# September 26 - The First Obama-McCain Debate **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357 "2008-09-26T16:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/241 "2008-09-27T02:22:24Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Which way? I’m on the main HD feed OTA. Blue and green are trending together. I guess that means indipsndants are leaning towards Obama? Now red trace is way up there too, and Obama is still speaking. Maybe I don’t quite understand what those reaction lines are supposed to be showing. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/242 "2008-09-27T02:22:27Z")
I must say McCain has kept his trademark “my friends” phrase to an admirable minimum. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/243 "2008-09-27T02:23:03Z")
I think Obama is doing much better about Russia than McCain is, he shows a lot deeper understanding of the issue than “It’s energy! Putin is the devil!” ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/244 "2008-09-27T02:23:18Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Everytime McCain says Obama doesn’t understand, Obama should say McCain is confused. Winner. ---
**Author:** ![twhitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@twhitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twhitt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/245 "2008-09-27T02:23:34Z")
Which network is airing the _score_? I’m watching the BBC feed. ---
**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/246 "2008-09-27T02:23:44Z")
As someone who dislikes both candidates positions and who will almost certainly waste my vote on a third party candidate, Obama is winning this debate. McCain keeps repeating the same talking points. He isn’t coming across as quick witted, and his smirk is so freaking annoying. Why smirk like Obama is a naughty school boy talking outta turn, that is egotistical, it’s something and it didn’t look good IMHO. Yeah McCain knows names, drops them like he is trying to get into a club gahh. The “angry black man” thing had me thinking before this debate how he would handle that. Luckily he didn’t allow that falsehood stop him from correcting McCain when McCain tried to misrepresent his policy. After the smirk talk I shouldn’t say this, but McCain sliding his tongue in and out make me think about those Reptilian Overlords that tinfoil hats talk about. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Aankh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@Aankh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aankh)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/247 "2008-09-27T02:23:51Z")
Neither am I American, nor do I live in America. For the record, I hope to hell Obama wins. I think McCain’s rhetoric so far speaks to the layperson far better than Obama’s does. If a person had shallow knowledge about what was going on worldwide - and this would equate to a very large segment of the world’s population - they would think McCain was the one scoring all the points. Not that he isn’t at times, but they \*would \* think he had Obama on the run. He’s talking in very simplistic terms, sure, but if I know nothing, it would sound right to me and bugger the experts, 'cos people like me are the majority. There’s something about his gentle and slow speech that comes across well on screen. He’s periodically thrown out some jargon and facts - ‘perestroika’, that odd thing about North Korean height, etc - that make him sound informed and it just looks good. Obama in contrast seems just a tad heated and that’s not good. I’m going back to the TV in the other room. Here’s to Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/248 "2008-09-27T02:23:57Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I must say McCain has kept his trademark “my friends” phrase to an admirable minimum. That’s true. That was my drinking game. I lose. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/249 "2008-09-27T02:24:02Z")
Obama for nuclear! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/250 "2008-09-27T02:24:23Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Everytime McCain says Obama doesn’t understand, Obama should say McCain is confused. Yeah, that would _really_ score points with the AARP voters! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/251 "2008-09-27T02:24:25Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > What do the height of North Koreans have to do with…??? From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_korea): > [@](#): > > In 2006, Amnesty International reported that a national nutrition survey conducted by the North Korean government, the World Food Programme, and UNICEF found that 7 percent of children were severely malnourished; 37 percent were chronically malnourished; 23.4 percent were underweight; and one in three mothers was malnourished and anaemic as the result of the lingering effect of the famine. The inflation caused by some of the 2002 economic reforms, including the Songun or “Military-first” policy, was cited for creating the increased price of basic foods. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/252 "2008-09-27T02:25:04Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > Blue and green are trending together. I guess that means indipsndants are leaning towards Obama? > > Now red trace is way up there too, and Obama is still speaking. Maybe I don’t quite understand what those reaction lines are supposed to be showing. They do just twist a dial to show how much they like what a person is saying. The fact that they never go into negative territory tells me it’s a well meaning lot. Wow, the indies are changing their mind a lot in the middle of sentences. “You can’t drill” hate hate hate! “your way out of” Love! “a problem” hate! ---
**Author:** ![Discipline](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/82dd89/32.png) [@Discipline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Discipline)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/253 "2008-09-27T02:25:08Z")
> [@twhitt](#): > > Which network is airing the _score_? I’m watching the BBC feed. CNN has a running graph thingy with people in the audience. They have knobs that they are turning. I believe they were given red/blue/green knobs based on party identification. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/254 "2008-09-27T02:25:34Z")
Obama is good on energy policy… he’s _awfully_ respectful to Senator McCain, is he already “being Presidential” and saying a lot of nice things about his opponent, or is this a mistake? McCain has not yet said a respectful thing about Senator Obama and/or his wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/255 "2008-09-27T02:25:43Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > That’s true. That was my drinking game. I lose. I switched my drinking game to the “I didn’t win Miss Congeniality of the Senate!” comment, which has helped my beer consumption considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/256 "2008-09-27T02:25:47Z")
> [@RyJae](#): > > After the smirk talk I shouldn’t say this, but McCain sliding his tongue in and out make me think about those Reptilian Overlords that tinfoil hats talk about. :smack: AMEN! It has been creeping me the hell out. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/257 "2008-09-27T02:25:49Z")
Johnnie… let me talk. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/258 "2008-09-27T02:26:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > A threat to the existence of. Thanks. The only time I’ve heard the word used is in connection with existential philosophy, and I’ve never thought about what the word itself means. So far, nothing I’ve heard would make me change my mind about either candidate. I think supporters of both candidates are going to feel good about their guy’s performance. Obama’s been way more defensive than McCain – maybe because Obama isn’t saying anything that McCain can object to. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/259 "2008-09-27T02:26:23Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Yeah, that would _really_ score points with the AARP voters! Meh. They’ll forget about it before the end of the debate. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357/260 "2008-09-27T02:27:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Meh. They’ll forget about it before the end of the debate. Zing! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-26-the-first-obama-mccain-debate/465357.md?page=14)