Romney’s Bounce
2012-10-03 - by
I have a feeling that Mitt Romney will get a bounce out of tonight’s debate. Not because I play the ridiculous expectations game, but because a Romney bounce is due and he can easily do well.
He needs to set aside all the conflicting and confusing advice candidates always get before debates. I spent almost 30 years doing debate prep, and I found one piece of advice that always works: Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck.
This comes from author-pundit Jeff Greenfield. In the cartoons, Daffy Duck was spewing spittle and flying off the handle. Bugs was cool. And Bugs always got the best of things.
In other words, the most comfortable person on the stage is always the debate winner. Think JFK and Nixon.
Now, it’s hard to beat Barack Obama there. He is Mr. Cool.
But if Romney is confident and steady – especially after his unsteady last few weeks – he will get another look from undecided and weakly committed voters.
Plus, as I’ve said before, the media is looking for a new story. They’re getting tired of writing that Obama has it won.
Romney’s risk is that he overpreps, comes out tight, starts firing off odd “zingers” and sounding stiff and out of touch. Think Al Gore and George H.W. Bush.
If he comes across as an approximation of a normal human being, he’ll be back in the thick of it. And momentum will shift.
Romney’s Bounce
2012-10-03/
I have a feeling that Mitt Romney will get a bounce out of tonight’s debate. Not because I play the ridiculous expectations game, but because a Romney bounce is due and he can easily do well.
He needs to set aside all the conflicting and confusing advice candidates always get before debates. I spent almost 30 years doing debate prep, and I found one piece of advice that always works: Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck.
This comes from author-pundit Jeff Greenfield. In the cartoons, Daffy Duck was spewing spittle and flying off the handle. Bugs was cool. And Bugs always got the best of things.
In other words, the most comfortable person on the stage is always the debate winner. Think JFK and Nixon.
Now, it’s hard to beat Barack Obama there. He is Mr. Cool.
But if Romney is confident and steady – especially after his unsteady last few weeks – he will get another look from undecided and weakly committed voters.
Plus, as I’ve said before, the media is looking for a new story. They’re getting tired of writing that Obama has it won.
Romney’s risk is that he overpreps, comes out tight, starts firing off odd “zingers” and sounding stiff and out of touch. Think Al Gore and George H.W. Bush.
If he comes across as an approximation of a normal human being, he’ll be back in the thick of it. And momentum will shift.