The Final Presidential Debate–Revisited 10/23/2012
As expected, opinions on who was the winner in last night’s Presidential debate tends to run along partisan lines. Both camps are claiming victory for their candidate in a debate which was ostensibly all about foreign policy questions. According to the Huffington Post’s analysis of a CNN poll, Obama was the big winner. In contrast, numerous articles posted to Townhall.com make a strong case for the Republican candidate. Supporter’s of both candidates pick and choose the story line which puts their candidate in the best light.
As an admitted Romney supporter, I’ll make the case that it all depends. If the voter continues to accept the narrative presented by the President, than he is the clear winner. If the voter does some fact checking and realizes that President Obama’s words describe a world view that doesn’t always conform to reality than Mr. Romney wins going away. As with the previous debates, particularly the second one, choosing a winner of the debate all depends on whether the observer gives points to the candidate for forcefully defending an otherwise invalid position, or whether those remarks must be empirically true.
Most agree that Mr. Romney looked and acted “presidential”, which cannot do anything but help his chances. He also showed a marked ability to discuss a wide range of issues from a knowledgeable and principled position. Subjectively, and admittedly so, I found myself thinking of a puppet when watching Mr. Obama regurgitate his talking points. At times I really wondered if he was receiving instructions and suggested responses via some kind of hidden ear piece. With two weeks to go, it all comes down to whether the voter decides to believe his own lying eyes or the fanciful narrative of the President who continues to run against the incumbent. Somehow it seems a bit strange to hear the President making many of the same promises as four years ago and one feels almost compelled to ask what about the last four years. He’s desperate. He’s hanging on. The question remains as to whether that will be enough. It’s up to the undecided voter to make that decision.
Victory seems to have come down to who has the ball in the final seconds of the game.
Thank you for your interest and, as always, I appreciate any feedback.
AaronInvestigates 