The Terrible Tragedy of Tonight’s Presidential Debate

In a proverbial sense, Rome is burning to the ground.  And, while much of our national economy lay in ashes and the American Dream smolders in flames, all anyone seems to be talking about is the opera.

Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago?

That question was posed to me in an email I received this morning from some conservative political group.

It’s a simple question.

Channeling then-candidate Ronald Reagan’s devastating quip from the 1980 Presidential Debates, 11 simple words which effectively ended Jimmy Carter’s political career, has pretty much become the It’s a Wonderful Life of every election cycle.  The cozy campaign chestnut is replayed and parroted so frequently (usually by the challenger) that just as soon as the first couple of words are pronounced, a hundred million listeners can complete the sentence on their own.  It’s almost like Name that Tune.

Hey, I can name that tune in three notes.  All Mitt Romney has to do is cue up the intro, “Are you better…….?”

We all know the rest.

The question is effective because it’s thought provoking.

So, let me give you an answer.

Yes.