This is the best summary I've seen on the web about the debate (and not only because it matches up with the Sassy world view). Includes internals from CNN's poll (McCain only rated significantly higher on Obama in one area: "spends more time attacking his opponent"), a theory on why the pundits thought McCain won the debate, and other good stuff.
Jonathan Alter on MSNBC: The biggest loser? Sarah Palin. The debates set a standard she cannot live up to.
On top of that, McCain's defensive, tense, and snarky demeanor lost him points with pretty much every columnist covering this story. It will be interesting to see if he changes his posture and eye contact for the next debate.
A lot of today's columnists are saying that either there was no knock-out punch or Obama won. Either way, this was McCain's chance for a game-changer. He failed and Sarah Palin ain't gonna help next week. She wasn't even allowed on TV last night after the debates. I think, too, that those who believe McCain won on the foreign policy part of the debate (like WSJ) agree with McCain's world view. But this debate was more about the undecideds and according to the CBS poll and even Fox News focus group last night (which Sassy watched, though not happily)--they aren't even closed to being convinced McCain is the guy. That's good news for the good guys.
As TPM put it: "McCain last night needed to suddenly reveal Obama as frighteningly unpresidential, unprepared, and potentially incompetent in the realm of international affairs. In short, McCain needed to force a moment where Obama looked a bit like, well, McCain's running mate. He needed to startle the electorate into seeing this race in a new way. And he didn't do that. Not even close."
Not even close. Just like the election.
3 comments:
I haven't had a chance to really dig into the post-debate analysis (a certain toddler is really cramping my style) but I did see something fun on Andrew Sullivan's blog. He reminded us what Karl Rove in a WSJ editorial that ran on Thursday. Here's what he said McCain had to do last night:
"Mr. McCain needs to come across as optimistic, loose and likable. He must guard against revealing his lack of respect for Mr. Obama. And he must grab the "change" banner from Mr. Obama by describing a few things he'll do internationally that are new and different."
So, I guess the big guy puts this one in the Obama column...
Nate Silver has an interesting run down today about why Obama won the debate in the minds of voters. In short, his demeanor and specific points helped him widen "a gap on connectedness, while closing a gap on readiness."
Here's the link:
http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/why-voters-thought-obama-won.html
Nice find, Penny. It seems to be pretty widely accepted that McCain came off as grumpy, mean-spirited and petty. How could he have thought that was a good idea?
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