Brando70 wrote:This has turned into a replay of the 1996 election, with McCain as Bob Dole -- a dedicated, accomplished Senator who does not have a clue how to run a presidential campaign. I respect the man's accomplishments and integrity, but he has not figured out that voters outside of one's base do not like angry, irritated presidential candidates. Look at every election since Nixon i 1972 and you'll see that's the case. The guy who appears calmer and more collected wins. Experience doesn't matter -- Gore had a lot more than Bush Jr. and Bush Sr. had a lot more than Clinton.
It is similar, but to me it smacks even more obviously of 1976. The electorate looks like it may elect a hitherto little known liberal despite being a generally center-right electorate. The reason they're doing so is a a backlash against a historically unpopular administration and they're ignoring the fact that the GOP candidate is not the President who is the real object of scorn.
McCain and Ford are both similar characters in that they're people who are widely respected but little loved, particularly by conservatives. And both McCain and Ford were hampered by indifferent speaking abilities and a tendency to dismiss their opponent.
Given this, I think Slumberland may be right. The disparity between the demographics and political culture of the nation on one hand and Obama's politics on the other, make it more likely than usual that he will be a one-termer. If he doesn't move the electorate to the left with him (which he could), then in four years he's going to be open to attacks on policies that are likely to be unpopular.
As for the debate last night, it was definitely more of the same. I think McCain again improved, and actually looked better than he has in either of the first two, but he still never really got Obama to flinch.
Anyone in McCain's camp who thinks that Town Halls are a better format than that one last night needs to have their head and eyesight checked. Seating the candidates takes away the height disparity and minimizes the awkwardness of McCain's gesticulation. Addressing the camera and moderator directly also saw a marked reduction in "my friends."
I think McCain was wise to invoke the plumber meeting, but unwise to hammer it to death so much. He was much better at making the case on taxes, but stunningly unprepared to properly defend his healthcare plan from the same attacks that Obama's been making since Day 1, and which have been demonstrated to be untrue. Poor miss.
The great line that Obama should've run in '04 if he wanted to run against Bush was two debates too late. But still great. His slip calling Obama "Senator Government" was a demonstration that sometimes people's Freudian slips are more incisive than their organized thoughts LOL
McCain was also solid when pointing out the difficulty of sorting through Obama's eloquence to actually get at what he's saying. I think from a pure debating standpoint, his pointing out that Obama only said they would "look into" offshore drilling was the most solidly struck of the night.
Obama was again the strongest on health care. He has a way of promising to fund every program under the sun without ever seeming to be a profligate spender, which is a political gift. He also deflected McCain's abortion attacks quite adeptly.
Obama was definitely presidential in the way that he looked into the camera and lied, particularly if Clinton is your standard of presidential.
He knew damn well that 100% of McCain's ads were not negative, but damned if he didn't look like he believed it. Same with his denial of being introduced to Illinois politics in Ayers' home.
He did not have caffeinated relations with that radical!
I would be far more inclined to say that the race was over if Obama didn't still have such a huge percentage of the electorate skeptical over his readiness to be President. In March 45% of Americans didn't think he was qualified, and here in October
that number is still the same. That's the worst figure since Dukakis' 56% in '88. As I said earlier, this may be a Carter election, where people swallow their concerns and vote to penalize the GOP despite them. But that's still a figure that has to give a ray of hope to the McCain campaign.
Incidentally, I was horrified by something new in this debate. Obama's answer when asked about the qualifications for Federal judiciary appointments:
I think that it's important for judges to understand that if a woman is out there trying to raise a family, trying to support her family, and is being treated unfairly, then the court has to stand up, if nobody else will. And that's the kind of judge that I want.
Courts do not exist to "stand up" for anybody. That's the province of advocates like attorneys, legislators and other politicians. Justice must aspire to the blindness long attributed to her, and a judge who looks beyond the merits of the case and the rule of law ceases to be an arbiter and becomes something else entirely...and something incompatible with our legal system.
Just another glimpse inside the activist mind of the Senator from the great State of Government.
