So let me see if I got this straight

[malaise]

WilLIARd Rmoney had to line up an interview with Hannity to walk back his 47% hate fest because President Obama never gave him a single opportunity during the debate. We all know that the focus groups and polls show that he's taken a severe beating given his contempt for the 47%.

Now everyone is talking about Big Bird and no one gives a shit that he now claims to be for the 100%.
No drama Obama is the big winner two days later.

[BenzoDia]

1. Too right. Obama had his own script and followed it.

All that was missing was a few counter-punches.

[malaise]

3. He should have called him on the Medicare money lie

and he might have laughed out loud and asked about the Extreme Makeover Rmoney

[Whisp]

12. He did at least one time.

Earlier in the debate when Romney lied about cutting 716B from medicare Obama did say that money was cut from providers and insurance companies and not from people.

[malaise]

15. I heard him but he should have laughed and said you're still pushing that

lie. Indeed when WilLIARd told him he could'nt have his own facts, he should have laughed and said clearly that was reserved for Rmoney

[Cha]

16. And, when did Romney bring in

the tidbit about his sons lying to him? What context was that..was he calling Pres Obama a liar, too?

[malaise]

18. That was a really weird comment

Amazing how Rmoney lies while calling eeryone else a LIAR

[StatGirl]

38. That was a combination of condescension and a dog whistle

He was trying to dominate Obama by creating the impression that he's the father and Obama is on the level of his sons -- which puts Romney one-up in his patriarchal worldview.

But he was also indirectly calling him "boy".

This was clearly one of his rehearsed zingers.

[drthais]

39. no, he wasn't calling him a liar...

he was calling him 'Boy'

[Cha]

48. Oh, it was when mitt said Obama was entitled

to his own plane but not his own facts that he was making it seem PBO was the one who was Lying and not himself.

[malaise]

58. Correct n/t

[BenzoDia]

54. You're absolutely right. That was a give me.

The death panels, Romney's weak tax explanation, pre-existing condition coverage were all gimmes. Just a quick concise rebuttal would have been enough.

[rgbecker]

63. The President would have come across as petty....

He would have spent his entire time allotment saying " Mitt, that's just not true". Even the most ardent commentators were commenting about how their heads were spinning at all the crap Mitt was splewing. Obama would never have been able to set all those lies straight in his 2 minute allotments.

[Aldo Leopold]

2. And two days after that, and two more days after that...

So is this luck on the President's part, or did they foresee that by leaving off on the 47% stuff that Romney would likely ooze out into the media afterward and put the focus back on it himself?

[malaise]

4. I figure that they believed that he must have spent hours preparing

a response because all the focus groups know that video was a game changer.

[Aldo Leopold]

9. Yeah, you're probably right.

Plus, they needed most of their prep time to perfect that "tossing the cheat notes onto the lectern" move!

Good OP, malaise, as usual.

[malaise]

10. Looks like the notes were a hanky

[caraher]

56. A very, very stiff, well-starched hanky! <nt>

[Wounded Bear]

5. It's the audience factor......

Estimates were that 50 million people would tune into the debates. If President Obama brought it out during the debate, Romney would have had an opportunity to look contrite and issue his canned "apology" to the whole nation.

Now, he is relegated to spewing it on cable talk shows, which has a far smaller audience.

[malaise]

6. Correct - Krystal Ball explained it well

earlier this evening.
Further people are more interested in Big Bird than his lying apology

[Cha]

17. Yeah, Willard set that up

Perfectly!

[Change has come]

26. Krystal Ball?

Is that the woman who is usually on with Lawrence O'Donnell? I never know if I hear her name correctly.

[malaise]

30. Yep - she co-hosts that awful afternoon program

with that ignorant ReTHUG Cupp.

[drthais]

40. oh god htat republican girl-child

S.E. Cupp or whatever her name is...I can hardly stomach it

[Arugula Latte]

52. I can't stand her either.

Maybe this is bad, but when she speaks I just picture her holding one of those big red beer cups near the keg at the Tri Delt mixer with the Kappa Sigs.

[Whisp]

14. maybe someone in Romney's camp leaked that.

I can't imagine many people being happy working with that shit.

[Wounded Bear]

7. It's a one/two punch, too.......

Remember, RWers don't like their guys to apologize. In their eyes it's a sign of weakness. Not only did Romney not have a chance to put his "apology" out there to a real national audience, he now has issued it to the one segment of the population that thinks he shouldn't apologize because they largely agree with the sentiment.

He just poked a finger into the eye of his own base.

Again.

[malaise]

8. True I hadn't thought of that part

Many of the base agreed with his comments and told him not to back down. Hahahaha.

[Cha]

19. Precisely Wounded Bear..now

that you've mentioned it! Thanks

[Booster]

29. And he had to spend money to put the ad out rather than getting it done for free. heehee

[malaise]

32. And no one cares

[bullwinkle428]

11. The hilarious irony is that the "Big Bird" thing is the closest thing he had to one

of the "zingers" his campaign staff was hyping, and it completely blew up in his face like a cheap novelty cigar!

[malaise]

13. Bwaaaaaaaaaaah isn't that the truth

It's freaking hilarious. He is so out of touch that he doesn't have a clue what really matters to Americans - and Sesame Street matters.

[Cha]

21. Willard boomeranged

his zinger!

[kimbutgar]

27. Exactly.

[gkhouston]

34. +1000. It was an especially shitty thing to say to a PBS moderator.

I'm sure the backwash think that was very clever, but pretty much everyone else isn't going to think that's a classy move.

[Indpndnt]

45. Especially after stomping all over the moderator for most of the debate.

An entitled twit is what came through the screen. That's Willard.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

46. like a cheap novelty cigar.....

P.S. In my googling for a good visual to steal, I saw a seemingly perfect Wile E. Coyote pic. Perfect, until I went to the website. Woa. "The American Thinker". What a pile. It should be called "The American Stinker". I decided not to use anything that would link back to that cesspool.

[Indpndnt]

47. He gleefully threw out that 'zinger' like a grenade. Except he held the grenade & threw the pin!

Moran.

I wish we knew how spontaneous it was. I felt the PBS attack was scripted, but Willard improvised by mentioning Big Bird. Or maybe that's my wishful thinking talking. I just couldn't be more pleased that he put a face on his 'big' budget cut. A big, yellow, adorable, feathery face with legions of tiny (and the now, not-so tiny) fans.

[spanone]

20. i think you have it perfectly straight....!!!!

[Cha]

22. Yeah, she does!

[malaise]

23. Wounded Bear makes a good point about the one two punch

[spanone]

25. Bingo!

[IMG][/IMG]

[cr8tvlde]

24. Welcome Big Bird. That was a OOma ma mow papa Oom mow Zinger. Kind of has a beat to it.

[malaise]

28. LOL

[rhett o rick]

31. I see the strategy for Pres Obama to be cool and give his vision. Let Rmoney struggle, wiggle and

lie.

[rhett o rick]

33. When Mittens said he liked Big Bird and Jim Lehrer he couldnt have been less sincere. nm

[malaise]

35. Sincere is not a word that can be used with Rmoney

[rhett o rick]

36. Good point. He cant be sincere about anything, therefore, nothing new. nm

[Wounded Bear]

37. Sincerity......

once you learn to fake that, you've got it made.

-George Burns

Romney is still trying to learn that one.

[BeliQueen]

41. Someone on MSNBC said "Wasn't it his job to call Mitt out on every lie."

And I'm yelling at the screen--"No."

He did what he had to do; put forward a plan, endure Romney's childish behavior, and wait for Romney to screw up.

First it was 47%. Now he wants to fire Big Bird--in addition to all the lies and miscalculations.

In the meantime, Obama was the same person he has been throughout--patient, remorseful about things he feels responsible for, forceful when he needed to be, informed, and congenial.

[Iliyah]

49. Right, you want a leader who can listen to his equals

the American people. OBL decision was tough, failure was not an option. Pres O knows that and thats why he fights for us.

[malaise]

55. I turned off most of the comments after the debate

There were way too many emotional responses

[OldDem2012]

42. Bingo! Dead on!....

...and now he's gotten hammered by the report on 7.8% unemployment.

[malaise]

59. Yes indeed

I was rying to figure out why that racist criminal Sununu called Obama lazy - they must have been really mad that he did not give Rmoney the chance to walk back the 47% remarks after all their preparations.

[CakeGrrl]

43. It's odd to see people still playing "woulda, shoulda, coulda" when

the events of the last couple of days have unfolded as they have.

What are the benefits that Romney's reaping from this "win"? Can someone enumerate them?

[malaise]

60. All Rmoney is reaping is the Big Bird backlash

and the job numbers have not helped him

[Indpndnt]

44. Precisely!

Funny how things work out, isn't it?

[malaise]

61. Indeed

[RobertEarl]

50. Great thread

My impressions....

Obama was a real gentleman.

Obama has bigger things to think about than what zingers the republicans might invent.

Big bird is in the 47 percent and Romney will fire all the 47ers.

Obama done good.

[malaise]

62. Thanks

[hrmjustin]

51. Agreed!

[Third Doctor]

53. I know this sounds corny

but I think they should put out ad on Bigbird. Mainly saying that Mitt would cut public broadcasting which is less than 1% of the budget while giving himself a big tax break.

[malaise]

57. Big bird is all over cable right now

and they are showing statements from PBS and statistics showing tha people love Sesame Street. They are not playing WilLIARd's tape with Hannity.