Cross-posted at Immizen.com
So the polls say Romney and Obama are even now after the very sad performance by Obama the other day and the strong but dishonest performance of Romney. No reason to panic.
Anyone remember Bush’s: “It’s hard work” phrase? In his first presidential debate with John Kerry in 2004, Bush kept repeating a few times too many that being President is "hard work". What he was trying to say is that he had to work so hard in his role as president and worry about the important stuff that he had little time to think about or prepare to debate some guy who wants his job.
And because it is fun to watch, here are the key moments of that historic debate:
Something similar happened to Obama in last week’s debate, but given that Obama is an intelligent man, he did not utter any “ridiculous” misstatements, but did however, appear tired and unmotivated. The La Times has a similar take on this:
Though far more articulate than President Bush of 2004, President Obama of 2012 seemed a bit irked by the debate proceedings and not particularly enjoying defending himself against someone who he probably believes has no clue about the real trials and tribulations of the Oval Office.
Let’s not forget that all Romney has been doing for the past 2 years is “campaigning”. It is a hard job, but nowhere comparable to the job of the president of the US with the responsibility of making decisions that may advance or ruin people’s lives, and military decisions that have life or death consequences.
Presidential challengers can be elevated substantially by debates. John Kerry jumped up in the polls in the days after that first debate and in subsequent debate showdowns with Bush, in which he also performed strongly.
This reminds us that, no matter how bad Obama was in the most recent debate, Bush was worse in the aforementioned debate and he beat Kerry and won the election. Therefore, let’s take it all in stride.
Just make sure you go out and vote!