On Last Night's Debate

Last night's debate was one of few highlights but one large accomplishment. John McCain managed to get more negative points by CNN's analyst team than Sarah Palin did last Thursday. This either came out of extreme effort or desperation to bring Obama down. I personally believe the latter. McCain appeared desperate all night, trying to manipulate information to appeal to middle class voters. Whether it was talking about the projector that Obama requested as an earmark or saying that Obama wanted to "raise taxes" when he would truly lower taxes more than McCain for 95% of Americans, McCain was doing whatever possible to push himself out of the hole that he and his campaign dug him into when choosing the Alaska Governor. Last night, it appeared that multiple wheels had fallen off the Straight Talk Express and AAA was no where near to give him spare tires. However, it is possible that a confused vegetarian could confuse McCain's plea to cut pork barrel spending as an endorsement for cutting meat out of one's diet. If one was wondering how McCain placed so low in his class at Navy, following the debate, I can give a solid educated guess. I think he may have answered all of the above on one too many multiple choice questions.

Though McCain was faulty, Obama was in no way perfect. He did win on all 6 CNN scorecards, but he appeared weak through a lot of the debate, especially relative to Joe Biden last week. Throughout the debate I was waiting for Obama to attack McCain as Biden did last week, but he never seemed to do so. Whether it is because his comfortability with the subject or his unwillingness to attack the candidate, this made for a very boring debate. Obama, as in the previous debate, did show emotion when talking about the Iraq issue, but besides then, the candidate lacked the charisma that he showed at the past 2 democratic conventions and numerous rallies throughout the year.

In all, the town hall meeting was an overall disaster. McCain was ready to go down the entire debate, but Obama was unable to unleash the finishing blow. The questions on the whole were weak, and I felt as if I could almost predict the answers from my living room. I leave the debate not feeling as if either candidate made a strong impression. In a debate that is supposed to be about change, this town hall meeting simply appeared to be more of the same. The same back and forth debate on taxes, and the same fight over how the United States should reform health care. The only 2 solid questions, one on priorities and the other on social security were dodged by both candidates, not surprisingly using them both to discuss the problems with the other's tax plans. The debate could make a nice SNL skit, but I doubt it did much other than convince potential voters that McCain is desperate and Obama is uncomfortable without a podium.