Obama-Romney #1 - Some Observations

General Stuff:

1.) Never seen Obama so flat, seemed lost without a teleprompter... he kept coming back to the "$5 trillion tax cut" even after Romney refuted it as though he coudn't think on his feet... just repeated his taking points.

2.) Romney really knows what he's talking about. One had the sense he was strugging to keep his answers short.

3.) Surprised there weren't more "canned" or pre-rehearsed "zingers" - perhaps Romney's "trickle-down government" and "you're not entitled to your own facts" were?

4.) If I was an undecided voter my interest would really be piqued, and I'd be looking forward to the next debate.

5.) Was hoping Romney would press some more on religious liberty - and get specific about what he meant.

My Favorite Moments:

1.) "Uh, Jim, you, uh, might want to move onto another topic"

2.) "but you just pick the losers"!

3.) Romney's comparison of subsidies to the oil companies versus $90b to Solyndra et al really provided some perspective.

4.) Again, his remark on the same $90b being enough to hire 200k teachers!

5.) "I've been in business for 25 years and I have no idea what you're talking about"

Best Reactions from MSM and Lefty Pundits:

1.) Bill Maher: "Maybe he really does need the teleprompter"

2.) Al Gore - blamed it on the altitude!

3.) Chris Matthews "Tonight wasn't an MSNBC debate, was it?"

4.) Andrew Sullivan: "This was a disaster for the president"

5.) Michael Moore: "This is what happens when u pick John Kerry as your debate coach"

Another Marxist Liturgist?

There were many interesting moments from Pope Benedict's visit to Cuber ("Cuba" for those of you outside 495) this week and most have been amply commented-upon in the blogopshere.  But something jumped out at me from a Reuters dispatch covering the Papal visit.  With regard to Benedict's brief meeting with Fidel Castro, we find the following:

"They discussed serious issues such as Church liturgy and the state of the world"

The Liturgy?  What on earth could this conversation have been like?  Consider that although he was raised a Catholic and educated by Jesuits (which could explain a lot) it's a safe bet that the old boy hasn't been to Mass very often in the past fifty years or so...

I'm Ba-a-a-ck...

OK, my blogging sabbatical has ended.  It's an election year, Spring Training is in full swing, there are stirrings of authentic revivification in the Church, and of course we are living in generally "interesting" times.  How can I remain silent keep my big mouth shut?

By last February I had fallen into the trap of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good, and discovered that I didn't have enough time to write lengthy, witty, provocative and original posts.  Maybe I had been failing to achieve that all along, but it was at least my intention...  Anyway, I let things slide and the next thing I knew this little project had fallen completely off my radar screen. 

But the whole thing was supposed to be fun, and I found I mssed the fun part of it.  So, I don't want to say I've lowered my standards, but I guess I could say I've lowered my expectations - of myself.

So for the few - we happy few - who used to congregate here on occasion, hopefully I can find the time and the mental energy to post often enough, and interestingly enough, for you to find a reason to drop in now and again...