# 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:** 2
**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, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/21 "2012-10-06T23:34:43Z")
> [@CannyDan](#): > > 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. Completely agree. I think the accusation makes the left just look petty, like they can’t lose a debate graciously so they have to find a sinister reason why Obama lost this round. But, I am sure the right would have done something similar had Romney been declared the loser. I also read that the original accusation was by the Wonkette, so it doesn’t have much credibility anyway. The Wonkette is not known for it’s unbiased reporting. For example: [Mitt Romney Will Turn All The Nation's Schools Into Louisiana And It Will Be So Great](http://wonkette.com/475911/mitt-romney-will-turn-all-the-nations-schools-into-louisiana-and-it-will-be-so-great) Mitt Romney Will Turn All The Nation’s Schools Into Louisiana And It Will Be So Great ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/22 "2012-10-06T23:53:30Z")
Am I the only one who thinks that candidates _should_ have notes with them for debates? That way, you could have things like “It’s interesting that you should say that, because \ on April 14, 2011, you said the exact opposite at your speech in Kalamazoo, Michigan. What caused you to change your mind?”. Or the exact numbers for the latest economic figures, or a list of countries we’ve given aid to and the amount to each, or whatever. I don’t want a president who makes decisions by the seat of his pants: I want one who will consult the best information available. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/23 "2012-10-06T23:54:34Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! Oh, Anduril. Hilary’s [having much more fun](http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/hillary-aguilera.jpg)being Secretary of State. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/24 "2012-10-07T00:31:43Z")
Looked like a hanky or something else floppy. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/25 "2012-10-07T00:36:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Looked like a hanky or something else floppy. floppy, that would be Mitt. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/26 "2012-10-07T03:05:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks that candidates _should_ have notes with them for debates? Shit, give 'em the Internet with everything that entails. I’m wanting my leader to be maximally competent, and I don’t care how he or she achieves that. It can be through supergenius IQ, through profound research abilities, or through expert advisers; all I care about is that that job gets done. The president is the head of a team, and if the whole team represents at the debate using the president as avatar, well, that kind of how the job works, too. Forbidding them from bringing notes makes for an inauthentic audition for the job. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/27 "2012-10-07T03:11:29Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Wow! Still can’t believe your Messiah lost in the debate? It HAS to be that Romney cheated. You’re pathetic! Fess up. You’re a stealth liberal, right? It’s the only explanation. ---
**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 7, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/28 "2012-10-07T03:34:28Z")
**Measure** , I reread what you said when you quoted me, and what I first perceived as an attack on me, wasn’t at all. So I am sorry for getting defensive. That last line was out of line on my part. I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/29 "2012-10-07T04:24:52Z")
here is a facebook exchange I had with a friend of mine. Her: Romney cheated (with link to video) Me: Well it not a prop chart or diagram. Now the question becomes is is notes, other writings or is it the type of paper of their choosing for taking notes. I admit I can’t make out if there is any writing on the paper when viewing on my phone. Viewing it on your computer can you say for certain that the paper is not blank? If the answer to that is no, then I don’t know how you can say he cheated. Her: This has been the subject of much discussion across the 'net today, and it seems that it is well established that this was a handkerchief, not a cheat sheet. I withdraw the accusation. Classy lady, and no wonder why I think the world of her, she is adult enough to admit that sometimes she might be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/30 "2012-10-07T04:54:17Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Shit, give 'em the Internet with everything that entails. I’m wanting my leader to be maximally competent, and I don’t care how he or she achieves that. It can be through supergenius IQ, through profound research abilities, or through expert advisers; all I care about is that that job gets done. The president is the head of a team, and if the whole team represents at the debate using the president as avatar, well, that kind of how the job works, too. > > Forbidding them from bringing notes makes for an inauthentic audition for the job. I concur. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/31 "2012-10-07T06:52:51Z")
Obama lost the debate because he did a significantly worse job of debating. I don’t think Romney had notes and don’t really care if he did. This reminds me of the “[Bush must have had a secret radio pack feeding him lines](http://www.salon.com/2004/10/09/bulge/)” conspiracy theory of the 2004 debates. ---
**Author:** ![rooostra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@rooostra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rooostra)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/32 "2012-10-07T07:36:15Z")
I’m a diehard liberal - it was a hanky. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/33 "2012-10-07T08:24:38Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I concur. Likewise! David Chalmers provides a reason grounded in theory as to why [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksasPjrYFTg), too. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/34 "2012-10-07T09:55:52Z")
Probably a hanky. Even if it wasn’t, what are they going to do about it? Nobody pays any attention to the rules in these debates, and there are no consequences for violating them. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/35 "2012-10-07T10:06:34Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > If he cheated, I’d hate to see what it’d look like if he hadn’t. > > Romney won on presentation, not content. Fully agreed. I’m anti-republican in this prez race, but Mittens looked ready for a debate, Obama did not. Mittens STILL hasn’t told us about his magical golden-underwear economic plan. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/36 "2012-10-07T15:47:48Z")
Yes it was a handkerchief. **A handkerchief with notes on it!!!** ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/37 "2012-10-07T17:24:19Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > floppy, that would be Mitt. 😃 Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/38 "2012-10-07T17:40:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks that candidates _should_ have notes with them for debates? That way, you could have things like “It’s interesting that you should say that, because \ on April 14, 2011, you said the exact opposite at your speech in Kalamazoo, Michigan. What caused you to change your mind?”. Or the exact numbers for the latest economic figures, or a list of countries we’ve given aid to and the amount to each, or whatever. I don’t want a president who makes decisions by the seat of his pants: I want one who will consult the best information available. Candidates can play the gotcha game or have statistics wars at any time _except_ during the debates. I for one would not be interested in sitting through ninety minutes of “But you said…” Not that I would have any firsthand knowledge of this, but my guess is that presidential decision-making involves a lot of seat-of-the-pants judgment based on limited, imperfect information summarized by people who have their own agenda. It’s not like writing a journal article where you have time to carefully read a long list of references that themselves are the product of lengthy and dispassionate reasoning. On the contrary - what I’d like to see is one event where the candidates are given a set of questions that they then have to take into a room and write out the answers to - with no notes or other help - and the next day the answers are released verbatim to the public. There would still be campaigning and debates, but this one event would provide a lot of insight into the candidates’ thought processes. ---
**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 7, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/39 "2012-10-07T20:30:32Z")
I think podiums shouLd be eliminated. Just have them walking up to a mic, totally exposed like in a spelling bee. That would be entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930/40 "2012-10-07T20:32:11Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > I think podiums shouLd be eliminated. Just have them walking up to a mic, totally exposed like in a spelling bee. That would be entertaining. You mean like a town hall meeting? That’s the next one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hanky-panky-did-mitt-cheat-at-the-debate/636930.md?page=3)