Denver Debate

We are hours from a crucial moment in the campaign--the first presidential debate.  Expectations are high.  The campaigns are here, the press is ready and the freeways leading through Denver have all shut down.   It would be safe to say that this city feels electric.

A lot is on the line tonight and I'd be lying if didn't admit that I'm nervous.

How does one even prepare for this type of event?  I can't imagine the facts and prompts racing through a candidate's mind. Say this, don't say that, move your head there, but not too far, let your hands hang loose, but not too straight, be strong but not offensive, try not to perspire and by all means, do not place $10,000 bets.

Exhausting pressure.

Every once in a while, I ask myself how Mitt is going to fare against the smooth and reassuring voice of Barrack Obama.  Will he know when to punch?  Will he remember the facts?  Will he hold this president accountable?  Will Americans believe him?  Will Americans see the individual who I have come to "know" after blogging about him for the past 9 months?

So many questions.  So many nerves.

But then it hits me.  Mitt is going to be fine because of one simple reality:  The facts are on Mitt's side.

• Four years ago, the president vowed to cut the deficit in half---he didn't.  He doubled it and America is now burdened with a $16 trillion deficit.  Obama does not have a plan to address this fiscal crisis.

• Four years ago, this president promised immigration reform.  Yet when his party had the rare luxury of a majority in the House and Senate, they did nothing about it.  The president did not deliver on this promise.  

• Obama initiated an unprecedented $800 billion stimulus package which he assured us would stimulate the economy and lower the unemployment rate to 6%.  It did not work and unemployment has been stuck above 8% for 43 months straight.  

• Despite the stimulus and everything the president has tried, 23 million Americans are still out of work.

Obama may have inherited a recession, but he ran on the promise to lead the recovery.  He didn't.  With unemployment still above 8%---the housing market still crumbling---GDP rates half of what they were from even a year ago---it would be difficult to brand this a "recovery".

What should we expect from the president?  He will undoubtedly talk about how hard it has been to fix the mess he inherited and how challenging it has been to work across the aisle with hostile rivals. 

The problem with this approach?  The president will be sharing the stage with Mitt Romney---a leader who also inherited a recession, who also inherited a massive fiscal crisis and who also inherited a "hostile" work environment with an 85% Democratic State Legislature.

The difference?  

In just one term, unlike Obama, Mitt Romney was actually successful.  He did what he said he was going to do and he "led" a recovery.  He brought about fiscal reform.  He eliminated wasteful spending.  He strengthened education.  He balanced his budget.  He implemented Health Care Reform.  And remarkably, he accomplished it all without raising a single tax or borrowing a single dollar.

In Mitt Romney's one term,  unemployment rates had dropped to 4.7%, Massachusetts' businesses were thriving and Mitt Romney had turned a $3 billion budget deficit into a $2 billion surplus.

Quite remarkable and I would argue that is what true leadership provides.

Am I nervous? You bet, but is Mitt ready for this night? Absolutely.

Tonight, Mitt Romney gets to make his case to the American people and as Paul Ryan loves to remind supporters, Mitt is ready to hold the president accountable for his dismal performance.  Mitt Romney wants this debate.

I can't wait.

Go Mitt.