The first presidential debate: 'Do or die' for Mitt Romney?
Romney is facing immense pressure to decisively win next week's debate against an upward-bound President Obama
![Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at the Seagate Center in Toledo, Ohio, on Sept. 25 during a campaign stop: Romney has had his fair share of debates but this will be his first one against Pr](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/95A2kH6nmHutopdFyvEdee-415-80.jpg)
The first presidential debate will take place on Oct. 3, and aides to President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are already trying to raise the bar for their opponent's performance: On Thursday, top Romney adviser Beth Myers sent out a memo arguing that Obama is "widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history," with eight presidential debates under his belt to Romney's zero. Team Obama set its marker down earlier, with Jim Messina calling Romney "quick, polished, and ready with a punchy attack" thanks to extensive preparation and his victories in the endless GOP primary debates. But as Politico's Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman note, Obama is winning right now, so a decisive victory in the first debate "has gone from merely important to critical" for Romney. Is the Denver debate, in fact, "do-or-die time" for the Romney campaign — and can Romney rise to the challenge?
Romney needs a bounce, and will get one: Romney's party and donors are on the verge of jumping ship, and the first debate is the only scheduled potential game-changer left, says Robert Shrum at The Daily Beast. So for Romney, it's "debate like a champ or see his candidacy wither and die." He's not too quick on his feet, but he's shown himself an able debater and "he does have advantages going in." The biggest one: History. Since 1984, "in the first debate, against an incumbent president, a challenger tends to win."
"How Mitt Romney can win the first debate with Obama"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One debate can't save Romney: It would take a pretty impressive performance to shake up this race, says Michael Cohen at Britain's The Guardian. Does anyone really think that "the gaffe-tastic Romney... has the political chops" to debate his way out of his hole? Or that "no-drama Obama" will make a flub "so grievous and costly that he will open the door to a Romney comeback"? Seriously, unless Obama "uses the debate to unleash a profanity-laced diatribe against the people of Ohio and Florida," Romney's best hope is a small bump in the polls.
"The presidential debate myth: Not the 'game-changer' you might think"
Debates, in general, rarely change anything: In a tight race like this, a small bounce "could be enough to nudge the election in competitive states like Colorado and Ohio," says Tom Curry at NBC News. But political scientists say we have "a tendency to overstate the impact of debates" because they rarely if ever change the outcome of an election. We tend to "fixate on 'telling' moments," like Ronald Reagan's "there you go again" zinger in 1980, but Reagan was already beating Jimmy Carter. A great one-liner will win Romney a place in political lore, but it won't win him the White House.
"Debate will be Romney's chance to alter trajectory of the race"
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published