BitaTruble
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Joined: 1/12/2006
From: Texas
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Okay, I think I'd like to end this on a positive so I'll start with the negatives.
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First, Obama. He showed up about 10 mins late to the debate which gave McCain a head start. He didn't seem quite at ease as I've seen him in the past and I think part of that is because while he knew that McCain was probably going to be more aggressive, I don't think he expected it to come so quickly nor so aggressively and it threw him off balance for a bit. There were several questions in a row in which he allowed McCain the last word and I think that was a bit of a mistake.
ACORN: On the one hand he could have countered the ACORN issue a bit better, especially that $800,000 but, on the other hand I'm okay with him moving the dicussion back to the actual issues which are his strong point but it came a bit at the expense of leaving ACORN on the table as an Obama issue when he could have noted McCain's former support and keynote address at ACORN. McCain has made it pretty clear that he's going to continue to stump with his version of the truth, so, unfortunately, we'll probably still be hearing about ACORN when he, truly, could have put the issue to bed.
Okay, moving on .. like McCain, he spoke directly to Joe the Plumber .. but the problem is that Obama relates much better to the working middle class and pulling down $250,000 a year puts good old Joe into the working upper class. I don't think he's quite as comfortable talking to that kind of money with his grassroots background, so he appeared to me to squirm just a bit about Joe. I don't think it's going to be an issue as he has never courted the upper class, so it's not the slam dunk it would appear to be. He'd never get that vote anyway.
I've often said that pure, dumb luck is underestimated. In this case, Obama got the last words in. On the pro column for that dumb luck is getting to speak your piece and leaving the public with your visage as it's last memory. On the con side of that, McCain still doesn't look all that healthy, his skin is papery and that smile just sends chills down my spine so leaving that image as the last memory might have served Obama even better.
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On the negatives for McCain - He can't help his appearance but his appearance doesn't help him either. He made two major blunders and several small missteps, in my opinion including one in which the silence seemed to last for a very, very long time.
First, and the one which I'm not going to forget any time soon - when he spoke about building 55 nuclear power plants he turned and indicated Obama and stated .. "And he wants them to be safe!" as if that were some sort of kookie idea. Granted, this is a personal opinion, but yes, if we build nuclear power plants I certainly want them to be safe. I was pretty stunned when he said that. I'm sure he didn't mean it the way it sounded but, to me, it sounded really, really bad and once those words were out of his mouth, he couldn't take them back.
The other blunder (and the one which means the most to me as a woman) I thought he made was talking about abortion and actually using his hands to quote the 'health' of women on this issue. Looking right at Obama then back to the camera then to make the quote sign "Senator Obama is very concerned about the "health" of women" was quite insulting to me. Again, like that is some horrible quality to possess. To me that said a whole lot about what he really thinks of women. It's almost as if he thinks of women as an afterthought, less important. I will stipulate this is all completely my own impression but I will share that Himself got the exact same message which left us both with a WTF expression on our faces.
When I combine that with his attitude on the equal pay for equal work case which went before the Supreme court .. I didn't see a man sitting there who is in full support (or possibly any support) of women's issues and his running mate has zero record in that regard. He could have shown some compassion for the lady who had worked for so long without equal pay, but the only response we got was "The statute of limitations had run out". Had that been followed up with .. "But, of course, I support equal pay" he would have been much better served. This was a case of something which went unsaid which is not going to help him come 11/4. Obama has opened up quite a lead among women in the polls and there is nothing that McCain said tonight that's going to change that .. and, in my opinion, he actually is going to hurt himself in that regard. Big mistake. We are 55% of the voting public. It's not a good idea to dis us or piss us off.
Onwards and upwards - A little oppsy here. He asked a question to which he didn't know the answer. Lawyers know better. I guess bomber pilots don't. That was when he almost insisted that Obama speak to "Joe the Plumber" and tell him how much he would be fined for failing to provide health care to his small business employees and Obama responded with "Zero, small businesses are exempt." Opps. It was quite obvious that McCain was expecting a non answer .. not that answer.
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On the positives - Obama handled Ayers and Lewis effortlessly. While he did show up a bit late, once he got his pace going he was spot on. He didn't avoid questions and stayed to the topic on the table. He was clear, explained his ideas, looked more at the camera and spoke to 'us' rather than just the moderator. He paid very close attention whenever McCain spoke and didn't interrupt nearly as much as he did in the other debates. I think that goes to show, in a much better light for him, that he's not afraid to let his opponent speak because he's confident he'll be able to handle any questions which come his way and, he pretty much did. I loved his smile when ever he thought that McCain made a poor statement or point and he just came across as very human, genuine, likable and, ultimately, Presidential. He didn't swerve or sway although he did have one or two almost microscopic double takes, they were not nearly as apparent as McCains.
Overall grade for Obama: A-
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Positives for McCain: The man took his coaching very well and this was a whole different John McCain than the one who showed up at the first two debates. He got freebies in for the first 10 mins because Obama forgot he was in a debate. He scored some great zingers, but the best hands down was "If you wanted to run against Bush, you should have run four years ago." He brought up Joe the Plumber several times and spoke directly to him a few times, I think because the average America is supposed to be able to relate to Joe the Plumber .. but, the average American isn't pulling down $250,000 a year, so I'm not sure how well that's going to really work but as far as strategy's go, when you don't have a whole lot in the kitty with which to work, you have to work with what you've got and in that regard, he did well with it.
Overall McCain score: B-
For the third time in a row, Obama takes the win.
This was the best of the debates, but without the necessary knock out punch, McCain is going to need some sort of miracle if he wants to be the next President.
See ya at the voting booth. ;)
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"Oh, so it's just like Rock, paper, scissors." He laughed. "You are the wisest woman I know."
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RE: The Last Debate - 
Profile
A bit over stated?! 
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