Reality check.

If taking a tough stance on medical cannabis is kneeing the Democratic Party's base in the groin, then.... um....... potato.

Obama didn't go for the "47%" comment, because he knows it's an out-of-context red herring that Romney was completely correct on, and likely prepared to strike down if it were ever brought up -- Obama will get 47% of the vote no matter what Romney does. While the media loves to masticate on it, if Obama were to bring it up, Romney could actually bring the whole quote back into context, destroying an enormous, albeit erroneous talking point for Democrats. Obama didn't go after Romney for Seamus the dog, cutting some student's hair as a preteen, or anything else like that because those are all completely petty arguments and below the stature of the debate. Romney didn't bring up Rev Wright or Black Panthers. It was simply below the debate.

Maybe he's "your guy", but you don't speak for all of us (progressives). In many ways, Obama is just as scary as Romney. The "D" behind his name has given Obama carte blanche to extend the reactionary policies of G.W. Bush, which he could never have gotten away with otherwise. Romney is merely the "less effective evil". Face it, President Drone has been far more effective at warmongering, attacking our civil liberties, etc., than his predecessor. During the Bush years, there was something resembling a protest movement against his policies: the wars, torture, the assault on civil liberties, etc. Nowadays, the sheeples have simply aquiesced to the same policies (now on steroids) because a so-called "Democrat" is in charge. This is a far more dangerous situation because it is an effective means of silencing dissent. To see how true this is, just inquire about SFBG's censorship of the story on Section 1021, NDAA, which allows for indefinite detention of American citizens without trial, in a military prison no less. I search this paper every day for some mention of it, and I always come up with the same result...nada! Blue pill, anyone?

Top 15 Things Romney and Obama Agree On

15
Although unemployment is the highest it's been since the Great Depression, the federal government should NOT enact any sort of WPA-style program to put millions of people back to work.

14
Medicare, Medicaid and social security are “entitlements” that need to be cut to relieve what they call “the deficit.”

13
Climate change treaties and negotiations that might lead to them should be avoided at all costs.

12
NAFTA was such a great thing it really should be extended to Central and South America and the entire Pacific rim. (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement has been described as "NAFTA on steroids".)

11
Banksters and Wall Street speculators deserve their bailouts and protection from criminal liability, but underwater and foreclosed homeowners deserve nothing.

10
Palestinians should be occupied, dispossessed and ignored. Iran should be starved and threatened from all sides. Cuba should be embargoed, and Americans prohibited from going there to see what its people have done in a half century free of Yankee rule. Black and brown babies and their parents, relatives and neighbors should be bombed with drones in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and similar places.

9
Africa should be militarized, destabilized, plundered and where necessary, invaded by proxy armies like those of Rwanda, Ethiopia, Burundi or Kenya, or directly by Western air and ground forces, as in Libya.

8
US Presidents can kidnap citizens of their own or any nation on earth from anyplace on the planet for torture, indefinite imprisonment without trial or murder them and neighboring family and bystanders at will.

7
Oil and energy companies, and other mega-polluters must be freed to drill offshore almost everywhere, and permitted to poison land and watersheds with fracking to achieve “energy independence”.

6
The FCC should not and must not regulate telecoms to ensure that poor and rural communities have access to internet, or to guarantee network neutrality.

5
Of course there really ARE such things as “clean coal” and “safe nuclear energy”.

4
Immigrants must be jailed and deported in record numbers.

3
No Medicare For All.

2
No minimum wage increases for you, no right to form a union, no right to negotiate or strike if you already have a union, and no enforcement or reform of existing labor laws.

1
The 40 year war on drugs must continue, and even mention of the prison state is unthinkable.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/closer-you-think-top-15-things-romn...

It doesn't matter.

Obama will still win. Romney will still lose. And everything will remain the same.

The economy will continue to improve, even as the real standard of living will continue to fall. Seems paradoxical, but it really isn't. The "economy" as measured by meaningless tripe like GDP growth can improve all it wants, but only the 1% will see any benefits from that "improvement." The owners of the economy collect the benefits of the improving economy, while the other 99% will get austerity and cuts in real income, services, and benefits.

And the perpetual wars will continue, as will the torture, and renditions, and occupations, and extrajudicial assassinations (which kill way more people than those who are already illegally targeted for murder without trial), and warrantless wiretapping, and deportations, and spying on our citizens.

Don't worry, Tim. The Democrat will win, and the assault on our civil liberties, economic well being, and environment will continue unabated. But maybe just a little more slowly than if the Republican wins.

And the politics of this country will continue to drift to the right. 20 years from now the Republican will be campaigning to eliminate social security and medicare entirely, arrest anyone anywhere for any reason the government sees fit, and eliminate the minimum wage. And the Democrat will counter with a more "sensible" plan that merely raises the retirement age to 80, only cuts taxes for the rich half as much as Republicans, and allows arrest and secret detention only after a proper trial by 3 hooded miltary judges in a secret court (because due process and the rule of law needs to be respected, you know).

And if your corporate publishers haven't replaced you by then, you'll again endorse the Democrat, because after all, they're better than the Republican.

It's about winning an election in November, not giving folks like you and I the spectacle we wanted to see or Romney having his bullshit crammed back down his throat.

Arguably all Obama needed to do here was tread-water, why is it surprising if that's all he did?

Wait until you see some poll numbers moving the wrong way before you declare this debate a loss... my understanding is Obama's approval rating is up, and he picked up more of the independent voters than Romney did.

You had better wake up and smell the Statism buddy. If Obama is re-elected, God forbid, it is the end of freedom in America. I don't care who you are or what party you claim to support. This is not your father's Democrat party. Do us all a favor and gets some facts and stop reporting bull shit.

I'm new to the US but let me get this straight.

Obama's biggest achievement has been to copy a plan from the guy who's running against him?

Why doesn't Romney get stuck into him about that? Basically say "I invented it. It was never meant for the federal government. If you're going to copy my ideas, at least do it properly!".

"As President Obama and Mitt Romney prepare to square off in Denver, Colorado tonight, we look at how the Democrats and Republicans manage to shut out all third parties from the presidential debates. The Obama and Romney campaigns have secretly negotiated a detailed contract that dictates many of the terms of the 2012 presidential debates. This includes who gets to participate, as well as the topics raised during the debates." [...]

"GEORGE FARAH: The Commission on Presidential debates sounds like a government agency, it sounds like a nonpartisan entity, which is by design, is intended to deceive the American people. But, in reality, it is a private corporation financed by Anheuser-Busch and other major companies, that was created by the Republican and Democratic parties to seize control of the presidential debates from The League of Women Voters in 1987. Precisely as you said, Amy, every four years, this commission allows the major party campaigns to meet behind closed doors and draft a secret contract, a memorandum of understanding that dictates many of the terms."

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/10/3/ahead_of_first_obama_romney_debate