Kimberly Morin
Manchester Political Buzz Examiner
10/3/2012
The first presidential debate was held tonight in Denver, Colorado and moderated by PBS’ Jim Lehrer. The debate was focused on domestic issues and ran for 90 minutes. From the very beginning, Romney was articulate, confident and was well versed in each topic covered. Obama, without his teleprompter, sounded unsure of himself, inarticulate and like a Junior Senator from Chicago at his first presidential debate. If you didn’t know who the president currently is, you would have assumed it was Mitt Romney. He came off as presidential and a leader while Barack Obama came off as someone who didn’t really know the answers to the questions and maybe didn’t prepare enough for one of the biggest events in his political career and certainly didn’t hold confident leadership qualities…
The article continues at the Manchester Political Buzz Examiner.
Related: Chris Matthews Freaks Out over Obama Performance
He lamented Obama’s performance: “I don’t know what he was doing out there. He had his head down, he was enduring the debate rather than fighting it. Romney, on the other hand, came in with a campaign. He had a plan, he was going to dominate the time, he was going to be aggressive, he was going to push the moderator around, which he did effectively, he was going to relish the evening, enjoying it.”
…”Obama better hope a kicked ass is covered under Obamacare.” – Dennis Miller…
Some headlines from the Breitbart Bigs:
- Annoyed Obama Fights For Five More Seconds To Speak
- Romney Schools Visible Uncomfortable Obama on the Deficit
- Romney To Obama: You Were Fighting For Obamacare, Not Jobs
- Andrew Sullivan: ‘Calamity for Obama’
Demoralized as Hell: Why Mitt Romney Won tonight
…The people are dying to vote against President Obama, they just needed a reason to do so, Mitt Romney gave them that…
This morning’s headlines at Freedom’s Lighthouse:
- Review of First 2012 Presidential Debate: Mitt Romney Not Only Wins the Night, He Dominated – 10/3/12
- On Day of First 2012 Presidential Debate, New RNC Ad Shows Laundry List of Obama Broken Promises from 2008 Debates – Video 10/3/12
- Previewing the First Presidential Debate: Obama vs. Romney on Economic Issues – Video 10/3/12
…Not only have Obama’s ads been generally dishonest, but they have been overwhelmingly negative. The SuperPACs and unions cutting ads for the Democrat seem more intent on vilifying Mitt Romney than in making the case for Barack Obama. One union even tracked down Mitt Romney’s garbageman who somehow seemed to know that the Republican didn’t value his services.
When running for governor of Massachusetts, however, Romney had spent a day working as a garbageman and feeling “invisible” in that job, wondered if “it was because a lot of us don’t think garbage men are worthy of notice; I disagree – anyone who works that hard deserves our respect.“*
The ad, in short, offered an impression of Romney at odds with reality…
Romney wins; Update: CBS insta-poll shows decisive Romney victory . A good collection of feedback at HotAir.
OUCH: Knockout: Mitt Romney Crushes Barack Obama in First Presidential Debate.
When Chris Matthews and Bryan Preston agree, history has been made…
Best Tweets of the First Presidential Debate at Legal Insurrection. For example:
Romney Slap Down of Obama in Debate
Romney slaps down Obama assertions throughout the debate. Romney: “Everything he described is inaccurate.” Then adds the wham to the slam with specifics and statistics. At the end of part one, about jobs, Obama even says to the moderator:”Jim, you may want to move on to another topic,” needing the bell to survive…
Denver debate: Romney took control Michelle Malkin
Undecideds/uncommitted voters swing towards Romney after debate.
Frank Luntz: I’ve never seen anything like this…
It’s difficult to see how Mitt Romney could have been much better than he was in tonight’s debate. Romney was crisp, forceful (without being disrespectful or obnoxious), and almost always on point (especially during the crucial first hour). Most importantly, he was vibrant and even passionate…
I’ve been watching presidential debates for quite a few years, but I have never seen one like this. It wasn’t a TKO, it was a knockout. Mitt Romney was in control from the beginning. He was the alpha male, while Barack Obama was weak, hesitant, stuttering, often apologetic. The visuals were great for Romney and awful for Obama…
…I honestly want to be more sanguine. And I was very pleased with Romney’s demeanor last evening; he didn’t fear the President as McCain clearly did (and still does), and he refused to let the President mischaracterize his record or his policy plans.
The problem is, he did that once during a debate. After allowing the President and his campaign and the activist media in bed with the Democrats create an entirely different picture of Romney, one that he now has to beat back.
And time is running out…
From RedState:
- Keep Calm and Finish Him
- Romney vs. Obama: Round One
- We won the debate; now, let’s move on to the next thing.
At The Blaze:
- Read Obama’s pity-inducing post-debate email to supporters
- CNN works to find voters disappointed in debate, hilarity ensues
- A picture is worth 1,000 words: After the debate
Video from The Right Scoop:
- Michelle Malkin: Romney’s debate performance was powerful
- Devastating RNC ad from the first debate features Romney laying out why Obama isn’t working
“Tired, Bored, F*cking Sad, Confused, Depressing, Lame”
No, that’s not a teenager’s description of their calculus class. It’s certified Obama nutter Andrew Sullivan…
Update: American Power Blog:
- Markos Moulitsas Lamely Tries to Spin Barack Obama’s Embarrassing Debate Debacle
- A Bad Night for Obama
- Oh My! Sarah Palin Lays Into Barack Obama: ‘He Didn’t Have His Buddy the Teleprompter in Front of Him…’
…From the AP fact check (h/t The Transom), it seems that the lack of plans was really a lack of sub detail. For instance, he said he would make taxes more efficient by doing 5 things one of which was eliminating tax breaks, but did not state which tax breaks. Fair enough, but the 5 points are a plan, and debates are glorified beauty pageants full of ‘How would you achieve world peace? Please limit your answer to 3 minutes,’ lines of questioning. There is no time to go into all the details, and people gloss over when you do. The left wants specifics on this because they want to drive wedges between the groups of people who enjoy various tax breaks…
Update 2: From Ace of Spades HQ
I like this ad. It’s silly. PS, Obama spoke for five more minutes than Romney. Romney’s real sin was resorting to an age-old cheap debating tactic, called “The Coherent Sentence.” Obama, being a very ethical fellow, refrained from such chicanery….
More headlines from Weasel Zippers. Finally, the race card:
- America-Hating Euro-Trash Fret After Romney Crushes Obama In First Debate…
- MSNBC’s Ed Schultz Blames Racism For Obama’s Debate Defeat: “He Was Afraid He’s Going To Be Called An Angry Black Man”…
- Axelrod Concedes Defeat: We Will Take A “Hard Look” At Obama’s Debate Performance And “Make Some Adjustments”…
