Denver Debacle: What might have been

When President Obama walked on stage last Wednesday, he had enough ammunition to dispatch with his opponent and to move past him towards reclaiming the House or Representative. Over the preceding weeks Romney had provided Obama with a “target rich environment”, but Obama refused to fire a shot.

The difference between the potential and the result was so wide that it is dispiriting and depressing to discuss it, and there is probably little point in doing so now. However, these missed opportunities keep rattling around my brain so I may as well lay them out here before I move on to what’s next. 

In a series of posts, I will first rehash what might have been last Wednesday. Next, I’ll take a look at the VP debate and examine the possibilities for regaining some momentum. After the VP debate, I’ll try to discern how Obama might regain the upper hand. Finally, when the Debates topic has been exhausted, I’ll discuss why I think Obama failed so miserably this past week – and the fatal flaw that I believe makes him a weakened candidate and will, if he is reelected, continue to make him a weak and disappointing President in his second term.

If Obama does win a second term, his ability to further his agenda will continue to be restricted by opposition from the Republican-controlled House. Therefore, winning back House seats should be a high priority of his 2012 campaign. At the time of the first presidential debate Mr. Obama had a commanding lead over Romney, based partly on Obama's successes and likability, but also largely based on Mr. Romney’s weaknesses. Had Obama come out swinging last Wednesday, he could have cemented the public’s negative impression of Romney and made significant gains against the Republican Party. 

I believe that Obama had a chance to regain control of the house if he’d made the points outlined below. I will lay out my Top 10 points Obama should have made, and will also provide sample quotes that a “fantasy Obama” – one who not only wants a second term but also seeks to defeat the Republicans – would have said.

Top 10 things Obama should have raised in the first debate: 

1) 47%

The infamous 47% comment presented Obama with a huge opportunity to reinforce the public’s negative impression of Romney and the Republican Party as being concerned primarily about the wealthy. By doing so, Obama might have gained some voters among the elderly, military and working poor. This was also the time to reference Romney's “I’m not worried about the poor” comment. 

2) “Our number one priority”

Obama should have talked right past Romney and attacked the Republican leadership. Early on, and again at the end, he should have reminded people of the McConnel’s statement that their number one priority was to deny Obama a second term. This quote should be a central point of the Obama campaign in an effort to regain control of the House. 

3) Zing this

Obama should have been prepared to disarm Romney's zingers by responding to his first one with, “[Chuckle] I heard you were preparing some zingers. That's a good one, and it might make the Fox News sound bytes, but unfortunately the truth is...” From there he could have repudiated whatever Romney was zinging him for.

4) “Let Detroit go bankrupt”

The recovery of our domestic auto industry is a hallmark achievement of Obamas first term. Romney was on the opposite side of this issue, with an outrageous quote to boot. Not mentioning the “bankrupt” statement was inexcusable. 

5) Healthcare is the biggest obstacle to entrepreneurs

Obama Care should be framed in terms of jobs and small business. Not only is healthcare a top line expense to business, but the cost of individual insurance plans keeps many would-be entrepreneurs from taking the risk of starting their own business.

6) Emergency rooms are not health care

One of Romney’s more ridiculous statements was that we provide healthcare for the uninsured via emergency rooms, and that states take care of that. The contrast between this negligent and ignorant statement and Obama Care would have been an easy win. 

7) Democrats are not the party of big government

Obama should not concede the talking point that Democrats want big government. He should point out that the only president to reduce government spending as a share of GDP for eight consecutive years was a Democrat, and the only president to have four consecutive budget surpluses was a Democrat, and according to Forbes under Obama we've had the smallest increase in federal spending since Eisenhower. 

8) Income taxes do not discourage job creation

A top Republican myth is that higher income tax rates on the “job creators” kill jobs. The opposite is true. Income taxes are paid on money that is removed from a business to pay an individual. If a business owner creates a job and pays the worker for it, that cost is deducted as an expense. It’s only when the business owners pay themselves that they pay federal income tax. Obama could have made this clear by pointing out that Bain employees were not paid from Romney’s checking account. He could work in a zinger about Bain at the same time.

9) Romney is super rich

Obama could have worked in a few zingers of his own relating to Romney's six houses and car elevator. Romney's wealth dwarfs every president in history. Americans correctly believe this makes Romney unable to understand their lives and problems, and this should have been reinforced. 

10) Not qualified to become president

Mitt famously stated that if he paid more taxes than he owed he would not be qualified for the presidency. Well, his 2011 tax return clearly shows that he opted not to deduct the full amount of his charitable contributions. Obama should have stated the obvious conclusion.

Some have argued that Obama won the debate on substance, either because of the content of what he said or due to the dishonesty of what Romney said. They may or may not be correct, but what is certain is that Obama's performance was abismal and Romney's was credible. Measured by the standard of who attracted more supporters, Romney was a clear and decisive winner.

Karl Rove, a despicable human being but an unprecedented success in the realm of political politics, once said that he runs campaigns as if people watched with the sound turned down. Using that standard, Obama looked like a school boy being dressed down by the principal, nodding in chagrinned agreement with whatever that authoritative man was saying.

Measured by the opportunity available vs. the actual results, Obama's performance was an unmitigated disaster. What could have cemented his victory and put the House of Representatives in play has, instead, possibly cost Obama the election.