Big Bird exposes the mindset of national debate audience

Some thoughts on the presidential debate …

Mitt Romney: The clear winner in this contest. He looked and sounded presidential, he was energetic and aggressive and I thought he, in particular, finished strong. This moment could be the “game changer” that Republicans are hoping to realize. But I have to wonder where the Wednesday night version of Romney was over the past few months. If this was the standard that Romney reached in campaign stops throughout the summer, his campaign wouldn’t need a game changer in October.

Barack Obama: Even more apparent than Romney’s debate win was that the president was the loser. He seemed tired and listless. Many have commented on how Obama was looking down during much of the debate while Romney spoke. I also noticed that his eyes seemed dark and sunken – a look that I have never seen from the president. Joan Vennochi of the LA Daily News may have had the best post-debate line of the night: “As the night wore on … Romney realized that debating Obama was not unlike standing next to an empty chair.”

Jim Lehrer: The highly respected journalist unfairly faced a deluge of derision for his performance as moderator. Many critics apparently weren’t paying attention when Lehrer had said prior to the debate that he wanted to take a hands-off approach and let the candidates mix it up. I would agree that at times he failed to steer the discussion, letting the candidates ramble without stating specifics, and that he should have made more of an effort to enforce time limits. But I like the Lehrer approach far more than the pompous moderators who seek to be the center of attention. I just think the right format is somewhere in the middle, between those polar opposites.

Big Bird: In a 90-minute debate filled with some wonky back-and-forth discussions, one of the most popular subjects on Twitter and in Google searches during the event was “Big Bird.” The online chatter about the old Sesame Street character was prompted by Romney’s assertion that he will end funding for PBS, despite his affection for Big Bird. With all the substantive dialog that dominated this debate, I’m afraid the social media obsession with Big Bird says a lot about the TV audience and the overall electorate. And it’s not good.