Did any of you watch the Obama-Romney debate on Wednesday night?
You did, yes, and you. I see a decent number of hands so you must be paying attention.
Dr. X -- I love you. I want to stay married to you forever.
Moi -- I'm so glad.
Dr. X -- I want a divorce.
Moi -- What?
Dr. X -- I didn't say anything.
Moi -- What?
Dr. X -- What's wrong with you?
Moi -- You just said you want a divorce.
Dr. X -- No, I didn't. You have borderline personality disorder and I can see when you go into an altered state. Your eyes get darker.
Moi -- I have never been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. You have a major case of crazy. How can you say that you want a divorce when you just said you want to stay married forever?
Dr. X -- I did not say I want a divorce. You are crazy. I'm going to see to it that you're locked up in a mental institution for the rest of your life.
Moi -- You're crazy. You should have been hospitalized a long time ago. You need to take your meds.
Dr. X -- I don't need meds. You're crazy.
Moi -- I am not. It's you. You're the one who's crazy.
Dr. X -- You're crazy. I'm not crazy.
Moi -- You're crazy. I'm not crazy.
Blah, blah, blah. And Jim Lehrer wasn't even there to make little grunty noises when we exceeded our time limits and didn't stick to the point.
I'd like to see true debates between the candidates. I was a better debater as a high school student. At least I knew I couldn't have extra time by saying "I want to make one more point." And I knew I had to remain focused and stick to the subject. High school debates also tended to be considerably more lively.
C'mon, Candidates. You can do better, and you should.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
I would have watched & cheered for my candidate, if I had one. This year, as often happens, there's nobody to vote FOR. I hate choosing the lesser of the evils!!
ReplyDeleteIf they would up their games a bit, I think there could be someone to vote for.
DeleteUnfortunately, I did not see the debates - I was helping my kids with homework. I heard a lot about them though. Apparently Romney came out strong.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Romney was strong. Obama's problem was that he didn't use obvious come backs. I have to admit I don't miss doing homework with the kids.
DeleteI love your dialogue with Mr. X, he sure did have a major case of the crazies. I watched the first 1/2 hour or so of the debate, then I got bored and frustrated so I wen to bed instead. Romney looked like a total liar, and he doesn't have any arithmetic skills apparently. Let's hope the next one is a little better, this one played like an episode from the Twilight Zone. :)
ReplyDeleteAn astute analysis, Alex. And yes, Dr. X rode the Crazy Train.
DeleteDear Janie, I watched the entire debate. I'm a supporter of President Obama and was hoping that he'd do well. (In the primaries in 2008, he wasn't a particularly good debater.) However, at the end of the debate in which Romney came across as Reagan in 1980--that is "affable" next to Carter's vain attempt to present facts--I felt myself wondering where Obama was. That is, why didn't Obama show up at the debate? The man I have come to respect and admire simply wasn't there. I don't know why. I'm puzzled. He was just absent. Peace.
ReplyDeleteI also support President Obama and was very surprised that he didn't do better. I suspect that Obama and his advisers didn't think Romney would do very well, and therefore, didn't put a lot of time into preparing. I don't remember watching the debates during the 2008 primaries. I would think that someone who made Law Review would be an outstanding debater. The Hurricane heard then Senator Obama speak at her college during the 2008 primaries. She said he was an excellent speaker and very affable. A woman standing near the stage started to pass out (the room was crowded and too warm). Obama offered her his bottle of water and saw to her well being before continuing with his speech.
DeleteThe best thing I can say about the debate is that it was more civil than some of the others in past years. No eye-rolling, or obvious supercilious expressions that I saw, anyway. It was appalling how little control Lehrer had over the situation, though, and how both candidates, for the most part, ignored his questions in favor of making their pre-programmed talking points. (No matter how long they took to make them.) I was disappointed in Obama's lackluster performance, but am hopeful that he'll bring his A game to the next debates. He'd better.
ReplyDeleteI agree it was civil in that there weren't sarcastic remarks or silly sayings repeated over and over (Where's the beef?). But it would have been even more civil to abide by the rules. Lehrer seemed to have no control whatsoever. I don't know how he could gain control, though, other than shouting "Shut up! It's the other guy's turn now." How can the rules be enforced?
Delete@ Dee and Janie, I think the real issue was two fold. Obama has said in many cases that he doesn't want to turn it into a mud slinging event. He was likely advised to keep the high road, which Romney did not. Also remember that for the last 4 years he has had people around him that don't blatantly object to his policies, so perhaps he is just stuck in the white house bubble, so to speak. I suspect the next two will be a different story.
ReplyDeleteRomney did a great job, however the answers he gave for returning medicare to the states concerns me. In a state like FL where the over 65 population is enormous, the costs of the state supporting that would be crushing. He also made several points about private vs state health care... Hello? I have been on the state health system in MASSACHUSETTS, and it's like the golden ticket compared to the private insurance I have now. Yes, private is better when one can afford a doctor to be flown in from anywhere on a private jet, but for the rest of us, the state plan/co-pays/premiums were fantastic. And as for that panel of people he is saying will chose for the country? His MA state plan has the same thing... and you can appeal the decisions just the same AND 9 times out of 10 the appeal is approved.
*sigh*
AT least we still have PBS... for now.
Juli, I find your analysis interesting and astute. Thanks for sharking your knowledge with us.
DeleteWell then, I'm glad I only half watched. I've already decided on my guy (the one who actually pointed to the Constitution when asked about the purpose of government) and was satisfied with what I saw from him, given the limited amount of true debating that actually occurs in political debates. I'm looking forward to the Vice Presidential debate - though I wish they'd let the guy who does Biden on SNL participate instead of actual Biden...then again, not a whole lotta difference between them, I guess, HA!
ReplyDeleteHey, THANK YOU for the one sentence summary for my upcoming book! I'll have to change the end around a bit because...because you'll see...but I'm going to use it as my base. Thanks!
I'm so happy the summary helped you! When I took classes on film reviewing and film technique, both of the professors said I should write the blurbs for the back of video boxes. Blurbing seems to be one of my strong points!
DeleteThis is so true and funny.
ReplyDeletewww.thoughtsofpaps.com
Thank you, PAPS. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteI love how you incorporated the debate with your convos with Mr. Crazy X! Superb writing as usual. As well, I wanted to thank you for your most recent comment over at my blog. You are right, I could stay there, and say "You are the light" more often, but honestly, I was gripped with such a sense of rebuking what I was meant to say, it made me shake with uneasiness. I'm not yet ready as a Christian to take that kind of stance. It'll come, but now is not the time. But thank you, I loved your comment so much.
ReplyDeleteSandra, I look forward to watching you grow as a Christian.
DeleteNo I didn't only saw bits on the news but hell it held no interest for me.........lol
ReplyDeleteThat said I did enjoy this post
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jo-Anne!
DeleteEven I, who don't like to talk much, could have done better than those two.
ReplyDeleteOn a different subject, well donkeys of the real kind, I wanted to thank you so much for caring about these wonderful critters. I agree with your comment about finding some way to feed them instead of using their bodies to raise money for them, which may or may not be true. Take care.
I really detest this donkey roping business that's supposedly entertainment. Sadly, some people find cruelty entertaining.
DeleteAs a Canadian, I have a passing interest in American politics. We're a Beaver living next door to an Elephant (so to speak), so we need to be aware of what the Elephant is doing. Lest we get crushed, or something like that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I managed to avoid the debate. And I don't think I missed much.