Presidential Debate 9/26/08

Lizzaroni · 09-26-2008, 10:07 PM

Also known as "Happy Fun Story Time with the Presidential Candidates; or, WHO HAS MORE BRACELETS, READY FIGHT!!!"

WE MUST STOP THE HOLOCAUST.

Smokey · 09-26-2008, 10:46 PM

That part of the debate mentioning the Holocaust annoyed me greatly. Just because Iran's president is a raving jihadi lunatic doesn't mean that we should not talk with Iran's leaders (because Iran's president doesn't have any real authority, it all lies with the ayatollahs). The idea that our silence is a meaningful punishment is severely outdated and ridiculous in the post-Cold War era.

Lizzaroni · 09-26-2008, 10:49 PM

To the tune of Will Smith's "Parents Just Don't Understand":

Obama just don't understand.

Smokey · 09-26-2008, 10:57 PM

It also annoyed me that McCain spoke as if Obama wasn't even there, even after Jim Lehrer told them repeatedly to engage each other in back-and-forth sessions.

I also found it hilarious that Obama caught McCain by pointing out that Henry Kissinger, one of McCain's closest advisers, agreed with Obama about diplomacy with preconditions moreso than with McCain.

**JValone** · 09-26-2008, 11:06 PM

I agree we should test the waters and see if we can negotiate with Iran, but Obama needs to stop talking like sitting down with their president is actually going to accomplish anything. It's going to be a much more complicated process than that. McCain made him look foolish at that point in the debate, and for good reason, because he walked right into it.

I was actually a little disappointed with Obama's performance as a whole. He had a nice run where he pummeled McCain's record on Iraq but other than that he was fairly lackluster. He also stumbled when asked what specifically he would cut from his plan. You could tell he didn't want to elaborate, and he didn't handle it well at all. I don't feel like McCain knocked anything out of the park, except perhaps the Iran negotiation line, but he didn't get beat which was sort of surprising to me. I'd say the debate was a draw, hopefully Obama brings his A game next time.

Oh, and I'm watching Biden on CNN right now. The dude is an ass, plain and simple. He needs to shut his mouth and quit making Obama look like a jerk by association. Has Biden ever said anything about the other side without a sneer on his face or a snide comment? That seems to be at odds with Obama's overall message. He may be a hero to liberals who want to stick it to Bush and the GOP but to the common man arrogance is rarely a quality they take to.That VP pick makes less and less sense to me with each passing day. Not that Palin is any better, but I expect more from Biden.

Lizzaroni · 09-26-2008, 11:10 PM

Biden: gaffe, gaffe, gaffe, gaffe.

**MR EPIC** · 09-26-2008, 11:15 PM

Obama was disappointing overall IMO and surprisingly McCain made him look silly on two specific issues, which I was not expecting at all. I'll just leave it at that, because as I said in Sean's Blog thread, I have have no intention of writing paragraph after paragraph on this issue which will result in nothing but disagreement. If you know me and care to get my reaction and opinion of the debate tonight, do so over XBL or SKYPE.

Smokey · 09-26-2008, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JValone

I agree we should test the waters and see if we can negotiate with Iran, but Obama needs to stop talking like sitting down with their president is actually going to accomplish anything. It's going to be a much more complicated process than that. McCain made him look foolish at that point in the debate, and for good reason, because he walked right into it.

I don't think so. Obama's approach is going to accomplish a hell of a lot more than McCain's will. For one thing, McCain still thinks that the Iranian president (I will not attempt to spell and thus mangle the man's name) is running things. At least Obama knows who is running things over there. The idea that our silence is a meaningful coercive tool to force Iran to capitulate to our demands is insane.

Also, McCain looked like a fool when he tried to make claims about Kissinger's statements and Obama proved him wrong time and again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JValone

I was actually a little disappointed with Obama's performance as a whole. He had a nice run where he pummeled McCain's record on Iraq but other than that he was fairly lackluster. He also stumbled when asked what specifically he would cut from his plan. You could tell he didn't want to elaborate, and he didn't handle it well at all. I don't feel like McCain knocked anything out of the park, except perhaps the Iran negotiation line, but he didn't get beat which was sort of surprising to me. I'd say the debate was a draw, hopefully Obama brings his A game next time.

The bailout question is the one area where I believe McCain handled the original question better than Obama did. However, I think Obama handled it and the follow-up questions fairly well. He pointed out what needed to be kept despite the drain of the bailout on the federal budget, and he did address things that needed to be cut in the follow-up.

I also don't believe the debate was a draw. Obama didn't stomp McCain into the ground as he could have, but neither did he bungle things and give McCain an edge anywhere. All McCain basically did was flaunt his bipartisan record (which isn't that much to speak of when you're talking about the Bush years), call Obama naive, and talk about Reagan's outdated policies. Oh, and the veterans.

MAX · 09-26-2008, 11:21 PM

Maverick McCain! Maverick Palin!

Smokey · 09-26-2008, 11:22 PM

That bit made me chuckle a little. And vomit a little in my mouth. Mmm, meatball.

Tanooki · 09-26-2008, 11:28 PM

I'll just say at this point I feel that it was more or less a draw, though perhaps and just barely, slightly in the favor of McCain. I had a big thing here and just erased it for simplicity.

Obama finally was concise with answers and not long winded which was a boon. McCain came off lively and turns the tables when needed such as Obama and his need for no conditions to talk to the real bad leaders out there. For the most part things went well, and while a bit of waffling on some answers happened on both sides, I think on critical ones Obama did a bit more (in particular what one would cut from their plans due to this huge bailout which he refused to be decisive on.)

Smokey: McCain isn't dumb, he knows there's the Ayatollah over Ahmadinejad.

Z.E.I.D.A.N · 09-26-2008, 11:30 PM

Uhhh, Obama absolutely massacred McCain on a topic that's supposed to be his territory. Not only did he take the commanding lead throughout the discussion, but he made McCain come off as senile, angry, insecure and full of himself at times. Obama was articulate, he answered the questions better, he stayed on point more, he kept his cool the whole time and made jabs at the right time, he showed that he's just as competent about this issue, which is something many voters had doubts about. I honestly have no idea how anybody could say that McCain prevailed in this debate; and what's important to note here is that this topic (foreign policy) was supposed to be John's saving grace after an awful few weeks, and he absolutely did nothing to strengthen his position in this race. This was his chance for a game changer and nothing came out of it in his favor. Now, we'll have to wait and see what the polls say, but honestly, anybody who thought that McCain was strong tonight was obviously not paying attention to the guy across the stage.

MAX · 09-26-2008, 11:31 PM

One of CNN's commentators made a good point. Tonight Mccain didn't need a slight victory. He needed a clear and massive win. Obama kept him from getting it so even a slight Mccain win would have been a loss. To bad tonight was a slight Obama win.

**JValone** · 09-26-2008, 11:35 PM

I was personally hoping for a bigger night for Obama. I though he could really pull away tonight, maybe I was expecting a bit much I don't know. I just think Biden is going to hurt their efforts in a few days with his typical (in recent days) crap and Obama needed some cushion. We'll see what happens.

Richard Sauce · 09-26-2008, 11:37 PM

I felt the debate was more or less a wash as far issues are concerned. Neither candidate came away a strong victory on the issues they should have, and both came off stronger than expected in their respective weak points.

But, issues are secondary to perceptions, and to me, Obama won this hands down. He came across presidential(at least while standing next to McCain), and reasonable. McCain, meanwhile, came across as dismissive, and condescending. I also felt that at several points he started to come off as the rambling old man talking about how in his day.... etc...