Obama losing debate

[b.c.]

This one was McCain's to lose. It was on his avowed area of strength. And he had no home run. But Obama was equally knowledgeable and far more dignified.

This was the first presidential debate in my lifetime that I honestly did not enjoy watching. I didn't like the format and both candidates showed more of their weaknesses than their strengths.

I will likely vote Democratic and during the debate I kept hoping Obama, who was very much in control of his facts and his demeanor, would hit McCain with a zinger and give America a memorable soundbite.

McCain followed his usual playbook... be passive and polite the first 15 minutes, then gradually dial up the sneering McSnarky character and keep hammering home on the Rovian coach-points: I'm a war hero, you "just don't get it", you're inexperienced, only I'm ready to confront the tyrants of the world. Piles of platitudes.

Through it all, Obama mostly maintained his cool, which concerned me greatly at the time. I wanted him to swing back; lord knows there's plenty to attack temper-tyrant McCain on, starting with his loose use of facts. I wanted to see Obama taunt McCain into a full-blown explosion on national TV, which was a real possibility. But on reflection, I think Obama came off as measured, presidential and poised, and he took the debate.

Yes, this is similar to what I said above and I too saw several places where I thought Obama could've taken McCain to task, and got the feeling once or twice that he was trying to be too nice.

Maybe that was a deliberate poise, maintained in the face of a number of McCain characterizations and statement that were just outright disinformation, and, given the "delicacies" of this particular race, there is no telling how a more aggressive Obama would've played to an undecided audience.

 

[b.c.]

Well, at the risk of sounding like Lloyd Bensen: "Senator Obama, you're no JFK". There's no real "vision" there. Strip away the flash and he's left offering the same old laundry list of Democratic programs his liberal cronies have been pushing for decades. His response to the "What are you going to have to sacrifice in light of the impending bailout burden"? "Not a damn thing". Translation: "Prepare to dig deep, suckers!"

On the contrary, I thought Obama's answer was more insightful, more aware (of the intricacies involved) and involved a whole lot more thought than McCain's blanket pat answer "I'm going to freeze spending".

Obama offered that his sacrifices were going to be based on the importance of what they were considering cutting. Sounds a whole lot more astute that "Duhhhh...I'm gonna freeze spending."

 

[Freddie53]

On another post, someone said that all but one CNN commentator gave the debate to Obama. ABC was unanimous that Obama won.

This debate was suppose to be the strongest for McCain because of the experience, war veteran etc. The fact that Obama won at all shows how weak McCain may really be.

The issue that will play out most important in the undecided people's minds is that Obama looked and acted more presidential.

McCain was buried in the past and all his major points where he won were in areas that are in the past. Obama's points where he won are areas that are rooted in the future.

Who looked more presidentilal? Obama
Who appeared to have the best grasp of how to move forward in the future? Obama.

Obama's best point was turning McCain's plan to put a moratorium on all spending except his favorite areas was referring that as an axe and his plan as using a scalpel.

Obama kept tying McCain to Bush and McCain wasn't really able to refute that charge.

It was barely a win for Obama, but still a win. And when we move to Obama's turf, it really will be a big win for Obama.

 

[VeeP]

On the contrary, I thought Obama's answer was more insightful, more aware (of the intricacies involved) and involved a whole lot more thought than McCain's blanket pat answer "I'm going to freeze spending".

Obama offered that his sacrifices were going to be based on the importance of what they were considering cutting. Sounds a whole lot more astute that "Duhhhh...I'm gonna freeze spending."

Neither candidate would answer the question straight-up, but bless Jim Leherer for trying to get one.

I could sense there was probably some poll-taking and consultation with his economic advisers required before Obama could decide what his position would be. I could hear people changing channels while he was making up his mind and the fact remains that he never offered up any sacrificial programs. I heard the same list of "must haves" twice.

 

[midlifebear]

When McCain smiles the hair on the back of my neck stands up. McCain is the most disingenuous creepy old fart since Bush The Elder.

• He's never had to pay for health insurance (he grew up in a military family, served in the military, and now receives the best health care available -- for life -- because he is a Senator).
• The cost of fuel does not affect him or his wife (13 cars?).
• I'm not fond of the idea of giving Wall Street a 700 billion dollar bailout, but McCain -- of ALL people -- knows less about how to resolve the problem than most serving in the House and Senate. But he's one Hell of a drama queen!
• He's BEEN a central part of the current neglect regarding economic oversight due to his elitist views on deregulation.
• Libby Black, who currently is NOT an oil lobbyist is the current architect of the McCain Campaign (and will return to being an oil lobbyist after the election).
• His puffy right cheek is suspiciously similar to my deceased uncle's puffy cheek which, after several bouts with melanoma, eventually killed him when the disease returned with incurable ferocity for the last time.
• So what if he was a prisoner of war. He isn't a prisoner of war now. I know many Viet Nam Vets who are in much worse shape McCain who will NEVER recover from their war experiences.
• McCain can't understand the economic plight of the majority of 'Mericuhns because he has ALWAYS lived a life of privilege (with the possible exception of his prisoner of war days, which he recounts as if they were the good old days).
• And, on a personal level, I don't want a president who looks like a gopher.

Now, ask me how I really feel about John McCain. :biggrin1:
​

 

[mattbuddy]

Obama said McCain was right just about on everything....McCain won hands down....

McCain Video Released after debate..YouTube - McCain Is Right

That ad is the most pathetic piece of shit of all the McCain ads and ALL of them are lies and poorly made. That's how the McCain campaign has to work though with their ads...they have to make as much nonsense and stupid shit possible like this ad where they just take a bunch of random quotes from Obama when he's just agreeing with the old bastard. You would never see Obama make an ad like this.

 

[lucky8]

Hey i can do that too!

YouTube - John McCain Debates Himself on Supporting Bush

 

[Skull Mason]

I don't see how any unbiased individual could possible think Obama "won" the debate tonight. But I guess if you like obama for what he does, he just did more of it tonight and you will think he won for that. But seriously, get your head out of your ass and disassociate yourself from your party for one second and think about it. If you are happy with what transpired tonight you should go buy some land in another country because McCain will win if this keeps up.

I was keeping count how many times barack said "you are right" to McCain. I think he said it 7 times. I was sitting there thinking to myself why the fuck is he saying that? Looked to me like barack was hypothesizing and McCain was actually drawing on his experience and knowledge gained while serving this country for the better part of his life. I really wanted obama to show me something tonight that would make me be more down with him, but it was just more of the same shit.

Keep in mind I am a democrat and will probably never vote republican but McCain came across as the better, stronger leader. He seemed to have a better grasp on how the world works. He made obama seem naive, and young. He made it look like Obama had nothing to draw from on his answers. His answers lacked substance, whereas whether or not you agreed with McCain and his answers they were a little more direct. HE KEPT SONNING OBAMA. I was sitting there like yo, obama, you just got sonned again do something. And he didn't. He just kept making awkward faces at Jim Lehrer.

What I am saying is, McCain made Obama look like something. Whether it be inexperienced, naive, nervous, ruffled. Obama never made McCain look like anything. I think the "experience" difference came across in a big way tonight, and it wasn't good for barack. And I will tell you right now there is no way Barack is in bed right now proud of his performance. He could have delivered the knock out punch tonight, and he didn't. Just like he didn't deliver the knock out punch when he selected Biden over Billary. No knockout punch = win for McCain.

I have not read all the replies to these threads about the debate but I would like to give some props to Notaguru for showing me he isn't just a biased democrat who is blind to what goes on. That shows a lot about the quality of a person when they can make a sound judgment and fair assessment of something when it is not in their [our] favor.

I hope everyone here can dig down a little and really think about what you saw tonight and not be a hater. It was simply McCain's night. Think about it like this; I bet all democrats in here had hoped he would do worse than he did, and are probably surprised he did as good as he did, and you [we] all wanted Obama to do better than he did tonight.

This was McCain's night.

 

[B_New End]

I was keeping count how many times barack said "you are right" to McCain. I think he said it 7 times. I was sitting there thinking to myself why the fuck is he saying that? Looked to me like barack was hypothesizing and McCain was actually drawing on his experience and knowledge gained while serving this country for the better part of his life. I really wanted obama to show me something tonight that would make me be more down with him, but it was just more of the same shit.

That's about when I exploded, and turned to my roommate and said, "goddammit, its tweedle dee and tweedle dum, we get ripped off every election!"

I was sick of Obama agreeing on everything with McCain. It pissed me off greatly.

 

[Skull Mason]

I just felt sad to be an american looking at these two guys vying for the most [or what used to be the most] powerful position on the planet.

 

[biz4two]

McCain just got under Obama's skin and Obama almost just lost it. That is what *he* was suppose to do to McCain!
I think the "Game Over" folks!
McCain keeps belittles Obama by saying he does not understand.
McCain has not only won this debate but may just have sown up the election.

IMO...you might have been watching the wrong debate??? I cannot for the life of me understand where John was winning the debate. His answers had NO substance. He keep reiterating that, "he has done this"..."he has visited around the world"..."he knows how to fix things", but yet where has his leadership been for the last 26yrs??? It has been John...and his pals in Washington that have made a mess of our country. In other words…”More of the same OLD”.

In fact...it was Obama that would look at John to refute incorrect falsehoods. NEVER...let me repeat this...NEVER did John look at Obama. John never talked to Obama...he talked at Obama. Like an old grumpy man who thinks he knows everything...and cannot admit a mistake has been made. Notice when it was time to shake hands at the end of the debate. Where was John looking??? It wasn't at Obama...

Sorry...friend...but what you watched tonight was "more of the OLD same"...in John.

I watched a skilled and confident Dem Candidate in Obama that actually provided substance in what he talked about. If Obama is appealing to the “smart”, then who is John appealing to??? <grin>

OBTW: I have to mention this as well. Starting this thread…and exasperating that Obama has “Lost” the debate prior to it even being finished…seems like a John tactic. Remember when John said, “We are all Georgian’s today”? What has he done since then??? Or that he would “fire” the head of the financial mess on Wall Street. Or the best one yet, “I am suspending my campaign”. So he could go to Washington and fix the mess he helped create. LOL! This man is so a “Dramatic-O”!



biz

 

[B_New End]

I just felt sad to be an american looking at these two guys vying for the most [or what used to be the most] powerful position on the planet.

Have you ever seen a debate with good disagreement? Look at Bush/Kerry, there wasn't a hair of difference between the two.

Bush/Gore had some differences, but Bush totally flipped once he was in office.

Perot was the only one to infuse some real difference in debates since I have been watching, IMHO.

 

[SirNeal8]

You obviously didn't see this then: Who Won The Debate? Reviews Go To Obama

 

[Skull Mason]

You obviously didn't see this then: Who Won The Debate? Reviews Go To Obama

Please son, don't cite something from the Huffington Post if you want a non biased view. That would be like me linking something by Sean Hannity regarding who came out on top. Get real, and get your own opinions.

 

[B_VinylBoy]

I think I am more disappointed with Obama not showing his strength on the economy by missing so many opportunities and by seeming noticeably upset in a few instances.

This wasn't the proper stage to do such a thing. The final debate is supposed to circulate around the Economy. This one was supposed to be about Foreign Affairs, and that is probably McCain's strongest bullet point in this whole campaign. Although the Global Economy does play an important role in Foreign Affairs, it would have been a mistake for Obama to turn tonight's debate into one solely about the Economy. There's still two more debates to go, and tonight's ended pretty split. I think there's plenty of time for Obama to hit strongly on the Economy and take this home.

 

[Mensch1351]

I taped the debate and watched it "after the fact" --- I think Obama allayed all fears that he is "naive" when it comes to foreign policy. Of course compared to Bush -- "both" looked Presidential, but I think Barak showed the nation that he is MORE than prepared to be a competent leader and that IDEAS are every bit as important as "experience."
The ONE thing that struck me was John McCain's constant mantra about defeat in Iraq (or victory from the other side of the coin). I think Barak should have reminded the nation that the PURPOSE of the surge was not just to cut down on the sectarian violence --- but to cut down on it SO THAT THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT could have the opportunity to knuckle down and take control of their own country. Once again the STARK difference between the 2 perspectives is that John McCain doesn't understand that our very presence in Iraq is fueling Al Qaida's recruitment. I think Obama did a masterful job re-iterating that the REAL war on terror is supposed to be focused back on Afghanistan and that it was GW's agenda to take his eye "off the ball," and focus it on Iraq. Even the Bush administration is talking about timetables for withdrawl.
My final comment concerns JMCsame's going on and on and on about wasteful government spending. Isn't this the man who voted AGAINST investigation corruption among contractors in Iraq???? I'd like to see his votes in Congress AGAINST all that pork barrel spending the Republicans did from 1998-2006 with Bush only issuing 3 vetos!!
Oh yes --- John is so much for the "little guy" that he voted 19 times against raising the minimum wage!!!! Hmmmmmmmmm!
I think the next debates will show just how prepared both are to lead the country "in a NEW" direction!

 

[Mensch1351]

I listened to it on the Pickup radio, while I was driving around Anchorage delivering large Mark Begich signs.

Obama spoke clearly, McCain was hard to understand, even when I turned the volume up. His three attempts to say 'Ahmedinejad' was the worst stumble of the debate. He repeated himself on how he was going to look after veterans in his closing remarks, I don't think the veteran's groups give him very good marks, despite his being one.

Why would Veterans groups give JMcSame high marks -- he OPPOSED the bill in Congress that would gave Veterans the same educational benefits that soldiers returning from WWII had. (And then was conveniently absent for the vote) ------ AND said that he thought "we could do better" when 75 Senators voted FOR the bill. Ah yes..................he knows better than 75 other Senators!!! All this "support the troops" crap when sooooooo much of what Bush/McCain have done over the last 6 years of this war has done nothing but undercut support for the toops!

 

[curious n str8]

He is not looking at the camera. Cain experience is showing in that he is constantly on attack, has plenty of examples (that Obama can't seem to refute). Obama, instead of talking to Cain is talking to the moderator. I am a Dem but Obama is loosing this debate both on economics and on Iraq.
Obama keeps presenting his cases in such depth that most people don't have the intelligence to understand and Cain keeps attacking that Obama doesn't understand and give simple, straight forward examples.
As a Dem I can say that McCain is winning and will win this debate.
Obama simply can't debate. But I think we all knew that going in.

Bottom line for me is what concerns me the most is Trigger Finger Cain with his hand on the red button. In all earnest I hope that the O'Bama Campaign has a backup commercial to use when Cain's last minute commercials get even more personal and attacking. The commercial? Give a few fast clips of him running off at the mouth and shooting from the hip, firing the SEC chair, "stopping his campaign," bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, etc., and follow it up with "Do you really want a President who acts before he thinks, who acts before he consults advisers, to be the person with his finger on the button?" And follow it with a mushroom cloud! HA! That should do it!

P.S. someone needs to tell Obama to stop raising his pen to the moderator and to directly attack McCain.

I feel that McCain did win but not a huge margin although he did make a good point about Afghanistan and Pakistan. We can't just run in there and bomb the crap out of them,what good would that do it's all mountains plus what make Barack think that it will be any easier for us to defeat the Afganistani's than Russia?

You may want to tell the 6 political analysts on CNN that McCain won, for they clearly went for Obama. Only one went towards McCain but only by a very slim margin.

McCain held his own tonight especially towards the end, but I don't think this debate was a slam dunk for either candidate. It'll be interesting to see what other news sources that aren't either too liberal or conservative, especially international ones, think about the first debate.

And which one's would those be?

I listened to it on the Pickup radio, while I was driving around Anchorage delivering large Mark Begich signs.

Obama spoke clearly, McCain was hard to understand, even when I turned the volume up. His three attempts to say 'Ahmedinejad' was the worst stumble of the debate. He repeated himself on how he was going to look after veterans in his closing remarks, I don't think the veteran's groups give him very good marks, despite his being one.

lol you must have a liberal radio I heard McCain just fine. BTW how could you support Mark Begich hasn't your property taxes gone up enough under his mayor-ship?

Do you think McCain did anything wrong?

Some, he sould have been more bipartisan and admit guilt where it was due and that anyone has the ability to change.

You obviously didn't see this then: Who Won The Debate? Reviews Go To Obama

Another liberal slanted paper

 

[Industrialsize]

How it's playing in the press;
Given the CNN and CBS polling, the public has overwhelmingly crowned Obama the winner of the debate. It seems that Republicans spent so much time trashing Obama's "lack of experience" and "lack of judgment" on national security, that expectations were ridiculously low, and as a result, people were pleasantly (and happily) surprised.
Kind of imagine Sarah Palin, who we've all come to see as a blithering idiot, turning in a performance the caliber of Obama's tonight -- she would all the much stronger for it, no matter if on the merits, she merely equaled Joe Biden. That's what apparently happened tonight.
And those snap polls are apparently driving much of tonight's media narrative. That and McCain's inability to look Obama in the eye.
CW-meister Mark Halperin, on PBS:

I thought Obama clearly did better. I thought he had a chance to show that he was calm and prepared and capable of standing toe to toe with the more experienced McCain. I thought McCain spoke too much Washington jargon, told too many jokes in shorthand, made too many comments he knew what he meant but I don't think he conveyed it necessarily to the audience overall. I thought Obama was the better communicator an did what he needed to do to reassure people.
​

Richard Wolffe, MSNBC:

That was the greatest contrast&#8230;the demeanor and the tone of voice that these candidates adopted where McCain was being much more pointed much more aggressive and curiously couldn't look Obama in the eye. Obama's tone much more straight and even keeled but ready to look his opponent in the eye repeatedly. A big contrast.
​

Eugene Robinson, Washington Post:

Here&#8217;s the politically incorrect way of phrasing one of the central questions about tonight&#8217;s presidential debate: Did John McCain come across as too much of a grumpy old man?
That might not be a nice question, but it&#8217;s an important one. Americans like to vote for the nice guy, not the grumbling prophet of doom. Throughout the 90-minute debate, McCain seemed contemptuous of Obama. He wouldn&#8217;t look at him. He tried to belittle him whenever possible -- how many times did he work &#8220;Senator Obama just doesn&#8217;t understand&#8221; into his answers? His body language was closed, defensive, tense. McCain certainly succeeded in proving that he can be aggressive, but the aggression came with a smirk and a sneer.
​

Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic:

McCain did not filter himself, letting his frustration and contempt for Obama show; he wouldn't let himself look at the challenger.
​

So the verdict is in -- Obama won, and on the night that McCain needed to reverse his opponent's momentum. Perhaps McCain should've cut and run after all.

 

[D_Chocho_Lippz]

I'm voting for the person who WON'T raise my taxes

I like that idea too...