Here is a gambit the president should try at the debate

[Doctor_J]

After Willard tries one of his whoppers/reversals, and the moderator asks the president for a rebuttal, O should pause 3-4 seconds then look Willard in the eye and say, "I just want to make sure I am rebutting the current position and not the one from yesterday or last week".

[doc03]

1. Sounds good to me n/t

[Drahthaardogs]

2. Actually I thought Obama could have mitigated everything but just saying

"Wow, I am not sure just exactly WHO is the democrat up here tonight Governor Romney. Are you sure you are running for the GOP?"

[Doctor_J]

3. Excellent comeback

that would have given the president a foothold against the outburst of lies.

[sweetapogee]

4. I know it is a lot of fun

to say these things but the debates are not campaign speeches. If the President gets in a zinger, great. If not, rely on the substance of the actual debate itself. That is what is going to win the debate and this should be doable.

What I mean by this is an outburst by either side in an actual debates opens up the door for the other side to change the subject mid-debate. If romney did such a thing we would pounce of it, claiming that he is trying to run the clock down.

We need to stay focused and on message.

[Doctor_J]

5. You are overestimating the electorate

rely on the substance of the actual debate itself. That is what is going to win the debate and this should be doable.

As seen last week, this is laughably naive.

We need to stay focused and on message.

We need to point out that the "family values" candidate is a lying sociopath

[sweetapogee]

6. so that

everyone in the media can say the president looked presidential?

[Doctor_J]

8. Letting yourself be bullied is not presidential

Letting your opponent lie and cheat is not presidential. The debate was a debacle. If he repeats his "presidential" performance, he'll take another severe hit in the polls.

[yellowcanine]

7. I vote for no gambits, no tricks, no zingers. Just make your case clearly and rebut the lies once.

Obama does best when he plays it straight. All he had to do in the first debate was work on his eye contact and body language, be more engaged, and present his own ideas and record in a positive way rather than responding directly to barbs from Mitt.

One of the weakest moments for Romney was when he tried his zinger - "You get your own plane but not your own facts." It fell flat. Zingers can work if they truly appear unrehearsed. But neither Romney nor Obama is good at it.