More Debate

Republicans are understandable ecstatic about Romney's drubbing of the President, but it's a great exaggeration to say that his performance was superlative. Rather, Obama's performance was awful. It hard to guess why he was so truly terrible, but a few theories are out there.

(1)Obama really really hates confrontation, and couldn't bring himself to confront Romney. I think this is right, and it's been the besetting sin of his presidency. He let Congress walk all over him and never used the bully pulpit to fight back. I wonder if he can escape this habit of a lifetime.

(2)He rarely does press conferences and is out of practice handling critical questions. True and also probably tied to the first critique.

(3)He was afraid of being seen as the angry black man. This is number one again.

(4)He was tired and didn't prepare. Hard to believe, but hard to disbelieve either. He spends hundreds of hours talking to voters a few thousand at a time and couldn't spend twenty hours to prepare to talk to sixty million?

(5)He surrounds himself with yes men afraid to tell him he isn't doing it right.

I'm not sure I can remember Democrats being so angry at their candidate. His performance felt to some like misbehavior before the enemy. Obama has a reputation as a tough competitor. Last night he was a marshmallow.

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