Friday, October 5, 2012

The Presidential Debates

I've been traveling, so I haven't had a chance to watch the Presidential debate in full. But it is of course difficult to escape all the press stories that it was a triumph for Romney and a catastrophe for Obama.

I think that's probably an exaggerated short-term media narrative, just more of the day-to-day horse race coverage that lowers the whole debate.

It's the nature of things that there's always a certain reversion to mean, even if it is just for a few media cycles. Public sentiment can be fickle. Perhaps the best way to see it is that if you're persistent and hang in there, as Romney has been doing amidst plenty of criticism, things may turn around your way. Obama seemed to get complacent, and so gave Romney more of a chance to look presidential material.

Maybe it will indeed turn out to be a decisive turning point that wins the election for Romney. But, as British Prime Minister Harold WIlson once said, a week is a long time in politics. Things have flipped around a lot this week. But the race is probably still pretty close. All that has changed is the media have now decided that Romney may have a genuine chance.

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