Michael Gaynor
First presidential debate: the good, the bad and the ugly
By Michael Gaynor
Beware: Team Obama has been playing the Electoral College game very well, the President remains ACORN's guy and ACORN morphed, it did not die.
The Good
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shined. He was the only debater who appeared presidential. He demonstrated competence, concern and command on the facts and the stage. He exploded myths about him promoted by Team Obama and its liberal media establishment allies. He was not intimidated by the moment, or President Obama, or moderator Jim Lehrer. He came to win, respectfully, and he did. When Lehrer tried to give the President both the first and last word, Romney politely but firmly stopped him. Romney even exploded the myth promoted by other Republican presidential hopefuls that Romney could not effectively make the case against Obamacare and rebutted the criticism on the right that he had not been doing more public appearances. He wa fully prepared for the first debate. From start to finish, he was great.
The Bad
The President was bad, and he was supposed to be celebrating his twentieth wedding anniversary. For him, it was downhill after he opened by mentioning his wife and their anniverary. Professor Larry Sabato gave Romney "a full A" and the President a generous C-. The President did not implode, and he didn't commit the Bush 41 gaffe of looking at his watch, but he was clearly overmatched and seemed even more eager for the debate to end than Bush 41 had. The President had no comeback when Romney said that as President he was entitled to a plane and a house, but not his own facts. Even Bill Mahrer, a million dollar Obama donor, conceded that the President needed his teleprompter. The President was so bad that Chris Matthews conceded that Romney won and Rachel Maddow called it a draw. That's REALLY bad for the President.
The Ugly
Even though Romney clearly demonstrated superiority and the President embarrassed even his ardent supporters, the President may lose the popular vote and still be declared the winner. Beware: Team Obama has been playing the Electoral College game very well, the President remains ACORN's guy and ACORN morphed, it did not die.
On October 1, 2009, Page Six of the "New York Post published this item under "Pimping for Franken" (www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/item_qiJQcBv5YWh3IaRomneyOCANhvmI)
"EVEN the Democrats in Minnesota now realize their new US Sen. Al Franken was elected with the help of ACORN chicanery. The disgraced, pimp-friendly community organizing group claims it registered 43,000 new Minnesota voters. If just 1 percent were fraudulent but survived the recount process, that's 430 votes, almost all cast for Franken, who won by just 312 votes. Asks Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 'Did ACORN folks pull some fast ones to help get their favorite son Franken elected — a win that handed Democrats the 60-vote, veto-proof majority that they needed to enact their liberal agenda?'"
After the debate, in which Romney directed addressed what he called the President's inaccuracies, the President is left relying on incumbency and personal likeability.
Romney can't change the President's incumbency, but he can and should deal with the President's undeserved personal likeability, by highlighting some ugly facts.
Recently an old videotape surfaced in which the President acknowledged that he's a redistributionist and a 2007 videotape of him playing the race card in Louisiana surfaced.
Romney should highlight the President's ACORN ties and lies and this Obama audio (www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFSY2dnTSZQ)of Obama:
"...I definitely welcome ACORN's input. You don't have to ask me about that. I'm going to call you even if you didn't ask me.
"When I ran Project Vote, voter registration drive in Illinois, you know, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it. Once I was elected, there wasn't a campaign that ACORN worked on down in Springfield that I wasn't right there with you. Since I've been in the United States Senate, I've been always a partner with ACORN as well. I've been fighting with ACORN, alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career."
For the President the ACORN family is still there, and it does not play fair.
The presidential election will be ugly, and Team Romney needs to make sure that the election is not stolen instead of suggesting that the President is a nice guy.
© Michael Gaynor
October 4, 2012
Beware: Team Obama has been playing the Electoral College game very well, the President remains ACORN's guy and ACORN morphed, it did not die.
The Good
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney shined. He was the only debater who appeared presidential. He demonstrated competence, concern and command on the facts and the stage. He exploded myths about him promoted by Team Obama and its liberal media establishment allies. He was not intimidated by the moment, or President Obama, or moderator Jim Lehrer. He came to win, respectfully, and he did. When Lehrer tried to give the President both the first and last word, Romney politely but firmly stopped him. Romney even exploded the myth promoted by other Republican presidential hopefuls that Romney could not effectively make the case against Obamacare and rebutted the criticism on the right that he had not been doing more public appearances. He wa fully prepared for the first debate. From start to finish, he was great.
The Bad
The President was bad, and he was supposed to be celebrating his twentieth wedding anniversary. For him, it was downhill after he opened by mentioning his wife and their anniverary. Professor Larry Sabato gave Romney "a full A" and the President a generous C-. The President did not implode, and he didn't commit the Bush 41 gaffe of looking at his watch, but he was clearly overmatched and seemed even more eager for the debate to end than Bush 41 had. The President had no comeback when Romney said that as President he was entitled to a plane and a house, but not his own facts. Even Bill Mahrer, a million dollar Obama donor, conceded that the President needed his teleprompter. The President was so bad that Chris Matthews conceded that Romney won and Rachel Maddow called it a draw. That's REALLY bad for the President.
The Ugly
Even though Romney clearly demonstrated superiority and the President embarrassed even his ardent supporters, the President may lose the popular vote and still be declared the winner. Beware: Team Obama has been playing the Electoral College game very well, the President remains ACORN's guy and ACORN morphed, it did not die.
On October 1, 2009, Page Six of the "New York Post published this item under "Pimping for Franken" (www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/item_qiJQcBv5YWh3IaRomneyOCANhvmI)
"EVEN the Democrats in Minnesota now realize their new US Sen. Al Franken was elected with the help of ACORN chicanery. The disgraced, pimp-friendly community organizing group claims it registered 43,000 new Minnesota voters. If just 1 percent were fraudulent but survived the recount process, that's 430 votes, almost all cast for Franken, who won by just 312 votes. Asks Katherine Kersten in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 'Did ACORN folks pull some fast ones to help get their favorite son Franken elected — a win that handed Democrats the 60-vote, veto-proof majority that they needed to enact their liberal agenda?'"
After the debate, in which Romney directed addressed what he called the President's inaccuracies, the President is left relying on incumbency and personal likeability.
Romney can't change the President's incumbency, but he can and should deal with the President's undeserved personal likeability, by highlighting some ugly facts.
Recently an old videotape surfaced in which the President acknowledged that he's a redistributionist and a 2007 videotape of him playing the race card in Louisiana surfaced.
Romney should highlight the President's ACORN ties and lies and this Obama audio (www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFSY2dnTSZQ)of Obama:
"...I definitely welcome ACORN's input. You don't have to ask me about that. I'm going to call you even if you didn't ask me.
"When I ran Project Vote, voter registration drive in Illinois, you know, ACORN was smack dab in the middle of it. Once I was elected, there wasn't a campaign that ACORN worked on down in Springfield that I wasn't right there with you. Since I've been in the United States Senate, I've been always a partner with ACORN as well. I've been fighting with ACORN, alongside ACORN on issues you care about my entire career."
For the President the ACORN family is still there, and it does not play fair.
The presidential election will be ugly, and Team Romney needs to make sure that the election is not stolen instead of suggesting that the President is a nice guy.
© Michael Gaynor
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