It was the best of the three, and way better than the useless second debate, for sure. The format worked well--sitting at a table seemed to encourage them to engage with each other--and the moderator Bob Schieffer did a fine job, asking shrewd, pointed questions and then following up. Both men raised their game, especially McCain, who of the two had far more ground to recover. We got a fuller discussion than before of most of the issues that came up--tax policy, for instance, and health care. But I doubt it has changed anybody's mind. Neither landed a heavy blow, and neither made a bad mistake--unless McCain's increasingly tiresome references to Joe the Plumber fall into that category.
A critical moment came when Schieffer asked for their opinion of each other's running-mate. Obama declined the invitation to attack, offering faint praise ("she's a capable politician") and saying that voters would make up their own minds. He will be criticized for that, but I think he was wise. Voters who think Palin a disaster don't need to be reminded of it by Obama, and voters who think she's a good choice wouldn't have been swayed. The main thing was for Obama to stay cool and collected, to avoid seeming angry or rattled. Especially with the economy in such a bad way, those are the traits that commend him to independents, and where he compares so favorably with McCain. His restraint on Palin served to underline them.
McCain's demeanor was much improved, I thought. He also scored a point or two in the tax discussion, criticizing Obama's penchant for "spreading the wealth around". His seeming moderation on Supreme Court appointments--''no litmus test"--will have pleased some independents (at the cost of annoying many conservatives). His best single line of the night was probably when he said he was not George Bush, and that if Obama had wanted to run against Bush he should have run four years ago: "I will take the country in a new direction."
I thought Obama had the better of the crucial exchange on health care. Both men got a bit bogged down in the technicalities. I wonder how many viewers followed what they were saying. But Obama emphasized that if you were happy with your existing insurance nothing would change, and that McCain's scheme would undermine existing employer-provided cover (which indeed it would; it is intended to). For most voters, that wins the argument. McCain's approach has virtues--employer-provided insurance is a bad idea--and Obama's estimates of the cost of his scheme are not at all plausible, but McCain has made a hash of explaining his own proposal, and it is fatally flawed in any case, because it does so little to improve coverage.
We saw a better McCain than the McCain of recent weeks, but it almost certainly comes too late. With the economic ceiling falling in, Obama's grace under pressure inspires more confidence than McCain's agitation, attenuated as it was for tonight's encounter. Obama has the momentum, and I saw nothing to change that.
Really? I thought it was by far McCain's angriest performance today. I'm wondering where you watched the debate and whether it was somewhere they didn't show the split screen, because there were moments when McCain seemed almost incandescent with rage, particularly when Obama answered one of his nearly incoherent rants with a calm, cool, moderate response. My guess is that the Republican base will love this performance -- McCain threw the kitchen sink, at last -- and that everyone else will find it bizarre and irrelevant.
I guess some polls by CBS show that 68% of American voters believe that Obama's health care plan is the way to go. Small wonder as I would say about 68% of American voters are whiney, greedy, I-still-want-my-mommy-to-take-care-of-me wussies. Personal responsibility doesn't mean jack in this country anymore. Everyone would rather work a minimal amount, and then let people who actually give a damn about their lives pay for their health care.
Mr. Crook, I think McCain was doing all right in the abortion section until his sneering dismissal of "the health of the mother." To my mind, that was the single worst moment of all four debates.
I am willing to guarantee that was a squealing-brakes, what-did-he-just-say moment for a LOT of women, particularly any who have actually experienced the anxiety and fear that accompanies even the most uneventful of pregnancies.
"His seeming moderation on Supreme Court appointments--''no litmus test"--will have pleased some independents (at the cost of annoying many conservatives)."
Yet, interesting was the: "I won't use a litmus test - I will appoint on qualifications alone. But if you disagree with Roe v. Wade, then I do not consider you qualified." Laughable...
Decent recap of the debate, and I agree that the Bush line was McCain's strongest moment. I disagree strongly on the abortion point, though -- did you completely miss when he said that, although he would look to a nominee's qualifications, support for Roe v. Wade would suggest they were not qualified? Sounds an aweful lot like a litmus test to me.
A fair and graceful review. Perhaps a bit light handed when it comes to the near endless new programs McCain offered without suggesting how he'd pay for them? He sounded downright liberal.
I wish you'd do a serious piece on health care. I'm sure I'd disagree with most of it, and equally certain I'd have different opinions then I know hold after I'd digested it.
Thank you.
Good lord - McCain made no bad mistakes? Putting "health of the mother" in scare quotes, for heaven's sake? I sure noticed it, and I bet a whole lot of other women did, too.
Clive, I think that's a fair assessment.
I thought McCain did better in this debate, although he needs to still do a better job of concealing his contempt and anger. It's just not attractive. One other major demerit for McCain was his awful dig on the "health" of the mother as an extreme pro-abortion stance. I've never heard a national politician, even Bush, press hard on this issue. This will surely hurt him with many indpendent women voters. He'll have to modify that answer in the coming days.
I thought Obama was a bit too cool tonight. His coolness is a plus for him right now, but he does run the danger of looking too generic. He needs to get back on the stump with his fiery speeches to remind voters of his passion.
What makes you think most us OBJECT to "soreading the wealth around"? The nast mahority of Americans wish there was a bigger piece of the pie, especially after the reign of Republicn steal from the poor and give to the rich!
Yup. Despite McCain's barely contained fury, the most interesting moment emotionally may have come when the likable moderator asked about the running mates, and Obama coolly mentioned how much faith he has in Biden, "if, God forbid, something should happen to me." Clearly assassination is something he's thought through as fully as he's thought through everything else in his campaign. You have to admire the nerve and foresight of a man who has faced up even to his own death with such practicality -- he's a true grown-up.
Mr. Crook writes:
"McCain's demeanor was much improved, I thought."
and
"We saw a better McCain than the McCain of recent weeks,..."
From Sullivan's blog post of today:
There is the Republican pundit's view of things and there is the real world. So seldom do they mesh.
Subsidized employer-provided health insurance may be problematical in some ways, but insurance negotiated for you by a professional who represents a large enough group of customers to have some leverage is an excellent thing, and McCain's plan is to do away with that.
are you kidding Clive ? surely you jest ?
McCain was pathetic !
every REPUBLICAN i know here in North Carolina is ashamed of him. let alone the democrats! McCain was a clown and his proposals came across as random hot air, especially given the difficulties that Bush has created with his neo-socialist bailout mess.
McCain was making it up as he went along!
McCain's comment during the debate that Obama should have run against Bush four years ago is specious. The comment resonated with some because it sounded like a nice retort, but the remark is totally devoid of substance. Because McCain and others even now believe that Obama lacks the requisite experience to be president, how can one seriously entertain McCain's Bush line? It makes no sense. Just like it would have made no sense for Obama to have run against Bush four years ago when Obama was a new national presence. What was substantive was Obams's response, which was that on the big issues like tax cuts for the wealthy, McCain is a near clone of Bush.
McCain and Palin look, act and talk like amiable robots... both of them are the perfect combination to carry on the legacy of George W. Bush.
the fact that anyone is praising McCain for his performance in the third debate proves that he and Palin have lowered people's expectations down to nothing (don't forget, the VP debates were a tie!)
My observation is that nearly all legislation is about who receives wealth. So McCain's charge that Obama wants to "share the wealth" is silly because all politics is about sharing wealth -- in one direction or another!