Despite the hype the surrounded it, the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama proved to be a totally anti-climactic experience. I sat in front of the television hoping for both candidates to shed light on the issues America needs to address and walked away-- which I had been dying to do for nearly two hours because I had to use the restroom and there weren't any commercial breaks; seriously, didn't McCain need a potty break at all during that entire ordeal?-- frustrated.
The general consensus amongst my peers and myself was that the pugnacious McCain played dirty, while Obama, on the other hand, was far too passive when he addressed his opponent's cheap shots. Several of McCain's statements only further perpetuated the negative image non-Republicans have of him as a war-mongering jerk. Obama, on the other hand, handled McCain's statements against him in a far less combative way. Several people I spoke to afterwards thought Obama was far too passive in responding to McCain's attacks on him, although I personally believe that the overall manner with which he handled everything (save for the occasional stutter and interruption while McCain was speaking) made him look slightly better than the riled-up McCain. In the end, however, I think neither of the candidates walked away from this debate looking far better or worse than they had prior to participating in this event.
There were instances that occurred during the debate that caused my attention to wane. Seriously, I cannot believe that the two candidates debated about war bracelets for practically five minutes. In my opinion, both McCain and Obama fell flat with their attempts to discuss the issues at hand and walked away from that debate on shaky ground. McCain made himself look even more like an angry non-intellectual lacking in substance and Obama disappointed his supporters with the way he handled his opponent's criticism.
According to CBS News and the Knowledge Network's poll of undecided voters, Obama walked away from that debate with the edge. On his blog for The Atlantic, Mark Ambinder shares this information and writes:
"40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.
68% of these voters think Obama would make the right decision
about the economy. 41% think McCain would.
49% of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. 55% think McCain would."
An article on CNN's website headlined "Analysis: A few jabs, but no knockout in first debate" wrote that "polling shows that voters have more confidence in Obama than McCain when it comes to the economy. McCain, though, warmed up as the discussion turned to his turf: foreign policy. When it comes to terrorism and Iraq, voters prefer McCain over Obama. Although McCain successfully pointed out that he clearly has more experience on foreign policy issues, Obama did hold his own."
Ken Klein's article on Voice of America News takes a similar stand as that of CNN, stating that "Both U.S. presidential candidates were claiming victory following the first of three scheduled debates. Commentators, analysts and bloggers appeared split on who may have gained an advantage from Friday's debate. Many believe that both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama performed well, but neither walked away the clear winner."
An article on the PBS website transcribes an interview with New York Times columnist David Brooks, who is quoted saying:
"I miss Ronald Reagan. He didn't know as much about the issues as these gentlemen just demonstrated they did, but he could make a values connection that people will remember weeks later, which I don't think either of them did.
Believe me, I think each of them did fine. I think it was much the better debate than we've seen in four or eight years. I think McCain was sharp and experienced, which he hasn't always been. I thought Obama was knowledgeable and forceful.
But there was a blizzard of policies that I don't think either of them made a values connection with people who don't already agree with them. So my bottom line is I think they both did well, but I don't think this changed the campaign in any fundamental way."
The BBC News website made up a system to poll writer's verdicts on the first presidential debate, which shows a much more varied discrepancy in opinion in comparison to the information I found on other news websites. However, in the long run, I think it's safe for me to assume that many civilians and journalists agree with me on the fact that this first debate really didn't do either of the presidential candidates any serious favors. Neither McCain nor Obama succeeded in winning over the public with outstanding rhetoric or further elaboration on their plans to resolve the issues at hand. Even the coverage of this event made me feel like I was two steps away from hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock because there was nothing particularly brilliant or exciting about what was said at this event.
Now, more than ever, I'm really looking forward to watching Sarah Palin and Joe Biden butt heads on Thursday. I'm bringing higher hopes and a whole lot of popcorn.
By Neila Jamee
September 29, 2008 11:18 PM
The war bracelets thing was kinda ridiculous. I felt like I was watching two children going, "MY BRACELET IS BETTER THAN YOURS!"
I'm eagerly anticipating the Biden-Palin debate. It's going to be so epic.