Caught Out
Island Dweller, a loyal minion who inexplicably was assigned to live in a desert, writes in:
Your Immenseness:
I have come away from the second debate largely with the same take you got on it. It was patently obvious Mr. Romney has gotten under the President’s skin and has mastered the art of irritating him. This isn’t helped by the fact Mr. Romney represents everything Mr. Obama despises, thus making Dear Leader’s opposition visceral rather than cerebral. This will lead to mistakes. Mr. Romney’s calm demeanor contrasts with that displayed by DL. O’s behavior reminds me of the academic who is challenged in the classroom by a pupil who has studied the academic’s field of expertise more thoroughly than the academic himself and is asking searching (and embarrassing) questions challenging disproved theories or ideas. O’s been “caught out” by someone who’s studied everything he’s done and has found the errors – in other words, someone from the real world and not academia’s ivory towers. O basically came off as a liberal verbal bully – which most of them are anyway.Your devoted reader
Island Dweller
This is spot on. And probably like you the Czar is most bemused by the MSM’s insistence that Obama won the debate.
How? Where? What did he do?
What we saw differed considerably from the MSM. Romney owned the stage, directed the flow of attack, and kept the President on the defensive. Obama’s best moment, yes, was when he acted offended that he failed to take Libya seriously. He may have said he found Romney offensive (surprise!), but being offended is by definition a defensive reaction.
We also saw the President follow a peculiar pattern: the question would be asked, the President would jump into a preamble to an answer, and then immediately go back to a talking point on the last question right from a pre-canned campaign speech. At the end of his time, the President would turn his back on the questioner and stomp back to his chair.
Governor Romney—and let us be clear that he was not always respectful to his opponent either—would smile at the questioner, thank the person or—in the case of the Libya question—pause to reflect on the sacrifices of the victims and their families, and answer the question with ennumerated points. Then, he would contrast the President’s previous or forthcoming answer. After this, he would smile and nod at the questioner and turn back to the audience. Much more connected.
In retrospect, the Czar thinks that Obama’s first interruption startled Romney, but the Governor realized how this was going to go and was ready for it. He continually but not perfectly went back to turning the tables on the President.
When the question is about firearms, and the President talks about teachers, you know he has nothing. When the question is about unemployment, and the President brings up Big Bird, he has nothing. When the question is about taxes, and the President goes on about Wall Street and millionaires and billionaires, he has nothing.
Let us put it another way: the President “excelled” in the debate in exactly the same way doting parents tell their pee-wee wrestler that he did excellent today for not running out of the ring constantly. Better, but you still lost.
Let us see about getting you out of that desert and back to the island of your choice, ID!
Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.