When presidential debate moderator Jim Lehrer tried to cut President Barack Obama off for going over his allotted two-minute talking period, the president answered with a rude, arrogant comment.
“No, I had five seconds before you interrupted me,” Obama told Lehrer in Denver on Wednesday night when told his time was up. He finished his thoughts on Obamacare, which took much longer than five seconds, before relinquishing control back to the moderator.
“Your five seconds went away a long time ago,” Lehrer responded after Obama finished, to which Obama laughed.
Egos abounded in the debate, however, as Romney refused to allow Lehrer to shift the debate in a different direction several times, cutting him off twice in order to respond to attacks Obama had levied before allowing Lehrer to change the subject.
UPDATE: Toward the end of the debate, however, Lehrer said both candidates had done a great job with limiting their answers, right after Obama sucked up to him by telling him he was a great moderator. Romney made sure to thank Lehrer at the start and end of his two-minute closing statement, while Obama just thanked Romney and the University of Colorado.
At the end of the debate, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC said the debate, and Lehrer himself, had fallen apart.
About Kelsey Osterman
Mr Lehrer failed to keep control of the debate, I would like to see someone that can keep them to the questions. Mitt Romney could not follow the moderator’s program, he was like a kid, interrupting and doing what he wanted to do and not speak to the questions asked.
Mitt did just as good of a job sticking to the format as Obama did; Obama monopolized the time more, Obama had a 5 minute advantage in time. I think the only petulant child was the one shifting foot to foot, refusing to make eye contact and telling bald face lies. Three guesses who that was and the first two don’t count.