By Emma Velez, Staff Writer
I’ve got to hand it to my Republican friends. Your boy Mitt was on fire Oct. 3 at the presidential debates. He had energy and passion where Obama came off sounding tired and like he’d rather be at home spending his anniversary with Michelle and his daughters.
Mitt Romney version 5.0 has arrived, ladies and gentleman. He managed to seem likeable and personable—a stretch from the cold and slightly condescending persona he was criticized for having during the Republican National Convention.
Aside from evading a Medicare voucher question and a misplaced attack on Sesame Street, Mr. Romney stayed on point. He also addressed claims from Democrats about his $5 trillion tax cut for the nation’s wealthy class.
Where has this Mitt been? What happened to the Mitt who pleaded to elite donors while dismissing 47 percent of American voters as mooches looking for a handout from the government? Where is the Mitt who refused to succumb to pressures to release his tax forms?
Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up?
We have to wonder if this is the Mitt who is here to stay. Mr. Romney and his campaign would do well to continue using the Oct. 3 version of the presidential hopeful during the days prior to the election.
If the debates made one thing clear, it was the division between men and women on the two candidates, according to CNN’s barometer for undecided voters. Obama received a positive reaction from undecided women when he began to speak, while the barometer indicated that Romney got a good response from undecided men.
The first debate essentially confirmed things we already knew and heard from both candidates, who managed to avoid hard-hitting issues. There were no real surprises from either candidate or much new information given to the American public.
One of the people I follow on Twitter agreed.
“Wait, I’m sorry, just keying in to the debate. Did they talk about drones, #NDAAruling, or owning my vagina yet? No? Darn. #debate2012,” read a tweet from my newsfeed.
We only can hope that the next debates will be more revealing.
1. Who criticized Romney for appearing slightly condescending during his address at the RNC? His speech was generally well received by both sides, and while not a home run by any measure, helped to humanize Romney.2. The $5 trillion tax cut is not strictly for the nation’s wealthy. This is a tired point and not based in fact. Somehow cutting rates across the board and ending deductions that disproportionately favor higher income earners suggests that the entire tax cut solely exists for Romney to help out his wealthy pals. I’m glad Romney was able to shed light on how ridiculous this talking point has become. Attacking Romney’s tax plan is fine, mischaracterizing it is not.
3. Romney dismissed the 47% who pay no personal income tax as potential Romney voters, not as people. Frankly, the reality is that Romney will not be receiving many votes from that 47%, this is simply a practical election strategy. I wouldn’t be so naive to suggest that Obama’s camp does not discount certain groups of people as potential Obama voters.
4. If the debate made anything clear, it’s that independents are skewing Romney. CNN’s own poll reported that 67% of potential voters believed Romney won the debate. This number would roughly account for all registered Republicans and Independents viewing the debate.
5. Avoid hard hitting issues? Jobs….Taxes….Medicare….the role of government? The reality is that any issues existing outside of the realm of the economy and job creation are largely irrelevant in this election. With unemployment hovering near 8%, the relevance of the NDAA ruling, drones, and the owner of your friend’s vagina pales in comparison to the economy and jobs.
1. Who criticized Romney for appearing slightly condescending and cold during his address at the RNC? His speech was generally well received by both sides, and while not a home run by any measure, helped to humanize Romney.
2. The $5 trillion tax cut is not strictly for the nation’s wealthy. This is a tired point and not based in fact. Somehow cutting rates across the board and ending deductions that disproportionately favor higher income earners suggests that the entire tax cut solely exists for Romney to help out his wealthy pals. I’m glad Romney was able to shed light on how ridiculous this talking point has become. Attacking Romney’s tax plan is fine, mischaracterizing it is not.
3. Romney dismissed the 47% who pay no personal income tax as potential Romney voters, not as people. Frankly, the reality is that Romney will not be receiving many votes from that 47%, this is simply a practical election strategy. I wouldn’t be so naive to suggest that Obama’s camp does not discount certain groups of people as potential Obama voters.
4. If the debate made anything clear, it’s that independents are skewing Romney. CNN’s own poll reported that 67% of potential voters believed Romney won the debate. This number would roughly account for all registered Republicans and Independents viewing the debate.
5. Avoid hard hitting issues? Jobs….Taxes….Medicare….the role of government? The reality is that any issues existing outside of the realm of the economy and job creation are largely irrelevant in this election. With unemployment hovering near 8%, the relevance of the NDAA ruling, drones, and the owner of your friend’s vagina pales in comparison to the economy and jobs.