The second debate
To use a football analogy, when you’re ahead and it’s late in the fourth quarter, you don’t need any fancy plays. You hand the ball off to your star running back and you pound the ball. For the most part, I think that is what Barack Obama did tonight. He was the one who remained calm. He was the one who appeared relaxed and in command of whatever subject was thrown at him. I thought that there were several moments in which Barack Obama could have gone for the jugular and he didn’t. I can’t say the same for John McCain. He looked like he was pressing. He looked like he was begging the audience to believe him and to ignore Barack Obama.
Talking Points Memo has questioned whether John McCain actually shook Barack Obama’s hand.
One thing that has not been mentioned even once is whether we saw John McCain mocking Barack Obama during the debate. Barack Obama was telling some poignant story and you could see John McCain briefly pat his heart as if to diminish the pathos. I will look tomorrow when I have more time to see if I can find the exact clip.
The CNN instant polling following the debate clearly shows another victory for Barack Obama. Obama is more likable 65% - 28%. 54% of those surveyed thought that Barack Obama made a stronger leader. Only 30% of respondents thought that John McCain performed well.
The format of this “town hall” was terrible. There was no time for rebuttals; therefore, the candidates unnecessarily took up time when they should have been answering one question by backtracking and refuting what the other candidate had said in response to the previous question.
In spite of the goofy format, Barack Obama performed well. I did not see any gaffes.
Right-wingers started in the middle of the debate complaining. They didn’t like the format. Bill Kristol whined that Tom Brokaw was asking inside-the-Beltway-type questions. Really. Cry me a river.
Do we even need a 3rd debate?
