I really hope that that President Obama at least tries to show up for the next debate. I said in the other thread that I didn't think Romney did as well as everyone thought in terms of convincing voters to vote for him (as opposed to convincing people that he won the debate), but that doesn't mean that I thought President Obama did well.
President Obama looked tired and listless and came across as unprepared. He missed several opportunities to hit back at Romney for his lies and call him out for not articulating his positions. I realize that might have been by design because the Obama team might think they have a better chance of beating conservative Romney as opposed to moderate Romney, but letting Romney get away with repeating the lie about the Medicare cuts and letting Romney dance all over the places with his tax plans was inexcusable. A person I watched the debate with came away with the initial impression that both candidates had the same plan for Medicare. If Romney continues to move to the center the Obama team will have to come up with a plan to address that anyway.
President Obama just wasn't clear on his messaging and didn't respond to Romney's attacks well. For example, he could have easily rebutted Romney's weak attacks against the Affordable Care Act on federalism grounds by noting that the Affordable Car Act allows states to opt out of the law and set up their own systems provided the states still offer full coverage. He should have hit Romney harder on the Medicaid cuts by noting that they would effect seniors in nursing homes. Worse, he basically ceded the jobs argument to Romney. Instead of touting his jobs bill, he let Romney basically become the Keynesian when Romney pointed out, correctly, that the best way to close the deficit at the moment is through economic growth. I seriously wasn't sure who the Democrat was and who the Republican was at that point. President Obama needed to do a better job of explaining why tax cut aren't a good way to stimulate the economy, and why measures like his jobs bill are better. Instead, he ended up making the bizarre argument that balancing the budget will somehow create jobs. God help us if he really believes that.
Overall, Obama suffered from a lack of energy and preparedness, but above all he suffered from a lack of vision. It really is the same problem that has dogged him since his election. Every issue seems to exist in isolation to him. Taxes, balancing the budget, the environment, education, health care: every issue seems to exist in a hermitically sealed box to him. He can't seem to tie everything together in way to create a narrative that will convince the American voter he has an idea of how to solve this country's problems. Clinton could do it (for better or worse), Reagan could do it, JFK could do it, and both Roosevelt’s could do it. Obama apparently can't, and it hurts him. The most he does is attempt philosophical defenses of social programs. That is nice, but it just comes across as overly academic and abstract. I sure wasn't reassured by anything he said in the debates. It's just that the other guy is so much worse. Or at least his party his.
President Obama is not going to lose the election because of the debates. I'm not even convinced the debates will move the polls much. I am concerned that more listless performances in the debates by President Obama will harm the Democratic Party. I'm concerned that it will cause Democrats to lose Senate and House races that they might otherwise win. Above all, it’s just not a good thing for a party to have its standard bearer appear so listless and disinterested in public. It saps energy, it saps enthusiasm, and it imparts a sense of aimlessness. Does he want a Republican House (and Senate?) so he can strike his "grand bargain"?
