Obama Sputtered, But He Can Recover

Well,  it looks as if this election cycle's  first presidential debate wasn't exactly a banner night for the incumbent.   President Obama spoke like his normal professorial,  articulate self,  but he appeared tired and careworn.   Governor Romney,  on the other hand,   spoke glibly and seemed to be in fine fettle.

But did Romney actually win the debate?   Many pundits seemed to think so.   Me?  For whatever it's worth,   I'm not so sure that there was a winner.  Considering actual content,  Obama seemed pretty much on target,   capsulizing his administration's  accomplishments and focusing on priorities for a second term.

Romney,  on the other hand, spoke in vague generalities.  For example, he  vowed that he'd replace Obamacare,  without elaborating what he'd replace it with.   He also repeatedly denied that  he'd  support tax cuts for the wealthiest households,  totally contradicting everything he had been saying right up until the debate.

Obama did actually call him on the carpet for that remark,   stating that  "Romney denies what he's been saying for the past 18 months".   But then he let it slide.  

There's the rub!   Judgments regarding the outcome of the debate seem to be based more on style than substance.   Obama simply wasn't aggressive enough.   He overlooked opportunities to portray Romney's policies for what they truly are:   cruel,  inhuman,  and potentially toxic for a lot of people!  

Despite the outcome of this first debate,  Obama has plenty of time to recover.   According to a number of political historians,   it's not at all unusual for incumbent presidents to perform poorly during that initial meetup.   In  1984,  I remember watching incumbent President Ronald Reagan sputter and hem and haw his way through his first  debate with his Democratic opponent,  Senator Walter Mondale.  In its aftermath,   many pundits   were left wondering whether the then-73-year-old president was still capable of governing. However,   Mr.  Reagan recovered his poise in time for the second debate;   he was re-elected handily.

I'm confident that Obama will do likewise.   The second debate will feature a townhall format  with questions from the audience.   The last one will be focused on foreign policy,   which I should think,  given Romney's lack of depth in that realm,  would be a cake-walk for Obama.

The President should do okay.   He just needs to sharpen his fangs a bit.