After last night's tiresome presidential debate, President Obama's supporters were offering up what Groucho Marx used to call "departee" -- suggestions on what the president should have said. That's a pretty good indicator about how the debate turned out.
The evening featured a remarkable shifting of shape, a new Etch-A-Sketch, by Mitt Romney. Romney, filled with earnest intensity, simply walked away from much of his campaign to date. He ignore the centerpiece of his platform -- his plan to cut tax rates by 20 percent, eliminate the estate and gift tax, sustain the carried interest and capital gains tax breaks, paid for by eliminating unspecified loopholes. Simple addition and subtraction shows that ends up handing the wealthy a huge tax break that must be paid by the middle class paying more, mostly by losing deductions for their home mortgages or their health care. Well forget about it. Last night, Romney announced that he wouldn't let taxes go up on anyone -- or apparently down on anyone either. His bold idea, as the president said, is... well "never mind."
And so it went, as Romney shamelessly squared every circle. Regulation is "essential," but just not Dodd-Frank. The man from Bain, his campaign raking in dough from disgruntled Wall Street bankers, claimed to be opposed to Dodd-Frank because it was a boon to "New York City bankers." Who knew?
And Romney's for covering preexisting conditions, letting kids stay on their parents' health care plans, aiding seniors with the cost of prescription drugs, for just about anything that polls well in health care -- just not for Obamacare, which he lied is a government takeover of health care. Mitt waxed eloquent on the benefits of competition among insurance companies in health care, proving that he can sell strychnine as an elixir. He's for more teachers, and won't cut education. He's for those in trouble, and waxed rhapsodic on how America will always care for them. He's for all these things, and he'll pay for them by cutting off Big Bird. And so it went.
The president largely seemed detached, often listless in response to Romney's shifting shapes. He called on Romney to supply a few details, questioned why all his plans are secret if they are so good.
But secret plans and skimpy details aren't really what's missing in Romney. What's missing is any sense of shame when it comes to making a sale. He'll pitch it flat, and pitch it sharp. He'll paint it black and peddle it white. He's an "extreme conservative" on Monday, a raging moderate today, an enlightened reformer on Friday. The president looked exasperated just trying to figure out what Romney Romney was peddling last night.
And Romney pretty much got away with the shape-shifting, except for one revealing moment. When he eagerly opened defense of his Medicare position by saying seniors don't have to worry. "If you're around 60, you don't need to listen any further." Anyone younger had to know that they are about to get the shaft.
Romney's stumbling campaign has gotten brutal reviews from the punditry. But last night demonstrated his strength. We know who he is. He believes in more tax breaks for the wealthy, less regulation on the corporations, more corporate trade deals, more money for the military, deep and debilitating cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and every domestic program. The full catastrophe that got us into the mess we are in. He is the tribune of the 1 percent, the champion of trickle down. But he's prepared to abandon that agenda to sell it, and do so without even a glimmer of conscience that he forcefully argued the reverse last month.
Romney truly is the man from Bain. There he "harvested" profits from companies, by arguing with a straight face that taking on massive debt would benefit the company and its workers. Of course, Bain would pocket its piece up front, but Romney would assure executives and workers we're all in this together. Right.
Now he's pushing tax cuts and deregulation, but don't worry. "My plan is not like anything that's been tried before." We're all in this together. Of course, the plan is secret; the details too complicated. But elect me first -- let me as always take my piece up front -- and then you'll see, we'll all prosper. If the man from Bain can sell that, we are all in big trouble.
Follow Robert L. Borosage on Twitter: www.twitter.com/borosage
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 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
On September 30th, the Sunday before the first debate, Tom Brokaw, as David Gregory's guest on Meet the Press said, "I don't know what happened to Romney's Etch-A-Sketch moment," meaning that it had yet to arrive.
Romney has delivered on the Etch-A-Sketch prediction in spades in debates 2&3.
In real life in 2001, Romney,Bane & Co., facilitated the move of Etch-A-Sketch from Bryan, a small town in N.W OH to Shenzhen, China at the expense of nearly 200 U.S. employees.
I've always said that Mitt is an empty suit, but maybe I take that back. This one is full of lies and BS.
It is a truly demented mind that is proud of accomplishments like Bain steamrolling peoples jobs and pensions for their own profit.
The problem is, he's smarter than a lot of foolish Americans who are buying the pitch from this flim flam man. Even though he is changing his story all the time!
But, if Romney wins, there will be one last etch-a-sketch moment, and that will occur the day after election day, and the true Romney will emerge. So, what is that Romney going to be?
It's clear to me that the true Romney is the Romney who spoke about the 47% when he didn't realize his comments were being surreptitiously videoed. And his remarks about the 47% that he said in the debate was completely wrong will once again be completely right when the etch-a-sketch is shaken for the last time. He sounded very sincere in that video.
I found it shocking that conservatives abandoned their so-called "principles" and high-fived over a guy who promised to defy the principles they expected Romney to run on.
Where is their outrage?
It's style, style, style.
You can lie, lie, lie as much as you want, as long as your opponent is not willing to call you out on them. Even then, if you can rebut it with style, you still win.
Presidential Debates are not about policy. They are about dealing in a one-on-one manner with someone who is opposed to you.
It's about reading a person, and being prepared for what that person is going to bring to a meeting.
It's about how well someone is able to think on their feet.
And Obama lost this one. Badly.
I think I stand alone saying he did not.
Romney lied he was an ignorant bully and just horrible.
Of course the moderator was bad too.
What did anyone want Obama to do in this nightmare.