Debate Nonsense

Jonathan Chait pooh-poohs the mysterious right-wing meme that both Romney and Gingrich would somehow wipe the floor with Obama in a debate:

The attire may be dull but the underlying sentiments expressed here are white-hot. The idea that Romney can “think on his feet,” and that Obama is all “flash,” expresses a common right-wing trope that Obama is actually an idiot: a charismatic speaker but helpless when not reading from prepared text. That is the basis for the GOP’s otherwise inscrutable obsession with TelePrompTer jokes – the TelePrompTer is an extremely common political tool, but many conservatives have come to believe that Obama would be helpless without it. That belief accounts for a major portion of Gingrich’s appeal — he has painted an appealing picture of himself exposing the stammering dope in a lengthy series of debates. Among other problems, this fantasy ignores the actual history of Obama’s debate performances.

While I won't even bother to address the whole "Obama can't speak without a teleprompter and can only hope to hypnotize us with his African voodoo cock" tired nonsense or bother entertaining the real point might be how furious some Republicans would be to see one of their own look foolish at the hands of someone who's not  white  a real American, I believe FINALLY during the last debate Romney exposed Gingrich for what he is: a blustery, loud-mouthed bully who when stood up to quickly crumbles like a cheap accordion.  Newt is not some genius "debater", he's just good at stomping his feet and screaming at people too scared or too dumb to talk back; when challenged, he has no answers. I find the thesis that Obama would be "schooled" by Gingrich to be somewhat less than credible.

On the other hand, Romney might lull Obama to sleep, as he would anyone, so.