Axelrod: ‘The President Is His Harshest Critic’ On Debate Performance

[warrior1]

Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod said that the "president is his harshest critic" in response to a question about how the president sees his own performance in Wednesday night's debate during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation."

"The president is his harshest critic," Axelrod said. "And without getting into detail, I think you can assume that he's reviewed the tape and it will inform…how he handles these subsequent debates."

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/axelrod-president-is-his-harshest-critic-on-debate

[outsideworld]

1. Great to hear

I may be alone in this but honestly i would prefer Obama be the Angry black man who eviscerated Romney and wins the election than the nice man who loses because of a debate

[treestar]

2. Interesting

I don't remember anything dramatic about the debates with McCain. But then McCain bad as he was is not nearly as dishonest and sleazy as Rmoney.

[oswaldactedalone]

4. Obama was basically the same as he was with McCain

The difference was you had a young, vibrant guy against an old fuddy duddy who didn't lie about stuff. Obama had to appear knowledgable, calm, and Presidential, and he did.

He tried the same strategy this time but didn't know he would be facing a vibrant, well trained, and well informed opponent who then lied straight to his face.

[treestar]

7. I don't think Mittens is vibrant

I imagine few do. Even Republicans don't like him. Rmoney is not well informed either.

He might be well programmed but that's only going to last so long.

[quinnox]

3. why would he be at all critical?

Obama kicked ass and took names at the debate! All the polls showing Romney won, and all the people who said he did badly are just...wrong...because I said so!

[jsmirman]

5. Exactly - can we put to rest this nonsense about it being "strategy"

to seem ineffectual and to let the opponent run wild with a quiver-full of lies?

[Bucky]

6. I have to wonder if he's got a bubble problem.

All presidents tend to get into some kind of bubble. Clinton's led him to think he could fool around with the staff and not get called out on it--even though it was clear there was a Project out there out to get him no matter what cost and no matter what "gotcha" they could find. Other recent presidents ended up in bubbles that entirely insulated them from reality, leading to horrible and unconstitutional blunders in national security--safely divorced from the human costs of their actions and the downside of how they made the country less safe or acted against the will (and often the common sense) of national security professionals.

Now I wonder of bubblitis got to Obama too. If he's simply too cut off from the general fray that he really thought he could waltz into the studio and only talk about facts and policy specifics... as if this was a real debate rather than dueling sloganeering with a few facts just tossed in to one-up the opponent. Romney knew this; why didn't Obama?

[Autumn]

8. Doesn't he realize that he needs to wait till after the election to criticize

himself ? Who does he think he is ?? Always working to get republicans elected. Damn good thing he isn't a DUer.

















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