When I sat down last Wednesday to watch the first presidential debate I was amped. I felt like I was sitting down to watch a prize fight between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. What a disappointment. And this is from a guy that watches C-SPAN because he finds it interesting.
Somebody needs to get President Barack Obama a pillow and tell presidential candidate Mitt Romney to read his own website once in a while. The whole charade was a joke.
Perhaps the most entertaining part of the night came moments after the debate, as each candidate’s campaign managers ran around to every major news source trying to do damage control. The excuses ranged from Obama not being used to the altitude to the fact that Romney makes a lot of speeches and therefore can’t get it right all the time.
Please. Romney and Obama are running for President of the United States, the most powerful position in the country, and they are acting like they’re running for head of the PTA. Hand out some cookies, pretend you care, and you’ll win. If only it worked that way.
From what I saw on Wednesday, it looked like JC’s Speech and Debate Team would have done a much better job than either candidate. As far as I know our team doesn’t spend millions of dollars on coaches or spend every waking hour of every day preparing, like the presidential candidates.
The next debates need to be more direct, more argumentative, and more explosive, because that’s the only chance America gets to see the real character of the candidates. If that debate is an indication, America has a choice between a guy that looks like he was just put under anesthesia and one that has the memory of a goldfish. Are these the people we want running our country?
With four Ivy League degrees between them, Romney and Obama need to start acting like they have the intelligence and integrity needed to run the most influential and powerful nation on earth. They are supposed to be the two best men to run our country, and it’s about time they start acting like it.
Debates are when we get to see what the candidates themselves think, not the proofread press releases their campaigns put out. It’s when we are able to see how the candidates react under pressure, a necessary skill for President of the United States. It’s when we are able to find out who the candidates really are.
Both Romney and Obama need to step it up, own up to their political history, and give the American people a good idea of the country under their respective administrations. They need to put that money to use and give us a good debate. The fate of the country lies in their hands.
Bryan Doherty is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com