Obama won

Gonzo1977

It was actually a decent debate.

Obama peformed decent but certainly did not knock this one out of the park. It was however McCain's strongest subject, so the fact that he was able to go toe to toe with someone like McCain on this topic was very impressive.

I agree with the previous poster that Obama came across as more Presidential and McCain at times especially at the begining seemed caught off gaurd.

McCain was very condesending at times and I think this really hurt him. Despite his obvious expertise on the subject due to his 26 years of overseas relations...his condesending tone made him come across more as a threatend old fart lecturing the younger generation on how naive they are thinking that they could change the world.

McCain also didn't offer up any real solutions...In fact he pretty much ran staus quo with the current administrations strategy and didn't appear open to changing either strategy or policy with regards to Iraq.

Obama had that one really great moment where he looked McCain straight in the face and flat out called him out on the fact that The Bush administration as well as McCain himself were wrong on Iraq in the first place and no matter how well the surge has worked to date...it would have never been a reality had we not gotten into this mess in the first place.

I felt the above exchange was the game changer and ultimately what made Obama come ahead in this debate.

He had to drive the Iraq point home and I feel he did an excellent job of linking McCain to the failures of the Iraq war.

I think Obama's policy on Iraq is what is going to sway the voters in this election. He has to distance himself from McCain and Bush and pledge to bring the troops out of Iraq.

He did a hell of a job of doing so last night.

g under p

I'll say a draw, a bit surprised that McCain did better than I thought he would.

One thing though McCain Needed to take a look at his opponent, even hitmen take a look at their intended target.

Peace

DOSW

I also thought it was a great debate. I'd say it was a tie, with a slight edge to Obama perhaps... but considering the fact that this was supposed to be McCain's strong point, and also considering that he needed a decisive win considering his position in the polls, the victory goes to Obama by default.

Gmoney

dg1979us wrote:

I thought McCain held his own. I thought this was a debate where neither stood out and neither lost ground. I cant see how anyone says one guy beat the other. Both were mediocre IMO.

I see your point. But this was the one debate that mccain had to soundly defeat obama. If he wanted to regain momentum there could be no debate as to who won, let alone the majority of polls and popular opinion giving the edge to obama.

kenny olav

McCain was such a ridiculous sight to behold that it was hard for Obama to not win that debate. McCain came across as a Republican robot and used the same old tired jokes he's being using for years now. I noticed this in the 2000 campaign too. By the time the primaries rolled around, I got tired of his increasingly trite rhetoric. But I voted for McCain back then because I thought he was the anti-Bush. I was a registered independent so I could vote in either primary. I liked Bill Bradley too (Gore's only opponent) but he had no chance of winning.

Obama, although not perfect, and he does stutter a bit when he begins a sentence... he still managed to deliver well thought-out statements, and used his time to touch on a lot more points than McCain did. Like others have said, he clearly knows what he's talking about, and he impressed me a little bit. Yes, there was a lot of typical Democratic rhetoric in his speech, and don't want to touch on subjects that have been discussed in length in other threads, but while I still have problems with him, I felt 10 times more comfortable listening to him than I did listening to that insane buffoon by his side.

So I just read this morning's CNN poll...

Among men, McCain had a slight edge, 46% to 43%.

Among women, McCain was losing so badly, that if only women could vote, he would be smart to just give up. It was 59% to 31%.

Of course, McCain is not smart, and apparently neither are the majority of men.

dignin

jeffbr wrote:

Is that what you boys to the north call a circle jerk these days? Hope you all got off. It sounds like you did.

nice one, well played....how old are we?

DixieN

I think they were about equal. But, I do think the "game changer" everyone talks about didn't happen for McCain, who really is sliding in the polls. The latest Rasmussen has Obama up by 6. McCain needed a game changer to be able to call this debate for him, and he really didn't get it. I see a "literal tie," but an actual win for Obama, since McCain has done nothing to change momentum. I also think this will McCain's best shot at changing the momentum, since national security is his forte. Other subjects of other debates will by subject matter actually favor Obama, since he just plain knows more than McCain does about more things. McCain is a pretty much a one-trick pony.

jeffbr

yield6 wrote:

nice one, well played....how old are we?

Old enough to recognize a kid who's quick to call people idiots when one holds an opinion different from his own.

sweetpotato

jaamfaan wrote:

I cant wait til Biden bitch slaps that woman!

he's gonna have to walk a fine line between ripping her a new asshole and not coming off as a bully. i say in moments of doubt, he should smack her down.

g under p

sweetpotato wrote:

he's gonna have to walk a fine line between ripping her a new asshole and not coming off as a bully. i say in moments of doubt, he should smack her down.

We'll see if that happens but don't be surprised if she holds her ground. She's on now, she's knows how to stir up a crowd when it's ALL scripted.

Peace

meistereder

McCain was supposed to win this one, and by almost every account Obama won it. This was supposed to be McCain's debate.

I felt a little sorry for McCain at times. I don't dislike the man. I just think he got fucked by his party 8 years ago, and his ship has sailed. It's actually sort of sad.

Obama is the most presidential candidate we've had in a generation. Like a young, pro-choice Reagan with more color. God damn, I hope he wins.

digster

One thing about McCain I noticed from last night's debate, and it may be why he's not doing so well in the polls from this debate, is this; he came off as condescending and unlikable. I think in part this was successful, because his constant condescencion put Obama back on his feet, having to defend his own positions and not directing the debate. I think McCain ever so slightly won last night. But he was by no stretch of the imagination a likable candidate, due to the things I was mentioning before. Now, being likable rarely wins a debate, but it usually helps win an election. Other than maybe George H.W. Bush, it may have been Nixon who was the last genuinely unlikable candidate for president. We'll see if the rest of the voters see that as well.

meistereder

digster wrote:

One thing about McCain I noticed from last night's debate, and it may be why he's not doing so well in the polls from this debate, is this; he came off as condescending and unlikable. I think in part this was successful, because his constant condescencion put Obama back on his feet, having to defend his own positions and not directing the debate. I think McCain ever so slightly won last night. But he was by no stretch of the imagination a likable candidate, due to the things I was mentioning before. Now, being likable rarely wins a debate, but it usually helps win an election. Other than maybe George H.W. Bush, it may have been Nixon who was the last genuinely unlikable candidate for president. We'll see if the rest of the voters see that as well.

I think it turns people off to be condescending and unlikeable. Not a good strategy for McCain.

digster

meistereder wrote:

I think it turns people off to be condescending and unlikeable. Not a good strategy for McCain.

I agree, but I think it remains to be seen if people saw it as that or if people saw it as McCain knowing more than Obama.

josevolution

beachdweller wrote:

Barak won, he got the word "orgy" into one of his answers

yes no doubt he won on that quote alone ,best post of thread here folks .....

dignin

jeffbr wrote:

Old enough to recognize a kid who's quick to call people idiots when one holds an opinion different from his own.

thanks, you've went along way to prove my argument.

jeffbr

yield6 wrote:

thanks, you've went along way to prove my argument.

And you've proven mine - you're too quick to judge. I have proferred no opinion about the winner of the debate. And since I'm voting for neither McCain nor Obama, I have no vested interest in pronouncing a winner. The Obama fanboys (and girls) clearly think Obama won. The McCain fanboys (and girls) clearly think McCain won. The reasoned and objective posters in this thread have given opinions about why it was close and there may not be a winner.

dignin

jeffbr wrote:

And you've proven mine - you're too quick to judge. I have proferred no opinion about the winner of the debate. And since I'm voting for neither McCain nor Obama, I have no vested interest in pronouncing a winner. The Obama fanboys (and girls) clearly think Obama won. The McCain fanboys (and girls) clearly think McCain won. The reasoned and objective posters in this thread have given opinions about why it was close and there may not be a winner.

because your not voting for neither Obama or McCain makes you "reasoned and objective".....thats your argument? If you have a third candidate in mind or if you dont like either candidate that much not to vote, in my mind that makes you neither "reasoned" or "objective".

Vince

meistereder wrote:

I think it turns people off to be condescending and unlikeable. Not a good strategy for McCain.

McCain cannot help it. It's typical of a Republican to demonstrate such traits.

Anon

PEPPER wrote:

And McCain should have hammered home the point that Obama would have the troops leave Iraq without victory; how could anyone expect that those troops would have the necessary morale to be effective in Afganistan??

Strongly disagree. There have been no 'winners' there. We shouldn' have been there. Am i naive to think that there won't be too many troops slapping each other on the back and about what a cool victory it was?