Warming up with 'a laughable comedy of tactical self-effacement'

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An article published today in Time dryly noted that, in a "brief political moment of mutual admiration," a senior adviser in the Romney campaign praised President Obama's oratory skills, whereas the incumbent said, "Governor Romney, he's a good debater. I'm just OK."

While such display of reciprocated good feelings may seem odd on the eve of a pivotal head-to-head clash, Politico inferred that the Republican nominee was lowering the bar "in hopes of scoring the he-did-better-than-we-thought crown Thursday morning." On the other hand, the same Time piece posited that the candidates had begun "working the refs now" in hopes of a favorable verdict from the media.

NY Times columnist Frank Bruni described the exchange as "a laughable comedy of tactical self-effacement," and in the context of the campaign thus far, his cynicism is not entirely uncalled for. In some capacity, the president's campaign has been marked by an emphasis on the opposition's shortcomings as opposed to the incumbent's accomplishments; a comparable argument could be made of Gov. Romney. 

In any case, this Economist/YouGov poll underscored the public's perception of this election: a little over a third of partisan respondents indicated that they were voting against a candidate. It will be curious to see how this reflects in the response of "the refs."