First Presidential Debate watch with predominantly Democratic friends

First Presidential debate watch party after the program

Prior to, and after the debate, two Republicans and two
Democrats shared their thoughts about the debate, I am glad I attended. I was able
to defend the Republican Party from being stereotyped and that is one of the goals
of America Together Foundation, to make a point about not stereotyping any one and any group.

In response to a few comments, I took a firm stand on stereotyping
Republicans with a statement, “All Republicans are not extremists, but most of
the political extremists are Republicans,” with a reiteration, “you cannot
blame the Party for the acts of the few.”

Of course, like all the moderate Republicans such as Governor Schwarzenegger, John Huntsman and million others, I
am one of the America first and party next guys, and that is what makes us
moderates.  We cannot let party interest override
the interests of the nation, if the nation does well, then we all will do well
and vice-versa.

Where right wing Republicans are dominant, they probably
will bash the Democrats, and that would be the case with right wing Democrats. We
need to be more reasonable than that and not make this as a bashing
entertainment party. I am glad this group was serious about knowing and learning about each other.

Who are the right wingers? This is not a group of rigidly
bounded people, but folks like you and I,  insecure in their culture, faith and life
style, they feel threatened when they see others crossing “their” defined lines
on abortion, same sex marriage, freedom of religion and a host of other issues.
They are loaded with phobias and see everyone who is open minded as their
enemy, and their way of finding the solution on the extreme level is to get rid
of you.

As a person committed to build cohesive societies, I urge
fellow Americans to be a part of each other and not live in silos. Attending
this event organized by CAIR and supported by many nonpartisan organizations, was the right thing to do.

Governor Romney’s performance was great and he won the
debate, of course others don’t have to agree with it, and they did not.

President Obama’s demeanor was not good, neither was his posturing. He was not himself,
he was not looking into the camera, and while Romney was talking, Obama was looking
at the podium,  instead of his opponent. He lost right
there, he seemed helpless.

In the segment about Regulation, Romney said “he was for
Regulation”, one of my Democrat friends Larry Duncan and I communicated with
each other through eyes without saying a word, what the eff? Obama blew that
opportunity, he could have blasted Romney by saying, “Governor Romney, that is your view today, I know it was different yesterday, but what will it be tomorrow?”

Romney did not miss an opportunity to get back at Obama, he told about his five
boys, who repeat the same thing over and over again for him to buy their version as truth, he wouldn’t – it was in relation to the 5 trillion dollars tax cuts.
Obama did not give a clear answer, except repeating it several times.

On repealing Obama Care, Romney had an upper hand.

Twenty minutes into the program, Romney had said two
anecdotes to relate with people, Obama was behind, way behind, until he talked
about his Grandmother, Romney had already made inroads by then. I did not
connect with Obama for the first time in four years. It was not him. He should
have gone impromptu, instead of blankly staring at that darn podium.
 

In the segment about Gridlock, Romney won hands down over
Obama, and Obama blew another great opportunity. When Romney said, “people are
really hurting”, all Obama had to ask was, “Governor Romney, which people, the
47% or your rich friends you care about?

Obama kept hammering ceaselessly on
education, it was little too much to bear. While giving credit to Romney for an excellent
performance, I question his ability to stick to his thoughts. He surprised me
several times tonight with his new revelations, aka flip flops. I am not sure where he
stands. I am still voting for Obama.

I found this event to be more meaningful, we all have to
be with each other with our differences, and not let the differences change our opinion
about each other. 

Mike Ghouse is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He is a professional speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, civic affairs, Islam, India, Israel, peace and justice. Mike is a frequent guest onSean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News and regularly atHuffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. The blogwww.TheGhousediary.com is updated daily.