All I have to say about this unremarkable debate (guaranteed to be completely forgotten within 72 hours) is that John McCain looks absolutely whipped. His slams on Obama seem feeble and half-hearted, and nearly all of them are one-upped by Obama's quicker, more clever responses.
McCain's campaign has lapsed into desperation and consequently he is just going through the motions tonight.
https://landmarkfamilydental.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/jpg/flexeril.html
He knows that debate answers won't help him – only parading Obama around as a scary, black, terrorist, secret Muslim can save him, and even that isn't helping now.
The guy honestly looks like he is falling asleep; perhaps he is as tired as his talking points.
https://landmarkfamilydental.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/jpg/lasix.html
It's really sad to see a man who used to be respected lapsing into the same kind of pathetic ass-kissing ("American workers are the greatest in the world!
buy plavix generic noprescriptionbuyonlinerxx.net over the counter
Woooooooooo!") we got from his functionally retarded running mate on Thursday.
pmayo says:
Ed, there's one thing people will remember from this debate: "This one." That was an appalling misstep from St. McCain, and it belied all of his post-partisan politics rhetoric.
David says:
I do not understand pmayo's comment.
I also think Ed "nailed" it with his discussion of "undecideds" a week or two ago.
J. Dryden says:
Pmayo is referring to McCain's (probably innocuous) reference to Obama as "This one" as part of an answer, as in "This one" – points to Obama – "thinks that…" Again, I don't think it was a 'peek behind the curtain'–my family uses "Whatshisname" to refer to each other, and it's an expression that can be used affectionately. But some pundits are going to try to turn it into a gaffe as if McCain had called Obama "boy" or some such. I think McCain has conducted himself in a seemingly dickish fashion in these debates ("I won't even deign to look at you"), but by this point, is anyone going to be swayed by something so ambiguous. "Macaca" this wasn't.
On the other hand, if McCain is going to continue to go negative, he might want to avoid such slips, as they make for beautiful ripostes by his opponent.
J. Dryden says:
Correction: It was '*That* one.'
Dustin says:
Was it just me or did McCain seem like he was about to keel over during the first part of the debate? He was breathing really heavily between sentences, walking awkwardly (even more so than he normally does), and having trouble articulating points.
pmayo says:
On the other hand, if McCain is going to continue to go negative, he might want to avoid such slips, as they make for beautiful ripostes by his opponent.
That's my sense of it, J. Dryden. I don't think it shows him to be some sort of racist; more like a raging dickhead. That's why I read it as a misstep. It really made him look like a guy whose temper often gets the best of him, and it sets him up to made a fool.
Nate says:
Watched the debate via the Internets. McCain looked pitiful. I just wish he was a better loser. I feel pretty good about Obama's odds at being the next president, but I say that with an amount of trepidation.
I felt the same way about Kerry when he and W debated and look where that went.
Ed says:
I don't think there's a racial element to McCain's comment. It just reveals him to be an upper-crust asshole used to referring to people he thinks are beneath him as objects.
This situation isn't terribly similar to Bush-Kerry, seeing as how Kerry was never able to establish himself as the frontrunner. The only thing that can save McCain now is a "Diebold surprise" on Election Day.
Vinny says:
I thought aside from being mostly boring, four things stood out in this debate.
The first is that, at least in the beginning, I thought McCain was hyperventilating. It made me kind of nervous. It seemed he was having some kind of health crisis. He seemed to have gotten better as the debate went on, but you could still hear him breathing into his mic while Obama was speaking.
The second is when McCain used the phrase "That One!" McCain can't hide his emotions when it comes to Obama. This shows a lack of self control. No surprise there.
The third is when McCain pulled out his new suprise subprime mortgage bailout plan. That kind of mavrickyness is sure to anger his base and confuse everybody else. I thought this one was probably the biggest shocker of the debate. It's a huge cost item, expands government involvement.
The fourth is when Obama recalled his Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran sing-a-long. McCain said he was only joking around. It was weak. You'd think that after being criticized for joking like that, that he might change his behavior, but it was after that "joking around" that they started using the Beach Boys tune at McCain rallies.
I think McCain is toast.