George Will: ‘This Was Immeasurably The Best Debate’ I Have Ever Seen

[mzmolly]

“I think there was a winner in the sense that Barack Obama not only gained ground he lost but he cauterized some wounds that he inflicted on himself by seeming too diffident and disengaged.”

“It was a very good fight,” he added. “I have seen every presidential debate in American history since the floor of Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. This was immeasurably the best.”

“I think as a tactical measure tonight, the president did very well,” he concluded.

Wow! To win "the best debate in American history" is uh, quite impressive.

Video here: > http://www.mediaite.com/tv/george-will-this-was-immeasurably-the-best-debate-i-have-ever-seen/

[pnwmom]

1. Thanks!

And boy do I feel better!

[mzmolly]

4. Me too, pnwmom.

[freshwest]

5. Me, too. Obama owned the place in there. I've never seen him so masterful.

He's more of a listener, ready to take in all ideas and then he puts it together and gets it to work. R/R are used to ignoring anything that gets in the way of their ideas, and their ideas are old and don't work.

[gateley]

7. Well said.

[barbtries]

9. that's it in a nutshell.

"R/R are used to ignoring anything that gets in the way of their ideas, and their ideas are old and don't work."

[moobu2]

2. George, get ready to be trashed all to hell. They can be so mean.

[avaistheone1]

3. Yes, and best moderator too.

[gateley]

8. She really did well, I agree.

[Scootaloo]

6. Sorry, Georgie-boy. you're not getting off the hook for that racist shit two weeks ago n/t

[Retrograde]

10. I normally have a pretty low opinion of George Will

(although I did like his baseball book), when he says Obama did well - that's like saying water is a little moist. So, is the right about to throw Romney under a convenient limo (they wouldn't use anything as plebian as a bus)

[David Zephyr]

11. OMG! K&R.

mzmolly, thanks for posting this story. I had to pinch myself to believe it.

Tonight was a sea change. President Obama was delivered.

[eyewall]

12. I was surprised, after Obama's acceptance speech at the Dem Convention

George Will said it was the greatest political speech he'd ever heard. As I remember it, I think he implied he felt it was the greatest political speech ever delivered, in our lifetimes. He was overcome by it, as was I, but I was also a bit overcome by his respect for Obama.

edit: that would be the 2008 Democratic convention

[lillypaddle]

13. The President ate his lunch!

Whew. Such a relief to have our Presdident in such good form.

[RichGirl]

14. A debate is essentially an arguement....

It's making your case using data and facts.

Technically, Romney didn't win first debate based on that...he won because Obama was low-key and not challenging him.

Obama won in the truest sense of winning a debate. He had the facts,made the arguement. Romney never made a case for any question. He mostly criticized Obama and claimed he could do better without saying how.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. John Sununu had called Obama a lazy debate prepper and Jack Welch said Obama couldn't debate

I wonder how they're taking this.

[mzmolly]

24. LOL.

Probably not so well.

[Sugarcoated]

30. Repugs always

ALWAYS overplay their hand. They always get over confident and it bites them.

[yellowcanine]

16. Pigs fly and hell freezes - Will and Krauty say Obama won. Ed Rogers - Obama had an "edge"!

Ed Rogers wouldn't admit a pig was flying if he saw it with his own eyes. He would say the pig "jumped" kind of high.

[1monster]

28. Or called it "falling with style" (with apologies to Toy Story)

[creon]

17. Interesting.

"the best debate is american history" is hyperbole.
Lincoln - Douglass; Webster - Hayne. Just two that were much better.

[caraher]

18. Will said "presidential debate"

Those you cite were not presidential debates...

[creon]

19. stand corrected

Thanks for noticing the error that I made

[lunatica]

21. George Will was also talking about the debates he has listened to

[caraher]

26. Though I share your sense that there's hyperbole involved

Will seemed mainly interested in impressing us with his vast experience of presidential debates. I approve your skepticism of his bluster!

[creon]

32. Will

Will has frequently seemed priggish or pedantic to me. I think that he was showing off.

Now, I will be pedantic; Webster's reply to Hayne:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Great_Speeches_and_Orations_of_Daniel_Webster/The_Reply_to_Hayne

We do not have the patience for that sort of speech nowadays.

[KevTucky]

20. Obviously we all agree Pres Obama won.

It is sometimes hard for the other side to say the other guy won. In this case I just think Will doesn't like Romney at all. He has been very critical of him as have some other columnists, Brooks, Noonan, etc.

[Arkana]

22. I agree with George Will and that makes me feel unclean.

[mzmolly]

25. Ha!

[yellowcanine]

33. It gets worse. Krauty supposedly gave Obama the win also.

"Out out, damned spot!" Tell me it will come off with time.

[olegramps]

23. They are running from Mitt because they are holding on to the last shred of their credibility.

The only ones who believe that Romney has any credibility are just brain dead zombies. Anyone with more than two brain cells knows that Romney's tax plan is nothing more than outright fraud. The flip-flopping of Romney can not be denied as he has demonstrated that he is willing to outright lie to achieve his purpose. This is his strategy just as he did when he bought healthy companies assuring the workers that he was going to make sure they remained in business only to strip off their profits and borrow them into bankruptcy and then sell them off to China. A person has to be so blinded by hatred to ignore the fact that thousands lost any hope in getting a pension regardless of how close they were to retirement. Romney is an EVIL BASTARD without a conscience. I absolutely have no use for anyone who would cbntinue to support him.

[defacto7]

27. Now, that's what I want to hear!

Everyone coming around finally.

[valerief]

29. That's probably Wills' way of giving credit to Rmoney. nt

[davidwparker]

31. Yes, that was an excellent debate. n/t

[geckosfeet]

34. Heh. The prez can rumble.

[99th_Monkey]

35. I never thought I'd agree with Geo. Will so much! That's awesome

but the right-wing nuttery faction of the GOP is going to want
George's head on a platter.

Screw them George!! Stand your f*cking ground!

[mountain grammy]

36. I can't stand it, I can barely sit still and watch

Of course Obama "won", of course Rmoney makes you throw up in your mouth every time he speaks. I would leave the room when Rmoney started speaking, knowing I had as long as the timer in the corner said, and pretend to smoke a cigarette (gave it up years ago) and come back in when the President started talking. I have a list of problems with President Obama, but he is competent, calm, doing reasonably well, and just might surprise even me in his second term.

[Festivito]

37. He's just setting himself up for years from now.

This election is lost, so now he can look bi-partisan. Watch him in a few years when it will matter, and he'll be parading this under the best debate title.

To me he's just such a tool.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

38. Yep. To paraphrase Dylan . . .

. . . he just wants to be on the side that's winning.

[Festivito]

39. In this case: pay'n. /nt

[CrazyOrangeCat]

40. True. n/t

[chef jeff]

41. High Praise!

I've learned something very valuable from watching this latest debate. Firstly, there ARE Conservatives like Mr Will who give credit when it's due.

Secondly, I've learned from last night it's very hard for a candidate to 'smirk' with egg on their face.

[mzmolly]

42. Welcome

chef jeff.