1st Presidential Debate: Holy President beating Batman!

I missed the debate last night so I could watch my Orioles completely blow it in a chance to have a showdown with the Yankees. I just finished watching the Presidential debate on YouTube while I was working, expecting a ho-hum sort of experience. After all, President Obama has pretty much convinced me on who to vote for, so all Romney could possibly do is screw it up, right?

Holy ninja-cyborg Jesus was I wrong. Romney whipped the President like the red-headed stepchild of a rented mule. This from a celebrity Twitter feed yesterday:

"What’s that silence I hear? No one throwing a party? No one saying this election is a slam dunk for Obama? What happened to the victory lap?"

 That's Michael Moore. When Michael Moore believes the Republican won a debate, you can pretty much take that to the People's Bank of China.

Romney was concise, using only 47.3% of the total talking time. He was to the point and extremely direct, not afraid to engage the President in specific-yet-eloquent ways on a variety of issues. He looked less like a robot and more like a robust candidate for the Presidency, showing some humanity for the LULZ with his Anniversary jibe at the beginning. Romney proved that he's not out of this race yet. He even did something I didn't think he was capable of: He sounded like a Conservative.

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching it. Here's some of the highlights to look out for:

• Romney emphasized over and over that he intends to allow no tax cut that adds to the deficit. Likewise, he intends to view all spending through the lens of "Is this worth borrowing money from China for?"
• Romney made an excellent point about the difference between cutting the corporate tax rate and the individual tax rate. Many businesses pay the individual rate, which is why lowering that rate helps them tremendously.
• Obama continually hammered Romney on a glaring vulnerability, the fact that closing all loopholes & exemptions would not be enough to cover the gap that Romney is discussing. I doubt that's all Romney has up his sleeve, but he didn't articulate an answer this time. Look for it next debate.
• When Obama claimed that there is currently a tax break for companies to move their production overseas, Romney completely bitch slapped him. "I've been in business for 25 years and I have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe I need a better accountant."
•  Romney clearly stated he was pro-voucher for Medicare to increase coverage. Obama said he was anti-voucher, believing Medicare to be a better option.
• Obama was pro-cuts to the military, stating the Defense Department "hasn't asked for increased spending". Romney stated he wanted increased Defense spending, so we would continue to have a military that was "second to none".
• An hour or so in Romney made a reference to the 10th amendment in reference to Healthcare. I could've kissed him.

Now, don't get me wrong. Candidates say all kinds of things during debates they don't actually get to doing in reality. Still, if this performance is any indication, this race is far from over.