Jamie Dupree (Twitter @jamiedupree) and I have spent a lot of time on the air postulating on the reasons for Romney’s surge in the polls.  What happened in that first debate?  Was it something magic that Romney said? Was it Obama’s uninspiring performance?  Then why didn’t Obama regain some of his ratings momentum after the second debate?  Did he seem too argumentative?  Just what was it?

Well …. Having thought about this, here’s my theory.  When you seen Mitt Romney standing beside Barack Obama – Obama seems small.  I don’t just mean in terms of stature … Obama just seems small.  When you see those two men standing together on the same stage your mind can’t help but make the comparison of the two …. One, and achiever; the other, pretty much a failure at everything he’s tried to do since becoming president.  One is recruited to save the Salt Lake City Olympics.  He succeeds.  The other is recruited to save our economy.  He fails.  One ran a successful venture capital company.  The other runs a failed foreign policy.  One has repeatedly shown compassion and charity in his private life.  The other has no record of private compassion and charity to run on.  One stands up and deals man-to-man with the world’s most powerful businessmen and leaders.  The other bows at the waist when he meets the Saudi King.  And during the debates, one looked decisive and determined.  The other looked weak and whimpering. 

What’s more the voters saw Mitt Romney stand up to Obama and not wither, not retreat, not bow, not whine, not complain. For many voters this may be a subjective thing … but it’s registering on their minds and reflecting in the polls.

If America manages to escape the disaster that would be another four years of an Obama presidency – a presidency at the hands of a man-boy who was raised to adulthood despising the country he now leads – from behind – we will have the debates, and the images of these two men standing together on the same stage, to thank.