The Hofstra Debate: The Reaction

By Kleinheider Posted on October 16, 2008 at 12:31 am

Chris Sanders:

John McCain has already been called angry and erratic. He couldn’t have disproved that label tonight. Instead he used emotion to some advantage. He went on the attack and made points that will keep his base excited. For me, the attacks on ACORN and William Ayers fell flat, but I’ll bet conservatives were cheering. Where his attack was effective with me and maybe some in the middle was his distancing from President Bush. Not only did he say he isn’t George W. Bush, he added that maybe Barack Obama should have run against him four years ago. I remember the 2000 campaign, and John McCain with all his flaws is no George Bush.

Angelia:

So, the only question remaining in the minds of American voters now is: Will Will.i.am perform at the Inauguration? Because unless Obama gets caught naked with four hookers and one of them is a plumber named Joe - this thing is over.

Tennessee Guerilla Women:

McCain fidgeted throughout the entire debate; he needed to get up and pace but he couldn’t, so he fidgeted. And what was it with the heavy breathing into the mic? And the blinking eyes? I could not take my eyes off his incessantly blinking eyes. Four more years of another uptight grumpy old impolite conservative man fidgeting in the White House would drive me crazy. Never mind that I need health insurance.

Sean Braisted:

Obama won the debate not just on his amazing ability to keep his cool in the face of ridiculous assertions, but instead primarily on the topics which were discussed. Even on taxes, an issue with which Republicans quite often do well, Obama seemed to command the debate by showing how the average American would benefit from his proposal, even if “Joe the plumber” who thinks Obama tap dances like Sammy Davis Jr. might be a bit perturbed.

Mark Mays:

McCain’s attempt to reach out to the hard right mystifies me. That’s Palin’s job. They’re already ginned up, screaming out non-sequiturs at Palin rallies. He needed to change minds of independents. That he didn’t do a good job of it or really try suggests he’s only interested in protecting down ticket races by encouraging conservative voter turn out.

Evans Donnell:

Bob Schieffer decided to be less a moderator and more a fight instigator, which I think was unnecessary and more about trying to produce soundbites than reveal anything worthwhile to the public. Of course, Obama had called out McCain over Ayers recently, and I believe he was hoping to goad McCain into looking like a slightly unhinged snapping turtle. If so Obama got his wish.

Nathan Ketsdever:

Obama effectively refuted the dubious associations the McCain campaign has pinned its focus and hopes on, as polls have dramatically tilted toward Obama. Obama directly told the American people who he looked to as advisors on economic and foreign policy issues, in sharp contrast to the dubious attempts at guilt by association by the McCain campaign.

Mike Byrd:

I’ve criticized Obama in the past for looking arrogant and dismissive; tonight McCain looked more so. If he had any hopes of coming out on top, he needed to be more self-deprecating and let Obama come across as the glib candidate.

DaveG:

Yay! After sleeping through the first two debates, Sen. McCain seems to actually care about this race again. But that’s to be expected; McCain only comes alive when he’s ten points down. How the man managed to win so many races for statewide office throughout his career will remain a mystery, at least to me.

MediaVerse:

Tonight, if you wondered what the hell happened to the John McCain of 2000, he showed up at Hofstra University and put Barack Obama on the defensive, almost twitching in his seat. McCain reminded folks who turned away from him why they liked him when he ran for president eight years ago and before he swallowed his pride and kissed up to Bush ever since.

Ilissa Gold:

I don’t know if Obama necessarily won tonight. He didn’t say anything new. But he didn’t need to win. McCain spent most of the debate throwing a hissy fit, and is not going to reverse any trends in this election.

Elrod:

McCain was playing to hit 46%. He just wants to lose by less than 10 points right now. And the only way to do that is to rally the GOP base…again.

Sharon Cobb:

I can’t fathom anyone still being undecided after this debate. These two men are very different, and it shouldn’t be that hard (anymore) for a voter to choose the man who best represents the voter’s ideas and ideals for America.

Bob Schieffer did a much better job of moderating this debate than Tom Brokaw did last week in Nashville, and asked a lot of the right questions; and more importantly, got both men to answer.

Debbie Hamilton:

How did John McCain do tonight? The answer lies in the battle of the metaphors: “McCain got to the plate, but didn’t hit a home run.” “McCain kept jabbing, but landed no punches.” “McCain took the fight to Obama, but he didn’t follow through.”

David Hunter:

Furthermore, McCain’s eye-rolling and almost constant smirk — reminiscent of George W. Bush — did nothing to hide his contempt for Obama. In fact, it highlighted his blunder in the last debate when he referred to Obama as “that one.”

Glenn Reynolds:

This was a lot better than the Brokaw debate. McCain seemed more improved than Obama over last time, but scored no knockout punches. This time McCain looked like he was having a better time than Obama; Obama’s smirking was unattractive, but his closing statement was strong.

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera:

This was a great debate — the best of them all. I loved the fact that there was actually some back and forth. Both candidates did very well, but I don’t think John McCain did enough — plus he made a huge mistake when he mocked the health exception for women…

Ben Vos:

John McCain and the Republicans are preparing for 2010.

The ideological attacks on Obama helped to rally what’s left of the base, but that’s about it.

Glen Dean:

Of course McCain is too stupid though to “go there” with any statements about Rev. Wright. What an idiot! I can’t believe that we have not seen one single commercial with Obama’s rabid pastor/mentor screaming “God damn America!”

permalink | 4 Comments

Tags: Barack Obama, Hofstra debate, John McCain  

Who Put A Nickel In You?

By Kleinheider Posted on October 15, 2008 at 9:58 pm

John McCain certainly brought his “A” game to tonight’s Presidential debate. He hit his marks. He threw some very strong punches. Unfortunately, at almost every turn, they were deflected or absorbed. John McCain came at Barack Obama with everything he had and, quite simply, it wasn’t enough.

Obama was calm, cool and collected. When he was hit, and he was hit, he did not strike back wildly. He did not rattle. He did not scare. He let the attacks roll off and then calmly deflected them.

They say you are only as good as your worst day. This was not Obama’s worst day but it was his worst debate. The fact that he kept his cool and that his responses and reactions were measured made Obama, on McCain’s best day, seem presidential.

This was as good as it was gonna get for McCain. It wasn’t good enough. McCain may have won this battle “on points” as they say, I don’t know. What is certain is that he lost the war.

SEE ALSO: Sam Youngman

permalink | 9 Comments

Tags: analysis, Hofstra debate