There was no zip. No razzle dazzle.

There was no bounce in his step or in his voice.

Clearly, he didn’t want to be there and who could blame him? The last time he did something like this, his words came back to haunt him and immediately so.

“The private sector’s doin’ fine.”

Nonetheless, just minutes into the daily press briefing, while Jay Carney was trying to weasel out of another round of questions, through the door and onto the platform he came.

“I’m told you’ve been missin’ me.”

It was remarkable. Truly remarkable.

Obama, yesterday, after being shamed into it by members of the white house press corps, took questions from reporters for the first time in 8 weeks.

Truly remarkable the number of lies which can be told in a few brief minutes.

Asked about negative campaigning, Obama responded:

“We don’t go out of bounds.”

“I feel very comfortable with the fact that when you look at the campaign we’re running, we are focused on the issues and the differences that are important to working families all across America.”

The question brought up the PAC ad implicating Mitt Romney in a woman’s death from cancer saying his campaign had nothing to do with it. “I don’t think Governor Romney was somehow responsible for the death of that woman.”

Obama said he did not approve or produce that ad but, he fell woefully short of saying he disapproved OF it.

Focused on the issues? Really??? Since when???

For weeks now, Obama and his campaign have done everything they can to AVOID the issues. Have they explained a plan to deal with jobs? Unemployment? The Debt? Have they talked about a budget? Are those NOT the issues???

In fact, if the Obama campaign has been focused on ANYTHING, it’s been attacking Romney and demanding to see his tax returns. They’ve even sent ol’ Harry Reid out to make accusations on their behalf.

If Obama wants to know what issues are important to working families all across America…What Romney does with his OWN money is not nearly as important to them as what Obama is doing with THEIR money.

Nancy Courdes from CBS asked, “Are you comfortable with the tone being set with your campaign? Have you asked them to change their tone when it comes to defining Mr. Romney?”

“Well, first of all I am not sure that all of those characterizations that you laid out there were accurate. For example, nobody accused Mr. Romney of being a felon.”

Oh really??

In the words of Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s Deputy Campaign Director… “Either Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony. Or, he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments.”

Now…Just for a direct comparison, let’s put those two quotes together.

Obama Deputy Campaign Director Stephanie Cutter: “Either Mitt Romney, through his own words and his own signature, was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony. Or, he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments.”

Obama: “Well, first of all I am not sure that all of those characterizations that you laid out there were accurate. For example, nobody accused Mr. Romney of being a felon.”

NOT ONLY WAS THE ACCUSATION MADE…IT WAS MADE BY YOUR DEPUTY CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR…SHE DOUBLED DOME ON IT…YOUR CHIEF CAMPAIGN ADVISER, AXELROD DOUBLED DOWN ON IT AGAIN AND SO TOO DID YOUR BLATHERING FOOL OF A DNC CHAIR, DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SHULTZ!!!

 When Obama was queried about the flap over Romney’s tax returns, he again tried to make the point that Romney’s father set the precedent by releasing 12 years of tax returns and that every presidential candidate since has followed that precedent.

Seriously???

How many years of tax returns have OTHER presidential candidates released?

Clearly, by the figures on the chart, it’s all over the place from none at all to 30 years.

Precedent? What precedent??? Clearly there is NO set precedent. There is also NO requirement to release ANY tax returns.

Romney is releasing as many years of returns as did John McCain and nobody, not even his opponent, Obama, questioned it in 2008.

Speaking OF 2008, reportedly, there was a time when Romney was on McCain’s short, short list and McCain asked to review 20 years worth of Romney’s returns which Romney turned over to McCain.

McCain has said he saw nothing in those returns which would have precluded Romney from being the Vice President.

And then, Obama said it. The line in the off-hand press conference which made a LOT of people sit straight up.

“If you want to be president of the United States, then your life’s an open book…umm, when it comes to things like your finances. … This isn’t sort of overly personal here guys. This is pretty standard stuff.”

He backed himself into a corner, sidestepped his way out and nobody…NOBODY challenged him.

“If you want to be president of the United States, then your life’s an open book…” HE PAUSED, SLIGHTLY, UTTERED AN “UMMM” AND THEN ADDED, “when it comes to things like your finances. … This isn’t sort of overly personal here guys. This is pretty standard stuff.”

“…When it comes to things like your finances”

Not, however, when it comes to OTHER things?

Not when it comes to your personal history? Not when it comes to your real birth certificate? Not when it comes to your college records? Not when it comes to your college thesis? Not when it comes to how your college was paid for???

Wait a minute…

How your college was…PAID FOR??? Is that NOT a “thing like your finances???”

OBAMA, SINCE NOBODY ELSE IS ASKING…I WILL!!!

WHY DON’T YOU MAKE YOUR LIFE AN OPEN BOOK AND RELEASE YOUR COLLEGE RECORDS THAT SHOW EXACTLY HOW YOUR COLLEGE WAS PAID FOR???

And why put a disclaimer on the “open book” at all?

Why say, “If you want to be president of the United States, then your life’s an open book…” and then add the caveat, “…umm, when it comes to things like your finances?”

It would seem to ME that, “If you want to be president of the United States, then your life’s an open book…” PERIOD END OF SENTENCE!!!

Because… “This isn’t sort of overly personal here guys. This is pretty standard stuff.”

What was just as astonishing as the number of bald-faced lies delivered by the down in the dumps Obama…WAS THE COMPLETE COWARDICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS IN NOT FOLLOWING UP WITH DIRECT CHALLENGES TO THOSE LIES!!!!