WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? – AT 9:05 A.M. ET:  Wait a second.  Wasn't Barack Obama the demigod, come to save us?   How could last night happen? 

We turn to Michael Barone, one of our best political analysts, for one important reason:

The mainstream media has been playing protective guard around [President Obama] for the last five or six years. He has seldom faced tough questioning, having managed to avoid open press conferences (as I recall) since last June. …

Obama suffered tonight from his lack of scrutiny from mainstream media. … In this first debate Obama paid the price for the hands-off treatment he has received from mainstream media.

His talking points, advanced by his spokesmen in the confidence that they will not be seriously challenged, were refuted by an energized and articulated and well-informed Mitt Romney. He stood there petulantly and pathetically, nonplussed by the fact that his flimsy talking points were effectively challenged.

COMMENT:  Very well said.  Obama stood there, and his demeanor flashed the message, "How dare you question me, for I am Barack?  Why do I even have to do this?"  Watching him, you didn't get the feeling that he was president of the United States. 

He claimed to have worked on a number of problems.  If that were the case, why didn't he know more about them? 

Will the press now be tougher on Obama for the remainder of the campaign, or will they circle the wagons once more, determined to protect their investment?  My guess is that more will circle the wagons than not, for Obama is part of their political culture.  In fact, he's the leader of it. 

I have here at Urgent Agenda what I call the "48-hour rule."  It takes 48 hours for the political left to regroup after a defeat and get fully back in the game, never deviating from the party line.  Watch what happens over the next 48 hours.  I think Romney is in full fighting mode now, however, and the press may not be able to do for Obama this year what it did in 2008, when John McCain ran a very weak campaign.

Oh, by the way, the next debate will be the vice-presidential contest.  I cannot wait to see Paul Ryan against Joe Biden.  It will be held next Thursday, October 11th. 

October 4, 2012