Presidential Debates Preview: McCain "Scrappy," Expect Many POW References

Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, heads into the first debate on Friday with a track record as a scrappy combatant and the instincts of a fighter pilot, prepared to take out his opponent and willing to take risks to do so.

He has used fairly consistent techniques during his roughly 30 debates on the national stage: he is an aggressive competitor who scolds his opponents, grins when he scores and is handy with the rhetorical shiv. Just ask Mitt Romney, whom Mr. McCain filleted on several occasions in debates during the primaries, perhaps most infuriatingly for Mr. Romney when Mr. McCain misleadingly asserted that Mr. Romney favored a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

A review of several of Mr. McCain's debates shows that he is most comfortable and authentic when the subject is foreign policy. And in a stroke of good fortune, foreign policy is the topic for Friday, the first of three 90-minute debates with Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[IowaCali]

MSNBC breaking news: "McCain asks that Friday debate be postponed to focus on financial crisis"

[sociocanuck]

Why is anyone at the NYT painting a favourable picture of McCain? He has already dismissed them as in the tank for Obama; do they think making it sound like he has the advantage in the debate will suddenly turn his favour back their way?

[SpencersMom]

But he wasn't a fighter pilot. He was a bomber. And he wasn't shot down. He crashed. Again.

Expect him to bomb on Friday, no matter how many P O W references.

PEACE

[BillyShears]

My guess would be that McCane's going over the questions as we speak, just like he did in the "Faith Forum." The corporate media is so slanted toward this careless impulsive train wreck waiting to happen. It would mean great ratings just to tune in to see "what he's gonna do next"......

[whit4brains]

scrappy doo (doo)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71j6KjN_OQo

[entropy2]

O needs to get JM p*ssed off. Play the temperment card for everything it's worth.

[Hollis-Greene]

oh yes... you're right, the 'Hulk' temper thing.

don't make me angry.

[pie8ter]

With 0's umms...aaas...iffffffs, he will put JMac to sleep. Hey O does have a strategy after all.

[PrinceHal]

Wonder if anybody read this whole Katharine Q. Seelye piece in the Times or on its website? Because one thing Ms. Seelye demonstrates beyond the shadow of a doubt is that the Times -- at least on its news pages -- is NOT "in the tank for Obama," as good old Guess Who was claiming a couple days ago.

In fact, Page 1 of the Times is a good place to go hunting for pieces with a slight GOP tinge. But any rightward political slant I find in the political coverage of Times reporters always seems to be borderline stuff. You know -- do they mean it or not? Go figure. Or if you really want to be confused, e-mail the Public Editor.

[Keo]

Anything can happen in a "debate" such as this, but I'm not worried about Obama. I think it is safe to assume that he is a highly skilled debater. After all, you don't get to the top of your class at Harvard Law School without an ability to debate.
The keys for Obama are as follows: 1) act presidential 2) stay on the offensive
I'm not at all worried about Obama's "preparedness" or his knowledge base.
Folks should remember that McCain hasn't yet offered a single idea about anything throughout his entire campaign. Nada. The only thing he's run on is his "character and experience." Recent events have called his character into question.
McCain has never had to debate anyone remotely like Obama. And I just don't really think he's up to it.
Obama can hijack his strategy by being the first one to speak about McCain's having been a POW--and then take the debate in a different direction.
Fact is, if Obama doesn't screw up--and he's yet to screw up anything--and acts like a president, he wins.

[cycle3man]

Anti-Palin Rally in Alaska Draws 1400
http://tinyurl.com/4xy6vv

[Hollis-Greene]

I don't often talk about this but... did you know I was a POW...

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE KNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!

[Indpnt08]

"And in a stroke of good fortune, foreign policy is the topic for Friday..."

There is no luck involved with this. Obama himself requested that the topics for the first and third debate be switched and John McCain walked right into it.

Obama knows exactly what he is doing here. Either he will grab McCain by the jugular on his strongest issue and/or he will leave the ecomomy for the last debate before people go to polls!

Obama-Biden 08'

[pie8ter]

Or Johnny Mac may own 0bama's cajones if the poor performance on the recent interviews with friendly talk show hosts like Keith Olbermann is any indication. I hope 0bama proves me wrong.

[nomobull]

MEANING YOU HAVE NOTHING BUT BS SPIN.

[Nyla785]

Or as George Will, conservative columnist says.'McCAin substitutes vehemence for coherence.'

[pie8ter]

Being coherent is the last thing in any republican's mind. I guess G Will just crawled out of a cave after 7 1/2 years.

The only thing a candidate has to do is utter words like "I am for abortion" or I am against gay marriage". The religious right will vote that candidate into office.

A co-worker and I were discussing about the election. I asked him why he wants to vote for McCain. He said "Palin said that she believes in God". My jaw dropped. Oh by the way, he also believes that God created the universe in six days.

[pie8ter]

0bama can not do the following not even for a second.:

Um......................this.........well what I am trying to say is that.....aaaaa...
Ahh...it....it......
.I.........do support that......but here is why it shouldn't be.....aah....um....
If....
but........umm.......aaa.

I think I gave heads up to JMac's campaign. Ummm.....seee......I think I shouldn't have.

If the question is do you support abortion? His answer should be: No, I am for pro choice. I strongly believe in woman's right to choose (there can't be mumbling, umms,, aaaahs...) because JMac will answer that question looking straight into the camera and say "NO" before even the moderator finishes the question . Besides what 0bama has to loose by given an answer that appeases pro human fetish supporters. They are not going to vote for him in the first place anyway.

[pie8ter]

I wish Huffpost allows us to edit our comments for 5 minutes right after posting them.

Corrections to my posting:

.....straight into the camera and say "YES" before.....

[NickSoCal]

My Wife and I are going to play the drinking game here at home. Everytime he even HINTS at POW we will take a drink. LOL Joke is on HER...If I don't pass out first I am gonnna get LUCKYYYYY!!

[jinjinpinti]

I'm fired up and ready to vote for Obama/Biden, but lately some obscure part of me is thinking it might not be so bad if McSnake wins. They are working to geld Obama's policies to help the people. They would hound President Obama and his family with their hateful rhetoric and lies and undercut every attempt he made to fix their messes. The Obamas would never be the same, their lives hostage to our sorry media. Maybe I like them too much for this to be their fates. Though I do not want to suffer, nor any other true believers to endure a McBush term as POTUS, it may be the only way to finally have driven home to these redstate sheeple, the absolute folly of their continual, ignorant voting choices.

[BlueOnBlue]

Go back to keeping that part of you obscure. Such defeatism on the very day Obama seized a significant lead is misplaced. Obama is ready to "suffer" being President. You should find it within you t suffer enough to help get him elected.

[Donnat]

I can see his point. Whatever the right wing nuts' threshold of pain is, they apparently haven't reached it yet, but they may with a Palin/McCain administration. Of course, the downside is, that we all go down with the ship.

[Keo]

That "obscure" part of you is dangerous.
It most certainly WOULD be bad if McCain wins. 4 more years of modern-day "conservatism" and the USA is kaput. Got it?

[BlueOnBlue]

Nobody has touched McCain where he's weakest on the Iraq war. That is, that he was for it even before the Bush administration. If Obama tags him as not only a supporter of this war but as its one of its most prominent architects, I think it will score points..

McCain supported Ahmed Chalabi before the war and helped funnel millions to him. Chalabi then used much of that money to trump up the false evidence for the war that was later used by the Bush administration.

That McCain belatedly had a half-good idea on the prosecution of the war more than five years into it is beside the point. It was his war from the start. The lost lives. The lost money. The lost American reputation. All of it should be hung on him by Obama.

[k6007]

Hear. Hear!!!