voxitar, Typical, appearances and biased perceptions over substance. How something was over what was said.
On Sep 27, 10:34 am, voxitar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Obama looked like a student being schooled by the master. McCain > looked presidential, Obama just looked like whiner. > > On Sat, Sep 27, 2008 at 5:16 AM, mike532 [ Republicans for Obama ] > > > > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Six Short Takes on Why Obama Came out Ahead in the Debate > > >http://www.alternet.org/election08/100565/ > > In the first head-to-head debate of the 2008 campaign, the financial > > crisis dragged what the McCain camp had hoped would be fought in the > > GOP nominee's comfort zone -- foreign policy and national security -- > > squarely into the realm of domestic policy. > > Moderator Jim Lehrer made a smooth transition to the voters' top > > concern in this election, saying that we were facing a potential > > meltdown of the global economy, which was by definition a matter of > > "national security." > > > What followed was a microcosm of the 2008 race: Barack Obama dominated > > John McCain when the focus of the debate was on the domestic sphere > > and a fast-deteriorating financial sector, but ceded an enormous > > amount of political space to McCain on national security, accepting > > much of the Arizona senator's overarching neoconservative narrative > > that the United States is surrounded by mortal danger and evildoers > > and has a moral duty to maintain our forces in Iraq and elsewhere in > > order to defend the homeland. > > > McCain appeared twitchy and out of touch as the debate began with the > > banking meltdown and the Bush-Paulson plan to reverse it. He blinked > > rapidly and avoided eye contact with Obama, Lehrer and the audience as > > Obama came out swinging against McCain for enabling the "root causes" > > of the crisis to develop during decades in the Congress, including a > > long stint on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and > > Transportation. > > > Obama articulately condemned what he called a "philosophy that says > > that regulation is always bad," and blamed its pervasiveness for the > > economic mess. McCain, moments before saying that we have the > > "greatest workers in the world" (and that the United States is > > simultaneously the "greatest importer" and "greatest exporter" in the > > world), tried to shift blame from Wall Street to Main Street -- from > > predatory lenders and fast-and-loose brokers to those who find > > themselves with a home on the bubble today. > > > It's a losing strategy. > > > Obama, on the other hand, must be extremely confident that this > > election will be decided on the economy, as he failed to challenge > > McCain on his belligerent stance toward the rest of the world. > > > He conceded that the "surge has worked" -- it has not. He tried to go > > toe to toe with John "Bomb, Bomb Iran" McCain on the evils of Iran. He > > called Venezuela a "rogue state." He engaged in a bit of fearmongering > > himself, saying that while he supports missile defense -- a boondoggle > > if ever there was one -- the greatest threat we face is from suitcase > > nukes. > > > As Obama agreed with so much of McCain's worldview, McCain's > > discomfort disappeared, and he landed several good knocks on Obama. He > > repeatedly called him "naive." > > > But, in the final analysis, a day after Washington Mutual went down in > > flames, I doubt that it'll be enough to get McCain out of the hole in > > which he finds himself. > > > Don Hazen: > > > If you were an Obama champion and wanted McCain to fall flat, you were > > disappointed. McCain is a tough, pugnacious debater, and he tried to > > control the talk time, going on and on. He's knowledgeable, and as we > > know, he whipped all of the Republicans during the primaries. But the > > big picture is that McCain probably had to do better since he is > > behind on the momentum and had to beat Obama with his supposed > > strength -- foreign affairs -- and there is a consensus among the > > commentators that he didn't do that. > > > If you reflect more on the meta or emotional level, McCain spent most > > of his time talking about the past and focused on Iraq -- making sure > > everyone knew that we had to win. That was the most important point he > > needed to make. But if this election is about change, then McCain > > reinforced his role as part of the problem. For most of the public, > > Iraq is past tense. Sixty percent think the economy is the key issue. > > And in terms of bread and butter, the numbers that people are likely > > to remember are not the $18 billion earmarks discussion, but rather > > the fact that 95 percent of the population will get a tax cut with > > Obama -- everyone who makes under $250,000. Meanwhile, the figure > > associated with McCain is likely to be $300 billion in tax cuts for > > corporations and the wealthy, while we have a huge deficit. Obama had > > to make kitchen table points stick, and he seemed to achieve that, > > repeating these points several times. > > > The pundits were also speculating that independent voters didn't like > > McCain's condescension and repeating that Obama "doesn't get it." Here > > McCain could be seen as the cranky older guy, sounding a little > > insecure, while Obama didn't rise to the bait. In fact, Obama agreed > > with McCain a number of times, suggesting that Obama was more capable > > of working across the aisle. > > > 123Next page »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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