Guest Post: The Presidential Debate

View from the hinterlands, through a Marine (ret.) green lens:

Here is my take on the presidential debate. What we saw Wednesday night was the exposure of an affirmative action fraud. Obama has been the recipient of a pass or special favors his entire life. He hasn't ever had to do any heavy lifting. Someone always made it easy for him. From speechwriters, to czars, to facilitators, to teleprompters, to the Chicago mafia, he has never really had to expose himself. 

The media in particular have been complicit, ignoring his troubled and shady past, covering up his failures and going after his opponents. His never having to answer the difficult questions and not having to be accountable, has left him vulnerable when he has to solo. 

"Mano a mano" on the stage facing an accomplished and skillful adult, and without the protection of his security blanket, we finally got to see the real Obama. His bloated ego and cocky cool just don't hack it when you have to run on an actual record and have to have command of the facts. 

On the other hand, millions of Americans got to see the unvarnished Mitt Romney, without the media being able to pick and choose, clip and spin. He clearly knew his onions and delivered the message forcefully, but not disrespectfully, All the personal stuff about Romney is mostly spin. He sure looked impressive on the stage in Denver.

Now that he and his handlers know Obama can't really best Romney in an honest debate format, they have two choices: 1) play fair and fail, or 2) break out the dirty tricks. Things could be about to degenerate to a new low in American politics. Those nefarious actions will take place mostly outside the debate arena, where they can control the situation. Look for even more outrageous claims by Harry Reid and accomplices. Expect more and bigger lies and deceit every day coming out of the Obama campaign.

I believe the Romney campaign is ready. I know Barack isn't looking forward to facing Romney in their two final debates. And, I wouldn't think of missing the matchup between Biden and Ryan. It portends to be even more devastating to the Democrat cause.

Bill Hemingway

(I usually leave this kind of commentary to my son at Weekly Standard, but couldn't resist.)