It's a Draw

The media are rallying around their boy and declaring it a draw. Of course all Obama had to do last night was not start crying for the water boys in the media to make this declaration. The first debate was such a complete surprise for everyone in the media that they were caught -- on film -- reacting (dare I say it?) honestly. Last night was the expected show of determined, yet undoubtedly white-knuckled, support for the president. Prayers were being whispered in newsrooms all across the country. "Please, dear God, don't let him screw this up so badly that we can't save it for him."

There are no atheists in foxholes. And last night was war on the frontline.

But I kept thinking about this cartoon.

"eeeeeeeeaaaahhh....shaddup!"

While Romney did miss a few obvious openings to what could have been devastating attacks, most notably the Benghazi coverup/screwup, he consistently made his points on the economy and his vision, while Obama just shook his widdle fists and made threats. If we, as the audience, didn't know that Obama was already president, it would have been difficult to glean who was the incumbent and who was the challenger. Obama talked about what he would do if elected, he talked about what Clinton did, he threatened us with what Romney might do, but he never talked about what he HAS DONE.

I kept thinking about this, too.

This debate can only be described as a draw in that it was not as brutally decisive as the first. And the polls over the next few days may well indicate that to the American people it was a win for Romney. There is only so much the media can do when their boy is without his teleprompter. Even the hefty Candy Crowley couldn't pull him completely over the finish line. She did her best, dragging him away from the Benghazi debacle, but it left her panting and uncomfortable -- and exposed. 

The brilliant Victor Davis Hanson agrees with me. 

A DRAW, OR BETTER THAN A DRAW?

I think the debate was a draw, and so Romney’s ascendance may well continue. Obama did better than in Denver and will energize his base by his competitiveness, but not better to the degree that he arrests Romney’s momentum or wins back independents. Next-day reflection, fact-checking, and selecta-quotes, as in the case of the VP debate, may well favor the Republican. Romney did well despite once again being given less talk time, an inept moderator, and a silly town-hall forum. 

The biggest losers? The pathetic staged town-hall format: The questions are preselected and the questioners not spontaneous and often clumsy. They seemed unenthusiastic and their presence impeded a fuller exchange of views 

Ms. Crowley was out of bounds by selectively attempting to offer real-time fact-checking — endorsed by Obama (“Say that a little louder, Candy!”) — and fact-checking, no less, that was not quite factual. Nemesis struck when, in the middle of her clumsy attempts to offer a lifeline to a stumbling Obama on Libya, she had a deer-in-the-headlights look and an exasperated stutter, almost as if to say, “Why am I giving myself away?” 

Final verdict: Again, I think polls and post-debate focus and reflection will suggest Romney did better than the immediate consensus of a draw. (emphasis mine.)