But really, let’s be honest, part of what dropped Obama’s numbers was overblown expectations. A lot of us, and I’ll admit myself included, went into the debate expecting Obama to blow Willard out of the water and pretty much end the election then and there. What we didn’t expect was that Willard would choose that night to reinvent himself as a “moderate conservative” or that he’d lie his ass off to do so. Obama certainly didn’t seem to believe what he was hearing, because he looked like he was in danger of crushing his molars with how hard he was clenching his jaw.

And because we went in with those overblown expectations, we now blame Obama for not being prepared for Willard’s chameleon act. I’ve read the same excuse on several boards: “Obama gave up.” No he didn’t, you gave up on him. You wanted him to be the messiah, he wasn’t, and now you’re blaming him for not living up to your expectations.