Obama's Worst Debate

" President Obama was stiff and tentative in Wednesday night’s debate with Mitt Romney. But it wasn’t the worst debate performance he’s ever delivered. That was in 2000, when he was running for Congress against Bobby Rush.

Obama was losing the election, and knew it. A race that would have been difficult under any circumstances became impossible after he missed a vote on an anti-gun bill he’d supported because he was visiting his grandmother in Hawaii. When he returned to Chicago, the callow state senator was castigated in the Tribune’s “Inc.” column (the headline: “D-U-M”), and by callers to WVON. Soon after, he debated state Sen. Donne Trotter, the third candidate in the race, in the dank basement of Tuley Park fieldhouse. (Rush skipped the forum, but later debated on WVON and WTTW.) The missed vote was foremost on the audience’s mind.

“If you initiate a lot of ideas and at the time of a vote you’re not there, how can we count on you?” a voter asked.     

Obama answered curtly. “If you look at my record in Springfield, I don't miss votes. I missed one as a result of my daughter being sick. That’s an exceptional situation that doesn't arise often.” "

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