Monday, September 29, 2008
McCain wins on points
Since I was out of town this weekend, I didn't get to watch the McCain-Obama debate until late last night. The first post-debate commentary I read this morning was David Broder's, with which I agree:
There were no knockout blows in the first presidential debate of the fall, but John McCain outpointed Barack Obama often enough to encourage his followers that he can somehow overcome the odds and deny the Democrats the victory that has seemed to be in store for them.
It was a small thing, but I counted six times that Obama said that McCain was "absolutely right" about a point he had made. No McCain sentences began with a similar acknowledgment of his opponent's wisdom, even though the two agreed on Iran, Russia and the U.S. financial crisis far more than they disagreed.
That suggests an imbalance in the deference quotient between the younger man and the veteran senator -- an impression reinforced by Obama's frequent glances in McCain's direction and McCain's studied indifference to his rival.
Whether viewers caught the verbal and body-language signs that Obama seemed to accept McCain as the alpha male on the stage in Mississippi, I do not know.
But it reinforced my impression that McCain was the more aggressive debater. He flung the adjectives that stick in a listener's mind, calling Obama "naive" and therefore "dangerous."
Obama's supporters are feeling pretty confindent right now. One thing they should think about, however, is the fact that their man hasn't won a single debate during the 2008 presidential campaign, primaries included. And I thought he was supposed to be a 21st Century Daniel Webster.
Now that he's behind in the polls, look for McCain to take it up a notch in the remaining debates. The second Obama makes one of his patented naïve talking-point statements, look for McCain to blast him with a "There you go again" fit for the 2008 presidential election.
There were no knockout blows in the first presidential debate of the fall, but John McCain outpointed Barack Obama often enough to encourage his followers that he can somehow overcome the odds and deny the Democrats the victory that has seemed to be in store for them.
It was a small thing, but I counted six times that Obama said that McCain was "absolutely right" about a point he had made. No McCain sentences began with a similar acknowledgment of his opponent's wisdom, even though the two agreed on Iran, Russia and the U.S. financial crisis far more than they disagreed.
That suggests an imbalance in the deference quotient between the younger man and the veteran senator -- an impression reinforced by Obama's frequent glances in McCain's direction and McCain's studied indifference to his rival.
Whether viewers caught the verbal and body-language signs that Obama seemed to accept McCain as the alpha male on the stage in Mississippi, I do not know.
But it reinforced my impression that McCain was the more aggressive debater. He flung the adjectives that stick in a listener's mind, calling Obama "naive" and therefore "dangerous."
Obama's supporters are feeling pretty confindent right now. One thing they should think about, however, is the fact that their man hasn't won a single debate during the 2008 presidential campaign, primaries included. And I thought he was supposed to be a 21st Century Daniel Webster.
Now that he's behind in the polls, look for McCain to take it up a notch in the remaining debates. The second Obama makes one of his patented naïve talking-point statements, look for McCain to blast him with a "There you go again" fit for the 2008 presidential election.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, September 29, 2008 
