I didn't talk about the last debate yesterday because I didn't want to sully my anniversary with crass political talk. But today is just waiting to be sullied.
As with the other debates, nothing new came to light. McCain was obviously paying attention to the feedback from the previous debates, because he was much more engaged, and even engaging, this time around. But he still seemed so uncomfortable and angry—again, just like a crotchety old man. I kept expecting him to slip into a Grampa Simpson snore mid-sentence. Obama, on the other hand, came across as cool and eloquent the whole time. I hope that some of those "Undecideds" ended up deciding that if McCain could barely stand the stress of a debate, maybe he doesn't have the right temperament to be President during this really bad chapter in our country's history. I forgot that I had intended to watch on CNN instead of PBS so that I could see the split-screen thing where you get to watch both men the whole time. My Twitter-pals who were on CNN reported that while McCain was speaking, Obama appeared to be concentrating and listening respectfully, whereas while Obama was speaking, McCain kept twitching and rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue—and blinking nonstop! (Maybe because Palin has said that she will never blink?)
Obama took the high road when asked about the vice presidential candidates. Rather than say anything bad about Palin (and there's obviously plenty to say), he just talked about how qualified Biden is. I initially thought this was a missed chance to blast Palin, but Obama is smarter than I am, and he remembered that being negative is not working for McCain. I did think that he should have come on stronger about the negative campaign tactics used by McCain/Palin—I mean, really, can you compare Obama calling McCain "angry" and "out of touch" to McCain calling Obama "dangerous" and Palin saying that he "pals around with terrorists"? McCain has said that he respects Obama and wants his supporters to treat him with respect too, but he obviously neglected to tell Palin this. At all her recent events, she has been gleefully whipping the crowds into a truly hateful, scary mob.
This is a point I've made before, but it bears repeating. It seems to me that the worst things I hear anyone say about McCain (and I'm referring to the talking heads on TV as well as bloggers from every walk of life) is that he's too old, he seems angry, he has turned his back on his personal convictions, he has lied, and so on—pretty standard fare for a political race. On the other hand, everywhere I look on the Web, I see people calling Obama a terrorist, shouting "Kill the Arab!" and even suggesting that he should be waterboarded. (And if you think that's only coming from the "fringe" rally attendees that McCain alluded to, check out the official website of the Sacramento GOP.) I have often noticed that the most extreme conservatives are the most radical hate-spewers of all. It scares me to death. Isn't that the very opposite of what Christianity is all about? I feel pretty certain that I know what Jesus wouldn't do, and that's support this kind of hate-mongering. Want to meet some of McCain/Palin's supporters? Watch this chilling clip.
A few more links:
- Clever post-debate Obama ad, mashing video of McCain saying, "Senator Obama, I am not George Bush" during the debate with him saying "I voted with the President over 90% of the time, higher than a lot of even my Republican colleagues" sometime last year.
- Christopher Buckley, who recently had to step down from the National Review (founded by his father, William F. Buckley) because he endorsed Obama on his personal blog, says, "So, to paraphrase a real conservative, Ronald Reagan: I haven’t left the Republican Party. It left me."
- Read why the Washington Post said, "There are few public figures we have respected more over the years than Sen. John McCain. Yet it is without ambivalence that we endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president."
I've noticed that the scurrilous character assassination of the opposite candidate usually comes from the right; the problem is that with many people, it works! That's why they keep doing it.
Posted by: Margaret | October 18, 2008 at 01:09 PM