Presidential Debate! Tonight!

It ticked me off when McCain said that Obama wants to turn healthcare over to the Federal Government. I don't know which healthcare plan he was talking about, but it's not Obama's.

Talk about misrepresentation.

Are you deef Good Ole Dys or deliberately truncating the line?

McCain most clear said that Iran is an existential threat to Israel.

I bet the average Israeli agrees with him.

Yeah, but he's got a really cute smile.

Most people have figured out that Obama wants to turn almost everything over to the Federal Government. McCain has figured that much out.

Sorry, I couldnt make it through more than 15 minutes. I did watch a bunch of individual clips on CNN afterwards, so I guess I got the highlights.

Seemed like something of a tie to me.

I mean, obviously, to me, McCain seemed like a condescending dogmatist, a cheap point-scorer, and I thought the way he refused to look at Obama and kept doing this visibly contemptuous smile whenever Obama said something he thought was dumb (or something that hit too close to home) was downright creepy.

But you know, I am very much predisposed to see him in a negative light, since I believe he's wrong on most important issues and has made a joke of the campaign with his posturing circus this week. So I'm not objective. I did tell Staz that it was probably a tie and a wash in terms of the general public's impressions -- they both spoke articulately and seemed well-informed, and neither did anything really stupid.

Well, I think the dripping contempt on the part of McCain may turn out to have been really off-putting to the general audience too, but I dunno.

In my partisan opinion, Obama seemed determined and poised -- if at times downright morose when listening to McCain. (Somehow, the stage-wide shots I saw a lot watching CSpan made him look worse than the split screen close-ups of one candidate talking, the other listening that I saw a lot in the CNN clips. Dunno if that was random coincidence of what I came across or whether the two stations filmed it differently). I thought Obama made all the good points and made them intelligently, but he did tend to go into these shopping list-type answers: "also, xyz abc, and moreover, abc xyz, and what i also want to point out here is def".

Dunno what'll happen in the polls now. On the one hand, if the debate was a tie that should be in Obama's favour, since he's the one leading and if the debate wasnt a game-changer, then he'll keep leading. As in: McCain needed something to overturn the current numbers, and it didnt happen. On the other hand, there were tentative signs, in today's tracking polls and some state polls that McCain was suddenly sinking and that his suspension of the campaign only made things worse. And if tonight's debate changes the political conversation back to being all about how the two men are evenly matched in something of a draw again, then that might help him nip any oncoming free-fall in the bud and stabilise again.

Well, actually I guess that's mostly a difference in how to interpret the numbers if they turn out to be roughly the same in two-three days time as they are now. Cause that's kinda what I'm expecting. Then again what do I know, Ive been wrong before often enough.

Now, what should he do about that silly pig in the lipstick...

(forethought be damned)

You imagined it.

Who was noticibly huffing and puffing, grinning, scowling and attempting to interrupt the other guy's comments?

Take another look at the tape. Now that the debate is over and you can stop worrying whether or not Obama will blow it, you may be able to view it with some objectivity.

I've no doubt that Obama tried to get under McCain's skin in the hope that he would lose his temper (a pretty good idea, I might add), but it didn't work.

I think Obama probably scored points by actually looking at McCain, while McCain seemed to refuse to directly acknowledge his opponent's presence, but that's something entirely other than what you mistakenly suggest.

nimh, I will give you a clue. A man that has spent 5 years in a Hanoi prison just might not like a guy that doesn't like America very much. And I can't say as I blame him. I don't know if anyone has pointed that out, but I will. I do wonder how they interact in person. Anyone heard?

Of course you could have since your mind was firmly made up before they even spoke their first words.

There was one stretch where Obama became visibly upset and tried to talk over McCain, during McCains time to talk, but seemed to realize his folly and then shut up and put on a fake smile.

Maybe here is an answer to my own question:

"I like him; he's probably got a great future. We can do some work together," McCain confided to his top staffer.

Instead, what began as a promising collaboration between two men bent on burnishing their reformist credentials collapsed after barely a week. The McCain-Obama relationship came undone amid charges and countercharges, all aired publicly two years ago in an exchange of stark and angry letters. Obama questioned whether McCain sided with GOP leaders rather than searching for a bipartisan solution; McCain accused Obama of "typical rhetorical gloss" and "self interested partisan posturing" by a newcomer seeking to ingratiate himself with party leaders.

"Please be assured I won't make the same mistake again," McCain wrote Obama on Feb. 6, 2006.

It was the first, and only, time the two ever tried extensively working together.
...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/30/AR2008033002401_pf.html

MSNBC online poll
Who won the presidential debate?

56,281 votes

17.8%
John McCain
9,996 votes

77.7%
Barack Obama
43,703 votes

3.4%
Tie
1,892 votes

1.2%
Not sure
690 votes

Perhaps you should have spent as much time carefully listening to what was said.

Obama contended that Kissinger agreed with him that The President should speak, without pre-condition, to the leaders of enemy nations.

McCain contended that Kissinger does believe that there should be dialogue, without pre-condition, between the US and its enemies, but at diplomatic levels below the President.

Perhaps someone can provide us with an authoritative source that will prove the point one way or the other, but it is foolish to suggest that simply because Obama contended something, McCain's rebuttal was untrue - unless of course you have proof you will share.

Given Kissinger’s published works and his actions as Secretary of State, it certainly is more believable that McCain had it right. Kissinger made a career of preceding the president in discussions with the leaders of our enemies.

As for making sure he said at every opportunity, "Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand..." (Because he never once referred to his opponent as "Obama")
Well that is because Obama doesn't and it's a smart thing to point out.

Your displeasure with his repeated references to his experience seems to be common among Obama supporters.

Amazing.

Not only is Obama's inexperience irrelevant or even a virtue, his opponent's experience is also irrelevant and even a flaw.

This is like getting annoyed with Michael Phelps because he was the fastest of the Olympic swimmers.

Are you suggesting that McCain should not have reminded voters of his experience?

Thanks,Debra Law--I predicted that Senator Obama would eviscerate the Bush clone, McCain. MSNBC has given us the answer!!!

And you cannot spell pronounce.

So?

There were multiple times Obama tried to talk over McCain and he, more than once, pleaded with Lehrer to let him comment while McCain was speaking.

McCain interrupted Obama once.

The AOL straw poll has something like 100,000+ votes cast so far and the results have been interesting. Which candidate won the debate? Obama by a very narrow margin. Which candidate looked the most presidential? Obama by a very narrow margin. Which candidate do you trust more to handle the economy? McCain by a slightly larger margin. (That one really surprised me.) Which candidate do you trust more to handle Iraq? McCain by a somewhat larger margin still.

Verdict: Pretty much a tie at this point I would say.

Kissinger has already confirmed that Obama had it wrong on the talks without conditions. McCain was obviously correct. And Obama plainly had it wrong.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/fact-check-kiss.html

Kissinger also went on the record tonight that he was very unhappy with the way Obama mischaracterized what he said.

I will have to admit Obama is slick. I think the word, slick, fits pretty well. He is able to slip out of obvious contradictions and make it seem like a non-issue. There were many examples. Another one, nuclear power. He makes it sound like he favors it, but he votes against those things that would move nuclear along, which McCain pointed out, but Obama kept dodging. Very slick. He triangulates every single issue. But it all fits his persona, that of not making a solid decision one way or the other on much of anything. On energy, he votes against anything that will practically bring about his claim that he will wean us off of Middle East oil in 10 years, which is a total crock by the way.

I could go on down the list. Just one more for now, the budget, he will do all these wonderful things while not spending more. More health care, more education money, on and on, but how, nobody knows.