The Instant Gratification Express
Posted on October 7, 2008 at 4:48 pmI have to concur with the Brainstem on this one. Much has been made of John McCain prowess in the town hall debate format but just because that is how the man prefers to campaign does not give him an advantage.
As far as I know, John McCain has never faced a Democratic opponent in such a format. While John McCain may be one of the better Republicans at this style of debate, the town hall is the Democrat’s natural habit.
Bill Clinton was a master of the format. It wasn’t just that he was an excellent politician with an ability t connect with the average person, it was that in a town hall the candidate is directly addressing the voter. The voter stands there with his particular personal concern waiting for the candidate to solve his problem, hear his specific grievance, yes, and feel his pain.
It is the format best suited to the panderer. Now, don’t get me wrong. John McCain can pander with the best of them, but Barack Obama has an answer for everything (not necessarily a good thing). Not only that, he has a program for everything. Whatever problem you have, whatever ails ya, he has an offer of government assistance or intervention.
A Republican, by definition, cannot hope to compete with this. A Republican will always fall short because in the end they cannot offer everything a Democrat can and will. This is not to critique the candidates or their ideologies. It is just a fact.
This debate will feature a cavalcade of real people with real life concerns. Even if they are fundamentally conservative peopl,e they will not be looking for talk about ending earmarks or the constitutional limitations of power. They will want the candidate to offer some kind of direct assistance to relieve their plight. This debate, like the ones before it in this format, will be the immediate gratification debate.
John McCain simply cannot compete with in this arena. The format, as well as the expectations for McCain, have doomed him to fail.
This will not be a good night for Senator McCain.
Comments
2 Responses to “The Instant Gratification Express”
I may be an Obama supporter, but I doubt either he or McCain will fall flat on their face in this town-hall debate. And short of a meltdown by either candidate, as I’ve said before, I don’t think it will alter the race much.
I find it very hard to believe at this point that ANYONE might still be undecided. It’s not as if they don’t stand in stark contrast to each other; you KNOW what you’re going to get with each candidate.
I’m going to say it: the only people who are truly undecided at this point are people who don’t want to vote for McCain and his policies, but are afraid their grandparents will come out of their graves if they vote for a black man.
Everyone else knows for whom they will vote, and why.