I have this friend who passionately supports Mitt Romney. We've spoken at some length about this and by his own admission, he can't give me a good reason other than "He isn't Obama." I've voted for candidates just to vote against the other guy but they were always joyless votes. "He isn't Obama" doesn't make Romney good or competent or anything. If that's all there is, he's just as qualified for the presidency as I am. Or you are. Or Charles Manson is. None of us is Obama, either.
My friend has not given up hope. The other day, he was citing 1980 when (he said), Ronald Reagan went into the debates with an eight-point deficit and so trounced Jimmy Carter that he went on to topple a sitting president. All Romney has to do, he says, is slaughter Obama in the debates. I'm not writing off the possibility that Romney might do well in that arena but the whole Reagan come-from-behind tale is a myth. The Romney forces are out spreading that tale and it's a lie.
Then again, everyone should keep this in mind: Unprecedented things do happen in politics. Four years ago this week, there was no precedent for a black guy to beat out a white guy for the presidency.