the SAME kinds of investments in ObaMao's portfolio, all of a sudden she came rushing in with 'COMPLETELY OFF TOPIC'...and as noted above, ObaMao revealed his pathetic jealousy over Romney's business acumen and success
SYAsked| 10.17.12 @ 8:03AM
While I believe Einstein was accurate and nobody should vote for Obama expecting a different result, and never did vote for Obama, I will go to Huffpost, now, and see the alternate universe they dwell in.
David T| 10.17.12 @ 9:16AM
The RNC should take Romney's response to Michael Jones's question and plaster it on every TV screen across the nation for the next 3 weeks. It was devastating to Obama.
Dan Abrams| 10.17.12 @ 10:10AM
Candy Crowley reminded me of Dean Werner from Animal House ("you'll get your chance, smart guy!").
pigdog| 10.17.12 @ 10:29AM
I was listening to the debate on Fox radio while watching the Tigers go up 3-0 over the Yankees.
I was expecting more humor from Candy. When I flipped to the debate on TV, I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the sight gag. Candy's get-up was almost as funny as his costume portrayal of Eldona Valkenheiser in "Nothing but Trouble!"
http://www.johncandy.com/Video.....Section=27
Oldefarte| 10.17.12 @ 12:54PM
Anyone with half a brain knows [or should] that Obama is a LIAR! He got away with same sadly in 2008 due to people's ignorance as to who/what he is/was. There are now no more excuses possible, unless on is a dope-head occupier/street merchant. Obama lies with a big smile on his face, which represents the lawyerism in him. Or if one prefers, HE DOES NOT TELL THE TRUTH. If a viewer mentally blocks out Obama's mannerisms, his educated speech and convincing tone, the un-truth of his pure words will become evident. He simply lies.....end of story!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 10.17.12 @ 12:57PM
PS: There is an old joke about lawyers that is absolutely descriptive of Obama which says as follows:
Q. When is a lawyer lying?
A. When his lips are moving!!!!!!!
gene| 10.17.12 @ 1:38PM
Please, let us be respectful to the Office of the Presidency!
The fact has been established that President Obama has been exposed as a Disingenuous Prevaricator who is SATURATED in fornicating bovine scatology.