Posted on 09/17/2012 7:29:08 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
On long flights to swing states in the West and late nights at the White House after his children have gone to bed, President Barack Obama is cramming like a student for a test that could determine his political future.
The subject? His opponent, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. The test? His face-off with the former Massachusetts governor at their first one-on-one debate next month.
With the race still tight despite Obama's slight lead in the polls, the stakes are high for both men to perform well at the three debates this fall and gain momentum toward sealing the November 6 election.
Forced to juggle his governing and campaigning responsibilities, Obama is squeezing in debate prep when he can.
"We don't have the same luxury that Romney does in terms of time," Obama's chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said.
That means Obama uses flights to Nevada, Colorado and other election swing states on Air Force One to read up on Romney's positions, or studies in the evenings at the White House when he's in town.
"He's spent a lot of time reading material and most of it is familiarizing himself with what Governor Romney said in this campaign," Axelrod said. "I mean, he's pretty conversant with his own record but he wasn't very conversant with Romney's."
Obama will sharpen his debating skills against Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, who will play Romney in mock sessions.
Aides want him to work on being brief - a departure from his tendency to be long-winded, which can turn off TV viewers and make him look aloof.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
” , Obama is squeezing in debate prep when he can.
“We don’t have the same luxury that Romney does in terms of time,” Obama’s chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said. “
LOL!!
Axelrod Translation: “ Obama has to debate without a teleprompter, and you all know what THAT means! “
It is an unintentionally funny article, though it is tragic we have this buffoon as “leader.”
Yes, with all the fundraisers and the Letterman appearance it's hard to actually spend time getting intelligence briefings or trying to learn facts that you should know off the top of your head after having been in the White House for nearly four years.
so Obama knows his questions will be a Yes or No answer LOL
I’m sure he’ll have a copy of all the topics before each debate anyway. He’ll have PLENTY of time to prepare.
You can see now the media’s covering for Obama if Romney cleans his clock in the debates, “Well of course Romney won, Obama was too busy running the country, while Romney had nothing else to do.”
RE: Obama has to debate without a teleprompter, and you all know what THAT means! “
Well, did he have a teleprompter when he debated Juan McCain? How did he get away with it then?
Al-Reuters again performing the apologist tasks for Obama.
...after the children are in bed...
...dosen’t have the time Romney does...
...between campaign responsibilities...
Oh, man, these guys are laying it on thick.
I predict that they will not succeed. As a professor at a university I have sat through enough faculty meetings to know how hard it is to get us to shut up.
Also, a “malignant narcissist” will feel compelled to answer the question and then some, if nothing but to prove his superiority. After all, the world revolves around him.
Actually, he was supposed to hit the WH - the FIRST time - already knowing and comprehending enough to challenge ANYBODY, at any time, in a debate... and supposing as well that he KEPT UP with issues and events, he OUGHT to be able to hold his own like a REAL politician without excessive coaching and cramming!!!
Like this?
"You didn't build that."
What leftists fear the most is an inadvertant revelation of their core beliefs.
The questions posed to him by the liberal moderators in the debate will be the political equivalent of “The Dating Game”. Why does he need to cram for this? He should just be practicing with his softball catching skills.
Obama blew out hope and change when I came to economics, bashed the Bush Admin and when foreign policy came up, agreed with McCain. From what I remember Obama kept his answers short. One time McCain waxed poetic about how to deal with terrorism for 2 or 3 minutes. Moderator went to Obummer for a counter argument which just comprised of “I agree with everything McCain said”. Also did not mention Senator McCain, just McCain which pissed off the Arizonian.
If I was Romney I would follow suit and just call his debate opponent Barrack or Obama, maybe Hussein Obama or even Barry as well as Soetoro.
..."Too often President Obama has meetings with foreign officials, members of Congress or representatives of interest groups that never make it to the schedule given to the press the night before," said Mark Knoller, a longtime White House correspondent for CBS News. "Sometimes we only find out about the events from non-White House sources: embassies, interest groups [and] congressional offices."
"I would say the daily schedule they hand out is on the shallow side compared to presidents past," said another White House veteran, Ann Compton of ABC News.
The White House says it gives the public and the press unprecedented insight into the president's daily activities through the public schedule and a variety of other sources.
"Through the daily guidance, an active blog (at whitehouse.gov), a revealing, behind-the-scenes Flickr site and a responsive communications staff, the President has met his goal of having the most transparent White House in history -- while protecting his ability to appropriately handle the many sensitive topics that come across his desk every single day," White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement.
After Obama faced criticism for passing up an invitation to speak at a United Nations-sponsored AIDS conference in Washington this summer, the White House said in a blog post it would host a reception for conference delegates. The event wasn't on Obama's schedule, but senior adviser Valerie Jarrett revealed his attendance on Twitter. "Today I joined President Obama @ reception honoring #AIDS conference," she wrote.
Photos of the AIDS reception appeared on the Flickr feed.
Though the press was excluded from the event, quotes from Obama's speech appeared in a press release issued by the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. And at least one of the guests posted fuzzy video to YouTube.
When Obama sat down with big-name Wall Street donors in the White House's Blue Room on a Monday night in March 2011, reporters were in the dark about the session because it did not appear on the president's public schedule. Word of it emerged three months later in The New York Times. WV Gazette
Ah ah ah ah ah - I’m going to be a concise liar!
Knowing this media, he will have the exact questions.
Obama concise LOL.All he knows id how to spin the topics.
If you ever hear a Liberal being ‘concise’ mark you calendar... it will be a historic event!
“Being concise” means figuring out ways to give Romney the finger surreptitiously...
....Ha ...just try to get him to delete the word “and” from his vocabulary
Chortle! Poor, poor Barry!
"We don't have the same luxury that Romney does in terms of time," Obama's chief campaign strategist David Axelrod said.
Hmmm...the great orator of the age, whose minions claim every GOP knock on his record is a lie, is busily lowering expectations for the one forum where he can soar like an eagle and correct all the "lies." Hmmmmm...
or Stevie Dunham
Lol, forgot that one.
I’m still praying he has a meltdown like Bogart or Nicholson in the debates. Strawberries anyone?
Between BO cramming and media softball tossing I wonder who will like a bigger idiot?
“... just call his debate opponent Barrack or Obama, maybe Hussein Obama or even Barry as well as Soetoro.”
Ha! THAT alone would be worth the price of a ticket!
Maybe Mitt could call him, ‘what’s his name’...because that would be appropriate.
How much do you want to bet the media wants him to win at any cost, he’ll get the questions before the debates..
Right Brother, bammy will know the questions wks in advance! He’ll be given a list with the questions on it, in the order they are going to be asked. Is there anyone out there that doesn’t believe this?
He suffers perpetually from diarrhea of the mouth. Once he’s off the teleprompter, he can’t help but ramble on about stuff that has to meaning. He’s such a narcissist that he loves listening to his voice, and thinks everyone else does too. Can’t wait for the debates. I’m hoping for another “I’ve got a bracelet too” moment.
I agree. The mainstream media is doing unprecedented contortion acts to get this pile of excrement re-elected, so why not give him questions in advance? If someone somehow uncovered such cheating and went public, the MSM would declare it a false charge instigated by the Romney campaign.
Your meetings were totally different from ours. I worked for the State of NY, and because we knew the brass could care less about our concerns or recommendations during supervisor meetings, when they went around the table to get our feedback, nobody ever said anything. We'd all decided early on, that it was better to keep your mouth shut, then to speak, and have one of the higher-ups pick you, and your topic apart. It made for very short meetings.
I’m wondering how many times he’ll blame Bush. It seems he’s still running against the past administration.
That is EXACTLY how to handle those questions and every decent (tactically) good politician does it. They don’t. Have to answer the question asked, just say what you want to. Liberals are exceedingly good at it and the master is Slick Willie.
That would be an interesting drinking game, you’d probably be hammered in the first 15 mins and hungover for years.
Indeed still waiting.
I wish I could think otherwise, but with all the liberal moderators named, IMO the fix is in and the debates are rigged.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.