Mitt Romney was a big winner last night too. Viewers, by about a 2 1/2-1 margin, and pundits of every political persuasion, gave Romney a decisive victory over President Obama in the debate. Maybe even the president thought so. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported this morning that as the two candidates shook hands after the debate the president said "Good job. I'm pretty sure you won." Romney is given high marks for being aggressive without being churlish while Obama is described as passive and defensive. "Tired," Obama looked tired, some observers have said. Obama is being roundly criticized today by supporters.
One pundit, I think it was in Time magazine, questioned whether Obama wants to be reelected enough. Hmmm. Hawaii..."lazy"...not a natural politician...The partisanship in Washington is so bad and he admits he has not been able to reach across the aisle effectively. He has not been able to reach across the oceans effectively either. He's not on good terms with Netanyahu, with Hu. The 9/11/12 attacks had to be devastating for him. All of the effort he had put into good relations with the Islamic "street" resulted in the murder of an ambassador and street chants of "Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas." He has been constantly and relentlessly attacked for four years.
Despite the personal affection that Americans have for him, Obama is not a people person. He likes to spend time with Michelle and the kids, he doesn't like to schmooze pols. Maureen Dowd wrote an article not too long ago titled "The Ungrateful President." Earlier in the administration I remember reading another article by Dowd complaining that she, Maureen Dowd herself, had not been invited for a round of golf. There was another article many months ago in the New York Times, I don't think it used the word "loner" to describe Obama, but it was close to that. I remember the article was accompanied by a picture of Obama ascending the steps of Air Force One alone. He doesn't have many friends, doesn't have many people he can relax and recharge with (and apparently Maureen Dowd is not one of them). I really related to that "loner" article. One of my friends describes me as "the world's most social hermit." Being sociable is hard for some people because you always have to be "on."
Hard. Look at Obama's 2011 U.N. speech, how many times he used that word. "Peace is hard." "Why do things have to be so hard?" maybe he was thinking. "Why does 'peace' have to be hard, for godssake?" I remember another story, maybe in the loner article; Obama had a friend who he could relax and recharge with but he left after Obama's first couple of years. "I miss Reggie," the president said one time aboard Air Force One.
I'm sure he's tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally, he's tired of all the fighting, all the criticism, all the demands, all the effort it all takes. It's hard.
One pundit, I think it was in Time magazine, questioned whether Obama wants to be reelected enough. Hmmm. Hawaii..."lazy"...not a natural politician...The partisanship in Washington is so bad and he admits he has not been able to reach across the aisle effectively. He has not been able to reach across the oceans effectively either. He's not on good terms with Netanyahu, with Hu. The 9/11/12 attacks had to be devastating for him. All of the effort he had put into good relations with the Islamic "street" resulted in the murder of an ambassador and street chants of "Obama, Obama, we are all Osamas." He has been constantly and relentlessly attacked for four years.
Despite the personal affection that Americans have for him, Obama is not a people person. He likes to spend time with Michelle and the kids, he doesn't like to schmooze pols. Maureen Dowd wrote an article not too long ago titled "The Ungrateful President." Earlier in the administration I remember reading another article by Dowd complaining that she, Maureen Dowd herself, had not been invited for a round of golf. There was another article many months ago in the New York Times, I don't think it used the word "loner" to describe Obama, but it was close to that. I remember the article was accompanied by a picture of Obama ascending the steps of Air Force One alone. He doesn't have many friends, doesn't have many people he can relax and recharge with (and apparently Maureen Dowd is not one of them). I really related to that "loner" article. One of my friends describes me as "the world's most social hermit." Being sociable is hard for some people because you always have to be "on."
Hard. Look at Obama's 2011 U.N. speech, how many times he used that word. "Peace is hard." "Why do things have to be so hard?" maybe he was thinking. "Why does 'peace' have to be hard, for godssake?" I remember another story, maybe in the loner article; Obama had a friend who he could relax and recharge with but he left after Obama's first couple of years. "I miss Reggie," the president said one time aboard Air Force One.
I'm sure he's tired. Physically, mentally, emotionally, he's tired of all the fighting, all the criticism, all the demands, all the effort it all takes. It's hard.
