Presidential Debates Round Two and Three: Show Us That You Care

Barack Obama would like the next two debates to be about the economy. John McCain would like them to be about anything but the economy, preferably with plenty of discussion of 60's radicals and crazy preachers.

McCain won't get his way, of course. We will hear discussions of the bailout, taxes, health care and the like, with Obama eloquently explaining the failed Bush-McCain approach to these issues, while McCain tries to paint Obama as an out-of-touch, tax-and-spend liberal.

But what will it take for Obama to win the debates? The best answer I've heard to this question comes from a man who has been an irritant to Obama supporters for many months now, a man whose advice I approach with great caution, out of fear that he is setting a trap for the candidate. The man is Bill Clinton, and the advice is this: to win the presidency, it is less important to make people like you than to convince people that you like them.

The man who "feels our pain," famously biting his lower lip, knows how to project empathy. Obama did not display this talent in the first debate. He did an excellent job of portraying competence and knowledge, and of appearing calm and presidential in the middle of a financial crisis, a strong contrast to McCain's erratic behavior during the same period.

But the campaign is getting dirty now. Sarah Palin is accusing Obama of pallin' around with terrorists. We can expect some unofficial interest group to start cranking out ads with you-know-who God d@#$ing America. McCain and company will try to scare people away from Obama.

To dampen these fears, Obama needs to show people that he cares for them. How best to do that? He needs to reveal his heart without coming off as a phony. If he starts biting his lower lip, we are in trouble. If he pulls out one of those tired old campaign stories and expects us to feel his empathy -- "why just the other day in Toledo, I spoke with Betsy Wilkerson, a single mother blah blah," -- well, been there, slept through that.

Obama needs to tell us about people who he truly loves deeply, and about how he wants to help the same people. When he talks about his love of America, and therefore his love of the American people, he should talk about how our great country helps people very close to him achieve their own version of the American dream. Does anyone who he loves rely on Medicare? Let's hear how that person would be affected by McCain's policies.

Most undecided voters won't be voting with their heads; they won't be calculating tax rates, health-care deductibles, and federal budget deficits and seeing which candidate comes out on top. Instead, they will be voting with their guts. And if they can't trust a candidate, they won't vote for him.

The image of Barack Obama palling around with terrorists won't stick in people's minds if they see his caring side on display Tuesday night, and if they see how his head for policy details works together with his heartfelt desire to help the many people he loves.

Comments

[DonDavis]

Debates, Part III: Please Barack, Take Off the Gloves, and Throw These Five Knockout Punches
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=3782

[RoadGhost]

After years of Republican congress and white house, Dems yet cannot control legislation
(60 vote rule/veto.­)

Home prices were inflated by wall street robber barons, interest rates lowered, loan applications manipulated by the lenders.

By bundling/selling loans, huge profits were had by raising rates then dumped on Fannie/Freddie, taxpayers take the losses.

A strong economy is a large well paid middle class with money to spend, not a feudal system of Nobles and peasants.

McCain is trying to portray himself as a populist, his handlers recognize citizens demand a reversal of Reagan - Bush II raid of American paychecks.

McCain is a populist like Hefner is a virgin.

A healthy economy is a pyramid, broad at the base, narrow at the top. When greed, influence, and legalized crime reverse this pyridine, society fails. This truth has been accomplished by the robber barons of the present.

The American work force has achieved the greatest productivity in history while real wages have declined. The only administration in the last 30 years to increase public buying power was "90-"94, and house republicans crucified them for it.

Billions taken by Halliburton/Brown & Root/KBR from taxpayers are being banked in Dubai to avoid taxes. Can such shelters still be tolerated?

Put aside battle lines,do something for the people instead of the privileged. If there is hope, we must end hate based competition, reform the system, & reverse the "blame the victim" propaganda of the far right.

[Nexialist]

McCain needs to emphasize energy independence, including off-shore drilling and nuclear power. He needs to stress a spending freeze. He needs to pledge to keep tax rates low, including capital gains and corporate taxes. Moreover, Obama and Bush have a lot in common. They both are likable fellows, they both have a ton of money behind them, neither one is particularly bright, and each would have both houses of Congress from their own party. The country needs divided government; it cannot withstand out of control spending as occurred when the Republicans controlled both the executive and legislative branches of government.

[395spoons]

Tell me you're kidding, right?

You must have meant McCain and Bush have a lot in common!

[Nexialist]

Think about it. Obama/Reid/Pelosi is a replay of Bush/Frist/Hastert. Both had VP's with more experience. Each will have the unelected political handlers who put them in office telling them what to do. Neither will veto one spending bill sent up from Congress. This financial mess has served to point out how corrupt Congress is. Until there is reform, we must have divided government to keep Congress from enacting legislation that does not serve the people.