Debate (Dehook, Deline, Desinker)

After dismissing thoughts of suicide over the presidential debate I did a Rip Van Winkle for a couple of days, no newspapers and no TV. Since my return I’ve managed to gather a few thoughts on the subject.

The debate itself was mostly a replay of that old economic battleground, Keynesian versus Laissez Faire. While the subject is relevant to how each man might perform as president the major part of the discussion was void of specifics on how either would manage the economy for the next four years. The exchange might be informative in an economics class, but hardly to a majority of voters.

Within these limits Romney was the clear and, more important, popular winner. He was critical, but not disdainful of his opponent. While Obama was speaking he looked at him directly with that frozen smile. In the same role Obama was looking at anything except his opponent. This demeanor didn’t help John McCain’s cause four years ago in what seemed to be an attempt to put Obama in his place. Worse yet was Al Gore’s incessant groaning while W was speaking. I’d have thought Obama team would have figured this one out given how sharp it was the last time around. This oversight may decide who the next president will be.

I attribute the lack of substance in the debate itself to moderator Jim Lehrer. The situation required more than theoretical questions. I understand his concern over seeming partisan by asking for a comment on Romney’s 47% statement. But being on record as not being “concerned” with nearly half of the nation is as relevant as any question that was asked. That it was not a public statement, but one made in presumed privacy to selected supporters who paid $50,000 to each hear him, only adds to its importance. Contrast Lehrer’s timidity with Bernard Shaw’s question to Michael Dukakis in 1988 as to how he would reconcile his opposition to the death penalty with the possibility of his wife being raped and murdered. He might as well have added by Willie Horton.

It will be sad, tragic and until recently barely credible if this event leads to the election of this wooden man whose words and actions personify his class, which is driven largely by billionaires whose worst fear is becoming mere millionaires. Pulling this one off without unsolicited help from Barack Obama and Jim Lehrer would have put him in a league with Merlin, Houdini and Rasputin.