It seems Republicans are having trouble deciding which way to go in the expectations game. While Mitt Romney surrogate Chris Christie emphasized that Wednesday night’s debate would change everything, vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan took a more measured tone, saying he doesn’t “think one event is going to make or break this campaign,” points out ABC News.
“We’re running against an incumbent president,” Ryan told Fox News, adding that Obama is “a very gifted speaker.” Christie, however, expressed confidence to NBC News that “come Thursday morning the entire narrative of this race is going to change.” The New Jersey governor added that “Wednesday night is the restart of this campaign.”
Obama adviser David Plouffe must have been grateful for Christie’s words considering that the governor helped him make his point. Appearing on NBC News right after Christie, Plouffe continued increasing expectations for Romney’s performance in the debate, saying the Republican had prepared “more than any candidate in history.”
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain told CNN he expects a record number of voters tuning in to Wednesday’s debate but that a major “breakthrough” moment is unlikely because “candidates are too well prepared” and “well scripted.”
Separately, Ryan acknowledges that Romney’s infamous 47-percent remark was a “misstep” and Romney “acknowledges himself that was an inarticulate way of describing how we’re worried that in a stagnant Obama economy more people have become dependent on government because they have no economic opportunity,” reports Bloomberg.
