Did Romney Cheat at the Presidential Debate? [VIDEO EVIDENCE]
Most will agree that Mitt Romney won the Presidential Debate against Barack Obama last week. Supporters of Barack Obama have gone as far as saying it was the altitude that affected Obama's demeanor, it was his anniversary that had him distracted/tired, or that he has been busy and tired running the country. Now, accusations are being made that Mitt Romney cheated at the debate and there is video evidence.
I find this argument a bit strange. It's as if people believe the debate is a scoring system and the candidate with the highest score on November 6th will be the victor. Time and history have proven this is not true. Most debates don't do much to sway public opinion at all. The candidates merely need to show up and and not make huge mistakes.
One debate that arguably may have swayed the election was the debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960. I believe this one did because it was the first televised debate and Kennedy's appearance was much more favorable to Nixon's.
Because of long campaigning periods, by the time the debates arrive, most voters have already made up their minds. The debates are mainly for viewers to tune in and see their candidate do well.
But what if a candidate cheats? What should the punishment be? Or is it as simple as, if we don't catch you during the debate, you're off the hook? With YouTube these days, it is impossible to get away with anything that is televised. Below you can see the footage from C-SPAN of the debate highlighting Romney's maneuvers to conceal what looks like a sheet of paper.
The rules of a Presidential Debate declare that no candidate can bring notes into the debate. Did Romney break this rule and bring in a folded sheet of paper? Or was it a hanky as he claims?