Lesser: Romney's PBS Budget Comment 'Unpresidential'

Editor's Note: Middletown Patch asked state Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-100th, to share his thoughts immediately after Wednesday night's first debate in Denver between President Obama and Mitt Romney. Earlier in the evening, Lesser and his Republican challenger Deborah Kleckowski met with residents at the North End Action Team candidate forum.

Middletown Patch: How did President Obama fare in tonight's debate?

Matthew Lesser: The biggest question is who scheduled the first debate on the last night of the Major League regular season! Governor Romney needed to score a home run. But instead of seeming poised, at times he seemed evasive — on healthcare, on reducing Wall Street regulation, on voucherizing Medicare and on his tax plan that he claims does not raise taxes on the middle class but which economists says does.

The biggest stretch was when his plan to balance the budget seemed to rest on canceling Sesame Street. It sounded unserious and unpresidential.

President Obama did yeomanlike work trying to set the facts straight, although the debate tended to get bogged down in wonkery. 

Middletown Patch: You took part in Wednesday evening's North End Action Team forum. What were residents interested in?

Lesser: The NEAT forum was a great opportunity to meet residents from a neighborhood that is new to the district I represent. We had many good conversations about improving schools, lowering the cost of electricity and making it easier to start a small business — all issues I continue to work on.

One of the great untold stories is the way a are closing the achievement gap. 

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