GOP kudos resound for Romney debate performance

Demos pause for breath, refudiate recaps

“One guy was presidential, focused, passionate and funny. The other guy was churlish, irritated and defensive.” - Karl Rove

Red staters exulted, pounded on the portcullis of Camelot, and laid seige to the very real myth of image, drive, sparkle, make-up, big lights, mirrors and blue smoke.

Conservatives nationwide heaved a sigh of relief.

Somewhere, Don Hewitt, founder of “60 Minutes” and the director of the first televised presidential debates between JFK and Richard Nixon in 1960, was vindicated in his now ancient remark that television had co-opted the ballot box. The body politic made their choice by watching the boob tube.

While CNN burned their blazing red brand on the recap roundup of the debate by declaring Romney's perceived aplomb and panache a “landslide” for the GOP, Republican political professionals united behind their candidate, but balanced their comments with veiled barbs about Gov. Mitt Romney's sterling debate delivery vis a vis his lackluster style on the campaign trail.

Former Bill Clinton policy advisers and campaign types acknowledged Gov. Mitt Romney's masterful command of the lectern. When Bill Galston said Romney “did himself considerable good,” he was only pointing out a lackluster image on the parade route leading to Wednesday's debate night.

A Republican campaign consultant with considerable local experience, Matt Mackowiak criticized Brand X while praising his man Romney with faint damns.

“Romney was on offense most of the night, holding Obama accountable for massive investments in green energy, the growing national debt and weak economic recovery.”

The President failed to target chinks in the Romney armor, said Mr. Mackowiak, who managed the “Young Guns” campaign of freshman U.S. Representative Bill Flores to a landslide win over incumbent Chet Edwards in 2010. He is also a seasoned veteran of the campaigns of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Mr. Mackowiak added that “Obama never asked Romney to defend the Bain record, his decision to release only two years of tax returns or the ’47 percent’ comment.”

Hook'em, horns!

Said Mr. Galston, a key policy advisor to the “Comeback Kid,” Romney “presented himself as a reasonable man — neither an extremist nor an ideologue. He calmly rebutted familiar attacks on his proposals. He was clear and forceful, tough but respectful. He sounded knowledgeable. He conveyed an impression of competence and experience as a potential manager of the economy. He praised some aspects of the Obama administration’s program, such as its Race to the Top education reform program. And when he insisted on the importance of working together across party lines, it sounded as though he meant it.”

Shazam! Surprise, surprise!

Another former Clinton adviser, James Carville, said the debate had breathed new life into Romney’s troubled campaign.

“What happened tonight will play out clearly throughout the weekend and into the next debate,” he said Wednesday night.

The best most prominent Democrats could do was to point to the lack of a major gaffe on the incumbent president’s part.

“Romney needed a game changer,” San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, the Democratic National Convention keynote speaker, declared via Twitter. “Obama easily won, since Romney didn’t land any blows. Nothing changed the dynamic of the race.”