Debate Format Allowed Romney to Ignore His Own Positions on Issues

RetiredLawyerMom

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Thursday October 04, 2012 · 6:57 AM PDT

2012/10/04 · 06:57

The form of Jim Lehrer's questions drove me crazy. The first thing he did was ask President Obama to speak about the ways in which he differed from Mitt Romney on a particular subject. President Obama then responded to what we all assumed was Mitt Romney's position on the subject---based on previous statements he and his campaign have made. Romney was then able to glibly deny that he had ever taken those positions. Had Jim Lehrer instead asked each party to state his position on a particular subect first, and then asked the parties to critique each other's position, Mitt Romney would have his positions---at least his positions as of 9:00 Eastern Time on October 3, 2012--stated for the record and President Obama would not have had to hit a moving target. Jim Lehrer repeatedly did this, thus enabling Mr. Romney to shake the etch-a-sketch over and over and over again.

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