To be honest, I didn’t know how bad Obama did in the first debate until I looked at twitter an hour into it. I thought he was weak, but not terrible. I thought Romney was energized but bordering on overly aggressive. I didn’t think the debate would change anything.
But then I looked at twitter and understood that Obama’s performance was the debate equivalent of the Titanic’s maiden voyage. When Andrew Sullivan (who has 25 points of IQ on me) started screaming “lower the lifeboats,” I new that Obama’s debate was a catastrophe.
Then after the debate, Obama’s performance deteriorated hour by hour. And so did Obama’s poll numbers as people learned from the media (and the blogosphere) that the debate was no more debate. It was a game changer, that Romney demonstrated his stuff while Obama showed that he is an empty suit (or chair as the New Yorker cover has it).
And so the game changed.
The right is determined that they achieve a repeat tonight. Did you notice how they are going after Martha Raddatz because her husband is Obama’s law school pal. That is designed to intimidate Raddatz and ABC. The right does this all the time because the media, composed mostly of nominal Democrats, feel they have to “bend over backwards” to suck up to Republican to show that their personal affiliation doesn’t affect them. (See Tapper, Jake)
That is why if Biden so much as stumble on a word tonight, they are all ready to call him old and tired. A joke. If he attacks Ryan’s positions too strenuously they will say he seemed mean and that Americans don’t like mean. They have no problem attacking Obama and Biden for being too full of passion or too empty of it depending on circumstances.
They are just waiting to declare Biden dead and the race over. That will prove that they are not liberals. They will then vote for Obama because, in fact, they know how bad Romney and Ryan are. But their careers come first. And that means not playing it fair but demonstrating a unique kind of fairness by tilting big to the GOP.
This will be avoided if Biden destroys Ryan. And that may happen. But, if not, the whole first debate mechanism comes into play.
Here’s how we can help. Bloggers and tweeters should avoid hysteria no matter what happens tonight. The MSM does not need us to help them put out the story line they are eager for. Just like GOP yakkers do not trash their guys publicly, we can exercise a little reserve. Powerhouse bloggers Andrew Sullivan, Matt Yglesias and Josh Marshall: I am especially talking about you.
I’m not suggesting anyone lie. I am just suggesting we avoid public grief, hysteria, hari-kari, etc. We don’t need to feed the MSM beast. They are quite good at destroying Democrats on their own.
“I thought Romney was energized…”
Romney was on speed, the other guy on the weed.
Romney is desperate. He knows that if he loses the 0.01%’s $billion investment, there will be hell and Rove to pay.
Obama was coached by Kerry, the Skull and Bonesman who threw the 2004 “debate” to benefit his harvard idiot clan-mate. Kerry’s price for his former service was an XL bag of millions. What is Obama’s price?
Biden should win against Ryan. Ryan is a demagogical windbag: no real life experience, and not a clue how the real world functions, let alone what constitutes the difference between truth and lies:
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” (Attributed to the 16th POTUS, A. Lincoln.)
A few salient points about the Ryan the Liar:
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/10/10/983871/what-everyone-needs-to-know-before-watching-the-vp-debate/?mobile=nc
Perhaps disseminating this link might be a useful ground prep for the Ryan-Biden debate?
MJ, the twitterers will tweet, your sane suggestion notwithstanding. Perhaps because it’s one of the last few places where our voices still matter. For now. The difference at stake? The implementation of NDAA-2011 (already signed by obama) and the TPP, starting in 2013 or somewhat later. Unless we, the 99%, claim our country back. Nothing and no one else will stop the decay. The government is the have$’$ wholly-owned subsidiary.
For hope and constructive clues, look to people who are showing what this country is really about and how to do it:
The post debate “performance”of some Democrats and Liberals was embarrassing. I do not want to see a repeat performance of that week long crying jag either.
I hate to say this but Obama did tank miserably in that debate. Was your mind elsewhere? His sentences were peculiarly convoluted, the first half of which in 3 instances did not match the last half. As to the after-debate criticism, he had it coming.
Great advise thanks.