1. I admit it. I’m more indulgent toward the president than many conservatives, including Carl.
2. So the president didn’t study for his debate, preferring to visit the Hoover Dam instead. Is that arrogant? Sure. But we can see how Romney tricked him into complacency with his rather astounding serial ineptitude—chronicled ably on POMOCON by Pete.
3. So the president thought he won when he really lost. We’re all the worst judges of our own performances. I’ve been with many a scholar unduly pleased with his lecture or whatever, oblivious to the fact that he stunk the place up.
4. The president’s vanity has been enflamed by flatterers who’ve mistaken him for a god. If he were more Christian, he would have been able to remember better that he’s a mere man and so not qualitatively superior to his opponent. But how many hugely powerful and (used to be?) charismatic leaders are that Christian? The nastiest thing I can say is that he should have been more ready for Romney not treating him as a god. Romney gave him the respect he deserved and that did confuse him.
5. I’ve taken it as a given that the president lies more and is better at Machiavellian semi-sincere deception than Romney. That’s why Republicans should be the very opposite of overconfident now.
6. Maybe we should be a bit sympathetic to the thought that the real burdens of the office have chastened the president enough to keep him from being as readily upbeat with the hopey-changey thing as he used to be.
7. The fact remains is that he’s clueless about what needs to be done to make our country’s future—from national defense to indispensable entitlements—sustainable.
