How Obama ‘lost’ debate with Romney

How Obama ‘lost’ debate with Romney

By Alex P. Vidal

LOS ANGELES, California – I was one of the more than 50 million viewers who watched “live” on TV the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney at the University of Denver Wednesday night (October 4).

Like millions of those who thought the debate would conclude in a lopsided thumping in favor of the gifted first American-African president , I ended up gnashing my teeth in astonishment as the Republican standard bearer hammered out  an incredible performance that put the Democrat reelectionist at bay five weeks before the election day.

Both gentlemen squared off on issues on job, healthcare and economy and Romney, often sneered at for being muzzy with his own policy proposals, made a sustained effort to rattle off dollar figures, rates, and plan-points in a rhetorical blitz that Obama seemed unable to ward off.

“But you’ve been president four years,” whistled Romney as he uncorked a sally and turned the tables when Obama tried to establish his own agenda particularly his promise to shave $4 trillion off the deficit with a plan his administration was “putting forward to Congress right now.”

Obama could only smirk he “liked” the term “Obamacare” when the former Massachusetts governor scored him for cutting $716 billion from Medicare to pay for Obamacare.

Gregory J. Krieg of ABC News observed that when Obama suggested Romney's declared "love" of teachers was not backed up by his budget plan, the challenger was prepared with one of those much-anticipated "zingers."

"Mr. President," he said, "you're entitled as the president to your own airplane and to your own house, but not to your own facts. All right, I'm not going to cut education funding. I don't have any plan to cut education funding."

"Republicans and Democrats both love America," Romney said toward the end of the 90 minute-meeting. "But we need to have leadership, leadership in Washington that will actually bring people together and get the job done and could not care less if it's a Republican or a Democrat. I've done it before. I'll do it again."

"Well, first of all," Obama said, "I think Governor Romney's going to have a busy first day, because he's also going to repeal Obamacare, which will not be very popular among Democrats as you're sitting down with them."

When debate moderator Jim Lehrer, the PBS anchor, asked Obama for a response to the charge, the president elected to speak about Romney and running mate Paul Ryan's plan to privatize parts of Medicare.

MSNBC’s Chris Matthews who covered the debate “live” sharply criticized Obama’s performance and reported on the difference in demeanor between the two presidential candidates ranting that Obama missed opportunities to combat Romney’s claims on healthcare.

“Where was Obama tonight?” Matthews bewailed.

On medicare issue, Romney claimed Obama's health care law would take $716 billion out of Medicare.

“What I support is no change for current retirees and near-retirees to Medicare. And the president supports taking $716 billion out of that program,” Romney enthused.

In fact, that $716 billion comes from trimming planned future increases over the next decade, not cutting funding. And those trims come from limiting payments to health-care providers and insurers -- not limiting care to seniors.

And Medicare's chief actuary says Obama's health reform "substantially improves" the program's finances.

Romney's claim that his plan would not change anything for seniors and near retirees is true. His changes would not affect anyone currently over the age of 55.

What would happen for younger Americans under Romney's plan?

Has essentially endorsed the latest version of the Ryan budget plan, which substantially transforms Medicare by giving future seniors a payment -- Democrats call it a “voucher,” Republicans call it “premium support” -- to purchase health insurance. Under Ryan's plan, seniors would have the choice of buying private insurance or through Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service model.

On deficit, Obama said his plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion.

“Now, we all know that we've got to do more. And so I've put forward a specific $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan. It's on a website. You can look at all the numbers, what cut we make and what revenue we raise,” the President declared.

That estimate comes from the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities -- $3.8 trillion over 10 years.

The president is counting money saved by letting the Bush tax cuts expire for people making more than $250,000 a year.

But he's also counting on savings already agreed to last year when the White House and Congress agreed to raise the debt ceiling.

At the outset of the debate, NBC News reported that Obama and Romney tangled over taxes. Romney objected to the president's claim that his tax cuts would cost $5 trillion.

“Let me repeat what I said, I'm not in favor of a $5 trillion tax cut. That's not my plan. My plan is not to put in place any tax cut that will add to the deficit,” he suggested.

What is Romney's plan? He has proposed making the Bush tax cuts permanent for all income levels -- then cutting all rates by an additional 20 percent. He would also repeal the alternative minimum tax and permanently repeal the estate tax.

The non-partisan Tax Policy Center concluded that Romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10 years.

Romney said -- once again tonight -- that his plan would be paid for by closing loopholes in the tax code and by getting rid of some tax deductions and credits. But he has repeatedly declined to say which deductions he'd eliminate, saying he'd work with Congress to make those decisions.

As an observer, I will give former Vice President Al Gore the benefit of the doubt when he offered as excuse Obama’s “late” arrival in Denver “at 2 p.m. today” or just a few hours before the debate started.

For Democrats, or at least one high profile former party leader, observed Krieg, there's some solace in knowing the next meeting will take place in Hempstead, N.Y., just 66 feet above sea level.

But one thing’s for sure. With two more debates and a little more than a month to the election, Republicans are daring to dream again.