Posted on 10/24/2012 6:20:11 AM PDT by Kaslin
President Obama was on the ropes in the polls after the first presidential debate. After the second presidential debate, he hit the mat in the polls. And after the third presidential debate, he looks to be down for the count.
The question, of course, is why.
Looking at the debates alone doesn't tell the full story. Romney surely won the first debate -- in fact, he cleaned President Obama's clock -- but in the second debate, he fought President Obama to a draw. And in the third and final debate, which centered on foreign policy, Romney pulled his punches.
So just what happened to change this race from an Obama blowout in late September to a substantial Romney lead in late October?
The American public got serious. And President Obama got unserious.
In any presidential race, the candidate who is perceived as steadier will generally win. Jimmy Carter blew the perception that he was a steady hand with his "malaise" speech and his wild attacks on opponent Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton, despite his personal foibles, made Americans feel steadier than the flailing Bob Dole. George W. Bush looked like a steadier and more trustworthy leader than the king of flip-floppers, John Kerry. And in 2008, Barack Obama seemed to be more even-keel than the wildly gyrating John McCain.
In today's race, there is one candidate who seems steady, whose presence calms voters. And there is another candidate who seems petty and vindictive, who wanders from odd slogan to odd slogan, who attacks his opponent relentlessly. The former is Mitt Romney. The latter is Barack Obama.
That's what has been on exhibit for the last month. Mitt Romney continues to press home his case on Barack Obama's failed economic plans. He continues to make his case for a larger vision of American power in the world, especially by boosting our economic competitiveness.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama minimizes issues. The candidate who promised us that he would heal the planet in 2008 now can't see beyond his teleprompter. If Mitt Romney wants to talk about cutting spending, Barack Obama wants to talk about how Big Bird will get hurt. If Mitt Romney wants to talk about our failures of security in Libya, Barack Obama wants to talk about how the deaths of Americans are "not optimal" and "bumps in the road." If Mitt Romney wants to talk about our military readiness, Barack Obama wants to talk about whether we ought to cut bayonets.
Obama is now channeling Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Blvd": "I am big. It's the campaign that got small." But in truth, Obama isn't big. He never was. He was the "Wizard of Oz," hiding behind the curtain provided to him by the media. All of his promises meant nothing. What does it mean to heal the world? What does it mean for the waters to recede? What does it mean to provide hope and change?
It means nothing. And when Obama put his big ideas into action, all the American people saw was petty infighting, gargantuan new webs of bureaucracy, and a president left blaming his predecessor for all his problems.
Obama's presidency reflected his poverty of ideas. Now his campaign does, too.
A small campaign means an unstable campaign. When you're forced to jump topic to topic, debating inconsequential ideas with gusto, your campaign seems to swing unpredictably back and forth. When you're discussing Romnesia one day and binders the next, you're losing.
A big campaign, by contrast, has big themes. Obama has no themes because he has no record and no second-term agenda. Romney has themes: economic growth through tax cuts and less burdensome regulation, a foreign policy based on a stronger military. Because he has themes, he seems steady.
And that's why he will win. None of this is going to change in the next two weeks. Obama's record will not suddenly allow him to become an ardent advocate of his own job performance. And he won't come up with any bold new plans -- he has nothing left in the tank. The ball is in Mitt Romney's court. And the American people know it.
Because he ain’t Obama.
Exactly.
“Because he ain’t Obama.”
Short and to the point. Just the way I like it.
Well, if you’d rather sum it up in four words instead of 15 paragraphs. ;-p
Obama: The Messiah Who Can’t Turn Water Into Wine.
If both Romney and Obama were to come to me with their resumes looking for employment I would spend a lot of time going through Romneys past, why?
Because he HAS a past.
Obama has a faked padded resume, no reliable contacts, no work history, give me the personal creeps and says if he is hired he demands to know what is the minimal requirements to keep the job and how often he can take off to go play golf.
So I would hire Romney, I see sincerity, I see leadership, I see a person who cares.
here is why -
1. Obama has not converted one McCain voter. thus - Romney starts w basement of about 47.
2. many repubs stayed home in 2008 when Obama was looked destined to win.
3. 2008 - RECORD demo turnout. 2012 will see less demo turnout and more repubs.
4. Romney is better funded than McCain was and is not being outspent 3-1.
5. the GOP base is more behind Romney than they were McCain. Whether it’s the lack of palin or the hatred of Obama - GOP base is more fired up.
6. No “old man” or “ dumb bimbo” factor like in 2008.
7. Obama got a lot of crossover votes in 2008 that are now going to Romney.
8. indes favor Romney by a good margin
9. Obama now has a record. Blaming bush is old.
10. Obama’s so called “history making moment” is long over. people don’t. Give a shit anymore.
11. Romney / Ryan is way better than McCain Palin presentation wise.
12. Obama won’t get the youth turnout he did in 2008 and old people are PISSED off.
13. Blacks and Hispanics will not be fired up to race to vote for Obama like 2008.
.... As Lurch, Turbin, Reid, Pelosi Galore, Crocodile Barbie, X42 and Hitlery decide to ex-patriate...?
Venezuela comes to mind...
....perhaps Cuba... (closer commute)
Oh he has a record.
Its not a record he can defend. He’s not even trying to run on his record and he has offered no vision and no plan for the next four years.
I called this election last week. Stick a fork in The One - he’s done!
I could have summed it up in 3 words but I’m feeling chatty this morning.
14. Four years of Obama cured white guilt.
He does have a record alright, but it’s not one that he can run on
That's true, but also because for many people the debates were the first time they'd ever actually seen Romney without some marxist reporter slicing and dicing his speeches to make him look bad. Romney certainly came across as much more intelligent than Hussein.
0bama's whole strategy all along has been to lay out grandiose ideas and let his half wit supporters fill in the blanks with what THEY thought the ideas meant. All 0bama is offering is four more years of the same thing that hasn't worked and has gotten us so far in debt that we may never dig out.
Stick a bayonet in The One - he's done.
For the first time, I am not voting for the lesser of two evils; I am voting against the greater of two evils. To put it another way: A year from today, I would much rather be furious and disgusted with Romney because of what Romney will be doing than furious and disgusted at Obama because of what Obama will be doing.
Or, alternatively, Obama: The Messiah Who Turned Water Into Whine...
the infowarrior
What is most frightening about all this is that “O” got into the WH AT ALL.
Whether it has been the result of hopelessly, uninformed voter apathy, criminal complicity on the part of the MSM or voters’ abject lack of concern for fitness to lead...no one on earth with Obama’s demonstrably deficient lack of capabilities and with all his objectionable associations ought to be anywhere near the WH!
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