A Burlington bakery was transformed into a post-debate spin room Wednesday afternoon, when Sen. Patrick Leahy dropped by for a round of Romney bashing.

Vermont’s senior senator called a press conference at August First Bakery and Cafe on South Champlain Street to offer his own postmortem on Tuesday night’s presidential debate. Leahy was joined by bakery owners Jodi Whalen and Phil Merrick, who said their small business has thrived during the Obama presidency.

“We opened our bakery in 2009 with a staff of five and I’m happy to report that today we now employ 23 people, many of them full-time,” Whalen said.

Leahy said the Obama that showed up to last night’s debate was “the Barack Obama that we know.” He was clear, concise direct and honest, the senator said. Romney, Leahy said, only gave “slogans, tested catch phrases and no substance.”

He wasn’t so enamored of the president’s first debate performance. “This was not the Barack Obama I know so well. And it worried me that … I think he was, he saw some things that were patently untrue being said by former governor Romney.”

Leahy made one thing clear: He apparently received the Democratic talking points memo. He hit Romney for his “binders full of women,” for opposing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, for saying he’d let Detroit go bankrupt, and for not revealing the deductions and loopholes he’d eliminate to balance his $5 trillion tax plan.

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Andy Bromage was a Seven Days staff writer from 2009-2012, and the news editor from 2012-2013.

5 replies on “Leahy on Debate: Romney Offered Slogans, Catch Phrases and No Substance”

  1. Andy,
    Why frame the speech in this light? It was an elegant and
    respectful speech like Senator Leahy always gives. I would have thought
    that his words would have been given a deeper look and put into a more
    realistic context by such a wonderful local press organization. I am
    sorely disappointed in a paper I believe in.

  2. Leahy is hardly known for his “eloquence,” esp. in his old age. Whenever he talks, he simply drools out standard Democratic partisan talking points. Sounds like this speech was par for the course. (I’m an Obama supporter.)

  3. I would NEVER eat or buy anything from a bakery that has pigeons coming and going in it.
    Where’s the Health Department, and a screen door? Even Chinese Restaurants don’t have filthy birds walking around in them, yuckkk

  5. Romney, Leahy said, only gave “slogans, tested catch phrases and no substance.”
    Leahy said. “Millions of jobs have been created, the real estate market
    is coming back, there’s more optimism in this county, the stock market
    is at a high that hasn’t been seen for years. All of these indications
    are for the better.”
    Oh good gawd Pat… as far as VT congressman go I have always respected Welch and Leahy (Sanders is a slimeball) but the hypocrisy from Leahy in this instance is sickening and enough really is enough.
    Optimism is at a high? Congress has an approval rating barely into double digits because for the past 2 years it has done nothing, neither side…. just sit their and waste money, fundraise and campaign, leave America on a fiscal cliff all for some talking points. GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE SAND AND STOP ACTING LIKE AN OSTRICH.
    DO SOMETHING, COMPROMISE, WORK TOGETHER……..in short DO YOUR JOB!!

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