Obama Campaign Slams Romney’s Attempt to Play the Debate Victim

Last updated on September 29th, 2012 at 08:57 pm

Obama to Money Boo Hoo – stop whining and start talking facts and specifics. No more crocodile tears.

Romney’s plan to turn things around in the debates appears to be to lower expectations for his performance, gain a sympathy boost because he’s not Obama, and then cry that Obama is attacking him and saying things that aren’t “accurate”.

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The Obama campaign came back with a reminder of Romney claiming he was going to pull a “Reagan” at the debates, and then the burn, “facts matter.”

Obama’s Senior Adviser David Axelrod laid out a few facts, saying, “There are a few specific facts over which Gov. Romney has taken particular offense.” They’ve put it into a video just to make sure the point was made.

Watch here:

Axelrod laid out in detail a few of the facts that matter to Americans; for example, let Detroit go bankrupt, banning abortion, and raising taxes on the middle class to pay for new tax cuts for the wealthy.

Furthermore, Romney is a very good debater and debates tend to favor the challenger. Obama has been too busy to prepare for the debates, since he is actually the President and not just studying to look like one at a debate. David Axelrod added, “Maybe this is why the Romney campaign has so confidently predicted for months that he will turn in a campaign-changing performance such as Ronald Reagan’s in 1980.”

We recall Romney telling his supporters on the secret tape that if Americans were taken hostage, “I will work to find a way to take advantage of the opportunity.” The idea was to use a hostage crisis or something of that nature to paint himself as Regan and Obama as Carter.

But as Axelrod notes, debates aren’t about “who lands the most punches or who is quickest with the snappy sound-bite.” The American people are looking for the person who can lay out a plan for jobs for the middle class and forge a path to continue our climb out of the Bush mess. To this end, specifics and facts matter.

Yesterday Mitt Romney’s campaign put out a super confusing memo, seeking to lower expectations for Romney at the debates with lofty praise such as, “President Obama is a uniquely gifted speaker, and is widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history.” But then, as all things Romney, the memo closes with the conclusion that “This election will not be decided by the debates, however.” Yet all this time, we’ve been told Romney can turn his sinking ship around at the debates.

The truth is that Mitt Romney is a skilled debater and a good public speaker. Yes, he lacks the likeability and charisma of Obama, but Romney can deliver a solid performance. The problem is that it is just that — a performance. It’s time for Romney to stop treating this as a competition he wants to win, and start treating it as the job interview that it is. Romney was bragging a few days ago that he might pull out Reagan’s line, “There you go again” as if just saying that would magically make him over into Reagan.

Romney campaign has repeatedly pointed to the fact that until the debates, Reagan was trailing Carter, saying “We will be extremely prepared for the debates.” Good for Romney. Let’s hope he practiced more than Reagan lines, because the public deserves a real debate.

The American people deserve specifics from Romney, and they deserve more than a good show at a debate. Romney needs to stop seeing himself as a victim, and start manning up with some facts and specifics. This country deserves a real counter-balance and a real debate. We deserve a viable conservative party, instead of the Big Show Republicans have been putting on in their attempt to avoid taking responsibility for the Bush years.

It’s not a joke, and it’s not a beauty contest. Mitt Romney needs to start dealing with the reality of the job he seeks. He might very well win the first debate. But will he do it with a real plan for our future, or just more razzle-dazzle that contradicts what we heard him say behind closed doors?

Sarah Jones

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