The second presidential debate, held on Tuesday, October 7th, was more of the same. Barack Obama is a calm, logical alternative to disastrous Republican economic and foreign policy. John McCain is a fiery, experienced foreign policy heavyweight who is sure about American exceptionalism.
The one new thing that I came away with is a better understanding of why so many people say that McCain is at his best in the town hall format. He performed much better this time around, didn't come across as so much of an angry little man (could hardly have been worse than the first time) and he was able to counter Obama's reason with a fist-pumping, cheerleading simplicity that, I guess, goes over great among certain voters that I won't pretend to understand.
So, I wonder, why does he bring his A-game to the town hall and not to a regular debate?
When thinking about John McCain, I have only one frame of reference: my nannah.
My grandmother suffers from full-blown dementia. She spends her waking hours doing one of two things.
She can be found either sitting in a chair or going for short walks around the house and down the block and back. When she sits in her chair, she is grumpy, silent and unsure of where she is or the indentities of the people in the room with her (her family and a nurse). When she is walking, she comes to life. She will tell whoever is with her all about the plants in the yard, the members of her family, her goals (which usually include advancement in the Navy and going off to college) and the parties she's planning to throw.
Now, my grandmother is 90-years old, 19 more than John McCain, and McCain obviously does not suffer from full-blown dementia. However, it has been mentioned by Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic and other sources that mild cognitive impairment, a potential precursor to Alzheimer's or dementia, is a possible explanation for the many gaffes made by McCain during his campaign. According to a study by the Annals of Internal Medicine, about 22% of Americans over the age of 71 suffer from mild cognitive impairment.
McCain fares so well in town hall meetings because, like my grandmother, if you get him moving he'll come to life. The clip from the debate below (at about the one minute mark, McCain wanders across the stage behind Obama as Obama is speaking) shows McCain's need to keep moving, even while not speaking, and improved responses over the first debate.
Compare McCain's energy in the second debate to his pained, dull and grouchy demeanor in the first debate.
It's all a matter of circulation.
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