OVERVIEW:
Not an overly intertesting debate—except for the moments where McCain finally turned attack dog, and Obama parried the attack. (although some of us might have liked had he thrown just one punch).
The rest of the time, Obama had some overly wonky moments, but consistently looked presidential and spoke to the point.
McCain seemed more prepared than before, and was more on top of his answers. This was arguably McCain’s best debate. He seemed mentally a bit more on his game (until the moment he called Obama “Senator Government.” But whatever.).
Yet, as with the previous debates, McCain’s body language and facial expressions were his Achilles heel. He smirked. He laughed in a mean little way, clacking his teeth like an old dog biting the air. He rolled his eyes. He flashed stressed-out, clenched-jawed smiles. This was not McCain at his best. But we’ve not seen the best of McCain for what feels like a long time.
McCain looked at Obama this time (unlike the other debates), but he appeared to dislike his opponent so virulently it belied his reach-across-the-aisle claim—that once was his strong suit.
These are serious times. We are in the middle of a dangerous economic crisis. And the anger that appears to seethe under McCain’s surface does not inspire confidence.
Also, McCain took some entirely whacked out positions that will hurt him, as when he said that “health of the mother” was not a valid reason for an abortion, inferring that it was code for abortion on demand. That was quite incredible. (And it’s entirely counter to the views of the average American woman.)
By the same token, his accusation that ACORN was going to perpetrate the “largest voting fraud in the history of this country”….no matter how much one has bought in the ACORN kerfuffle—this was just way too much of an overstatement, except for the base.
(Promoting Columbia as our ideal trading partners was another strange moment.)
Although McCain managed to break himself of the “my friends” tic, his hammering of the Joe-the-plumber theme, while fine at first, gradually became discomforting.
In a moment in history that is this perilous, in which people are genuinely frightened, McCain needed to come off as much more in command of the problem than he did. Joe-the-plumber isn’t going to do it for him.
In contrast, Obama sounded clear, sober-minded, believable, in touch, caring, and presidential. He seems like the grown-up, and a problem solver. A leader.
McCain seemed angry and not anywhere as in command as he needed to be.
And the polls seem to reflect all of the above.
(Even FOX’s normally mendacious Frank Luntz gave up and admitted that his focus group thought Obama won the debate.)
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AND NOW THE DEBATE:
(All my minute by minute nattering—no doubt still typo-littered—after the jump.)
6:01: BOB: Okay, guys, Economy! Go!
MCCAIN: (At least it looks like he’s gotten better sleep. He says something about Fannie and Freddie since this is the mantra that he feels he can pin on the Dems and Obama through the dreaded ACORN [although he doesn’t say the actual word ACORN; his base knows the code.] Then he talks about his mortgage buy plan.)
OBAMA: Repeats his own financial package and says he disagrees with McCain’s homeowner package which “could be a give away to banks”—-a phrase that is his code to make McCain’s package sound bad.
MAC: Senator Obama had an encounter with a plumber? Oh, okay, McCain talked to a plumber, or somebody talked to a plumber. Now McCain’s doing his shout out to Joe the plumber. McCain’s plan will help Joe, and Joe knows this, says MAC. Obama’s plan will screw Joe-the-Plumbe.
OB: Nah, poor Joe has been watching McCain attack ads, which gives him false information poor Joe. Okay, turns out that Obama did talk to Joe.
(Geeze, I hope afterall this, somebody goes to find Joe to find out how he feels now, and whom he believes, what books he reads, if he has a favorite ice-cream, if he watches Project Runway or not. Do plumbers watch Project Runway? Sure, why not.)
(I think Joe is now THE mythical undecided voter. The world may now depend on Joe-the-plumber. Life is beginning to resemble a Kevin Costner movie)
MAC: Back to Joe. Joe the plumber should spread the wealth around not Barack Obama.
6:12: OB: Warren Buffet gets it. And let me explain it to you.
MAC: We’re talking about Joe-the-Plumber. Heh-heh. (Yes, he actually said that.)
6:13: The room thinks John McCain has said exactly zero.
BOB: So what’re you going to cut? (Every moderator out of the last three has asked this question. So far nobody’s answered it. Let’s see if Bob has any better luck.)
OB: “We subsidize insurance companies. So I’m going to go after the BAD programs, and keep GOOD programs.” Plus he’s going to invest in education, energy and so on because that will save money in the long run—which is, nothing that he hasn’t already said….but….like…absolutely right.
Obama talks also about a culture of responsibility. (The CNN wiggly lines like the culture of responsibility. I, however, do not like the wiggly lines.)
MAC: Wants to increase home values and says that will create wealth. (BOB says that doesn’t answer his question.) The weird little CNN lines like nuclear energy. McCain now talks about hatchets and scalpels that SOME people talk about. (At least he didn’t say THAT guy talks about it. An improvement.) McCain wants to use hatchets and scalpels.
The wiggly yellow line doesn’t like this. (women) “Pork” makes the both the lines tank.
OB: More hatchet’s and scalpels.
POOR BOB still tries to go after the budget.
OB: McCain votes for Bush’s budget.
MAC: Senator Obama I’m not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run four years ago. (McCain’s best line so far. A sound bite waiting to happen.)
I will balance our budgets. (McCain got a second wind here. He’s a bit stronger right now.)
OB: When Obama talks about his record—like about torte reform—the average listener turns off. People liked when Obama gave McCain credit for being against torture.
MAC: Now babbling on about scars to prove the hits he’s taken, blah, blah, blah. Boring. We’ve heard this and we don’t care.
BOB: You guys said mean things to each other, so will you say it to each other’s faces? Will you? Huh? Huh?
6:32: MAC: You should have sat down with me at all those town hall meetings. Like John Kennedy did before the tragedy of Dallas. (WTF???? Am I the only person who thought that Dallas remark was very strange?)
MAC: “Whenever an out of bounds remark was made by someone in my campaign I have repudiated it.”
WHAT??????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! McCain’s nose growing even as we speak. Tongue preparing to turn black and fall out. Karma just got singed at the edges.
OB: I don’t mind being attacked for the next four weeks. But what the American people deserve is for us to talk about the problems that affect the American people.
MAC: Senator Obama is spending gobs and trillions of dollars talking sh*t about me, when I’m talking to Joe the Plumber. (Yes, he did say Joe the Plumber.) And why didn’t you repudiate Congressman John Lewis who talked sh*t.
OB: Congressman Lewis was talking about when your running mate talked sh*t about me in rallies causing people to yell “Kill him and “Terrorist,” and your running mate did nothing to repudiate it. (Okay, he didn’t say, “talked sh*t.)
When people suggest that I pal around with terrorists…..
MAC: Changes the subject and says that his people are fine folks and that he repudiates everything.
OBAMA looks genuinely undecided about what to say at this juncture. He’s clearly pissed, and he appears to be having a brief but intense battle with himsef. He gets a grip on himself, and answers quietly—too quietly for my money. He calculated whether or not to throw a punch, and he didn’t throw it. I wish he had.
MCCAIN on the other hand, decides, hey, WTF?! AND GOES FOR IT: “We need to know the full extent of Senator Obama’s relationship with Ayers. And with ACORN, which is about to perpetrate the greatest election fraud in the history of this country.”
OBAMA: Sighs. Explains Ayers. (Basically the same rap. On a board with him as were a lot of Republicans.)
McCain is smirking. What’s up with the smirk? The smirk is very, very creepy. Nobody wants a smirky president. (We had one recently and we didn’t like it.)
MCCAIN just lies about Ayers and shouts Obama down, when Obama calls him on the…B.S.
This is not a successful stance on McCain’s partand the wiggly lines DO NOT like it at all. McCain’s anger is very unappealing. Obama’s slight flash of anger looks appropriate. Nobody likes the clench-toothed McCain. It does not inspire confidence. Nor does it look strong.
(Obama looked ticked. McCain looked hateful. There’s a difference.)
BOB: Why would it be better if your running mate becomes president and not his running mate?
OB: “Joe Biden is experienced and comes from Scranton.” It’s basically the same rap. What he doesn’t say is that Sarah Palin is starting to seem like a disingenuous, conscienceless harridan?
By the way, it was instructive to listen to Fresh Air Wednesday, where Terry Gross interviewed the former head of the editorial board for Anchorage Daily News, who talked in detail about Sarah Palin.
MAC: I’m proud of Sarah, blah, blah, blah, reformer. Blah, blah, blah.
OB: She’s a capable politician who has excited a portion of the Republican base.
BOB: Do you think Joe Biden is qualified?
6:45: MAC: Mmmmmmmm. Sorta.
By the way. This camera POV of just the side by side heads is very vexing as it doesn’t allow us to see body language. Who negotiated this format? It sucks.
(Okay, I see. MSNBC is showing a wider shot. What’s up with CNN? Irritating.)
6:47: MAC: “Senator Obama is an extreme environmentalist. (But, I’m going to say much of what he’s said to see if I can get those little squiggly lines to go up.)
Obama is starting to seem defensive. He needs to recapture his mojo.
6:50: Obama sounding way too wonky. And John McCain is smirking.
6:51: McCain says that Obama talks real good…..but that you shouldn’t listen to him.
“Columbia is the biggest importer of our agricultural goods.” (Really? Now that’s sad!)
“Columbia is trying to help us stop the flow of drugs???? ” HA-HA-ha-ha-ha!!!!!!!!!! You can’t be serious!
6:53: OBAMA fires back on Columbia, then decends into free trade wonkiness. This free trade thing is way too arcane for most people. Okay, now Obama’s talking about making energy efficient cars—and how that will create jobs. WHEW! Back on track. Better. (the little squiggly lines like it too.)
6:55: MAC is babbling AGAIN about free trade with Columbia and not sitting down with that bad guy, Hugo Chavez. It sounds boring and it’s not going to play to the average person.
When most people think “Columbia” they think “cocaine” and “drug lords,” not helpful trading partners.
MCCain is losing energy. (Maybe the uppers are wearing off. Kidding. Ginko Biloba, maybe.)
OBAMA talks about health care. It’s pretty good and clear and the wiggly lines like it.
MAC: Talks about obesity and nutrition……and Joe the Plumber. (my friend.) Interestingly he’s stopped saying my friend every ten minutes.
In fact, I think “Joe the Plumber” has just replaced “my friend..”
MAC: “Joe, Listen to me. Senator Obama is going to fine you if you don’t buy his health plan.”
OBAMA: “Okay, Joe, we can talk too. Hi, Joe. Howzit going? Okay, about fines. You know what fine you will pay? Zero. ZERO, I tell you.”
McCain looks lost and confused. Uppers definitely wearing off.
OB: On the other hand, Obama’s vitamins finally seem to be kicking in. About time. He’s talking directly to Joe, again, which is fine in a strange kind of way, and tells him in detail about his plan and how sucky McCain’s plan is going to be.
MAC: Hey, Joe! You’re rich! Congratulations. Now you’re really going to fall into the category where he’ll fine you! And I won’t!
(The room: And if that’s not good enough you can move into my house in Arizona. Come on down.)
7:00: MAC: No cosmetic surgery and transplants. (JOHN, john, john, the transplants thing is a non-starter. Trust me!)
Listen, Senator Government wants to….uh….I mean Senator Obama….
Wha-a-a–aaaaa!!!!! “Senator Government!” OH SNAP!!!
(YouTube Alert; By the time you read this there will be Senator Government clips all over the web.)
7:07: BOB: What about SCOTUS? Roe v. Wade? Litmus test?
7:08: MAC: No litmus test.
7:09: OB: No litmus test either, but I respect women. And their rights.
7:12: MAC: Obama wants to kill babies.
7:13: No, I don’t. McCain lies like a rug. (or words to that effect. McCain is shameless on that stupid vote in the Illinois senate. He knows he’s lying, but does it anyway.)
7:15: OB: Let’s help our teenagers make good choices so they don’t get pregnant…. (or something like that.)
7:15: MAC: (sneering.) “Health of the mother.?” That’s the extreme pro abortion position. (WHAT?????) Not even the wiggly lines like that.
Bad move, John. The average person doesn’t want the mother to die to save the unborn child. Sorry.
7:17: BOB: America’s school kids sucks at math? What d’yall think?
OB: (Talks about paying teachers, recruiting teachers, early child hood education, make college affordable.)
He proposes a $5K yearly college credit in exchange for community service. (Cool!)
MAC: Talks about charter schools. Okay. Not bad. We like charters. Doesn’t want to throw money at education. Likes Teach for America. (Frankly, nothing terribly different than Obama has said.)
OB: “Where we disagree is on vouchers. Plus Senator McCain’s record sucks on this school stuff.”
MAC: His tone gets condescending. “I’m surprised you didn’t pay more attention, Senator Obama.” McCain does not look attractive when he starts doing this. His eyes start looking little and piggy-ish.
OB: Obama starts talking about the D.C. school system and lays it out. McCain keeps interrupting.
SHUT-UP! shouts the room.
MCCAIN laughs in an unpleasanly, air-biting, humorless way.
SUMMARY:
MCCAIN: (Short version) I’m not Bush. A long line of McCains have served. Let me do it again.
OBAMA: (Short version) You’re decent. I’m decent. We don’t need more of the same. (details, details.) We all need to come together and renew a spirit of sacrifice and service and responsibitily. (He asks for everyone’s vote. The wiggly lines don’t love it.)
6:35: BOB: Go vote now. It’ll make you feel big and strong. (Yes, he really said that.)
A stiff hand shake between Obama and MCCain..
Now the wives. Michell is warm, but Cindy keeps her distance.
AND IT’S OVER…..But on CNN they tell us we’re going to hear from Joe the Plumber. I should certainly hope so.
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AND THE PUNDITS
General chatter….McCain was better than usual. But in terms of body language, he was Grumpy McNasty. (You got that right.)
Chris Matthews…..You can’t belittle the health exception..saving a mother’s life (abortion issue). Exactly.
MSNBC: Our focus group doesn’t like McCain’s attacks about Ayers and ACORN.
Mike Murphy, Republican strategist, on MSNBC gives the debate to Joe the Plummer. But quite honestly says that McCain was stronger, but didn’t do what he needed to do to break through. Damning with faint praise.
BRIEFLY OVER AT FOX: LUNTZ is actually says his group gives the debate to Obama….and he doesn’t try to spin it or, like, lie about it. Progress!
OVER AND OUT!
Remember that scene in The Matrix when the bad guy is fighting Neo, and the bad guy is throwing punch after punch at super speed and Neo defends himself first with both hands and then with one and then turns his head away from the fight and looks at the audience? Something just made me think of that.
Chris Matthew’s did a good job of pointing out McCain’s perverse dismissal of a woman’s health in the discussion of late-term abortion. I think he even put “health” in finger-quotes. Maybe this was McCain’s best in terms of attack, but I think that it was actually his worst in terms of insight into who this guy is and whether people would want him as President. Attacks like last night’s might have been more effective were McCain not already on a downslide but I think that he did himself no favors.
Don’t see any way he could have pulled this thing out at this point, but looking creepy and angry against a guy who is ultra-cool certainly wasn’t much of a plan. He consistently hectored Obama over stuff that average viewers – certainly anyone not already in his corner – could not possibly care about. His rattling about ACORN wasn’t coherent, unless you had already been getting emails from Woody for the past month and didn’t realize that Woody is totally nuts. The women’s “health” bit was a disaster for him in a crucial sub-set of voters – like “the majority.” And even the Ayers stuff just looked petty and pointless.
Also his whining about John Lewis was bizarre and Obama hit the absolutely perfect note in response: i.e. “People don’t give a shit about our hurt feelings because we’ve chosen to run for President and take often unfair hits from our opponents.” I thought in the course of that segment he made McCain look very, very small at the point McCain was pulling out the “big gun” that his most rabid followers had hallucinated could deal some death blow to Obama.
Obama might have hit McCain a little harder, but I think he has made a calculated decision – partly because it’s his authentic temperament – to show himself to be more substantive and reflective in his approach to issues and not emotionally rattled when he’s attacked. So he might occasionally suffer tactically from his own sense of restraint, but it’s worked rather brilliantly as strategy. He’s nearly pitch perfect in the context of the moment and in contrast to his opponent. And McCain overreaches so often in his attacks, that Obama’s spirited defenses often do serious damage to a viewer’s sense of McCain without the disadvantages of looking like you’re trying to tear up the other guy.
One thing that’s become obvious to me is that there was this guy John McCain who was a carefully crafted creation of his ghostwriter, Mark Salter, and a credulous press corps that, among other things, seems to have masculinty issues that they compensate for with man-crushes on guys who they don’t see as wimpy, which is how a lot of them see themselves. Maybe it’s because they type for a living. But that John McCain probably never existed. I think we’re seeing the real guy right now. He had his shot and this is what he offered up to his country. The guy is a self-centered jerk and a phony. I look forward to his humiliation. They’ll blame it on “the economy” but the truth is the economic meltdown was an opportunity for him to show leadership and distinguish himself. He didn’t because there’s nothing there but hot air. In the face of the kind of crisis that calls for the kind of mature, reassuring and disciplined response one would expect from someone with “hero” cred, McCain came off weak, uncertain, grabbing at policy straws and trying to catch up to events rather than shaping a solution. I doubt that he’ll even get the coveted Viagra commercials after this unhinged campaign.
I feel sad for McCain. He’s certainly isn’t the Senator so many respected and felt admiration for. This campaign has hurt him and his reputation. He’s full of so much anger he never got focused. Palin is the joke of the nation. She also hurt him and its hard to believe he didn’t pick someone like Romney or Huckabee or another republican.
Celeste would you please fix your website. When I log on I have to scroll way down to near bottom of page where it starts with your posts.
Joe the Plumber seems to have a favorable impression of Barack Obama because in an after-debate interview with Katie Couric he said the Senator can tap-dance as well as Sammy Davis Jr. In an odd coincidence, Joe the Plumber looks exactly like McCain’s campaign manager.
Turns out according to Politico that Joe the Plumber isn’t even registered to vote.
Janet, let me know if it’s fixed now. Otherwise when my son get’s to his office, I’ll have him take a look at it.
Joe-the-Plumber isn’t registered to vote??? That’s genuinly funny.
Reg, I pretty much agree with your analysis right down the line.
I think Reg has it right, McCain was grasping at straws, and that dog won’t hunt with this economy, so unless a meteor falls on Obama’s head, he will be president.
You can find Joe the Plumber under Water in the yellow pages!
Plumbers Motto: A flush beats a full house.
Hey Woody, Pluto can be seen with the naked eye at Disneyland.
Joe Wurzelbacher (aka Dwayne Pipe), better known as Joe the Plumber, the nickname John McCain bestowed on him Wednesday, said Thursday he doesn’t have a license and doesn’t need one. the county Wurzelbacher and his employer live in, Lucas County, requires plumbers to have licenses. Neither Wurzelbacher nor his employer are licensed there, according to Cheryl Schimming of Lucas County Building Regulations, which handles plumber licenses in parts of the county outside Toledo.
Joe the Plumber doesnt have a license and he owes back taxes.
Joe the Plumber owes back taxes? Horror! Country first!
This morning Joe da Plumber was leaning against his Dodge Durango SUV that was parked in his driveway, an’ indicated ta reporters who where crowded around dat he wuz uh conservative, an’ uh fan o’ Grandpa McCain. He also said meeting McCain would be an honor. . . but said sadly, he hadn’t been contacted by da Republican campaign. Oh well. . .
what ‘chew trippin for Woody.
Joe The Plumber… on the next Larry King Live!
Looks like the Nopales Naco is going quakers with all his AnonyMousa names and crazy comments, I hope his abuelita has a cure for his dimentia. It could be a case of WoodyPhobia or some homo-supressed thoughts.
Last thing I’ve seen on Joe the Plumber’s voter registration status is that he’s registered but his name is misspelled in the database – which makes him eligible to have his vote challenged and not counted under the GOP vote suppression strategy.
I gotta tell ya – every time I hear the phrases “It’s a wrap!” or “It’s a slam dunk!” or “It’s a no-brainer,” I get nervous and think back to Marcia Clark, Chris Darden and the “original” O.J. trial. How about: “It ain’t over ’til the fat lady counts the ballots…and the Supreme Court agrees with her count.”