The complexion of the fall campaign has now changed in a most dramatic way. No longer will obama and his confederates be able to talk down to Gov. Romney. No longer will he be able to act as if his reelection is a given. An extremely poor debate performance by obama, contrasted with a stunningly strong one by Romney, all coming on the heels of a video of obama giving an under-reported race-baiting speech during the 2008 campaign, has either spirited Romney into the lead or made it seem that way, and it all happened so fast that the loser last night - obama - will have a difficult time figuring how to turn things around.
Had he merely performed badly, the answer would be to make sure he shines in the next debate. But that isn't the case. Romney proved his strategy of rigourous preparedness combined with a convincing presidential delivery will be extremely difficult to short circuit. In fact, obama now must deal with a new dynamic: the nation now knows that Romney can be president, seems like a president, and is fully prepared to be president. In short, Romney, in one night of work, virtually erased obama's built-in advantage, the one that comes with being the incumbent. And this outstanding performance by Romney was combined with a really bad performance by obama. In the same night, and to his horror, obama has put together in the nation's mindset the terrible performance of the last four years with a man whose demeanor and presentation gave explanation to the four years of failure. No longer will obama be able to sell the idea that he is a competent man who just needs a bit more time to succeed. Now, the nation has been able to see and hear a man whose failure seems predictable if not inevitable. All the talking points in the world won't change that.
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