Saturday, September 27, 2008
I’ve been thinking about last night’s presidential debate and the response of the media, cable pundits, and bloggers too, who all seem unable to escape the inevitable sports metaphor to describe what took place at the Ole’ Miss between Barack Obama and John McCain.
Obama won!
McCain won!
It was a tie!
Round one goes to Obama!
Round two goes to McCain!
No knockout punch!
Did we watch a presidential debate or a boxing match? All morning, I kept hoping to hear someone in the chatter class ask, “Which candidate did the better job informing the viewer on the critical issues of the day like the economy or, the proposed financial bailout of Wall Street or, when can we end the Iraq war and bring the troops home?” Silly me.
This is gameday. The day after the first presidential debate and people need to know who won the debate. So our national politics is reduced to a sports metaphor. Whoever you thought won the debate, here is a compilation of what our national media had to say. Enjoy.
New York Times: McCain fumbled. Obama clear and confident.
Washington Post: Each rose to the challenge, forcefully scoring points on one another.
Wall Street Journal: McCain won on foreign policy. Obama won on the economy.
Los Angeles Times: McCain resolute and tough. Obama smart and polished. A tie.
20 Comments
+ at 2:13 pm
The media are simpletons.
They’re overpaid morons whose job it is to blur the line between our national politics and NASCAR results.
+ at 2:15 pm
Shalom Gorgeous!
Obama did a great job of presenting his plan. I wanted him to hit harder. McPainInTheAss was a joke as always. I still don’t know what his plan is.
As I said on DaddyD’s (DCap) blog, I was underwhelmed.
+ at 3:05 pm
Do you ever wonder if Dan Rather is sitting at home, watching CNN, with his hands up in the air making a “what the hell” face?
I think when journalists starting reading blogs and turning that into “news” I knew we were in trouble. Aren’t we supposed to be commenting on *their* stories? TV journalism is so lame.
+ at 3:25 pm
Talking hairpieces don’t want to discuss anything of substance. Plus, few things are as beloved in Murka as sports. When I watch the Browns lose tomorrow, I’ll just think that for five and half years, McFossil couldn’t watch the NFL.
+ at 3:43 pm
Obama won the fight on points.
+ at 5:04 pm
I have something to confess. I was bored by the debates.
One too many references to David Patraeus and Reagan and my eyes started to cross.
I wanted to hear more about the dollar: my retirement: unemployment: and yes, date-specifics on ending Bush’s cockamamie war in Iraq.
Can someone tell me why McCain refused to look at Obama? Did his racism bubble to surface?
+ at 5:19 pm
I think it did. I hope to see more of it on display at the next debate.
+ at 5:28 pm
Speaking of strange, the Politico’s Roger Simon seems to want to have McCain’s love child. This is what he said about the Republican’s performance:
John McCain was very lucky that he decided to show up for the first presidential debate in Oxford, Miss., Friday night. Because he gave one of his strongest debate performances ever.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0908/14005.html
Did I miss something?
+ at 6:26 pm
Far too much time was spent on Russia, Georgia and Ronald Reagan.
My kid is having trouble getting a home loan and he has perfect credit and a good job. I’m spending $3.82 a gallon for gas. My healthcare deductable is up 30% this year. These are the things I care about.
I don’t give a flying fuck about Russia, Georgia or Ronald Reagan.
+ at 6:32 pm
I cringed when I heard someone say “there were no ***fireworks***, WTF?
The sports metaphors are for the armchair politcos.
As for McCaim not even looking at Obama once during the 90 minute debate, a McCain surrogate, GOP Congress hag’s excuse was that he didn’t look at Obama because he could see right through him, because of his transparency and what little substance Obama possesses…so I guess he just couldn’t see him through all his pancake makeup.
I personally believe those who mention McCain truly detests Obama and feels insulted in his presence.
+ at 6:34 pm
Little Stumpy used those little cretin arms like paddles on a row boat. He jabbed and scribbled and scratched his balls. McCain looked like a corpse standing up there next to the jug-eared Obama.
I was so bored I kept wondering what Little Stumpy and Cindy Lou look like when they’re screwing the pooch back in Phoenix. I mean, does he stay on top or does he lay on his back and let her ride the stump?
Presidential debates shouldn’t be so damned boring but this one was.
+ at 9:57 pm
I was trying to figure what was with all the excessive eye blinking… was it Morse Code?
A some point we were counting aloud & laughing about it.
But it’s no joke the half truth crapola we’ve heard for 8 long years now. Mccain would have us believe we are winning in Iraq- since 2003, & we just keep winning.$555 billion worth of winning. And spending $ for war is not pork barrel spending, yet somehow our economy is on it’s knees.
His frequent forays into history were mind numbing.
Under a McCain regime with 42 nuclear power plants we won’t need terrorists, we can just melt ourselves off the planet independently.
His inbility to look at and acknowledge Obama was disturbing, when the moderator was saying talk to each other.
I am sick of moderators who allow the speakers to prattle on- McCain kept doing that. Either get a game show buzzer with the EEEEEE noise that drowns them out, or cut the microphone power. The lips are moving but we can’t hear them. Your time is freaking up… stop talking.
+ at 10:13 pm
I liked Obama before. I liked him after the debate. I disliked McCain before. I disliked him more after the debate. Beats me.
+ at 6:15 am
since this whole thing is a horse race..
we have NO functioning media/journalists anymore – the whole country is people magazine, survivor and the yankees combined
+ at 7:52 am
I thought the debate spent far too much time on national security and foreign affairs. Obama, to his credit, at least to link the nation’s financial security to national security but the moderator, Jim Leher, wanted none of it. In fact, Leher seemed to treat these men like they were junior high schoolers who had to be shown the importance of speaking to one another and not to the nation.
+ at 7:53 am
Test results.
Obama: B
McCain: D
Leher: F
+ at 7:56 am
You are absolutely correct on the sports metaphor thing, and I actually play sports.
+ at 9:02 am
I watched the debate and I counted 9 times where Obama said “Sen. McCain is right.”
This is going to come back and bite Obama in the ass because the RNC is already using Obama’s own words in campaign ads that say something along the lines of, “Even Sen. Obama agrees with John McCain on____________.”
Obama needs to pretend McCain isn’t in the room and talk over and around him like he’s irrelevant.
+ at 9:28 am
Hey there bro,
I totally agree. The media circus cracks me up…. At least theres ‘the daily show’ and colbert to balance things a little…
I’ve always found the term “commander in chief” kinda funny … sounds like a job for Arnold Schwarzenegger…
Peace, M
+ at 10:48 am
“Obama needs to pretend McCain isn’t in the room and talk over and around him like he’s irrelevant.”
Obama can’t do that. The minute he acts as dismissively to McCain as McCain acts towards him, Obama will be characterized as an “uppity,” disrespectful (maverick??) renegade who shouldn’t be entrusted with the highest office in the country. Sure, it’ll make those of us who can’t stand Old Coot feel great, because Obama will have scored points (whatever that means), but he will have lost those he very much needs–the undecideds. And if we look at the polls among the undecideds, McCain’s dismissiveness hurt him, while Obama’s strategy of avoiding negativity, looking directly at McCain, acknowledging his opponent, and looking directly into the camera helped him.