When the dogs won’t eat the dog food

[Politico]

Expecting most people to want four more years of the last four years? "That old dog won't hunt!"

Romney will get an unfiltered chance to openly speak with the American people on Wednesday night, and defend himself against Obama's fear and smear in the process. The result is going to be devastating for the Obama campaign. Trust me, we've seen the last of Team Obama's time on top...

[Politico]

Romney will get an unfiltered chance to openly speak with the American people on Wednesday night, and defend himself against Obama's fear and smear in the process. The result is going to be devastating for the Obama campaign. Trust me, we've seen the last of Team Obama's time on top...

Um.. aren't you forgetting your marching orders are to lower expectations, so it can seem like a 'win' when he muddles through somehow?

Look, they've created a caricature of Romney that is so far removed from reality that simply showing up and being himself will give Romney the win among most viewers. Dukakis did not lose in 1988 because of Willie Horton; he lost because his response on the death penalty question cemented the image of him as a weak, out-of-touch liberal. Romney will not live up to Democratic expectations of a monster appearing on that stage with Obama Wednesday night. He will not cement an image of himself as a monster.

Obviously Obama is going to give a lot of fancy rhetoric, coupled with fear and smear along with the blame game. Everybody knows Obama is a GREAT speaker, which was well established in 2008. That said, the fact remains that most people simply do not want four more years of the last four years. Obama and Co. are simply doing to Romney what Carter did to Reagan (i.e., painting a picture of a risky gamble who is a monster in order to divert attention away from the last four years of failure). This strategy works until people see that it's a bunch of hype and fear, which does not happen until the candidates are debating. After the strategy falls apart, the Obama campaign will be in a world of trouble. They should have waited until AFTER the debates before going all-out scorched earth on Romney, but they panicked for some reason. The only thing that could potentially save them now would be preemptive strikes upon Iran, or something of that nature, but even that is no guarantee given the fickleness of the stock market right now.

Romney is not the best speaker in the world, but people will see he is not a monster and that he is a viable alternative to Obama. That's all he needs to do in order to be considered the winner of the debates among most viewers.

[Politico]

And if that doesn't happen Politico--if Romney struggles to change his image and a decisive percentage of viewers say Obama won the debate--what is next?

You hope for the best but prepare for the worst.  If Romney makes a big gaffe in the first debate, can he recover in just fine month?

The amount of preparation that has gone into these debates is unprecedented in presidential history. You'll see. Despite Romney being a much, much weaker debater than Gingrich, they took him out with cunning efficiency after the South Carolina catastrophe (which trumps anything Romney is experiencing right now; I truly believed at one point that Gingrich was going to win the nomination in Florida). They did this with FAR LESS resources and preparation in the run-up.

Obviously Romney is not going to deliver the debate of the century, or anything exceptional for that matter (he's NOT a natural politician, as we all know), but he is going to accomplish the goal of NOT cementing the monster image being painted of him.

[Politico]

Romney will get an unfiltered chance to openly speak with the American people on Wednesday night, and defend himself against Obama's fear and smear in the process. The result is going to be devastating for the Obama campaign. Trust me, we've seen the last of Team Obama's time on top...

Um.. aren't you forgetting your marching orders are to lower expectations, so it can seem like a 'win' when he muddles through somehow?

Look, they've created a caricature of Romney that is so far removed from reality that simply showing up and being himself will give Romney the win among most viewers. Dukakis did not lose in 1988 because of Willie Horton; he lost because his response on the death penalty question cemented the image of him as a weak, out-of-touch liberal. Romney will not live up to Democratic expectations of a monster appearing on that stage with Obama Wednesday night. He will not cement an image of himself as a monster.

Obviously Obama is going to give a lot of fancy rhetoric, coupled with fear and smear along with the blame game. Everybody knows Obama is a GREAT speaker, which was well established in 2008. That said, the fact remains that most people simply do not want four more years of the last four years. Obama and Co. are simply doing to Romney what Carter did to Reagan (i.e., painting a picture of a risky gamble who is a monster in order to divert attention away from the last four years of failure). This strategy works until people see that it's a bunch of hype and fear, which does not happen until the candidates are debating. After the strategy falls apart, the Obama campaign will be in a world of trouble. They should have waited until AFTER the debates before going all-out scorched earth on Romney, but they panicked for some reason. The only thing that could potentially save them now would be preemptive strikes upon Iran, or something of that nature, but even that is no guarantee given the fickleness of the stock market right now.

Romney is not the best speaker in the world, but people will see he is not a monster and that he is a viable alternative to Obama. That's all he needs to do in order to be considered the winner of the debates among most viewers.

Mr. Politico, I knew Ronald Reagan. I heard Reagan in the 1980 debates, Ronald Reagan was a friend of mine.

Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan.

True, but Reagan was not the monster that Carter said he would be. The same applies to Romney with regards to the image being painted of him by Obama. That's the point.

[Politico]

And if that doesn't happen Politico--if Romney struggles to change his image and a decisive percentage of viewers say Obama won the debate--what is next?

You hope for the best but prepare for the worst.  If Romney makes a big gaffe in the first debate, can he recover in just fine month?

The amount of preparation that has gone into these debates is unprecedented in presidential history. You'll see. Despite Romney being a much, much weaker debater than Gingrich, they took him out with cunning efficiency after the South Carolina catastrophe (which trumps anything Romney is experiencing right now; I truly believed at one point that Gingrich was going to win the nomination in Florida). They did this with FAR LESS resources and preparation in the run-up.

Obviously Romney is not going to deliver the debate of the century, or anything exceptional for that matter (he's NOT a natural politician, as we all know), but he is going to accomplish the goal of NOT cementing the monster image being painted of him.

I'm not asking if you believe he will do well and change his image. I know you do. I'm asking what Plan B is if that doesn't materialize.

It's not difficult to go up on a debate stage and prove you're not the monster the Democrats are claiming you are. He will easily pull that off, and if he does anything else it will be icing on the cake, so to speak...