Sorry To Go Off On A Rant Here . . .

. . . but everybody just needs to chill the fuck out.

I've lost count of how many people have called me up or spoke to me in person in the last week about how despondent they are over Obama "losing the election" because of his debate performance. I actually watched last week's debate from beginning to end, and although my initial reaction was that the President had a flat performance as a result of a deliberate decision not to go after Romney, I didn't think it was a catastrophe.  Obama didn't commit any gaffes.  George W. Bush had flat performances in both the 2004 debates, yet John Kerry -- who was widely declared the winner in both those meetings -- still lost the election.

But all I heard from friends, family, and the fucking news media was how Obama is now on the ropes and this thing is basically over. Andrew Sullivan, who is normally a pretty solid pundit, has practically been shitting himself over how bad he perceived Obama to be last week, and don't even get me started about Chris Fucking Matthews.

My response to these folks was two-fold: (1) Ohio is a must-win state for Romney, and that state is a goddam firewall for Obama, and (2) Mitt Romney is still Mitt Romney, and anything that happened last week doesn't change that basic fact.

But all the nervous folks who saw Obama's debate performance as a political Armageddon responded, "But look at the polls!! The polls!! Waaaaa!!!"

And then their heads exploded.

So OK, if you want me to look at the polls, check this out:

While there’s been an array of state and national numbers over the last few days, two sets of polls from NBC/WSJ/Marist and CBS/NYT/Quinnipiac represent some of the first results from top outlets that polling analysts tend to lend the most credibility. And the numbers, while improved for Romney, still show Obama with an advantage in key states.

Most important: Ohio, a likely must-win for Romney where Obama has held a solid lead in recent weeks. NBC/WSJ pegs the race at 51-45 for Obama, a 2-point bounce for Romney since their last poll with the president’s own support remaining steady. It’s the second post-debate poll of Ohio from a major news organization to show Obama breaking the 50 percent barrier — CNN put him up 51-47.

And if that isn't enough for you, the NBC/WSJ poll found Florida "essentially tied at 48-47 Obama, the same margin as before the debate."

Did you catch that last part?  The debate didn't change the Florida numbers at all.

So everybody just calm the hell down. When Romney's devastating "47%" video was released three weeks ago, I stated:  "[U]nless Obama is caught on live TV in the next few weeks having sexual relations with an aardvark on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, I'm pretty sure this one is over."  I stand by that remark.  In fact, I'm more convinced now that Obama will win than I was three weeks ago.

Oh, and while I'm off on a rant, Darrell Issa can go fuck himself.