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As much as I can I tried to score the debate objectively. I'm pretty well aware of each candidate's positions so I was not expecting a lot of new information. I'm not sure that I succeeded at the objectivity part but I tried my darnedest.
I scored it 3 to 2 for McCain. McCain started out very shaky and seemed old and a bit discombobulated but he soon caught his stride. Obama was consistent throughout and came across, as always, as a genuinely nice guy. Although nice guy status is not high on my list of presidential qualifications.
I actually scored McCain ahead significantly on the inevitable economic issues. He had a simple message of cutting spending and he stuck to it, to good effect. Obama, on the other hand, tried a laundry list of essential services that he'd still support even given the shortage of funds foreseen. I thought it particularly damning that he chose pre-school education as an essential priority. I'm not sure that anyone who does not make their living at pre-K education regards it as an educational necessity. McCain's jabs on earmarks and his call for a spending freeze were effective points. I was surprised to find that I thought McCain did better in the econ segment than Obama. I think it was more Obama weakness than McCain strength displayed.
I thought Obama's efforts to tie McCain to the Bush administration were largely ineffective as McCain came prepared to answer part and parcel where he's opposed the Bush administration. I did think that if McCain cited General Petraeus one more time I was going to initiate a paternity action to decipher whether the General parentage has Arizona roots!
McCain deftly handled the question of Pakistan, leaving the impression that he sure go after al-Qaeda within their borders but wouldn't throw it in the Paki's face. Obama sounded somewhat cowboy like compared to McCain's citing of Pakistani history and the need to continue to support democracy there. No matter how small the country, you don't just announce as POTUS that you'll not respect their borders...even when you know that you may be not quite as respectful as you're implying.
McCain missed a great opportunity on veteran's affairs although he answered the question quite well. He should have said something like, I know veterans, I am a veteran. When it got down to Russia and other foreign affairs I think he fairly dusted Obama. McCain knew the leader's names, he knew the issues, and-more importantly-he knew the history of the US and her relations with those nations. The comment on looking in Putin's eyes and seeing his soul was a gaffe on Obama's part...another lame effort to conflate McCain with Bush. McCain's response in saying he saw KGB in his eyes was not only accurate but pointed out the fact that McCain was busy fighting the Cold War while Obama was chasing co-eds in college.
McCain also made an excellent point in mentioning that we're talking about the next presidency and not the last one. Obama did not realize he'd been wounded and continued to attempt to damn McCain with events seven years old. Obama seemed to think that McCain had to somehow explain, or was responsible for, the administrations actions many days past.
McCain's efforts to channel Reagan were largely ham-handed and did not impress this Reaganite, though his anecdote on opposing RWR on troops in Lebanon was well delivered in service of his maverick status.
Another dark alley that Obama went down that he might rethink was the status of America in the world's eyes. In my opinion, most Americans don't give a damn what the rest of the world thinks of us. McCain missed an opportunity to say that the world always goes with a winner in the end and that he'd ensure that America was a winner, in Iraq and elsewhere.
Obama likewise fumbled the diplomacy question, coming across as a naif once again. On the other hand, McCain cited Madeleine Albright's efforts in North Korea to what appeared to be a reference to Madame Chou for all Obama could respond.
Obama was definitely smoother and the more polished speaker but McCain dominated in the short and succinct turns of phrase that clearly communicated his positions. Obama spoke well but failed to make much of a point or, more tellingly, that he had an actual position on the matter at hand.
Make that 3 to1 for McCain. But then, by the morning, I'll have it McCain going away. So much for objectivity! I'll add that, while I'm lukewarm about McCain based on past history, he made some progress with me tonight. I'm conveniently overlooking his support for efforts to combat climate change which irked me. Perhaps because he followed them up immediately by opposing ethanol subsidies.
McCain gets a 4 point "bump" by the morning.
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