Mitt Romney won yesterday’s debate so handily that left of center media spent much of the day trying to explain why President Obama’s performance was less than stellar. It could be summed up by one of Romney’s lines: "Mr. President, you are entitled to your own airplane, your own house, but not your own facts."
Obama criticized Romney’s tax plan as increasing the deficit. Truth is, Obama has added more than a trillion dollars per year in deficit spending since he took office. Obama complained about subsidies to Big Oil. Romney countered with the $90 billion given to green energy, a half-billion of that down the drain when Solyndra filed for bankruptcy last year. Gas prices have doubled since Obama took office and health care costs have increased by $2500 per family. There are more people on food stamps, more living below the poverty line and more out of work than four years ago. America is worse off today than before Barack Obama became president. No amount of spin can change that fact.
President Obama stumbled (and I don’t take delight in others misfortunes) because he has not been challenged on the same stage by another since 2008. Romney called a spade a spade and held his own when Obama tried to divert attention away from his record. The debate was a turning point in the election. The president’s rhetoric and eloquence is wearing thin and more of the electorate is seeing that the game is up.