A President Without Passion

It was dull Obama against confident Romney: Looking at it from the media’s perspective, the challenger won the TV debate. However, elections are decided by their contents.

For days, the American media did not pay attention to any other topic than this debate. Every possibility, every imaginable trick and every strategy was thought through countless times before President Barack Obama and the Republican contender Mitt Romney would confront each other directly for the first time.

If it was Romney’s intention to appear more human and empathic than before, he achieved his goal, as he was the clear winner. He acted confident, talked about encounters and was much better prepared than the President. The training that had lasted for months paid off, and Barack Obama missed out on an important chance.

It is essential that during a duel, which should be kept exciting up to the finishing line while at the same time making for good entertainment and high viewing rates, the weaker candidate has to catch up at all costs, in the media’s mind as well as in the electorate’s. Up to that point, the electorate remembered Romney as somebody who, in a rash decision of the moment, depreciated half of U.S. Americans by defining them as the society’s parasites.

Facial Expression Counts More than Content

Romney intended to challenge the President during the debate and obviously enjoyed the argument. Obama, on the other hand, appeared lethargic, gruff and often too professorial. He looked down or at the host instead of looking persistently into his opponent’s eyes.

In today’s television society, where appearance, facial expression and attitude count more than content, Obama was the clear loser. In fact, the exact opposite had been expected.

However, Romney seemed more relaxed and, as far as can be said for him, more authentic and at peace with himself. He was considerably more aggressive without being insulting or arrogant. The man, who introduced the healthcare insurance reform law as Governor of Massachusetts, thus providing the blueprint for Obama’s healthcare plan, even managed to put the President on the spot regarding that very issue. Romney said he did not understand why the President had so strongly focused on healthcare reform instead of employment.

Two-Thirds See Romney as the Winner

Puzzled, Obama put on a fierce look and replied not very convincingly that he always had both tasks in mind. He was lacking passion. Tired, sometimes even resigned, he smiled at Romney’s attacks and failed to launch the counterattacks aimed at the many weak spots of his opponent. From that point, it was a very good evening for the Republican presidential candidate.

This was supported by surveys conducted immediately after the debate. According to CNN, two out of three viewers declared Romney as the winner.

However, there is a differing view that is less influenced by the media’s perspective. If one cared less to see a hot debate, was less interested in the show and did not attach much importance to rhetorical brilliancy, then Barack Obama won by a narrow margin.

Path Cleared for the Turncoat Republican

Even though the President kept a low profile and was often silent, he did, unlike Romney, talk his head off once it came down to the matter-of-fact explanations of what the two candidates were planning to do over the course of the next four years. Romney kept things very vague, as always, and suddenly did not even want to know about his radical taxation reduction plans and the projected extreme cuts in social welfare programs. Apparently though, this neither bothered the host nor the President. Obama absolutely neglected to challenge Romney on these grounds. The turncoat Republican walked on a cleared path and was allowed, without any objection, to appear as if he suddenly agreed on all popular political matters with the President.

However, it will be incredibly hard for Romney to stop the trend and reverse it. And besides, as history teaches us, despite all the excitement and all the hype, TV debates rarely decide elections. In fact, they never do.