Ballgame
It’s over.
McCain has officially blown his two best chances on the national stage to reverse the tide, the first in a foreign policy draw, the second just hours ago in what was supposed to be his home court.
My immediate reaction was Obama won. After giving it a little thought, and piecing together moments from the debate, it was a beatdown of historic proportions. This was our equivalent of the Nixon-Kennedy debate that found Kennedy collected and Nixon drenched in flop sweat.
Americans love theater, and this doomed McCain tonight. He may have thrived in town hall settings in the past, but the format doesn’t translate as well on a nationally televised broadcast. It’s an absurd yardstick to measure a debate by — instead than policy — but for people who remain “undecided” about two candidates with such stark policy contrasts, political theater matters.
Neither candidate broke any new ground, which is a win for the frontrunner.
Tonight, Obama looked and sounded presidential. After the first few minutes, he seemed even more relaxed and confident than McCain. Rhetorically there was no comparison: Obama had a forceful, convincing delivery while McCain sounded like he was whispering conspiratorially to his “friends.”
McCain didn’t do himself any favors in the debate, between his ill-advised “That one” comment, to his humorless attempt at a hair transplant joke, to his mantra of “my friends,” which came close to rivaling Giuliani’s 9/11 verbal crutch.
McCain was supposed to dominate the foreign policy debate. He didn’t.
McCain was supposed to thrive in the town hall debate format. He lost.
McCain was supposed to be the steady, experienced leader with the ability to guide a nation through a difficult time, but his actions over the last few weeks have caused conservative commentators like George Will to wonder aloud if he’s fit for office.
The economy is in the tank, and most economists don’t predict things to get better until early 2009. This, coupled with the fact that McCain blew it on his two best chances to publicly demonstrate his singular ability to lead, makes a McCain presidency less likely each day. Polls show — and McCain aides admit — that Obama wins if the economy is the top concern for voters.
Nothing in the next 26 days will change people’s mind about the economy. And there aren’t many more chances for McCain to discover a message that resonates.
McCain has officially blown his two best chances on the national stage to reverse the tide, the first in a foreign policy draw, the second just hours ago in what was supposed to be his home court.
My immediate reaction was Obama won. After giving it a little thought, and piecing together moments from the debate, it was a beatdown of historic proportions. This was our equivalent of the Nixon-Kennedy debate that found Kennedy collected and Nixon drenched in flop sweat.
Americans love theater, and this doomed McCain tonight. He may have thrived in town hall settings in the past, but the format doesn’t translate as well on a nationally televised broadcast. It’s an absurd yardstick to measure a debate by — instead than policy — but for people who remain “undecided” about two candidates with such stark policy contrasts, political theater matters.
Neither candidate broke any new ground, which is a win for the frontrunner.
Tonight, Obama looked and sounded presidential. After the first few minutes, he seemed even more relaxed and confident than McCain. Rhetorically there was no comparison: Obama had a forceful, convincing delivery while McCain sounded like he was whispering conspiratorially to his “friends.”
McCain didn’t do himself any favors in the debate, between his ill-advised “That one” comment, to his humorless attempt at a hair transplant joke, to his mantra of “my friends,” which came close to rivaling Giuliani’s 9/11 verbal crutch.
McCain was supposed to dominate the foreign policy debate. He didn’t.
McCain was supposed to thrive in the town hall debate format. He lost.
McCain was supposed to be the steady, experienced leader with the ability to guide a nation through a difficult time, but his actions over the last few weeks have caused conservative commentators like George Will to wonder aloud if he’s fit for office.
The economy is in the tank, and most economists don’t predict things to get better until early 2009. This, coupled with the fact that McCain blew it on his two best chances to publicly demonstrate his singular ability to lead, makes a McCain presidency less likely each day. Polls show — and McCain aides admit — that Obama wins if the economy is the top concern for voters.
Nothing in the next 26 days will change people’s mind about the economy. And there aren’t many more chances for McCain to discover a message that resonates.
