Who Wins The Second Presidential Debate?

Prior to the debate I made some predictions about how the night would go.  All in all I’m not to unhappy with them, but let’s take a look at how things turned out.

As I predicted, there was something for everyone and both sides seemed to walk away happy with the way their candidate performed.  The President demeanor was much improved and, although that in itself might not be saying much, he did turn in a credible performance.  Words were exchanged on several occasions and both men fought for the time they felt they were due.  Prior to the debate there were those who had suggested that the Town hall format might favor Mr. Obama on the assumption that the questions were to be formulated and asked by individual Americans and thus the phasing or the underlying world view might assume a more liberal outlook on life.  On that score the President was able to evidence a bit more of his old magic, but Mr. Romney did more then a credible job.

The President was able to score some points just by showing up, but unfortunately the actual substance of his remarks were simply more of the same.  Mr Romney looked him straight in the eye when making the point that Mr. Obama’s retirement fund was no different than his in that they shared investments both inside and outside the continental United States.  Mr Obama doubled down on his assertions that his economic programs were aimed to help the middle and lower classes, but Mr. Romney was able to parry them quite well and provide a program which he insists will do a better job.  Some may give Mr. Obama points in the economic area, but in doing so one must completely ignore the reality of what we are experiencing and accept the Democratic narrative that it is still “all Bush’s fault”.

Libya and the events in Benghazi did come up, but for much less time than I felt it warranted.  Mr Obama did come out strongly in suggesting that the buck stopped with him, but one got the feeling that he knew what was expected and was simply mouthing the words while wishing the issue would just go away.  Mr. Romney did make some points, even after the President attempted to chastise him for making the issue a political one and further suggesting even discussing the issue was in bad taste.   It was during the discussion on Libya that the moderator took the President’s side and unfortunately evidence her partisanship.  Although Mr. Romney was proved right after the debate, her intervention was still a misstep and significantly affected the conversation.  The problem is, just as in an erroneous story printed in a newspaper, the retraction often doesn’t ge the same play as the original story and the disproved facts may still have an affect on how the story is perceived.

I plan on updating this report later with some of the comments made by intereted parties from both sides of the aisle as well as providing some of the relevant polling numbers…

Thank you, and feel free to make a comment providing your opinion as I appreciate the great number of people who stopped by, but am always interested in any feedback.

The bottom line is that both men did a credible job and thus, as I predicted, the debate might be seen as a win for the President in that it gave him the chance to erase some of the negative effects of his last effort.  I can’t let it go without suggesting that Romney continues to be the clear choice and that this debate did nothing to change that opinion.

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Prior to the debate…see below.

 

I predict an Obama victory according to the left stream media.

I predict that Mr. Romney will look and act Presidential while the President will, unfortunately, remind all but The Left of a donkey attacking an elephant.

I predict that both during and after the debate the left stream media, and the President himself, will mischaracterize whatever Mr. Romney says and accuse him of lying on multiple occasions.

I predict that the debate will be “won” based on the perception that the President improved his performance and forcefully made “some good points”, never mind the validity of his statements.

I predict that Romney will do well, but that the question of who won will be split along partisan lines.  This is not necessarily unusual, but in this case the left stream media will not give the debate to Mr. Romney.

I predict that those of the left stream media have had time to get over their shock and dismay and, unless the situation is completely irretrievable,  will not let any negative emotional reaction cause the same type of panicked stampede as we witnessed after the first debate.

This is serious business and many may have already written their stories in anticipation of the Obama “victory”.

In real life, Romney will act like the adult in the room, and thus appeal to conservatives.  Obama will do what those on The Left do best, and thus appeal to progressives.

Obama will whine, obfuscate, and blame others and claim that “things could have been worse”.  He’ll use coded words and attack the “others”, while at the same time asserting his invisible efforts to work for all Americans.  I won’t be surprised if he blames the Benghazi catastrophe on Al-Qaeda, if not Romney, as if such attacks are not what one should expect from such a group.

Romney?  Romney will have a hard time getting a word in edgewise.  This one won’t be so much a debate as it will be an attempt to get each candidate’s narrative out while face planting the opponent in the mud.

Not much on the issues, but that’s only fair, as style will almost certainly be the issue.  Certainly for Obama to win he must make this about Mr. Romney and as I suggested elsewhere, this means that the President will be debating as the challenger against the incumbent.

We’ll see how I did after the debate.

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