I didn't see the entire debate - mostly just the last two-thirds - and I rather liked what I saw. Nevertheless, many are agitated.
Wow, Chris Matthews is apoplectic!
I see Chris's point, though - from a debater's perspective, Obama wasn't really there. But, hey, he's the President. And who, exactly, says he has to show up?
And Romney - especially compared to Gingrich, Perry, et al., the very, very best Republican candidate available this year! He exudes that Mormon industriousness that is so attractive! The Mormons, who have always been crazier than weasels in heat, nevertheless work admirably hard. Romney - the biggest, most-industrious, most eager-beaver liar who ever lived! Makes Nixon look like a Boy Scout!
At the pinnacle of the campaign noosphere, where it's just two candidates, the media, and the vast, silent audience, sometimes it's better, like Obama, to be a silent ninja of "The Matrix":
The film depicts a future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality or cyberspace created by sentient machines to pacify and subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source.I picture Obama to be like Morpheus, Chris Matthews like Neo, and Rachel Maddow like Trinity:
Computer programmer Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is secretly a hacker known as "Neo". He is restless, eager and driven to learn the meaning of cryptic references to the "Matrix" appearing on his computer. A female hacker named Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) confirms that a man named Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) can help him; however, three Agents, led by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), arrest Neo and attempt to prevent him from collaborating with Morpheus.Wow! If the humans are taking refuge in Utah (Zion), they must cleverly be in southern Utah! And the GOP is wrong, as usual, about mocking Obama as "The One". Obama is not that obvious!
...Morpheus tells Neo that humans are fighting against intelligent machines that were created early in the 21st century and have since taken control of the Earth's surface. The machines harvest the bioelectrical energy of humans, who are kept docile within the "Matrix" – a simulation of the world as it was in 1999. Neo has lived in this simulated world since birth; in reality, the year is closer to 2199. Morpheus and his crew belong to a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their rebellion against the Machines. They are able to connect themselves to the Matrix, where they can gain superhuman abilities by using their understanding of the simulated reality's true nature to manipulate its physical laws. ... Morpheus believes that Neo is "the One", a man prophesied to end the war.
...In the Matrix, the Agents drug and interrogate Morpheus in an attempt to learn his access codes to the mainframe computer in Zion, the humans' subterranean refuge in the real world. Neo and Trinity return to the Matrix and rescue Morpheus; in the process, Neo becomes more confident in his ability to manipulate the Matrix, and is ultimately able to dodge bullets fired at him.
... In the Matrix, just before reaching another exit, Neo is shot and killed by Agent Smith. Trinity, who is standing over Neo's body in the real world, whispers that the Oracle told her she would fall in love with the One. She kisses Neo and restores his life. In the Matrix, Neo revives with new power to perceive and control the simulated world, and effortlessly destroys Agent Smith, before returning to the real world in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the attacking sentinels.
The film ends with Neo back in the Matrix, making a telephone call promising that he will demonstrate to the people imprisoned in the Matrix that "anything is possible." He hangs up the phone and flies into the sky.
What Chris Matthews needs is a little patience. Things are not as dire as they look:
There’s no question that Romney crushed the president, who gave a poor performance. But the facts are clear: This won’t determine the outcome.Obama looked like his mind was on bigger objectives than this year's sordid campaign tit-for-tat. I liked his presentation!
It’s worth looking back to the 2004 presidential debates. The unanimous opinion was that John Kerry punished George W. Bush. Whereas Bush was churlish, impatient, and aloof, Kerry was dynamic and aggressive. He came away from the debates with momentum and a boost in the polls.
... Obama is winning the vast majority of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, while Romney is doing the same for Republicans. There isn’t much across-the-aisle voting in this election, which means that Romney needs to win undecideds and break Obama’s coalition to make gains. To do that, he needs to offer a convincing argument to Democratic voters and, so far, his campaign hasn’t been able to clear that hurdle. Yes, the debate helped him look serious and presidential, but that’s never been his problem: Romney moves with an aura of competence. What he lacks is detail and conviction.
I liked Romney's presentation too, mostly because, finally freed from the constraints of the GOP, Jim Lehrer, Obama, and any other human agency in the Universe, he effortlessly threw the Tea Partiers under the bus by reclaiming Romneycare, and proceeded to lie with a brazenness we've never seen before. There was no one to stop him! Even though the hour is late, those lies will catch up to him! Unlike previous brazen lies (like Romney having been in a coma after his auto accident) these lies are getting immediate, hostile attention.
Still, I can't help but feel for friend Ben, who returned home after a hard day's work to find the slimiest, used-car salesman ever invented "winning" the debate:
Well, I had to watch the debate late replay because I was working late. So I was not feeling great after working a little too hard, and then I had to watch Romney turn on (and leave on) that plastic, smirking, disrespectful smile, lie or change his positions multiple times because it was a different audience (AGAIN!!!), and disrespect one of the most sincere, dedicated Presidents we've ever had over and over again with things he said. THEN(!!!), I had to watch the talking heads and their instant polls say the President "lost" the debate basically because he wasn't as aggressive or as much of a jerk as Romney was. Wow. This isn't one of those trashy reality shows where you get declared the winner because you were the best liar and screwed over all your friends. Is that the kind of behavior he will use to effectively reach out to the democrats when he meets with them every Monday (pretty ironic). It's supposed to be an educational debate to help people who haven't been paying enough attention gain a better understanding of the candidates' plans and positions so they can make an informed decision.Don't worry, Ben! The American people saw and heard all we needed to make an informed decision!
Here's an analogy: You go to a car dealer and the salesman is the nicest guy you have ever met. He chats about how high quality his used cars are and somberly tells you that his competitor's cars are junk--in spite of that dealer being a very decent person. You take it all in and think, "That's the guy I want to buy from"--until you get home and start checking out his claims online. To your shock and surprise you learn that everything he told you is false. He seemed like a really honest and sincere man until you learned the truth.
ReplyDeleteNow the other dealer tells you that his cars are a good value. But he also tells you that some models have problems that need to be corrected. And he doesn't respond to his competitor's claims that his cars are junk. He probably should have responded but he didn't want to lower himself to that level of discourse. So you go home and find out that everything he said is true and his customers appreciate his honesty.
Now the question is this: Will people be swayed by the lying con man or will they do their research and make an informed decision? My guess is that if the first salesman just stretched the truth a bit he might get away with it. But if he spins an entire web of lies people will see through it and buy from his competitor.
Agreed! There is still time for people to sort it all out.....
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