Livid at The Media after debate

[Beet]

I'm trying to watch the debate now. I read the transcript on election night, but now I'm watching the video to get the human cues. I'm only 20 minutes in, through the first segment, now. It became too painful to watch so I had to turn it off and come on here.

The first thing I noticed is how uncomfortable Obama is. You actually see his jaw dropping during one of Romney's responses, and another time you can see him visibly wincing. When Romney's talking about how the middle class got crushed under him you see him slouching and looking down at his feet. Kind of like when you caught a kid with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, and he knows you know he's guilty. And to top it all off, at the end of the segment, he doesn't respond to it. He could have easily said a million things. He said nothing.

On the other hand, Romney at one point says, "It's fun, isn't it?" You can tell he's having fun, and the President isn't. The President is just trying to get through it. Whatever else happened in that debate, that's the difference. I have a feel the same dynamic will play out for the rest of the debate.

I will say that I think Obama won that first segment on logic-- Romney never rebutted Obama's charge that his plan didn't add up when you do the math (well, unless you count "there's all sorts of studies", which effectively muddled the issue, esp. since Obama didn't respond). He just sort of repeated his promises but never responded to the substance of what Obama said, even though Obama repeated it two or three times.

I'll have to finish this but first I think I'm going to need lunch... and a drink.

[Beet]

Yup, I just finished watching it, and I've reached two conclusions. First, I think Obama lost the debate more than Romney won. Romney was smooth, and did well, but his points were full of holes which Obama never called him out on. He wasn't transcendental, merely solid, which means that a smart opponent at the top of his game could have gone toe to toe with him easily. Secondly, the style issues are clearly what killed Obama. Which makes me even more worried than I was before.

The scowl, the stuttering, the downcast face, the occasional wincing, the bended leg, the lack of response to many of Romney's statements, the letting Romney get the last word on just about every segment. Obama was making good points, but he wasn't using those points effectively to rebut what Romney was saying. He seemed like a schoolboy taking an oral test, trying hard to reiterate the points he was taught and explain them, but not understanding their true significance, not thinking about the context. He managed to repeat the basics, but struggled so hard to do so that he was unable to make it sound smooth, elegant, and give it the extra flourish that it needs. The overall effect was of a man lacking energy, intimidated, defeated. Just not someone who enjoys talking about not only the issues, but competing political and governance philosophies, someone who isn't even passionate about defending his own record and achievements. He really needs a kick in the ass.

What worries me now even more than before is that I see that a lot of the things that characterized Obama's weak performance last Wednesday have been with him through his entire Presidency. The stuttering-- the "uhs" -- have always been there, for instance. I'm doubtful that he's going to be able to change for the next two debates.