Originally Posted by SoCalBronco
You could tell Romney had practiced very hard and had put serious work into preparation, bullet points, analogies etc. so that he could create the appearance of being polished. Obama was a little sluggish and yes, a common criticism is he gets too detailed and too "professorial". I actually like wonkish stuff and don't mind what may seem like a too analytical approach in monotone. I agree with the administration that a balanced approach in solving the deficit issues is most reasonable. Several of the President's other points were well nuanced and appreciated. The 2.50 in cuts for every dollar in taxes is not unreasonable at all (the idea that we could force 10 to 1 ratio, or 100% cuts lacks insight into reality, that could never pass, you go for something that is mostly spending cuts but provides some revenues, and 100% deficit reduction in the form of only spending cuts would be a little too devastating to too many programs). However, Obama has to have the courage to touch the SS and Medicare rail and from his comments, he's still resisting it. I give Romney credit for being open about it, yes we wont touch 55 and over, but there will be changes made to the younger generation. He didn't shy away from it and I liked that. Alot. Most of the rest of Romney's performance I didn't care for. Don't tell me your plan isnt to cut 5T in taxes, tell me exactly what it is. How do you make it revenue neutral with the deductions and credits? Don't repeat the same thing over and over.
I did appreciate that at times in the debate Romney seemed more open to Bowles-Simpson and I think he gave some signals that he if he wins the election, he'll back a slightly more politically palatable version of Bowles-Simpson in the Congress, rather than his current proposals. He came across as more pragmatic than before, which I appreciated, but he is still hiding the ball on specifics, evasive and I still think his tax plan is not responsible and he rarely gives any detailed quality ideas.
My view of things did not change too much. I agree with Obama on taxes in general and his position as to Romney's tax plans as irresponsible, but I agree with Romney on making serious structural changes to Medicare, streamlining and consolidating federal programs and departments and putting a more exacting test on federal spending in general (I liked that discussion alot). Each guy offers only half of the equation. If Romney can continue to give more positive signals about Bowles-Simpson rather than his current tax proposals, he'll firm up my support, which is still iffy.
I remain as I was before. If 10 was a hardcore certain Romney voter and 1 was a hardcore certain Obama voter, I am at a 6....slightly in Romney's direction, but only ever so slightly. If Ryan wasn't the #2 (and there wasn't a commitment to rein in SS/Med), I'd probably be at a 4. There remains a very decent possibility that I won't vote for either ticket.
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