The Butterfly Manifesto #2: Debate Reaction
By Andy
Despite the seeming unanimity of the post-game polls, there was no clear “winner” in the debate Friday night. This could be considered a major win for Obama. Running out of time and options with which to take back the lead, McCain needed to appear as a commanding statesman and instead appeared as a peevish, somewhat crotchety senior. If there is a resultant large bump in Obama’s favor, it might be a sign that the American public is finally connecting with the man the way I connected with him after reading his books—or that they’re disconnecting from McCain. In either case, there is an excellent chance that this race could be over.
Even with the negative vibes, McCain still marginally held his own on the subject of the economy by resorting to the old trick of focusing on a trivial matter and repeating it ad nauseam until it seems like a serious matter. Pointing out Obama’s pork-barrel requests on at least 3 occasions in the span of 2 minutes is what I am referencing. Almost simultaneously, McCain seemed out of touch when he interjected his proposal for a $5000 tax credit for health insurance. Obama could have responded that any person with a preexisting condition searching for health insurance on the open market would not be helped by $5000. Failing that, he still succeeded in undermining McCain’s pork-flavored tirade by contrasting $18 billion of pork to the $300 billion in tax cuts McCain is offering to the wealthiest corporations and persons in the United States. It was a surprisingly brilliant response from a Democrat—they normally focus on refuting the attack rather than refuting the point—and it reflected Obama’s longstanding position that the citizens of this country are not stupid and can make objective, rational decisions if given the proper facts.
Still, in spite of Obama’s excellent retorts on some issues, he may have lost ground on others because he was far too deferential. He began by thanking McCain profusely on camera (but prior to the debate beginning) for just showing up, and then continuing his affability by stating, “I agree with John on…,” or “John is right on…,” Obama may have missed the memo warning him that agreeing with your opponent mostly nullifies anything you may say after the concurrence. How many times did McCain agree with Obama? Zero. McCain’s bombastic pugnacity may have nullified this effect to some degree, but if continued into another debate it may begin to resemble passivity.
In this debate the American people were given an opportunity to see each man for the first time as would-be President. I’m biased, but Obama just seems more presidential. He’s intelligent, articulate, conveys strength, passion and a genuine desire to change this country for the better. McCain is presidential in his own way, I suppose, but it seems as if his time has passed. A McCain presidency ending in 2008 might have been better than the last eight years of hell (if one is to believe that he would have kept to his moderate Senate record prior to 2005); however, a McCain presidency that would begin in 2009 would be an instant anachronism.
Andrew Baharlias
