Obama To McCain: You’re Absolutely Right
By Anita Finlay ("Ani") on September 27, 2008 at 12:10 PM in Barack Obama, Debates, Hillary Clinton, John McCain
Now we know that many in the KoolAid-sipping media are going to continue the Mad Hatters Tea Party and pretend Obama won last night’s debate. OK. So when you’ve finished laughing and can draw calm breath once again, let us remember that they’ve got to act like it’s a dead heat so we’ll keep tuning in. Oh, the suspense is killing me!!
If you can read all the comments from a wide variety of news outlets in the following roundup and somehow come to the conclusion of spinmeisters like Keith Olbermann that Senator Obama won the night, more power to you. From where I sit, it looks like Roger Simon’s nailed it in his aptly titled Politico article: The Mac Is Back:
John McCain was very lucky that he decided to show up for the first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., Friday night. Because he gave one of his strongest debate performances ever.
While Barack Obama repeatedly tried to link McCain to the very unpopular George W. Bush, Bush’s name will not be on the ballot in November and McCain’s will.
And McCain not only found a central theme but hit on it repeatedly. Obama is inexperienced, naive, and just doesn’t understand things, McCain said.
Sure, McCain is a pretty old guy for a presidential candidate, but he showed the old guy did not mind mixing it up. He stood behind a lectern for 90 minutes without a break — you try that when you are 72 — and he not only gave as good as he got, he seemed to relish it more.
At least twice after sharp attacks by McCain, Obama seemed to look to moderator Jim Lehrer for help, saying to Lehrer, “Let’s move on.”
I’ll just bet Obama wanted Jim to move on. And Mr. Lehrer was more than happy to lend an assist. Nonetheless, this article is very telling given that Politico has been more than happy to function as an Obama cheering section (they surely did when Hillary was in the race):
McCain just pounded away on his central argument: Obama just didn’t “understand” how to deal with Pakistan; how dangerous it is to meet with foreign leaders without preconditions; how serious the Russian invasion of Georgia was; the price of failure in Iraq.
McCain got in a few zingers that really zeroed in on Senator Obama’s weakness as a candidate overall:
“He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t get it,” … “There is a little bit of naiveté here.”
“There are some advantages to experience, knowledge and judgment.”
“I understand why Sen. Obama was surprised and saddened that the surge succeeded beyond his wildest expectations.”
My favorite McCain comment by far however, was this:
“I don’t need any on-the-job training,” McCain said. “I am ready to go at it right now.”
Simon seemed to agree, saying: McCain certainly seemed like it Friday night.
NBC’s Tom Brokaw seemed to agree as well:
That was the most distinctive difference obviously once we got into the area of national security. John McCain bored in on Barack Obama. He’s been reading the same polls we all have. There are grave reservations in most of the polls about whether Barack Obama has enough experience and whether he’s qualified to be commander in chief. And tonight Senator McCain went right after that vulnerability in Barack Obama.
Fortune’s Nina Easton had this to say to Greta Van Susteren of FOX News:
“I thought it was a really good night for John McCain … The first 35 minutes I counted seven or eight attacks. He just went after Obama. Everything from accusing him of supporting earmarks to accusing him of supporting a — what did he say? An energy bill that was festooned with goodies. And it seemed to knock Obama off balance. It did two things it knocked Obama off balance he really had trouble getting his sea legs again and secondly, it moved this whole conversation about the financial crisis back to a conversation that John McCain is comfortable with, which is spending. …
John McCain comes off as very clear, direct, you know, ‘I looked at Putin and I saw KGB in his eyes.’ He talks directly.
There’s still something bland and policy-speak about Barack Obama that I don’t think does really well in these settings. He comes off as — and I know people use the term ‘cool,’ but I find it policy-speak in rounded edges and not direct.”
Bill Schneider of CNN, one of the biggest koolaid sippers out there – you remember him – he said Hillary’s supporters just needed a little grieving time and they’d come around. Something the equivalent of ‘she just needs to take a walk and calm down, maybe a glass of wine…’
First he gave us a month. Then he said we needed another month. How’s that workin’ out, Mr. Magoo? I mean, Mr. Schneider? Anyhoo, Bill had this to say:
“McCain scores a good point, that under Obama’s original plan on Iraq, US troops would have been out last spring, before the implementation of the surge. … McCain, in talking about Afghanistan and Pakistan, is drawing on his vast experience for the first time in this debate, and it really sounds very convincing…McCain’s scoring points on Obama’s opposition to the so-called surge in Iraq, a buildup of forces that McCain vigorously supported.”
Politico’s Ben Smith:
“McCain’s sharp and focused; he hasn’t landed a really hard punch, but he’s scoring on a lot of jabs.”
ABC News’ Jake Tapper live blogged the following:
‘You don’t do that, you don’t say that out loud,’ McCain says about Obama’s threat to sent US troops into Pakistan to strike at high-level al Qaeda operatives if given high level intelligence, with or without Pakistani government permission. McCain quotes George Schulz saying don’t point a gun unless you’re prepared to pull the trigger. Credible riff here, I think.’
No kidding. How hilarious then that the weasel George Stephanopoulos of ABC scored Obama slightly higher in the debate than John McCain. Yet his other colleague ABC News’ Rick Klein made this point:
You knew this was coming — a blistering attack on the preconditions line Obama has long wished he never delivered. This is a McCain layup.
Politico’s Jonathan Martin also made these points:
McCain has a strong moment early, drawing an implicit contrast with President Bush. Noting the criticism he took from his own party for calling on SEC head Chris Cox, the GOP nominee promises in firm language: “As president of the United States people are going to be held accountable in my administration.”
[I]n what surely made weary McCain aides smile, their guy just was able to set off a protracted discussion of earmarks and spending, getting in repeated references to Obama’s requests for Illinois. Never bad turf for Republicans, but especially for this Republican.
The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza:
An extended debate on meeting with foreign rogue leaders without preconditions = good for McCain.
The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder:
McCain demonstrates a solid understanding of the region [Afghanistan and Pakistan] here.
Given that MSNBC is the all Obama all the time network, these comments were a bit of a shocker. From MSNBC’s Carrie Dann:
McCain’s is the message that tests more strongly with voters. The latest NBC/WSJ poll showed that respondents prefer ‘a president who will go in and clean up Washington and take on the waste and fraud in the system’ to ‘a president who will end the Bush administration policies, and have active government oversight.’ by a margin of 67 to 29%
MSNBC’s Pat Buchanan:
John McCain clearly won this battle on points. He was aggressive all evening long. He was very tough. He constantly portrayed Barack directly and indirectly as sort of weak and indecisive and inconstant making these statements. He also had a most powerful, emotional moments. I think that Wolfsborough story and that 640 guys re-upping in Iraq, and that woman giving him that bracelet–I think those things reached the heart and the gut. I will say this about Barack Obama. He did what he had to do in the sense that he came off as a tough fellow, a counterpuncher who would stand up to John McCain, and I think he helped himself in that regard, but overall I really think John McCain came off as the winner of this debate…
As to the bracelet, Mr. Buchanan is correct. John McCain had very moving moment discussing a mom who asked him to wear the bracelet of her son who died for his country in Iraq. Senator Obama at the end of this speech, chiming in with “I’ve got a bracelet, too. Its from uh, ah um…” and had to look down at it to remind himself of the name – did not do himself any favors. He should have had the decency and exhibited the restraint to leave that moment to Senator McCain. McCain is not only a war hero, but a POW who suffered greatly in service to his country. Obama’s lack of personal connection to that bracelet or its value was obvious and it was a poor moment for him that will certainly resonate with voters.
And then there was the Kissinger smackdown as noted in the Weekly Standard:
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.”
Wow. So wouldn’t you think that the future President should be geared to reality?
The National Review Online’s Jim Geraghty:
Judging from CNN’s scrolling chart, independents also seemed to like McCain citing Tom Coburn calling earmarks a ‘gateway drug.’
From where I sit, McCain had a surprisingly strong night. …[T]he overall message of the night was clear – McCain is smart, familiar with the issues on a striking level of detail, knows what he wants to do.
And according to Geraghty, McCain’s line closing of the night also scored.
‘I don’t think I need any on the job training. I’m ready to go right now… I know how to deal with our adversaries, and I know how to deal with our friends.’
And how many times did Senator Obama say that John McCain is right during the debate? Seven or eight? He got away with that crap during his debates with Hillary. The equivalent of “yeah, what she said.” But I’m not sure how good a strategy that is when you are debating a Republican. Basically Senator Obama was saying, ‘Sure, McCain would be a great President. He’s right.’
Well at this point, I don’t know about great. I know who would have been great and unfortunately, that wonderful lady is no longer in the race.
But it is very clear that on experience, on actually bucking the system and working for reform and on having a great deal of practical leadership experience, John McCain would be a great deal better than our other choice.
by Ronald Scott
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