by Deb Cupples | During last night's debate, Barack Obama was calm, direct and gracious -- something that tends to inspire confidence on the part of ordinary voters. Pretty much every time John McCain accused Obama of taking an odious stance on an issue, Obama countered in a way that made him come off as a rational person who was merely speaking the truth.
This seemed to agitate McCain in the same way that Bugs Bunny would agitate Elmer Fudd. Poor Senator McCain. His performance wasn't abysmal, but it wasn't particularly good, either.
When McCain didn't have the facts on his side, he would 1) fall back on metaphors and platitudes, 2) attack Sen. Obama, or 3) both.
Even when he did have facts on his side, McCain managed to drop the ball. For example, when Obama said that McCain had often voted with President Bush on economic issues, McCain could have reminded viewers that he had voted against Bush's corporate tax cuts twice.
Instead, McCain seemed rattled and started rattling off a bunch of other stuff that wasn't nearly as solid. You can see the transcript here.
It was sad to watch. Like Damozel, I've begun to feel sorry for Sen. McCain.
On the other hand, Obama looked mighty presidential -- and this is coming from a reluctant supporter who was uncommitted until the seventh inning.
Apparently, others feel likewise. Of the 638 uncommitted voters polled by CBS, 53% saw Obama as the winner of last night's debate, 22% said that McCain won, and 25% said it was a draw.
Jeralyn at TalkLeft wonders, "Is it over for John McCain?"
Even some people on the "right" side of the aisle were disappointed by McCain's performance last night. Noah Pollak at Commentary Magazine said this:
"A losing night for McCain. And worse, a puzzling one. He whiffed more times than a drunk .100 hitter."
I just can't help thinking, Poor Sen. McCain. I always felt a little sorry for Elmer -- and if the coyote hadn't been so arrogant, I would have felt sorry for him, too.
Memeorandum has commentary.
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Have to agree and coming from someone who was on the fence for either Ron Paul or Obama instead of McCain. I actually use to like him a lot back in 2000, but this campaign has really shown a wrong image of him unfortantly. So will be voting for Obama as we need someone steady at the ship.
Posted by: Jon Huggins | October 16, 2008 at 04:18 AM