2:14 AM - 23 Oct 12 · Details
Analysis: Romney Keeps Command
Rick Klein
Yesterday, 9:47 PM
ANALYSIS by RICK KLEIN
In a debate about who should be commander-in-chief, Mitt Romney was just as much in command as the man in the job now.
President Obama came into the debate with a record to boast of, and he used it to play offense. He poked and prodded Romney, even tried to bayonet him at one point, and sought to lecture his opponent on what it's like actually to be president.
The president accomplished what he needed to, particularly by taking the role of the aggressor that his base has wanted so desperately this debate season. But Romney also had a strong debate, in pursuing different goals than the president. He sought to come across as reasonable rather than confrontational - a candidate comfortable with the campaign's trajectory.
"Attacking me is not talking about an agenda," Romney said at one point. Perhaps oddly for a challenger, Romney singled out areas of agreement with the president - on Egypt, Syria, the use of drone strikes - and then used disagreements to stitch together an argument that looked forward. "I'm optimistic about our future. I'm excited about our prospects as a nation," he said in his closing statement. It used the word "hope" twice. Obama's theme for the night was that it's been his job,
