Well, we’re having a debate after all – in my view, it would have been better had the Democrats allowed partisan considerations to be set aside for a few days while we work out what is best for the financial crisis…but a party which tries to insert money into the bail out package for the voter-fraud group ACORN is not a party which ever puts country first. So, off we go.
Obama’s people have been busily downplaying expectations – expect them, and the MSM and the “instant polls” to go on and on after the debate about how Obama won the debate and did much better than expected. But as in the first debate of 2004, what is said by the spinmeisters isn’t all that important. I remember going on a radio show broadcast in New York City the day after the first debate in 2004 and I was treated to a few minuets of The Nation’s David Corn going on and on about how Kerry had mopped the floor with President Bush. I stoutly asserted that President Bush had won the debate. Why? Because John Kerry had said we needed to have a foreign policy which passed a “global test”. It was my contention that the phrase would work its way into the national consciousness over the following days and no matter what the spin and instant polls said, it will be shown that Kerry did himself irreparable harm by making that statement. And so it proved.
This sort of thing is more McCain’s venue than Obama’s – though McCain would have preferred a more “give and take” event. If McCain makes a serious mistake tonight it will be a heavy blow against his candidacy – if he appears hesitant, or uses non-answers, or comes across as a grumpy old man, etc., then he will damage himself. Not irretrievably (there’s still a lot of time left), but it won’t help him at this juncture with Obama rising a bit in the polls to have anything other than a good performance, and a stellar performance would be best. On the other hand, if Obama comes across as something other than a calm, cool and collected man in full possession of the facts, then he’ll do himself some really serious damage. Obama can’t win the election tonight, but he can to a long way towards losing it if he flubs answers or appears to be out of his depth next to an experienced McCain. Obama blowing it badly won’t be any more the final answer than McCain blowing it badly, but a bad performance by Obama will be a worse thing than a bad performance by McCain as far more people have doubts about Obama’s leadership credentials already, and Obama daren’t give them any more reason to doubt.
Now, I had promised Matt that I would be live-blogging – unfortunately, I suddenly have some personal business to take care of right about debate time (the perils of living in a Pacific Time zone when the action happens on Eastern Time), though I intend to go through it with care post-debate and have my own comments. We’ll see if I, observing after the fact, come to a better understanding of it than the punditry who watch it live. Meanwhile, you, dear readers, have this fine blog entry to put your comments on as it happens.
UPDATE: Ok, so I managed to listen to some of it on the radio and during that was immediately struck by how much Obama stuttered. Made him seem unsure of himself. Then I got home and watched it on TV, where Obama not only stuttered but kept on finger pointing, blame laying, interrupting and generally making an ass out of himself.
I think McCain won this debate.
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