Coming in November:
Conventional wisdom about politics is usually wrong. That is why I often disagree with it.
But I can’t recall a time when I disagreed more profoundly with the conventional wisdom that has coalesced around a major news event.
In yesterday’s election, I just didn’t see the overwhelming, game-changing victory for Mitt Romney that his supporters are touting all over television and the Internet today.
I didn’t see the humiliating defeat for President Obama that some liberals saw as they began their bellyaching about how President Obama managed to lose this election.
Instead, I saw an election in which neither candidate delivered a knockout punch. I saw a match that basically ended in a draw. After all, 52-48% is really within the national “margin of error” isn’t it?.
There is not one moment that I could point to as evidence that either candidate actually “lost” the election.
I can, I have watched everyone of these since 1988.
The killer last night was Obama “You might want to move on to the next topic Jim.”
Every debate has moments that resonate in voters minds. That one is going to stick. Obama looking to the supposed ref to rescue him. The common thread in most voters comments to pollsters is “we want a leader who will show us how to get out of this mess”
Romney showed he is a leader last night while Obama showed he is not.
Last night Frank Luntz, the gold standard of focus group pollsters, had 24 undecided voters watch the debate with him. 13 of the 24 were Obama 2008 voters.
More the half said the debate persuaded them to vote for Romney. Luntz said he has never seen results like that before.
It really was that bad for 0.