- Obama believes he’d got the better of Romney as he walked off stage to the dismay of his aides, according to a Democrat close to the campaign
- The President failed to prepare properly, opting instead to visit the Hoover Dam the day before the showdown
- Democrat claims he was so disdainful of Romney that he didn’t think he needed to even engage with him
- Had one-liners on 47% prepared but chose not to use them
Toby Harnden
The Daily Mail [UK]
9 October 2012
When President Barack Obama stepped off the stage in Denver last week the 60 million Americans watching the debate against Mitt Romney already knew it had been a disaster for him.
But what nobody knew, until now, was that Obama believed he had actually won.
In an extraordinary insight into the events leading up to the 90 minute showdown which changed the face of the election, a Democrat close to the Obama campaign today reveals that the President also did not take his debate preparation seriously, ignored the advice of senior aides and ignored one-liners that had been prepared to wound Romney.
The Democrat said that Obama’s inner circle was dismayed at the ‘disaster’ and that he believed the central problem was that the President was so disdainful of Romney that he didn’t believe he needed to engage with him.
‘President Obama made it clear he wanted to be doing anything else – anything – but debate prep,’ the Democrat said. ‘He kept breaking off whenever he got the opportunity and never really focused on the event…
The article continues at The Daily Mail.
H/T Babalú Blog
We’d say at least one person knew the President hadn’t won the debate:
Also, Obama loves the perks of the office, it’s the job that sucks
Why Does Obama Want to Keep Being President? Alana Goodman notes that Obama doesn’t like debating, doesn’t like people, and doesn’t like politics…and wonders why he does want to keep being President.
Update: The “Obama doesn’t want to win” meme
