And what do remember most about your twentieth anniversary, Mr President?

 

Up until tonight I would have never described a debate as being inspirational but reflecting upon the ninety minutes of pummeling Mitt Romney delivered to the defenseless Obama that is the only word the comes to mind. The debate was inspirational because Romney, aside from having an astonishing command of facts, spoke to the principles behind the policies he proposed. He was all about freedom and free enterprise and how to nurture those ideals not impede them. When was the last time we heard a candidate mention the tenth amendment? He did Ronald Reagan proud!

Five minutes into the debate I was asking myself, "Who coached this guy? Daniel Webster or Billy the Kid? Not since Perry Mason used to chew up Hamilton Burger on Saturday evenings have I seen such a lopsided battle of wits. Romney scored in two areas; style and substance. He was pleasant, polite, courteous, forceful, and presidential. Obama was proportionally flummoxed and incoherent. The American public saw leadership for the first time since George Bush left office and they will want to see more.

Several commentators said that Obama seemed to quit early in the debate and I agree. He was definitely over matched and he knew. There was no Mussolini like chin in the air bravado. El Duce stood looking downward like a school boy who had just been whipped within an inch of his life.

I was worried about Romney's ability and self confidence prior to the debate. I knew he is more than Obama's intellectual equal but still being able to think quickly, not over playing a point, not misspeaking, well, there was a lot that could go wrong. Possibility Obama felt the same about Romney. I should not have worried but Obama should have. As someone said, he brought a knife to a gun fight.