Following up on my post about debate expectations earlier today, I thought this line from an article about the candidate’s debate preparation in The New York Times was apropos:
Mr. Romney’s team has concluded that debates are about creating moments and has equipped him with a series of zingers that he has memorized and has been practicing on aides since August. His strategy includes luring the president into appearing smug or evasive about his responsibility for the economy.
Zingers? Seriously? Perhaps I’m overstating, but it seems like these guys think they’re still preparing for a primary debate where candidate’s have a limited amount of time to respond and the candidate who gets off the best one liner could guarantee him at least some coverage in the following day’s news cycle. That’s not how Presidential debates work, which I would think Romney’s advisers would know. And as for making the President appear smug, well so far the President has been the one who’s succeeded in making Mitt Romney appear smug.
This debate is Mitt Romney’s chance to start turning this campaign around. If he bombs, it could very well be the end of his chance at victory. What, exactly, is he bringing to the game?
