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Mitt Romney throws in towel before first debate@mysistereileen.org

Posted by on September 28, 2012
Edition: U.S.

Mitt Romney Debate Advice From Newt Gingrich: ‘Use Humor’

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 09/26/2012 11:48 am EDT Updated: 09/26/2012 12:06 pm EDT

Mitt Romney Debate
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) talk at the end of the South Carolina Republican presidential candidate debate on Jan. 16. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)

Former GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich gave some advice Wednesday to nominee Mitt Romney as he prepares for the debate: attack the media, relax, be honest and have fun with it.

“You can be on offense without being offensive,” Gingrich wrote in a column on Human Events. “The strongest reactions I got to my debates came from people who were desperate for someone to stand up to the media and redefine the questions and reframe the assumptions. … If you look at my strongest applause lines virtually every one was taking on the media.”

Romney is intensely preparing for his first debate against President Barack Obama, which will take place on Oct. 3 in Denver, Colo. Obama is getting less practice, according to his campaign, but has the advantage of being abreast of most issues as the current commander in chief. Obama is also leading in the polls, although Gingrich dismissed the numbers, saying, “the elite news media is doing everything they can to convince Romney’s supporters that the election is lost.”

Romney hasn’t always been as comfortable on the debate stage, something Gingrich pointed out during the GOP primary, saying in January that Obama would laugh at Romney if they debated. “I think as people look at his record and then imagine him debating Obama, Obama is going to laugh at him,” Gingrich said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” at the time.

Recently, though, Gingrich has been a little nicer on Romney’s debate skills. He told CNN’s Piers Morgan that his former opponent should “be as tough with Obama as he was with me in Florida” and not worry about being likeable.

He had more advice for Romney in his Human Events column. He wrote debate moderators would surely bring up Romney’s recently exposed comments about the 47 percent of Americans who are “dependent on government.”

“Instead of answering it, Romney should pivot and say, ‘Let me tell you about the 100 percent,” Gingrich wrote, going on to say he should address Obama’s failures.

He said Romney should be honest that his record is also imperfect — something Gingrich reminded him of repeatedly during his attacks earlier this year.

“There are things Romney has done wrong,” he wrote. “Admit it. There are things he would like to do better. Admit it. People can smell dishonesty and disingenuous efforts to sell or hide.”

One of the potentially more difficult pieces of advice Gingrich gave was to be funny, something many people think Romney is too stiff to pull off.

“Reagan and Kennedy both had this wonderful knack of using humor to make points,” Gingrich wrote. “President Obama is a detached, often stiff person who overestimates his competence (the next time you see a story on the Middle East remember he got a Nobel peace prize for having done nothing). No president in my lifetime has been as vulnerable to humor as President Obama.”

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Karen Fitzgerald

Karen Fitzgerald: My Hero in the 47 Percent

He was eight-years-old, and the oldest of five little children when his father died of cancer. It was the Depression. With no other means of support, his mother baked bread and sold it to her neighbors in Buffalo.
sanuzis Mitt Romney to ‘fact check’ Obama in debate http://t.co/48jEIlkV
ABC7 Be part of the discussion surrounding the 1st debate between President @BarackObama & @MittRomney http://t.co/Ft65fEma

10 hours ago from web
HuffPostBlog 10 reasons why Mitt Romney’s debate prospects are in trouble: http://t.co/YWcXVvTt
mattseaton Can Mitt Romney turn it all around in the presidential debates? @speechboy71 has a look: http://t.co/0QCGA2RJAnd says, nah

14 hours ago from web
GottaLaff RT @nicolesandler: Opposite World- part 2: Mitt Romney wants to Fact Check the Debates http://t.co/zYdUqoDC
Procoolgranny Demand to know where @BarackObama and @MittRomney stand on CitizensUnited at 1st debate; sign petition http://t.co/K7gbcZ9q
JoshuaHol #Projection… Mitt Romney to ‘fact check’ Obama in debate http://t.co/0LBPG71D
BrianWilsonDC @MittRomneyon WH confusion abt Benghazi, def. cuts, Virgil Goode and whether he’ll get tough in the debates. 5,6:30&8 AM tomorrow. WMAL
owillisive heard when mitt romney debates a celestial chorus descends from heaven as accompaniment.

18 hours ago from web
streitfeldcnn RT @markknoller: Further, Psaki says Mitt Romney has been engaged in more debate prep than any presidential candidate in modern history.

19 hours ago from web
markknollerFurther, Psaki says Mitt Romney has been engaged in more debate prep than any presidential candidate in modern history.

19 hours ago from web
ElectionWatch Mitt to ‘fact check’ Obama in debate http://t.co/XeoL7V0u #Romney #Obama
HariSevuganWhy’s he losing? Romney’s msg of the day: How best can I call Obama a liar in the debate? Obama’s: here’s my economic plan, where’s Mitt’s?
gregmcrc Get ready 4 #liblies=Obama plans three-day debate prep #RomneyRyan2012 @MittRomney @PaulRyanVP #tcot #teaparty
davidmunk It’s not looking good for Romney – but will the debates help him. Read @jonswaine on the trail with Mitt. http://t.co/cuYqc4Sd

24 hours ago from web
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1 second ago ( 7:00 AM)

This comment is pending approval and won’t be displayed until it is approved.

Let me make a list as to how the conservative cabal portrays Mitt Romney as the winner incarnate.
1. Barack is bad
2. Barack is very bad
3. Barack is the baddest black, Oops, negro, Oops, an African-American
4. Repeat the first three items till holy Hindu cows come home
5. Nothing would defeat Mitt Romney, not even God almighty in the (Mormon) heaven
…and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.org

11 hours ago ( 8:22 PM)

A little bit of humor (instead of a teaspoon of sugar) makes the medicine go down… In the most amazing way!! :-)

This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program

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Wanjiru

Debatably relatable …
13 hours ago ( 6:20 PM)

Yes, Newt would know. His campaign was hilarious!

HUFFPOST SUPER USER

wordshll

19 hours ago (11:50 AM)

The DREAM BUSTERS will be the downfall of the Democratic Party and BHO. They have kept fuel prices high, Unemployment high and salaries low. They have hindered the working man not helped him. They want all the money for themselves. See who is the richest men in the world…Buffet and Soros. Who are they with…BHO and Biden…just follow the money trial and you can see why we use foreign oil, and why jobs are being sent to China…including stimulus money which should have been spent over here. Still think they are your friends, then think again…they are the DREAM BUSTERS…. and they just busted your dream!

7 hours ago (11:56 PM)

Never mind, I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Is this some kind of weird poem- type thing?

23 hours ago ( 7:51 AM)

Oh please, take all the advice you can Mr. Romney from Newt!

24 hours ago ( 7:24 AM)

Aside from coaching, to prepare for debate one also needs to read, reflect, and most importantly, to write, and write — starting with just about anything to get the mind in gear.
Neither candidate can do this when forced to bounce from place to place, or when constantly at the beck and call of others.
Both President Obama and Governor Romney should, therefore, tell their handlers to leave them be for a while — so they can rest, collect their thoughts, and reflect on the issues facing our country.
We expect much from both of them, and they should try to deliver.
Despite the polarized electorate, this election transcends politics and is about the future of our country, if not the world.

23 hours ago ( 7:55 AM)

Rest and relaxation are not luxuries these two candiates have at this time. They either know the issues and their importance or they don’t. It’s do or die next week. Agree, the stakes are enormous.

This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program

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Equinator

Shovels manure daily
24 hours ago ( 7:19 AM)

Typical shoot the messenger messenger. Create a straw man then shoot them down.

HUFFPOST SUPER USER

pkafin

05:52 AM on 09/27/2012

Sure, attack the media. They’re definitely part of that shrinking minority of folks that Mitt hasn’t directly offended yet. Might as well swing for the benches and try to leave no person behind that he hasn’t either pissed off or pissed on on the way out.

05:17 AM on 09/27/2012

And don’t bet a large sum of money like he did with Mr. Perry….

02:29 AM on 09/27/2012

Yeah Mittens use humor! Tell us that one again how you dont care about 47% of Americans! Thats a gas!

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HUFFPOST SUPER USER

mjohnson k

12:30 AM on 09/27/2012

This guy again? Who moved the rock?

photo

HUFFPOST SUPER USER

mjohnson k

12:12 AM on 09/27/2012

About MR’s 47% comments, ol’ Newt suggested “”Instead of answering it, Romney should pivot and say, ‘Let me tell you about the 100 percent,” Gingrich wrote, going on to say he should address Obama’s failures.” *Sigh!

doinaheckuvanutjob

Monsanto stole my micro-bio & put in GMO’s
01:38 AM on 09/27/2012

Wouldn’t work. For both blowhard Gingrich who frequents high priced jewelry stores and galivants on an endless campaign junket, and Rich Guy Romney, it’s automatically not credible that either care about the 100%.

11:00 PM on 09/26/2012

Quote from Newt:

“President Obama is a detached, often stiff person who overestimates his competence (the next time you see a story on the Middle East remember he got a Nobel peace prize for having done nothing). No president in my lifetime has been as vulnerable to humor as President Obama.”

This is from a man who said that it was clear to him that he would be the Republican nominee and went on to discuss his plans for his SECOND term in office. Yes, Mittens, please take Newt’s sage advice. Obama is stiff and Mitt, you’re the cat’s meow.

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Btolerant

Teach your kids tolerance, not extremism!
09:25 PM on 09/26/2012

Mitt, listen to Newt. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

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oldgrendel

tired old computer guy
10:21 PM on 09/26/2012

Please Mitt, listen to Newt. Please!!!

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drwtsn

Could I please get an upgrade to a macro-bio?
09:06 PM on 09/26/2012

Another piece of advice Newt gave Mitt: “Sometimes it helps to relax before a debate by having an affair with a young campaign worker.”

09:05 PM on 09/26/2012

And so…why isn’t Gingrich the candidate? Because his own party did NOT select him. So why is he doling out advice on how to win the election? Because Gingrich is…

…FULL of himself.

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HUFFPOST PUNDIT

flossophy

the infamous anti-establishment classical liberal
09:59 PM on 09/26/2012

The base wanted him… the establishment wanted Mitt…. Obama and the media badIy wanted Mitt too.

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oldgrendel

tired old computer guy
10:22 PM on 09/26/2012

Both are losers, so it wouldn’t matter.

doinaheckuvanutjob

Monsanto stole my micro-bio & put in GMO’s
01:39 AM on 09/27/2012

The base wanted him? And that’s how Newt didn’t win even one primary.

 
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Romney Camp Downplays Debate Expectations

By Sunlen Miller | ABC OTUS News – 9 hrs ago
  • Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign fund raiser in Washington, DC September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

    Enlarge PhotoReuters/Reuters – Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney speaks at a campaign fund raiser in Washington, DC September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

In a memo sent to surrogates today, Romney senior adviser Beth Myers sets the expectations for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney low – very low – compared to the “ample rhetorical gifts” of his opponent. The memo says President Obama has a “significant advantage” heading into the first debate.

“President Obama is a uniquely gifted speaker, and is widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history,” Myers writes, calling Obama a “universally acclaimed public speaker.”

Myers’ memo is the latest in pre-debate jockeying by both campaigns to set their candidate’s expectations low, while raising expectations for their opponent.

Beyond his “natural gifts” for oratory, Meyers argues that Obama has “substantial debate experience under his belt.”

“This will be the eighth one-on-one presidential debate of his political career. For Mitt Romney, it will be his first,” she says. Obama, in her words, has had “extensive seasoning under the bright lights of the debate stage.”

Myers predicts that President Obama will use these advantages to go negative and attack Romney on the debate stage.

“Since he won’t – and can’t – talk about his record, he’ll talk about Mitt Romney. We fully expect a 90-minute attack ad aimed at tearing down his opponent.”

Myers concludes that the election will not be decided by the debates.

The first of three presidential debates is Oct. 3, next Wednesday, at the University of Denver.

The full memo from Beth Myers to surrogates is below:

From: Beth Myers, Senior Adviser To: Interested Parties Date: September 27, 2012 Re: 2012 Presidential Debates

In a matter of days, Governor Romney and President Obama will meet on the presidential debate stage. President Obama is a universally-acclaimed public speaker and has substantial debate experience under his belt. However, the record he’s compiled over the last four years – higher unemployment, lower incomes, rising energy costs, and a national debt spiraling out of control – means this will be a close election right up to November 6th.

Between now and then, President Obama and Governor Romney will debate three times. While Governor Romney has the issues and the facts on his side, President Obama enters these contests with a significant advantage on a number of fronts.

Voters already believe – by a 25-point margin – that President Obama is likely to do a better job in these debates. Given President Obama’s natural gifts and extensive seasoning under the bright lights of the debate stage, this is unsurprising. President Obama is a uniquely gifted speaker, and is widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history. This will be the eighth one-on-one presidential debate of his political career. For Mitt Romney, it will be his first.

Four years ago, Barack Obama faced John McCain on the debate stage. According to Gallup, voters judged him the winner of each debate by double-digit margins, and their polling showed he won one debate by an astounding 33-point margin. In the 2008 primary, he faced Hillary Clinton, another formidable opponent – debating her one-on-one numerous times and coming out ahead. The takeaway? Not only has President Obama gained valuable experience in these debates, he also won them comfortably.

But what must President Obama overcome? His record. Based on the campaign he’s run so far, it’s clear that President Obama will use his ample rhetorical gifts and debating experience to one end: attacking Mitt Romney. Since he won’t – and can’t – talk about his record, he’ll talk about Mitt Romney. We fully expect a 90-minute attack ad aimed at tearing down his opponent. If President Obama is as negative as we expect, he will have missed an opportunity to let the American people know his vision for the next four years and the policies he’d pursue. That’s not an opportunity Mitt Romney will pass up. He will talk about the big choice in this election – the choice between President Obama’s government-centric vision and Mitt Romney’s vision for an opportunity society with more jobs, higher take-home pay, a better-educated workforce, and millions of Americans lifted out of poverty into the middle class.

This election will not be decided by the debates, however. It will be decided by the American people. Regardless of who comes out on top in these debates, they know we can’t afford another four years like the last four years. And they will ultimately choose a better future by electing Mitt Romney to be our next president.

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1,369 comments

  • Sid
    0users liked this commentThumbs UpThumbs Down0users disliked this comment

    Sid • a second agoRemove

    Let me make a list as to how the conservative cabal portrays Mitt Romney as the winner incarnate.
    1. Barack is bad
    2. Barack is very bad
    3. Barack is the baddest black, Oops, negro, Oops, an African-American
    4. Repeat the first three items till holy Hindu cows come home
    5. Nothing would defeat Mitt Romney, not even God almighty in the (Mormon) heaven
    …and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.org

    Reply

  • 7users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Wimpy  •  5 mins ago Report Abuse

    Myers is right, the election will not be decided by the debates, but by the fact that Mitt Romney is a weak candidate with little or no substance or character. He says what he thinks will get him elected and keeps his real agenda mostly hidden, except when speaking candidly to loyal supporters.

    Reply

  • 5users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Phil  •  7 mins ago Report Abuse

    Nothing against Romney, but his facial expression in that photo looks pretty stupid… Reuters got him at a weird moment

    2 Replies

  • 6users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    GGK  •  24 mins ago Report Abuse

    Mitt, don’t worry about the Pres. He is busy with his job. You have been pounding dirt all day. you will do just fine. Just keep blowing hot air abot the jobs you created and people you love, even the poor ones until Nov 2012 elections. After that you golden.

    Reply

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    DennisM  •  4 mins 43 secs ago Report Abuse

    Romney shouldn’t worry about the debates….He doesn’t even have to show up and Hannity, Palin, Limbaugh, and FOX news will claim him as the winner anyway.

    Reply

  • 5users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    A Yahoo! User  •  6 mins ago Report Abuse

    Oct 3 is on a Wednesday not a Thursday just another oversight by the incompetent Romney and his campaign, I wander if he knows when election day is.

    Reply

  • 4users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Misunderestimated  •  14 mins ago Report Abuse

    I’ll have to pee before the debate so I don’t wet myself when I laugh.

    1 Reply

  • 5users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    D H  •  15 mins ago Report Abuse

    Under the article, it should say, I’m mitt Romney and I approve this message.

    Reply

  • 46users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down3users disliked this comment

    mike  •  2 hrs 14 mins ago Report Abuse

    Just get out and vote and I hope we do what best for this great country and not for are selfs

    23 Replies

    • 0users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

      Spider 32 secs ago Report Abuse

      Danny, if you are going to vote for the spoiler, why don’t you just have the balls, and flat out vote for the Socialist, or.. I tell ya what, just send your money to Greece, that is where Obama will take it.

  • 4users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    iloveusa  •  3 mins 25 secs ago Report Abuse

    This election isn’t about the 2 partys,……it’s about the american people vs the media.

    Reply

  • 4users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Michael  •  19 mins ago Report Abuse

    I wanna go fund raise instead. Please?

    1 Reply

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    george  •  15 mins ago Report Abuse

    This should be a masterdebate. Do you think Mitty will make a 10,000 dollar bet?

    Reply

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    Normal  •  15 mins ago Report Abuse

    Another debate I won’t be able to stand to watch…..the bloodshed when the President crushes Romney would be too painful to watch.

    Reply

  • 16users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down1users disliked this comment

    chris b  •  22 mins ago Report Abuse

    Sure this may be Romney’s first presediantial debate, but it isn’t like Romney has never participated in a debate before………….

    4 Replies

  • 3users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Miles  •  5 mins ago Report Abuse

    Itt Romney said, on the second day of his Ohio bus tour. He’s now telling stories of economic hardship among the people he’s met.
    Curiously absent from these narratives have been the stories of ordinary Americans caught in an economy over which they have no control. That is, most of us…. More

    1 Reply

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    useyourhead  •  10 mins ago Report Abuse

    Kind of like Obama lowering expectations of the economy 4 years into the presidency. . . Come on people all you can do is tear down mitt for having success? Why is it such a crime to be successful to a democrat?

    Reply

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    Cyndi  •  3 mins 16 secs ago Report Abuse

    Romney will be honest and Obama will lie and say what people want to hear – like he did in 2008. Actions speak louder than words. If you believe that Obama DID the things he said he would do in 2008, then vote for him. But I know he did not cut the deficit, bring the troops home, close Gitmo or… More

    Reply

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    Rascal0161  •  11 mins ago Report Abuse

    This guy is already covering his mistakes ahead of time. How on earth can anyone think he could handle POTUS? His own campaign is in tatters even with all the millions of dollars and lies

    1 Reply

  • 3users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    liz a  •  4 mins 54 secs ago Report Abuse

    Romney realizes: reality sucks…life’s a #$%$. His fantasy world does not do anything for the voters.

    Reply

  • 3users liked this commentRate a Thumb UpRate a Thumb Down0users disliked this comment

    Spider-Bob  •  7 mins ago Report Abuse

    Its a game of expectations limbo. How low can he go?

    Reply

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    Marklev  •  3 mins 9 secs ago Report Abuse

    obama and UN. from now on any Americans talk about muslim will be arrested

    1 Reply

    Copyright © 2012 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. | Yahoo! – ABC News Network |

  • Thursday, September 27, 2012 As of 6:09 PM EDT

    Noonan: 2012 Debates: This Is It, Mitt

    How Romney can make the most of his face-off with Obama.

    • By PEGGY NOONAN

    Columnist's name

    “Governor, the success or failure of your entire presidential campaign will come down to what happens between the hours of 9 and 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3. We’re at a hinge point in history. It’s not too much to say the future of the American republic depends on how you do in that hour and a half.”

    “Um, specifically, what do you want me to do?”

    “Be relaxed!”

    That’s what’s coming from some of Mitt Romney’s supporters right now—Wednesday night is critical, the last chance, so don’t forget it’s nothing, a walk in the park. He doesn’t strike me as easily given to freak-outs, but if he is, this would be the moment.

    Let’s take a different approach.

    It is true that the debate has the potential to alter the dynamic of the election. A good or great one, followed up by an improved, more serious campaign, could make everything new again. A bad one would do damage indeed.

    But there will be three debates, and it’s possible the truly high-stakes one will be the last, on Oct. 22.

    And there are some institutional and personal elements surrounding the Wednesday debate that may well work in Mr. Romney’s favor.

    Associated PressFormer Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, right, during the Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in January.

    From a canny journalist with a counterintuitive head: “The media will be rooting for Romney.” Two reasons. First, they don’t want the story to end. They’re in show biz: A boring end means lower ratings. Careers are involved! Second, the mainstream media is suddenly realizing that more than half the country (and some of their colleagues) think they are at least operationally in the tank for the president, or the Democrats in general. It is hurting the media’s standing. A midcourse correction is in order, and Wednesday will offer an opportunity: I think it’s fair to say Gov. Romney more than held his own this evening, and a consensus seems to be forming that the president underperformed.

    Mr. Romney walks in as the underdog, behind in the polls. He’s not the president, the other guy is. He’s not world-famous, the other guy is. The president is known for smooth presentation and verbal fluidity, Mr. Romney more recently for awkwardisms and gaffes.

    It’s good to be the underdog. “Politics is exceeding expectations.”

    As the Republican candidate, Mr. Romney is used to being battered about. He can take a shot. But once you’re president, you’re never battered about. The mystique of the Oval Office is too great. People tell you what you want to hear. Everyone’s too easy on you.

    President Obama hasn’t been challenged in public in a long time. He hasn’t been challenged in private in a long time. So if Mr. Romney treats him with respect but not deference, if he really engages, challenges, questions and pushes, he just might knock the president off his stride.

    There was something Mr. Romney did in the primary debates. When his competitors were answering questions, he didn’t stand at the podium looking distracted. He’d turn and smile at them sweetly and encouragingly, as if he were thinking, “You’re the cutest little shrimp.” No one has looked at Mr. Obama like that since 2003. It’s possible he wouldn’t like it.

    Everyone is waiting for the “Are you better off now . . .” question, but that’s a little complicated. No one knew Reagan was going to uncork it in 1980, and so it had a chance to be devastating. This year, everyone knows it’s coming. So maybe it won’t come. Mr. Obama surely will have memorized a response. Or maybe he will bring it up first. “I’d actually like to talk about whether some people are better off now. It’s a complicated question, but teachers and firefighters who’ve kept their jobs because of what we did might say they’re better off . . .”

    ***

    Mr. Romney should be wondering Which Obama he’ll meet.

    More-in-Sorrow-Than-in-Anger Obama? He patiently explains, until your eyes cross, the real facts of the economy and the beginning of recovery, the competing and even contradictory forces that determine outcomes. He speaks in soft, rounded phrases.

    Peggy Noonan’s Blog

    Daily declarations from the Wall Street Journal columnist.

    Faux-Humble Obama? I’ve made some mistakes, I’ll admit it. I didn’t always do so well explaining exactly what I was doing, in terms of policy, and all the reasons why. I haven’t been perfect, but I wasn’t wrong to help people get through the height of the crisis. I’ve learned a lot, but I didn’t need to be told to save the U.S. auto industry.

    Perturbable Obama? This is a proud man. He doesn’t like to be questioned too closely, as he showed when he was pressed on Univision last week.

    Rope-a-Dope Obama? As he showed on “60 Minutes,” he can make it up as he goes along when he feels he needs to. If you endlessly correct his numbers, it could leave you sputtering digits, slinging factoids, losing the larger point.

    Cool McCool? This Obama is tall, friendly, shows up on “The View” and has a smile so big it wrinkles his nose. But he can refer to himself as “eye candy,” and reminds you of the old McCain commercial: “He’s the biggest celebrity in the world.”

    Maybe Mr. Romney will meet all five.

    ***

    Mitt Romney still sounds, at this late date in the campaign, as if he’s talking to Republicans. But they don’t have to be persuaded, they think Mr. Obama is a disaster and want him out. He should be talking to independents, centrists, suburban women, those who might be won over. A lot of them would be grateful to be impressed.

    In that area, an idea. In 1980, a lot of people thought incumbent Jimmy Carter wasn’t cutting it. It wasn’t personal, he just didn’t have the right answers for the problems at hand. But people had real doubts about Ronald Reagan—he was too shoot-from-the-hip, he’d start World War III. These were understandable reservations! He had to prove he was a pair of safe hands.

    People think Mr. Romney’s rich, doesn’t understand regular people’s lives. They’re not sure he can turn things around. He has to prove he’s a pair of safe hands.

    One way to get at that: People hate it that Washington doesn’t work anymore, that it’s incapable of solving problems, that it can’t even pass a budget. There is widespread knowledge that Mr. Obama, whatever his virtues, doesn’t work well with others—he can’t negotiate, can’t bend them to his will, doesn’t really listen, can’t work it out, can’t win them over. It’s all stasis now. And will be if he is re-elected. The complaint that he is at once convinced, detached and uninterested is heard not only in Washington and among Republicans, but among foreign leaders.

    Maybe Mr. Romney can note that he once ran a great state, that he faced a legislature dominated by the other party, that he worked with them, heard them, negotiated with them, and that together they produced a great deal. Even a health-care bill that didn’t tear the state apart, didn’t cause widespread bitterness, didn’t inspire broad public resentment. It was, in these respects, the opposite of ObamaCare. Mr. Romney learned much from the experience about what works locally and can work nationally. It’s actually not a story to avoid, it is a story worth telling.

  •  

    • Thursday, September 27, 2012 As of 6:09 PM EDT

      Noonan: 2012 Debates: This Is It, Mitt

      How Romney can make the most of his face-off with Obama.

      • By PEGGY NOONAN

      Columnist's name

      “Governor, the success or failure of your entire presidential campaign will come down to what happens between the hours of 9 and 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3. We’re at a hinge point in history. It’s not too much to say the future of the American republic depends on how you do in that hour and a half.”

      “Um, specifically, what do you want me to do?”

      “Be relaxed!”

      That’s what’s coming from some of Mitt Romney’s supporters right now—Wednesday night is critical, the last chance, so don’t forget it’s nothing, a walk in the park. He doesn’t strike me as easily given to freak-outs, but if he is, this would be the moment.

      Let’s take a different approach.

      It is true that the debate has the potential to alter the dynamic of the election. A good or great one, followed up by an improved, more serious campaign, could make everything new again. A bad one would do damage indeed.

      But there will be three debates, and it’s possible the truly high-stakes one will be the last, on Oct. 22.

      And there are some institutional and personal elements surrounding the Wednesday debate that may well work in Mr. Romney’s favor.

      Associated PressFormer Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney, right, during the Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., in January.

      From a canny journalist with a counterintuitive head: “The media will be rooting for Romney.” Two reasons. First, they don’t want the story to end. They’re in show biz: A boring end means lower ratings. Careers are involved! Second, the mainstream media is suddenly realizing that more than half the country (and some of their colleagues) think they are at least operationally in the tank for the president, or the Democrats in general. It is hurting the media’s standing. A midcourse correction is in order, and Wednesday will offer an opportunity: I think it’s fair to say Gov. Romney more than held his own this evening, and a consensus seems to be forming that the president underperformed.

      Mr. Romney walks in as the underdog, behind in the polls. He’s not the president, the other guy is. He’s not world-famous, the other guy is. The president is known for smooth presentation and verbal fluidity, Mr. Romney more recently for awkwardisms and gaffes.

      It’s good to be the underdog. “Politics is exceeding expectations.”

      As the Republican candidate, Mr. Romney is used to being battered about. He can take a shot. But once you’re president, you’re never battered about. The mystique of the Oval Office is too great. People tell you what you want to hear. Everyone’s too easy on you.

      President Obama hasn’t been challenged in public in a long time. He hasn’t been challenged in private in a long time. So if Mr. Romney treats him with respect but not deference, if he really engages, challenges, questions and pushes, he just might knock the president off his stride.

      There was something Mr. Romney did in the primary debates. When his competitors were answering questions, he didn’t stand at the podium looking distracted. He’d turn and smile at them sweetly and encouragingly, as if he were thinking, “You’re the cutest little shrimp.” No one has looked at Mr. Obama like that since 2003. It’s possible he wouldn’t like it.

      Everyone is waiting for the “Are you better off now . . .” question, but that’s a little complicated. No one knew Reagan was going to uncork it in 1980, and so it had a chance to be devastating. This year, everyone knows it’s coming. So maybe it won’t come. Mr. Obama surely will have memorized a response. Or maybe he will bring it up first. “I’d actually like to talk about whether some people are better off now. It’s a complicated question, but teachers and firefighters who’ve kept their jobs because of what we did might say they’re better off . . .”

      ***

      Mr. Romney should be wondering Which Obama he’ll meet.

      More-in-Sorrow-Than-in-Anger Obama? He patiently explains, until your eyes cross, the real facts of the economy and the beginning of recovery, the competing and even contradictory forces that determine outcomes. He speaks in soft, rounded phrases.

      Peggy Noonan’s Blog

      Daily declarations from the Wall Street Journal columnist.

      Faux-Humble Obama? I’ve made some mistakes, I’ll admit it. I didn’t always do so well explaining exactly what I was doing, in terms of policy, and all the reasons why. I haven’t been perfect, but I wasn’t wrong to help people get through the height of the crisis. I’ve learned a lot, but I didn’t need to be told to save the U.S. auto industry.

      Perturbable Obama? This is a proud man. He doesn’t like to be questioned too closely, as he showed when he was pressed on Univision last week.

      Rope-a-Dope Obama? As he showed on “60 Minutes,” he can make it up as he goes along when he feels he needs to. If you endlessly correct his numbers, it could leave you sputtering digits, slinging factoids, losing the larger point.

      Cool McCool? This Obama is tall, friendly, shows up on “The View” and has a smile so big it wrinkles his nose. But he can refer to himself as “eye candy,” and reminds you of the old McCain commercial: “He’s the biggest celebrity in the world.”

      Maybe Mr. Romney will meet all five.

      ***

      Mitt Romney still sounds, at this late date in the campaign, as if he’s talking to Republicans. But they don’t have to be persuaded, they think Mr. Obama is a disaster and want him out. He should be talking to independents, centrists, suburban women, those who might be won over. A lot of them would be grateful to be impressed.

      In that area, an idea. In 1980, a lot of people thought incumbent Jimmy Carter wasn’t cutting it. It wasn’t personal, he just didn’t have the right answers for the problems at hand. But people had real doubts about Ronald Reagan—he was too shoot-from-the-hip, he’d start World War III. These were understandable reservations! He had to prove he was a pair of safe hands.

      People think Mr. Romney’s rich, doesn’t understand regular people’s lives. They’re not sure he can turn things around. He has to prove he’s a pair of safe hands.

      One way to get at that: People hate it that Washington doesn’t work anymore, that it’s incapable of solving problems, that it can’t even pass a budget. There is widespread knowledge that Mr. Obama, whatever his virtues, doesn’t work well with others—he can’t negotiate, can’t bend them to his will, doesn’t really listen, can’t work it out, can’t win them over. It’s all stasis now. And will be if he is re-elected. The complaint that he is at once convinced, detached and uninterested is heard not only in Washington and among Republicans, but among foreign leaders.

      Maybe Mr. Romney can note that he once ran a great state, that he faced a legislature dominated by the other party, that he worked with them, heard them, negotiated with them, and that together they produced a great deal. Even a health-care bill that didn’t tear the state apart, didn’t cause widespread bitterness, didn’t inspire broad public resentment. It was, in these respects, the opposite of ObamaCare. Mr. Romney learned much from the experience about what works locally and can work nationally. It’s actually not a story to avoid, it is a story worth telling.

    • …and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.org
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