I just got done watching 90 minutes of our 2 presidential candidates stand on the same stage, not look at each other, not talk to each other, not question each other, not debate each other, and not directly answer any of the questions asked by the moderator. This was 97 minutes of 2 men stand on the stage each taking turns giving portions of canned speeches.
What a waste of my time.
You were watching a different debate than I was.
Have you tried un-pausing your remote?
John McCain has been briefed that Barack Obama is actually a basilisk, so therefore, he made no eye contact with him to avoid being petrified.
Gotta agree with the OP. That was some boring, stale, unenlightening shit. Of course kool-aid drinkers on both sides are going to hail it as wonderful :rolleyes:.
One thing did I get out of it was that either one of these incredibly intelligent men are gonna be around 100 times better than our current president. If McCain hadn’t chosen that idiot Palin as a running stooge this would be a very tough decision for me.
Uhh…McCain…incredibly intelligent?
To the OP - Mr. Obama was looking directly at McCain quite often, whereas McCain did not. What were you watching?
This might also explain his strategy of rapid constant blinking - should he accidentally catch a peripheral glance of Barack.
Did I stutter? Just because you don’t like him doesn’t mean you have to pretend like he doesn’t know his shit.
McCain provided solid answers to Barack’s challenges. It will be interesting to see what transpires from here on out. McCain is NOT stupid, I wish you Obama mouth-breathers would get over that and allow for the debtaes to take their course.
If Obama is the next JFK, let him win it in the eyes of America in these debates…
There are several likely scenarios for the future of Iraq. “Victory” is not high on the list. Down around “universal Mormon conversion”.
I agree. While I’m certainly not voting for him, and I don’t agree with him on…well, anything, I don’t think he’d be as bad as the last 8 years. I know he’s voted with Bush a lot, but he also has fought him on some important things. And it would be nice simply having a president who isn’t a total embarrassment.
But man, I’d be praying for his health nightly! Palin scares the piss out of me.
But this goes back to something someone said in another thread recently: this is the first time I have someone I want to vote FOR (Obama), not just vote against. If McCain was up against Bush, or Huckabee or even Kerry, I might go ahead and vote for McCain as the lesser of two weevils. But this year there’s an actual good person I can get behind with enthusiasm, not just a resigned sigh.
Oh, ok, I apologize. ATTENTION MOUTH-BREATHERS! CANCEL PLANS TO PREVENT THE DEBATES FROM HAPPENING. I’VE JUST GOTTEN WORD THAT WE NEED TO LET THEM TAKE THEIR COURSE INSTEAD OF . . . UM . . . er . . . (anyone got a clue how we were going to prevent the debates from taking their course? Maybe calling for them to have been canceled tonight? Oh wait, we didn’t do that).
As for my take on the debates, I think both med did a decent job. I think that the difference between Obama and McCain on some policy issues and basic philosophical differences about war and America’s role in the world were made abundantly clear. That said, it’s more apparent to me that McCain is not my man at all, and Obama is.
I felt like McCain was too hung up on things like (paraphrase) “we need to stay at war and win so Joe Soldier won’t have died in vain!” I understand the sentiment, but I don’t think it makes sense. That’s no reason to stay in a war. (I also really liked Obama’s response, which I don’t think I can paraphrase well).
He also was really big on name dropping on places he’s visited. I appreciate his level of experience, but just because you’ve been to a place doesn’t mean you’re an expert on it.
The one thing that’s clear is that Obama just doesn’t understand.
here ya go
He is a bit naive, after all. That young whipper-snapper.
Welcome to modern debates
This debate- I will admit- was a little bit better. Jim Lehrer did his darndest to have the two candidates talk to and challenge each other… But the last several elections the “debates” have been nothing more than a public platform to air their standard rhetoric.
I really disliked McCain’s smug-ass attitude. Confidence is one thing, but he was just smarmy. On the other hand, he held his own fairly well, and showed that he’s got some charisma too.
I thought Obama didn’t come across as eloquently as he usually does, but what he was saying did have substance. They were both trying to out-bipartisan one another the entire time, which I found somewhat annoying.
The outcome of this for me is that McCain codified some reasons why I would no longer be willing to vote for him (as opposed to my views on him in 2000), such as foreign policy (too bossy!) and tax cuts for big businesses. Obama presented some good reasons for me to consider voting his way, again with the foreign policy and his version of tax cuts.
FTR, I voted for Ron Paul in the primary, making me a registered Republican, but I mostly identify as a Libertarian. I have intended to vote for Bob Barr, ever since it became clear that Senator Paul would not receive the nomination, but I am now considering voting Obama. Since I live in a Red state, neither vote would count anyway. I don’t think Obama or McCain is a bad choice, but I do have great reservations about Palin. I kind of like Biden, but I think that, strategically, Clinton might’ve been a better choice.
I wanna ask McCain who did get voted Miss Congeniality of the Senate. He really needs to not ever say that phrase again.
Sen. Craig?
Actually, it was more lively than most debates. Jim Lehrer did a hell of a job, letting them talking back and forth. Usually it is two minutes for one candidate, a 90 second response, and a short rebuttal, followed by a moderator screaming at the candidates and the audience to please, PLEASE abide by the time limits so that we can get all of the topics covered. Rinse and repeat for the next question.
Oh, and BTW, the next candidate who compares “Wall Street v. Main Street” should be executed without trial. Thank you…
I noticed that, too. That’s quirky amongst the general population, but when a politician won’t look at his opponent, it looks like either sheer terror or deep shame, as if he were a child being scolded by a very disppointed parent.