During the second debate, the president was laughing all the way to the bank. Do you remember that scene from Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins? The one where young Bruce Wayne is sparring with swords on a sheet of ice against his mentor and future nemesis Ra's Al-Ghul? Bruce finally disarms Ra's and thinks he has him beaten, only to hear his opponent give him a warning that he needs to mind his surroundings right before he falls through the ice that was cracking underneath his feet. The second presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney featured a moment somewhat like that. The president, seemingly knowing exactly what attack his Republican opponent was going to make on the issue of Libya and Benghazi, made very sure to mention his address in the White House Rose Garden on the day after the assault in Benghazi in which he referred to the tragedy as an "act of terror." Romney got a gleam in his eye and started to respond very excitedly: In the alternate universe of right-wing media, see, Obama had not referred to the incident as a terrorist attack until two weeks after the event. Sensing an opportunity to catch Obama in a lie and score a devastating strike that would likely have media outlets declaring him the winner, Romney eagerly reconfirmed with the president that he had, in fact, claimed to have called the incident an act of terror the very next day.
Obama's response, it could be argued, will become a classic in the annals of presidential debates. Instead of answering Romney's requests for confirmation, he simply said, "please proceed, governor." It was said with confidence, bravado, and a hint of righteous indignation that should have let the Republican know that he was walking into a trap. But backed by full confidence in the right wing's alternate version of reality, Romney went after it, and contradicted the president, claiming that it actually took the aforementioned two weeks.
"Check the transcript," retorted Obama.
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