Obama declines debate... as such.

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Last spring McCain challenged Obama to a knock-down-drag-out cross-country townhall debate-a-thon. You may recall if not news-coverage, the sound of clanking, brass, 70-year-old gonads resounding across the land. Recently, perhaps doubting the absorbency of his adult diapers, Obama declined. And I don't blame him at all, McCain's vision, right or wrong, is more homogeneous/fully actualized, as one would expect it to be given his extensive experience, and as Musashi said, there's no honor in dying with a sword in your belt.

AP - Obama backs away from McCain's debate challenge

So far, it is what it is, a little posturing between candidates. But then a week before turning down McCain's challenge, Obama launched a challenge of his own, with more rules, yet with in more ostensibly confrontational terms, like as if it's the first time anyone wanted to go head-to-head. Obama, it seems, doesn't not want to debate, be wants to debate his way. Hmmm.

McCain had a sense of humor about it, mocked Obama's choice of words by saying his weapon of choice is a light-saber.

Now like I said, declining, and counter-challenging is to be expected, but dig the aesthetic - Obama wants a constricted format, yet uses more flamboyant verbage - to my mind we've got a predator/prey type scenario taking shape...

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I am so looking forward to the debates.

I think several things are going on.

1.) Drama. The more there are, the less interesting each one is. The Obama people WANT the debates to be watched by people directly, not just filtered through the punditocracy.

2.) Buzz. Obama's got way more than McCain. People are more interested in seeing Obama than McCain. Obama will get big crowds no matter what -- McCain will get bigGER crowds when he's with Obama. McCain has more to gain, Obama has more to lose.

3.) General utility. It became clear in the primaries that there is such a thing as too many debates. The last few Obama/ Hillary debates were farces -- nothing new was covered, and the focus was on forcing a "newsy" moment of emotion or flubbitude.

4.) Debates tend to benefit the challenger, not the front-runner. Hillary started to lose ground with the driver's license thing (when she was the front-runner). While I think Obama will do markedly better against McCain than against Hillary (I've gone into why before, ask me if you're interested), there is always the possibility of a flub or a gotcha that will dent the front-runner's status. The challenger has far less to lose.

5.) General election strategy. Obama's strategy favors getting out there and meeting as many people as possible and putting as many states into play as possible (a strategy that seems to be going pretty well in general). It's in McCain's interest to stop that strategy -- to keep Obama tethered to debates, with the need to not only be at the debate (in the same location as McCain, thereby not getting an advantage anywhere) but to prepare for the debate (instead of campaigning).

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Since 1980, in 7 election cycles
4 times there were only 2 presidential debates
3 times there were 3 debates.

http://www.debates.org/pages/his_2004.html

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Re: Obama declines debate... as such.

hanno wrote:

Last spring McCain challenged Obama to a knock-down-drag-out cross-country townhall debate-a-thon. You may recall if not news-coverage, the sound of clanking, brass, 70-year-old gonads resounding across the land.

Wait. You think someone behind in the polls and behind in money asking for free publicity and free chances to take potshots at the opposition is gutsy? Not, I don't know, desperate?

His adrenal glands are running his body right now. (Get it? He's running scared.)

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Obama continues to duck debates with McCain.
Why is Obama such a chicken ****?

Meanwile, Obama's downhill slide continues:
One Week, 9-Point Lead Lost for Obama in Tracking Poll.

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Obama knows.
Obama is a product of commerece.

Between the two he is tolerable.
But USA has a rotten system

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As a NEUTRAL OBSERVER OF YOUR COUNTRY
I beg you this.
You like billion others around the globe are ill informed if not misinformed.
Take care of youe family and show not thisdirty flag.
Rama

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Ramafuchs wrote:

Obama knows.
Obama is a product of commerece.

Between the two he is tolerable.
But USA has a rotten system

Ramafuchs wrote:

As a NEUTRAL OBSERVER OF YOUR COUNTRY
I beg you this.
You like billion others around the globe are ill informed if not misinformed.
Take care of youe family and show not thisdirty flag.
Rama

RamaLama has drifted beyond Barking Moon Bat territory.

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An assessment which is based on personal expereience.

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Ramafuchs wrote:

An assessment which is based on personal expereience.

An assessment based on reading the explosive diarrhea you project through your keyboard.
It's not a pleasant experience, but we all suffer through it together.

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DrewDad is probably on target. The candidate running behind is usually the one pushing for debates. He's got little to lose, and much to gain. It's a good tactic, and I think McCain is right to push it. Obama might come up with one final fubar; if he refuses, well, it looks like he's afraid of something.

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Nods.

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Re: Obama declines debate... as such.

DrewDad wrote:

Wait. You think someone behind in the polls and behind in money asking for free publicity and free chances to take potshots at the opposition is gutsy?

Wait. Who's behind in the polls?
The arrogant little prick known as Obama had better step up to the plate
quick and take a few fast balls or his downward slide will increase speed.

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If and when it does, he'll probably reevaluate his stand on additional debates. So will McCain - probably.

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The race is Obama's to lose at this point.

I've consistently rated Obama at about a 2-1 favorite and it's all downside for Obama to agree to ANY debate of ANY description.

But debate he must, because to refuse would be devastating for him, and he knows it.

The debate plan for Obama is to limit the damage as much as possible.

McCain is not known as a particularly eloquent speaker, but Obama has set a high standard for himself and the inevitable wounds which he will incur in a debate will only be magnified by the high expectations.

McCain will focus on Obama's weakness of course. He will make him admit that he may indeed do every single thing that McCain has said was necessary, i.e. keep troops in Iraq for a long time, etc

It's gonna be bad for Obama to give it up in public and he's already begun the process by (at least publicly) abandoning many of his 'principled positions' on other issues as well.

McCain is gonna give him so many rights, he'll be begging for a left.

Will it make any difference is the big question.

Probably not. Democrats will vote for their newly revealed chameleon anyway.

The only chance McCain still has is from the Hillary Democrats. If she is dissed at the convention, it might not take a large percentage staying home in Nov to make a difference.

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Interesting article. Never let the Clintons out of your sight.

Quote:

Bill Clinton regrets some things he said - and didn't say - on the campaign trail. But there's one thing he still can't utter: Barack Obama is ready to be President.

"You can argue that nobody is ready to be President," the former President told ABC News.....

Team Obama has said Clinton will be an asset, but so far he and the Illinois senator have spoken only once, by phone, since the primaries ended - a fact that has peeved some Obama supporters.

Bubba's backers concede his unwillingness to say his party's nominee is ready to sit in the Oval Office was a faux pas.

"The political answer is to just say, 'Yes,' period," said Democratic strategist Chris Lehane. "But as a former President, he has a special perspective on what it takes."

Clinton couldn't just say the political thing, Lehane added, because he's still smarting from Hillary Clinton's bitter defeat.

"This is someone whose spouse was on the ticket, a person he felt tremendously strong about, who he felt had the ability to become President," Lehane said.

Clinton and his wife argued in nearly every speech that she was ready tobe President on day one.....

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/04/2008-08-04_bill_clinton_refuses_to_say_barack_obama.html

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I'm in agreement that posturing is to be expected - the political landscape, individual strengths and all that - but for Obama to have countered before declining the initial challenge. Trying to jam the publics radar, cover his retreat, steal the initiative etc., yes - but something about it, taxes aren't even in the top 5 as far as public interest, just that McCain supposedly slipped up a bit on that topic - the 'wishful thinking' script that drives degenerate gamblers perhaps.

What's with Bubba? Ego perhaps? It's not like he did an artful job of it.

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Obama declines debate... as such.

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