The Presidential Debates - Round 1

In General

In general, Obama appeared as the better speaker and the more charismatic candidate. That's not news though. McCain appeared more seasoned and experienced. That's not news either. The thing that really struck me was how condescending Obama came off. He constantly called his opponent "John." Yes, that's his name, but you just don't do that in a presidential debate. You do that when you run into each other in the men's room at the Capitol. McCain, in turn, always referred to his opponent as "Senator Obama." Also, Obama continually interrupted both McCain and the moderator. He also made audible comments during much of the time that McCain was talking, saying things like, "That's not true." Truth be told, no one stopped him from doing it, so it may have worked. It amazed me that McCain didn't call him on it. But, to me, it came across as very condescending. At one point, in fact, Obama held up his hand to the moderator as if to say, "You don't talk when I'm talking." It seemed angry.

The Issues
On the issues, I thought it was a fairly even split. There were things I thought Obama could have capitalized on more, and the same goes for McCain. In particular, McCain blew a great opportunity to explain what exactly Obama wants to do on taxes. Obama says that 95 percent of people will get tax cuts. That misleads the public as to what actually would happen. A large number of people who do not currently pay taxes would just get free money under Obama's plan. McCain never pointed that out.

Obama, on the other hand, didn't do enough to link McCain to George W. Bush. Personally, I don't think McCain and Bush are all that similar. However, Obama's best strategy is to make it sound like they are one and the same. He did that a couple of times, but not enough.

Overall
On the whole, I think Obama held his own on the economy. I don't agree with his policies, but he seemed poised and prepared to talk about it. On national security, I think Obama was out of his league. And he should be. There aren't a lot of people out there with more credibility and experience on national security than Senator McCain. In my view, Obama's entire position on the Iraq war misses the point. In 2008, I don't care whether we went into Iraq for the right reasons or not. I care what we're going to do about it now. I want our next president to know how to handle the situation we are in, not spend a bunch of time asking how we got into the situation. Whether you agree with our invasion of Iraq or not, the truth is, we're already there. What do we do now? McCain's debate on this point was superior to Obama's in almost every aspect.

I call Round 1 a close victory for McCain. He could have done better but missed some opportunities to capitalize on what Obama said. Obama kept it close by talking more, getting more face time and being far better in front of a camera.

McCain's Mistake

It's pretty clear from reading this blog (both of you who do, I thank you) that I am supporting John McCain in the upcoming election. Well, actually that's not accurate. I'm not supporting Barack Obama, and I don't want to throw my vote in the garbage can. So, I'm stuck with McCain. However, John McCain looks a little foolish right now. He's suspending his campaign because of the nationwide financial crisis. He's trying to call off Friday's debate. Both of these are bad...really bad...moves. First, although the financial crisis is a big deal, it's not something that should stop a campaign. Candidates have campaigned during far worse. Second, calling off the debate (or trying to) makes McCain look unprepared. I get what he's trying to do. But it still makes him look silly.

I don't think McCain is in any way afraid to debate Obama. In fact, McCain is the one who asked Obama to do a series of ten town hall meetings where they both talked about their positions on the issues. Obama refused. I think McCain is trying to win people over by saying that "we shouldn't be going about business as usual during a time like this." This is simply wrong. That's exactly what a president needs to and must do. When we're at war, the president still has to take care of domestic business. When there's a domestic crisis, the president still needs to be aware of what's going abroad. When there's a hurricane in the Gulf, the president still needs to be aware of a potential terror threat in D.C. That's what presidents do. They multi-task. And I, for one, am disappointed that McCain appears unwilling to do that.

Does this mean I think McCain would be a bad president? No. I just think, this week, that Obama looks more prepared. That's the first time I've said that, and I hope I don't have to say it again.

Tina Palin, Sarah Fey....I'm Confused

Tina Fey's impression of Sarah Palin has received a lot of talk this week, and I'm not really sure why. First, a lot of people said it was unfair to Palin. I totally disagree. Saturday Night Live is an entertainment show. The folks I have criticized for being unfair to Palin are supposed journalists. Tina Fey is not. It's totally different. If she wants to do a parody, she should do it. And, for the record, I thought it was about the only funny thing from SNL this past week.

The other thing I don't get is why this has become such a big "news" story. Politicians are made fun of on SNL all the time. George H.W. Bush was a fixture during the Dana Carvey years. Clinton was made fun of routinely. The 2000 election practically kept SNL on the air. So why is a parody of Palin such a big deal? I don't get it.

Sean Hannity asked Palin if she saw the parody, and the Gov. said she thought it was hilarious. Palin admitted that she had the sound turned down on her television, but she said the visual was "spot-on." Palin went on to say that before people knew who she was, she actually dressed as Tina Fey for Halloween. This is why Palin is so popular. Imagine Bill Clinton saying he used to dress as Phil Hartman, or George W. Bush saying he acted like Will Ferrel. I sure can't.

Ah, the Irony

Josh Howard got himself in a little bit of trouble on YouTube. While attending a sporting event, and during the National Anthem, he was caught on tape saying: "The Star-Spangled Banner is going on. I don't celebrate this sh!t. I'm black."

Now a lot of people are jumping all over Howard for this comment. And I certainly don't agree with his sentiment. BUT, he has every right to say it. The irony, however, is that Howard is knocking America, a place that gives him the right to say what he said. In America, Howard can say that and endure nothing more than the ridicule of other citizens. In some other countries, such a video would mean a fine, imprisonment, or worse. I mean, seriously, what do you think would happen to Yao Ming if he were caught saying something like that during the Chinese National Anthem?

I have no problem with people speaking their minds. And I don't even have a problem with it when it's anti-American. I just hope they realize that the very place they are disparaging affords them the right to do so.

Awesome!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422341,00.html

Not much to say here. This is just awesome. I can't even train my dog not to jump on people.

And more....

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/12/abc-edits-out-palin-objection-to-holy-war-question/


This is absolutely despicable. This is the type of thing that USED to get a "journalist" fired. Now it's just mainstream. So this guy completely misrepresents a quote from Gov. Palin. Then, when she calls him on it, he edits that part out of the television broadcast. I don't even know what else to say. I just ask that anyone who actually wants to be informed take look at the link above, and you'll start to see what I'm talking about.

Further Proof....

For those who thought I just pulled one magazine out of thin air with my last post on the subject, below is another example of what I'm talking about. While this one is certainly not as bad as US Weekly, Obama and Palin are also certainly not being treated evenly...

Oprah Against Having Palin On Program

Oprah Winfrey is refusing to have Gov. Sarah Palin on her program. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THIS. I do wish, however, that Oprah would just admit the reason for this decision. Oprah is a huge Obama supporter, and that's fine. She attended the DNC, and that's fine too. Obama has been on her show twice, and that's also fine. It's her show, and she can do exactly what she wants to do. BUT, here is Oprah's quote on the subject:

"When I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates."

That's just not true. Oprah talks about Obama frequently. And, again, that's fine. If I had a talk show, I might just use it to promote my chosen candidate too. That's America. But don't tell me the reason you're not having her on is because you don't want to use your show that way. That's just a lie. Come out and admit that you're concerned about the boost your show might give Palin (and, in turn, McCain). There would be nothing wrong with saying that. And, if you did, I'd certainly respect your integrity more than I do now. As it is, I think you're just a liar.

The New Number One?

Step aside Georgia. Move over USC. Get out of the way, Oklahoma. The best resume in college football currently belongs to East Carolina? That's right. East Carolina has two Top 25 wins over teams that are supposed to win their respective BCS conferences. East Carolina destroyed a Top 10 team that some thought might sneak into the National Championship game. Who's sneaking now? What's more, look at the remaining schedule:

9/13 @ Tulane

9/20 @ North Carolina State

9/27 Houston

10/11 @ Virginia

10/18 Memphis

11/02 @ UCF

11/08 Marshall

11/15 @ Southern Miss

11/22 @ UAB

11/28 UTEP


Is it so crazy to think ECU might go undefeated? And, if they do, they won't be like Boise State or Hawaii with no big wins. They'll have two big wins. In a year where every other team is likely to have a loss, it could be interesting. I love it. It's September 7, and I'm already talking BCS controversy.

Facts and Fairness

For those who can't tell, I tilt a little to the right. So you may think what I'm about to say is just my spin on what's actually going on. If you think that, you're wrong.

Sarah Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate on Aug. 29, 2008. I write this on Sep. 3, 2008. In the last five days, all of you have heard about Palin's daughter. All of you have heard about the investigation going on in Alaska about her brother-in-law. All of you have heard that her husband got a DWI when he was 22 years old.

Contrast that with Barack Obama, who is running for PRESIDENT, not vice-president. Have you heard about his ties to domestic terrorist Bill Ayers? Have you heard about Obama's connection to a minister who says that 9/11 was America's fault? Have you heard about Obama's campaign in the Marxist party in the mid-1990s?

If you have heard these things, I'm impressed. It means you're really looking into and evaluating this election. If you've not heard of these things, it's because the media outlets aren't talking about them. Why, you ask? Because the media decided a long time ago that it wanted Obama as our next president.

I don't care what your politics are. What's going on in the media is absurd. You want an example? Here's an example. Contrast these two covers of the same magazine, published two months apart:



I'll leave it at that.