With a respectful nod to Ernest Thayer, TalkingSides presents...

Obama At The Debates

The outlook was quite rosy for the president that day
The polls showed just a tiny lead but the media had its say
So even though there seemed to be no need to play the game
To Denver went the candidates to rumble just the same.

Continued...

As sixty million plus tuned in and Lehrer took his seat
The expectation was Barack Obama can't be beat
Some thought if Mr. Romney could just hold his own a bit
He'd live to fight another day if not, this would be it.

But Romney did much more than that, he won without a doubt
While poor Obama switched between a smirk and then a pout
The verbal blows rained down regarding taxes, debt and more
And all the while the president just stared down at the floor.

Between their first and second rounds there was an undercard
Joe Biden tried his best to stop a changing of the guard
But where we thought we'd get some grown-up arguments and gaffing
We saw a rude buffoon who was dismissive and kept laughing.

Joe laughed when values were discussed, he laughed about Iran
He chuckled over jobs when he got caught without a plan
He lied about Benghazi and he snickered after that
Paul Ryan meanwhile had his facts and figures all down pat.

The second presidential round came a few days after
But this one had no chuckles or other kinds of laughter
More like a playground squabble than something consequential
Obama's nasty new approach wasn't presidential.

True Romney gave the way he got and added to the din
So neither one's performance could be counted as a win
But since momentum clearly was not on Obama's side
This tie would not be helpful to prevent a further slide.

The polls within the next few days showed Romney still on top
Instead of making up some ground Obama's numbers dropped
First empty suit then jab and run he seemed to have no clue
With one to go Obama's count was clearly oh and two.

For number three the candidates each had a different goal
Romney's was to stay on top Obama's escape the hole
And so while Mitt could calmly and quite clearly make his case
Barack made one last sad attempt to fire up his base.

Questions were on foreign lands and their prospective handling
Of Chinese trade, Iran's nukes and our own nation's standing
Of course they talked about some things militant Islamic
And how it all connects to things very economic.

Obama took each topic as an opportunity
For canned lines and attacks that lacked all credibility
His mocking tone was Biden-esque, his smirks and gestures rude
His weak defense of his first term was lost in attitude.

But Romney did in contrast prove that he's the better choice
That leadership takes more than just a pleasant sounding voice
Mitt's competent demeanor and grasp of things essential
Showed he's the only candidate that's truly presidential.

Oh surely come Election Day there will be some who choose
To vote for four more years of inept failure and bad news
But those who watched the four debates now know without a doubt
That Romney is the better choice - Obama has struck out.