My take on this debate was that both candidates made their basic arguments clearly. They stuck to the points they’re making on the campaign trail. Neither of these guys are powerful debaters but both held up well. I didn’t see many real gaffes or mistakes.
I said before the debate started that we should expect some outside the box, over the top antics from McCain. But that didn’t really turn out to be true.
Through most of the debate — as I was live-blogging — I was thinking, Hmm, this is pretty much a draw, about what you’d expect with one person arguing McCain’s agenda and another arguing Obama’s. In that sense, I thought it was largely a tie. But McCain’s whole campaign is based on his supposed superior knowledge and judgment on foreign policy. So I think that’s a problem for McCain.
A few key points to consider that may pick up steam over the next hours and days.
McCain repeated what everyone agrees is a lie in claiming that Barack Obama has voted to increase taxes on people making as little as $42,000. Flat out lie.
He repeated his line about the wasteful earmark studying Bear DNA when it’s now been revealed that his vice presidential running mate did the exact same thing — only about seal DNA.
I said above that McCain didn’t have any freak-out moments. But he did have that sneer and there did seem to be this thing where he was so contemptuous and angry at Obama that he couldn’t get himself to make eye contact. I think we’ll hear more about that.
Angry, angry, angry. Part of the key here is that McCain is clearly miffed that he even has to debate or run against Obama. He thinks it’s an insult.
10:07 PM … China cleaned up its act before Nixon’s overtures to China? No Cultural Revolution?
10:10 PM … Good response from Obama on the topic of diplomacy and meetings with enemies. Most of what we’ve heard from maybe a half hour has been basically a draw, at least in debating terms. But this is strong.
10:12 PM … Spain!!!
10:13 PM … I’m not sure most people will know what the hell McCain means by “the Dear Leader”.
10:21 PM … I’m not sure it will resonate with people — but let me just stipulate that McCain is completely nuts on Ukraine and all the former Soviet Republics on Russia’s borders. Okay, I’ve said it.
10:26 PM … I haven’t focused on this myself. But a number of readers are writing in to say that McCain has not looked at or made eye contact with Sen. Obama once this evening. Have you seen that?
(Todd Gitlin adds some more on this point.)
10:34 PM … McCain running for the Presidency of the Surge.
9:06 PM … Wait, didn’t McCain just say that he got the House Republicans to take part in the negotiations when he seemed to lead them out of the negotiations?
9:11 PM … Interesting the degree to which, so far, neither Obama or McCain want to engage each other.
9:12 PM … I guess Lehrer noticed the same thing.
9:13 PM … Friend points out, Obama has flag pin; McCain has none.
9:15 PM … Three millions for seal DNA! None for Bears!
9:21 PM … So far I think this is basically a draw, a lot of jousting, not a lot of hits. But Obama seems to have come into the debate with a much clearer strategy.
9:25 PM … McCain’s been called out on that $42k lie a hundred times. Telling it again.
9:33 PM … “How about a spending freeze?” Just tossing it out as a possibility?
9:34 PM … Solar, biodiesel and whatever the other crap is …
9:34 PM … Can we elect Lehrer?
9:35 PM … Good line from Obama on hard decisions but also knowing what our basic values are.
9:45 PM … You were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong? This is the kind of situation where McCain might flip out.
9:50 PM … Pretty evenly matched debaters.
9:53 PM … McCain’s the voice of considered rhetoric during foreign policy crises?
9:56 PM … Exactly, Barack … (Extinction for North Korea, Bomb, Bomb, Iran, etc.)
We set up a thread at TPMCafe for tonight’s debate. No bailout/financial crisis excuses should keep you from participating.
Looking forward to what we can expect from tonight’s debate, the most telling points are situation and character. The polls for the moment look good for Barack Obama. And what he needs to prove in the context of the entire campaign is that he has the stature and heft to be President of the United States. That and Obama’s character both suggest that he’ll try to put in a solid, reassuring performance rather than aiming for a knock-out punch or some game-changing moment.
Meanwhile, everything about John McCain’s character and the situation he finds himself in suggests he’ll do precisely the opposite.
Whether we call it John McCain’s freak-outta-palooza or just some freewheeling maverickism, everything John McCain has done over recent months and especially and with a new intensity over the last week has been geared to upsetting the applecart and creating some event which trips up Obama and shifts the trajectory of the campaign. Some of us may see it in a negative light or a positive light, but descriptively, I don’t think many people on either side of the political aisle would disagree with that analysis.
Add to that the issue of character. A high stakes campaign brings out the essence of an individual. And campaigns, in almost every case, are defined by the candidate. With these rapid-fire rash and erratic actions, I think we’re seeing the real John McCain. It may be filtered through and packaged by Steve Schmidt or Salter or Davis. But fundamentally I believe this all stems from John McCain.
(To add to the miss, note this pool report filed as McCain headed for the plane to Mississippi tonight with Rudy Giuliani in tow — the “general atmosphere is utter confusion.” Not conducive to going into a high stakes debate. But very much in line with McCain’s recent affect and behavior.)
Put those two factors together — recent behavior/strategy and fundamental character — and I think you have to expect a John McCain who is unpredictable, possibly uncontrollable and looking for any moment to launch a dramatic ambush or confrontation that will amount to his ultimate roll of the dice.
John Judis says all that can or should be said now about John McCain.
McCain spokesperson Nicole Wallace tries to move the bar for why McCain can debate tonight even though the bailout is not resolved, and MSNBC’s David Shuster will have none of it:
From Politico …
A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah Palin’s uneven — and sometimes downright awkward — performances in her limited media appearances.
Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing on the conservative National Review, says “that’s not a crazy suggestion” and that “something’s gotta change.”
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water.”