I just watched the "debate" at Saddleback Church on CNN. Let me start with saying, I liked the format much better than the type of debates we have seen in recent political elections. It was relaxed, informal and gave both candidates the chance to speak in prose rather than soundbites. I also realize that many of the questions were Republican leaning but not all. Having said all that I was shocked at how well McCain performed and how dreadful Obama was. Anybody watching this debate realized the differences between McCain and Obama both in substance and style. Obama is a talker who lives in shades of grey. McCain is a leader who tells it like it is. It was as simple as that.
Obama went first and was hesitant, uneasy and not surprisingly non committal. I expected much better from him considering he should be refreshed from his vacation. The biggest problem was how long winded he was and how couldn't get around to answering the questions directly. He no doubt realized that he was not in agreement with many in the audience but instead of simply acknowledging that disagreement and staking out his position, he tried to awkwardly find grey areas of agreement with them. This approach did not work and made him look weak, calculating and feckless. I cannot think of one answer that expanded his appeal beyond the democratic base let alone his appeal to evangelicals.
McCain by contrast hit a home run. This is obviously his type of format and he flourished. Every answer was direct, concise, confident. He was even able to tie in stories and anecdotes with a strong since of poignancy and humor. Frankly, he appeared much more secure in himself and his positions than Obama. You might not have liked every answer he gave but you had no doubt where he was coming from and why. He looked like a guy ready to be president.
I hope they have another debate in this format. To be fair, they could host it by a liberal group instead of a church to make it easier on Obama. But I am fairly confident that Obama's handlers are working overtime tonight to try and limit joint appearances and debates after seeing their man's pitiful performance.
4 comments:
for an event in which the questions were not supposed to be known ahead of time and the responses were not supposed to be stump speeches, mccain came across as rehearsed and and "political". outside of his answer about his greatest moral failing and the three people he admired most, the rest of his answered made this entire event suspect...especially his response to the question about the definition of "rich" for the purpose of ttaxes.
...but, maybe that was because i just don't agree with many of his responses.
I like reading your opinions on these topics, Jeff. I find your reasoning and comments interesting. Thanks for blogging about this and the McCain VP topic as well.
Heather
Uh...uh..mm...uh...I..um..I guess...uh Obama shouldn't be elected to any office with a high pay grade.
I think you are right on, Fetz. I had such low expectations for both candidates, but was surprised and impressed with McCain; he sounded like a national leader. Obama showed his lack of depth and experience.
I appreciated Rick Warren's attempt to promote civility. I agree and don't think Obama should be "demonized", but man is this guy's worldview messed up or what?
I read this was going to happen and I'm glad to hear McCain did well. Hopefully he'll continue to show up strong in debates this fall.
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