John McCain Needs Anger Management

Forget the White House, this man needs a class on how to cool that temper of his:

A Defining Moment From Last Night's Debate

Out of the ninety minutes that were televised, this twenty-six second bit spoke volumes about the candidates. John McCain delivered a jab and laughed, Obama denied him his alternate reality and countered with the truth. McCain looked flabbergasted that he'd receive such a response and came across completely out of touch. Of course, McCain is out of touch and Obama acts cool, calm and collected in addition to knowing what he's talking about.

Barack "Cool And Collected" Obama Vs. John "McCrabby" McCain

Last night the esteemed Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY had the two Presidential candidates spar at their campus. The format allowed for them to ask questions and brought out a highly interactive format. It was also great for McCain because they were sitting and no one had to endure his "townhall" pacing. They both put on great performances (in different respects) but ultimately only came out the winner. John McCain could hit Obama with as many cheap shots as he wanted to but Obama's responses only made him look more Presidential.

First off, the other man in the room besides Schieffer was obviously Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher. He was made out to be an undecided voter due to the question he asked Obama (see one post below) about his plumbing business. The networks swarmed to him afterwards and as we listened to his one and half cents, it was clear that Joe leaned to the right and heavily to the racist.

With all of the different issues addressed no one scored any knockout blows and for Obama, that gave him the victory because he already has the momentum (and 50%+ approval ratings). Ultimately, as TPM says, this things is over. With nineteen days to go, McCain is running short of precious time to sway the voters that he can change the country and all they are seeing is another George Bush (note that McCain tried to combat that in the debate).

The key to the debate wasn't so much the issues. We already know by and large what the candidates stand for, despite McCain's hemming and hawing on everything under the sun. What truly mattered last night was each man's temperment. Barack Obama set out to show that McCain is a mean, nasty old man and John's myriad facial expressions certainly made the case. With every attack on Obama, Barack seemed to shrug each one off with a laugh and delivered his answers to the American people and not back in John's face (for the most part of course, no one is perfect).

One thing I'd like to note is that if you watched it on CNN, the men and women were certainly skewed in different directions. Men favored McCain's responses and women were in Obama's corner. No other time showed that so clearly like when McCain mocked the fact that the health of the mother matters when discussing pro-abortion rights. That was just sick and you could see women dialing McCain down for the callous remark.

So as Colin Powell comes out for Obama shortly and the rest of the nation solidifies their choice in under three weeks, McCain must be getting more and more nervous. Not even the remaining pundits in his corner will save him, especially with the use of snap polls that kill the opportunity to insert media narratives worth less than a certificate of stock from Lehman Bros. With so few days left in the campaign, he is running out of wings and prayers because his ideas and his recent lack of character isn't going to get him back in this race.

Meet Joe The Plumber

The unknown star of the debate is now before our very eyes:



Of course most plumbers make far less than Joe, and in fact the Plumbers and Pipe-Fitters union (as part of the AFL-CIO) has endorsed Barack Obama because his vision for America is much more in line with them than it is with McCain.

"Joe The Plumber" Makes More Than 95% Of America

McCain keeps coming back to Joe the Plumber (so much for Joe SixPack, perhaps Palin trademarked that?) and Obama plays along to a degree. Joe Wurzelbacher makes over $250,000. Most people that are hurting in today's economy make far less. In addition, they've been hurting long before Wall Street went haywire and fell below 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 points. So enough about Joe, alright?

This has been quite an interesting debate, with Bob Schieffer helping to cause lots of contention between the candidates. Unfortunately, most of it was about small issues that have nothing to do with the concerns of the American people. Bill Ayers means nothing to the family that can not afford to feed their family or pay for health insurance. What the candidate's roles with ACORN mean nothing and the hurt feelings of McCain and Obama mean squat.

From time to time the issues came up and yet again, McCain lied his ass off. Everything from health care to economic stimuli and talking about his VP choice Sarah "Reformer" "Ethics abuser" Palin was complete garbage. The truth of what he wants to do utterly disgusts people and is exactly why he hates Obama for comparing him to George Bush. He is Bush's third term at the very least. With Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the Presidency, the situation is that much scarier.

There was plenty more in there and I'll revisit it tomorrow. With the minutes ticking down on the last debate a few miles down the I-495 from here, Obama and McCain had no problem holding onto their supporters tonight. For Barack Obama, that is great news, as the polls clearly show. For John McCain, it is just one more event in a campaign where his ideas have fallen on deaf ears. It is one more stage to show his temper and condescension for Obama that is extremely distasteful to most Americans. McCain can chuckle all he wants, but all the fake smiles in the world aren't going to win over the remaining undecideds.

McCain's Morning After

John McCain is heading up to Ohio and Pennsylvania today in hopes of making them look like battleground states while they are swinging rapidly into solid Obama territory (Obama by the way is campaigning in Indiana, what was once solid Bush country). He has to be kicking himself for not sweeping his preferred "townhall" audience off their feet. Of course those were actual undecided voters, unlike his rabidly partisan events, so the threshold for success is just a tad higher. No one in that venue last night screamed out that Obama was a terrorist or a traitor. There was no blind hatred for McCain to stand on, so he had to turn to his weakness, or what we like to call the issues.

He completely lost the wingers watching from home when he went Democratic-lite. The failed idea of conservatism and their loyal backers do not want to see a caring government, even if McCain tries to tidy it up for his tepid base supporters. After last night they might just try to write-in Sarah Palin for President. I'm the creation-believing secessionist would love that.

For the most part, last night's debate was pretty boring. If you missed it, the Times pretty much sums things up here. If I had to put it in one sentence, John McCain mentioned his friends a lot while Barack Obama kept linking McCain to Bush on almost every issue that was mentioned. Since John has voted with the President more than ninety percent of the time, that isn't too hard to do. Though mentioning it over and over again is exactly what those swing voters (God love em, because I just don't understand them) need to hear.

The problem for the voters watching last night was that they couldn't get much from the candidates because the debate format was terrible. There was no follow-up allowed, the "participating" audience members in the room were practically robots that read their questions and weren't allowed to call either McCain nor Obama if they thought their question went unanswered. Then you had Tom Brokaw, who would repeatedly chastise Obama for going over the time limit, even though both men passed time limits. At one point Brokaw put the rule down for a moment, in what was probably the most exciting part of the night. It got so bad that even one of my friends at our watching party got up in the middle of the debate and left the room out of disgust.

So for the morning after and until the final debate, the thing was a wash. Sure, undecideds gave the debate to Obama by a ten to twenty point margin depending on which snap poll you look at. Sure, the dial poll during the debate showed the audience loved Obama's answers while McCain's fell flat. That is all and good, but what is most important on the day after is that nothing changed last night. And that my friends, is great news.

"That One" Is An Insult Senator!

Tonight John McCain threw a personal jab at Barack Obama by referring to him as an object instead of a human being.



This was what I was waiting for from McCain and his new level of attacks. We all knew it would get ugly, but talk like this is just the beginning. Seriously Mr. McCain, the other man on the stage is a nominee to be the next President of our country, have some respect and address him with a pronoun.

Obama v. McCain, Round Two

With half an hour left as I start typing, I am seeing pretty much what I expected to see at this debate. Both candidates have been attacking each other but really only Obama is offering real solutions to our country's problems. The undecideds on the bottom of CNN's screen clearly show that they want to hear ideas, not attacks. Both candidates flat-line when they go after each other, but then Obama's numbers go up as he talks about what he'll do when he becomes President.

John McCain has shown all he is willing to offer is more of the same we've seen over the last eight years. McCain may not say it directly, but whenever he utters "my friends," get ready for a whopper. Not only did he have trouble with his breath and obviously his tie (I wonder why he'd wear a distraction like that twice in a row, hmm) but his platitudes and failed ideas are wearing thin on the audience and the country. As always, ThinkProgress is knocking each lie down one by one.

The only knock on Obama is that he's been attacking John McCain. The Maverick Lying Express has been trying to bait him to come down in the mud tonight and especially since yesterday when he went nuclear on the negative attacks. As long as Obama continues to offer concrete ideas, this debate is his. At the end of this, Obama supporters will stick with him and McCain's people won't move either. Honestly, this doesn't change the dynamic of the election.

As my Mom sums it up so well, "Unless Obama poops in his pants. He's won this debate."

Hear, hear Mom!

Chris Matthews Calls McCain A Troll

Pundit-extraordinaire Chris Matthews of MSNBC has quite a mouth on him. With all the talking he does on Hardball, "exceptional" comments range from the obscene to the hilarious. He's a mixed bag and the viewer never knows what inane thing he'll say next (probably why he gets to stay on cable day-in and day-out). Well last night his new found feelings for the No-Talk McCain showed through. Summing up the debate and the candidates' demeanor, Matthews wrapped McCain into one hell of a five-letter word while speaking with the New Yorker's John Howard.

From RawStory:

Matthews: "Who do you want to listen to for 4-8 years? It really is part of how we look at these things. Let's start with John McCain. Do you think he was to troll-like, tonight? You know, too much of a troll? Seriously, do people want to put up with four years of that, of sitting there angrily, grumpily...like a codger?

I don't want to push you too far, but didn't he seem really contemptuous of his opponent?"

After much laughter, Howard responds, "He did..."

Matthews: "You want to put up with four years of that?"

Howard: "He hates Obama...Maybe when Obama's not on stage we won't have to put up with that."

"Excuse me," interrupts Matthews, "that's what he thinks of the press. Is every press conference going to be like that? Troll-like performance, angry at the world?"

Personally I've never referred to John McCain as a troll, especially with so many other wonderful adjectives available in the English language. I do believe I've used the word "curmudgeon" before, so I guess that comes close. Descriptive, yet seldom-used adjectives aside, McCain came off as a grumpy and angry man that could hardly believe that he, John S. McCain, would have to debate anyone that would want to get in his way of becoming President. Really, the arrogance of the Senator was over the top. The fact that he couldn't make eye contact once in over an hour and half says more to the American people than any pundit could, even those that dare call people trolls.

"Zero" For The Middle Class

Obama's first ad out of the debate hits McCain hard. It was not for what he said last night but what he didn't say. McCain didn't speak about the middle class because he does not understand what is necessary for Main Street's economy. He gets it when it comes to wealthy Wall Street lobbyists that help run and fund his campaign but that will not get him anywhere with the rest of us.

Obama To McCain: "You Were Wrong" On Iraq

This was one of my favorite scenes from tonight. Obama consistently called McCain out on his lies (though didn't use that word once) and pointed out the facts of John McCain's record, like he did here about the war in Iraq.

McCain Can't Even Look Obama In The Eyes

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:

From DailyKos:

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!

McCain Blinks On Debate, Still Can't See Past His Nose

Well, as expected John McCain flip-flopped for the umpteenth time and decided that yes, he can show up for the debate. No, things didn't pan out on the bailout like he had planned but playing chicken with the first Presidential debate is something that most Americans strongly disapprove of. McCain clearly got that when he changed the channel from his crooners at Fox News.

From The NY Times:

Campaign statement:

Senator McCain has spent the morning talking to members of the Administration, members of the Senate, and members of the House. He is optimistic that there has been significant progress toward a bipartisan agreement now that there is a framework for all parties to be represented in negotiations, including Representative Blunt as a designated negotiator for House Republicans. The McCain campaign is resuming all activities and the Senator will travel to the debate this afternoon. Following the debate, he will return to Washington to ensure that all voices and interests are represented in the final agreement, especially those of taxpayers and homeowners.

Yada, yada, yada.

So McCain's grandstanding and gratuitous drama-king action failed miserably. The meeting he had Bush call him and Obama to actually highlighted Obama's consensus building abilities while McCain was deafeningly silent. Now he has to drag himself down to Mississippi for tonight's debate with all the attention on his ridiculous campaign tactics. Not only that, he can be called on to answer why it took several days to read the three page plan from Treasury Secretary Paulson, why his plan is just like George Bush's and how when our economy is in such tatters, why we should trust someone with it that said on the record that he doesn't know much about the economy to begin with.

Undecideds have looked to the debates in the past to sway them to one candidate or the other. That has certainly made a difference in prior elections. In 2008 Americans are looking for a leader after several years of the disastrous Bush Administration and there are still a few that need to see the two candidates go head to head.

So right now McCain is either shaking nervously in his boots or devising another gimmick to spare him from the embarassment he'll endure tonight at Ole Miss.

McCain Tries To Worm His Way Out Of Debating, Obama Rejects Petty Political Play

John McCain is seriously scared of what is going to happen on Friday. The first Presidential debate has been scheduled for months but just two days out McCain is trying to slither away. His excuse is that he wants to come to Washington to work on the economic crisis, but any astute observer of McCain can tell this is a petty political play. If McCain was serious about doing the business of the people in the Senate, he would have shown up for work more often in the last two years. Of course the GOP knows it as well, and they are all too happy to help him in getting away from having a debate in front of the American people.

From ThinkProgress:

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is announcing that he would like to suspend his campaign and delay Friday’s foreign policy debate to focus on the financial crisis. According to MSNBC, McCain would like to come back to Washington and help work out a bailout package on Thursday.

This interest in the bailout is new for McCain. As recently as yesterday, when a reporter asked him about his position on the Bush administration's financial proposals, McCain said, "I have not had a chance to see it in writing. I have to examine it." As the stock market tanked and the federal government bailed out financial institutions over the past week, McCain has been campaigning around the country. Originally, McCain McCain planned to skip the vote on the bailout and continue campaigning. The last time McCain voted in the Senate was on April 10.[...]

Fox reporter Carl Cameron lauded the "very, very big move" by McCain. Fox host Martha MacCallum hailed it as "a bold move, a very strong move." Cameron added that McCain is making "some political sacrifice" by volunteering to leave the campaign trail.

The White House also joined in to "laud" the Senator for coming to Washington to help bailout the companies that put us in this mess in the first place. The truth of the matter is, Americans do not trust McCain to handle the economic crisis and since Lehman's bankruptcy McCain has been steadily losing support. He is trying to boost his economic cred (even though admitting to not knowing much about economics) with a cheap political stunt, nothing more, nothing less.

The Obama camp had four words for McCain's trick, "The debate is on."

Imagine If George Stephanopolous Was Alive In 1860

It is a scary thought, at least for the people that lived back then. The tumultuous political and societal landscape of that era was vitally important and every event was critical to the fate of the nation. The Lincoln-Douglas debates signified the seriousness of the moment and the eloquence of each candidate was nothing short of extraordinary. Now imagine if George Stephanopolous and Charlie Gibson moderated that debate, how terrible would it have turned out?

From Obsidian Wings:

LINCOLN: Thank you very much, Charlie and George, and thanks to all in the audience and who are out there. I appear before you today for the purpose of discussing the leading political topics which now agitate the public mind.

We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented.

STEPHANOPOULOS: I’m sorry to interrupt, but do you think Mr. Douglas loves America as much you do?

LINCOLN: Sure I do.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But who loves America more?

LINCOLN: I’d prefer to get on with my opening statement George.

STEPHANOPOULOS: If your love for America were eight apples, how many apples would Senator Douglas’s love be?

LINCOLN: Eight.

Yeah that sounds about right, circa 1860 style. Now if only we could get back to the level of debate we had back then for today's debate, how much more informed Americans would be about the candidates instead of what The National Enquirer ABC thinks America cares about.

What Did The Republican Say To The Democrat?

Red State Update gives us an exclusive on what the candidates said to each other on stage when ABC/ Charles Gibson brought everybody out:

Kucinich's New Ad?

This is from his supporters and they mention he doesn't endorse it, but wouldn't it be funny if he did?

Short, Sweet And To The Point

How are we going to fix that document.....

The Second City Gets It's Second Democratic Forum

Ok well tonight was a debate, but I really do not see too much difference between forums and debates. The only thing is in forums they try to make the candidates play nicer, but they are too quick for that. So YearlyKos is over but the candidates are back to debate in front of the AFL-CIO in the windy city.

This debate in particular is a good one because it focuses on the issues of working people. Job insecurity, health care and income inequality are serious concerns (in addition to the war). Our next President has a lot of work cut out for them after eight disastrous years for the American worker. George Bush has stopped at nothing to undermine regular people to help his corporate buddies. That includes the ones at the top health industry leaders. They do not care about affordable health insurance, and they do not care about people like this:

From Crooks and Liars:

If this man’s genuine passion and anguish doesn’t move you, you’re not human. Steve Skvara, a disabled, retired steel worker from Indiana tells the story of how he lost his family’s health insurance after the company he worked for, for 34 years closed two years after they forced him to retire. Skvara received a standing ovation, and rightfully so. He represents millions of hard working Americans who have lost their jobs and benefits and face the humiliation of not being able to provide for themselves or their families. Can you imagine a Republican fielding a question like this?

Download (56) | Play (63) Download (24) | Play (34)

The question was directed toward John Edwards and his answer was passionate and on the money. Edwards vowed to stand up with the American people, calling for Universal health care for all.

Funny how Edwards stands out on questions like these. I wonder how Hillary and the corporate lobbyists that pile money on her campaign feel about all of this?

One Debate Down, Thirty-Nine To Go

So the first one is over and the winner is....who the hell knows. With so many to go, all the candidates are learning how to put on their own show to impress the Democratic primary voters. The 90 minute debate had a lot of questions hoisted onto the eight candidates, primarily focusing on Iraq. A few health care questions and moderator Brian Williams of NBC talked about 'contender' Kucinich's effort to impeach Dick Cheney.

The South Carolina event worked out to be more like a get-to-know-you type of debate, without any hardcore fighting. The only real jabs were thrown by the ones without a chance, like Kucinich and former Senator Mike Gravel. For them all the stops have to be pulled out early to have any chance of getting known. The only problem is that with it being April of 2007, who is really watching this cable news program so early in the campaign season? Political junkies aside, many voters are still burnt out from the last election cycle six months ago.

In a nutshell, the top tier contenders got to flex their muscles and prepare for the debates people will actually watch when it gets closer to primary season at the end of the year. I of course will be watching each one, but I hardly fit the norm when it comes to political appetites.