(ThyBlackMan.com) There came a point during the second presidential debate when President Obama calmly sipped his water and glared at Governor Romney not even pretending to mask his disdain for the man he had just painted as a corporate raider, a liar, and a sycophant who had no concept of what it truly meant to be commander in chief. “Please proceed governor,” the President said dismissively as if to tell Mitt Romney to keep quiet while grown folks were talking. Not one to be deterred, the governor plowed forward, flinging a false charge that the President didn’t stand in the Rose Garden and refer to last month’s attack on the American consulate in Libya as an act of terror.
The President then cooly told the governor to check the transcript. Romney, desperate not to let his Libya moment slip away, insisted it took the President two weeks to call the Libyan attack an act of terror, a claim that was promptly swatted down by Candy Crowley much to the delight of the crowd that was 
sworn to silence. The audience cheered as the President told Candy to fact check a little louder and then appeared to cup his hands to his ears Hulk Hogan style when Mitt Romney slinked away with his binder between his legs.
As devastating as that moment was for Mitt Romney, his fate was sealed with a self inflicted knockout blow that came in the closing moments of the debate. Unprompted, the governor alluded to his now infamous 47 percent comments by saying that he cares about 100 percent of the American people. President Obama could barely hide his glee, pouncing on the misstep and imploring the American people to think about the soldiers, seniors, and students Romney dismissed when he disparaged them “behind closed doors.” Romney’s unforced error at the close of the debate was akin to him inserting a couple of quarters into a Mortal Kombat arcade machine, losing the fight, and then applying his own finishing move on himself.
The second presidential debate provided further proof that those who theorized President Obama was employing a rope a dope strategy during the first contest were referencing the wrong Ali fight. Last night made it clear that the President and Governor Romney are actually embroiled in the epic Ali vs. Frazier trilogy in which Ali picked himself up off of the mat after losing the first bout then decisively won the rematch to set the stage for the Thrilla in Manila. Like Ali, the President showed none of the ring rust in Long Island that seemed to hamper him in Colorado. He deftly circled the ring peppering Romney with jab after jab, employing a defense that was mostly offense, attacking him from varied angles based on the governor’s ever evolving positions.
Romney was churlish, snide, and arrogant, sparring with Candy Crowley about as often as he did with President Obama. The President was lively, he aggressively attacked the governor at every opportunity, sometimes even while Romney was speaking. The physical contrast between the two men was startling. President Obama comfortably inhabited the space while wielding the entirety of the weight of his office. Romney on the other hand, moved around anxiously, eager to impede on the President’s space and displaying a propensity for creating awkward moments. Both men established a combative tone early on in an effort to characterize the other for the millions of undecided voters watching at home and for those in attendance.
But Mitt Romney made several unforced errors on a night when the President was on his A game. This is ultimately what may have cost him the debate. Unprompted, Romney brought up his stance on the auto bailout (hey Obama let it go bankrupt like I told him to), his offshore investments in the Cayman Islands and China (hey Obama has an unamerican pension too), and “binders full of women” (King Magazine?) which became an instant hit on twitter. But the governor didn’t fail for lack of trying. In fact he largely stuck with the same playbook that worked so well for him during the first debate. The problem was this time he was in the ring with a different opponent.
Staff Writer; Justin Michael Carter
One may connect with this brother via Twitter; J. Carter.
