Presidential Debate - Part Deux
First off - I didn't like the format of the debate. It's a town-hall meeting. You don't have time cues and regulation. All the regulation just hampered what a guy like Tom Brokaw could've done.
And because of this, it was a fairly dull debate. I was expecting more.. well... debating.
Thoughts on McCain:
McCain appeared awkward throughout the debate. And I'm not talking about his war wounds. It seemed that he was trying hard to be comfortable. He definitely seemed more comfortable standing still behind a podium. The most relaxed he appears was when he responded to the Yes/No question, sitting on the chair, not using his microphone. Generally, though - he just looked old.
I really wonder if he understands what deregulation means. He keeps saying that we need continued deregulation. Yet, he believes the government needs to buy out the bad loads, investments, etc in the market. If I'm not mistaken, isn't that more regulation? And of course, the Economic Rescue Bill is Obama's and the democrat's fault. Obama and his cronies gave risky loans to people. Right.
He kept going back to his record. And he loved the number 700 billion, whether talking about the economic rescue plan, the war on terror, Iraq expenditure or healthcare. Very interesting.
Hair transplants? Especially while talking about the gold-plated healthcare plans? Bad taste.
And he was a bit condescending in reference to Fannie and Freddie Mac. Oh. And what was up with "That One." That may be his downfall.
All in all, he kept with his same rhetoric from the past debate. And all his speeches.
Thoughts on Obama:
He looked comfortable. He blew all the rules and regulation for the town-hall meeting out of the water. While he didn't answer some questions immediately and/or directly, he did a good job of keeping the issues in the viewpoint relevant to the average citizen. He broke down the issue and explained it. Then he addressed the real issue, not the symptoms.
He really hit on McCain's healthcare plan vs his own plan. I really don't like McCain's healthcare plan, from the tax credit he touts to the state-level deregulation. As Obama said, healthcare will end up being like the credit card industry, where the credit card companies mailny reside in DE due to DE's lack of regulation. AWESOME job on Obama's part.
Obama also expressed his humanitarian doctrine much better than McCain.
And Obama's response to McCain's claim that Obama doesn't have an understanding of the issues. "McCain's right. I don't understand some things. I don't understand how do we invade a country that had nothing to do with 9/11?"
BAM!
He looked really presidential. Very calm and collected. Minimal finger pointing.
In my opinion, Obama won this debate, hands down.
Now I need to go pack.