A Win For Romney & The Yankees

It turns out last night’s presidential debate in Denver was much more exciting than the Yankees final game of the regular season which saw them clinch their 13th American League East title in 17 years.

I was preparing for a non-stop night of back-and-forth with the remote control but by the time moderator Jim Lehrer welcomed a TV audience of over 50 million to the debate the Yankees had champagne on ice in their clubhouse. The Yanks would rout the Red Sox 14-2 but fans did not have to wait until the final out to begin the celebration because Baltimore had already lost at Tampa Bay which secured another division title for the guys from the Bronx. The Yankees will open the playoffs on the road Sunday against the winner of Friday night’s one-game playoff series between the Orioles and Rangers in Texas.

However the post-season is well underway when it comes to national politics and last night many expected President Obama to deliver a Yankee-like performance on Mitt Romney. The general consensus going into the first of three presidential debates was that Romney needed a victory and by all accounts that’s what he got.

When I say all accounts I’m speaking of those not directly involved in either campaign although even many Democrats admitted that the Republican challenger came up with a surprisingly strong effort. Romney, who has often appeared stiff in public clearly won the style portion as he was energetic, smooth and comfortable. He took the offensive and forced the President into the role of a counter-puncher and Obama did not even resemble the youthful and personable public speaker of four years ago. As for substance the experts agreed afterwards that both floated numbers and theories that don’t add up but that’s to be expected as when it comes to debates it’s often not what you say but how you say it.

Whether Romney turned any voters around is something we’ll find out later but at the very least he made Republicans feel better about their candidate and those who are undecided will likely give him more consideration. As one analyst said in summing up the debate….Romney came out looking for a win while President Obama seemed content with a tie. The challenger got what he wanted.