John McCain: Debate with Barack Obama on 10/7/2008
I was really hoping for a game changing debate last night (10/7/2008) between John McCain and Barack Obama. However I came away from the debate with a nauseated feeling. Why? Because the questions were pathetic, and the moderator, Tom Brokaw was wimpy.
The whole point of a political debate in general and a "town hall" meeting in particular is to get face to face with the candidates and get their opinions and a feel for their character. This requires asking questions that get them off of their memorized stump speech repertoire and into actual thinking and speaking. This did not happen last night. You can't tell me that out of all the questions people submitted for consideration, that the 20 or so that were ask represent the gamut of topics? No way! Mr. Brokaw or the committee, or both, selected questions guaranteed not to upset the boat. They sanitized the debate. This pretty much canceled any hope that John McCain could excel. Obama's in the lead and all he had to do was show up and not screw up. He accomplished this. Senator McCain need to do more than that, but was never given the chance because the questions were the same things we've all heard them talking about over and over. Ok, the last question was different and I thought John McCain gave a really good answer (yes, he actually answered it vs. Obama) and then went on to give a great, emotional, passionate closing: but at that point most people may have nodded off.
As I inferred in the last paragraph, I thought that Senator McCain did a better job at actually trying to answer the questions. Sure he would interject his stump speech pieces, but to me, he answered the questions and tried to stay on topic. This goes for the first debate too. Mr. Obama, on the other hand, did not. There was one question that John McCain gave a great answer to, however, he didn't actually answer the question: I think he simply misunderstood the question or something, because his answer was close to the topic, but not on topic. I don't remember the exact question, I just remember saying he didn't answer the actual question. Senator Obama on the other hand, ignored a lot of the questions and just took off talking about related topics, or sometimes unrelated topics.
And Tom Brokaw let Obama in particular ramble on and on. The organizers setup stoplight type lights to signal the two Senators when their time was up. After Mr. Brokaw kept complaining that they were not stopping, Senator McCain asked him to let him know by waving his arms or something - at least McCain was trying. Both candidates had agreed to the rules of the debate, which excluded follow-ups, however, B. Hussein Obama, who feels he's above the rules, just had to have a follow-up to one of the questions and wouldn't stop until he got his way.
What about Senator McCain's proposed buyout of mortgages? I'm still not sure what I think about the idea, but I do like the fact that he had a new idea. I really wish McCain had voted against the 700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout. This new idea may be good, but if he'd voted against the Wall Street bailout it would have reinforced his "Maverick" image. I've written about what caused the problem here: What Caused the Current Financial Crisis.
I can't believe that today, Obama's camp or supporters, maybe both, are making an issue out of McCain referring to B. Hussein Obama as "That one". Give me a break. If John McCain wanted to say something defamatory he could do a lot better than that. Some people even say that it was racial. I don't get that at all. That makes about as much sense as saying my car won't start because I have eggs in my refrigerator. Just plain stupid.
Speakng of race. I'm sick of the whole race thing. In fact, this election has reverse racial problems. What do I mean? I mean that some black people ARE voting for B. Hussein Obama simply because he's black. And some black people say that white people are NOT voting for Obama simply because he's black. Well guess what folks; gosh darn it, HE AIN'T BLACK! He's more white than black. I covered that here: Barack Hussein Obama - Empty Suit. What's more, most white Republicans that I know would vote for Condoleezza Rice in a heartbeat and she's black and a woman. IT'S NOT THE COLOR, IT'S THE PERSON. IT'S NOT THE COLOR, IT'S THE CHARACTER. IT'S NOT THE COLOR, IT'S THE CONTENTS.
So what did I think was the best thing that was said in the debate by either candidate? It was Senator McCain's position that we must do more than one thing at once, that we're Americans and that the American worker is the best there is. Second was McCain's answer in which he said not to listen to the campaign rhetoric, but to go to independent, third-party organizations that check and post the facts and look at each candidate's records.
What did I think was the worst answer? Obama sidestepping the Israel / Iran question. He started out with a strong answer, but subtly softened it up.
Where were the hard questions on topics like abortion, gay marriage, Supreme Court judges, torture, Guantanamo Bay, and homeland security vs. rights? I was so impressed with Sarah Palin in the Vice Presidential debate that she held firm on her beliefs on gay marriage and in fact, went farther than the question asked and made sure everyone was clear on where she stood. Too bad the Presidential candidates didn't have that chance in this debate.
I was also let down that Senator McCain didn't stay around and greet the audience. He shook a few hands and left. Obama stayed in the auditorium for a pretty long time shaking hands and posing for photos with his wife.
Overall, I was let down by the debate, not necessarily by the candidates. Obama performed exactly as I thought he would. John McCain did better than I thought he would, but he missed a few opportunities to come back at Obama or point out some differences. I felt McCain was hindered by the predictable questions. Maybe the final debate will be the one we're all waiting for.
Until next time,
Recoil
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Posted by Fred (aka Recoil) on October 8, 2008
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