Did anyone watch it? I came on here thinking there'd be a ton of stuff about it. But nothing! :smt017 I have my daughter this weekend, so while the debate was on, I was playing a game with her, so my attention wasn't fully on the TV. From what I saw, I don't particularly care for McCain's attitude towards Obama. I felt he talked down to him quite a bit, like Obama was a kid trying to play in the big leagues and McCain was patting his head and telling him to go back to his sandbox and play. I actually wasn't too impressed with either candidate. Neither of them really blew me away one way or the other. Thoughts?
pathetic show. Mccain gets my vote on this one ONLY because he seemed more matured and qualified. Clearly, Obamas MAIN flaw is his lack of personality. Sure he can throw big words out there and seem intelligent but he fails to familiarize himself with the people. Its like everything he says has been pre written........too much book smart,,not enough streets smart in my opinion, and if i were Jim (the guy who questioned them) I would have easily asked him a question that would leave him saying his famous "oh, um, oh, um oh um".......He got lucky on this one because those questions were pretty easy...But Mccain isnt THAT good himself...so,,meh These two are masters of GAFFS.....complete morons And why did Obama pubicly suggest an attack on Pakistan??...what a fucking idiot.. Even McCain told him on the spot that he shouldnt be making such statements in public....but i guess when you lack the ability to think on your feet, you are cursed with saying the very first thing that pops in your mind, productive or otherwise.
I don't know which debate BMJ saw but Obama kicked ass in the one I looked at. Obama offered specific point-by-point answers to the questions posed by Jim Lehrer, while McCain simply rehashed stump speech points ("I'm a maverick, now I have a partner who's a maverick," "I'll make them famous," "Naive," "Not ready," etc.). There were no knockout blows a la "You're no Jack Kennedy," but I did like when Obama told McCain "You act like the war began in 2006." I don't think Obama can get too aggressive because it's against his code of transformative politics. Plus, he's on that tightrope where if he goes off they can pin the "angry black man" rap on him. McCain was aggressive, but was it the crankiness of an old man past his bedtime? I did go in thinking that Obama would demolish McCain, but Obama did hold him at bay. In the next debate, Obama should just go in for the knockout punches and not let up. I think Biden needs to slap that bitch around a little bit in the VP debates too. Don't hold back 'cause she's a woman.
I'd say Obama won by a slight margin. Many analysts would agree he did. Many say its a tie. Very few say McCain won.
A time magazine journalist writes: Grading the First Presidential Debate By MARK HALPERIN / OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI Sat Sep 27, 3:25 PM ET John McCain Substance: His arguments were hard to follow at the beginning, but he found his voice as the debate progressed, although he never seemed fully in control of his message. He had plenty to say about the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia, but often bogged down his own answers when trying to unfurl quips and soundbites. Stuck with bumper sticker slogans on the economy, and while he got a bit more detailed on foreign policy, he stayed at his usual level of abstraction. If he truly knows more about the world than Obama, he didn't show it in this debate. Grade: B- Style: Cluttered, jumpy, and often muddled. Frequent coughing early on helped neither his arguments nor his image. Jokes about being deaf and anecdotes about Normandy and George Shultz seemed ill-advised - even his pen was old. His presentation was further hindered by his wandering discussion of the differing heights of North and South Koreans and his angry assertion about how well he knows Henry Kissinger. Fell into the classic politician's trap of inserting familiar stump speech applause lines into debate responses - which only works if done with enthusiasm and clarity (and if received by applause - a big No-No in Lehrer's auditorium, which the audience obeyed seriously and silently). Keenly aware of the grand, grave occasion, McCain wavered between respectful and domineering, and ended up awkward and edgy. Grade: C- Offense: Emphasized his bread and butter issues of taxes and spending, and hit Obama on his failure to visit Iraq and his expressed willingness to meet with dictators. But while mocking his opponent on a few occasions, which reflected his acute disrespect for Obama, he did so in an insufficiently sharp and detailed manner - and unevenly worked elements of his rival's record into his attacks. Still he was utterly confident about his own experience, knowledge, and policies, even when tripped by his own tongue and distracted by the strains of debate practice. The main problem: Obama's obvious preparation and sharp answers contradicted McCain's frequent claims that the Democrat was uninformed and "didn't understand" key issues. Grade: C+ Defense: He managed to ignore most of Obama's jibes, but was eventually baited into giving an extended answer about his policy differences with President Bush, after his opponent repeatedly mentioned McCain's regular support of Bush's budgets. Was visibly riled when clashing with Obama over a variety of issues, including Iraq, sanctions, and spending. He also chose to boast about Sarah Palin (although not by name) as his maverick partner, who, after her shaky week, may no longer be his ace in the hole. Grade: B- Overall: McCain was McCain - evocative, intense, and at times emotional, but also vague, elliptical, and atonal. Failed to deliver his "country first versus Obama first" message cleanly, even when offered several opportunities. Surprisingly, did not talk much about "change," virtually ceding the dominant issue of the race. Overall grade: B- (Read Mark Halperin's take on Barack Obama's performance) Barack Obama Substance: Quite manifestly immersed in the past, present, and future details of policy, and eager to express his views, which have been expanded, honed, and solidified during the last 18 months of hard campaigning. Still, he did avoid the nitty-gritty details of policy positions in favor of broad principles and references to working Americans, thereby not presenting the kind of specifics that some voters are waiting to hear from him. Grade: B+ Style: Polished, confident, focused. Fully prepared, and able to convey a real depth of knowledge on nearly every issue. He was unhurried, and rarely lost his train of thought even when the debate wended and winded - and uttered far fewer of his trademark, distracting, "ums." At times, however, Obama revealed the level of his preparation by faltering over a rehearsed answer. He seemed to deliberately focus on the moderator and the home audience, with McCain as an afterthought - except when on the attack. Chose to avoid humor, for the most part, in favor of a stern demeanor, and in the process, came off as cool as a cucumber. Grade: A Offense: Linking McCain to Bush in his very first answer, he kept it up as his primary line of attack. Forcefully hit McCain for his early support of the Iraq War. Though he never drew blood, he did keep McCain a bit off balance, often with clever references to McCain's recent statements. Grade: B Defense: Had a reasonable answer for every charge that came his way - with little anger, bluster, or anxiety. Often interrupting McCain attacks with swift explanations and comebacks, he managed to spin accusations of being liberal as evidence of his relentless opposition to George Bush (in replies that were clearly planned). Offered a rather clumsy alternative to McCain's well-known, moving story of wearing the bracelet of a soldier lost in Iraq (a gift from the soldier's mother), with a story about a bracelet of his own. Fearless, without condescension, he attempted the gracious move of agreeing with or complimenting a McCain position, occasionally to his own detriment. Grade: A- Overall: Went for a solid, consistent performance to introduce himself to the country. He did not seem nervous, tentative, or intimidated by the event, and avoided mistakes from his weak debate performances during nomination season (a professorial tone and long winded answers). Standing comfortably on the stage with his rival, he showed he belonged - evocative of Reagan, circa 1980. He was so confident by the end that he reminded his biggest audience yet that his father was from Kenya. Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day. Overall grade: A-
Wow...thats pretty harse criticism...coming from a "rapper." Someone who spends all his time trying to make words rhyme. (Sorry if neither of them said "yo" or "shorty" last night.) I thought the debate was pretty good. Republicans are gonna feel good about mccain's attempt to stick the "niave and inexperience" tag on Obama and Democrats are gonna feel good about Obama's success at pointing out mccain's past poor judgement and Obama's ability to demonstrate his knowledge of world issues. And who the hell cares if the president is or isnt "street-smart"...whatever the hell that means. "Street-smart" mccain didnt even know that spain was a nato ally! Do you know what kind of people bash "book-smart" people and extol the virtues of those who are "street-smart"...dumb-*ss people who arent "book-smart!" (We've had the "not-smart" guy running the country (in the ground) for the last 8 years and look where we are now!) As for the average "american" (sorry BMJ, maybe in another life), I think the choice is clear...its Obama. Mccain had no answer when Obama pointed out that mccain plans to tax health benefits (for the first time in u.s. history) and continue w's policy of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest 5% of americans. Meanwhile, Obama quickly shot down mccain's lie about taxing those who make as little as $43k (which every fact checking site has said is a lie) re-established his goal to provide tax-breaks to 95% of americans. (Even though I believe that's gonna be damn-near impossible.) And Obama never said he would attack pakistan. What he said was he would cross their borders in pursuit of terrorist. "Street-smart" mccain is the one who sung a song about bombing iran...which now doesnt have anyone to keep it in check thanks to our invasion of iraq. Hmm...who should run the country?...the man who graduated at the top of his harvard law class or the man who graduated at the bottom of his naval cademy class?
Not only did McCain graduate at the very bottom of his class, he only got into the Naval Academy because of his father. Otherwise, he never would have made it in. Those are words straight from the McCain camp that were said on the "Portraits of a President" episode of 20/20 that aired 9/26.
