First 2012 Presidential Debate is History
Big Bird Fired, Lehrer Chastised

(Denver, CO) — President Barack Obama (D-IL) and Mitt Romney (R-MA) squared off last night in the first of three 2012 presidential debates. PBS' Jim Lehrer asked the candidates questions for 90 minutes in the Magness Arena at the University of Denver in Denver, CO.

The Commission on Presidential Debates for Candidates Who Are Either Democrats or Republicans but Not Other Parties Because That Would Actually Allow Americans to See All of Their Choices in November sponsored both this debate and the ones to follow.

The debate featured the familiar sniping and false claims that Americans have seen over the past six years in political attack ads on television.

Reaction to the debate was mixed, with Republicans predictably saying that Romney won the debate, while Democrats claimed that Obama won the day. But there was no "knockout" catch-phrase or truly memorable moment in this debate as in years past, so many portrayed the winner of this debate as a wash.

The debate was not without semi-memorable moments, however:

• Obama claimed that he wants to "hire another 100,000 new math and science teachers" and "keep tuition low for our young people." One problem with this goal is that there aren't 100,000 additional people in this country available to teach math and science because of the poor state of the country's public education system. "If he wanted 100,000 teachers to show people how to walk into a school with a gun and start shooting people, he'd have a case," said an education professional, speaking on condition of anonymity.

• Romney said he wants to make America "North America energy independent." It's a fine goal, but there isn't enough energy in North America to feed America's energy appetite. "Drilling in Alaska and off-shore, combined with shale from Canada and natural gas here at home won't cut it," said an energy industry consultant, speaking on condition of anonymity.

• Obama's take on Social Security is that we "don't need a major structural change in order to make sure that Social Security is there for the future." Like Medicare, however, experts say that Social Security is unsustainable in its present form. "That's why Governor Romney supports eliminating Social Security for the 47% of the country that won't vote for him," said a Romney spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity.

• Romney insisted that "Republicans had a plan" for health care that would have replaced the new health care law, also known as "Obamacare."
  
  "Sure they did," said a Democratic spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The plan was to let everyone fend for themselves while members of Congress kept their Cadillac health care benefits."

• Obama appeared delusional in saying that "Donald Trump is a small business."
  
  "Donald Trump is a birther and a prick, but he's not a small business," said a debate attendee, speaking on condition of anonymity.

• But perhaps Romney's most memorable moment was when he spoke of de-funding PBS. "I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS … I like PBS, I love Big Bird …" he said. It was not the wisest thing to fire Lehrer, a PBS employee, on the spot, and it was not wise to talk of firing Big Bird, PBS' most identifiable character. "Well, Romney has said that he loves to fire people," said a Democratic critic, speaking on condition of anonymity.

• Obama, on the other hand, may have had his most memorable moment when he confronted Lehrer. "I had five seconds before you interrupted me … " he scolded when Lehrer tried to tell him that his time was up.
  
  "That comes across as someone who isn't fit to be the President of the United States," said a Republican critic, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Anyone who would reprimand Jim Lehrer on national television isn't fit to serve. That's why this country needs a new direction, where seniors are left to their own devices, where millionaires, billionaires, oil companies and banks run the show, and where the 47% of non-Romney supporters are thrown out of their homes. That's our true vision for America!"