While President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clashed frequently in their second debate Tuesday night, a panel of Georgia political experts were focused on particular moments in the 90-minute showdown.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked four politicos — two from each side of the aisle — to watch the debate and share their thoughts via Twitter. The paper then culled those comments, some witty, some serious, some snarky, and asked each for the thoughts behind the 140-character limit imposed by Twitter.
The panel was:
State Rep. Buzz Brockway, R-Lawrenceville;
Anna Ruth Williams, a former Democratic campaign operative who is now owner of ARPR, a public relations and marketing firm;
Charlie Harper, a conservative columnist for a chain of rural newspapers and editor of Peach Pundit;
Tim Alborg, a Democratic fund raiser and strategist who is president of Landslyde, LLC.
Unlike in the first debate, when even most Democrats acknowledged a listless Obama lost, the AJC’s panel showed its partisan spirit and rallied their chosen candidate’s performance.
Harper, a Republican, set the bar for Obama low before the debate even began.
“Pre-debate expectations: B/C of last debate Obama only needs to show up, at some point say ‘47%’, & look interested to ‘win,’” Harper tweeted.
Later, he said it was inevitable that Obama would do better than the first time.
“Classic middle debate,” he said, referring to the fact that one final debate remains. “Each side did what they wanted. Each will be happy, sure their candidate won.”
Alborg, meanwhile, tweeted early on that Obama took the debate to Romney over a question about how the two differed from former President George W. Bush.
“@BarackObama: George Bush was less extreme than @MittRomney,” Alborg tweeted. Asked to expand on that thought, Alborg was direct.
“Tonight, the President accurately highlighted that Romney’s views have often been even more extreme than the previous Republican president,” he said. “President Obama gave the American people a clear choice between his vision of moving the country forward and Mitt Romney’s plan to take us back.”
Brockway, meanwhile, was convinced Romney scored points on a question from a member of the audience who said he voted for Obama in 2008 but was on the fence this year. The question was about the economy of the past four years and how Obama has managed the crisis.
“Back, back back, this one is gone. Homerun @MittRomney,” Brockway said on Twitter.
Via e-mail, Brockway explained: “Romney’s answer to the disappointed Obama voter was a winner because it hit on a number of promises the president made in 2008 but never delivered on, specifically promises on reducing unemployment and cutting the deficit.
“Jobs and the deficit are the key issues in this election in my opinion.”
Williams, meanwhile, noted that she felt Obama had a strong night.
“Amazed by Obama’s conviction, seriousness, and compassion in these remarks re: terrorism,” she said.
After the debate, she told the AJC: “In the last debate, Obama failed on style. The tables turned this week as Mitt Romney continually lost his cool with female moderator, Candy Crowley and appeared overly flustered at times. Obama upheld his record on job creation and national defense while pointing out Romney’s elitist attitude and policies.”
Ultimately, however, Brockway said he doubts the debate changes things.
“The president performed much better but he couldn’t help but improve over last debate,” Brockway said. “I don’t see this moving the needle.”
