Final Presidential Debate Recap
Last night was the final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. A slightly different setup than the last two debates. Moderated by Bob Schieffer from CBS, this debate offered each of the candidates 2 minutes to answer the posed question then a 5 minute “discussion” time so they may go back and forth. The expectations for John McCain were that he really needed to hit a home run in this debate to give him any chance of winning the election. The expectations for Barack Obama were that he just needed to maintain his poise and keep looking presidential. So long as he didn’t get knocked out by McCain he would come out ahead. Admittedly John McCain had a much bigger obsticle to over come.
John McCain came out hard in the first thirty minutes or so of the debate. Overall I liked who I saw sitting there. He was confident, knowledgeable, quick and hard hitting on issues. I’m not saying he was always right with those hits but they were affective. I even sat up a bit when John said “Sen Obama, I am not President Bush. … You wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago.” That, in my opinion was his best moment. Obama’s response was a little more tame than I would of liked but then that’s why I’m here and he’s there. Barack responded by saying “If I’ve occasionally mistaken your policies for George Bush’s policies, it’s because on the core economic issues that matter to the American people — on tax policy, on energy policy, on spending priorities — you have been a vigorous supporter of President Bush.” Then John McCain started down the typical road of attacking Obama’s relationship with William Ayers, ACORN and even hammered on about Rep John Lewis. It was during this point when John McCain started to lose me and it would seem a majority of the viewing public. I’ll say it again. John McCain – give me a reason to vote for you, not a reason NOT to vote for Barack Obama! That tactic is a last resort and it’s a loser mentality. That’s not the John McCain I know. Also, someone should remind Johna McCain that the camera is ALWAYS on. All his grimaces and faces were evident to the world. His disdain for Brack Obama still showed. That was just as disappointing as anything. I guess this happens when you’ve essentially been running for president for the last 8 years and you’re so close and watch it slipping away.
Barack Obama came out flat. He was on the defensive for the first half of the debate. Barack couldn’t seem to get on top of the discourse. That is until John McCain went negative as mentioned above. It was then that John showed his erratic angered side. As Barack Obama weathered the attacks he grew strength. Then as he found his stride. He hammered away on the economy, healthcare etc. McCain just didn’t have the juice. He shot his wad early then got angry while attacking Obama and never came back.
All in all I’d have to say Barack Obama won this debate for a few reasons. He had a command of the issues that are at the heart of worries across america these days. He was able to answer and correct all of John McCains arguments, false and otherwise. Lastly he kept his cool and poise. He still looked more presidential than John McCain. If you have to ask if that’s important, let me just point out the goober we have in office right now.
