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In photos: 'USA Elections Presidential Debate'
By James Wray Sep 27, 2008, 15:32 GMT
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Older Talkback
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Watch the video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o
About Last Night: No Laughing Matter (Abriidged)
Dean Barnett
...McCain came across well as he always does at these things. Low end news gatherers who were expecting a doddering old warmonger got a surprise. McCain looked and sounded presidential.
McCain’s running attack on Obama did serious damage, especially given the way Obama’s behavior played right into the attack’s theme. Throughout the evening, McCain said that Obama “didn’t understand” things. The message was as subtle as a Howard Dean scream – on one part of the stage you had the old Warhorse who has been around the track; on the other end of the stage, according to McCain, you had a neophyte. McCain was making a frontal assault on Obama’s maturity and judgment.
The assault only directly drew blood in a couple of instances. Obama looked silly when he couldn’t distinguish between “tactics” and “strategy,” and his endless parsing on preconditions and preparations came across as patently disingenuous. But the real damage came with the debate’s optics. Having his maturity frontally challenged, Obama by his own creative antics often came across as childish, petulant and a little odd.
Let us count the ways:
1) Several times during the debate, Obama would smirk and laugh while McCain spoke. The optics of this were just awful. If Obama had wanted to come across as an arrogant jerk, this is the strategy he would have chosen. Frankly, it’s rather shocking that Obama repeatedly made such a mistake. Al Gore cost himself the 2000 election with his first debate performance where he derided everything George W. Bush said with a series of sighs and smirks. Oh yeah – the polls and the pundits said Gore “won” that tussle right after it concluded, although history has rendered a different verdict.
Gore’s antics were completely unprecedented. Up until that time, every other presidential candidate had managed to comport himself in a reasonably mature fashion while doing a televised debate. And yet in 2004, George W. Bush took the Gore tactics out for a test drive during his first debate with John Kerry, scowling virtually every time Kerry spoke. Bush’s lead in the polls quickly evaporated.
The voters expect a certain level of decorum from their candidates. Obama didn’t demonstrate that decorum last night. While he debated more effectively than he has in the past, he came across poorly.
2) On a related note, Obama kept referring to McCain as “John” while the older candidate referred to his foe as “Senator.” Again, I don’t understand the thought process here. Maybe Obama thought he would appear more presidential and less a lightweight by treating his more seasoned opponent in an overly familiar manner. But the difference in the two candidates’ approaches grated as the evening wore on.
3) Obama often refers to himself as “we.” What’s up with that?
4) Obama pronounces Pakistan like a high school civics teacher trying to show of his erudition – “Pah-kee-stun.” Whenever he does this, he comes across as a smarty-pants showoff. Besides, I would argue that in America, we know and commonly refer to the country in question as, you know, Pakistan, not Pah-kee-stun. Obama is only right on this if he also calls Spain “la Espańa.”
5) The “two bracelets” moment showed Obama at his “I have to be the smartest guy in the room” worst. This could emerge as the signature moment of the debate, where Obama’s insecurities and insincerity combined to create a perfect storm. (Apparently, he couldn’t recall the name of the soldier he was purportedly honoring until he looked it up on his bracelet.)
America is still getting to know Barack Obama. Last night, the candidate did himself no favors....
www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2008/09/about_last_night_no_laughi ng_m.asp
I, for one, would never vote for a candidate as old as McCain with a running mate who acts like she doesn't have a clue outside a written script. The windfall is now a downfall. Too bad McCain couldn't have had his choice of Lieberman instead of bravely having to grin and bear it. Katie Couric's interview made Palin look like she had had a lobotomy!
I, for one, would never vote for a liar who had served 143 days in the senate before the international socialists who prop him up decided he was ready to be president. I wouldn't vote for Obama because the hairplugged gaffe machine he chose for his running mate has been consistently wrong on foreign policy and shoves his foot in his mouth whenever he opens it. Too bad Obama couldn't have had his choice of Joseph Stalin. Obama doesn't have a clue outside his teleprompter, which feeds him David Axelrods focus group tested lies.
Obama Campaign Throws First Amendment Under the Bus
My jaw is officially on the floor. The Barack Obama campaign is asking Missouri law enforcement to target anyone who “lies or runs a misleading TV ad” during the presidential campaign; here’s a video report.
UPDATE at 9/28/08 9:31:28 am:
A statement from Missouri Governor Matt Blunt on the Obama campaign’s abusive use of Missouri law enforcement.
JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Matt Blunt today issued the following statement on news reports that have exposed plans by U.S. Senator Barack Obama to use Missouri law enforcement to threaten and intimidate his critics.
“St. Louis County Circuit Attorney Bob McCulloch, St. Louis City Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer, and Obama and the leader of his Missouri campaign Senator Claire McCaskill have attached the stench of police state tactics to the Obama-Biden campaign.
“What Senator Obama and his helpers are doing is scandalous beyond words, the party that claims to be the party of Thomas Jefferson is abusing the justice system and offices of public trust to silence political criticism with threats of prosecution and criminal punishment.
“This abuse of the law for intimidation insults the most sacred principles and ideals of Jefferson. I can think of nothing more offensive to Jefferson’s thinking than using the power of the state to deprive Americans of their civil rights. The only conceivable purpose of Messrs. McCulloch, Obama and the others is to frighten people away from expressing themselves, to chill free and open debate, to suppress support and donations to conservative organizations targeted by this anti-civil rights, to strangle criticism of Mr. Obama, to suppress ads about his support of higher taxes, and to choke out criticism on television, radio, the Internet, blogs, e-mail and daily conversation about the election.
“Barack Obama needs to grow up. Leftist blogs and others in the press constantly say false things about me and my family. Usually, we ignore false and scurrilous accusations because the purveyors have no credibility. When necessary, we refute them. Enlisting Missouri law enforcement to intimidate people and kill free debate is reminiscent of the Sedition Acts - not a free society.”
Watch this video, it explains the current economic crisis that will cost Americans billions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs
www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1
HE HAS POLICE IN MISSOURI INTIMIDATING PEOPLE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT HIM:
www.kmov.com/video/index.html?nvid=285793&shu=1
Obama ungawa wants bananna trees planted in the black-house yard (white-house will be renamed if he wins)
Trailer trash sick racist humor is abounding again.
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Obama lied again:Sep 27th, 2008 - 19:39:24
Henry Kissinger believes Barack Obama misstated his views on diplomacy with US adversaries and is not happy about being mischaracterized. He says: 'Senator McCain is right. I would not recommend the next President of the United States engage in talks with Iran at the Presidential level. My views on this issue are entirely compatible with the views of my friend Senator John McCain. We do not agree on everything, but we do agree that any negotiations with Iran must be geared to reality.'
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