I can't help myself

I know my blog had a rebirth under the pretext that I was not going to discuss politics or my very opinionated personal views where they don't directly relate to my family. Here is how my views of last night's debate relate to my family: Talking on the phone is a nightmare. It does not matter what I do to try and placate my kids--turn on a show, set them up with treats or a meal or lock them safely in the car or stroller. I get on the phone to discuss the debate with my family or, heaven forbid, make a doctor's appointment and mayhem ensues. I guarantee you my house is still NOT burned down because I severely limit my conversations on the phone. And I do that because even though I know somewhere deep down inside myself, I am truly capable of having an intelligent, adult conversation, my kids just prohibit it. When I get on the phone, I am a rambling, meandering, bumbling idiot. So here are the thoughts I was trying to excitedly articulate to my siblings on the phone betwixt Tate hitting and cursing me for trying to put on his orange shoes instead of his green ones, refusing to sit in the cart, throwing his capri sun that he clearly did not want and demanding that I buy him a new toy...

1-Jim Lehrer sucked. I know the moderator is supposed to be subtle if not invisible. But he got trampled and by so doing gave both debaters an unchecked podium. He had no control of the debate and asked nothing even remotely challenging or controversial; I was shocked by this given the plethora of controversial fodder Romney has provided in the last 4 weeks and that the President has provided in the last 4 years! There was more than enough material on which to challenge each competitor and the most compelling question he asked was "What is the difference between you and your opponent on _____?" Unbelievable. And even more unbelievable was that Romney was the only one to fill that challenge vacuum and take it to his opponent. I have never seen Barack Obama look so lackluster, defeated and downright boring.

2-I am so sick and tired of the President casually tossing around the word "investment." I hate how he talks about needing people to pay more so we can "invest"....um, very few people are investing right now. We are trying to survive and resurge so that SOME DAY we can begin investing again. Especially when he has demonstrated a track record of poor investments ie Solyndra, GM, AIG, etc. I don't really trust him as my financial adviser and it angers me that he wants to ask ANYONE for more money when that money has been so poorly mismanaged (to be fair, not just by him but by government in general). No one should pay more! Government should get its freaking act together. That's why I appreciated Romney talking about the deficit in moral terms.

3-I did not like the way Romney trounced all over the moderator, even though he was terrible (see number 1). He interrupted him and flat talked right over him. I know that contributed to his overall aggressiveness and keeping himself on the offensive but I didn't like that.

4-The truth is truth is relative in politics. Liberals of all degrees today (remarkably enough) are praising Romney's performance and style while dogmatically accusing him of lies and fabrication. First of all, your interpretation of truth depends on your initial values and paradigms; in other words, if you think it is better tax policy, or even more morally sound, to place a heavier burden on the wealthier sector of the population, then you will naturally conclude it is untruthful to assert that the opposite policy will encourage more growth and perhaps even higher revenue. And second, does anyone truly NOT expect their candidate to frame their argument in a way that hides any flaws of said argument? Because if either one of them have a downright, crystal clear, perfect solution to reducing the deficit, guaranteeing the solvency of medicare for the younger generation, making the tax code simpler and more fair, oh and insuring everyone in the country regardless of their health status in an economically viable way...they don't. Each of their solutions depend on very different value systems and are therefore subject to accusations of untruthfulness.

5-I for one wholeheartedly support the continued borrowing of funds from China to prop up Big Bird. That bird is too big to fail!

6-The best line of the night was when Romney said he was used to hearing people repeating things that were not true and hoping he would eventually believe it because he has 5 boys. Amen.

7-I don't know how much of a difference this makes. Romney did just about everything he needed to: He was assertive without being disrespectful. He was knowledgeable, competent and presidential. He even managed to be somewhat funny and likeable, perhaps even a touch empathetic...remarkable given how rich and out of touch he is. The President did everything to assist him in that goal and nothing to help his own image. Romney was extremely well coached on every minute minutae of debating--looking directly at your opponent, smiling without smirking, being witty without being snide, being tough without being curt or condescending. He walked many fine lines with pretty precise precision. BUT, I still don't know if it matters. I can't BELIEVE that it might not, but there has been no indication that the country is ready (again, astonishingly enough) to fire the president.

8-Ann Romney's hair looks 1000 times better shorter. She should never allow her hair to get longer than that and should probably even cut it a little shorter. She looked fantastic in white. And Michelle Obama looked as gorgeous as she always does. Now I feel better, like my conversations I had on the phone are complete. And I cannot wait for the next debate. Oh, and read this. So funny.