Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Last night's final debate; commentaries

Legal Insurrection; Obama loves straw man arguments, known on the internets as being a shorter.
"The false choice between Obama’s position on an issue and some absurd extreme alternative is Obama’s way of framing most issues.
" “Some say” we should have no government or similar ridiculousness is a typical Obama refrain in order to justify massive government."
"Notice how Obama never addresses what the Navy says it needs. Most of the clips you will see of this segment omit Romney’s reference to the Navy’s own assessment of its needs.
The nutroots are gaga over this, but did it really help Obama?
"I think the military may disagree that a fully equipped Navy, by the Navy’s own standards, is the equivalent of resurrecting the cavalry. Same goes for the Air Force."

Politico; Mitt Romney wins debate season  ""Barack Obama won on points last night. But that victory may not have been enough to undo the damage done to the president by this year's debate season."

PJ Media; Big Bird, Binders, Bayonets: Who Sank Whose Battleship?  "Romney’s Libya answer, when asked about policy failures and whether the White House attempted to mislead the public on what happened, was a broader take on the need to deal with Islamic radicalism."
AP’s Latest Fact Free ‘Fact Check’ Of Romney  "Note that Obama flat out lied when he said: "You were very clear that you would not provide government assistance to the U.S. auto companies, even if they went through bankruptcy."
"In fact, in the very New York Times editorial that the news media so love to cite, Romney specifically called for government assistance: "The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk." "

Political Cartoons by Eric Allie
Much was made of Romney's point that Syria would give Iran access "to the sea", snarkily saying that they already had access to the Persian Gulf. They do, but not to the Mediterranean Sea, which would give Iran direct access to the coast of Israel and increased ability to threaten the Suez Canal. That would be major.
No matter. Obama's supporters are fully committed to him, not because he is knowledgeable and effective in foreign policy but merely because he is Barack Obama.
I fear this man's effect on America, but not as much as I fear those who want him to be president. The Tunnel Dweller


Stilton Jarlsberg at Hope n' Change made this point with which I agree:
In candor, I'm extremely disappointed that Mitt didn't beat Barry over the head with his numerous foreign policy failures. I don't know if Mitt's pollsters told him not to risk it, or it Mitt just didn't have the stomach for it. But it SHOULD have been said that this president has endangered American lives, undermined the confidence of our allies, emboldened our enemies, and generally made a complete mess of every conceivable foreign policy decision he's made.
Hot Air; Romney wins the debate season — and the key test for a challenger; Update: Romney hits 50% in Rasmussen tracker, up 4  Debate's "real value to voters, however, is to test the presidential mettle of each man.  A President is presumed to have more of it, by virtue of his four years in the office already, so the challenger has to work hard to equal or surpass his stature.  Romney did that in the first debate, and in the two succeeding debates solidified his standing as a man at least Obama’s equal."
From the Council on Foreign Relations: Presidential Debate Transcript, Florida, October 2012

Yeshiva World News in Israel naturally paid close attention to this: Romney, Obama Pledge Israel Backing, Agree Iran Strike Last Resort   "Rick “Ozzie” Nelson, an international security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the foreign policy debate was “underwhelming” and the candidates kept switching to domestic policies."

Heritage Experts’ Roundup of the Final Presidential Debate   One point I'm glad that Romney made:  "President Obama stated his support for the 2009 Green Revolution in Iran tonight. That is three years late and a dollar short. Just as he revised his record on the Benghazi attack, calling it terrorism four weeks after the fact, President Obama has now changed his position on Iran. One of the reasons we still have the Mullahs in power in Tehran today is that the United States failed to support a promising, fledgling political uprising against the autocratic regime of Iran."

American Thinker had these:
Romney passes final test  "In his three debates, Romney proved himself at least the equal, and at times the master, of Obama. By any measure, the Obama campaign's attempt to make Romney appear to be a risky choice has utterly failed while the Republican has shown himself to be a viable, plausible alternative.
Obama's Facial Expressions Lost the Debate for Him  "That's the problem with transformational figures, they always know how to save humanity in general, but they end up never saving anyone or anything in particular."

Romney Passed the Test  by Fred Barnes:  "Romney waltzed. Obama did the Electric Slide."
Obama, Disarmed  From NRO; "Over all, the debate came down to the economy, and Romney’s case was much stronger. I think Romney was the clear winner on points and by appearing presidential."
Petulant, Perturbed Obama Just Can't Help Himself   "Pouting comes second nature".

Foreign Policy Debate? "The “I got bin Laden” statements from Obama were predictable and shallow.  But .. when you’re speaking to a shallow electorate, shallow works."
Where Obama Lost Points   On Obama's "bayonets" zinger, Boortz said:
This was a trifecta for Obama. He managed to combine snarky, sarcastic and condescending into one immature statement.
Romney is right here. Our military is weakened. That would be because Obama came into office with the intent of weakening the American military. He was raised to believe that America was an evil colonial power – and that power was exercised through the American military. Obama was raised and nurtured to despise the U.S. Armed Forces. One can only guess how much of that has stuck with him into the presidency. Remember – the Obama administration is working overtime to suppress the military vote in this election.
Legal Insurrection; Best Tweets of the Final Debate — Romney as The President, Obama as desperate challenger  I think this line beat out the "bayonets and horses" zinger:
@Ostrov_A Bang! #Romney to #Obama: I certainly won't be telling Putin I'm going you more flexibility after the election." #Debate2012
Political Cartoons

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