We're more than halfway through the first debate down at Ole Miss and McCain hasn't even looked at his opponent. While he lies through his teeth over everything from earmarks and spending to Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama shines in this debate. Georgia10 at DailyKos has the perfect summarization thus far:
About a half hour in and we've seen that the debate styles, not surprisingly, reflect the campaign styles of these two candidates.
Barack Obama is occasionally delivering elegant, understated smackdowns (his response to the McCain's corporate tax rate claim was brilliant). McCain, on the other hand, is jabbing erratically, trying to squeeze in a hit here or there, but is largely missing his mark.
When McCain proposes a spending freeze (except for basically "entitlement programs" and military spending), Obama does a good job of pointing out that that's like "using a hatchet where you need a scalpel." Pretty much sums up the two proposed governing styles as well.
Forget about the color problems of McCain's tie and his robotic motions whenever he moves his arm. Forget about the smiles he forces onto the screen and forget about the fact he used the word "congeniality" twice. This debate was supposed to be about foreign policy and we are starting to get into it now, but thus far the economy has dominated the time and McCain consistently lied about his positions and that of Obama's.
McCain may not be in front of a green screen this time, but his presence is an indication of his campaign. Though I have hope for John McCain, if he can't look at his opponent because of all the lies, perhaps there is a conscience in there after all.
Oh and way to go Obama by using the "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" song against McCain!
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