I can't believe no one started a thread yet! (Presidential Debate #1)
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How do you think it went?
I can say that I already have an idea of who i'm voting for but I am giving both candidates fair game to win me over during these debates. I'm really excited to sit down and watch them. I seem to stand about 60/40 with them right now because they both have me torn on two very important issues to me. Of course, Obama has me agreeing on one important issue and McCain on the other. LOL Figures.
Anyways... I need to rant on a few things.
McCain:
- Eye contact! Where did it go? Eye contact to your opponent says a lot to the people during a debate.
- Get to the point. Most of America knows your past history so you don't have to throw it in every chance you get.
Obama:
-His name is Senator McCain. It is very disrespectful to your opponent to refer to him on a first name basis.
-If you have a bracelet that you pride so much given to you by the mother of a soldier KIA and you want to brag about it, at least remember his name. That was a horrible disgrace to that family and the military.
I think that's it. I've been dying to get that off my chest. LOL
I think they both did well - better than I expected from either/both. I know who I'm voting for and the debates are unlikely to make any difference.
As for "first naming", they are both Senators, they've worked in the Senate together, and have first-named each other many, many times over the years. When Clinton and Obama were debating, they were often "Hilary" and "Barack" to each other. Is that more offensive than when McCain was talking about reaching out across the aisle, but Obama is so far left he can't be reached? I found that offensive. Frankly, to my lefty-liberal thinking, Obama is pretty much middle of the road on most things, like most of the Democrats in Congress.
Eye contact - I don't think McCain is very good at turning his head for eye contact generally, and they did have an apparently hearty handshake and eye contact when the debate ended. I don't think McCain looked at the moderator either - he was generally looking at the camera or the audience. But this format is not his best format - he does much better in the smaller, informal town hall settings. And remember, McCain still has arm/shoulder and, I am guessing, neck problems stemming from his injuries while he was imprisoned, and generally doesn't appear physically flexible. It's not important to me.
I do agree, we know McCain's past history, and while I respect and honor him for his service in the Viet Nam war and agree that he deserves every bit of praise he has gotten for his bravery and behavior during his imprisonment, it is history. (And I don't for one moment believe any of the nasty internet stuff floating around that denigrates McCain for things he allegedly did during his imprisonment.) But it is history and a history we all know. For a man who has said numerous times that he doesn't want to talk about his capture and imprisonment, he sure does mention it a lot as one of the reasons why he'd be a good president.
They both stretched some things. Some of the charges McCain made about Obama were not particularly truthful. Anyone who goes to FactCheck or reads the news on the internet knows that the one time (out of 8 votes on troop funding) that Obama voted against troop funding he voted against it because there were no timelines in it, and within the same week he voted for troop funding with a timeline. And McCain knows very well that the health care insurance plan Obama is proposing is mostly private insurance, with a government pool of private insurance companies with coverage subsidized by the government for people who can't obtain or can't afford private insurance otherwise - not a government-run health system.
Obama, on the other hand, knows that when McCain spoke of 100 years in Iran he was making a comparison to our peaceful deployment of small numbers of troops (comparatively speaking) in, for example, Japan, Germany, South Korea, not 100 years of conflict. And yes, McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time - and yes, opposed Bush on some important issues, like Guantanamo, though he has since changed his mind on things like the tax cuts and, sorry to say, torture. (McCain did vote for a bill that gives the CIA the authority to, essentially, torture and - given his history - I simply can't understand that. His vote certainly wasn't critical in passing the bill.) But I would expect a avowedly conservative, Republican member of Congress to vote with a Republican President most of the time, and on bills that I think Obama would consider critical - like the bill that Bush used as authority to invade Iraq, the Patriot Act, and the various reworkings of the bills authorizing the Guantanamo detentions and tribunals - a whole heck of a lot of Democrats voted with the President (including Hillary Clinton). It makes a nice sound bite, but doesn't have much substance to me.
One thing I learned today: when the topic was spending cuts, McCain spoke of the $700 Billion we are sending to "countries that don't like us". That $700 Billion is what the U.S. pays for imported oil (don't know if that is all imported oil, including Canada - one of our major sources - or only the Middle East). It doesn't come out of the federal budget.
Neither of them actually answered two important questions. Neither said whether, in principal, he supports the "bail out" presently under debate, though both spoke of the need for some kind of plan and of specific changes they want from the plan Treasury Secretary Paulsen originally proposed - and they agreed on most points they think must be in the bill, though Obama specifically wants some relief for people who are living in homes and facing foreclosure (not real estate investor types). From what I hear/read, most of the changes both want have, apparently, been made. And when asked, several times, what parts of their plans would they put on hold in light of the terrible financial shape the Treasury and the economy will be in next year, neither answered with any specifics. McCain did say he'd cut everything except military funding and security funding and funding for "our veterans", but there are a large number of critical programs that everyone knows can't be cut (or, actually, cuts could be proposed but they are not likely to take place) and he still wants to keep the Bush tax cuts which, let's face it, primarily benefit people in the top 5% income bracket. And cutting $18 Billion in earmarks is not going to balance the budget (plus, since the president does not have line-item veto power, any president who vetoes a finance bill because it has earmarks is likely to have that veto swiftly overridden). Obama, on the other hand, never named any specific programs he would put on hold in light of the financial shape we are likely to be in - almost certainly, for one, his health insurance proposals to the extent that they involve federal funding. I'm not sure which bothers me more - not listing anything, or making unrealistic promises.
I also winced when Obama had to check the name on the bracelet. Yes, he should know the name. But I don't agree with McCain that we have to "win" this war "with honor" to honor the men and women who have been killed, been wounded, or given years of their lives. Does that mean that there is no honor in their sacrifice if we don't "win". And, really, what will "victory" look like? The surge was supposed to provide time for political reconciliation and coming together around elections, bringing leaders from all sects/groups into the government, and working out a plan for dividing the oil revenues - and none of that has happened.
They seemed to be pretty much in agreement around the bailout plan, Iran not being allowed to have nuclear capability, and the dire state of the economy. They differed strongly about the Iraq war, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. (We are, however, already making incursions into Pakistan to chase terrorists, and that is very public knowledge.) They also differed stronly about the meaning of the word "preconditions", a sound-bite phrase that has been thrown around a lot.
Interestingly, there didn't seem to be any "sound bites" in the debate, and that seems to be the opinion of commentators I've read today. McCain's one attempt at a joke - funding a study into the DNA of bears, seemed to fall flat, and most columnists tend to agree on that - and that was the only thing that came close to a sound-bite So, that's my take on the debate (and related issues). I am looking forward to the debate between Sara Palin and Joe Biden.
I just thought not addressing his opponent in a professional manner on national television was a bit disrespectful. Maybe it's just me though?
I can't wait for the Palin/Biden debate either. For some reason I think Biden will have that debate hands down. Palin hasn't shown the best track record lately in regards to public speaking.
I understand where you're coming from, and to some extent I agree. But I think it's understandable, as is McCain not turning to look at Obama.
Glad i'm not the only one! Obama kept addressing him and talking to McCain but McCain would not LOOK at Obama or address him, which I thought was quite disrespectful. It's a debate, talk to the guy you are debating with!
I thought about the fact the Obama kept calling him John. But yes, they've known each other for a while and they are both Senators so I don't think it was that disrespectful of him.
I too look forward to the Palin/Biden debate. WIth Palin's track record so far, it may end up being a train wreck for her. BUT we will see! 
btw, i'm still not sure who I will vote for. I am leaning one way though.
In all honesty, I thought the entire Obama thing with the bracelet was disrespectful. First, it was almost like he couldn't wait to mention that he also had a bracelet. It reminded me of a child that goes on with the whole my dad is better than your dad kind of thing. Then to top if off with not even knowing whos it was was too much.
All in all I came away from the debate like McCain knew what he was talking about because of his history and time in the senate while Obama is more learning what he is supposed to know from notes and advisors. I felt his lack of experience really showed during the debate and in general, just the way he spoke.
I too am looking even more forward to the vice presidential debate. The only thing I can say so far from what I have heard from Palin is I can totally understand her answers. She has a way of talking that takes it to the nitty gritty and you know what she is saying. The others seem to go a long way around the answer and in the end, not even really answering questions!!
I think the address should have been senator, not John. My dad was supt of schools and in public I called him Mr. so and so, because my dad was military and that was respectful.
As far as the eye contact though, I agree it is disrespectful to not make eye contact. My I guess I cut him some slack because he has physical issues. I expect people to stand up when someone important walks into a room (president, etc), but if you are in a wheelchair you are excused. That is how I feel about McCain. I think we often forget that he really is very disabled, he copes very well. Can he turn his head independantly or does he have to turn his whole body?
I didn't really hear much of any substance out of either of them. It was the same old, same old. Both candidates have very obviously avoided the illegal immigration situation, and neither have had much to say about HOW they plan to get our economy going again. The area where I live is being hit very hard with mill and factory closures.
Yes, I too squirmed when Obama had to look at his bracelet to remember the name of the soldier. It was like he put it on just for the debate because he knew that McCain had one.
So much of the political process in this campaign has become stale and boring. I myself want to hear a PLAN about how we are going to: have peace in the middle east, find Osama Bin Laden, control illegal immigrants from entering and remaining in our country, and how they are going to put people back to work. I am tired of hearing about government "programs". This country was built on self-reliance. I am also tired of the fear-mongering on the part of the press regarding the bail-out of the predatory lenders.
I, too, look forward to hearing the VP candidates' debate. You have one who loves the sound of his own voice vs. one who has a lot to learn about the office to which she aspires.
I just wonder if the whole McCain not looking at Obama is a function of age and how he was taught to debate. If I remember correctly (and I may not ...) I thought you were NOT allowed to directly address your opponent as proper debate form. That may now be passe, but McCain may just be used to debating that way?
Ame
I wondered about that too Ame. When he spoke about Obama, he did not direct it at him.
Well, Jim Lehrer kept telling them to talk to each other and address each other. Eventually Obama addressed McCain and then Jim kept telling McCain to talk to Obama but he just would not do it.
Yes, I remember him saying that. I was surprised to actually hear him telling them to talk to each other. Not the debate format I am familiar with ...
Ame
I felt a bit like I was watching a principal in his office with two boys who had been fighting.
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