# Hanky Panky: Did Mitt Cheat At the Debate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 6, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930 "2012-10-06T19:43:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/1 "2012-10-06T19:43:32Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfmOmjyXEA) It is a pretty serious allegation if it is true. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/2 "2012-10-06T19:54:02Z")
Your link goes to a \*Disney On Ice - Dare To Dream \*video. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/3 "2012-10-06T19:55:08Z")
not as serious as you think. wtf ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/4 "2012-10-06T19:55:29Z")
Of course Tinkerbell helped him. It’s public knowledge. A little fairy dust goes a long way. But even if were a real link, summarize the content please so that those at work can play along. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/5 "2012-10-06T19:57:10Z")
Disney on Ice? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/6 "2012-10-06T19:57:32Z")
maybe using illegal notes [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWgW8A5rpsE) or [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EnaDujgSjBU/hqdefault.jpg "Mitt Romney Debate Notes?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnaDujgSjBU) ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/7 "2012-10-06T19:57:33Z")
Besides which, it’s a freaking handkerchief. And even if he sneaked a sheet of paper in, it’s no big deal. I thought Obama looked like he was writing something down, but maybe I just couldn’t believe he wasn’t looking down for some grave reason. But it was a handkerchief. Mitt took it out at one point to sop up some mucus running out of his nose. No big deal. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/8 "2012-10-06T19:58:26Z")
If Romney really is having a princess-packed adventure, I’d venture to say that’ll probably be fairly big news. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/9 "2012-10-06T20:05:24Z")
Rules are rules, but notes are a resounding “meh” for me. In that first video, “Hip Hop and World News” disagrees maybe. They don’t have sound, but it’s like to imagine some rap song on the slow mo part (_Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangsta_?). On the other hand, was it a white hanky? Imagine the scandal, we wouldn’t want him to signal he’s into anal play. Heh, like the second video. Annoying guy: “Pretty surreptitious…” Other guy: “What’s surreptitious about it? He’s reaching into his pocket.” ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/10 "2012-10-06T20:06:51Z")
As a rabid Democrat, I have to say…meh. They’re not supposed to bring in outside notes or props, but I don’t consider bringing a cheat sheet (if that’s even what it was) to be on the same level as paying off the refs or something. It’s a little weak-looking, but it’s not a game-changer. ETA: Of course, if it WAS a cheat-sheet, I’d LOVE to know if “Fire Big Bird” was one of the pre-rehearsed “zingers”… ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/11 "2012-10-06T20:10:36Z")
[Slate](http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2012/10/05/romney_s_debate_cheat_sheet_liberal_bloggers_cry_foul_over_republican_s_handkerchief_.html) is a pretty lefty source, and here’s where they debunk it. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/12 "2012-10-06T20:24:47Z")
Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/13 "2012-10-06T20:25:47Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! Didj’all ever notice that it’s ONLY the right-wingers who call Obama the Messiah? Besides which, **Anduril** , have you missed the fact that the people defending Romney on this one are two of the more liberal Obama-supporters on the board? ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/14 "2012-10-06T20:37:04Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! Interestingly, the OP is the only person in this thread who agrees that the allegations are serious. And elsewhere she relates: > [@Barack Obama is a terrorist.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/125): > > I am seriously considering writing myself or someone I know in. I am so disheartened by the choices this year. There is a wide gap between evidence and conclusion. This Messiah stuff represents a classic application of modern conservative logic. To wit: I wish that P were true. Therefore P is true. It’s more than a little odd given the old vids for George W Bush praising him as the one guy having the courage to bring up Jesus Christ during the national debates. Now _that’s_ batshit hagiography. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/15 "2012-10-06T20:51:24Z")
[![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44AAnLQ6c8E/UG9wUL1XhBI/AAAAAAAADvk/mB3Rtvhvb-Y/s1600/mitt-cheat-comparison.jpg) ](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-44AAnLQ6c8E/UG9wUL1XhBI/AAAAAAAADvk/mB3Rtvhvb-Y/s1600/mitt-cheat-comparison.jpg) Looks like a notebook to me, and the video certainly looks like he’s pretidigitating it out of his pocket. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/16 "2012-10-06T22:09:13Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfmOmjyXEA&feature=youtube\_gdata\_player](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfmOmjyXEA&feature=youtube_gdata_player) > It is a pretty serious allegation if it is true. OMG, LOL!!! I so posted that assuming that it was the link I had previously copied, not the Disney on Ice one…BRB… [http://lagunaniguel.patch.com/articles/debate-about-debate-did-romney-use-a-cheat-sheet#youtube\_video-11620215](http://lagunaniguel.patch.com/articles/debate-about-debate-did-romney-use-a-cheat-sheet#youtube_video-11620215) [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hanky-panky-a-handkerchief-romney-campaign-article-1.1176133](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/hanky-panky-a-handkerchief-romney-campaign-article-1.1176133) > [@](#): > > Mitt Romney’s campaign dismisses cheat sheet rumors, says candidate was seen with a hanky > The cheat sheet theory emerged after video of the Republican candidate caught him throwing something small and white on his podium. His campaign says it was a hanky to wipe his face. Well, regardless I still looked like an idiot, I hope y’all can forgive me:smack: ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/17 "2012-10-06T22:16:42Z")
**Measure** , I don’t think the allegations are true, but they are serious if true, because the debate rules clearly stated no notes or prompts. I said I will probably be writing someone in this year because I don’t think a second term for Obama would be any different than his first and a Romney presidency wouldn’t be any better unless he is putting on a show and reverts back to his more middle of the road republicanism that he demonstrated while he as governor. I don’t support either candidate and can’t see myself feeling very happy with myself if I voted for either of them. Sometimes it sucks being an Independent because you can’t just fall back on blind party loyalty when you are faced with such a crappy choice between Dumb and Dumber for president. Maybe other people aren’t taking this seriously because stupid me posted a Disney on Ice video instead of the link I meant to post, and derailed the thread before it started. Stop reading into stuff too closely, you obviously don’t have much skill at interpreting what others are thinking. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/18 "2012-10-06T22:32:54Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! [MODERATING] This is a personal attack and jerkish behaviour. You’ll dial it back immediately. RickJay Moderator ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/19 "2012-10-06T23:07:33Z")
Pinko lefty 60’s hippie here – it’s a hanky. But I wouldn’t care very much if it was a Wikipedia app. How much can someone read in the middle of a live debate under the gaze of 50 or so million people? And what could he do with anything he read? Cheating sucks, but it didn’t happen. Romney’s lies and flip flop positioning will hang him, no need to make ourselves look foolish with this triviality of a charge. Our guy’s performance was disappointing, but he is still far and away the better man and the better choice for President. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/20 "2012-10-06T23:21:46Z")
If he cheated, I’d hate to see what it’d look like if he hadn’t. Romney won on presentation, not content. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930.md?page=2)