Posted on 10/07/2008 9:42:16 PM PDT by 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.”
This line is so tired. The Founders would be incensed by this specious argument. We vote FOR someone who best represents our views, that's ALL. there is to it. We don't play games with polls and votes 'against' candidates.
McCain is de facto losing conservative voters. HE is responsible for a loss to Obama, not me. Voters are free to choose whoever they want and cannot be held individually accountable like society as a whole can.
LOL
Glad I am not the only one who noticed that Ingrid woman
that was most certainly planted, I guarantee she has no idea about greens jobs or going green.
She looked like she didn’t have a clue about what she was asking
Ah, and I forgot to mention that McCain taking a dive in this election is a twofer - Sarah Palin will return to Alaska as damaged goods, and never darken the national stage again - thus wiping out the last best chance Conservatism has.
This works to Obama's advantage. If there's no perceived difference on issues, it becomes all about personality and stage appeal.
I do not remember one question obama answered directly and Brokaw just let obama keep harping on
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.
OldArmy, please, with all due respect, I’m not sure whether we even watched the same debate. Generally speaking, McCain was the optimistic candidate. Optimistic about what America can do. Obama was very pessimistic, his speaking was hesitant and broken and quite frankly, slickly overcautious.
Granted the 300 billion was an issue I also disagreed with but we’re talking about winning the middle ground and the latest polls were showing that people were more in favor of the bailout on the second go-around.
But McCain being too wordy? McCain was done before the little yellow light came on virtually the whole night. At times, yes, he did speak beyond what was necessary to get his point across but his performance was no where near the running off at the yap that Obama was guilty of. McCain did have one overrun into the red light but Obama was the reason Brokaw kept commenting about time. Obama ran past the red light on just about every question.
Oboredom seems to have ADD cause he can’t seem to stay on subject. He meanders around the world for 20 mins on a simple yes/no. Bizarre.
Pray for W, McCuda and Our Troops
Do the rest of us a favor, GO AWAY until after the election, we’ll win without your vote and without you trolling here to depress the conservative vote. I don’t care who you are you are trolling dissent.
Lame, very lame. Can't stand up to the argument so you tell me to go away and call names. No, I didn't drink the Kool-Aid that's evidently been passed around to sucker conservatives into voting for McCain.
McCain's the one who's responsible for depressing the conservative vote. For God's sake, he just proposed a $300 billion plan to buy up people's bad mortgages! This is Juan McAmnesty for crying out loud.
Assuage yourself with your wishful thinking and false statements about our nation's founders.
The fact is, if you don't vote for McCain, you are voting for Obama.
Period.
Thanks.
A lie.
Technically, you are correct. If you do not vote that cannot be counted as a vote...for anyone.
Realistically, if you are in a swing state and do not vote where you would normally have voted for McCain...you improve Obama’s chances of winning.
If you are in a state that is pretty much locked up, as I am, it will not make a difference.
Once caveat...Remember Florida!
With 27 days left in this election, anything short of McCain coming straight out and calling Obama and anyone voting for him an out and out socialist and enumerating a long list of socialist beliefs and works that Obama espouses and supports will fall short come election day.
I'm not holding my breath for McCain to say anything so truthful. Other than picking Sarah as his VP, he's been the big disappointment I expected him to be. McQueeg will set the GOP and conservative goals back 8 years, if this country lasts that long under Obama. I'll cast my vote for him come November 4th, but it's really a vote for Sarah and against socialism.
I hope you are right but the economy trumps EVERYTHING right now.
McCain MUST address this at every speech - with a package of reforms / solid / and talk about getting people elected to Congress to get these measures passed:
Tax cuts for individuals and businesses - (but this should happen BEFORE Jan 2009 - still talk about it and why this will help the economy.
Energy financial security - drill asap
And there have got to be some other ECONOMIC incentives in his plan - free market- that will work - that must be discussed along with why putting a taxer and spender into office at this time is like pouring gasoline onto a raging fire.
No, actually true. Anyone who doesn't believe a vote for Barr or similar 3rd party candidate isn't a vote for Obama doesn't remember recent history well. In '92 to the Perot vote took away plenty from G.H.W. Bush to get Clinton elected with just 43% of the vote, in '00 the Nader vote siphoned enough from Gore to elect G.W. Bush.
I watched about the first five minutes of the debate, getting through the first question and answers. Obama came on with his usual Marxist attack on Bush and the markets. McCain replied with drivel I’ve already forgotten when he could have smashed Obama out of the room by giving the real history of the mortgage crisis and how Obama and the DemonRats are to blame with the CRA and the abuses of the Clinton administration. After that, I realized it was a waste of time and went to bed.
white guilt
Obama’s fumbling of the question about Russia showed how much he can look like a deer in the headlights. It was disasterous.
bump
Been there, heard that, got the t-shirt. All year long, especially when the crossover voters in winner-take-all states killed off the campaigns of the five Republicans (Hunter, Tancredo, Thompson, Giuliani, Romney) who I would have enthusiastically supported over McCain, before I ever got a chance to vote.
Not now, nor ever in American history, has the two-party system been given a right to all the votes.
Still less so the one and one-half party system we have today.
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