Sep 27 2008
Round 1 Goes To John McCain
Let me begin by saying Jim Leher did a fantastic job of moderating the debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. He did not play the game of “gotcha,” instead he asked legitimate, thoughtful questions of both candidates while attempting to have them engage each other. I could not help but chuckle as Leher seemed determined to begin a cage match. For the most part Leher removed himself from the debate, permitted the candidates to speak, and it’s probably the best debate I’ve seen in the last few election cycles. I hope more follow this format.
Both of the candidates performed much better than I had anticipated. They have both had a heavy travel schedule this week and certainly not the prep time they hoped for. There were no huge gaffes by either one but certainly there were some mistakes that may have seemed innocuous last night but could well be cause for Obama in the near future.
The first 20 minutes of the debate was dedicated to the current economic mess. Neither candidate was particularly strong but I would have to give round 1 to Obama. I suppose McCain is not familiar with Obama’s economic plans or the comments made by Obama because there were many things Obama said in the early stages that McCain had the opportunity to pounce on but did not. Obama made some solid hits that McCain should not have let stand, such as allowing Obama to get away with saying our current economic situation is due to deregulation.
However, McCain closed the economic discussion strongly. When Leher asked both candidates to specifically state which programs or ideas they would cut due to these new increases, not only could Obama not list one, but he went on to cite more intended spending. So much for no taxes on the middle-class.
On-the-other-hand McCain was very specific with details such as a proposed pending freeze on all but the most vital programs like military defense, veterans affairs, and entitlement programs (I would have liked to see proposed cuts here but that’s never good in an election year). When challenged on this point, Obama refused to say whether he would accept a spending freeze.
The rest of the night was dedicated to Foreign Relations and it belonged to McCain. Obama said “John is right” so many times,” no doubt many wondered then why not vote for McCain?
Obama made a few gaffes that stand out in my mind:
1. He said Henry Kissinger, the former Republican secretary of state and a McCain friend and adviser, shared his view on talks with Iran without precondition.
In an exclusive, the Weekly Standard reported Kissengers reply:
“Henry Kissinger believes Barack Obama misstated his views on diplomacy with US adversaries and is not happy about being mischaracterized. He says: “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.”
Did Obama lie or is he just so inexperienced he does not understand the difference? Either way, McCain cleared that up real quick. When McCain finished his brief response there was not doubt Obama was wrong.
2. When discussing the threat posed by Iran McCain hits Obama for pledging to talk with Ahmadinejad without preconditions. “This is dangerous. It isn’t just naive; it’s dangerous,” McCain said. Obviously flustered, Obama responds with “When I’m President I can meet with whoever I want, whenever I want.” I was not sure, but did Obama actually stamp his foot?
3. When McCain pointed out that Obama had not visited Iraq in over 900 days, no consultations with General Patreus, and oversight of NATO, what was Obama’s response? I’m proud of my running mate, Joe Biden. In other words, Joe’s gonna handle all that.
4. Obama closed the debate slamming this great nation he wants to lead and left a strong reminder that he does not like this country. No positive note there.
5. What sticks out most in my mind is “John, I have a bracelet too,” as he then proceeded to fumble for the name and circumstance. He appeared to actually look down at his wrist in order to read it. Neener, neener, neener.
6. Finally, Obama continuously referred to McCain as “John.” McCain referred to Obama as “Senator Obama.” No doubt Obama was attempting to reduce McCain’s stature and experience. However, to many in the audience, including myself, I found it very disrespectful. Should McCain have called Obama “boy?”
Once Obama got past the initial stuttering and stammering that appear to be an obnoxious requisite with him, he actually did well. Obama has been studying hard and this permitted him to hold his own on some issues. McCain obviously flustered Obama at certain points which became obvious with Obama’s smirks, interruptions and the raised pitch in his voice.
In the end there was no knockout but McCain certainly drug Obama around the stage and roughed him up real well when the discussion turned to Russia and Georgia. However, I don’t think McCain will get a bounce from this debate. This is McCain’s strong suite and he should have hit harder. Maybe in the next two debates McCain can point out Obama’s newly adopted Republican stance on many issues, and ask Obama something like “why do you think it is a candidate, such as yourself, must move from the socialist left to the moderate conservative center, if they hope to have a chance of winning?
I liked that Jim Leher was set on getting both the candidates to address each other rather than playing to the camera or the people in the room, but I didn’t like that he didn’t find a diplomatic way to say “shut up!” every time the candidate talked over him to continue bringing home his point after Leher had called “time” on a segment.
All of the news agency media I’ve read today are calling this a draw, or too close to call, so maybe McCain did better than you fear.
I wonder at the end who will fair best. I guess we have to wait and see. Obama will have to get more into detailed events.