Well...At Least The Yankees Won

I'll get to the spin in a minute.

When you're stuck in a hotel room in Syracuse, New York, and your team is fighting for the division title on the last day of the season, you make sure you're in front of the TV. So that was the plan, watch the Yankees on TV and stream the debate so I could monitor the proceedings.

The problem was the Yankees were on ESPN, which was blacked out in Syracuse since local cable gets YES Network, but not in my hotel. So I ducked out with a friend for the first few innings to Tully's Good Times.

So I made it back to the room by 9 PM, put the Yankees/Red Sox on WatchESPN on my laptop, and the Presidential debate on the big screen - which only magnified its contents.

Mr. Romney won the debate. He took the fight to the President and the moderator, and his worst moments were no less than net equal. Whether Romney's arguments matched up with anything he proposed prior is another matter. He looked presidential, and as Backtime penned two days ago:

"The issues are crucial and the important men will be at their lofty podiums, and Jim Lehrer will be there to be a PBS above-it-all bastion of journalistic integrity, but don't be fooled. This is all PR. And only one of the two candidates can relate to the public."

The President folded his PR advantage. He wasn't relating to the public, he was Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead. But now the spin part.

First, is the Right more happy that Romney kicked Obama's ass - or are they troubled by Romney's defense of regulation, reaffirmation of his own Massachusetts health care plan, and praise of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, while claiming he would not cut education? Romney Etch-A-Sketched all night and Obama didn't call him on it.

Second, was the Team Obama plan to have Romney talk himself to death to continue to compile soundbites to counter all the policies he's planted on the trail? That would be rope-a-dope, and that might have been part of the plan. But to borrow a wonderful baseball philosophy, it wasn't just one sacrifice bunt to move a runner over, it was many. And each is a missed opportunity for a big inning and the chance to get on the scoreboard.

Third is pure spin, and as far as I could tell it's my own theory. A week ago, the GOP presidential race looked lost and there was real talk of that massive pool of SuperPAC money going to Republican senate and congressional candidates.

Now it's a race again, and while not dead by any stretch, probabilities point to Romney losing. So all that Big Money is back in the Big Race, and not siphoned out to the state and district races. So Romney's debate win may actually help Dem congressional and senate candidates.

I've heard all sorts of post-mortem commentary, comparing this debate to Bush-Kerry 1. The President stood stiff while a seasoned politician framed the debate. The challenger pulled even in the polls, but the President pulled out a close election.

And a close election is what the media wants. Blowouts are bad for business. More papers will be sold, and more TV newshours with garner ratings points.

The first Obama/Romney debate will go down in history. But will it be a turning point, or merely a plot point in the 2102 story?

Debated To Death

There are times when the the 24-hour news cycle is gripping, and there are times we all want to throw in the towel. How many times can we handle the pre-debate analysis? Well here's one more, except this one doesn't pull punches.

It's as if all the cliches are on a loop: "Do no harm," "Frame the argument," "Have a zinger ready." But here's the problem for Mr. Romney - you can't be over-prepared. Then you seem too rehearsed, inauthentic and stiff. Not that Romney's had any problem connecting with people (Backtime's Editorial Department just unloaded an incredulous Al Gore sigh).

Romney's best moments from the GOP debates were actually off the cuff. He dismissed a floundering Rick Perry with more than one "Nice try" and he told Newt Gingrich if he was on his staff and proposed some moon colony he'd be "fired."

Romney has had plenty of time to memorize his talking points, layered arguments, and even a canned zinger or two, but he would have to have a spontaneous moment to do anything impactful. So the bar's been set pretty low.

That seems to be the prevailing view but Romney surrogate Chris Christie, the Governor of my home state, didn't seem to get the memo. Christie was on all three network Sunday morning shows (were they offering free danish?) talking about how the race would be turned "upside down come Thursday morning." Was that a prediction or a pep talk?

The President, on the other hand, has been playing a much more conservative (small "c") game the last few weeks, looking to sit on his lead. Which means now is the time to unload. It will be the first time America sees Mr. Obama with his opponent on the same stage, and should waste no time discrediting him.

Obama has 90 minutes to hit Romney over and over on something that Romney can't possibly defend, his flexibility on nearly every issue. I wouldn't be surprised if the President drops "Etch-A-Sketch" as the soundbite moment that every media outlet runs with.

A few weeks back at the DNC everyone was raving about The First Lady's high-energy speech and President Clinton's fun, educational address. But the most effective speaker was Senator John Kerry, who laid the groundwork for the pummeling that's about to take place:

"Mr. Romney...you'd better finish the debate with yourself."

The issues are crucial and the important men will be at their lofty podiums, and Jim Lehrer will be there to be a PBS above-it-all bastion of journalistic integrity, but don't be fooled. This is all PR. And only one of the two candidates can relate to the public.

Backtime Tends To Its Garden

Okay- 1 month of Backtime 2.0 and the plants have been watered every day.

It's rare that I go a month straight at home, and even rarer we got as much rain as we had, but every day the plants were watered and the blog was fed. Success? How is that measured exactly? In days? Months? Years?

I can look outside and see the bright patch on the corner of a busy Savannah thoroughfare and then go back to the cave and and see my slice of the internet has a fresh post. And each day there is growth.

I don't write to see how many hits I get or for my resume reel. If I write book reviews or try to define culture or attempt political humor, it's only my mind working overtime. And when the mind stagnates, there's always the Yankees and the Jets.

The spirit has been fed too. Surf lessons, karate, vicious workouts, swimming, rockwall climbing, rollerskating (that didn't go so well), go-karts, golf, plenty of cooking, and lots of video games. And then there are the small creatures that inhabit my property. They were nourished as well. Beds were made. Baths were administered. Laundry and dishes were kept up with.

The only thing that fell by the waste side was the feeding of the mind. I am on the same Elmore Leonard novel I was on 31 days ago. There's nothing wrong with the book, I just don't find myself in the same situations (the car pick-up lane, on planes) where my natural inclination is to read.

It's because I'm in front of the computer. Or in the front yard. Or doing a million other things. You gotta shake the Etch-A-Sketch every day.