Mark Casey Online » Debates

Andrew Sullivan’s Liveblog

Mark Casey — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:50:02 +0000

Sullivan recorded a good play-by-play, and reached this conclusion about debating, history, and Britishness:

This was, I think, a mauling: a devastating and possibly electorally fatal debate for McCain. Even on Russia, he sounded a little out of it. I’ve watched a lot of debates and participated in many. I love debate and was trained as a boy in the British system to be a debater. I debated dozens of times at Oxofrd. All I can say is that, simply on terms of substance, clarity, empathy, style and authority, this has not just been an Obama victory. It has been a wipe-out.It has been about as big a wipe-out as I can remember in a presidential debate. It reminds me of the 1992 Clinton-Perot-Bush debate. I don’t really see how the McCain campaign survives this.

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Markos’ Immediate Debate Reaction

Mark Casey — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 03:05:21 +0000

Snap polls, punditry, media gobsmacking and bloviation from myself and my peers are well on the way, but first to come down the line was Markos over at Daily Kos, and here’s the money quote:

There’s no doubt what the public will think. Anyone watching CNN on a hi-def TV could see the dial focus group of a bunch of Ohio undecided voters. And throughout the night, it often seemed that Obama would break the darn meter, his ratings going through the roof. McCain, on the other hand, was the king of the flatline. I swear, you could see the downticks every time McCain said “my friends” — a tell to the audience that he was about to serve another heaping dish of b.s. It was painful. According to the Republican pre-debate spin, McCain was supposed to use “humor” to soften the blow of his mighty attacks, but 1) did any of his attacks connect? and 2) can anyone say, in all seriousness, that McCain delivered a single effective laugh line?

And here’s what struck me: Why in the world did McCain get so damn close to the questioners, at times awkwardly poking at them with his paws while he used a sappy sweet “happy man” voice? At times, he stepped up so close, the camera couldn’t even get an angle on him and we had to watch him nearly from behind.

Shoulda done a green screen.

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Obama vs. McCain Debate Reaction

Mark Casey — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:29:15 +0000

You can turn to any corner of the internet — and I mean any corner — and read pages upon pages of post-debate reaction. Who won, who lost, who looked more presidential — these are all important things to consider.

But my reaction? YAAAWWN!

I never would’ve thought I’d be longing for the days of Bush vs. Kerry, but here I am today, almost putting myself to sleep trying to write about last night’s debate. Don’t get me wrong — I like substance, and substance is kind of what we got. But whether it was McCain somehow still tripping over endless regurgitations from his stump speech (”I’ll veto spending and be famous!”), or Obama taking way too much of his own time responding to McCain’s consistent attacks, I can only think of one word to sum up the debate: repetitive.

Obama’s strengths: Civility, bipartisanship, calm.
Obama’s weaknesses: Being baited into responding to McCain’s attacks, not spending enough time on his own plans
McCain’s strengths: Staying on-message, attacking Obama with every single answer
McCain’s weaknesses: He appeared contemptuous, angry, old and bitter. He was highly partisan.

According to post-debate polls, people are just loving Obama. I don’t totally get it, but I approve of it. I think he did, in fact, have the better debate. His answers were more appealing to everyday folks, and he had more specifics about his plans. McCain only seemed to offer specifics about Obama, and hardly any about himself.

McCain repeatedly interrupted Obama and the moderator, PBS’ Jim Lehrer, often raising his voice and speaking over them until they gave up, which could take up to 30 seconds of crosstalk, just like on Bill O’Reilly’s godforsaken show. This was one of the more annoying traits I’ve seen in a debater.

Other than that, next time bring out the fireworks, boys! Try to convince us that you have at least some passion for the job. (Note: McCain getting angry about Obama’s record does not count. Negativity doesn’t win debates, and the Independents polled proved that.)

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