Romney went to the debate as a win/lose contest. Obama went to the debate to discuss the

[RKP5637]

future of America. IMO that was the stark difference, and relative to the future, I trust Obama far more, than a fast talking conman.

[randome]

1. But that's not what these debates are for.

In a small sense, yes, they are. But in a larger sense, they are to showcase the candidates themselves. Obama knew this but he was off his game last night for some reason.

[CakeGrrl]

3. I don't think POTUS was off his game.

You don't think that he and his campaign know full well that Romney lies like a rug at every turn?

How does one deal with that behavior?

I think it served him well to have Romney run his mouth ad nauseum. Now Romney's further on record playing all sides of the fence, and this can be used in battleground ads and pointed out in debates 2 and 3.

[randome]

5. Oh, Romney provided some excellent campaign fodder, sure.

But I don't think that was Obama's 'plan'. Hell, he could have -and should have- made Romney implode on-stage. He didn't take advantage of the opportunities to call him out about the '47%' remarks or his tax returns.

To let those issues go by isn't a 'plan', IMO.

[RKP5637]

7. What do you think happened? I wonder why Obama did not call him out? Tired, just a bad

night? ... or what. To me, it did seem Obama was out of phase with the debate.

[randome]

8. Josh Marshall at TPM has always said Obama is not a great debater.

Maybe there is some truth to that. I guess it's also possible that Turkey/Syria weighed on Obama's mind but I don't see any value in looking for excuses, although it's possible that had SOMETHING to do with it.

I don't know the answer.

[RKP5637]

10. I had wondered about that, Turkey/Syria, etc. weighing on Obama's mind, that

while Romney had endless time to prepare for the debate, Obama had a lot to do just being President.

Yep, I have no idea of the answer either.

[oswaldactedalone]

2. This is true

But I disagree with the Plouffe, Axelrod, Obama strategy of not showing some strength to match Rmoney's aggressiveness, not using things like the 47% and etch a sketch to look like he had some fight. I'm always impressed with Obama's intelligence and I trust him to lead America. We needed him to show strength last night and he didn't

[RKP5637]

4. Yes, it was a bit weird that on a number of obvious points, Obama, did not point out

the inconsistencies in what Romney was saying. To me, Obama seemed bored and tired last night.

PS: Post #3 in this thread is interesting ... was this maybe done to give Romney full rope so that what he said and/or inconsistencies can be used by Obama in debates 2 and 3. ...

[renie408]

6. Yeah...but he got his ass kicked.

And that's not good for the future of America. And everybody KNOWS these debates aren't REALLY about debating, so he should have come to put a nail in Romney's coffin. Now Romney is going to get some momentum and make OUR jobs a lot harder. I have an FB wall full of gloating assholes that I have had to hide this morning. Not sure what the strategy there was for Obama but if "give Romney supporters new hope and kick start Romney's campaign" was part of it, he met his goals.

[RKP5637]

9. It was really strange to me. I found Obama passive last night, not that I

wanted him yelling, screaming and kicking ... but I do think there were some times when a call out was needed. I just found it all kinda weird.

[porphyrian]

11. Romney came off as smirking, condescending and disrespectful; an asshole.

The President appeared as a President.

[RKP5637]

12. I did find Romney quite irritating, more like he was ranting and raving, and a

motor mouth. He was also rude to Jim Lehrer, talking over him numerous times.

[porphyrian]

13. That should go over well with seniors. n/t