The 2008 Presidential Debates, Round One
Oxford, Mississippi, 26 September 2008
Oxford, Mississippi, 26 September 2008
Tonight, I watched the first Presidential Debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. I'm glad that I took an hour and a half out of my night to watch the exchange, though, by the end of it, I felt unusually worn out. It's not because of Obama, who did an admirable job enumerating his points in a logical manner, and who made a concerted effort to look at the camera, directly at us viewers at home. I think that some of it stemmed from the moderator, Jim Lehrer, who didn't inject much life into the proceedings, and whose questions were rather colorless.Most of it stemmed from McCain who, instead of answering questions intelligently, relied on blatant lies – all of which Obama immediately refuted – and reverted to his now-hackneyed rhetoric. He invoked Obama's lack of experience, repeatedly stating that “Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand. . . .” McCain occasionally rose above such muck and spoke rather well; but he almost always came across as rambling, and he didn't look incredibly comfortable at the podium. Obama, on the other hand, looked, acted, and sounded like a President.
I admit that McCain, who is a politician that I used to respect before he made Sarah Palin his Vice Presidential nominee, held his own; for some desperate Republicans, this may be enough for them to say that he beat Obama in this round. Neither candidate made any major gaffes, nor did Obama clearly beat McCain – his responses were too nuanced for that to be clear to the average voter. But the Republican candidate's constant attacks on Obama – who acted more relaxed and explained issues much more rationally – felt superfluous and needlessly harsh, and they reveal a cynical, and desperate, side of McCain. Sadly, his baseless attacks put Obama on the defensive, and his churlish performance will probably win over some unfortunate, stupid voters. I can only hope that Americans are better, and smarter, than that come November 4th.
2 comments:
I think that McCain spoke with more conviction about what he believed, but Obama showed more intelligence. McCain appeared to be visible angry to even be sharing the stage with Obama, while Obama was responsive and looked straight at him; McCain did not. The debates to me appear to be a tie, neither side got a knockout blow, but hit a few jabs hear and there. McCain beat Obama in spending, but failed to realize that is not the cause economic crisis, and I am sure that some Americans do not even know what an earmark is. Obama beat him on Iraq, connecting better with an America who is obviously displeased with the war, but the surge may have hurt him, although McCain was wrong on tactics and strategy. McCain was better at attacking his opponent, while Obama succeeding in better articulating the issues. If this was boxing, this round was to feel each other out.
You know, I generally have to agree with you with regards to neither side delivering a knockout blow; as you said, "this round was to feel each other out." But I am at a complete loss regarding your claim that McCain spoke with more conviction and knowledge - I thought that he tended to ramble, and his story with the military mother's bracelet was horribly manipulative. Also, Obama was often on the defensive, simply because McCain threw out so many outright lies, which Obama felt compelled to correct - that is something that I respect. But as for attacking one another, I think both candidates did equally well.
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