Interesting comments on tonight's debate:
>McCain wins, but doesn't finish
by: Jeff Emanuel
October 15, 2008 at 09:49PM CDT
Both candidates looked flat to me, though I was clearly being harder on Sen. McCain than several of my colleagues, whose instant messages and emails seem to overwhelmingly support McCain as the sound winner of this go-round.
My thoughts, added as the debate went on, below the fold.
*A friend with the Weekly Standard just instant messaged me the Obama pattern of the evening: "Classic Obama: attack, attack, attack, then complain about negativity."
That's been the case all night -- and all campaign.
*McCain is really swatting Sen. Obama with Ayers and ACORN; it's very telling that Obama's only response to that was to lie about his associations with both.
*I think McCain needed to go harder at Obama on the blatantly misrepresented "tax cuts for 95% of Americans." As the WSJ pointed out in their masterful (yet brief) takedown of the supposed "tax cut" program being proposed by Obama:
Here's the political catch. All but the clean car credit would be "refundable," which is Washington-speak for the fact that you can receive these checks even if you have no income-tax liability. In other words, they are an income transfer -- a federal check -- from taxpayers to nontaxpayers. Once upon a time we called this "welfare," or in George McGovern's 1972 campaign a "Demogrant." Mr. Obama's genius is to call it a tax cut.
*Sen. Obama has the very bad habit of giving an "I'm smarter than my stupid, ignorant elders" smirk whenever Sen. McCain is talking. I've received enough emails and IMs to this effect that I'm clearly not the only person who has noticed this.
*McCain may not be winning overwhelmingly - but he's hitting Obama with broadside after broadside.
*It's good to see Sen. McCain actually taking on the ridiculous idea that Sen. Biden, Sen. Obama's running mate, is anything remotely resembling an authority on foreign affairs. Against the liberation of Kuwait, for (then against) the Iraq war, then for what McCain correctly called a "cockamamie scheme" to divide Iraq into three unsustainable countries - the latter being, hands down, one of the absolute stupidest suggestions of the entire Iraq conflict.
*Received via instant message:
I love how McCain brings a legal pad with a Sharpie That is so awesome Not a pen - a SHARPIE The stuff he writes is permanent
*McCain just broadsided Obama on never having traveled south of the U.S. border, yet wanting to unilaterally renegotiate free trade agreements with allies like Colombia. Obama responded by talking about the need for organized labor rights, for which McCain hit him with being anti-free trade with an ally, yet pro-meeting without precondition with a self-defined enemy (Hugo Chavez).
Good riposte on that one by McCain; it would have been nice, though, if he could have worked into that response Obama's unwavering support of Big Labor's attempt to eliminate the secret ballot from unionization votes via "card check."
*Talking health care: Obama is as off on this subject as on any; however, the "healthcare for all" catchphrase is just too easy, and sounds too nice to the emotionally driven who simply don't understand how anything economic works, to be easily rebutted.
That's one big problem with conservatism: because it's rooted in rationality and in the real world, it takes time and explanation to communicate, whereas modern liberalism consists largely of irrational appeals to emotion which have no standing in the real world.
*Allowing the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines -- which McCain is speaking in favor of now -- is one of the biggest steps that, if taken, would reduce the cosst of health coverage and health care nationwide.
*And here it is: businesses "that can afford to pay" (i.e., whosever money he decides he wants) will have to pay into a government program that will provide health coverage for...somebody. Sen. Obama isn't clear on who, exactly, would be eligible.
*McCain has just riffed spectacularly on the difference between himself (more choice) and "Senator Government--I mean, Senator Obama" (more government) on health care and on pretty much everything else.
*Obama's use of "you'll lose employer-funded health care" scare tactics shows that he either doesn't understand himself, or knows that the rest of America doesn't understand, that health coverage, even when provided by employers, isn't funded by those employers. Rather, it is wages paid in the form of a benefit, rather than cash. Ending employer-backed health care could mean higher monetary wages in employees' pockets, and would absolutely mean more choice in what insurance coverage is purchased.
*And Obama is wrong on Supreme Court Justices. Their job is not to provide justice to Americans -- it is, quite simply, to interpret and apply the Constitution, as written.
*More scare tactics from Obama -- "Roe v. Wade hangs in the balance"
*Does Sen. Obama really want to go there on Equal Pay for Equal Work, considering his record vs. McCain's record on the topic?
*Thank goodness McCain is going after Obama on the latter's pro-abortion extremism.
*It all comes down to sex ed for Obama, who favored sex education for kids from kindergarten up. Is this the "reach across the aisle" and "listen to all points of view" person for whom such besotted individuals as Doug Kmiec and Christopher Buckley have willingly surrendered their dignity and acquired kneepads?
*Good catch again by McCain, highlighting Obama's use of language to peddle half-and-untruths and liberal talking points, while sounding honest and open-minded.
*Thank goodness Sen. McCain is taking it to Sen. Obama on school choice and vouchers. Obama's plan can be boiled down to two points: Spend more money, and Fire (after chances to improve) bad teachers. McCain is going in depth about accountability and transparency in addition to funding, and stressing the success of vouchers (case study: Washington, DC) and of competition, which makes everybody better.
*What a nice closing zinger by McCain, pointing out that Sen. Obama is nice enough to acknowledge that vouchers worked wonders in DC, but still opposes them. Shades of his grudging admission about the 'surge' in Iraq, but stubborn refusal to say he wouldn't oppose it again given the chance.
*Obama's closing statement, summarized: "We can't afford to allow those nasty Republicans anywhere near Washington. They want to take your money and ruin your lives. Now, let's all work across the aisle together."
Like the IM I posted above: "Classic Obama: attack, attack, attack, then complain about negativity," and call for everybody else to come to his position in the name of "bipartisanship."
*I have to agree with Charles Krauthammer on the final verdict: McCain won, but he didn't finish. He landed several jabs and flurries, but always backed off or allowed the subject to change before ever landing a knockout blow.<
www.restate.com |
