The trend of correct predictions seems to be getting better, and quite honestly, I am not sure if it is dumb luck or actual improvement based on a life time of observation. I went 0 for 5 in the first debate, an arbitrary score I gave myself simply due to being completely surprised by everything that transpired on October 3rd. I was 3 for 5 in the Vice Presidential Debate, but have assessed myself with a one prediction penalty due to missing the bizarre behavior of Joe Biden completely. In the Third debate, I was 5 for 5, having hit each point squarely on the head. I guess this one is the proof of the pudding so to speak. If I go 4 for 5 or better, I'll consider it a victory. That would make me 11 out of 20, and 55% would have to put me on a par with any professional psychic, anywhere in the world.

Prediction number one: Bob Schieffer will do a much better job as a moderator than did Candy Crowley and Martha Raddatz. Granted, that one is too easy, as those two set the bar so low that it would be hard to imagine Stephanie Cutter actually doing a worse job. I was pleasantly surprised by Jim Lehrer's performance, as he managed to keep himself out of the way of the candidates. I will go on record as saying that Schieffer will follow that example, rather than acting as an active partner and advocate for the Democrat ticket. On his Sunday news show, he resists the urge to allow his strong left leanings cloud his presentation. While we all know that this leaning exists, he does allow his more conservative guests the courtesy of having their say. He will ask the tough questions of those he agrees with. I will not be expecting him to take special care to guide Barack Obama into making a statement that he feels will even the score, and he won't be cutting off Mitt Romney in mid sentence each and every time it appears he is about to make good point.

Let me say this one more time, because it needs to be said, even though it is off topic. CNN should be ashamed to have not fired Candy Crowley yet. NBC should be ashamed for not having fired Martha Raddatz yet. These two women were shameless for their blatant partisanship having interjected itself into a situation where they were employed as referees. They conducted themselves without even the slightest bit of integrity or honesty, and in a service that professes to be an honest reporting of the days events, there is no way the American people will ever again believe any thing these two women have to say.

Prediction number two: Mitt Romney is going to kick Barack Obama's back side, and this will mark another seminal moment on the way towards a landslide election that places Barack Obama squarely in McGovern, Carter, Mondale, territory. Foreign Policy was the area where Barack Obama felt he held an actual advantage over Mitt Romney heading into August. When the debates were being negotiated between the two sides, Team Zero wanted this to be the last debate before the election, which they felt would be their greatest advantage going into the final days before people would ultimately be forced to decide. That of course was prior to the entirety of Northern Africa and the Middle East being set ablaze, due entirely by the way, to Barack Obama's foreign policy decisions. This debate will not be one of those silly town hall affairs, designed to make the candidate look good that Candy Crowley wishes to. There will be no Obama campaign staffers in the audience to point questions as gotcha cannons leveled at the head of Mitt Romney. There will be no life line offered to Barack Obama when he needs active help from a tag team partner. In this format, the same as the first, Mitt Romney will be in his element, and Barack Obama will be without his teleprompter.

Prediction number three: There will be a round two to the Benghazi issue, so artfully left unsettled during the last debate. Did Candy Crowley actually do a favor for Barack Obama in that last debate? The short answer is no. After some thought on the subject, I am left to wonder who is the lawyer and who is not. Mitt Romney got Barack Obama on the record saying that he unequivocally labeled the Benghazi attack an act of terror right from day one, despite several instances of him, Hillary, Jay Carney, Stephanie Cutter, Susan Rice, Joe Biden, and God knows who else taking themselves to any camera and microphone they could find and laying blame on a stupid youtube video, who's producer is still incarcerated by the way. Americans are not stupid, and I guarantee you are still capable of remembering that they were duped. Crowley cut Romney off, acted as an impromptu fact checker, acknowledged that she was wrong. Since Tuesday, we have also learned that Hillary Clinton actually did order more security for the Embassy in Benghazi, and that order was belayed. There is only one person in the nation that has the authority to belay an order concerning the State Department issued by the Secretary, and that person is the President.

Prediction number four: The press will race to tell you that Barack Obama in fact won the second debate, even if he collapses on stage, assumes the fetal position, starts sucking his thumb, and begins sobbing inconsolably for his typically white grandmother. The main stream media is desperate for any positive spin that they can give to the Obama Campaign, and that sentiment will be even more profound after the rolling averages of the latest polls begins to show the data from the previous debate in a more prevalent fashion. The Obama Campaign has already removed itself from North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia. After Conceding those states, they can ill afford to lose another. Even though most of the polling shows Obama to be ahead in most of the other states, he has not reached 50% in any of them consistently, if at all. With the overwhelming historical trend of late deciders breaking heavily in favor of the challenger, things look grim for the Obama Campaign, and by Monday Team Zero will need to be placed on suicide watch. Mitt Romney's huge advantage in terms of cash on hand is well known, and we may actually get to see Chris Matthews split into two. How many times have we seen this before? I'm still giggling at John Kerry being declared the winner of all three of his debates with George W. Bush, and the legendary claim of course that Al Gore was so much smarter that Bush didn't even belong on the same stage. Neither of these two declared winners of six of these silly debates gets addressed as Mr. President. I don't know how these giants of punditry score these things, but for me, it would be in how the polls move afterwards.

Prediction number five: Barack Obama will channel his inner Joe Biden. His internal polls are telling him that he's losing the election, which is why as an incumbent he is setting up a, "firewall," in the Midwestern states. Foreign Policy was supposed to be his last vestige of safe territory, and now he is unable to make the same claims that his smart diplomacy has been anything other than a disaster. He told us, as he spiked the Bin Laden Football repeatedly, that killing this one man signified the end to our war on terror. Since then Al Queda has made it a point of putting the frowny face on the Kumbayah school of foreign policy. Since that time Al Queda has attacked two dozen embassies, made a recent attempt to blow up the New York Fed, and has laid claim to several North African nations, including Libya, Mali, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Yemen, and is about to claim Syria. Foreign policy is probably the last thing in the world Barack Obama wants to be discussing 15 days prior to his last election. He will not take this lying down, and he really needs a knock out blow to have a chance in this election. Mitt Romney has been smooth, relaxed, and strong during his previous two appearances on the same stage as the President. What's even better than that, I did not get the feeling that he was performing at a level outside of himself in either of those two appearances. I felt both times that I was seeing the actual, normal, and average versions of Mitt Romney. He was a man who quite simply put is competent, strong, and a natural leader. Absent a voluntary collapse, Obama will not get that knock out blow. Like the petulant little child who knows that he is losing an argument, he will start throwing bombs, interrupting, calling Mitt names, the entire jack hole persona that we saw from Joe Biden, except for the over the top facial expressions, eye rolling, deep sighs etc. Barack will actually believe that he bested Romney during the second debate, and he will see that as a way to continue for he third. Substance, meaning an actual record of success will not be one of his weapons this time around, so we will get the petulant child instead.

Bonus Prediction: I am not going to count this one as a part of my record, only because it is too easy to make. Look for the Bin Laden football to be spiked during this debate, my belief is that it will be spiked at least three times. We'll call that the Bin Laden football spiking ultimate drinking challenge. as the drinking game portion of the debates, drink two shots every time Barack Obama mentions taking out the former Al Queda leader. Drink one shot each time he mentions taking out any members of Al Queda via his drone targeting program.

Enjoy some fun from Politizoid.

Cross Posted from Musings of a Mad Conservative.