The Ole Miss Presidential Debate: The Reaction
Posted on September 27, 2008 at 2:26 pmThe first presidential debate looked like a draw to me, but then I fell asleep a couple of times.
One sign that McCain was really not happy with Obama, or at least was afraid of him, is that he would not attempt eye contact. He just stood there, all clinched up like a sailor’s knot. There was no ease about him. He stumbled over names and he looked nervous, that that made people nervous.
It is the “people” that count, as two polls I saw last night, a CNN and a CBS poll showed that most believed Obama won this debate. Most important was the CBS poll taken of undecided voters. Ouch.
One of the most important questions that could be asked by Jim Lehrer is not being asked: “What exactly is victory in Iraq?” Since the candidates can talk to each other, perhaps Senator Obama will ask the question?
I went out after the debate and was surprised that no one I talked to had similar reactions to mine. Although I thought Barack Obama held his own, John McCain continued to go on the attack and put Obama on the defensive again and again. I haven’t taken the time to verify the truth of McCain’s attacks, and I should note that Obama consistently rebutted McCain’s charges. But that doesn’t strike me as the place Obama wanted to be.
However, NEITHER McCain or Obama took a stand on the current bailout bill. The American public is against it and both of the men avoided voicing their support like it was the plague
If you were paying attention to substance, I think this was a clear, decisive win for John McCain. On style points, it was probably a tie. Yet to be seen is how the media handles the response (my guess is they’ll chalk up a win for Obama), and that could have as big an impact on the polls as the debate itself.
As with most candidates from either political party, some of Obama’s answers were good from a debating standpoint, while some were just “bull” whether the Senator intended that ir not. It wasn’t Obama’s answers that may have lost him the debate-or at least not to perform as well as he might have hoped-but the fact that McCain had Obama on the defensive nearly all night.
That’s what we’ll all likely be saying in about six weeks from now given Obama’s debate performance tonight.
I think they both did poorly. For the first part of the debate, which focused on the financial crisis, they both threw together random strings of facts and quips hoping that something would stick. Neither one assured me that he had a strong grasp of the problem.
Obama was smart, too smart. McCain, on other hand, was firm. He gave no ground because the uninitiated will view acknowledgment as a sign of weakness. (And you better believe that the Republicans will have a video of Obama saying that he agreed with McCain before he disagreed.) He spoke in generalities just like Bush because he knew that viewers would not recall specifics.
In the end, the debate about the show, not substance. McCain put on a show.
Sen. John McCain was dazzling last night with more than a quarter century of experience in foreign policy and global travelling, making Sen. Barack Obama look and sound like Gov. Sarah Palin’s more knowledgeable brother in the presidential debate.
Xark:
I haven’t seen this mentioned in the debate reax this morning, but last night I kept thinking that there are a lot of already anxious white people in this country who could go either way in this election but harbor a basic discomfort (not hatred) with the black people in their lives. Hence: If McCain can succeed at coming across as roughly equal to Obama in other respects, being a white grandfather could get him the comfort-food vote.
The simple fact is, that on foreign policy, McCain showed us last night that he represents the past. We, as a country, truly need to move past a Cold War mentality. And this is why I felt Obama was far stronger on foreign policy.
Let’s be clear. If you are going to vote for John McCain, you think McCain won the debate. If you are going to vote for Barack Obama, you probably think Obama won the debate.
Interestingly, McCain was up several on InTrade right after the debate, but now he’s dropped a bit. I presume that means that traders who watched the debate thought that he’d done better than the ensuing spin suggested.
After tonight nobody on the right who wants to be taken seriously is going to be able to claim that Palin is more prepared to become president than Barack Obama is. She is no longer a factor in the presidential equation, unless her bumbling policy responses continue to be a drag on John McCain. Then comes the backlash against her 15 minutes of fame.
One major thing: Barack Hussein showed NO respect, calling McCain John (McCain called him Senator, or Senator Obama). He constantly interrupted, showing his lack of courtesy and manners. I guess his grandmother didn’t instill something as important as respect and manners
Tonight both Barack Obama and John McCain landed some punches, but neither delivered a knockout blow.
Obama always has to live within his skin, which is a lovely shade of brown. Because of America’s racism Obama cannot, even for one frame of video, look like an angry black man. If he gave McCain’s continuous distortions a deservingly hostile response, the McCain campaign would have immediate commercial fodder depicting Obama as an unstable black militant. Obama gets the clear win because he maintained his composure and McCain didn’t thrash him on content. Avoiding negative racial stereotypes is a continuous handicap for Obama and should never be forgotten.
In general though, I think this debate showed two serious (one a little more than the other, of course) individuals, at a serious time, debating serious matters, and the country is better for it.
“One of the most clarifying moments of the debate was when Sen. McCain and Barack Obama were asked proposals each man would have to cut to pay for the economic bailout legislation now being crafted on Capitol Hill. Sen. McCain continued his relentless focus on reducing spending and reducing taxes in order to grow the economy while Barack Obama who has promised more than $900 million in increased spending and higher taxes to pay for them - talked about programs he would like to increase spending on.”
McCain just said something to the effect that healthcare should be between the patient and the physician, not the federal government. Can I hold him to that on reproductive health and “conscience?”
Overall, my view of the debate is that it was at least a draw. Sure, I personally feel that Obama “owned” McCain in the substantive scoring, but all Obama really needed (from the independent voter) was a draw. A “draw” in a debate on foreign policy with John McCain is really a win for Obama
SEE ALSO:
A Chris Davis Video
Dan Lehr
Commercial Appeal
Henry Kissenger
Polling shows Obama wins
Kelly Vlahos
Bill Frist
Knox Views
Factchecking the debate
Comments
5 Responses to “The Ole Miss Presidential Debate: The Reaction”
The debate was like a tied third quarter in a game in which Obama was ahead by five. It moved the debate forward, but by not giving McCain an opening placed him further behind at the end of the debate than he was at the beginning. Both men appeared plausibly presidential, but I think even Republicans who disagree with Obama on policy could plausibly see him being inaugurated after seeing that debate performance–based on his overall intelligence and grasp of the issues. Obama’s ability to surpass McCain in polling on the critical question of “who can identify with your concerns” closed a vulnerability that was Kerry and Gore’s ultimate undoing.
McCain gave us tired old GOP rhetoric and more of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and he said he would freeze federal spending. No education funding? No Medicare? Medicaid? Social Security? We can’t get this idiots out of office fast enough.
Tim Chavez is the only person in America who thinks McCain was “dazzling” last night.
Even the most hardened “wing nut” Republicans have commented today that McCain at the very least didn’t make any major mistakes, but “dazzling”???
Chavez believes that because he criticizes a Republican every decade or so, that makes him non-partisan or in his term “libertarian”, but those of us at the center of the political spectrum don’t buy it for a minute.
Dazzling? Maybe if you’ve had recent cataract surgery. Chavez likes McCain and hates Marsha, and it has everything to do with those politicians’ positions on immigration control. Yes, I am a mind reader.
[...] Dazzling? Maybe if you’ve had recent cataract… [...]