Debate Payback: McCain Says Obama Doesn’t Get It

Roger Simon at Politico agreed with my conclusion posted here after the debate last night that John McCain was the winner. However, Simon apparently did not find the first presidential debate between Obama and McCain as boring as I did. (Keep in mind that I was mentally comparing the mediocre performances of Obama and McCain to previous outstanding performances by Hillary Clinton, and I’m still not convinced that either of the two men is qualified to be president.)

Simon writes:

“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.’

“True, the majority of the debate was fought on McCain’s strongest ground: foreign affairs. And true, McCain’s feet were not held to the fire as to why he urged the postponement of the debate in order to secure a financial bailout package in Washington, but then decided to show up without any such agreement in hand.

‘“But it didn’t seem to matter much. McCain just pounded away on his central argument: Obama just didn’t ‘understan’ 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.

‘“He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t get it,’ McCain said of Obama, also saying, ‘There is a little bit of naiveté here.’

‘“It was as if McCain was paying Obama back for that moment in Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention when Obama said McCain would not serve America well, ‘not because John McCain doesn’t care; it’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.’

“But McCain seemed to get it Friday night. He certainly knew enough to try to turn his age into a plus and not a minus. ‘There are some advantages to experience, knowledge and judgment,’ McCain said.

Read more.

Obama a Skittish Debater; McCain Keeps His Cool

I personally can’t think of a more boring way to spend an evening than listening to a debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. But I hung in there for their evasive exchanges on the economic crisis during the first 45 minutes and then heard them out for the remainder of the time on major foreign policy issues.

Afterward, commentators at CBS and CNN appeared to agree there was no clear winner. One or two observers criticized McCain for treating Obama with condescension on occasion, but no one mentioned how time and again the skittish Obama rudely interrupted McCain before he had uttered a complete sentence and continued to talk over him without intervention by moderator Jim Lehrer.

Part of my boredom was due to having to listen to Obama one more time boast of having opposed the Iraq war from the beginning without mentioning that he was not a member of the US Senate at the time. Also, whenever he had an opening, he repeatedly accused John McCain of having supported President Bush 90% of the time for the past eight years. McCain had the advantage of being able to refute Obama by pointing to his record; Obama has no record to speak of unless you consider his 100+ present votes in the Illinois State Legislature.

Overall, I’d say Obama, known for his cool, was the more aggressively defensive of the two adversaries in the debate; he seemed on edge and as I mentioned earlier, repeatedly jumped the gun. The first term senator tried several times to get under McCain’s skin, but the former fighter pilot, known for getting testy now and then, smiled patiently and remained calm and collected throughout the debate. For that reason alone, I’ll declare McCain the winner.

The Debate is on: McCain vs. Obama in Oxford, Mississippi Tonight

The McCain campaign has issued a statement today saying John McCain will attend the first presidential debate between him and Obama this evening, Sept. 26, 2008 at 9 p.m EST at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer will moderate the debate, which will focus on foreign policy and national security issues.

Here’s the complete debate schedule:

(Each debate will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific time and last for 90 minutes. They will be aired on every major broadcast network such as CBS, NBC, ABC, and FOX. They will also be aired on cable outlets such as Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and many others. )

September 26, 2008: (Tickets) Presidential debate with foreign policy focus, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS

October 2, 2008: (Tickets) Vice Presidential debate, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

October 7, 2008: (Tickets) Presidential debate in a town hall format, Belmont University, Nashville, TN

October 15, 2008: (Tickets) Presidential debate with domestic policy focus, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY