I Agree with John but.....

For those who abide by the temperament criterion of presidential selection, the one concern about Barack Obama was that he might not have temper enough, that he might be too calm. So far as I am concerned, Obama's life story and his campaign for the nomination are proof positive that he can handle the fray. Still, I have to concede that in the debate on Friday, he did nothing to convince the skeptics that he has sufficient fire in his belly.

As nearly every commentator has noted, the ever-theatrical McCain played the tough guy, refusing to meet Obama's gaze and constantly chuckling, "Senator Obama does not get it."
The best method for handling unbridled aggression and to get an intellectual bully to put the brakes on himself is a stiff metaphorical rap on the snoot. Obama refused to deliver it. McCain would more or less insult him and more than a dozen times, Obama began his riposte with a weak, "I agree with John but..."

As Nora Ephron observed in her "Ringside" (Huffington Post, Sept. 28) men seem hardwired to read these debates as boxing matches. But it's not just testosterone poisoning. Debates are like boxing matches. They are a form of intellectual combat, not collaborative inquiry. The aim of a debate is to expose the weaknesses in your opponent's reasoning and to establish the superiority of your own position.

In both physical and intellectual strife it is critical to be able to take the measure of your rival's aggression and to adjust accordingly. Obama seemed oblivious to the fact that McCain was going for the jugular. When the Arizona senator brushed him off and banged away with wild charges intended to keep Barack on his heels, Obama demurred from returning the kind of fire that he promised to deliver in Denver.

For instance, McCain prattled on about big spending and scoffed at Senator Obama for the expensive programs he was proposing. Obama calmly trotted out his issues but he should have dropped the hammer and emphasized that it was McCain's deregulatory practices and those of his economic advisor, Phil Gramm, that have brought us to the brink of a 1929 like depression.

On the issue of Iraq and in response to McCain's surge operettas, Obama should have succinctly stated that the war that McCain passionately supported was built on false pretenses and that nothing, absolutely nothing, could be worse than backing a needless war. End of story. Instead Obama took his eye of the ball with his usual we-took-our-eye-off-the-ball stump speech.

When McCain swooned about his love and commitment for the troops, Obama should have pounced. Instead of, "I agree with John but..." it should have been, "It's ironic that for all of McCain's bluster about the troops he has voted against every single bill to increase veterans benefits."

When the man who tends to think of himself as Mr. McConscience boasted that he was known in the Senate as "the sheriff," Obama should have thrown the haymaker, "And who was the sheriff on duty during the Keating Five scandal?"

I knock on doors for the man every day, but to me Barack seemed intimidated. Like Ephron, I thought that McCain scored something close to a knockout. The outcomes of debates are all in the mind of the audience and thankfully it seems that my impressions were out of sync with most. Nevertheless, now that Obama has tangled with him, I am hoping that he will adjust to McCain's belligerence, and for just one night, stop trying to find common ground, in of all things, a debate.

Comments

[Conservativegordonfan]

I do not like the politics of Joe Biden, but he seems like a good man and I like him. Sarah Palin showed an ability to communicate with the people better than anybody I have seen in politics today. This election can still go either way, but whatever happens Sarah Palin at 44 yrs old will be a political force to reckon with.

[Jessegirl]

Gordon, I just watched the Biden and Palin debate last night and I hope Obama was
PAYING ATTENTION!­!!!..
Joe proved that you don't have to be rude or "mean" to fight back hard!
He was on fire Gord!!!...­He said things about John Mac that I wished Obama would say!!!
And nobody thinks that Joe was rude or out for 'blo**od'.
Joe had a STRONG and true comeback for all the "rehearsed" Palin talking points.
He kept on 'setting the record straight', over and over again, he kicked JMc's butt last night!
Joe made it clear that Palin and McCain are NOT CHANGE...j­ust more old "tough talking points".
Most of all Gordy...Jo­e showed emotion that he was 'sick and tired', he was 'fed up' without being a jerk. He bite down hard without leaving a scar..
I have to admit...I am baffled that O does not have this already in his "gut"...wh­y does he need to be told?...Th­is does bother me.

[Conservativegordonfan]

Gordon, Huffing Post is certainly not my cup of tea but I enjoy reading everything you write and that is the only reason I log onto this site. I just don't happen to agree with most of your political comments. In this case speaking your honest view on the debate shows a level class. Personally I was looking for harder hits from McCain.

[birdie2]

Obama has proven over and over that Americans don't want "red meat" get down in the dirt politicians and it's about time that pundits and journalists get used to that fact. This isn't a Horse Race it is a serious campaign about serious issues that have to do with the future of this country.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm with you but a debate is a debate, no?

[mousesoup]

I think the point being made is that, perhaps, that many of the undecided voters out there are not quite as dumb and easily manipulated as we have come to believe, post-Palinmania. Obama is quintessentially an intellectual, and his debating style is, above all, based on logic. However, unlike previous Democratic offerings such as Kerry, Dukakis, and Mondale, he has a degree of charm, sophistication, and charisma that is both rare and badly needed by this country. There are a lot of undecided voters who have only known Obama indirectly up until this point, and for those voters he did exactly what he needed to do- be himself.

John McCain has made several key strategic miscalculations in this campaign (in addition to his many tactical blunders), but I think perhaps the most fundamental is that he let his campaign advisors turn him into something he is not; a parody of himself. A joke. Let Obama be Obama. It's not what the pundits think that counts on Nov. 4. Remember the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare? If Obama was as reactive and panicky as Hillary and McCain are , he never would have gotten this far.

[CitizenE]

The problem is not Obama's tone or his graciousness, which by contrast with the McCain icky grump persona, won the night for Obama. His problem is that he still has not developed his debating skill set to be enough in the moment during debates to take advantage of situations such as Mr. Marino has presented.

[Blk independant]

look as an African American myself, there are stereotypes, just like there are with whites, hispanics, and Asians...T­he thing for Obama is that he does not fit the stereotype. He is a man that the Repubs talk about all the time. The Repubs talk about self sufficency. He grew up poor and made a better opportunity for himself. He is a success story. He didnt ask for a hand out he went and got it, just like we are always told to do. Some people can not fathom the idea that he is so far from the stereotype. Now they call him "UPPITY" because he has made a way for himself. He is not a so called radical like jesse jackson so he can not be boxed in. How can he? So to tie this back to the story to say he don't have the fire in him thats not the complete story...it­s not that he does not have the fire, its because of stereotypes that we have to channel things in a completely different way!

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Sorry if this is my second reply but I have been having some tech problems here. I agree with you about the issues brought on by stereotypes - the angry black man type stuff. Still he does not have to be that deferential. Thanks
Gordon

[listeningpost]

This is the first African American to be nominated for President of the US by a major party. He beat a front runner backed by the party establishment. He did so by conceiving a superior strategy and being disciplined enough to stick with it. He has been criticized for not being aggressive enough for over a year yet here he is, the front runner in the general election.

Commentators, who sometimes seem to think they are writing a movie review, should look at the historical event that's going on rather than try to write a more exciting script. They should remember that Barak Obama is not the President, he's campaigning for President. They should know that a lot of Americans are frightened of black men. Obama has run a superb campaign, is demonstrating extraordinary leadership and seems to have keen insight into how to speak to more than just his core supporters.

Not enough fire in the belly? Do they not realize how much grit it takes for minorities to excel within the establishment? Or what it takes to draw crowds of tens of thousands? What's the biggest crowd McC has drawn?

Coolness under fire is the hallmark of many great achievers, Joe Montana comes to mind. The press might prefer a street fight, but times are turbulent enough. We need a cool head.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Sorry if this is my second reply but I have been having some tech problems here.

Great point about the grit and the need for coolness under fire. I just hope that Barack turns it up a notch next time.
Thanks
Gordon

[c64audio]

(continued)
Second, they're well aware that in this case they needed to make their man look like a President, not make John McCain look humiliated: something John can accomplish pretty much on his own: and by the internals of the post-debate polls, the masses can now see him as President much more easily. If the purpose of a Presidential debate isn't to make your candidate look Presidential, then what? There are things he'll do as President he mentioned here, and there are things he won't do that he did: that's true of all Presidential candidates who ascend to the office: none more so than Dubya. All that matters is the impression voters took away, which will generate their own internal meme. It was a 90 minute advert of personalities.

Thirdly, it appears that part of the debate strategy of Obama's team is to let the press, pundits and bloggers do the dirty work of fact-checking and rebuttals: which is much better than Obama wasting good screen time being pedantic or needlessly aggressive: a strategy which works a lot better in the new "John McCain is a serial liar" world.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Agreed-but part of looking presidential is looking like you can stand up to an aggressive challenge.
Thanks

[c64audio]

I think once again you're playing a different game to the Obama team by judging this (a) as a sport, and (b) in isolation.

First off, the Obama shown multiple times that they know how to do a storyline over time: witness the DNC convention when everyone was complaining on the first night about not enough aggression and by the fourth night, red meat had been served. And in the debatehe made himself look reasonable and non-partisan this time.

Since this was the first impression that many voters will have got of him outside of emails, I think he did a great job. I also reckon that the third debate we'll see the forceful Obama, when he's established his calm persona to the uninitiated. Obama's team focuses on the war, not the battle. We see that time and time again.

(continued next post)

[dill]

Agreed. Good post.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Maybe so but isn't a debate a kind of sport, as in debating teams? Thanks

[YellerDawg]

I agree completely. But then again, I am a total b*tch, and nobody would vote for me for dogcatcher, so I'll have to trust that Obama knows what he's doing.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

and I'm a boxing trainer in addition to a prof so maybe we have a skewed picture. I hope so. Thanks
Gordon

[mommadona]

There are three more debates.

If McCain tries to pull another "surprise" prior to the next ones, it will show him as the erratic, mentally unstable old reprobate he really is.

Unusual times call for unusual measures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMf36qOEMP8&feature=related

[RickO]

Obama had a perfect opportunity, as well, to mention that when McCain parahcuted in to Washington, like G.I. Joe with kung fu grip, to save the economy, what did he propose at the White House meeting? More deregulation and tax cuts. There is a clinical term for someone who repeats the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome, and it's not usually confused with leadership qualities.

[alfista]

To jump the gun–what good are these debates? I know debates are electoral S.O.P. But I think they are evidence of the competitive drive that makes athletics the most important aspect of university life and the military the biggest hog at the public trough. Words are usually quite cheap today, and all too often, we can't agree on the meaning.

It is time to dump a lot of the old baggage that the US cannot carry into a rapidly changing world.

[Dynamohum]

The fact that John McCain would not look at Obama and acted indignent and sophmoric, is actually the antithesis of what debate rules and tradition is about. Debate tradition says that you should look you opponent in the eye and address them directly. It also dictates that you address them respectfully. Disagreement is encouraged, but not in such a snotty, sophmoric, detached, frustrated fashion.

Obama did more importantly address the nation to the camera and let Americans know what he would do. The Keating Five thing was not appropriate for the National Security Debate. It is definitely appropriate for the Economic debate to come. Relax. Barack will deliver, even if it is not according to your armchair quarterbacking.

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Your debate point about respect and looking the other person in the eye.

I'm not asking Barack to be disrespectful - so cut the Keating Five comment -- but he could have been more forceful in defending himself against McCain's attacks. But thanks, I'll try to relax. Gordon

[rileyjames]

In all your testosterone posturing, you seem to forget that from the beginning Barack Obama promised this nation a different kind of politics; one that includes civility and compassion and does not include hitting below the belt and the sleeze of Karl Rove that all of us are SOOOOOOO sick and tired of. To me, what the debate proved (especially when he sympathized with McCain struggling over Iran's leader's name) is that he is a man of decency and respect. THAT'S THE KIND OF PRESIDENT I WANT!

[Gordon Marino - Huffpost Blogger]

Me too. But it was still a debate and in such a context there is such a thing as being too deferential. But I'm with you on the appealing qualities of Barack. I wouldn't want to see him resort to the Rove stuff either. Thanks