Barack Obama won the second presidential debate tonight. Here are five reasons why:
1) To understand what the candidates did right and wrong tonight, let’s take a moment to review the last debate. As the first presidential debate opened, John McCain was having the worst week of his campaign, and expectations were extremely low for him. People were impressed he didn’t freak out and go Jack Nicholson on Obama or Lehrer. For not taking a knockout punch that night, and for being articulate (though repetitive) and surprisingly quick on his feet, McCain was able to fight to a respectable draw that night.
Not so tonight. With the economy flatlining for more than two straight weeks, and polls showing a marked advantage for Obama even among the reddest of swing states (North Carolina??), it is clearly taking its toll on John McCain’s poll numbers across the board. Conventional wisdom said that McCain needed to win this debate to get back in the race. He simply did not do that.
2) The conventional wisdom of the week has also suggested that McCain needs to come out swinging. (You’re hearing a lot about a 1960’s anti-Vietnam radical who engaged in domestic terrorism, am I right?) But there is a stark difference between punching in ads and on paper, through surrogates and slogans, and having one of the candidates repeatedly injecting childish venom into every question he fields in a 90-minute period, as millions of Americans hang on their every word (if it’s interesting enough). McCain’s incessant finger-pointing at Obama predictably registered negatively with the 30 or so Ohio undecideds sitting in CNN’s studio. “You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one,” with a sneer and a point at Obama, came off shockingly juvenile on McCain’s part. It was unnerving and unpresidential.
McCain’s finger-pointing left him no time to talk about his own positive message, and his own plans for America. He said it best himself eight years ago–the voters turn away from negative attacks because they convey a lack of vision for the country.
3) Need I even say this? The economic woes – five straight days of stock market tumbles, taking with them billions of dollars in average Americans’ pension and IRA plan earnings – only serve to remind voters that heads need to roll in Washington. And it may not be simply a rejection of George Bush, but that there is a fundamental preference for Democrats during deep financial crisis. When the majority of the population begins to really worry about their own financial future (not just their neighbors’), to whom will they turn? To the government, of course. Who else is there? The free market? I certainly don’t mean to advocate for a socialist takeover (as John McCain seemed to do tonight!), but we’re getting awfully close to seeing how the Great Depression and the New Deal came to pass. And while people may not trust Democrats to cut our taxes, but they do seem to trust Democrats to give a boost to the needier among us when we need it. And nowadays, more swing voters are feeling needy than usual.
4) It seems unfair to keep beating up on McCain, but there’s more. You had the sense listening to McCain that he was just throwing campaign slogan bites and policy rhetorical flourish bits around, one after another in a rushed, breathy fashion. He sounded, actually like he was trying to nail jello to the wall (to steal one of his lines tonight). Obama, in contrast, did a good job of consistently sounding mellifluous; he was listing coherent points in order and connecting them with poise and clarity. CNN’s viewer reaction gauge at the bottom of the screen told the story. Obama was much more consistently scoring high marks, with some dips and crests of course, whereas McCain’s favorability ratings remained largely lower, flat and unmoving. He was putting the viewers to sleep – a lot.
5) Finally, McCain’s characteristic accusatory, jargon-filled, up-and-down cadence and delivery have probably begun to grate on people at this point in the campaign. I went a little bit mad every time he repeated in that nasal, holier-than-thou tone, “I know what it’s like . . . ” The word “reform” has lost all meaning to America. To McCain, it’s become mere filler. If I spent the time poring over the transcript, I could give copious examples, but you don’t need me to. Just trust me on this one, my friends.
So, to wrap:
Rather than list for you five things Barack Obama did right tonight, I’m going to point out why I don’t have to. As long as he didn’t stumble or fall (he didn’t), Obama is sitting in the catbird seat. He’s in charge and he just needs to keep her steady as she goes. Tonight, he did just that, and that is all he needed to do.
Inform Your Consent 