TWO HOURS LATER - MCCAIN VS OBAMA II - IMPRESSIONS

Townhall.com ^ | 8 October 2008 | Andrew Roman

[andrew roman]

Two words kept popping in and out of my head during the second Presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain – disappointing and tedious. Setting aside the fact that the proceedings seemed to drag and on at an agonizingly tortuous pace with little more than eye-watering yawns from my end to disrupt the monotony, this debate had the personality of a lima bean can. Add to it the fact that there seemed to be more passion exuded by Tom Brokaw, the moderator, when asking the candidates to step aside from blocking his view of the teleprompter than anything either of them said on stage, and you’ve got a first-class, bona-fide dud.

Specifically – and perhaps most important – tonight’s “non-debate” debate was not, to quote a phrase, a “game changer” from Senator McCain – and frankly, I was hoping it would be. While I certainly don’t think Senator Obama as the next President of the United States is a foregone conclusion yet, he clearly took another step closer to the Oval Office on Tuesday. If the poll numbers are to be believed, neither candidate will do much in the way of movement as a result of this debate. In short, it was not a great night for the Republicans – and it really needed to be.

There was one moment, I would have to assume, meant to serve as that “game changer” for Senator McCain early in the debate – a grenade lobbed in from left field that, honestly, stunned me and fell well short of its intended target (at least for now). McCain, seemingly from whole cloth, said that when he is President, the federal government would help stabilize the housing market by buying up bad mortgages and refinancing them for home owners at market value – to the tune of $300 billion.

What?

I’ll need more information on that one before I blow a bazooka through it.

My frustration with this particular presentation was that I found myself disenchanted on two fronts. First, early in the debate, I found myself screaming at the television even more so than I had during their first debate, probably because I was yelling at both Obama and McCain, and often for the same things. It seemed to me, primarily, that they were differing on the finer points of similarly held positions.

Despite an all-too-quick and truncated attack by McCain on the Democratic involvement in the current financial crisis – which, by the way, started off promisingly enough and had me thinking this was going to be a feisty performance by him - there was yet again more McCain pandering with fuzzy-middle non-speak about corruption on Wall Street, blah, blah, blah …

Huge mistake.

Entirely too much time was spent on selling bi-partisanship and extending arms across the aisle. It came across as weak and contrived and surely did nothing to endear McCain to anyone.

Second, the number of missed opportunities by McCain to slap back hard at Senator Obama was staggering. My slowly building disgust was fuelled not only by the lack of substance coming from the lips of Senator Obama – which is a given - but in the fact that Senator McCain was profoundly ineffective in countering him as I wanted him to be – and as I felt he needed to be to turn the tide.

Perhaps I’m in a minority here, but I am sick of listening to Senator Obama and the Democratic Party demonize those who provide jobs to a large portion of the American public. I am also annoyed that no one – especially Senator McCain – calls out Senator Obama and his ridiculous assertion that 95% of Americans will get a tax cut under his “save the middle class” tax plan. How on earth is it possible to get a tax cut when you don’t pay income taxes? A little more than 45% of Americans do not – repeat, do not – pay income tax. That means Senator Obama’s “tax breaks” will amount to a welfare payment to those who don’t deserve it.

Senator McCain, are you home?

Can someone also inform Senator Obama that to raise taxes on corporations, as he wants to do and says is somehow “fair,” results in customers and workers bearing the ultimate burden?

I know you’re in there, Senator McCain! Can someone (figuratively only) just slap Senator Obama across the kisser – or anyone else for that matter – who has the utter audacity to call the attacks of 9/11 a "tragedy?" They were an act of war. Period.

This must anger you, Senator McCain! Show it!

Is there anyone with even a remedial knowledge of how budgets work willing to spare an afternoon (or perhaps a weekend) with Senator Obama to explain to him that the ten billion dollars a month being spent on funding the war in Iraq is not – repeat not – being taken away from anyone or anything domestically? It is not being diverted from, say, emergency food and clothing needed for naked, emaciated children in our inner cities. That’s not how it works, Senator Obama.

Answer the door, Senator McCain! The bottom line is … John McCain wasn’t horrifically bad. True, he had me biting my bottom lip when he went on about the conspicuousness of global warming; He had me shaking my head when he once again hoisted his arrows at the “greed” of Wall Street; He induced stomach gurgles when he kept reminding us how much of a maverick he is, pulling names like Feingold and Kennedy out of his hat. (I kept a bottle of Tums next to my cream soda as I watched).

However, let me say, without reservation, that substantively, Senator McCain was the clear winner of this debate. The problem was … he just wasn’t as good as he should have been … and frankly, could have been.

It’s not over by any means … I just wanted more of a “Hell yeah!” taste in my mouth at the end of that day.

I walked away with an “Uh, okay.”

[napscoordinator]

Obama said “MOST of you will remember 9/11”

Most?????

He must have been referring to the under 8 crowd. lol.

[sarasota]

I can stop reading now. The debates are one thing; winning is another. Let’s keep the ball rolling FOR McCain.

[RipSawyer]

Was it just me or did anyone else get the idea that obmama just loves the sound of his own voice. He’d get the mic and go on and on and on about nothing. It was just the sound of his voice going around in circles seemingly never ending. Sooooo boring to me.
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You and I must be related! Seriously, I kept wondering if he was ever going to actually say something. On the other hand I was very disappointed with McCain, everytime he started up about “reaching across the aisle” I wanted to puke.

[libscum]

Brokejaw is a liberal PIG. HE turend this town hall styled debate into a interview with a Sec of State or an interview with a LIB PHYD Prof from Columbia U. He did this intentionaly to favor Obambi thus limiting any mistakes by the Marxist dope. This format allowed the Marxist Ass to script all of his responses and talking points. Browpig should be tar and feathered and beaten at the stake.

[RipSawyer]

Obama says all kinds of idiotic things, just consider his convention speech, there was enough insanity in it to have killed any candidacy a few years back but people were saying what a great speech it was. How can someone say that HE is going to defeat poverty, sickness and climate change and make us energy independent in ten years, all in one sentence and not be laughed off the stage?

[grey_whiskers]

If he *were* assassinated (not going to happen, since he won't be President), there would be race riots which would quickly burn out the centers of the Dem hellholes.

I think the Ayers of the world would try to turn it into the "Revolution" they tried for in the 1960s but after a couple of weeks (particularly if the thugs tried to go into the suburbs) there would be a hue and cry for Biden to name McCain as his VP and then resign.

I have a feeling a lot of the academic leftists in this country would be found dead due to 'student uprisings'.

Cheers!

[pgkdan]

I agree overall. I think the biggest problem last night was the format and Tom Brokaw's insertion of himself into the the debate by continually insisting that they follow the rules. It made the debate boring and a non event IMHO. Brokaw obviously went out of his way to pick the blandest, safest questions for this thing. The candidates should have called on audience members and taken it from there.

McCain should have turned to Brokaw and told him to pipe down. People were tuned in to hear what the candidates had to say and not the moderator.

[RipSawyer]

The venue reminded me of an Infomercial-— 2 boring guys trying to sell cheap vacuum cleaners to a bunch of paid “audience”.
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You are spot on except for one word! They weren’t trying to sell anything “cheap”, except maybe our freedom.

[TurtleStink]

i think his peak stopped half way thru his european tour.

i thought the town hall debate last night will be forgotten by noon today. this is an old tired script that the msm is going through AGAIN. i remember they did the same crap in 04 with the same result, said it was a must win and then dumbed the questions down. follow this link to revisit the bush/kerry debate. you could publish this article exactly about last night’s debat and it wouldn’t be different.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/opinion/9sat1.html

our political and media overlords are acting like we don’t have the internet this time around. if Ohitler wins we won’t have an “unpoliced” internet next time. good luck to all of us that God will help us one more time. Sarah is a good sign that he is on our side. god bless Sarah. the one bright spot in this whole unbelievable election.

[RipSawyer]

Down and outers are most susceptible to charismatic cult type figures,
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Probably true but we also hear of these upper middle class, advanced degree holders who are anything but down and out but are in the tank for Obama. I can understand the losers but why the Volvo drivers, is it just idiotic white guilt?

[Hatteras]

"Can someone also inform Senator Obama that to raise taxes on corporations, as he wants to do and says is somehow “fair,” results in customers and workers bearing the ultimate burden?"

Obama did make a great argument for lowering taxes on corporations when he cited his own running mate's home state of Delaware and how they enjoy the benefits of corporate tax reductions. Too bad McCain didn't pick up on it.

[OldArmy52]

Well said...I was able to listen to most of the debate and sadly, while Obama the extremist leftie managed to come across as intelligent, reasonable and well spoken, if for no other reason than that he seems to be speaking vaguely so to not reveal his true beliefs, McCain came across as, well, uninspired.

And the 300 billion “buy your mortgage” sounded like an idea that only about 75 pct of voters would not like.

Too bad McCain couldn’t have been tag teaming with Palin. McCain clearly needed to sit out the match in the corner as by debate end, Obama and McCain managed to come across as too simular.

And yes, McCain needs to say things with about half the words. Seems being a Senator makes one wordy.

Previous Presidential candidates generally are state governors aren’t they? Now we have 4 Pres/VEEP candidates, only one with any “management” experience.

[CharacterCounts]

Its been 28 years since Carter left office. Many of those upper middle class advanced degree holders have never had the opportunity to witness just how much a true leftist can screw things up.

[XR7]

Debate filled with tension, but little venom
[Shades of Jimmy Carter]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2100323/posts

God help our once free republic.

[Swordfished]

Non-committals who think their pious on “principle,” make me sick.

You should recall that this country was founded on principles.

You should also be reminded that we are nowhere near as free as we used to be - and that the country is already a good part socialist and headed full steam down that road. McCain's not going to stop it.

McCain winning is a nail in the country's coffin because no conservative will ever win again. I don't even think McCain CAN win.

[manc]

nope just wasn’t you

Obama sure likes his own voice, I was shouting at the TV when oabma tried to do follow ups and jsut kept going on.
One of the worst times was obama saying about the time and then says well I’m just keeping up with john

Obama came off as a little child

As for this knock out the media keep harping on about , well it was hard to do when old Brokaw picked the most boring questions to be asked.

No questions on the truth no questions about character, nothing

[Old Sarge]

McCain is a wuss. He ran for President as an ego thing. He really doesn’t care that much about winning because when he loses, he will go back to the Senate and work with his “friends across the aisle” pushing for bi-partisan legislation that the Dems like. And the media will once again be his friend and he will bask in his increased place in history as a guy who got the party’s nomination. In other words, he will be another Bob Dole.

DING DING DING DING DING!!!! THE WINNAH!!!!
You win the Kewpie Doll for a moment of mental clarity!

[napscoordinator]

I agree with you 100 percent. Everyone here feels like McCain and Palin can get the information out at these town hall meetings they attend...that is true, but who attends those? People who support John McCain and Sarah Palin. I doubt many independents attend those. And Americans do not watch the news...Obviously if Fox News gets a few million watchers and CNN gets a million watchers...MSNBC is even less people watching. Who is seeing this information from the town hall meetings??? Us!!!! It is incredible to think that an American who gets home at 6:00, has dinner and then finally gets to the TV and watches Dancing with the Stars, House, Desperate Housewives and American Idol really are going to get the information about Ayers and others. I know that people watch the debates and that is why McCain should have beat Obama up...that was his opportunity. Oh yes, you will mention commericals...I forgot. lol. Well that is the time to run to the bathroom and fill up the popcorn.

[supremedoctrine]

I have always said that without that sonorous sounding voice, and somewhat telegenic youthful appearance, and
selfconfidently casual way of carrying himself, Obama would be indistinguishable from other Dems of the last 35-40 years who have already disgraced themselves. Oh, all of the above , PLUS , infusions of money from God-knows-where or God-knows-from-whom......it may be revealed only too late, if he makes it in, just how suspect his “funding” is.

[KansasGirl]

[91-95% of the conservative base has been locked up thanks to Sarah Palin. Mac had to take the gamble and go for the “mushy middle”.

Personally, I believe McCain’s $300B mortgage bailout about as much as I believe Obama when he says he’ll cut more in the budget then he’ll actually spend. It’s crap speak meant to for the “mushy middle]

I THINK this is a HUGE mistake on McCain’s part. He does not understand the “mushy middle.” Most of them are fiscal conservatives but more moderate or liberal on social and national security issues. The last thing they want to hear is McCain saying he’s going to pay for the irrresponsible decsions of people who purchased housed they can’t afford. McCain may have thought such a plan would help him, but it won’t.