As published at FoxNews.com on 10/17/12
By Wayne Allyn Root
It wasn’t Obama’s fault this time. It was that damn record.
No one has EVER been able to go into the ring with Obama- the heavyweight talker- and “take it to him.” Knock him out. Leave him reeling. Leave him shaking and breathless from body blows. Until Mitt Romney. Not just because Mitt is the smartest guy in the room- and he is. But because Obama has never in his career had to run on an actual record.
Obama has been allowed his entire career to lie with impunity. He is a lawyer. He is a great talker. He is a world-class debater. He can win an argument with anyone- with his fancy talk, propaganda, and rhetoric. But things have changed. The difference is Obama now has a record he can’t escape from.
That damn record was Obama’s undoing on Tuesday night. You can’t talk your way out of a record. You can’t sweet talk America when the facts are staring every voter right in the face. This time Obama was prepared, alert, aggressive, in fine fighting form. He did everything right. He was ready for his big comeback. Yet he lost badly again. Because the facts ate him up. That damn record ruined everything.
One comment by Mitt was symbolic of the defeat Obama was about to experience. Mitt said, “You’re a good speaker, but you’ve got a record.”
Obama’s record is a millstone around his neck. In this heavyweight prizefight rematch, Romney hit him again and again- and hurt him badly- by simply pointing out his record. These weren’t slaps. These were gut shots. Shots to the body that leave a fighter in agony. There was no response to that record. Even the great socialist orator could not overcome that damn record. He was left motionless on the canvas, gasping for air.
The body blows kept coming fast and furious (excuse the pun) all night:
Energy. Obama seemed to lay claim to being “the energy President.” Obama said he loves coal, oil, gas, all forms of drilling. Really? Romney hurt him with repeated body blows- all based on his own record. He pointed out that Obama is trying to destroy the coal business. He’s cut drilling permits by over 50%. He killed the Keystone pipeline. Romney even asked a simple but devastating question, “If your energy policy is so great, why have gas prices doubled?” That damn record.
Libya. Obama said he called it a “terror attack” in the Rose Garden the very next day.Really? Romney turned into prosecutor and faced Obama. He nailed him in a complete fabrication. The next day? But didn’t Obama wait 14 days to call it a “terror attack?” Didn’t he in fact blame a YouTube video? Didn’t he allow Susan Rice, the U.N. Ambassador, to claim on Sunday talk shows 5 days later that it was “a spontaneous protest?” Obama was outsmarted by Mitt. Caught in a lie with the nation watching, Obama looked shocked and disgusted. That damn record.
Women’s rights. Obama scored points with his single mom story. Then he hit Mitt with contraception and planned parenthood. In a Presidential debate 4 years ago, with no record to defend, Obama would have knocked Romney out with women. But not this time. Not with that damn record- the millstone around his neck. Romney pointed out the record. Women have lost 580,000 jobs under Obama. 3.5 million more women are in poverty. Romney pointed out that a strong economic recovery is the best answer to how we help women. Create an economy that is growing and creating jobs, and businesses will jump to hire women, and offer flexible schedules. Obama is offering you free contraception, but no job. That’s a really bad tradeoff. That damn record.
Guns. Obama was practically claiming to be “the pro gun President.” He said he’s astrong supporter of the second amendment. But that damn record got in the way again. At this moment, Obama became a joke. Romney didn’t need to say a thing. We were all laughing too hard at the lies this man tells. But just for good measure, Romney savaged him by bringing up the “Fast and Furious” gun scandal. He pointed out that it was the Obama administration that was selling guns and getting people killed. Oops.That damn record again.
The economy. Obama is good. If there was no record to defend, I have no doubt that 55% of American voters would choose his socialist pathway of big government, big taxes, and big spending. But there’s that damn record to defend again. Romney took it to him. 23 million unemployed. A drop in unemployment, only due to people losing hope and dropping out of the search for a job. Over 500,000 manufacturing jobs lost. A giant drop in income for middle class households. Anemic GDP growth. Worse growth this year than last year. You could see Obama thinking “That damn record is killing me.”
Debt. Obama beat Romney up pretty good over the debt that his lower taxes might cause. Until Romney brought up Obama’s actual record. Over $5 trillion in new debt. A promise to cut the deficit in half, yet instead Obama doubled it. Suddenly Obama looked small, powerless, weak. You can’t defend that damn record.
Obamacare. Romney took that myth out with one body blow. He pointed out that Obama promised healthcare costs would be down $2500 per family during his first term, but costs are up $2500 per family. That damn record.
Small business. Here Obama told the whopper of all time. He said he’s cut taxes 18 times for small business. Really. I own multiple small businesses. My taxes haven’t been cut one time, nor one penny under Obama. Obamacare will be a massive tax increase in January. Who is this man kidding? But Romney rushed to the center of the ring, and knocked him out with a right hook. He pointed out that regulation has tripled for businesses under Obama. The small business owners Romney speaks to say they feel under attack from their own government. Great line. Direct hit to the kidney. That damn record.
Obama is such a good lawyer, such a good talker, he could have gotten O.J. Simpson off. He’s that good. But the O.J. case was about circumstantial evidence. In Obama’s case the facts are in. Even Obama the lawyer couldn’t get Obama off. The facts of Obama’s first term buried the President under a barrage of hooks and haymakers.
That damn record. To put it in lawyer’s parlance, this time the glove fit.
Wayne Allyn Root is a Capitalist Evangelist, entrepreneur, and Tea Party Libertarian Republican. He is a former Libertarian vice presidential nominee. He is the best-selling author of “The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold & Tax Cuts.” His web site: www.ROOTforAmerica.com
