It's not affecting my vote. But I wondered what happened and wasn't pleased with what I learned.

They only have eight years in the job at the most. They can sleep when they're out of office. I know they need to recharge, etc. But I am not impressed. Or with the press conference infrequency. I am going to vote for the man, but I hope that Michelle or someone kicked his ass.

I understand that Eisenhower was depressed. We all know that W. slept half his life away. But, unless you ARE depressed -- and then, get treatment -- it's not too much to expect full engagement at the BIG events. Good god. No damned excuse for phoning it in. I do wonder if his speech writers/prep staff are partly to blame. I don't know. But he wasn't on fire for the Democratic Convention either. Get over it. There's just a little bit at stake here.

I thought President Obama would play it conservative but also expected him to do much better than he did. It makes me nervous because of the high stakes of the election, as Martina said. He seems to be back on track, at least on his stump speeches. There may be some people who tuned in and got what they needed from Romney to decide to vote for him, but is it enough to win the election for him? I don't think so, but yes it makes me nervous.

Romney lied through his teeth and yep I think he got short-term gain out of it, but the lies will come back to bite him.

I am also wondering about the Big Bird effect. The conservatives have been trying to get rid of public television since the days of Nixon. I think that was Romney throwing the far right a bone. But it isn't going to play too well with parents and others who care about children. I have read in several places that where his 47% remarks hurt him the most in swing states was among working class/lower income women. I think his Big Bird remarks just reinforces how out of touch he is and doesn't understand regular people.

The conservative meltdown over the unemployment rate yesterday was fun to watch. Seriously, how the Republican party has any shred of credibility left is beyond me. Mitt now says what he said about the 47% was completely wrong. Yeah 17 days after the tape is released the new Moderate Mitt admits he was wrong. Ho hum. Anyway, I am not seeing much out of the Romney camp following the debate that shows further momentum to me. I will be watching the polls that come out next week.

I don't know if it will have a lot of impact on the election, but I am looking forward to the Biden-Ryan debate. I don't think Biden will let Ryan hide from his budget or continue to give lame excuses why he can't give details on the Romney tax plan because he doesn't have time or the math is too complicated or that people will be bored. It should be interesting. Biden does make gaffes from time to time, but he knows his stuff and is extremely loyal to the President. I am not so sure Ryan is that loyal to Romney. He is young and hoping for a long successful career. His views are quite extreme, and I don't know if he is as good at dancing around the issues and flat out lying the way Romney is.

So far the debates haven't given Romney much of a bump in the polls except on the specific issue of caring about the middle class. He got a huge bump on that issue. :|

Totally agree re Big Bird and interesting point re Ryan's loyalty. I am looking forward to Biden on fire. Even if he fumbles a time or two, he's going to be FUN to watch.

Obama is on the tail end of the baby boomer generation and beginning of Gen X. God knows boomers are self-indulgent and whiny (*points to self*). But I am sorry. You get over that in extremis. On the battlefield. On call for three nights in a row in a surgical rotation. You get tough. I am sure that the President has toughened up. But I can't imagine Hillary succumbing to a mood when a big event was coming up. I can imagine her being irritable, but she would rise to the fucking occasion.

I am so appreciative of the commentary that members here make about issues arising from the Democratic and Republican campaigns for US presidency. I especially appreciate Bulldog and Martina’s perspective and often find myself utilizing the way they filter the political process via their own unique system of filtering the latest and ongoing political events.

I came across Martina’s post in another forum thread on the 2012 election. Martina found three articles and of those three, the article published in The New Yorker – “Transaction Man: Mormonism, private equity, and the making of a candidate” – was very interesting read in that author, Nicholas Lemann, epitomized Mormon culture to a T. Lemann’s October 1st literary pièce de résistance was framed as a 4-part orchestral arrangement to the tune of: Church, Business, Politics, and The Rescuer (Link to article found, here)


As I read that article, I sat nodding my head in agreement with most of thematic tone and intent conveyed throughout the entire essay. When I got to the three final paragraphs, which describe in MBA lexicon how Romnean synaptic cells seem to not bond with the pubic in cerebral ways, the first thing I thought of was this: What is missing from this essay? Why did Lemann end his article with the synaptic allegory? Was he hoping to facilitate a synaptic hookup for Romney? And, at least 20 more questions came to mind that I cannot even give public utterance to except, do any of you remember that The New Yorker in the 2008 election coverage pressed political hot-buttons with their brand of satire (the front cover image of Obama dressed as a Muslim)??? Yeah, I doubt if they pull a stunt like that again, in light of what happened recently that cost a US ambassador his life and the lives of those caught in the cross-fire of the latest political upheaval in the Middle East.

This election is even more personal for me than the last one was. I grew up in a rural community where, at the time, Mormons comprised at least 90% of the population. The other 10% were comprised of German, Dutch, English and a small sampling of Irish and Scottish based households. The single most relative connection shared among all households was the idea that most familial structures were patrilineal by design; however, my family seemed to be the statistical troublemaker in that my mother’s lineage was of matrilineal design which often competed against the patrilineal structure internally as well as externally – a ‘Molotav cocktail’ (conflict of authority), as seen rather frequently in our household. Although my family was not Mormon, the school district that serviced my rural community was heavily proselytized by Mormons, so I totally get the socio-political cultural piece of Mormonism and what it means in terms of deep political connections to small and big business across the American landscape.

Since the first debate (and there’s one tonight, yes?) and ongoing press coverage of the presidential race, I find myself holding my breath and fine tuning my own filters by calling upon my large cache of life experience and academic achievements. One thing seems for certain, in the sea of political uncertainty over the past few weeks: There is a lot at stake in this presidential election. I appreciate the tremendous investment of time and energy Obama expends not only in his presidential campaign, but also in his brand of leadership.

this is the god's truth -- and it is funny too

Daily Show "You Broke Chris Matthews" segment

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/th...rt-thou--pt--2

hey romney is sucking more money from the conservatives so let him pretend to be back in the game so the other senators etc etc don't get any $

Obama was so poorly prepared or was that what he wanted everyone to see and think? Could it have helped him by letting Romney talk and talk and spew his spiel. Could it be Obama hasn't debated in 4 years and he actually wasn't prepared?

Perhaps Romney may have initially, with this first debate, won some of the independent votes and the votes of those sitting on the fence wondering where the hell to cast their vote with this torn up economy and who to put their faith in for the next 4 - 8 years.

While watching the debate and at first I thought, "Wow! Romney dude, you won that debate. You gave the American people what they wanted to hear and you were quite poised and confident." He came across well versed, prepared, and confident. What he is saying, I agree with and like. But now I'm thinking maybe Obama's campaign and those that assisted him with his debate wanted it to look that way. . Too good to be true for what Romney promises? Let's leave America wondering about this Romney character. Maybe that's why Obama tended to look like a deer in headlights or bored or like, "Shit, I may just hand over the Presidency and walk away like an animal with it's tail between it's legs." This worried me to see this in our Commanding Chief Officer. Both candidates wrote notes. Romney seemed to use his at the first debate and the President, well he seemed to tuck them away to discuss with his team later and perhaps save for another debate.

I believe all politicians tell people what they want to hear. I don't like the numbers of unemployment, the numbers of high prices and gasoline, the numbers of low wages, etc.. I do agree with Romney and that the main concern is getting people back to work, and not just minimum wage and part time jobs but real careers where there is training, incentives, and being able to live the American dream and not just paycheck to paycheck. I want to hear more about specifics on their plans.. I want to hear how they plan on creating new jobs. I want to hear how all this funding not used on war now will be used. I actually look forward to the next debates and seeing Romney spew more and Obama gaining confidence back with the American people. Some one on Face The Nation this morning said something in relation to that it didn't matter who won the debate, America wins! I think we are all ready for something to change in this economy and these candidates see that.

Looks like he got a bump. It still might go up another point or two, I heard. So it's a horse race.

Biden is in full bulldog mode and is burning this motherfucker up right now.

Y'all watching?

Tell em the truth Joe. Don't let me down dammit. Say it and don't back down.
Stand Up JOE> Go Joe

Biden is wiping the floor with Ryan.

Bill Maher tweeted "Hello 9-1-1? There's an old man beating a child on my tv."

Ryan is making himself look like a snivelling, snorting asshole young kid who doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

Biden is busting his ass. Wholly.

Uh, that's because Ryan doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground!

Yeehaw to the Delaware boy! Show them how it's done!

Damn. I need a huge fucking cigarette after watching that.

Biden was succinct, passionate, smart and let none of that bullshit fly by. THAT is the kind of shit I want to see coming out of our Presidential team.

Now, let's sit back and wait for the left to holler that the debate was "fixed" and that the moderator was on Biden's side.

Malarkey

Word!

Way to go Joe!

I believe you meant the right will be whining about a fix.

I can just hear Fox News right now.

If I could actually stomach listening to Fox, that is.

Ryan got lucky .. he just got a crash course in foreign affairs by Biden .. ** wipes Ryan behinde his ears ** ..enough said... ~

My favorite part was when Joe Biden said he would not legislate my womb because he is a practicing Catholic. That is the kind of politician I want in the White House.

Dear GOP...don't tell me that you care about the economy...and don't mention 8% unemployment or Greece....
The GOP house blocking the debt ceiling...refusing to raise it..caused the gridlock that destroyed our credit rating and hurt the whole country...seriously...Biden should have talked about this one when Ryan tried to say cares about the middle class or that
he desires a congress that works with one another. Dude is a little anti-christ like Cantor..
Such a joy for me to help oust Santorum in PA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1519561.html
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2...llion.php#more

I hope that they come out with facts upon facts upon facts to catch that flip flopper at the next debate. Spew the facts.

Agreed...julieisafemme....separation of church and womb.

I am listening to it now online. I had a class tonight and couldn't watch it live.

Biden is doing great. :) Ryan is no slouch. And he's not lying globally about his record.
Martha Radditz is doing a good job, too. This is fun. :)

The other debate really was a travesty: Romney reinventing himself on the spot, Obama checked out, and the Jim Lehrer making a hash of moderating.

What a relief to hear a real debate. I was hearing the Twilight Zone music in the background after Debate 1.

I finally got to watch and I can't believe Ryan was chosen to run as Vice President. He is a child in that type of political ring. If your country votes Romney/Ryan I wish you the best of luck, as I think you will be f*cked.

Biden seemed to always correcting wrong information. Every time Ryan opened his mouth Biden was laughing at him and having to correct more lies that the Republicans are feeding the public.

Crazy ass politics.

both sides make me so frustrated. who do you believe?!?! they all lie. and i'm not saying that i can't take a little bit of lying, that's what they do best, ... politics. i'm voting democrat. that's all i know. but mississippi hasn't put a democratic president in office, ... in umm forever.

last night when biden told ryan that it wasn't very long ago that ryan was asking him for the stimulus money, ... now ryan is calling that money wrong. that was funny lol. yeah buddy, you wanted it a little while back lol.

I sincerely hope that this is not offensive to anyone. I found it hysterical.

Rachel Maddow had a piece of this on her show.

Wanted to share....

The usually entertaining Maureen Dowd on the VP Debate. The parts I especially liked from her commentary:

The New York Times

October 14, 2012
Obama’s Prep Session Goal: Don’t Repeat Mistakes of Last Debate
By HELENE COOPER

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — To prepare for the second round of the presidential debates, President Obama retreated here this weekend — to the environs of this historic village where actors in 18th century garb wander about spouting off in colonial diction.

But as Mr. Obama huddled with close aides on the spectacular resort grounds of what was the Kingsmill Plantation in the 17th century, the history that dominated his presidential study sessions was of a far more recent kind: how not to repeat the mistakes he made at his first debate with Mitt Romney a week and a half ago, when he stood by passively as an aggressive Mr. Romney dominated him, abruptly curtailing Mr. Obama’s momentum and turning the campaign upside down.

The president and his aides were clearly taking debate prep far more seriously this time around. Mr. Obama has scheduled more time, and his aides say that they will try to keep interruptions to a minimum. He is on a resort with not one, but three, golf courses, but he did not bring his clubs and had no plans to hit the links. There will not be any visits to historic sites (he was criticized for going to the Hoover Dam when he was supposed to be studying for the last debate, in Denver); his sole off-campus excursion on Sunday took only half an hour. It was to a campaign field office here where he made a few phone calls to volunteers, delivered pizza to staff members, and pronounced his debate prep as “going great” in answer to a shouted question from a reporter.

Incongruously, a Ferrari convention was taking place at the president’s James River resort — called “Ferraris on the James.” The cars, which glided to the river — in clear view of the main building where Mr. Obama was doing his prep sessions — were accompanied by the ubiquitous Ferrari-owner types who stood around languidly, hands in the pockets of their crisply ironed slacks, while valet attendants peered at various undercarriages. No word on whether the president found it distracting.

This time, instead of focusing on the nuts and bolts of debate facts — no one thinks the president needs to bone up on American troop withdrawals from Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, for instance — Mr. Obama is practicing how to challenge Mr. Romney, something he inexplicably shied away from in Denver on Oct. 3.

“This isn’t a guy who needs be grilled on facts,” one Obama aide said of the president. “What he needs to work on is stylistic.” Translation: how to accuse Mr. Romney of twisting the facts without seeming rude.

Mr. Obama watched his running mate, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., take on Representative Paul D. Ryan in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday night, and Mr. Biden is widely viewed as having done a far better job than his boss. Mr. Obama’s aides were at Mr. Biden’s prep sessions, so presumably they picked up pointers.

Mr. Obama watched the vice-presidential debate aboard Air Force One flying back to Washington from Miami, where he had appeared at a campaign rally. He huddled with six aides in the conference room aboard the plane to watch Mr. Biden interrupt Mr. Ryan, grin constantly to convey disbelief at Mr. Ryan’s assertions, and twice call the congressman’s presentation of facts “malarkey.”

“That was pretty good!” Mr. Obama said again and again at Mr. Biden’s zingers, according to one aide in the room with the president. After landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after the debate, Mr. Obama broke with tradition and approached reporters gathered under the wing of Air Force One to say he was proud of his running mate’s performance.

He could not say that about his own performance the week before, though.

“He knew when he walked off that stage, and he also knew as he watched the tape of that debate, that he has to be more energetic,” Robert Gibbs, an Obama adviser, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” This time around, Mr. Gibbs said, “I think you’ll see somebody who is very passionate about the choice that our country faces.”

The president’s aides say that Mr. Obama, who is fiercely competitive about everything from basketball to golf to Taboo games with his daughters, is now viewing Tuesday’s debate at Hofstra University on Long Island as a chance for him, with his back against the wall, to come out swinging against Mr. Romney. But he must also try not to appear desperate and must take into account the different format of the next debate, which will be town-hall style, with questions coming from people in the audience. So during the debate sessions, Mr. Obama is working on how to answer questions posed by the audience in a respectful way, while still drawing contrasts.

Another major unknown is the degree to which the moderator, Candy Crowley, of CNN, asks follow-up questions. At the first presidential debate, Jim Lehrer of PBS did not ask many follow-up questions, while ABC’s Martha Raddatz did during the vice-presidential debate.

During Mr. Obama’s prep sessions here, aides have played the part of Hofstra audience members, asking questions that range from the investigation into the attack on the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya, to Iran’s nuclear program to the debate on how to rein in the deficit. Senator John Kerry, a k a Mr. Romney during prep sessions, has been spotted eating pizza and walking around the grounds of the resort with a thick binder filled with color-coded spacers.

The Obama adviser David Axelrod, cellphone permanently attached to his ear, is here, as are other advisers, including Ron Klain, Anita Dunn — who is playing the part of Ms. Crowley, the moderator — and David Plouffe. To help on the foreign policy side, Ben Rhodes, a deputy on the National Security Council, and Marie Harf, a former Central Intelligence Agency spokeswoman turned campaign adviser, are on hand.

Unlike the last debate, where the focus was domestic policy, this debate will likely have a heavy foreign policy focus, and Mr. Romney is expected to go after Mr. Obama over the shifting White House story about the developments surrounding the attack in Benghazi, where four Americans, including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, were killed.

I just watched some redux footage of the Fox News coverage of the Biden/Ryan debate where a bunch of the pundits at Fox news essentially tried to demonize Biden for laughing.

They called him "abusive", "aggressive", and "offensive" and then one of their little blond "anchors" went on some ridiculous rant about how "if Joe Biden wanted to lure in women voters, he just turned them off with his behavior" and something about how he wouldnt be part of their dating pool.

And then Sarah Palin's dumbass went on to talk about how he was a muskrat or something.

The icing on the cake? Their "Doctor" Keith Ablow actually suggested that Joe Biden might have dementia.

:|

Like, I am so utterly AGOG that people watch this crap and think that it is "news". From armchair diagnosis (which is ridiculously unprofessional) to some sexist notion from Blondie that women won't think it's sexy that Joe Biden has opinions that he can back up with facts.

I hope that President Obama comes in and wipes the floor with Romney. I do think that Obama has to walk a fine line of dignity so that ignorant people (like the ones at Fox) don't label him "angry black man", which I'm sure they will anyway, and so that he can make his points without getting too deep in the mud.

My fingers are crossed that we see his fire.

I hope Obama is strategic and no bullshit passes him by, it's a town hall kinda debate empathy and calm factual answers and better body language will be more pleasing to the "audience".

I could be wrong:|

I agree. I keep hearing this debate may make or break him. Romney seems to be getting the lead in more states and it is due to the debates.

I think people would rather hear (the debates and candidates) than to just listen to the BS commercials to decide who to vote for. I could be wrong too. . but for me it's true.

Does anyone know if they will be broadcasting the debates a second time or just one live time?

Thoughts
 

The repugz are working and relying on their fear instilling tactics. The older generation still can be made to panic with the mere mention of Cuba, missiles, Russia, (China).

It's been interesting how RIDICULOUS the political adds are here (The South), they are filled with this eerie gloom and doom that is not even FACTUAL.

Hulu, online
 

If you have Hulu you can watch them after on there.

Probably most major news sites will be posting it online. I watched the Veep debate after the fact.

I agree with Snow that the President's skills are better suited for this format.