On points and poise, McCain wins. But the consensus seems to be that unless Obama sweats a la Richard Nixon, or breaks down and cries like a baby on stage, he is the winner. Forget about substance.Another perspective: our nineteen year old son, who has very little use for anyone over, say, forty-five, commented on how clear it was to him that McCain knows what he's talking about. Not so for Obama, who came across as the student who had crammed for the exam, or more aptly, the job applicant trying to ace the interview.
Our son saw McCain as real (there's that word again); Obama, not so much. The depth of McCain's knowledge and experience, and his sincere passion for his country, were there for all who had eyes to see them. (The dizzying spin is what drives me completely crazy. Why get reactions from Donna Brazil and David Axelrod?)
McCain was especially good when talking about Congressional corruption and its corrosive effect on those in the belly of that enormous beast. Who can doubt McCain's commitment to combatting wasteful spending and corruption? This is who he is, and has been, for a long time.
And it's hard to dislike McCain when he talks about taking care of veterans, and his love (yes, love) for them. I came away liking him more than I thought I could.
Someone should have advised John against that tie, though. Obama's tie was fine, and coordinated nicely with his flag pin. The bracelet didn't work so well; his looking down at it and fumbling for the name were awkward. Interrupting and getting snippy didn't help him, either.
Laugh of the night in our house came from Obama: "Look, I'm very proud of my vice presidential selection, Joe Biden . . ." Um, really?
Watch your phraseology department:
How many times was the phrase Main Street uttered in the first fifteen minutes of the debate? We were groaning.
McCain has more or less given up "my friends." That's a good thing.
But Obama's "Let's be clear" seems to be contagious.
Debate transcript here.
3 comments:
Did it appear to you that McCain flatout refused to look Obama in the eye? What was that?
I agree. The tie was distracting.
He did seem to be avoiding eye contact. I don't think that helped him.
Obama's note to self:
Next time don't use the dead soldier bracelet routine if you can't remember the dead soliers name.
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