a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

opening statements/first question:

obama's got to get better at his delivery. he hesitates and says "uh" too much.

mccain, on the other hand, sounded a little like he was meandering and he didn't pinpoint issues.

in the followup mccain almost sounded apologetic.

so far i've got a weird vibe from both candidates. :confused:

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Yeah I agree. It's a strange start.

McCain is sounding surprisingly nervous and shaky.

So far, Obama is doing a good job of getting his message out but it's not necessarily answering the question!

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

OK, Obama's waffling now on the pork barrel issue....

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

"my friends"

*glug*

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Ireland has 11% tax on businesses, so businesses are going to relocate to Ireland?

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

live stream details please - cranial synapses still reeling from couric-palin interview.
higher brain fucnitions impeded.

help needed.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

or here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/video_and_audio/default.stm

McCain is sounding good on Afghanistan, particularly promising not to repeat the mistake of the past.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

mccain's babbling now though.... stories of little old ladies.

"I've got a bracelet too".... now Obama's doing it.

it's not midday yet - I can't start drinking

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

with McCain namedropping Petreus so much, i'm surprised Obama hasn't brought up Petreus' recent comments that, this war isnt a war that you can claim victory on.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

I can't tell who's winning. Is someone winning?

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

um. methinks Mccain got pwned on that point about Iran.

and is it just me - or does Obama just sound more measured, deliberate and uh... Presidential.

McCain "the average south korean is 3 inches taller.... " wtf?

he's grasping.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Obama just brought up that McCain won't meet with the leader of Spain.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Obama has been more specific, McCain is resorting to telling stories of who he's met etc. they're both fairly even (not counting some of McCain lying)

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Oh FFS McCain, stop bringing up Reagan... :rolleyes:

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

And McCain said he doesn't have a seal yet.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Tricky - I would say Obama, but I think it depends who's judging. Obama could be coming across as too waffly. I mean... "deductibles"?

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

McCain is just going through his list of talking points......and talking about who he's met and what places he's gone to...again.

man, Johnny Mac is coming across very grampa-ish with his "let me tell you about a story, kids..."

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Yeah I get that impression too.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

jesus - I'm half expecting McCain to start showing his holiday pictures.

"This is me near standing on the pipeline"

He keeps using big words - like it means he's smarter.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

They're talking aboutu Russia.

Someone get Governor Palin, quick....

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McCain is spending a lot of time reminiscing, Obama is staying on point.

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I like how Obama is almost directing the debate - he works well with the host.

And he's not letting McCain get away with much.

Mac is just waffling along the talking points.

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McCain can't seem to get his nuts off Iraq.

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wtf is mccain on.

totally ignores Obama's critique - and goes back to Iraq.

Obama is killing him here.

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yeah i was humming along, following the debate and suddenly it was like a needle scratching on a record. "ireland? did he just bring up ireland?" it was a really weird place to go with his point.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

jesus. mccain loves them now - he's totally lost it.

he sounds like he's running for student council president.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

i don't agree that obama is winning or owning anything here. i think he's stammering and saying "um" a lot and mccain's misrepresentations are being lobbed out in nicely packaged talking points. i think overall mccain is putting on a very good performance and obama is doing moderately well.

overall i anticipate that mccain will get the most bounce in the post-debate polls.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

McCain clearly had that closing point well-rehearsed.

Now Obama's addressing the camera....

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Johnny Mac, instead of addressing the various points Obama brought up, went into his "I can do it, i have that record" shpiel.:rolleyes:

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That 'love' remark sounded weird but I suspect will have gone down well. McCain is sounding cuddly. :eek:

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considering this was supposed to be mainly about foreign policy, McCain's strong suit, McCain didn't hit any homeruns.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Yeah - but McCain didn't say anything. It was just the same old shit. And he ignored the points that Obama made.

Obama to me - came across as having a broader vision, more strategic, more statesmanlike.

which is what a president is meant to be.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

BBC News ticker...

John McCain - a nuclear armed Iran would threaten a 'second Holocaust' against Israel.

Barack Obama: a resurgent Russia is a threat to its region but we cannot return to a Cold War scenario.

McCain wins on that particular soundbite.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

I'll have to agree for the most part. Chris Matthews was just talking about McCain's body language and how he never really looked at Obama. Don't know how this will be seen.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

And we should do this in an irc channel or something next time.

just not twitter - coz tweets are rubbish.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Obama was clearly superior in terms of argument, but that's not to say he will have won the debate. One thing I would say is that the debate as a whole was of a noticeably higher standard than any of the Bush/Kerry encounters, so that was encouraging.

Anyway - not staying up to hear who the talking heads feel won it - way past my bedtime now....

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

We should.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

Just watching the part 2 of the Couric - Palin interview - where she talks foreign policy - or attempts to talk about it.

She says much the same as McCain - "second holocaust", the exact same argument about diplomatic talks with Iran - Couric even calls her on the Kissinger detail - and she repeats the line that Obama is naive to want talks without pre-conditions.

Same argument - but still pointless.

Re: a thread to discuss the 9/26 debate
 

i think neither f them came out for better or for worse. obama stammered a lot but trout-slapped mcfudd on occasion, mccain brought up some grasping points and was generally the classic GOP antagonist, but no one made any gaffes that would ring crazy outside of the supersensitive crowd, it just comes down to policy and global outlook for whoever watching, and who mirrors their attitude best.

in short, it wont (or shouldnt) change anything.