How the President Reminded Us of Just Who He Is

“Reminder, uh reminder, I got it if you need it a reminder. Reminder, reminder, I think I better give you a reminder” –Reminder, Jay Z

You could see it in the first two steps he took onto the stage. It was in his walk, it was in his eyes, it was in the way he sat upon the chair, one foot hanging off, leaning to the side. The President, who has been described as lots of things personality wise, including aloof, came to this debate aware of his performance in Denver, aware of what was at stake in the debate and conscious of the fact that everyone was wondering if he even wanted this job he fought so hard to get 4 years ago. It was in his eyes, as if he was saying some Presidential, Barack Obama version of "F*ck that" over and over in his head.  It was evident in his first answer to the first question.  Unlike his opponent, the President didn't waste any of his two minutes giving pleasantries, especially ones towards Mitt that his body language would show he didn't mean.  Instead, on the first answer to the first question, President Obama came out the chair swinging. He was clearly the version of himself we know and love and with that first answer where he barely took a breath between jabs at his opponent, it was clear, the President came not just for a debate or an argument- he came for a fight!

While during the last debate it was clear the President showed up for a debate, got into an argument and lost, this debate proved to be the absolute opposite. He came prepared for all three and was ready and willing to engage in whichever one was appropriate.   No way he would be caught off guard again.  More importantly, he was prepared like a prizefighter to draw the Governor into his territory in whichever style he felt appropriate for the question. Time and time again, either by the President or the question, Governor Romney was drawn to the center of the ring, chest proudly poked out to deliver some one liner that was supposed to sink the President and each time when he looked away to celebrate, the President tapped his jaw. It wasn't the kind of jaw tap that knocks an opponent out, it was the subtle consistent type hit that gets your opponent shaky, off balance, desperate and flailing their arms trying to land hits. On equal pay - tap tap. On immigration and self-deportation - tap tap. On taxes and specifics on the 5 point plan, calling it a "One point plan" - tap tap tap.  On Libya and the assertion that the President and his administration were covering something up - tap tap tap, punch (hard).  In the lead up to his strongest hit, the President called the Governor out on being for an assault weapons ban before he was against it (tap), called him out on being more radical on social issues than President Bush (tap), called him out for being an outsourcer who couldn’t say he would get tough on china (tap) and when the Governor thought he had the President pinned on the words used after the horrific tragedy in Libya during a speech in the Rose Garden, the President swung hard with “Proceed Governor” (punch) and the grand finally for which Mitt himself teed the President up by claiming to be “for the 100%” in his final statement even though the President was set to have the final word allowing the President to hit him with the upper cut of his own 47% comment to solidify that this 90 minute exchange was not a debate or even an argument rather a brawl for which the President tapped and tapped on the Mitt’s glass jaw so much that by the end, Mitt was sweating, stammering over answers, saying weird things like he got a “binder of women” and that single parenthood is what drives gun violence which is remedied by marriage (huh?). 

It is almost as obnoxious as Mitt Romney telling the sitting President “I am speaking, you will get your turn” for me to quote myself.  But I must do it to make the point that is clear from this debate.  In discussion of the last debate, I said this about what the President needed to do:

“Now the President needs to go back and decide how he wants to deal with this fight next round.  As much as he wants to, he cannot stand outside the ring next time.  And as much as it may not come naturally, he needs to punch and punch hard.  But he needs to do it with the precision, grace and facts that he is comfortable asserting.  It doesn’t always take many hits to knock out an opponent, especially one with a glass jaw like Mr. Romney.   Sometimes it is just one well-timed, precisely aimed hit.  If for some reason you doubt the President can pull this off, just take a look at his track record.  He has lost debates in the past, in fact he lost the first two out of three debates with Senator McCain in 2008.  Yet today he IS the President.  That should tell you all you need to know.” – How the President Lost the Argument

He did exactly that (not that I am claiming credit for his strategy, I’m just saying…).  He went in to this debate ready to reclaim the conversation.  He went into this debate focused, there is no doubt that he won the debate, the argument and the fight.  But there is more to this than just the winning on the facts.  These same facts where present in the first debate.  The President had to come to the realization that he isn’t above proving he has what it takes and therefore deserves a second term.  He got that reality check after the first debate.  People know he is capable, they know he is smart, they know he knows the facts and for the most part they believe he has the best interest of the country on his mind and his heart.  What people questioned throughout his presidency when he was up against republican opposition and after last week’s debate was whether or not he has the fight inside of him, whether or not it burns in him to roll up his sleeves and tap a few jaws if necessary to get what done what he believes is the right thing.  He proved that back during the healthcare debate when he told Congressman Eric Cantor (in front of a camera) what amounted to some version of don’t F with me Eric, I will risk my entire presidency on this issue.  Barack Obama is not without the ability to get tough.  And he showed it last night when he looked Mitt Romney in the eye, defended his Secretary of State, his Ambassador (both women BTW), his entire administration and most importantly himself.  He gave the Governor a glaring look as he told him his assertion was “offensive.”  This man hasn’t gotten to the oval office by being some push over who is afraid to fight back.  Rather he has gotten there by letting his opponents self destruct while he plays it cool and then right at the moment when it appears his opponent may be trying to get himself together and best him, this President taps that jaw, HARD.  It doesn’t take a lot of hits to knock someone out, simply one well timed, precisely aimed hit.  I can guarantee Mitt didn’t see that one coming, mainly because he was too busy interrupting the moderator, asserting his perceived privilege, characterizing women’s equal pay issues into the need for a flexible work schedule so they can go home and make dinner for their kids (right cause that’s all women do), going in for the kill on Libya only to be fact checked on the spot by the President AND the moderator and getting disheveled on the immigration topic after continuously calling undocumented workers “illegal’s” and asserting that if we make life so horrible for them here, they will just leave (right…self deportation).  He was busy swinging so hard that he tired himself out, distracted himself and got totally turned around and exposed for who he is.  A man who is willing to SAY whatever he thinks it takes to get the job and then DO what the majority wants.  That is the main reason he got his jaw tapped HARD last night.  Because he thought he was up against someone like him. In fact the President is the opposite.  He will DO whatever it takes to get/keep his job and then he will DO whatever he believes is right, whether it is popular or not, in order to BE the best President he can be.  That is what happens when you have a core, you can tap into it whenever necessary.  Last night President Barack Obama tapped into his core, found his fight and delivered a long overdue beating to Mitt Romney.  I keep wondering what is playing on the President’s iPod before the debate but if I had to guess, his newfound friend Jigga may have told him to take a listen to “Reminder.”  Cause that is exactly what he gave us last night, a reminder (in case we forgot) just who he is and how he rolls.  He wasn’t a different version of himself; rather he was the very best version of himself.  And by the way he walked into the embrace of the FABULOUS First Lady and the way he diddy bopped around the stage after the debate concluded, it appeared we (America, Mitt, Democrats) weren’t the only ones who needed a reminder, so did he.