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Remember last Tuesday, which was just seven days ago? Nate Silver gave President Obama an 85% chance of winning re-election and Obama was near 80% on Intrade. Mitt Romney's staffers were quietly questioning whether the race was over and Republican candidates were openly speculating on whether Romney was ruining their own chances.
It seems like a long time ago, doesn't it? With five weeks to go in the static-for-months presidential race, Obama looked like a safe bet for a second term. With four weeks to go, Obama looks like an underdog.
What the race will look like with three weeks to go is, at this point, anybody's guess.
But in light of the mania of speculation I've seen in some corners, it seems like a good time to pause, take a deep breath, and take stock.
First up, let's reflect for a moment on the first debate. Dave Weigel, reporting from New Mexico, shared an anecdote that resonated with me.
After spending a weekend talking to voters in a close state that's no longer really "swinging," the first presidential debate has come to remind me of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Democrats walked out of the theater/turned off the TV saying "huh, well, I wanted it to be better." After a few days of talking to friends, it changes from a disappointment into the worst piece of crap in human history.
Let's not forget, focus groups last Wednesday showed Romney winning the debate, but not necessarily wining votes. That changed after the post-debate hysteria/groupthink kicked in.
Indeed, there was a feeding frenzy that (forgive the mixed metaphor) led to a snowball effect -- the conventional wisdom went from "Obama had an off night" to "Obama was awful" to "Obama humiliated himself" to "Obama drooled on himself before stripping naked and singing the Soviet national anthem." This evolution in perceptions, it's worth noting, happened with incredible speed.
Opinions are going to vary, and like art, not everyone will see the same event the same way. But those arguing that Obama's lackluster timidity for 90 minutes matters more than policies, agendas, beliefs, records, worldviews, national priorities, and history are being needlessly immature.
What's more, Kevin Drum had an insightful item overnight, arguing, "Rarely has the hack gap been on such febrile display as it has since last Wednesday's presidential debate. Ask yourself this: can you even imagine Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh tearing their hair out over a weak debate performance by Mitt Romney the way that liberals have been over President Obama's? ... You don't normally see the temperamental difference between liberals and conservatives so dramatically on display. Most conservatives simply wouldn't have been willing to slag their guy so badly. Liberals, by contrast, almost seemed to enjoy wallowing in recriminations. It was practically an Olympic tournament to see who could act the most agonized."
What about the polls?
Democrats looking for reasons to panic can certainly find some. A Pew Research Center poll released yesterday showed a dramatic reversal in the presidential race, with Obama going from a 8-point lead over Romney last month (51% to 44%) to a four-point deficit this month (45%-49%) among likely voters. The poll was conducted the three days immediately following last week's debate.
The newly released Public Policy Polling survey for Daily Kos/SEIU also shows a reversal -- Obama's four-point lead has turned into Romney's two-point lead.
But both of those polls were taken immediately after the debate, when the political world, hair on fire, was still screaming at voters that Obama had committed a crime against humanity. This tidbit from a new ABC News polling report seems important:
Night-to-night data indicate a sizable boost for Romney, and drop for Obama, on Thursday night, a day after their first debate, which Romney widely is seen as having won. But both of those trends subsequently subsided in this poll, conducted Thursday through Sunday.
Indeed, poking through the ABC poll's data (pdf), it's clear that while Romney's favorability inched higher after the debate, so did Obama's. As a matter of fact, the president's favorability advantage is greater now than it was in January.
Organized fits over polls four weeks before an election, a time when the results are certain to be "noisy," is pointless. Eight years ago today, CNN released a poll that found Kerry leading Bush. Republicans didn't look for the nearest window to jump out of.
If folks on either side don't like the way the race is going, they should try getting involved, and investing their energies in the campaign itself, rather than wringing their hands or coming up with conspiracy theories.
It's a close race. It's going to remain a close race. It was always expected to be a close race. Those on the verge of falling to pieces really need to get a grip.
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The Right oversimplifies, the Left overthinks.
We never seem to see the Right overthinking things, do we?
But we on the left also tend to underestimate
No, this really is very simple. The key difference is that progressives and centrists simply don't believe in corporal punishment or in firm parenting.
Is the right being "needlessly immature"?
Isn't the right being Immature out of necessity?
They do what works. The question is whether the country will give the Right the spanking it deserves for its endless wild lies, granny bashing, endless tantrums, narcissistic victimhood, hateful bullying, and fiscal vandalism .
Or do we think a spanking is immoral, and that a firm scolding and "time out" will do it for them?
And NOW let's talk about the 'lies' in the 'major foreign policy speech' of Romney. Yes LETS.
Go for it. You're still not proffering a reason to VOTE FOR Obama. All of the cutesy quips about "firing Big Bird" and "Elmo running for the border!" will not make people vote FOR Obama.
The more one looks at this election, the more it reminds one of 1992; with George H.W. Bush carping on and on about why one SHOULDN'T vote for Clinton. "This won't work!" and "that won't work either!" will not win you a victory, Mr. President.
What is it that you ACCOMPLISHED in your first term, sir? What is it that you plan to do in your second term? OHHHHH, now I get it... Enter: cutesy Sesame Street quips. Clint showed us an empty chair; Obama shows us an empty podium.... When the podium is actually OCCUPIED by Obama, he gives us cutesy, non-funny jabs.
It's not going to be enough to win.
"What is it that you ACCOMPLISHED in your first term, sir?"
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php#
That's just the first result that comes up on google when searching for "Obama accomplishments"
I don't mind if you are opposed to these policies but don't say that nothing has been accomplished.
Next, would you like to see a list of proposed legislation, who voted yea/nea and who filibustered?
HE hasn't accomplished anything!!! Which is why I refuse to wake from my coma until Mitt Romney wins the election in 2012!!!!
PS- In the event that Mitt Romney doesn't win in 2012 I will remain in my coma until 2016
PPS- In the event that a Republican doesn't win in 2016 I will ascend to heaven, as it surely will be the end of the world
Re: dfabs4 -- Thank you for this. As you said - even if you don't like what Obama has gotten done in his first term, one is simply denying reality if one thinks he hasn't done much.
I see this strange alternate reality all the time on right-wing websites - Obama is lazy and shiftless, just wants to play golf or hoops all the time, doesn't actually do any work. It's completely insane. No matter how much I loathed George W Bush, I would never say that his 2 terms were lacking for newsworthy events. Do people really think it benefits their side to live in a world of pure imagination?
Then set bush's 1 st term next to obamas , 9/11 and the iraq debacle , and the fact that romney wants to mirror everything bush did , and then some , and you get a stark contrast of inept, and competence
It baffles me every time someone asks WHAT HAS OBAMA DONE? I mean, seriously, HOW HARD IS IT TO GOOGLE? And then, HOW HARD IS IT TO READ? If you really cared to know, it's so easy to find out without having to go to a Left-leaning gathering and being rude to people.
There's a huge list of things Obama has accomplished. HUGE. And you've gotta be separated from reality or an extremist, fundamentalist Bible thumper to think that none of it was good.
Incidentally, I did Google "what has Romney done" and I know what he's done. I've actually liked some of the things he's done. Unfortunately, I didn't like MANY of the things he has and hasn't done. Because I'm not going to go around asking what Romney has done, especially not to a bunch of Right-wing nutcases. I can find that information myself, often in un-biased platforms. You should try actually using the interwebs sometimes. You'll learn something.
Upton Sinclair would know precisely how hard it is for someone whose pay depends upon them finding it impossible .
Both Obama and Romney have done good things while they were chief executives of governments (though Obama did more). But now Obama points to accomplishments and says, "Let's build on that and make the nation better." Meanwhile Romney says, "Ignore that, I renounce it, and from now on I will do whatever you want, whoever you are."
Quite right. I think a few folks should step away for a couple of days and relax.
I feel Obama is very capable of righting his ship, and Romney is more than capable of pulling just one more insanely stupid stunt in the next four weeks.
I'll bet you $10,000.00 that there will be more than "one insanely stupid stunt" over the next four weeks! :-)
Pollyanna much, Steve?
The frenzy couldn't have had anything to do with post-debate analysis and commensurate hair pulling by cable TV pundits, could it?
Yeah, I agree. Still boggled at how Chris Matthews and Ed Schultz overreacted.
I have to agree, Ed and Chris were just awful in their analysis.
Rachel was dumbfounded.
Lawrence was the real trooper, he saw through Romney's bull@!$%#, recovered and strove on.
Totally agree... I didn't think Obama was powerful enough and I thought that Mitt was on some kind of speed and was insulting. But when I heard my own party's pundits on MSNBC and CNN raking Obama over the coals and NOT Mitt, I was dumbfounded and ANGRY! How dare you do this to the Dem party, even if Obama didn't have his A-game that night?!!! You all were ready to jump ship like the "immature" Rachel is referring to. If you had commented in a fair and balanced fashion... picking apart both sides for what they said and what the didn't say (Romney wouldn't answer tax questions), perhaps the frenzy wouldn't have turned into an unfair bloodbath for Obama like it did. But this has been the trend all along. Pretend like you are not partisan and then over-react about anything involving Obama -- so that the right can latch onto it and use it against Dems. Trouble is, your extreme reactions have caused PROBLEMS for the rest of us who don't want to go to war, don't want our taxes increased, don't want to support corporate welfare, don't want to lose our healthcare... just because Obama had a bad night! Thanks a hell of a lot, guys!
When I watched the post debate coverage from MSNBC, I was floored. Before Matthews near seizure, and Schultz near aneurysm, I thought the debate was a draw. Yes, Romney may have "won" on style, but he lied ALL night. And nobody besides Al Sharpton pointed that out. I'm most disappointed in Rachel. She's the captain and she fell right into the trap of viewing the loudmouth as the winner without pointing out the obvious lies. Yes, Obama could've done better and fought back harder, but I didn't see the bloodbath they did. He had to remain "presidential." And frankly, I think MSNBC's coverage did more to create the Obama was destroyed meme than any other network. I guess they want the horse race too.
I get where you're coming from, CAF, but the thing about Left-leaning commentators is that unlike the Right Propaganda Machine, they're not going to conjure up stories a la Fox News that someone spiked Obama's water pre-debate or someone was going to hurt his family if he performed in the debate well. For all of Republican's crowing about "taking personal responsibility", they seem to revel in making up stories that blame everyone but their candidate for his shortcomings, and Left-leaning pundits have actually pointed this out. It would seem hypocritical of them to suddenly not call Obama out on his very public poor showing, but I do agree that they didn't have to go so far as to appear to have washed their hands of him. I'm sure this isn't what they were trying to do, but I'm sure it would've been hard for them to pretend that everything's just hunky-dory right after that sad performance. It took them a few hours, but they found the facts and historical references to show that there's no reason to truly panic. It's that facts thing... Democrats tend to depend on them. :P
If we don't get rid of the Big Bird approach, we will fall fast. It doesn't work, and it makes us appear to not be taking things, such as the economy, seriously. Big Bird has to go!
We need to present the case that a Romney presidency would be dangerous, both economically and with national security as well.
Obama needs to go back to "we are on the right path."
We need to use history to show that Romney's military approach would put us into more wars than we could sustain, and that his economic policy would throw us into a depression.
People need to be afraid of Mitt Romney!
Please stop with the Big Bird. We don't have time to stay with the Big Bird apprach, which isn't working.
I kinda agree with you on the Big Bird.. But it's still just sooo much fun to play with.. And I think in some ways it helps with Obama's Fun and Likeable side. I say stick with the Big Bird from time to time but have the main focus be Policy's..
I agree Regina, Big Bird was fun but now it's time to get back to business and focus on why Obama is the right choice and Romney isn't!
The other problem with constantly using Big Bird is it's reminding people about the debate. Granted, Romney lied his ass off, but most of the people who haven't been paying attention and are just starting to watch don't know that. In my opinion, they should be talking about the unemployment number which came out after the debate. He also needs to be talking about GM and Chrysler for example. He has a record to run on, no matter what the righties say.
Note there is no other "visual" from the debate-- no gaffe to replay, no eye-rolling, watch peeking or sighing. Only words and ideas and style, none of which can be summed up neatly in a picture. After a few weeks (and more debates that go both ways) the only thing recalled about this first debate will be Big Bird and Romney's problems with the truth.
It is frustrating to me to listen to people jump off the Obama wagon because the media was praising Romney for his ability to lie so well on stage. It is a sad state of the nation that we the people even tolerate a man that openly lies at every given opportunity. My opinion of Obama has never wavered, he is the right man to move this country in the right direction!
I have said before the Dems always eat their own. I too was shocked at Rachel, Cris and Ed, but how often have we seen Dems in Congress get the mike and criticize Obama for not being liberal enough or the blue dogs so afraid of losing their race jump ship. Democrats lack the passion for their President and helping him that the Repubs have. Last nights ABC world news accepted Romney's lies as fact, never once calling him out. Now if we have the cable hosts talking about how bad Obama was instead of what a fake Romney is we are doomed. The man has a day job and I think campaign reform is in order. Say limited the presidents term to 6 years so that he does not have to campaign and be president too. The Senate and House should also have limited terms so they are not spending 70% of their time raising money for the next election. It is time. But be at peace, Obama is one lucky guy and will win this election. Watch the poles shift after Thursday's debate and the next Romney-Obama debate. There is also no way that the woman's vote is now tied between Obama and Romney. And Gallup had Obama up 5 points among registered voters. It is going to be an Obama victory because he is best for ALL Americans.
I agree with your comments, but I think that the outrage and frustration is typical of the pundits that lean more liberally than others, ie: Chris and Ed. They are impassioned about the issues and are looking for a true champion to take the reigns of leadership and make the RIGHT decisions instead of the politically safe decisions that cause more problems than offer resolution. I often get caught up in the spirit of who is right and wrong and forget about the fact that we should be working together to create the outcome that we wish to see in the world. The people that work on TV are no exception. It doesn't excuse them, but it does tell us about their values, standards and general character that even in the face of being dissenting they hold true to their feelings. The president did what most other presidents have done in the past, lost the first debate. Yet, if there is anything that I can say of Obama is that he is a strategically sneaky man and you saw this with the killing of Bin Laden, as well as the way we handled the arms coming from Russia to Syria. He lures his opponents out into the open to expose them under a shroud of vulnerability and then he puts the smack down on them and I think this situation is no different. There were times in the debate when you saw the president purposely bow his head and smirk when being attacked, and also deliberately avoided eye contact to unnerve Romney into saying how he really felt. He knew that Romney would come out swinging in this debate and he would have nothing substantial to offer but empty promises, lies, and positions he didn't really hold and the next debate between them will be very different. I also think that he is grooming Biden to be a hit-man in this next debate and you are about to watch a massacre take place in front of the American public the likes of which we have never seen.
I can't be a liberal, cause I don't know how to whine!
As far as the fickle political nature of the average American voter?
I've witnessed the same behavior enough to take note that Americans want to be lied to if they begin to face the daily struggles of cognitive dissonance served up in a 24/7 blather cycle on the airwaves or even by the ignorance they surround themselves with.
Went up against the All-American type developer when I purchased my first home. We forty-four residents of the common development were essentially manhandled by this individual as he smiled his pearly teeth and slicked back his Mitt Romney style hair. He never secured a permit of operations for our pool, installed an inferior drainage system causing potential litigation, shingled the units with grade three hog shed shingles. Installed hydrological heaters in 30 of the units that didn't heat a thing, and did all this with a smarmy charm!
As I organized a new homeowners' board, I was often met with, "Oh, Ron wouldn't do anything against our interests" or "Ron has sunk his heart and soul in this development - he's not going to lie to us." People getting screwed, and apologizing for the man who was doing the screwing!
Want a national example of smarmy charm? How about Dick Chenney!
Beware of the pattern of unassuming idiocy by those among us given to shiny objects! -Kevo
...grade three hog shed shingles...
You had grade three hog shed shingles ? Oh , how we used to dream of grade three hog shed shingles , in our box ....
Great point kevo , it is the worship the wealthy syndrom some americans suffer from , I am fine with the msm saying romney was the better salesman that night , but then right after saying that, the point should be made that it was all BS , of course many skip right past that
NOW the romney ads in iowa all just say obama is lying about everything , so who will these wishy washy voters believe ? I just want to throw up
But those arguing that Obama's lackluster timidity for 90 minutes matters more than policies, agendas, beliefs, records, worldviews, national priorities, and history are being needlessly immature.
Hey, I'm not the one changing my planned vote because of candidate speaking style. Anyone who would do that is a bozo.
The problem is that those bozos are the ones who will decide this election.
Duplicate comment deleted.
I've already moved beyond the overreactions following the biden-ryan debate, as well as the second romney-obama debate. But that final debate, oh man, an epic reveal!
Please, move further and tell us how the election comes out!
I'm starting to see a lot of yard signs. What's that all about?
(The above represents the State of Mind of a multitude of Americans- some of whom are registered to vote.)
Its about a meter of American thinking .
I see Obama signs where they weren't the last election.
I have yet to see a Romney sign. Saw a bumper sticker, and had to strongly resist the urge to viloently rear end the van it was stuck on.
Knobson . . . You're obviously not seeing enough limousines. Or sports cars with six figure price tags. You'll find Romney stickers there.
I listened to the debate on the radio. In that context Romney came off as jacked up on ADD medication and Obama came off as a little too deliberate. That's all. In terms of what they were actually SAYING, Romney lied is a$$ off (as usual with him), and Obama came off as balanced and consistent (as usual with him).
I really don't get the hoopla about this event.
I have been saying the same thing. Before all this Hoopla and still now I told my Fiance I was glad Obama stood back and let Romney talk outa his Butt. Of course at that time I had more faith in the public to be able to pick up on the Bull..
The American media as represented by leading voices in Print and Television were sick at heart over the apparently fixed Gore lead in the polls diminishing their love of a "Horse Race" . As a result of this amorous need they adopted the republican talking points as news , sans the religious sanctimony of he said she said calisthenics .
Somehow or other it is unremarkable that since these , largely the same voices or their equivalence in the nieces-nephews-daughters-and sons , are a mirror of the love of horsy back racing again . Nauseating , immature , but necessary considering the levels of money the only readily recognisable voices being paid by the bushel from deep rooted pockets of Romney boosters , aka , as the fear mongering right wing media cabal . Remember how many conspiracies that have been sanctimoniously discussed compared to the , any , intelligent policy discourse .
I jest I jest !
Makes you wonder though when you consider that media is owned by the largest corporations who seem to be concerned only with the bottom line and how to make larger profits, when so many of their "reporters" talk about the "game" and how exciting or dull it is, and how focused they have stayed on one 90 minute presentation where the challenger has been shown to have been saying and acting in a way that makes us consider his wife's remark that she "was worried about her husband's mental health." I know you "jest", but will we see the same kind of attention and content after each of the next debates if the candidates don't act "as expected"?
Judy please forgive me as I was adopting , feigning , a journalists pride in that last sally . It was my intention that the , to date , wonderland reporting that included Tweety and Lawrence O'Donnell describing how Al Gore , insane with ambition , would lick the bathroom floor to be president was still in a state of unreported denial . This disgusting behavior , repeated more than a few times , remains as secret as the purveyors of news wish , entirely . My jest was the riposte of an ill person claiming the meal tasted better the second time , being the equal of , in practice , to that striving for an Ivory Pure percentage of commitment to the fervor horse race ticket sales . For their thirty pieces , it is to be devoutly hoped , the expense of their cheapened souls .
FRP, it does raise a question though: if corporations are people, do they and their spokespeople have souls, cheapened or otherwise?
But who are the "likely voters?" White People.
Not Cool.
The likely voter thing mystifies me.
Will McAvoy:
Anyone changing their vote away from Obama is an idiot...BUT I will say that, during and since the debate, I was and still am FURIOUS at Obama for his utter failure to (a) understand that the debates are important and (b) to show up ready to play the game. As millions have, I've given money to this campaign, and his performance was an insult to every person who has put their faith in him. And his opportunities to make it better are all worse than the one he just blew.
I would only add another disheartening point , what we saw was the obama teams game plan , obamas stumbling just made that plan look even worse
Obama and the dems have the truth and sane policy behind them tho , it is time to beat the crap out of romney with that in the next debate , obama needs to display the fire and passion of all of us , and drowned out the used car salesman completely
My vote has not changed either. I am so disheartened by polls suggesting Romney is ahead. People are so stupid to believe going back to the Bush/Cheney way of doing things is going to help. Romney/Ryan just makes me sick and those bozos as mentioned above are going to elect them. Here in my area, there are hundreds of Romney signs and like 2 for Obama and I am in a swing state.
Polls reflect which side responds to polls . It seems that the right loves to respond to polls.They also like to yell and stomp around like a child in hopes that they will seem bigger than they are.
It is pretty simple here--if the right was really even close to a majority they would not be trying to suppress the vote.
Just to clarify: the Repubs are only trying to suppress certain votes.
The talking heads and self-annointed experts are the ones causing all the hoopla...Chuck Todd is a toad, and a winger...David Gregory is a toad-wanna-be...Rachael...Steve...save us from the mindless ramblings of your compatriots.
Underdog? Nate Silver said that Barack Obama is still a modest favorite to win re-election. As for the Pew poll, Nate Silver said it is unlikely that Mitt Romney is really ahead by 4 points. Nate Silver said Barack Obama really has a national lead of about 2.5 points.
and well Nate has been close to being correct many more times then any other polls.
went he said Obama is down by two points then i might believe it, but not until then.
Not a "modest" favorite. Obama's chance of winning declined only to 75%. I still bet on the guy with 3-to-1 odds.
Dems need to stop hyperventilating and start talking the comeback story. We knew a Romney comeback was coming. As a storyline it was inevitable. Now, Obama is down, and if some are to be believed, out. But he's still very much in the game and will get credit just for showing up to the next debate. The Obama comeback story is primed. People on his side need to start talking it up so that when the next debate ends, he's the next Comeback Kid.
No, we didn't know a Romney comeback was coming unless we counted on allowing Democrats to allow it to happen. The race could have been over at 10:30 pm last Wednesday if the President would have done what he should have done. The race should be over now.
"Opinions are going to vary, and like art, not everyone will see the same event the same way. But those arguing that Obama's lackluster timidity for 90 minutes matters more than policies, agendas, beliefs, records, worldviews, national priorities, and history are being needlessly immature."
Here's what's needlessly immature: not understanding just how much human perception is simply perception of the animal spirit and not a rational exercise; not understanding that the votes that are now being determined are those of ignorant, irresponsible asswholes who have waited till now to tune in either because of apathy or congenital stupidity and who are not going to be persuaded by thought but by the animal rut; not understanding that the media is a bunch of intellectual mediocrities whose interests are furthered by a horserace and NOT understanding how to take advantage of those.
Here's what else is immature: not understanding that if Obama and/or Biden do what Obama did again -- even once -- then the race is over. Period. President Romney. Ryan can't lose the race for Romney now. But Biden can. Test your gut: if Biden gaffes his way through the "debate" Thursday, is it over? You know the answer. Obama and Biden have one choice and it is something neither of them nor I like to do: confront naked vicious, unprincipled aggression and ambition. And if they don't learn how to deal with the Logic 101 complex question informal fallacy (like "When are you going to stop beating your wife?"), then they will lose. If they don't go on offense and stop playing the defense that Team Romney-Ryan-Republican want them to play (by simply pointing out the lies), they will lose.
What's immature is not seeing the difference why liberals are in such an uproar and conservatives wouldn't be "slagging" their guy. And that's because Democrats just saw their guy roll over and play dead. They just saw their guy fail to put the knife in and destroyed a one-time chance to end the race that very night. This race should be over. They just saw their guy allow a liar to lie and convince an important minority that our side was lying. They saw impotence. And conservatives are very confident that doesn't happen on their side. Because it doesn't. It's non-stop aggression on the conservative side. And that's why they win without the facts on their side.
Not seeing that is what's immature.
When you say "they," I assume that you mean "I." I'm a liberal / Dem and I did not see "my guy roll over and play dead." I am seeing a lot of hyperventilating by other libs / Dems.
If you don't think Obama did an adequate job confronting Romney's lies (and I'm not convinced that in a debate he could have, Romney lies too fast and too often...it's really quite impressive in its way), then get out there and help him out.
You don't see because you are blind.
You don't know what I'm doing to help; they are not listening.
Well then, keep up the good work, and know that there are others out there doing the same!
Pundits and prognisticators, this knowledgable cult we should listen to and heed as gospel. But for the fact that Green Bay lost to Indianpolis I would have on a 7 team parlay. So much for such advise. This election is obvious from several basic levels. It is whether or not the voting public and there representatives will do as they should or just do something stupid.
LOL betting we dont here how polls are wrong and so bias now from the right.
think the polls has been bitten by the right/wrong wing cry until you get them to change for your good.
i have to agree if that sentiment changed that fast over ONE DEBATE full of mistrueth and well just out right lies.
"Opinions are going to vary, and like art, not everyone will see the same event the same way. But those arguing that Obama's lackluster timidity for 90 minutes matters more than policies, agendas, beliefs, records, worldviews, national priorities, and history are being needlessly immature."
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I watched the first Presidential debate and thought that Romney came off as a lying, bullying, flip flopping SOS. Then I watched the entire group of MSNBC hosts have hysterics about President Obama's "terrible performance." I was astounded at their cries that the President should have gone for the jugular and that he needs to take lessons from them on how to have a real debate. In reality I think that the post debate crisis of faith was actually triggered by the hosts' overreaction.
I love you all dearly, you hosts at MSNBC, but you could have taken a more balanced approach to your analysis. I'm sure you wanted to slap the lying smirk off Romney's face just as badly as I did, but spending your excess adrenalin on attacking the President's performance was not the way to deal with the situation.
" In reality I think that the post debate crisis of faith was actually triggered by the hosts' overreaction."
Roger That!!!!!
Yes, of course that is what Romney did. The problem is why didn't Obama take him to task. Instead, even though you weren't fooled, others were. And that is what, in the end, counted.
@Pilotshark: if you think that, then go watch the two shows of Charlie Rose after the "debate." When Obama rolled over, the narrative was set. The non-MSNBC was going to behave in it's ridiculous fashion and there was nothing that was going to change that.
Democrats could extinct Republicans if they understood the world and reality they inhabit. They don't.
I totally agree. Rev Al and Lawrence were the most moderated in their opinions; which I really appreciated, because it reflected my own feeling about the debate.
It is funny how the very next day MSNBC tempered it a little bit (I noticed it in the Ed Show), but unfortunately the damage (which I hope it's temporary) was done.
And don't get me started with Andrew Sullivan, after calling Obama the Democrats' Reagan a few weeks ago, now he thinks Obama has forfeited the election and doesn't want the job... Wow! Talk about going crazy!