 President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in the Oval Office on Friday, September 28.  Republican U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks during a rally at Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Pennsylvania on Friday.  Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks to journalists aboard his campaign plane about his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, September 28, with 39 days to go before the election.  Cadets listen to Romney speak at a campaign rally Friday at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College in Wayne, Pennsylvania.  Romney addresses Friday's rally at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College.  Vice President Joe Biden hugs U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as he arrives for a campaign event Friday in Boca Raton, Florida. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is at right.  Romney speaks at a Veterans for Romney campaign event in Springfield, Virginia, on Thursday, September 27.  Supporters of President Barack Obama cheer at a campaign rally Thursday, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  Veterans at the American Legion Post 176 pray before Romney speaks Thursday in Springfield.  People listen to Obama speak at the Farm Bureau Live arena in Virginia Beach on Thursday.  Obama delivers remarks Thursday in Virginia Beach.  Supporters cheer as Romney speaks at SeaGate Convention Centre in Toledo, Ohio, on Wednesday, September 26.  Romney speaks during a roundtable discussion on manufacturing at American Spring Wire in Bedford Heights, Ohio, on Wednesday.  Supporters wait to see Obama on Wednesday at Toledo Express Airport in Bowling Green, Ohio. Air For One aborted an initial landing attempt in Ohio due to weather conditions.  Obama addresses supporters at Bowling Green State University on Wednesday.  Romney delivers remarks during a campaign rally Wednesday at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio.  Former President Bill Clinton introduces Obama during the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York on Tuesday, September 25.  Supporters cheer during a Republican campaign rally Tuesday with Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio.  Ryan speaks Tuesday in Vandalia as Sen. Rand Paul, from left, Sen. Rob Portman and Romney listen.  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hugs a waitress as they wait for Ryan's arrival during a campaign stop at a restaurant in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood on Saturday, September 22.  Supporters cheer as they listen to Romney speak during a Juntos Con Romney Rally at the Darwin Fuchs Pavilion on Wednesday, September 19, in Miami.  Romney shakes hands with supporters during the Juntos Con Romney Rally in Miami on Wednesday.  Obama and David Letterman speak during a break in the taping of the "Late Show with David Letterman" on Tuesday, September 18, at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.  A crew member opens the door to Air Force One after the jet arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York on Tuesday.  From left to right: Romney, his wife Ann, and son Tagg watch one of Tagg's sons play soccer in Belmont, Massachusetts, on Saturday, September 15.  Ryan arrives onstage to address the Family Research Council Action Values Voter Summit on Friday, September 14.  Supporters wait for Romney to speak at a campaign rally at Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, on Friday, September 14.  Obama arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Thursday, September 13. Obama returned to Washington after a two-day campaign trip with events in Nevada and Colorado.  Supporters cheer as Romney speaks at a campaign rally in Fairfax, Virginia, on Thursday.  An Obama supporter attends a rally in Las Vegas on Wednesday, September 12. Obama focused on economic policies during his two days of campaigning in Nevada and Colorado.  Former President Bill Clinton speaks in support of Obama during a campaign stop in Miami on Tuesday, September 11.  Obama is lifted up by Scott Van Duzer, owner of Big Apple Pizza and Pasta Italian Restaurant, during a visit to the restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Sunday, September 9. Obama was on a two-day bus tour across the state.  President Obama greets supporters during a campaign stop at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.  Mitt Romney walks through the garage area during a rain delay before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday, September 8, in Richmond, Virginia.  Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, waves to the crowd before speaking at a rally in Leesburg, Virginia, on Friday, September 7.  Supporters try to stay dry in between rain showers while waiting for President Obama to speak at the University of Iowa on Friday. It was Obama's first day of campaigning after accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.  A girl listens to President Obama speak at the University of Iowa on Friday.  Vice President Joe Biden, first lady Michelle Obama, President Obama and Biden's wife, Jill, wave after Friday's campaign event at the University of Iowa.                                      
Editor's note: Hilary Rosen, a CNN contributor, is a Democratic political strategist and former chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America. (CNN) -- Have you noticed lately that everyone else is getting credit for the president being in the lead except President Obama? It was the cohesive Democratic message at the convention. It was President Clinton bringing it home. It was GOP challenger Mitt Romney being tone deaf about 47% of the American people. In short, according to the pundits, it has been everything but the president himself that's responsible for the momentum that his re-election has now. In fact, it's been the fundamental strategy of the president and his campaign that has allowed these other issues to resonate so loudly with the American people. When the president successfully shifted this election as a choice between two leaders and two directions rather than a referendum on him and the state of the economy, everything else fell into a complementary narrative.  Yes, there was a good story to tell about the accomplishments of the last four years, but America needed to see the bigger picture. So now when we learn Romney's tax rate hovers at 14%, or when he picks Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who wanted to kill Medicare as we know it, as his running mate, or when he can't decide if his Massachusetts health care plan is an example of his compassion or a noose around Obamacare, he falls into the trap of comparison every time. He may not have wanted those things to define his candidacy, but Obama is successfully making America realize that if we reject him, we would be choosing Romney. Opinion: Fox's laughable case for Romney So that is my first piece of advice for Obama in the first debate. Frame virtually every answer as a choice, not a defense. Romney is smart and a skilled debater, and he will try to stay vague and put the president on the defensive early. Obama must resist the temptation to lash back only with a spirited defense. Every issue presents a choice for the American people. And on an issue-by-issue basis, the people are mostly with the president. My second piece of advice is for the president to share his best self as emblematic of what is best in America. Romney says that he only wants everyone to focus on jobs. But life isn't that simple or binary. If moms are worried about paying for their reproductive health care or whether their rights are respected, it is hard to concentrate only on the economy. If immigrants are worried about being discriminated against or their families deported, it adds to the stress of their economic life. If gays and lesbians can't have their families recognized, it makes their search for meaningful work more complicated as they cobble benefits together. If college students are worrying about the stress of their student loans rather than studying as hard as they can, their chances of pulling themselves up are more limited. In short, America succeeds when all of its people are valued, and we are all pulling in the same direction rather than refighting old fights or letting social issues divide us. That is not the world that Romney inhabits, but it is the reality for most Americans. Don't be afraid to talk about it. Romney has everything at stake in this first debate. His campaign team and surrogates can't stop talking about it, in fact. The pressure will be great on him to perform. Therefore he is certain to say things that annoy the president. Opinion: Why debates don't always make a difference So my final piece of advice is most simple: Stay nice. No "you're likable enough" comments; no jokes about dogs on top of the car; no snarking about how rich Romney is; no patronizing lecturing when he has his facts wrong. Just stay nice. One of the greatest gifts America has is a president who is kind and warm with a big smile and compassionate heart. That is the president who will win the first debate. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Hilary Rosen.   |
9/29/2012
Opinion: Expect Romney to annoy Obama
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