It seems, sometimes, like this country gave the black guy a chance to try to pull us out of the greatest, scariest financial crisis since the Great Depression. He did that. And now that we're not so scared anymore, we're ready to toss him aside for whatever safe, nonthreatening white guy who looks like all the other Presidents comes along.

This is not just me talking. My 71 year old mother is a peach. She adores President Obama. She wants him to win with every fiber of her being. But when she watched the first debate, she told me afterwards, "you know, I can see how someone would be taken in by Romney. If I wasn't so for Obama, I could have been swayed by him. To a typical middle class white woman like me, he came across as reasonable and he just looks like what we expect a President to look like." I was flabbergasted that she phrased it that way, and she made it clear she was definitely for Obama and was not swayed by Romney. BUT, she could see how others like her could have been swayed by the performance and the visuals.

This depressed me so much I can't express it adequately, because it was what I feared this election might be about, subconsciously.

Sigh.

So, with that off my chest... I want to make a humble suggestion for Obama's next debate.

Yes, he has to vigorously defend his record. No, unfortunately, he can not afford to be as aggressive as Biden was or even as aggressive as Romney was in the first debate. Sad to say but true. People will turn against him if he appears to be attacking Romney or calling him a liar. He needs passion, not aggression.

He needs to get people to understand all that he's done over the last four years, all that could be undone if Romney/Ryan get into office and why this matters to the American people.

He needs to be passionate about how much he cares about the people of this country.

The woman with pre-existing medical conditions who can now get health insurance.

The auto worker in Michigan who still has a job due to the auto bailout.

The middle class families who rely on tax credits.

His theme needs to be this:

