The media is excited as if they opened their first gift Christmas morning as if something actually happened. Nothing really did.
If I may?
Before the debate the Republican media was screaming about the lousy polls and how they were biased, now they are stating the polls finally got it right. It is a lie. The lies they were speaking before the debates were about one thing and one thing only.
Momentum. Enthusiasm. The Right Wing media lied before the debates to continued whatever momentum existed and then after the debate when Mr. Mystery Mitt showed up everything was right with the world. That woman commentator, what is her name, not Laura anybody the other one. The mouthpiece for Murdoch, she stated, "If Chris Christi isn't the nominee, then it will be Romney and we will lose." Now she is saying she had it right the entire time that Romney is going to win.
Oddly, President Obama BEFORE the debate when the polls were putting him 13% ahead of his opponent stated, "The polls are eschew." He and his campaign said that.
I think the polls in Ohio are very instructive, but, first I want to comment about Pew.
The Pew Poll doesn't come out that often. Once a month I think it is, if it is that often. Whether they will step it up now that the election is near is another question. I don't know the answer to that. If a commentator doesn't look at statistics well, then it is easy to exploit what seems like the obvious.
Immediately after the debate Pew released a poll which stated Romney did amazingly well, won the debate and was winning the election. Basically. The Pew Poll released previously to that one was taken some time ago, about a month I believe and it stated President Obama was ahead by 10 points.
The Pew Poll is a conservative think tank polling focus. In my opinion, a swing as wild as that is an outliar. It carries an interesting political impact, but, basically is very inaccurate in both cases.
In the Real Clear Politics statistic, the Pew Poll impacted the overall average of all the polls taken. No other poll had the extensive change Pew had and they did not have a huge swing to increase the balance with President Obama's statistics, so the overall average at RCP reflects PEW's wild card statistic or outliar impact. That may be why PEW has the design to its statistical questions and participants by the way. It could be designed to be an outliar. As a partisan poll it could emphasize 'the trend' rather than 'the reality.
In the weeks before the debate most of the polls were stating when the overall averages were broken down the ONLY place Romney out paced President Obama was on the economy and deficit. When asked by any polling agency most voters stated Romney could better address those two issues. But, on all other topics Romney trailed considerably.
Ask yourself what was the topic of the debate?
The debate was to cover the economy and other topics including governance. Where did Romney poll better than President Obama? The economy and the deficit. That showed up in the debate. However, the aggressive nature of Romney during the debate effected the moderator and he was scrambling to cover the remaining topics at the every end. Romney aggressively kept 'on topic' of the economy for the greater length of the debate because it was no secret it was the only place he out paced the President. In other words, Romney was cheating the viewership of their debate and made it an hour commercial for the economy. He lied throughout the debate, but, he put on a good show and the people cheered.
Today, if one looks to the Ohio polls it is very instructive. The percentage of voters in Ohio voting for President Obama hasn't changed. President Obama remains the steadfast hero in Ohio and he is polling the same pre and post debate. Mr. Romney is polling higher in Ohio but still behind President Obama. Mr. Romney gained 'interest' by the undecided.
President Obama won the debate on substance. He was true to his positions and policies throughout the debate. He maintained a civil stance and the same ole, same ole demeanor we are used to. He has kept the USA on track to success in over coming the economic collapse of 2008 and he does so by remaining trustworthy, speaking the truth and asking the people of the USA to be involved. He did that during the debate and he'll continue to do that.
President Obama is a great president. When he tossed his hat in the ring for the Democratic nominee he never bargained for the October surprise of 2008 when he was the nominee. It didn't matter. He stepped up to the country's needs, met them and continues to deliver on every one of his 2008 campaign promises even with a hostile and divided Republican House. I find that interesting. The fact that he can deliver on his 2008 campaign promises regardless of the huge change in circumstances he faced when taking office compared to the circumstances he campaigned on as a candidate and then nominee. No one ever remarks on that incredible achievement. It is as if he knew all of what he said during the 2008 campaign was paramount to the nation's best outcomes in the face of a huge economic failure.
Look, the jobs picture today is a mirror reflection of Bush's lack of achievement during his eight years. We had an economy riding high on government money from 2000 - 2008, two wars and exploitation of the American Dream. Even with two wars and all the spending that went with them, Bush could not improve the jobs picture as it is finally improving today under President Obama. After October 2008 the construction industry practically disappeared because it was one of the only industries growing under Bush. The Bush economy was about exploiting the monies one had in equity in their ONLY home and 'dealing that money' into becoming millionaires. Where did the Bush economy collapse? In housing. The construction industry not only deflated it disappeared, until recently and finally with all the help the Obama Administration has provided to the mortgage markets it is finally recovering. And recovering ahead of schedule/predictions, by the way.
Returning to the issue of the debate and its after math, what is disappointing to me as an American in search of a President of the United States, it isn't about substance anymore. It is about putting a winning 'persona' on the stage as if it were some kind of sparing match. The declared winner of the debate is about viciousness and not about the truth. In my opinion, the debates are basically just a dog and pony show where facts, the truth and civility don't matter. It is about showmanship and nothing more, because, Romney lied about nearly every word he spoke, but, it just didn't matter.
Whatever happened to Zogby (click here), by the way?
