Obama tries to fix his defeat without the Lion in front

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Watch How Mitt Romney KO Obama In Five Rounds

Romney Wins Big in First Debate

Breitbart News: Big Government / Joel B. Pollak

Gov. Mitt Romney eviscerated a staggering and bewildered President Barack Obama tonight in one of the most lopsided presidential debates in American history. Throughout the debate, which focused on domestic policy, Obama looked shaken, rarely looking at the camera, reciting old talking points and filibustering as Romney gave a master class at the University of Denver.

The debate had been described as a must-win for Romney--and he delivered. Using a rapid-fire style that had not been seen even in the numerous Republican primary debates, he bobbed and weaved through Obama’s attacks and moderator Jim Lehrer’s interjections, launching bullet-point policies that displayed not just a familiarity with the wonkish details but a focus on the travails of ordinary people he had met on the trail.

Again and again, Romney returned to his theme: creating jobs. He did--as expected--take Obama to task for misrepresenting his policies, principally his tax policy, which Obama referred to, even after being corrected, as a $5 trillion tax cut. But he exceeded expectations in focusing on the end result he wished to attain--and which, he said, the President wished to sacrifice: creating jobs for a struggling American workforce.

Obama could not have pleased anyone except those playing drinking games at home, with familiar references to corporate jets (drink!), job training programs (drink!), and tax cuts for shipping jobs overseas (drink!). And for these tired suggestions, most of which appeared in Obama’s talking points in 2008, Romney reminded the president that he had four years in which to enact those policies, to which the president could only nod.

Romney came armed with some memorable one-liners. He called Obama’s economic policy “trickle-down government.” He called the decline in household incomes under the Obama administration the “economy tax.” And--most memorably--he attacked Obama’s green energy subsidies, including Solyndra, Fisker, Tesla, and other failures: “You don’t just pick the winners and losers. You pick the losers.” Obama had nothing in response.

Obama refused--as he has done throughout the campaign--to adopt the stance of the incumbent, and tried to fight as the insurgent challenger, as if his own record were not up for debate. But Romney refused to let him escape--and soon Obama began making several blunders, stating at one point that he had conversations with Americans about their health care “four years ago”--i.e. not since he has taken office. He even turned his frustration upon moderator Jim Lehrer at one point, accusing him of interrupting him.

Lehrer, for his part, was quicker to pounce on Romney with follow-up questions, giving Obama a wider berth. Yet Romney did not let Lehrer divert him from his message or cut off his defenses. He even teased the moderator with his proposal to cut funding from PBS, among other government programs. It was a fearless and clarifying performance.

On health care--which might have been Romney’s weakest issue--Romney argued for the repeal of Obamacare as the best Tea Partier might have done, attacking the board that the law sets up to ration care as a cost control mechanism. The best that Obama could do was remind voters--as if they did not already know--that Romney had passed a health insurance law in Massachusetts. He had to concede one of the best arguments Romney offered--that Obamacare has actually increased the cost of insurance so far.

Romney missed a few--very few--opportunities, taking a long time to defend his tax policy by pointing out that it would be revenue-neutral because it would encourage economic growth. And Obama did put a few points on the board, reminding viewers (twice) of his popular Race to the Top education program, and that he had amassed experience as commander-in-chief with which Romney cannot (yet) compete.

Yet Obama seemed uneasy simply to have a worthy opponent on the other side of the stage. He could not even articulate his oft-repeated philosophy of government in the most basic terms, borrowing from the likes of Barney Frank in describing government as “the things we do together.” Romney gave a straight answer: that the role of government is simply to defend the principles of the constitution and the founding documents, without replacing the roles of individuals and communities in helping the less fortunate.

Even conservatives who predicted that Romney would do well could not have imagined that he would do this well. It was as complete a victory as any presidential challenger has ever scored--and it exceeded even the hopes of Romney’s most fervent supporters. Obama came across as a politician--a rattled one, grinning and frowning, searching for a way out. Romney came across as a problem-solver, and--amazingly--more in touch with the American people.

There are two more presidential debates, following next Thursday’s debate between the vice presidential candidates. And so Obama will have a chance to redeem himself. But it will be back to the drawing board for Team Obama, while Team Romney will build upon a win they have anticipated for many months and may enjoy for many months hence.

10 Things to Expect at the First Presidential Debate

PJ Media/

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With Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) portraying Mitt Romney and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) acting as President Obama, the 2012 presidential hopefuls are crunching in their last days of prep before facing off for the first of three nationally televised debates Wednesday.

The University of Denver event, beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern time, is a domestic-policy gauntlet moderated by Jim Lehrer. Subject to “possible changes because of news developments,” Lehrer picked the topics: three parts on the economy, and other 15-minute segments on health care, the role of government, and governing.

We’ve seen and heard much from Romney and Obama on the campaign trail, but what might we hear in their first debate? 

Cayman Islands
Don’t expect Obama to go Full Harry Reid and accuse Romney of not paying taxes. Obama has learned by this point that it’s Reid’s job to say crazy stuff, and it’s his job to either nod politely, nod enthusiastically, or pretend like he didn’t hear it. The Obama camp is more than happy, though, to go after tax shelters as a double-edged weapon: use it as proof to convince Congress that the rich are dodging taxes and therefore Bush-era tax cuts shouldn’t be extended for upper-income brackets, and use it on the campaign trail to try to convince the electorate that Romney is out-of-touch wildly wealthy. An unwise rebuttal would be the Ann Romney route of telling a reporter that they don’t even know what’s in their blind trust. A wise rebuttal would steer the conversation to the small-business owners who fall in those upper-income brackets and may have to cut jobs if their taxes went up.

47 percent
Obama just might as well prop up an old-school projector and loop Mother Jones’ undercover fundraiser video, because he wants to have those dim tabletop candles and Romney words branded in voters’ minds from now until Nov. 6. “As I travel around the state, I don’t see a lot of victims. I see a lot of hardworking Nevadans,” he cooed to his Las Vegas audience last night. The big question here is if Romney will be able to go on the offensive against Obama on this issue of government dependency. The Romney camp wishes the tape would disappear, but there are three debates to get through questions about the 47 percent (yep, I wouldn’t put a dropping of that digit past Obama in the foreign policy debate), and where the GOP hopeful does not want to be is on the defensive.

The Very Poor
It’s a mystery why the Romney remark you’d think the Obama camp would have plastered across TV outlets from Ohio to Florida still hasn’t been whipped out from the campaign arsenal. More than quipping about car elevators or whether Mitt’s shirts really come from Costco, you’d think they’d be cementing the meme of an elitist Romney by bringing up the months-old comment “I’m not concerned about the very poor.” He went on to say “my campaign is focused on middle-income Americans,” to which the Dem will eagerly respond “my campaign is about all Americans.” Perhaps Obama was saving it until debate time so he could try to shame Romney personally on national TV. Perhaps they’re saving it for an October surprise, complete with poor Americans to whom Romney allegedly didn’t show concern.

Southwestern flair
When asked why Obama was doing his debate prep in Henderson, Nev., campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday that “it’s a place where people care deeply about having someone in office who will fight for comprehensive immigration reform in the White House.” The hometown audience offers advantages to both of the candidates, and perhaps an opportunity to press some of the regional concerns to a national audience. Obama can tout his DREAM Act-style immigration enforcement waivers, which Romney will brand as overstepping executive bounds in the guise of prosecutorial discretion. It’s an opportunity for Romney to name-drop Fast and Furious in an area where the gun-walking scandal hits a bit closer to home at a time when it’s back in the national headlines.

RomneyCare’s biggest fan
Replay the key concerns of Romney’s detractors in the Republican primary: Since Romney offered a prelude to ObamaCare with his own health-care reform as governor in Massachusetts, he wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on in striking out at Obama’s signature policy. More than that, Obama has been eager to mention Romney’s inspirational stand against health-care insurers at every opportunity, framing RomneyCare as the proud granddaddy of ObamaCare. Romney says he will grant universal ObamaCare waivers on his first day in office, but the subject coming up in the debates will likely not turn out too well for the former governor. It would keep him on the defensive while resurrecting the GOP primary message — which got a new life at the Democratic National Convention — of the “Mitt-flop.”  More >>

Verbal Knock-Out Punches That Would Win the Debates, Polls, Election for Romney

CFP/ Aaron I. Reichel

communities.washingtontimes.com

All Romney has to do is set forth the points that his most articulate supporters have made on his behalf, and he is sure to win the debates, the polls, and the election. He can even point to what some of his political opponents have said, and to what Obama himself has said.

In fact, Romney should point out, ideally more than once, that if people want to really hear what Obama said in his own words, about his true values and intentions with respect to—or with disrespect to—the country he serves (or disserves), they should see the documentary movie “2016: Obama’s America,” which is the second grossing political documentary of all time, and much more serious and responsible than Fahrenheit 9/11, based on a book by an Ivy-League educated college president.

President Clinton, a wordsmith who is as careful as anyone with what comes out of his mouth, defended the man whose camp incidentally once called HIM a racist by saying, on another topic “No president… could have repaired all the damage in just four years.” To anyone who was paying attention, the implication was that many presidents could have repaired at least SOME of the damage, and certainly, many presidents would not have made the economy WORSE in so many ways.

Romney should remind his listeners that Obama called Bush “unpatriotic” for allowing the national debt to get where it was, so that by Obama’s own evaluation, he himself is far more unpatriotic for allowing the debt to rise more in one term than it had ever risen in the two terms of any prior president.  More >>

What will it take for Romney to win?

By Halimah Abdullah

Washington (CNN) -- Mitt Romney's gambit of running as the anti-Barack Obama could still work, Republican strategists say, if the presidential hopeful spends less time trying to define his opponent and more time spelling out how he would handle the job.

"It would have to take a serious effort to define the race on (the Romney campaign's) terms," said one veteran Republican strategist familiar with the inner workings of the campaign. "They are going to have to run a more disciplined campaign. He needs to make the connection of what the state of the economy is and what his policies are."

Romney has been trying to do just that with a new series of ads refocusing on an economic message that has been drowned out lately by attention to his controversial comments that nearly half of the nation is dependent on government and will vote for Obama no matter what.

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Romney Memo on Obama's Foreign Policy "Failures"

Capitol Hill Cubans/

Governor Mitt Romney has released a memo highlighting what it considers to be President Obama's top 10 foreign policy failures.

See the full memo here.

Among them:

Failure #8: Emboldening The Castros, Chávez & Their Cohorts In Latin America

President Obama has diminished respect for the United States in Latin America and the Caribbean. He has put strain on relationships with friendly nations while appeasing or downplaying the threat from those leaders who oppose our interests.

Delay In Approving Trade Agreements. President Obama waited three years before submitting to Congress trade agreements with our partners Colombia and Panama—agreements signed by the previous administration—for fear of angering the union bosses to whom he owes political loyalty. President Obama has not sought to reach any new trade agreements in the region, despite there being strong trading potential and natural connections between Latin America and the Latino business community in the United States.

Appeasement Of The Castro Regime. While he dragged his feet on trade agreements with our friends, President Obama moved quickly to relax travel and remittance restrictions on Cuba mere months into his term while demanding nothing in return that would offer the Cuban people their long-denied freedom. The Cuban regime responded that same year by jailing American citizen and USAID contractor Alan Gross, who remains imprisoned to this day. The Castros continue to oppress their own people and imprison pro-democracy dissidents.

Failing To Recognize The Threat Posed By Hugo Chávez. President Obama stated, “But overall my sense is that what Mr. Chávez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact on us.” This statement underplayed the strategic threat posed by Chávez and goes a long way in explaining the President’s failure to stand resolutely for democracy and economic opportunity in Latin America. Chávez is leading a virulently anti-American “Bolivarian” movement across Latin America that seeks to undermine institutions of democratic governance. The Bolivarian movement threatens U.S. allies such as Colombia, has interfered with regional cooperation on key issues such as illicit drugs and counter-terrorism, has provided safe haven for drug traffickers, has encouraged regional terrorist organizations, and has invited Iran and foreign terrorist organizations like Hezbollah into the region.

Romney on jobs, taxes, health care, ...

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Path to Power: How Mitt Romney Will Govern If Elected

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Path to Power: How Mitt Romney Will Govern If Elected from National Journal and National Journal on FORA.tv

Strengths & Weaknesses of potential Republican vice-presidential candidates

By NBC's Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro

Go big or go boring? That’s the question for Mitt Romney and his campaign team as they consider a vice-presidential running mate to join the GOP presidential ticket. 

The cliche first rule in picking a No.2 is, “First, do no harm.” And that’s the lesson the Romney campaign likely learned from John McCain’s 2008 pick of Sarah Palin. The conventional wisdom because of it? Romney makes a “safe” pick in 2012. Then again, GOP presidential nominees have had a history of making surprises – George H.W. Bush’s selection of Dan Quayle, George W. Bush choosing Dick Cheney, and McCain picking Palin.

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US presidential battlefield: Some gloomy news for the president

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First Thoughts: Why Rubio probably won’t be the pick

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Romney: Running out the clock

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Obama vs. Romney on the economy

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Romney campaign hits Obama over decision to give Cuban president's daughter ...

The Hill (blog)/ By Justin Sink

Mitt Romney's campaign is blasting the Obama administration after the State Department approved a travel visa for Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro.

“The Obama administration’s decision to grant a visa to Mariela Castro, daughter of the Cuban dictator Raul Castro, is a slap in the face to all those brave individuals in Cuba who are enduring relentless persecution for fighting for the universal rights we Americans hold dear. Unfortunately, this decision is part of a larger pattern. For even as the Castro brothers have tightened repression on the island over the past three years, the Obama administration has softened its approach. The United States should be standing up for freedom, not coddling the privileged children of communist dictators," said Romney policy director Lanhee Chen in a statement.

Mariela is a gay-rights activist and the head of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, and had petitioned to attend a panel discussion on sexual diversity next week in San Francisco. The Castro daughter, who has been a vocal advocate for same-sex marriage in Cuba, will also attend an event at the New York Public Library.  More >>

Romney's connection to Saul Alinsky

WND/ Michael Carl

BOSTON – Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has frequently brought up President Obama’s fondness for the politics and methods of activist Saul Alinsky.

However, there is evidence presumptive Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney may have been influenced by the late 20th century, Chicago-based radical.

Political commentator Dan Riehl wrote on BigGovernment.com that the “toxic-to-conservatives” Alinsky effect has its roots in the former Massachusetts governor’s father, George Romney.

“The progressive Alinsky is infamous and actually toxic on the right,” Riehl wrote. “George Romney’s endorsement of him, coupled with his acknowledged strong influence on son Mitt, will do little to assure suspicious conservatives concerned about Mitt Romney’s record as a progressive, including his introduction of Romneycare in Massachusetts.”

Political journalist and analyst Andrew Kaczynski wrote in a recent edition of the Buzzfeed that the elder Romney met with Alinsky to find a way to deal with the problem of the urban poor.

“In the wake of the devastating Detroit riots of the summer of 1967, Michigan Gov. George Romney, a liberal Republican, met the radical organizer Saul Alinsky to discuss the grievances of the urban black poor,” he explained.

Photos of the meeting can be found in the archives of the Library of Congress.

Kaczynski noted that a book on George Romney quotes the former Michigan governor telling his allies, “I think you ought to listen to Alinsky.”

Political analyst and think-tank researcher Steve Baldwin believes that Mitt Romney was definitely impacted by his father’s association with Alinsky.

“Romney’s dad was a big leader of the RINO (Republican in name only) wing of the Republican Party and hated Goldwater,” Baldwin explained. “George actually walked out of the 1964 GOP convention in protest of Goldwater’s views. He was an admirer of Alinsky.”  More >>