Mitt Romney Vs. Barack Obama Debate Analysis: If There Was A Slaughter Rule, They Would Have Called It For Romney 45 Minutes In.

Although I am rather famously not a fan of Mitt Romney, I’ve given him credit all along for being a good debater. In fact, Mitt Romney was the best debater in the Republican presidential field other than Newt Gingrich, who was head and shoulders better than everyone else. Although Mitt had his bad nights, he was consistently good and at his best, he managed to even fight Newt to a draw. Additionally, the Republicans went through A LOT of debates, so Mitt had a lot of practice.

Since that was the case and since Mitt has been fighting an uphill battle against a hostile media, I expected Mitt to be good. On the other hand, Obama spends a lot of time reading off a teleprompter and is rarely challenged by the media; so I didn’t think he would be all that strong. Still, you have to remember that liberal Jim Lehrer was moderating and often, the mainstream media’s spin on the debate can have a huge impact. They can turn an even battle into a lopsided win for their favorite candidate or change perceptions by playing a single sound bite over and over; so it was hard to tell how things would play out.

Happily, Jim Lehrer did a MAGNIFICENT job. Yes, he let Obama talk a little more than Romney and he did reflexively try to protect him a bit, but for the most part, he stuck to broad, important topics, and just let the candidates have their say. This turned out to be very problematic for Bo because while he seemed a bit nervous and unprepared, Mitt Romney brought his “A-Game” and systematically eviscerated Obama in every way possible. He hammered home Obama’s terrible record, he very effectively rebutted Obama’s criticisms, and he got off several catchy one liners, including my personal fave, “Trickle Down Government.”

Unfortunately, that description does not give you a sense of the hurting that Mitt Romney put on Obama. He absolutely DOMINATED the debate.

He dominated early.

He dominated late.

He won every segment of the debate, was more likable, had a better command of facts, seemed more like a leader, and had more good lines.

In other words, in every way Romney could win the debate, he did win the debate.

In fact, the defeat was so decisive, that even liberals couldn’t spin it as an Obama win.

So, what will be the liberal excuse for Obama’s performance? Judging by the early spin, I’m guessing they’ll be blaming the “format.” In other words, Lehrer should have tightly controlled the debate and made sure that the only topics discussed were Romney’s taxes, birth control, and whether Romney agrees that we should have killed Osama Bin Laden. Do keep in mind, that Obama actually spoke for four minutes longer than Mitt during the debate AND Lehrer essentially gave BOTH candidates an opportunity to say what they wanted to say. In other words, stiff, robotic Romney was up against the man who has been hyped as the most dynamic and likable speaker since Reagan in a format that gave both of them plenty of time to show their personality and Obama was STEAMROLLED.

The good news is that this debate should help Mitt just about as much as a debate can help a candidate. On the other hand, the expectations for Obama have been set very low for the next debate and he can’t be this bad again….can he? You almost HAVE to think Obama will get better. So, play this one for all it’s worth, because it’s hard to imagine the beat down getting more epic than this one.

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