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Agree with whoever said Ayers is now off the table. If not that, certainly diminishing returns. I thought Obama was really good at picking his targets... not going after petty stuff and some of the lies McCain threw his way and especially not taking the bait on Palin, which would have started a huge fake outrage movement from the wingnuts. He kept things at a high level and did what he had to do. Now, it's all about organization, enthusiasm, ads, and turnout... Obama has a significant advantage in all four.
Nothing gets taken off the table in the McCain campaign, even when it's been discredited. See: Palin said no thanks to that bridge to nowhere, Obama voted to raise taxes on those making $42K per year. I wouldn't be surprised to see McCain/Palin at a rally tomorrow talking about Ayers.
He seemed very cool, controlled, and calm in his responses and rebuttals. He was very sharp on the things that he hammered home, and he held off on a few things that he could have pushed.
It's a good thing for John that this election was already over. Whatever that was, it made the 'Dean Scream' pale in comparison.
McCain fails, Obama is not rattled Roger Simon Wed Oct 15, 11:34 PM ET HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Debates should not be confused with trips to Lourdes: Few miracles are dispensed. John McCain needed a miracle in his final debate with Barack Obama on Wednesday night, a miracle that would wipe away McCain’s deficit in the polls and re-energize his flagging campaign. He did not get one. The clouds did not part. Heavenly choirs were not heard. Instead, the American public heard angry attacks from McCain. Sometimes McCain attacked directly, and sometimes he attacked sarcastically, but he never stopped attacking. And he never rattled Obama. Obama answered every attack and kept his cool. How cool? Obama was so cool that after 90 minutes under blazing TV lights, an ice cube wouldn’t have melted on his forehead. McCain attacked him on everything from wanting to raise the taxes of Joe the Plumber - - now the most famous plumber in America and at serious risk of becoming so wealthy his taxes will go up no matter who wins - - to not traveling enough. “I admire so much Sen. Obama’s eloquence,” McCain sneered. “Sen. Obama, who has never traveled south of our border.” (This from a man whose running mate got her first passport last year.) But McCain didn’t just attack, he also defended, including defending those people who attend his rallies and the rallies of Sarah Palin who have shouted nasty and threatening things when Obama’s name is mentioned. “Let me say categorically that I am proud of the people who come to my rallies,” McCain said. “I am not going to stand for anybody saying that the people who come to our rallies are anything other than patriotic citizens.” Obama responded to all this — what else? — coolly. “I don’t mind being attacked for the next three weeks,” Obama said. “What the American people can’t afford is four more years of failed economic policies.” He never got off his game plan. He never got shook up. The biggest impact of the three presidential debates for Obama was not anything said or not said. It was impressionistic: Obama simply did not appear to be the scary “other” that McCain needs him to be. “When people suggest that I pal around with terrorists, then we are not talking about issues,” Obama said smoothly. For McCain, the biggest impact of the debates was visual: In the first debate he refused to look at Obama, in the second debate McCain appeared to careen around the stage and in this last debate McCain would scribble furiously with his Sharpie as Obama was talking or else smirk in response to what Obama was saying. Moderator Bob Schieffer of CBS often asked provocative questions that sometimes did not get provocative responses. When Schieffer asked each man why the country would be better off if his running mate became president rather than the other guy’s running mate, Obama said Joe Biden “shares my core values.” John McCain said Sarah Palin is a “reformer” and “she has united our party.” And McCain’s desire to keep his party united behind him — because who else is? — was very much on his mind, dipping deep into conservative Republican talking points. McCain repeatedly accused Obama of “wanting to spread the wealth” around, which doesn’t seem like all that bad an idea to people who aren’t wealthy. But there was one place McCain would not go: He did not bring up the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. It is a line McCain seems determined not to cross, even though some in his party are urging him to do so. What McCain really needed is what he still needs: for Obama to make some huge gaffe, something that makes Obama look like the riskier choice between the two. But Obama made no such gaffes Wednesday night. “The biggest risk we could take right now is to adopt the same failed policies and same failed politics that we’ve seen for the last eight years,” Obama said. The race is not over. It would be wrong to write McCain off. After all, there is still almost three weeks to go. And in politics, anything can happen. It usually doesn’t, however. http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081016/pl_politico/14619
I read Obama's tax policies will benefit citizens who make less than $250,000 each year. I see a lot of McCain supporters on ClutchFans. Are you guys rich?
pro-life = McCain/Palin: the next Supreme Court justice appointment would likely decide the future of abortion in America; Roberts & Alito are already trimming at the edges (At one point tonight, McCain claimed Obama had voted against Breyer & Roberts. Not a good sign; he meant Alito.) Palin denies the possibility of abortion even in cases of rape or incest. McCain eight-ten years ago said he would not overturn Roe v. Wade because of the likelihood of back alley abortions, but now supports its overthrow. Obama is pro-choice. anti-death penalty = Obama/Biden, hands down. If memory serves, Obama fought in the Illinois state senate against many aspects of the death penalty, specifically wrongful conviction of death row inmates. To my knowledge, McCain has not. pro gay marriage = Obama. Though neither candidate supports gay marriage, Obama/Biden supports civil unions, a rose by another name. Though lacking in balls, this is the best you're gonna get. anti-war = Obama, no question. Obama supported the war in Afghanistan, opposed the war in Iraq, citing it was a distraction in the hunt for OBL. McCain: "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb bomb Iran." During the initial period of the Afghan invasion, "Next stop: Baghdad." This is one of my chief worries of a McCain administration. veteran of the iraq war = tossup, depending on the weight you give to military service. I would say Obama, though he is not himself a veteran, as a member of the Veterans' Affairs committee, has been more in support of veterans' issues. McCain has opposed funding for veterans' issues, e.g. Sen. Webb's new GI Bill. However, one could charitably parse this as McCain's opposition to increases in spending in general. pro-immigration = Obama, or McCain of two years ago. When his campaign was left for dead last year, McCain at a Q&A shot down nativists by asking, paraphrasing, "Am I supposed to tell the veteran returning from Iraq that we just deported his mom?" However, McCain, to appease the conservatives in his party, flipped his initial strong support of a comprehensive immigration reform package, and now he just talks about securing the border, then mutters aimlessly for a few minutes. Spanish-language ads correctly cite his initial support of immigrants, but not his reversal. Obama was/is a supporter of the same comprehensive immigration package. If you believe McCain is just pandering now and not two years ago when this was an issue, possibly a toss-up. anti-gun control: historically Republican/McCain, though pragmatically a tossup. Democrats, including Obama, have been neutered on this issue in the last decade and a half by the NRA. Nobody's going to take away your guns. thinks both sides of the global warming issue have strong cases = ?. Both McCain and Obama/Biden, though not Palin, agree that global warming is a national security and moral threat, and would act to reduce emissions. Personally, I trust an Obama administration to do more to curb global warming, given the current administration's head in the sand / "We need more time to study the issue" approach, but that's my personal bias. don't like government interference in my life - ie I don't decisions made for me by the govt = neither. Obama has in the past questioned the overreach of the Patriot Act / Guantanamo / government surveillance w/o warrants of American citizens, but his voting record is not pristine on this count, e.g. caving on telecom immunity. McCain has largely supported the administration in these efforts. As for big government as a concept, neither side has done much to preserve a libertarian utopia the last few decades. I don't think Obama or McCain will start one. I think Yahoo's answer is simplistic; the nonpartisan FactCheck.org is more comprehensive. The rub is the "most employers would still contribute" line. As health benefits would now be taxable, Obama and many economists argue that McCain's plan would lead to fewer employers offering healthcare to their employees. McCain's planned credit also is not indexed for inflation, meaning that in a few years the savings would likely be reduced or eliminated. My bias is clear; I'm an Obama supporter. With the positions you cited, on balance I would think you'd also be in the Obama camp, though it really depends on what weight you give to each issue you mention. I would beg, though, even if you cancel out my vote, please don't vote based on who you personally find more likable. Even though in this election likability favors Obama, as McCain seems like a disgruntled Wal-Mart greeter, I think this is a bad voting plan, and one that screwed us over royally eight years ago. Please check out the candidates' issues sites to help you make up your mind.
Thanks for your response. It was really informative! I actually don't care for guns, I just don't want people's civil liberties taken away. I'm not a gun nut; I don't own a gun or know anyone who does. I actually did a little more research tonight after the debate regarding the candidates. I think I'm gonna vote for Bob Barr. lol
Cool. I disliked Barr's role in the impeachment a decade ago, but he does strike me as a true believer. In terms of protecting civil liberties, in the interviews I've seen, of the three he's been the one most on the money. It's a shame his stance against his Patriot Act vote / warrantless surveillance isn't more widely played.
McCain tried to attack, but Obama kept slipping his punches and counterpunching all night long. At best, it was a tie, and McCain needed more than a tie. Obama is pulling away. Now I'm feeling that the popular vote will not be close, either. My biggest question coming away from last night is this: How long before a punk rock band named Joe the Plumber releases a CD??
