First Presidential Debate: The clear image of each party

Last night, 40 million people saw the Presidential Debate. The anticipation was overwhelming and the media speculation of the candidates’ strategies was, to say the least, ridiculous. 

But despite all the allegations of who won and who lost, if there was a lack of passion or a lack of truth, a clear image of each party came out so pristine that is it almost painful. 

The big absence was the people, not the 47 percent or the 99 percent or the one percent, the American people.

The contenders, a business man and a university professor, debated in their own style. It was a debate of personalities and big egos, not a debate for the middle man concerns. The big vacuum, again, was ordinary Joe. 

Gov. Romney, a powerful business man, applied his own words to his debate strategy: “I’ve got five boys; I’m used to people saying something that’s not always true but just keep repeating it and ultimately hoping I’ll believe it.” 

As a business man, he is used to numbers and lies, trying to position himself by claiming his competition’s wrongdoings. 

Simple marketing strategy.

All along his speech and rebates, his main goal was to attack and cover in a forceful way and with an apparent mathematical precision –he mentioned a lot of numbers, possibly a counter effect of Clinton’s speech at the DNC–, what in true is his plan, the continuation of Bush/Cheney economic strategies enhanced by the ruthlessness of the Tea Party and his running mate Paul Ryan’s plan. 

Only, he tried to convey an image of care and inclusion, something a lot of moderate Republicans insist he truly believes in–his wife, Anne, has repeatedly talked about Mitt’s good heart. 

The media, on the other hand, keep insisting on Mitt’s need to “connect” to the public. Well, he connected last night with his base in the only way his base knows and is used to, forcefully and aggressively lying, hiding.

A strategy we saw during the whole Republican primary, and that above all defines the approach the Republican Party has turned to, because they cannot reveal the truth of their intentions. 

Freedom, and the pursue of happiness, the American Dream, only possible in you sit with them. 

Pres. Obama, on his part, appeared in his essence, an intellectual that is strong in words but weak in numbers, a true Democrat. 

His whole strategy was based on staying cool and avoiding a direct confrontation, while trying to go through this first debate and getting over it, almost as if he knew this was not his cup of tea. 

A “laissez faire” attitude, not calling his opponent lies, making impassive remarks about his administration’s achievements, Obama came about in an explanatory style that was totally inappropriate with the occasion.

It almost conveyed the belief that “if I do the right thing, no matter how hard or unpopular, then people will follow” type of statement. 

The unbiased Democratic conviction, everybody is entitled to their own belief and opinion. 

Moreover, it almost seems Pres. Obama really believes he has not done enough –knowing his competitive nature –, that he really expected to turn the economy and the country around in four years. 

A true American superhero. 

Forty million viewers did not pay attention to the lies or the numbers or the policies. Like in the Roman Circus, people expected blood, a confrontation between two gladiators, bringing in wild animals and unexpected weapons, and fighting for their lives until the end. 

What they saw was a giveaway, a parent’s admonishment to an aloof teenager that made the audience believe his son has been properly put in place and deserves punishment. 

What they probably didn’t see was the battle of two egotistic men, one lost in his own world of lies, the other in his world of fantasy.