The Final Debate… My Verdict And A Poll

McCain Won.  Hands Down.

He was weak on Healthcare, but whipped Obama’s ass on everything else.

And how friggin difficult would it have been for Obama just to admit that John McCain is not a racist and is nothing like Gov Wallace?

Horrible.

Best line of the night…  “I am not President Bush.  If you wanted to run against him, you should have run 4 years ago.”

Greatness.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Yahoo – “Among respondents not identified with either major political party, McCain was judged tonight’s winner, 51-42 percent.”

Nice!

The Presidential Debate, The Sequel.

Well, this time around was much better for McCain than the first. 

What most people don’t know is that McCain immediately broke one of the rules of the debate by walking more than 3 feet from his stool, right over to a concerned citizen to talk directly to him.

Why?

Because McCain cared. 

McCain walked right over to the guy, looked him in the eye and gave him the classic McCain “Straight Talk.”

Also, McCain landed quite a few heavy blows, with very little as far as a response from Obama…  just obfusification, especially on the question of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac when McCain charged Obama and his “cronies” for blocking his legislation to reform the two GSE’s. 

Obama’s only response to the five or six sentence explanation that McCain gave showing how Obama and his buddies were tied into the housing crisis…  “I never promoted Fannie Mae…” and then he moved on.  That was his only response! 

Weak.

McCain clearly won this debate, but he missed the jugular.  He didn’t land the knock out punch he really needs.  So in a way, because Obama survived the match still standing, he wins a little too.

The polls will probably show an uptick of a point, maybe two, for McCain because of the debate, but not much more than that.

The real impact on how people are going to vote is probably going to result from the pitbull Sarahcuda and her attacks, which will drive Obama’s negatives up.  These results are already showing up in the polls, as can be seen in this group of four quoted in the American Sentinel;

National	Rasmussen Tracking	Obama 51, McCain 45	Obama +6
National	Reuters/CSpan/Zogby Tracking	Obama 47, McCain 45	Obama +2
National	Hotline/FD Tracking	Obama 45, McCain 44	Obama +1
National	GW/Battleground Tracking	Obama 49, McCain 45	Obama +4

The Obama campaign is trying to counter with accusations of racism and by rehashing a badly warped version of the Keating 5 story.

In my opinion, in and of itself, the debate was a net tie, but McCain laid the ground work for a very tough October for the Obama camp.

Biden’s 14 Lies

From JohnMcCain.com

Joe Biden’s 14 Lies

1. TAX VOTE: Biden said McCain voted “the exact same way” as Obama to increase taxes on Americans earning just $42,000, but McCain DID NOT VOTE THAT WAY.

2. AHMEDINIJAD MEETING: Joe Biden lied when he said that Barack Obama never said that he would sit down unconditionally with Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran. Barack Obama did say specifically, and Joe Biden attacked him for it.

3. OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING: Biden said, “Drill we must.” But Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to “raping” the Outer Continental Shelf.”

4. TROOP FUNDING: Joe Biden lied when he indicated that John McCain and Barack Obama voted the same way against funding the troops in the field. John McCain opposed a bill that included a timeline, that the President of the United States had already said he would veto regardless of it’s passage.

5. OPPOSING CLEAN COAL: Biden says he’s always been for clean coal, but he just told a voter that he is against clean coal and any new coal plants in America and has a record of voting against clean coal and coal in the U.S. Senate.

6. ALERNATIVE ENERGY VOTES: According to FactCheck.org, Biden is exaggerating and overstating John McCain’s record voting for alternative energy when he says he voted against it 23 times.

7. HEALTH INSURANCE: Biden falsely said McCain will raise taxes on people’s health insurance coverage — they get a tax credit to offset any tax hike. Independent fact checkers have confirmed this attack is false

8. OIL TAXES: Biden falsely said Palin supported a windfall profits tax in Alaska — she reformed the state tax and revenue system, it’s not a windfall profits tax.

9. AFGHANISTAN / GEN. MCKIERNAN COMMENTS: Biden said that top military commander in Iraq said the principles of the surge could not be applied to Afghanistan, but the commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force Gen. David D. McKiernan said that there were principles of the surge strategy, including working with tribes, that could be applied in Afghanistan.

10. REGULATION: Biden falsely said McCain weakened regulation — he actually called for more regulation on Fannie and Freddie.

11. IRAQ: When Joe Biden lied when he said that John McCain was “dead wrong on Iraq”, because Joe Biden shared the same vote to authorize the war and differed on the surge strategy where they John McCain has been proven right.

12. TAX INCREASES: Biden said Americans earning less than $250,000 wouldn’t see higher taxes, but the Obama-Biden tax plan would raise taxes on individuals making $200,000 or more.

13. BAILOUT: Biden said the economic rescue legislation matches the four principles that Obama laid out, but in reality it doesn’t meet two of the four principles that Obama outlined on Sept. 19, which were that it include an emergency economic stimulus package, and that it be part of “part of a globally coordinated effort with our partners in the G-20.”

14. REAGAN TAX RATES: Biden is wrong in saying that under Obama, Americans won’t pay any more in taxes then they did under Reagan.

The Reviews Are In: Palin Did Very Well – A Success!

An example from the Weekly Standard

The moment when Sarah Palin knew she was winning last night’s debate with her vice presidential opponent Joe Biden came after the subject had turned to nuclear weapons. Palin had talked about nukes as a deterrent and said it was important to keep them out of the hands of dictators who are enemies of America. Then she turned to moderator Gwen Ifill and asked, “Can we talk about Afghanistan real quick?”….

by that point in the debate–two-thirds the way through–Palin was brimming with self-confidence. She knew she could handle any issue likely to be thrown at her by Ifill. She knew Biden would not outmatch her. So she purposely tackled an issue on which he was expected to have an advantage.  He didn’t….

If that episode didn’t demoralize Biden, a senator from Delaware for 35 years, it should have.  For it showed she had passed the biggest test any vice presidential candidate faces–a test the media was ready to declare she’d failed. Was she capable of being vice president? Based on her debate performance, the answer was yes.

Not that she came close to matching Biden’s experience or extensive knowledge of issues, especially foreign policy issues. But she was conversant with every issue, domestic and foreign, that came up in the 90-minute debate and talked with seeming confidence about them….

For sure, she did one remarkable thing aside from handling Biden with ease. She undid the negative impression that had been created by her avoidance of most of the media and hardened when the two TV interviews went poorly.

Please be sure to read the rest of the article….  The point is…  that she did well.

And From WSJ

She killed. She had him at “Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?” She was the star. He was the second male lead, the good-natured best friend of the leading man. She was not petrified but peppy.

The whole debate was about Sarah Palin. She is not a person of thought but of action. Interviews are about thinking, about reflecting, marshaling data and integrating it into an answer. Debates are more active, more propelled—they are thrust and parry. They are for campaigners. She is a campaigner. Her syntax did not hold, but her magnetism did. At one point she literally winked at the nation.

As far as Mrs. Palin was concerned, Gwen Ifill was not there, and Joe Biden was not there. Sarah and the camera were there. This was classic “talk over the heads of the media straight to the people,” and it is a long time since I’ve seen it done so well, though so transparently. There were moments when she seemed to be doing an infomercial pitch for charm in politics. But it was an effective infomercial.

Joe Biden seems to have walked in thinking that she was an idiot and that he only had to patiently wait for this fact to reveal itself. This was a miscalculation. He showed great forbearance. Too much forbearance. She said of his intentions on Iraq, “Your plan is a white flag of surrender.” This deserved an indignant response, or at least a small bop on the head, from Mr. Biden, who has been for five years righter on Iraq than the Republican administration. He was instead mild….

My Thoughts On The VP Debate

The strategy and goal for Biden was to tie McCain to the status quo and all of the issues that engenders as well as tearing down John McCain.

The strategy and goal for Palin was to repair her image and re-assert her strong personality.

Biden was the consumate statesman, an elder Washington insider…  and yet a bit annoyed and angry at times.

Palin, on the other hand, came off very competent, knowledgeable and down to earth…  a breath of fresh air.

Biden did an ok job accomplishing his goal, not super though…  he got a bit stale and wonky at times…  lost the connection.  Biden’s best moment was at the end when he was talking about his kids.  That was THE connection moment.

Palin did a very good job accomplishing her goal.  Very good.  She pointed out that she was an outsider, and that she didn’t understand all the Washington doublespeak, was approachable and folksy, and all the while knew the names, places and policies.  Her best moment is when she was talking about talking to the American public without the filter of the mainstream media.  This was an essential statement because it brings into question all of the pundits opinions and the framing of all her interviews.  Great line.

In my opinion, this is a Palin win.  And a big one.

VP Debate Moderator An Obot Author Releasing A Book On Obama???

It has been disclosed that Gwen Ifill, the moderator at the upcoming VP debate, is going to be releasing a book that is EXTREMELY pro-Obama on January 20, 2009…  Inaguration Day.

She has been a strong Obama supporter for a long time and has been more than highly critical of Palin.

How is this even fair?  How can they seriously allow someone so obviously and completely biased moderate a debate???

I am truly disgusted.

Updates galore to come.

Michelle Malkin has all the updates….  Click Here

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As a side note, I have to say that I have never in my life seen anything as disgusting as the media this election cycle.  They are no longer reporting the news, they are chosing the news and have become direct partisan players.

I am repulsed.

I will no longer be supporting PBS until Gwen Ifill is no longer an employee. I am sorry, but my tax dollars pay her salary too and I want her unhired.

People make the excuse that the Debate board did not vett her properly and that is a poor excuse.  She should have informed them upfront and avoided even the appearance of impropriety.

Every Lawyer I know is REVOLTED.

My Thoughts On The Debate…

First…  This was not a game changer.

This was not Kennedy/Nixon in 1960.  This was not Carter/Reagan in 1980.  And this was not Clinton/Bush/Perot in 1992.

So what was it?  It was just ok.  An average debate that is unlikely to have much of an impact on anything.

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I think this quote found on Townhall says it best…

“Is the race now different than it was at 9 p.m. eastern time?” asked ABC commentator George Will. “The answer I think is no. This wasn’t a game changer. Both had their familiar personas. Barack Obama was the rather tweedy professor conducting a national seminar. John McCain was a rather hotter personality, the national scold.”

And I will leave it at that.

McCain’s Post Debate Advertizement

Obama Backs Out On Joint Townhall Proposals – Afraid Of McCain?

Every PUMA remebers when Obama ran scared when Hillary was challenging him to debates.  She even laid it down…  “any time, any where” style, but he was too much of a wimp for Little Lady Hillary.

And now, it seems he is too much of a wimp for Old Man McCain.

The AP reports that:

Democratic candidate Barack Obama on Saturday backed away from rival John McCain’s challenge for a series of joint appearances, agreeing only to the standard three debates in the fall.

In May, when a McCain adviser proposed a series of pre-convention appearances at town hall meetings, Obama said, “I think that’s a great idea.” In summer stumping on the campaign trail, McCain has often noted that Obama had not followed through and joined him in any events.

Obama’s reversal on town hall debates is part of a play-it-safe strategy he’s adopted since claiming the nomination and grabbing a lead in national polls. Advisers to the Illinois senator, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy, say Obama is reluctant to take chances or give McCain a high-profile stage now that Obama’s the front-runner.

 

And, of course, the McCain campaign comes back with a zinger here

“John McCain looks forward to debating Barack Obama as often as possible, but it’s disappointing that Senator Obama has refused his offer to do joint town hall meetings. We understand it might be beneath a worldwide celebrity of Barack Obama’s magnitude to appear at town hall meetings alongside John McCain and directly answer questions from the American people, but we hope he’ll reconsider. The American people expect and deserve no less. Unfortunately, it appears that Barack Obama’s tough-guy talk on ‘duels’ this week was just more empty words. Americans are quickly coming to the conclusion that it’s better to look at what Barack Obama actually does and not listen to what he says.”

They are just pounding that imagery of Obama as a trite celebrity….  and it’s just getting funnier.

 

Please, Super Delegates…  JUST SAY NO DEAL!!!!