On the First Presidential Debate:

"In tonight's debate, Romney won on style while Obama won on substance. Romney sounded as if he had conviction, which means he's either convinced himself that the lies he tells are true or he's a fabulous actor. 

But what struck me most was how much Obama allowed Romney to get away with: Five times Romney accused Obama of raiding Medicare of $716 billion, which is a complete fabrication. Obama never mentioned the regressiveness of Romney's budget plan -- awarding the rich and hurting the middle class and the poor. He never mentioned Bain Capital, or Romney's 47 percent talk, or Romney's "carried-interest" tax loophole. Obama allowed Romney to talk about replacing Dodd-Frank and the Affordable Care Act without demanding that Romney be specific about what he'd replace and why. And so on.

I've been worried about Obama's poor debate performance for some time now. He was terrible in the 2008 primary debates, for example. Expectations are always high -- he's known as an eloquent orator. But when he has to think on his feet and punch back, he's not nearly as confident or assured as he is when he is giving a speech or explaining a large problem and its solution. He is an educator, not a pugilist, and this puts him at a disadvantage in any debate.

Romney stayed on script. If you look at a transcript of his remarks tonight you'll see that he repeated the same lines almost word for word in different contexts. He has memorized a bunch of lines, and practiced delivering them. The overall effect is to make him seem assured and even passionate about his position. He said over and over that he cares about jobs, about small businesses, and ordinary Americans. But his policies and his record at Bain tell a very different story. 

The question now is whether Team Obama understands that our President must be more aggressive and commanding in the next two debates -- and be unafraid to respectfully pin Romney to the floor."  - From Robert Reich's Facebook page

I have very similar feelings Mr. Reich.  We can't just assume that the American people will know the same 'facts' that we seem to think we have on our 'side'.  In my opinion, Romney did not win on style either....style requires class.  They only class that man has is the privileged class.  Anyone else catch his solution for middle class families who need insurance?  50,000 (was the smaller of the two numbers he threw out) dollar deductibles.  He talked about the Obamacare 'death panel', when he damn well knows that it is a fabrication, and failed to mention that that is EXACTLY what private insurance companies used to do: have a panel that decides who gets what treatment and for how long.  He says that private insurance companies can do the job more efficiently and provide a better product; or, at the very least, should be allowed to compete.  Well Romney, they CAN compete and they HAVE failed to do the public any good.  That is in the law though.  They are involved in the competition.  We just have new ground rules designed to PROTECT the consumer from predatory capitalism.  Private insurance companies make their profit by picking and choosing who they will cover.  Not everyone has the luxury of 'shopping around' for that very rare private insurance company that is both affordable and willing to cover someone with a serious illness or preexisting condition.

I think my favorite part of the evening, and by favorite I mean the part that made me the most angry, was when Obama allowed fuck-nut to quote (and mischaracterize, by the way) the constitution at him.  Obama is a CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYER.  He knows what is in the fine print Romney AND he understands how that 'living document' has changed over the course of our nation's history.  The problem is that Obama seems to suck at debates.  He fails to latch on to the weaknesses in his opponents words and pummel him/her with them.  How he can continue to operate this way after having spent the last four years getting an education in the school of International hard-knocks is beyond me.  That pompous windbag (Romney) exposed himself as a liar and a moron last night and Obama failed to capitalize again and again.  When someone as insidiously detached as Romney tells you that "you don't understand what you are talking about" then you MUST crush him.  If you allow that to linger then idiot talking-heads, like Tom Brokaw, will come on and announce that Romney won the debate.  It takes a special kind of mental midget to watch that debate and come away thinking: "hmmmm.  I think Romney won that one."  Infuriating.  

If Romney wants to talk about State sovereignty then Obama needs to set him straight.  The Federal government has been making up for State budget shortfalls for years and years.  Of COURSE the Federal government attaches 'provisos' to the money they send to the States.  States have shown over and over that they are incapable of adapting efficiently and effectively to the changing needs of their populations.  States are no more able to deal with the vast spectrum of issues facing them, in a way that is equitable and representative of their population, than a private insurance company is capable of, on its own and guided by the 'Market', doing the RIGHT THING by their customers.  If Romney wants to blame Obama for the lack of progress in Washington, and more specifically, for the fact that Republicans have steadfastly refused to participate as adults in our national debate, then Obama needs to inform Romney that he clearly has no fucking clue how our Government is structured and who performs what role.  Obama has bent over backwards, and alienated the far left of our party in so doing, to work with those clowns.  What good did it do?  The Republicans made their top political priority, and I quote:  "making sure that Obama is a one-term president."  If you still think a Republican president who is as slimy and stupid as Romney is a good idea then I am not going to try to convince you otherwise.  You are operating in a realm well beyond my capacity to comprehend (because it doesn't make sense).  Good god and good grief.

BB