I'm getting ready. I've got a cold beverage and the Regular Son and Regular Dog and I are safely ensconced in the basement in front of the flat screen. Let's get ready to rumble!
Megyn Kelly on FoxNews... what could be better?
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8:00 pm - Here we go... Candy Crowley scary!!!
8:02 pm - Jeremy Epstein... 20 year-old... asks about jobs when I graduate.
Romney... going to the middle... Pell Grants, college scholarships... I want you to have a good job. I know what it takes to create good jobs again.
Regular Son: a little bit platitudinous. But empathetic...
Obama: the most important thing is to be creating jobs... 5,000,000 jobs created over the past three years. Manufacturing jobs in this country... auto industry... Romney would have let them go bankrupt.
I want everybody to get a great education... he's doing a point 1, point 2, point 3 answer just like Romney did in the first debate... he's doing better, but he's all over the map.
Candy Crowley follow up... long-term unemployment.
Romney... five point plan to get 12 million new jobs. Romney correcting the President on taking General Motors into bankruptcy...
Obama: Governor Romney has a one point plan... make sure the people on top do better, ship jobs overseas and get tax breaks for it...
Candy Crowley heard the lefts screams about Jim Lehrer...
Question to Obama... do you believe with Stephen Chu that it's not the job of his department to lower gas prices?
Obama not answering the question... clean energy double down.
Romney answer good: "How in the world the President said no to the Keystone pipeline?" OK... but needed to talk about gas prices.
Candy Crowley making President answer the question on gas prices... still not answering...
President more aggressive, Romney still aggressive... Romney asks President question... but gives Obama a chance to answer. Romney fights back... Romney goes alpha male and Obama backs off and sits down.
Romney hits on gas prices! Home run!
Greatest moment in Presidential debates ever... Romney making Obama back off and sit down. Romney tells him to wait till he gets done.
Obama babbling... Romney just won the Presidency.
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Mitt on taxes... lower rates, but cap deductions for higher income... no tax on your savings for middle income people... he's getting pretty specific.
Mitt hammering Obama on spending and borrowing...
Obama... I cut taxes for middle income people, I cut taxes for small businesses... but if we're serious about reducing the deficit, we've got to make sure that the wealthy do a little bit more...
I'm revising my opinion on the first debate... Obama wasn't so bad, Romney is just so good.
Mitt: 3.5 million more women living in poverty than when Obama took office...
Championing small business... I spent my life in the private sector...
Candy Crowley... why is Romney wrong if he says he's going to lower rates and cut exemptions to keep the wealthy? (Christ... she's actually being fair.)
Obama: hitting Romney on his own 14% tax rate... sounds petulant and mean? You can't buy this sales pitch...
Romney: hitting Obama on his own numbers not adding up... $16 trillion in debt. I know what it takes to balance budget...
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8:35 pm - Liberal question about workplace inequality/glass ceiling for women, pay disparity...
Obama on his own Mom, Lily Ledbetter bill...
This will be good... Romney can reach a lot of women voters by talking about the women he hired at Bain... I could practically write the response myself.
Romney talking about women in his cabinet... MA had more women in his candidate than any other state. He was sensitive to women's need for flexibility... his chief of staff had two children and needed to get home to feed them dinner... great answer for middle-class Moms. Another home run... noting that bad economy hurts women. Great, great, great. Mr. President Romney... get used to it.
I know what it takes... Romney's mantra. Implication: Obama doesn't.
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8:42 pm - Obama seguing to health care/contraception... this won't work. He's a knee jerk liberal... bad answer.
Romney is going to hammer him on the Catholic Church mandate...
Wait... Romney doesn't get a chance to answer that crap? Really? Really? OK... I take it back, Crowley.
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Question to Romney to differentiate himself from President Bush... Romney agrees with Obama that Bush ran deficits that were outrageous... but Obama doubled what Bush had done.
In a perfect world he could say something nice about Bush, but I understand that he can't. And... as a Christian gentleman, I'll bet President Bush understands that.
Obama hitting Romney on China and outsourcing... Romney has to educate the MF.
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Black man asks President Obama: "what have you done to help me in your four years?"
I killed Osama bin Laden. I did five more things that aren't true or don't help.
Let's see Romney win some black votes too.
Romney: "I think you know better... the last four years haven't been too good." More in sadness than in anger. Very very very good. "This is a President who hasn't been able to do what he said he would do.... the middle class is being crushed."
Romney is crushing this. "The President wants to do well... but the policies combined have not led the economy."
"The President has tried... but we have a record to look at. He's a great speaker, but a failure."
***
Next question for Romney.
Romney gently asks woman to get her name right. Great moment from a nice man.
Question on illegal immigration. 4 million people waiting to get here legally. Pathways to citizenship...good stuff. Romney has the right stuff.
OBAMA GETS WOMAN'S NAME WRONG!!!! GAME OVER!!!
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Back after picking up the girls.
9:08 pm - Who denied enhanced security in Benghazi? KABOOM!!!
Obama platitudinous... stuttering. Not answering question.
Obama hitting Romney on press release making political points.... when it comes to our national security, I mean what I say. Completely rambling... minutes into answer and still hasn't answered the question. We are going to find out what happened and hold people accountable.
Romney: more troubling... the day following the assassination of an ambassador... President flies to Las Vegas for fundraiser. Actions taken by President have symbolic importance. Calls into question entire set of President's policies in Middle East. Strategy unraveling...
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Crowley: Secretary of State... does the buck stop with you or with Hillary? Obama: I'm responsible... I said it was an act of terror... I greeted the caskets... it's offensive to say we'd play politics with this. Strong, even though it's a lie.
Crowley correcting Romney, helping Obama... Romney should have talked and not turned to ask Obama a question... not a good moment for Romney. Still winning, but could have hammered this better.
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9:18 pm - Question about assault weapons. Will Romney go to Fast and Furious... please please please.
Romney: two parent families a must to help change culture of violence... please please please go to FnF.
HE'S THERE!!!!
9:21 pm - Not supremely clear on FnF, but maybe there are some people out there who don't know about it and now will know about it.
Candy Crowley helping Obama openly.
Obama trying to get his last talking points in about education... gains in math and science... really? Romney says hiring more teachers doesn't grow economy...
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Question: outsourcing? Really that's the best we can do?
Romney: we have made it less attractive to go off shore through policy. We will make it more attractive to start manufacturing companies for entrepreneurs... not trickle down government. We have to be tough on China. On Day One I will label China a currency manipulator... I will put tariffs where necessary. Don't forget... what's key to bringing back jobs, make America most attractive place to do business. Canada's tax rate is 15% for corporations, ours is 35%. Where you going to start a business? Regulations are crushing small business. Obamacare deterrent to hiring people. Good answer... constantly focusing on jobs jobs jobs.
If I drank every time Romney said "I know what it takes" I'd be drunk...
Obama being aggressive... Romney wants to give tax breaks for outsourcing.
Obama has been stronger in the last 30 minutes of the debate... but he's a jerk. Romney invested in companies that were "pioneers in outsourcing."
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Question from Candy Crowley: how would we get Apple to build Iphones here?
Obama: government investment created Apple?
Romney: government does not create jobs.
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Last question: what is the biggest perception that people have about you as a candidate and as a man?
Romney is a guy who wants to help 100% of people. It comes from my belief in God. I served as a missionary and a pastor. I've sat across the table from people who've lost their jobs.... we don't have to settle for what we're going through. We don't have to settle for gasoline at $4.00. We don't have to settle for 23 million struggling to find a good job. We don't have to settle... good answer.
Obama: I don't believe that government creates jobs. Now Obama is trying to say he believes in self-reliance. I believe that everybody deserves a fair shake. Now hitting Romney on 47%... pretty strong. I hope this isn't the last impression....
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On the whole, I think Romney won big in the first half, and Obama came back and may have salvaged a little bit at the end.
That's it... let's see what the pundits say.
My prediction... the media will spin this as a comeback for the President Obama.
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