Curmudgeon's Corner

Candy & Company

Posted by Al Campbell on Oct. 17, 2012

U.S., Political, People Making A Difference, Economy

Two down and one to go…debates that is.  President Obama was very much better last evening than during the first debate and seemed to have found his stride.  My take-away was that things economic accrued to Romney’s benefit and the balance was probably a draw or a slight advantage to Obama.  That seems pretty much the way this is breaking unless there is a significant shift in the coming weeks.  The President can try lipstick on the pig that is the economy, but most of us recognize a pig when we see one.

Candy Crowley did a decent job although there were a couple of times when she just had to help out the President, such as her jumping in on the ‘terrorist’ claim made by the President, as in “I called it a terrorist attack in the Rose Garden the next day”.  Seems most others heard him finally admit that some five days later.

The town hall format went reasonably well although a Long Island audience likely skewed Democrat even if they professed to be undecided.  Both candidates have enough experience in this setting so they were quite comfortable.

It will be interesting to watch the polling numbers that have been moving in Romney’s favor over the past week or so, to see if this debate has had any impact such as reversing that trend.  I suspect that most people who have decided will stay decided on their pick at this juncture since the election is three weeks away.

Barring any major event that tips the trend on its head, the Romney/Ryan ticket is looking to be improving its position.  The swing state polls are particularly good or particularly bad depending upon which team of candidates you like in the race.

Fortunately for the President, Michelle looked a good deal happier after this debate than after the first.