President Obama and Mitt Romney brought full quivers of statistics and factoids to the first battle of the general election, but both occasionally misfired — stretching the truth or omitting important context.
Romney made the case that his term as a Republican governor in Massachusetts would enable him to break the partisan gridlock in Washington.
Comments
No, Callum and Beth, the President did not bring "full quivers of statistics and factoids" to the debate the other night. He brought nothing. He was unprepared, unfocused, listless, and epistemologically naked. Oh, sure, the next day on the campaign trail, after having been given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by his handlers, he emerged, like a boxer from his corner after a bad round, full of flurry, bon mots and zingers. But these should have been thought of and delivered by him on his feet during the debate. By Thursday, they were a day late and a dollar short. Conclusion: untethered from his teleprompter and speechwriters, Obama is a paper tiger, unimpressive, slow on his feet, not "quick". And when even words fail a man who has only words ....