Further Reflections On The First Presidential Debate

I tried once more to watch the debate between Obama and Romney. It was hard to watch the whole thing and I frequently focused on the Chess Titans game in front of me as I listened to the verbiage. One observation stands out: I disagree wholeheartedly that Obama was off his game or that he turned in a less than Obama performance.

Granted, I have never been impressed with Obama's oratory. Neither the content of his speech nor his delivery has ever wowed me. Obama at his most polished--say his 2008 Greek column speech--is still an extremely contrived exercise. That is why the appeal of Obama is so mysterious to me. With some politicians we understand their popularity even if we actively oppose them. However, Obama's charm has always been limited.

I'll admit that Obama was interesting in 2004. But the more that was revealed, the sillier he would look. His gestures and mannerisms and poses would be dissected and for me, watching Obama was like watching a fourth rate magician perform a repertoire of tricks that had been recently revealed by a cable TV masked man. Still, he mesmerized audiences. That is still inexplicable to me.

If Obama can do nothing else, he could update his cliches. I can't believe he trotted out the "two wars on a credit card" line. But then again, how many times have we suffered through his "millionaires and billionaires paying their fair share" blather? I'll take Joe Biden's unclass clown routine any day of the week.

Obama never possessed an excess of talent and he has not grown into the job of president. If he were to request my cold blooded, objective, win at any cost political advice, I would advise him to get some fresher slogans. His base loves chants and slogans and bumper sticker logic. And I don't think the coveted independent voter can endure four more years of "I inherited the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression so I created a stimulus plan that funneled tax payer dollars to blue state special interests..."

Some of us have already seen the man behind the curtain. Other people saw him for the first time in the Romney debate. "Even the President of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked." It ain't a pretty site, Bob. Ain't pretty at all.