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Romney doesn't need zingers to score debate win

BY Tom Tangney  on October 4, 2012 @ 6:40 am (Updated: 7:34 am - 10/4/12 )

cedargrove
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, left, and President Barack Obama, right, on stage for their first debate at the University of Denver. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Obama was right. He isn't a very good debater, or at least he wasn't last night.

Compared to Mitt Romney, he seemed listless, disengaged. Neither candidate scored a knockout punch, but Mitt Romney clearly won on points. The challenger was sharper, clearer, and aggressive without being petty or mean-spirited. Perhaps most surprisingly, he was, if not more likable, at least more relatable.

In a debate more for policy wonks than the average citizen, Romney managed to find a way to say a few complex things in a punchy and easy to grasp way, China, his sons, trickle-down government.

As for the President, he played more defense than he did offense. There was no mention of Romney's 47 percent comment, and he brought up nothing about Bain Capital.

When he did go on the attack, it seemed half-hearted.

Surprisingly, there were no real "zingers" from Romney, despite all the pre-debate talk about them. In the end, the Republican challenger didn't need them.

Tom Tangney, KIRO Radio Host
Tom Tangney is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle's Morning News and resident enthusiast of...everything. He loves books, movies, TV, art, pop culture, politic, sports, and Husky football.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Not that Obama didn't try - they just fell flat.
    October 4, 2012 8:57 am
    The tie to Donald Trump was so flat that only Dave Ross could see a bubble.

    And his claim of 'creating 23 million jobs' ??? wasn't even true if he put the dismal point at 2.3M. ... Its 23M LOOKING for work.

    Of course, he did keep looking for the teleprompter that wasn't there.

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  • IMFREE wrote...
    Today
    October 5, 2012 11:32 am
    Well, now, the new statistics "7.8%" unemployment rate. The fact that more people have just dropped out of the hunt for a job does not give an accurate number. Many of the experts have said that the real unemployment rate is closer to 14-15%. The even if the number has finally dropped below the 8% mark, it is all smoke and mirrors. Not reality.
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