Obama's mission tonight...

[You kip if you want to...]

Get this side of Mitt out and we can stick a fork in him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc0QFc9qaGw

[Politico]

Obama needs to cement the image of Romney as a monster. Obama needs to prove that Romney is a monster like Obama's ads have told everybody. If Obama fails to do so, we can stick a fork in him. Why? Because ALMOST NOBODY wants four more years of the last four years.

[afleitch]

Obama needs to cement the image of Romney as a monster. Obama needs to prove that Romney is a monster like Obama's ads have told everybody. If Obama fails to do so, we can stick a fork in him. Why? Because ALMOST NOBODY wants four more years of the last four years.

No one thinks Romney is a monster. They just think he's a bit of a douche.

[Politico]

Obama needs to cement the image of Romney as a monster. Obama needs to prove that Romney is a monster like Obama's ads have told everybody. If Obama fails to do so, we can stick a fork in him. Why? Because ALMOST NOBODY wants four more years of the last four years.

No one thinks Romney is a monster. They just think he's a bit of a douche.

Obama needs to prove that, or he is in a world of trouble tomorrow morning. It is not like there are hordes of people who want four more years of the last four years. The only thing keeping Obama afloat is the traction gained from his attack ads. If the attack ads lose their potency, as they will tonight if Obama fails to cement the image painted of Romney, Obama will lose the election.

[SirNick]

Obama needs to cement the image of Romney as a monster. Obama needs to prove that Romney is a monster like Obama's ads have told everybody. If Obama fails to do so, we can stick a fork in him. Why? Because ALMOST NOBODY wants four more years of the last four years.

No one thinks Romney is a monster. They just think he's a bit of a douche.

Obama needs to prove that, or he is in a world of trouble tomorrow morning. There are not hordes of people who want four more years of the last four years. The only thing keeping Obama afloat is the traction gained from his attack ads. If the attack ads lose their potency, as they will if Obama fails to reinforce the image painted of Romney, Obama will lose the election.

Sometimes I hope the President wins just to shut the trolls up for a few seconds, but I think even that is hoping for too much.

Obama doesn't need to win, he just needs to make it even. Romney needs to win to gain any momentum.

[dirks]

Obama's mission tonight is to put on a C+/B- performance. Just maintain the status quo. Don't take any risks attacking Romney, but make sure he doesn't put you on the canvas

[Politico]

Obama's mission tonight is to put on a C+/B- performance. Just maintain the status quo. Don't take any risks attacking Romney, but make sure he doesn't put you on the canvas

No way. Obama has to convince people that Romney is the douche all of his ads say that he is. If that image dissipates, Obama is in a world of trouble. It is the only thing keeping him afloat.

Dukakis did not lose because of Bush's Willie Horton ad; Dukakis lost because his answer on the death penalty question reinforced the accusations made in the ad (in the name of being fair and balanced, it is worth noting that Dukakis was overcoming a cold [or flu, I forget which] at the time, which is a little known fact). Bush and Co. ran the same attack ads on Clinton, but they failed to seal the deal in the debates, which is why the attack ads did not work as planned (as is the case today, not many people  in 1992 wanted four more years of the last four years).

If Obama is hoping to win because of his negative attack ads, he needs to ensure the debates reinforce the image painted of Romney in those ads. Romney is almost certainly not going to do himself in like Dukakis, so Obama has to do it by selling people on the attack ads. Given his political prowess, if anybody can do it, it is Obama...

[SirNick]

Obama's mission tonight is to put on a C+/B- performance. Just maintain the status quo. Don't take any risks attacking Romney, but make sure he doesn't put you on the canvas

No way. Obama has to convince people that Romney is the douche all of his ads say that he is. If that image dissipates, Obama is in a world of trouble. It is the only thing keeping him afloat.

Dukakis did not lose because of Bush's Willie Horton ad; Dukakis lost because his answer on the death penalty question reinforced the accusations made in the ad (in the name of being fair and balanced, it is worth noting that Dukakis was overcoming a cold [or flu, I forget which] at the time, which is a little known fact). Bush and Co. ran the same attack ads on Clinton, but they failed to seal the deal in the debates, which is why the attack ads did not work as planned (as is the case today, not many people  in 1992 wanted four more years of the last four years).

If Obama is hoping to win because of his negative attack ads, he needs to ensure the debates reinforce the image painted of Romney in those ads. Romney is almost certainly not going to do himself in like Dukakis, so Obama has to do it by selling people on the attack ads. Given his political prowess, if anybody can do it, it is Obama...

You can't pin a loss on one thing. Its usually a whole bunch of factors. In the case of Dukakis it was not responding to attacks along with appearing less emotional and more technocratic in the debates (something Mitt Romney has in common).

You can't compare the 1988 race with 1992. 1992 has a third party candidate that siphoned a hefty percentage of the vote that, if I had to guess, would have mostly gone to President Bush otherwise. Any third party candidate in 1988 was negligible. In addition it is worth mentioning that 8 years of one party isn't all that unusual, but 12 years is --and thats where the country was in 1992. Not to mention different economic and global conditions in 1992.

My point? A loss cannot be attributed to one thing. Your hedging everything on the debates, and the debate isn't going to make or break it. Theres always an exception to the rule, but its highly unlikely to be tonight.

[dspNY]

Obama doesn't need to prove Romney's a douche...Romney already does that every time we hear him speak. Essentially, Obama's let Romney self-destruct the entire campaign

[dirks]

Romney has to come across and connect with the audience, speak directly to them...seem grounded and sympathetic to the dinner table issues of regular working americans.

He hasn't done that, and that's why no inroads are being made in PA and Ohio

[JulioMadrid]

I don't think Romney is a monster. I think he's a robot.