Who won the debate? Well, Senator McCain needed to win, since Senator Obama is currently a clear frontrunner, even by CNN's balanced estimates. But McCain did not.
Obama won 6-5.Consider the question by question outcome: Obama won 6-5, with five additional exchanges coming to no decision due to canned issue speeches and general boringness from both candidates. It was nothing close to the decisive win McCain needed. Yes, he came across as strong on foreign policy as expected, but for one thing, he must exceed expectations for the moment, and for another, no one will be voting on anything other than the economy in November (barring a terrible disaster). If you have not yet watched the debate, do not – just read this article instead.
It was a purposefully boring format. The debate rules were hammered out by both sides, and so of course they would end up with a gaffe-proof construction. Campaigns are risk-averse animals, so they tend to push for stabilizing factors like speaking-time limitations, which decreases the chance that Obama will mention what else makes working people bitter or McCain will hit a stride rambling about pork-barrel spending. In contrast to their campaigns, candidates themselves are risk-prone and even occasionally gaffe; as if to prove this point, these candidates constantly disregarded the time limitations on Tuesday’s town-hall-meeting style debate.
If you have not yet watched the debate, do not – just read this article instead.As a side note, CNN asked a pool of undecided voters to respond to each candidate’s performance, like a focus group. Their responses were gauged in degrees of positive and negative reactions, displayed in real time as a graph while the debate took place, all the while distinguishing between male and female reactions. I will refer to its interesting results here and there.
The first question came from a perfectly regular looking American – in fact, I think for a moment I’ve seen him before. He asks how Congress’s latest economic measures are supposed to bail out regular Americans. Not to be confused with arugular Americans – those who eat arugula. Obama said that the middle class needs a rescue package to undo Bush’s eight years of failed economic policies, while McCain outlined how his own plan (cutting spending, lessening tax burdens across the board and energy independence) is good for all Americans. He was not specific on which exact programs he would cut, as usual, but he tossed a curve ball in declaring that his Secretary of the Treasury would buy people’s undervalued homes and let them renegotiate their mortgages at a new market price – bold, but hardly fiscally conservative. Obama could not follow up and press that point, due to the constraints of the predetermined debate format, so the exchange really balances out. Advantage: Nobody.
Debate moderator Tom Brokaw asked the next question: who would you pick as Treasury Secretary? McCain declared it has to be someone who represents the common man. I have an idea: how about Sarah Palin for Sec Treasury? McCain considers eBay CEO Meg Whitman aloud while loudly disparaging Warren Buffet, who has really not done anything to deserve animosity besides being one of Obama’s economic advisors. Obama said he would be lucky to have Buffet in his cabinet, and agreed with McCain that housing prices must be stabilized – not really part of the question, but it was brought up in the last question. Still, Obama did not nail McCain on his fiscal liberality. Advantage: McCain.
Obama did not nail McCain on his fiscal liberality. Advantage: McCain.Next question: what part of the bailout will help people? McCain suggested that he or people like him had never heard of Fannie or Freddie before all this; Obama proceeded to break the issue down in simple terms, directly to the American people. He also reminded the camera that McCain’s curveball about the Treasury Secretary buying up homes is nothing new but actually a power already granted in the current bailout bill. Advantage: Barack.
Brokaw then asked if the economy would get worse before it gets better, and each candidate took the requisite punt to talk about the resilience of the American people. Advantage: Nobody
The first female questioner asked how voters can trust either candidate when both parties are responsible for this global economic crisis? Obama sympathized with her cynicism and got real about the plight of people like her: they can’t go out to dinner as much as they want to or buy the car they want. But Bush’s runaway spending – on budgets McCain voted to approve four out of five times – are more to blame than anything else. He also insisted that he was cutting more than he was spending – to which CNN’s focus group immediately reacted negatively, probably because they did not believe him. McCain trumpeted his record of bipartisanship and digressed upon the horrors of pork barrel spending, and the focus group downright flat-lined. As did America. Advantage, barely, to Obama.
Brokaw’s followup asked the candidates to prioritize among healthcare, energy, and entitlement reform. McCain picked all three – why prioritize when you run on a platform of fiscal conservatism where less important programs need to be cut or scaled back…oops. Obama answered the question boldly: Energy is first – we will be free of foreign oil in 10 years, he promised, just as President Kennedy promised to take America to the Moon in 10. Then comes healthcare reform, then education, which is the way to fix our entitlements problem. Women seemed to react very favorably to Obama’s answer, and rightly so. Advantage Obama, up 3-1.
Advantage Obama, up 3-1.The next question was beamed in via Internet from a 78-year-old who knows how to ask questions, in addition to (somehow) knowing how to use the Internet: “What sacrifices will you ask every American to make?” McCain said the government will have to make the sacrifices because of runaway spending and bureaucracy, advocating a spending freeze on all but essential programs. Obama replied that he would ask Americans to rethink the way they consume energy, and to form a volunteer corps to take on social problems the way the military makes sacrifices to take on national defense. Point to Obama, if only for answering the question. Americans will have to make drastic energy sacrifices.
Will either candidate give Congress a time limit to fix the insolvency of our nation’s entitlement programs, like social security? Yes, said Obama, before attacking McCain’s tax cut policies. McCain accused Obama of not answering the question, only to sit down, not answering the question himself (though he mentions how he would have Congress solve the problem, simply neglecting to mention any time limit). McCain articulated a clearer plan, though, so I give him the point. 4-2
4-2Brokaw offered to stick with their agreement and not ask a followup. The candidates have taken an average of about a minute longer than they were allowed, and the moderator is trying to, well, moderate that tendency. Unsuccessfully. The next question was on climate change and going green. McCain pointed out his disagreement with the Bush administration on this issue and emphasized his commitment to nuclear energy. He also called Obama “that one,” a condescension which women especially did not appreciate. Obama responded that he will explore all types of non-fossil fuel energy to create 5 million jobs. Obama had a good zinger: “Sen. McCain and I actually agree on something. He said a while back that the big problem with energy is that for 30 years, politicians in Washington haven't done anything. What Sen. McCain doesn't mention is he's been there 26 of them.” A sharp stab landed by Obama: 5-2.
At this point I began to notice that when a candidate does something impressive or unimpressive, the female focus group numbers jump or slide noticeably faster than their counterparts. Hey, that’s just what CNN happened to be showing.
Eventually someone – a likely Hillary supporter – asked: Should healthcare be treated as a commodity? This is a question Hillary knows the answer to: Healthcare is a human right, not a commodity to be tossed around by market forces. Both candidates reiterated their plans, not really answering the question. No points scored here.
I am bored, and want to see men track above women on just one issue. It had not happened all night, at this point. McCain could make up some ground with, “My friends, I want to talk about beer and football…”
“My friends, I want to talk about beer and football…”Brokaw followed up with his own question: Is healthcare a privilege, a right, or a responsibility? McCain called it a responsibility and lambasted Obama for not disclosing how much people would be fined for violating his universal mandate. The women were not happy about what seemed like negative politics. Obama pleased women and slower-to-move men alike by waxing poetic on the right to healthcare: no one should have to go through what his grandmother did, dying while arguing with insurance companies about whether they covered her cancer treatment. A teary point for Obama, 6-2.
The debate then transitioned to foreign policy, with a question about whether economic stresses will hamstring America’s ability to serve as a global peacemaker. Both candidates agreed that genocide must always be fought. Obama returned to the old crutch, that America lost way more than it gained from invading Iraq, both in terms of financial cost and hurt international reputation. McCain made a savvy case for only getting involved, defending freedom, where you know you can be effective. For the first time all night, men are more positively moved than women! Advantage McCain, for doing the impossible. 6-3.
6-3The candidates were then asked about Pakistan, and each candidate gave his prepared answer. The only thing new added was that McCain considered Teddy Roosevelt his hero, but I thought it was supposed to be Ronald Reagan if you were a republican in America today. Obama chastised McCain for having once said “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” and that we should eliminate North Korea, which is nothing like Roosevelt’s dictum to “speak softly.” Nevertheless, the point goes to McCain for being such a maverick!
A subsequent series of questions followed about Russia’s recently re-realized aggression. Both candidates attempted to condemn Russia while prevaricating about how they differ from each other – only further cementing how similar they really are on this issue. No points.
6-4The penultimate question was on the threat Iran poses to Israel, from former naval chief petty officer Terry Shirey, who asked what each candidate would do if Iran attacked Israel. Obama gave his tired answer about a nuclear Iran being a “game-changer,” giving terrorists easy access to nuclear weapons. He reiterated that economic sanctions, a reduced dependence on foreign oil, and international diplomacy were key oversights of the Bush administration, which saw Iran go from zero to 4,000 centrifuges and North Korea quadruple their nuclear capabilities. McCain took his turn to poeticize, mentioning that everything he learned about leadership was from a chief petty officer like the questioner. It made him seem very strong, especially with his pronouncement that he would not allow Iran to become nuclear, and would not allow a second Holocaust (which accurately enough describes what a nuclear attack on Israel would resemble). I finally understood what republicans mean with this second Holocaust line they spout. That made the tally 6-5, with Obama still leading but McCain looking stronger than he had all night.
Finally...6-5Finally, the interview question: “What don’t you know and how will you learn it?” I could promise in advance that neither candidate will score a point. Obama mused that his wife might be better suited to answer the question – which the women responded to positively, I need not say – and concluded that only in America could someone like him have the chance to make such great change. McCain similarly responded with a prepared answer about how there will be surprises about things none of us know, but he will be honored to have the chance to put country first. Neither answer exactly follows from the question, as expected.
That is what happened in Tuesday night’s debate. Not terribly exciting, not a game-changer, and kind of long. Much like this article, except harder to skip to the good parts. [CNN, Washington Post, CNN 2]Jeff Dubbinis a contributing editor for TheSequitur.com.
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