The Presidential Debate: Observations but Choices are Clear

The first joint appearance by Mitt Romney and Barack Obama took place in Denver last night. I watched only the first half hour as a flu bug was bugging me all day. I did see clips and read part of the transcript this morning. In all  things American, there must be a winner and a loser.

 Most analysts on the left and right have given the nod of victory to Mr. Romney. Of course, that does not count, only the results of the ballot boxes in 50 States and the District of Columbia will determine the winner.

 It is way too early to assess any real political consequences. I would guess the performance of Mr. Romney will lead to some voters giving him a second look and may energize his core voters in thinking he can win. The performances certainly were not a knock out blow for the President who enjoys favorable polls in many important states.

 A few observations are in order:

 1. Mr. Obama looked tired, sometimes nervous and fidgety. He definitely missed his favorite teleprompter.

 2. Mr. Romney has great hair. His chiseled looks and smile is right out of some movie producer’s casting couch.

 3. Mr. Obama made it clear, if there was ever any doubt, he believes in big government, larger government and more government. He also believes the government makes “investments” and has the obligation to make decisions that otherwise would be made at the local level  (i.e. education) or by the individual. Some people thing that is a good approach. 

 4. Mr. Romney came off as fairly reasonable and friendly person, not some ogre as portrayed. He still has the unwanted uncle air about him but we all have those kinds of people in our life. In contrast, I thought Mr Obama was a bit indifferent, distant and bothered by the whole process. I really do not want to invite either one over for a bar-b-que.

5. The President’s message to stay the course, everything is working, things will get better requires more than a leap of faith. Whatever suggestions he put forth are either not politically feasible, have been around before or just plain ineffective. He still does not get the deficit issue or does not he care. The lines about all the progress on cutting the deficit were just not believable.

 6. Mr. Romney tried his best to be moderate. He probably is a moderate anyway but knows he cannot win without the independent voters. He stayed away for the most part on  polarizing social issues but probably lost the PBS vote.

7. There are many real differences on issues. Energy, for example, is one. Mr. Obama believes in subsiding non-economical renewable sources and punishing coal and other fossil fuels in order to make up the pricing differential. Mr. Romney is a drill-baby-drill guy as well and a burn-baby-burn-that-coal guy. Take your pick- Solyndra or King Coal. Electric cars or gasoline.

8. Neither of the candidates understands the nuances of tax policy and did not explain very well the needed details. The stuff about oil profits said by Mr. Obama to help children is just plain demagoguery and shows a lack of any understanding of how the tax system works and how the government should work, actually. He only knows he wants the government to get more revenue. On the other side, Mr. Romney’s plan to cut rates is full of holes and fill in the blanks. 

 Just a few observations but maybe the most important one is the election just got more interesting and there is a clear choice to be made even though a person may not like the items on the menu.