Presidential Debate Numero Uno: Initial Thoughts

While I usually don’t post politics here, I must say that I’m shocked that people think The President lost the debate. But I guess who won is subjective. Maybe the subject matter was too dense for some people to follow. Mitt Romney talked about his principles and waved numbers out of context. It’s as if people only understand addition and subtraction because whenever The President explains anything that requires competence beyond 4th grade arithmetic, they’re are all like “wuh? huh?”

Yes, Romney was on the attack and he managed to exude confidence. Yes, The President wasn’t as dynamic as he could have been and seemed downright exhausted at times. But dammit I’d be exhausted too from trying to explain this same shit over and over again. No matter what Romney says, he can’t cut 5 to 7 trillion dollars and not raise taxes on anyone without making severe cuts in programs that are necessary to build a sustainable future and create opportunities for all people.

Romney believes in choices but he fails to understand that everyone doesn’t have the same choices, and that leaving everyone to fend for themselves does not magically endow them with equal opportunity. His fundamental lack of understand regarding the needs of anyone who is not wealthy or aspiring to become wealthy is his biggest weakness as a presidential candidate. He wants to run the country like a corporation, doing what’s best for his shareholders (the wealthy) not his customers (all the rest of us).

He literally said that he wanted to start grading schools. Do you have any idea how damning that would be for students in poor and rural communities? He thinks they can just choose to go to a better school, like yeah that’s how it works.

There’s no quick fix here so how anyone can be persuaded by someone selling a quick fix is beyond me. It requires planning and detail, and if a candidate can’t give you that much he’s insulting your intelligence and should not get your vote. 

Even if you don’t fully understand the economics, if you’re low-income to middle-income, approaching retirement or retired, a student, a woman, or a member of the LGBT community, you should at least understand who’s gives a damn about you in this race, that much should at least be clear.