President Obama’s latest explanation for his poor performance in last week’s presidential debate is that he was “too polite” to Republican rival Mitt Romney.
“I think it’s fair to say I was just too polite,” Mr. Obama told radio host Tom Joyner Wednesday, arguing that Mr. Romney changed his past positions. He said he would be more aggressive in the next two debates, on Oct. 16 and 22.
“Because, you know, it’s hard to sometimes just keep on saying ‘and what you’re saying isn’t true,’” Mr. Obama said. “It gets repetitive.”
The president and his aides have said he wanted to have “a conversation” with voters, and Mr. Obama complained after the debate that Mr. Romney was hard to pin down because he was two-faced.
The president told Mr. Joyner, “The good news is, is that’s just the first one. Gov. Romney put forward a whole bunch of stuff that either involved him running away from positions that he had taken, or doubling down on things like Medicare vouchers that are going to hurt him long term. … And, you know, I think it’s fair to say that we will see a little more activity at the next one.”
