Grading the First Presidential Debate

[lligrd]

Source: Time

John McCain

Substance: His arguments were hard to follow at the beginning, but he found his voice as the debate progressed, although he never seemed fully in control of his message. He had plenty to say about the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia, but often bogged down his own answers when trying to unfurl quips and soundbites. Stuck with bumper sticker slogans on the economy, and while he got a bit more detailed on foreign policy, he stayed at his usual level of abstraction. If he truly knows more about the world than Obama, he didn't show it in this debate.
Grade: B-

Style: Cluttered, jumpy, and often muddled. Frequent coughing early on helped neither his arguments nor his image. Jokes about being deaf and anecdotes about Normandy and George Shultz seemed ill-advised - even his pen was old. His presentation was further hindered by his wandering discussion of the differing heights of North and South Koreans and his angry assertion about how well he knows Henry Kissinger. Fell into the classic politician's trap of inserting familiar stump speech applause lines into debate responses - which only works if done with enthusiasm and clarity (and if received by applause - a big No-No in Lehrer's auditorium, which the audience obeyed seriously and silently). Keenly aware of the grand, grave occasion, McCain wavered between respectful and domineering, and ended up awkward and edgy.
Grade: C-

<snip>

Barack Obama

Overall: Went for a solid, consistent performance to introduce himself to the country. He did not seem nervous, tentative, or intimidated by the event, and avoided mistakes from his weak debate performances during nomination season (a professorial tone and long winded answers). Standing comfortably on the stage with his rival, he showed he belonged - evocative of Reagan, circa 1980. He was so confident by the end that he reminded his biggest audience yet that his father was from Kenya. Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day.
Overall grade: A-


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080927/us_time/gradingthefirstpresidentialdebate;_ylt=AkYSLm.UEuEOpl0MSkSUAAOs0NUE

[Coventina]

1. Why is it a bad thing to be professorial?

Why is it a crime in this country to be intelligent?

It just infuriates me that coming across as a college instructor is perceived as a bad thing!

:mad:

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am a college instructor, so maybe I take it personally - but still! Aren't people tired of dumb presidents?)

[Cresent City Kid]

2. Exactly

I also don't buy this notion of Obama not connecting with the working class. Am I the only one hearing him talk about the difficulties of putting food on the table and dealing with medical bills? They talk about his lack of an econmic plan instead of his actual plan which I see as one that will help me more than trickle-down ever has. There is a media consensus that ignores reality on these points in my opinion.

[crossroads]

29. Well said! I agree with you... nt

[harmonicon]

3. "yeah, but, it's got electrolytes"

[Twinguard]

16. Bingo!!

How scary is it that?

I think Mike Judge may actually be from the future, his predictions are more accurate than Nostradamus --and without the pesky interpretations.

[cui bono]

4. Because like it or not, people vote based on emotions.

When they say professorial they are talking about a detached persona I think. He just needs to warm up and be conversational and a more emotive.

[Phred42]

22. Zackly

And this is something that the 'Reality-based Community' has a difficult time coming to grips with.....and Desperately NEEDS to.

[elocs]

23. This is a concept that Democrats have difficulty in grasping.

We believe that people should be swayed and convinced by rational and logical arguments backed by facts and are left shaking our heads when that does not work. Far, far more people than we would ever admit or guess are moved to vote by their emotions, not well reasoned arguments.

Addressing people with a professorial tone may be just fine if those people happen to be students, but a very large number of ordinary Americans who never went to college, maybe never having the opportunity, tend to view that as being condescending or that the speaker is talking down to them. Speaking with intelligence and yet being able to connect with your audience and make them feel good about you and what you are saying are not mutually exclusive. The fact that Obama is able to learn better ways of communicating says a lot about his ability to learn and to adopt better ways to connect with voters.

[bluedeminredstate]

5. Remember what they did to Al Gore?

They eviscerated him for "acting like the smartest kid in the classroom" and sneered at his vast body of knowledge about the many issues that were important to the country. The media ridiculed him for his intellect - I remember him being called pedantic in
one article - and demonstrated over and over again how much more "likable" and beer-worthy that idiot of a chimp was.

Gore's obvious intelligence and his dedication to public service somehow became something the media rolled their collective eyes at. Bush became Joe Sixpack and the fact that he didn't know squat was brushed off because he had such a seasoned team around him.

The repugs with the help of the MSM have made intellectual a dirty word over the last decade and I don't get how they've sold this line of absolute bullshit to a large portion of the American public.

[notadmblnd]

8. it offends the knuckle dragging segment of the population

makes them feel insecure and stupid.

[dog_lovin_dem]

9. It seems to threaten

many people if one is educated. My husband, who has very little college experience, was intimidated by Barack's intelligence when we recently attended a town hall. I, on the other hand, thought he was brilliant and approachable. I have a Master's.
It is a sad state of affairs when the media portrays knowledge and the ability to communicate as negative attributes.
Fortunately, my husband plans to vote for Obama in part because of his intelligence. We've dealt with "average" for far too long!

[mbee]

18. The thing I disagree with a little is that you have to have a

degree to be educated. I remember something Bill Clinton said once when asked if you had to be highly intelligent to be President and I think the question was in regard to Bush. He said you don't have to be highly intelligent, but you need to be curious. I think Bush followers are just that followers and they aren't curious and can be told what to think. Not everyone can afford to go to school, but everyone can be informed and think independently if they have an average IQ.

[dog_lovin_dem]

19. Good point.

I agree that intelligence can equate with curiosity,(critical thinking). There are a lot of educated idiots running around! Myself included, at times. Thanks for your input.

[Dollface]

14. Because sometimes we fall asleep in class?

[ryanmuegge]

15. The right's excuse for letting investment bankers and oil executives write legislation

is the expertise of these professionals. When it comes to elections, though, rational, formal expertise is "elitism" and it all of the sudden has no value.

[0rganism]

20. decode "professorial": boring effete socialist atheist snob with homosexual tendencies

That's what the authoritarian mindset of half the country has done to our national dialog.

[Heywood J]

24. It's not a crime to be intelligent, as long as it isn't the only thing you have.

It's also about people-skills. The trick is to be intelligent while seeming down-to-earth and without making people feel stupid or as if they're being schooled. Clinton was particularly good at that.

[keroro gunsou]

30. (some) americans, in a nutshell...

thanks to the lolcats....





for the record, most of my college professors were the smartest guys in the room... and i am still pissed at myself for not listening to them.... *cries in teh corner*

[cui bono]

6. Buzz this story up on yahoo! NOW!!!

:)

[cui bono]

7. Vote it up on yahoo! Only 2.5 stars out of 5. :(

[DesertRat]

10. Recommend it up on Yahoo! n/t

[debbierlus]

11. Be sure to go to the link & give it FIVE STARS

Thanks for posting.

Time, hmmmmmmmmm.

The Republican stronghold?

[mnhtnbb]

12. Done. No surprise in the assessment. Problem is, Amurikans love C students.

[louis-t]

13. "Even his pen was old."

:rofl:

[llmart]

25. Was he using a quill and ink bottle?

'cause that's what he used in grade school! Or was it a slate and piece of coal?

[happygoluckytoyou]

27. after a tough game of rock, papyrus, sharp thing...McCain enjoyed drawing his hieroglyphic bio

[louis-t]

32. A rock and a chisel.

[northernlights]

17. 'cause murkans take pride in their ignorance

and offense at anyone else's lack thereof.

[pacalo]

21. I was very put off by the way McSame intentionally ignored Obama.

He may as well have had a neon sign behind him flashing "haughty" & "arrogant". It was a glaring act of rudeness for a man who claims to be a maverick because he's "able to reach across the aisle". Hmmph.

I'm anxious to see later debates on the economy & other issues that are important to 95% of us.

And I'm really anxious to see the moose queen & Biden debate.

[noiretextatique]

33. it was an embarassingly obvious signal

to the racists he was trying to court. even after the moderator asked mccain to address his responses directly to obama, he refused to do it. plus the repeated "you just don't understand" references. mccain the maverick...right :eyes:

[Loftlore]

26. An Open Letter to John McCain

An open letter to Senator John McCain

Dear John:

I watched your performance in the Presidential debate this Friday past. It struck me that you are still having trouble understanding the simple problem that is the war on Iraq. Senator, I have thought long and hard to find a way to explain the problem to you. What can I write to enlighten you? What you need is an analogy! What you need is an example that will help to explain the situation. I hope this will help.

Senator, let's imagine that while you are looking for a restroom you have a momentary lapse of attention. A lapse such as this could happen to anyone. The longer one lives the more likely that such a lapse will occur. Imagine this lapse finds you in a restroom designated for the use of the opposite gender. You have stumbled into the women's restroom.

Senator, should this ever happen to you, please apply the following suggestions. In this case of mistaken-toilet identity, you should not complete the mission. It is no shame to admit your mistake and leave. In fact, leaving is the good and proper thing to do. Should you become aware of your mistake in the middle of completing your "mission" I suggest that you, er, put your gun away and exit. Do not "surge" in an effort to complete the "mission". Leave as soon as you can. A struggle to "win", to finish the job under these awkward circumstances, ignores a vital detail - you are in the wrong toilet.

Should you choose to do the right thing and exit, remember, it's okay to be embraced. Being embraced is nature's way of putting emphasis upon a lesson learned. We all make mistakes. Some make more than their fair share, but that's life. You'd risk shame, however, if you insisted on staying where you shouldn't be. Under these circumstances "mission accomplished" is no victory.

Do you understand, Senator? We, the United States, should never have entered Iraq. Staying where we should never have been in the first place is not heroic. We are not welcome in Iraq. The rightful occupants of Iraq wish us to leave. We should leave. We, as a nation, need to get out.

I hope this analogy has helped you understand why your position on Iraq is, well, flawed.

Stephen Hudler
loftlore.com

[happygoluckytoyou]

28. PREDICTING THE ONLY VICE PRES DEBATE--> --> --> -->

PREDICTION FOR THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE.....

economics.....................BIDEN
foreign affairs...............BIDEN
extramarital affairs..........PALIN
talent competition batons.....PALIN
swimsuit competition..........PALIN
government experience.........BIDEN
wet T-shirt...................PALIN
education.....................BIDEN
milf-ability..................PALIN
.....................it may come down to the MUD WRESTLING where she is more limber but he has more grit....
HANG ON ITS GOING TO BE A BUMPY RIDE!!!!

[superconnected]

31. Mcain got b- to c- and most were c-. He shouldn't have ended with a b-.

Obama only got A's down to b's.