Being Right:Saving Our Country

12 Days. After a year and a half of primaries and nasty campaign ads, that is how much time remains until Election Day. On November 6, the American people will be faced with making one of the most important decisions of their lifetime: to allow four more years of failure or to help save our country. To help prepare us for this judgment day, the candidates have engaged in a series of debates. These debates give us some insight into the personalities and approaches of the candidates that will help us make our decision. Let us examine the outcomes of these debates.

The first presidential debate was a decisive victory for Mitt Romney. To be honest, I was shocked at how large a victory it was. I believed that Romney would win, but I thought it would be much closer than it was. Even liberal commentators on MSNBC questioned the president’s performance. It was clear that Obama did not take Governor Romney seriously, and as such he did not prepare sufficiently for the debate and Romney made a fool out of him. Obama came across as confused and disinterested the entire time, and the American people seemed to be of the same opinion. Conservatives and liberals across the country began to express their dismay for this man who is supposed to be our leader. Following the debate, Romney took the lead in the polls as he picked up the support of moderates in swing states such as Ohio and Florida. Going into the next three debates, the democratic campaign needed to step up its game if it hoped to win the election.

The vice presidential debate was much more evenly contested. The left contends that Joe Biden emerged victorious, but it was not that clear cut. While Biden dominated on foreign policy, Ryan came across as more knowledgeable on the economy. However, all that the voters are going to remember about this debate is Biden’s demeanor. The chuckles, the smiles and the grimaces were all tactless, rude and unprofessional. Sure, Biden’s an-tics conveyed his disagreement with Ryan’s statements, but there are much more appropriate ways to do that. If the candidates don’t come off well, the people are not going to vote for them. One need only look back at the first debate between Nixon and Kennedy in 1960 for evidence of this. While Nixon was clearly the better candidate, he looked disheveled and sickly during the debate and the audience picked JFK as the winner. Obama and Biden’s debate performances have lacked style and they have suffered in the polls accordingly.

The second presidential debate turned into more of a shouting match than a debate. The modera-tor, Candy Crowley, lost control of the debate as the two candidates constantly interrupted each other. While many people are saying that Obama narrowly won, one really needs to take that pronouncement with a grain of salt. Obama was certainly more aggressive this time around, but Romney didn’t back down. People had very low expectations for Obama after his miserable performance in the first de-bate and saw Obama victorious this time simply because he overcame those expectations. Interestingly, though, a CNN poll of likely voters had Obama winning the overall debate 46 percent – 39 percent, but Romney beating Obama on important issues such as the economy (58 percent – 40 percent), health care (49 percent – 46 percent) and taxes (51 percent – 44 percent). Now, by the time this article comes out, the third and final presidential debate will have already happened. Unless Obama does something miraculous during this debate, I believe we will soon have a new president. As Romney told Obama in the first debate, “You are entitled to your own airplane, and your own house, but not your own facts.” Facts don’t lie, and the facts show that Obama’s presidency has been a complete and utter failure. We need someone to help save our country and that someone is Mitt Romney.

Contact Matt Eichel at [email protected].