Well, uuhhhh, you ask, aahhhh, look now, what that did win the debate? Obama or McCain? Uhh well, I have to uuuhhh say, well since Obama didn't uuhhh, you know, do this shit here, uuuuhhhhh, well I guess he won it.
Seriously, Obama presented himself well tonight and held his own, and did not allow McCain to rattle him. There were no major mistakes of gaffes tonight. McCain did ok. Well, he almost did ok. Well, no he didn't. He probably had his own base cringing from his opening statement which was an expression of sympathy for his recently re-hospitalized "beloved friend" Ted Kennedy "the Lion of the Senate". Who in the hell is running McCain's campaign anyway that lets him do this stuff? Do these people really think this bilge is going to win anybody over?
It only got worse for Big Mac. Here we are at the beginning of one of the biggest financial disasters in the nation's history that, when all is said and done, will likely add a trillion dollars-at least-to the national debt. If we don't pony up, the entire economic engine of the United States could utterly collapse. George Bush is asking for 700 billion dollars to bail us out of the mess while hundreds of billions of dollars have already been targeted for Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and AIG. Lehman Brothers, a one hundred and fifty year old firm that survived the Great Depression, vanished overnight. Another major bank failed today. More are likely to follow.
John McCain is worried about a ninety million dollar earmark to study the mating habits of bears in Montana. I understand that was just supposed to be an example. But, to use a phrase he seemed stuck on tonight, he "just doesn't understand". In the grand scheme of things, John McCain ended up sounding like an old geezer waxing nostalgiac about the long ago days when five dollars would get you two or three big bags of groceries and gasoline was twenty five cents a gallon.
He looked and sounded old, and tired. I hate to say it but he almost came across as senile, where Obama looked young, fresh, energetic, determined, and hopeful-and yet somehow disarmingly realistic.
McCain seemed to get some of his old fire back when the debate phased over into what is his forte, national security and international affairs. Unfortunately for him, not only did Obama hold his own in this segment as well, but he delivered the most devastating line of the night during this period, specifically in response to McCain's complaint about Obama's earlier asserted intention to target Pakistan in relation to a pledge to get Bin Laden and finally defeat Al-Queda and the Taliban.
"You don't say things like that publicly", McCain said chidingly of what he characterized as Obama's naive and irresponsible pledge to pursue an action that he held would further destabilize Pakistan, our already uneasy ally in the war on terror.
Obama clarified his position and said he actually agreed with McCain, but then he went on to add, and I paraphrase-
"You said you would annihilate North Korea and you sang about bombing Iran, so I'm not so sure that's such a good point coming from you."
Ouch.
It went on from there to what is exactly the best way to meet with a foreign leader who might be considered "the enemy". McCain criticized Obama's statement that he would meet with such leaders without pre-conditions. Obama once again clariifed that there would be lower level diplomatic meetings first. McCain said we already do that. Obama said that, in fact, George Bush has recently done that. Blah-blah blahdaddy blah.
By the time it was over by my calculations McCain won on points in this round, but it was one of those thing that if it had been a boxing match it would have been his by a split decision made by an expert panel of judges while the audience is left scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened.
Obama won the the overall match anyway, and though this too was by points, it was certainly a clear cut victory. True, there were no knock-downs, knock-outs, or TKO's. McCain however needs to get it together for the two rematches. I have a feel for these kinds of things, and so far, it don't look good for the home team.
"He just doesn't understand" might well go down as the most ironic statement of the night, one that McCain delivered the first time or two to great effect, but after that, what was obviously intended as a refrain meant to stick in the viewers mind started to sound redundant, and even a little petulant. Worst of all, however, it sounded condescending.
He may as well have looked at his watch and sighed real loud at the same time.
20 comments:
Yep, pretty much agree with you. McCain frequently used cringe-worthy phrases and in general came off sounding old and tired. Obama, on the other hand, looked and sounded presidential and capable. I watched the first hour and then went to bed, but I do think Obama won this round!
You know, honestly, I don't think McCain was that bad- maybe a B+ for Obama's A. I definitely didn't think he blew it. I did think that when he would grumble to himself or laugh derisively at something Obama said that he sounded a lot like Hilary Clinton did during her debates with Obama. So, maybe that's a bad sign for him.
I think McCain destroyed Obama in substance.
It was "Obama doesn't get it" vs. "I agree with John McCain" all night long.
"I JUST WANT TO CORRECT THE RECORD HERE! I NEVER SAID I WAS AGAINST NUCLEAR WASTE!" - Barack Obama
Beamish-
Maybe I'm just being too critical, but I like to think I'm being more like a good father pushing his son to do better than a good mother encouraging her son to feel good about himself despite the fact that he fucked up. You know, she knows it but why hit him over the head with it?
I honestly wish somebody from the McCain campaign would read this post, because I think it would do them some good to hear from somebody that is trying to be an objective analyst.
Face it, McCain was pretty sad. Obama actually wasn't that good, I agree with you, but the problem was, Mac made him look better than he really was.
"My dear beloved friend Senator Kennedy." "The Lion of the Senate?".
Come on. It's almost like he was saying to himself, "what can I do to piss off conservatives the second I open my mouth?"
Rufus-I would have to say it was more like Obama b-, McCain c+, and that might still be grading on the curve.
Riverwolf-Glad you stopped by, thanks for commenting.
PT,
I don't think it would have done McCain any good to have not said a thing about Ted Kennedy, and probably far worse if he had joked about the ol' drunk bastard.
But on substantive matters, John McCain obliterated Obama. It wasn't a showy victory, nothing none of us ourselves could have done in the debate considering the Democratic Party has nominated their most unqualified, most demonstrably ignorant Presidential candidate in 170 years.
I think one of my favorite parts of the debates was Barack Obama trying to mutate Henry Kissinger into one of his supporters on his diplomacy strategy with Iran.
Of course, someone actually asked Kissinger post-debate:
"Senator McCain is right. I would not recommend the next President of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the Presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Senator John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality."
Obama lost this debate, and McCain had as much fun winning it without actually saying "did the Democratic Party run out of intelligent people to turn into candidates?"
And then we have on deck the Governor of Alaska vs. the Senator from Mastercard, followed by another debate on economic policy between the guy that's been trying to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since 2003 (John McCain) vs. the guy with all the economic advisers that ran Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into the ground (Barack Obama).
It's going to be a trouncing.
President McCain. By now you're used to saying it.
Beamish-
McCain did kind of okay for the people who are already in his corner, but he needs to step it up if he is going to win this election, by which he will need conservative and moderate Democrats and Independents. You know that and I know that. He didn't deliver the night before last.
He shouldn't have mentioned Ted Kennedy. He had nothing whatsoever to do with any of this. Kennedy is an Obama supporter, and supported him even in the primaries. So why did McCain bring him into the picture?
Answer-it was a playact designed to demonstrate his "bi-partisan" credentials. I don't know about you, but bi-partisanship, especially when it involves the likes of Ted Kennedy, is the last thing I want to have anything to do with.
The only bipartisan act I want involving Ted Kennedy would involve a re-investigation of the Kopechne case with an eye toward charging that old creep with perjury and kicking his "Lion" ass out of Congress.
I scored it a tie. Mac was pretty bad - off his game and O was excellent for O - not too many ums and ers.
PT,
Oops.
Not only did Henry Kissinger bitch slap the gaffe-o-matic Obama post-debate, guess who else wants to take Obama down?
The family of the soldier on Obama's dead soldier counter-bracelet.
They don't want him to wear the bracelet, nor use their son's name in political soundbites (which might explain why Barack Obama had to actually read the name off of the bracelet because his dipshit ass damned sure couldn't remember it), and the soldier's father in particular doesn't want his son's name used by a politicial opposed to the war in Iraq.
Maybe on behalf of this family, John McCain will ask Obama to take the bracelet off in the next debate, on live television.
Beamish-
I wish McCain would do that, but we will both be waiting in vain for him to do or say anything remotely like that. McCain's campaign style is from the Joe Liebermann/John Edwards/John Kerry school of politics that states you should "stick to the issues" and act in a "civil manner" towards your opponent.
Somebody needs to buy him a clue that almost every politician that tries that approach on the national level loses.
This is the kind of attitude that will cause McCain to lose if he don't get it together. Palin can only carry him so far. He is the man on the top of the ticket, you know. I'm halfway afraid he is going to spay her to where she just doesn't have the fire she needs to carry this thing through.
He's treating her like some little princess that needs protection from the big bad dragons, and if he keeps it up she's going to eventually be acting like a woman that's afraid to open her mouth for fear of something nasty spilling out.
Sarah Palin is the only reason I finally went all out for McCain. I was really going all out for her, not him. But he is starting to fuck up the best thing his campaign ever had. I think that might be because John McCain is just a major fuck up.
He needs to get his shit together, and pretending he's doing good is doing him and his campaign a grave disservice. Somebody needs to get the damned old goat off somewhere and have a good long talk with him and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he really wants to win this thing, he needs to stop fucking up.
PT,
McCain's got a good long game. He's got roughly 4 weeks to close the deal, and compared to Obama, has spent next to no money on his own campaign. And has managed to be virtually tied in the polls. Neither candidate has broken a lead ahead that reaches beyond the margin of error.
So, in the last part of the game, Obama's got no gas to stop a McCain campaign spending targeted onslaught in all the states bobbling in the "toss-up" range.
Hell, Obama's having trouble keeping "safely Democrat" states from turning into "leaning Democrat" or "toss-up."
McCain hasn't lost a state in the other direction.
The end game approaches.
Beamish-
I hope you're right, that's about all I can say. I just wish he would drop this bullshit "civility". Everybody knows McCain has got a temper, he's going to have a stroke in the middle of the debates if he doesn't let a little bit of it out. I'm not wanting him to rant and rave like a maniac-you know, in other words I don't want him to adopt my persona-I just want him to show a little fire and drop this bullshit "bipartisanship" and "reach across the aisle and get things done for the American people" nonsense. He sounds like a fucking dickwad when he talks like that.
PT,
In that respect, I agree. He shouldn't reach across the aisle because the only hands over there to shake are Democrat.
But still, the recent ass-fisting the Fed just gave the American people by bailing out the housing lenders / credit crisis would have been much worse without the 11th hour brokering McCain joined with conservative House Republicans to get included - this bill stinks to high hell so much it requires bipartisanship for passage and Presidential election year political cover.
Imagine the field day McCain could have if he isn't pleased and has no influence on the final product.
Headline: "Obama backs unpopular $700 Billion Wall Street Bailout, McCain opposes."
It could still happen.
McCain's probably looking at this bailout bill and up at Obama and back at the bill saying "I dare you to vote present, motherfucker."
Another look at the polling would be:
Obama has spent over $150 million just to be barely super-delegated the Democratic nominee for President over the most unpopular womyn in American politics, in a time when the sitting Republican President is only supported by 1 out of 4 people and after spending at this point well over $200 million on his campaign to be President he can barely squeak out a 4 to 6 point polling lead over a Republican rival with far less money on hand or spent.
Could you imagine how hopeless McCain would be had not the Democratic Party graciously nominated a joke?
Beamish-
If Obama is ahead by four-to-six points in the polls, especially the more dependable ones, that is cause for concern. I think you're trying to convince yourself more than you are me.
Obama is at 50% with that 6-point lead (on Rasmussen), McCain at 44%.
50 + 44 = 94%
Tt's entirely doubtful 6% of the electorate is going for a third party.
Factor in the margin of error, and you've got Obama tied or just barely leading an opponent that he has outspent by over 6 times trying to convince people he's the third term of Bush.
It's kinda sad actually. All that money Obama has spent, with nothing to show for it.
Beamish-
If Obama's at fifty percent, that's not good. I have seen a lot of elections where somebody was ahead by just one or two percentage points, and they end up winning in almost every one. This is going to be a nail biter, and I advise you to prepare yourself for the eventuality.
This financial mess has made this election into a whole new ball game, and McCain is, let's face it, a lousy campaigner. I have a very strong feeling and even a fear that Sarah Palin is going to be awful in the debates, and if I'm right and she is, I'm going to lay the blame right on the doorstep of John McCain.
He's treating her like he's a doting and overprotective father protecting her from the cold cruel world because he's afraid something bad is going to happen to her.
This is just awful shit and I'm not going to sit back here and pretend all is well when it's not.
Whoever votes "no" on the unpopular bailout bail gets to demogogue it in the economic debate.
Obama HAS to vote "yes."
McCain don't gotta do a damned thing.
Beamish-
McCain won't even call attention to how the Democrats are at fault by forcing banks to make bad loans to poor minorities whether they have the means of paying them back or not. No Republican is harping on that, because they're scared to death it will make them look like they are "against the poor" or anti-minority.
McCain ought to be leading the charge, instead, he's trying to sit back and let his surrogates do all the work. The only problem with that is, nobody listens to surrogates. That's why Democrats lose so many elections in part. They try to play this too clever by half game where they have people go out with their talking points but nobody is listening to them. People listen to the words of the candidates, not some joker with a title they are going to forget thirty minutes after they hear it.
President McCain-Just between you and me, Beamish-you might want to get unused to saying it. Because if he don't straighten his ass up and fly right, meaning be willing to get down and dirty with the best of them, he's sunk.
Post a Comment