Very rarely do I watch debates of any kind on television, but in particular, I find political debates to be the worst.
Usually, at my convenience, I just read the transcript while watching the replay with the volume turned off. I utilize the silence in order to observe facial expressions, and more specifically, to scrutinize body language.
I’ve found through the years that one can learn more using this rather unconventional approach than by simply being swayed due to the emotion of the moment.
The most recent presidential debate, however, became an exception that I have come to regret.
Yes, I left the volume on and watched the theatrics in real time.
Both Romney and Obama were so intent on getting their respective points across and time was so constrained, that they both missed terrific debating opportunities.
In addition, it appeared that the President was simply trying to redeem himself after his previous debate debacle.
Obama seemed to be louder as he reiterated the same old bogus “it was Bush’s fault” numbers. Likewise, he displayed that smirk and grin that worked so well for Joe Biden.
On the other hand, Romney, in my opinion, missed the opportunity of the evening and so too have all the mainstream media, both liberal and conservative.
The wasted opportunity involved the symbolic superficial logic of Barack Obama.
Romney questioned that if the President’s energy policies were so successful, then why at the beginning of Obama’s term was gasoline less than $2.00/gallon, and now it’s more than double the price at $4.00/gallon?
Without missing a beat, Obama categorically stated that when he took office we were in the depths of the Great Recession, which was why gasoline was so cheap.
He then declared that after almost four years, with the number of jobs he’s created, the housing recovery that he touts, and the trend to a better America, it’s very understandable that we would be paying higher prices at the pump.
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OK, let me get this straight.
We’re supposed to be doing much better according to the President, so there are certain trade-offs, such as higher gasoline prices.
And probably higher food and health care prices, too (thank you, Obamacare.)
That also might be the same rationale for the millions of more people on food stamps.
Given Obama’s irrational train of thought, the lower the contrived unemployment numbers, the higher the other numbers will be.
It’s almost like a teeter-totter effect. I can’t wait until both the discouraged and truly unemployed are all wiped out of the BLS numbers and we achieve a more normal 5% unemployment rate.
The ways things are going, that could happen in a couple of weeks! Indeed, given Obama’s reasoning, gasoline should be approximately $10.00/gallon, a loaf of bread would cost $8.00, and the recipients of food stamps should have doubled.
Without question, I like political debates much better with the volume turned off.
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