O'Brien: Voters found her conceited, she conceded

For Democrats cockily waiting for President Obama to wipe the stage with Mitt Romney tonight—which is certainly possible—HuffPo offers a well-researched cautionary tale based on Romney's from-behind success in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race. (You know, Massachusetts—the state that elected Romney and is now dead-set against his run for the presidency.)

Romney had been behind Democrat Shannon O'Brien the whole race and endured five grueling debates with his more qualified, arguably more intelligent and highly prepared rival, only to win after coming off well in the final debate. He stumbled through four debates before finally coming off as "the victim" in his final encounter with O'Brien, who by her own admission was "tired" and "bitchy" and spoke over Romney's replies.

President Obama is a better person than Mitt Romney, he's obviously more intelligent and thoughtful and is a better speaker. National elections don't often swing as wildly thanks to impressions (or zingers) created in debate situations. But the fact remains that just because a candidate is capable of winning a debate handily (as all observers said John Kerry did in all of his encounters with President Bush), that doesn't mean he or she will be the ultimate winner.

All that said, I'm hopeful the president will be able to succinctly explain his case and his plan and that the side-by-side will show America what it already seems to suspect—that Mitt Romney should be trusted with this country about as much as he should be trusted with a family pet.