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Finding his stride, McCain soared at debate’s conclusion

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A friend once noted that I’m not very good with beginnings.  In blogging, sometimes I find I have a brilliant idea (at least I think it’s brilliant), but will struggle to express myself because I want just the right beginning.

I even had this problem as a runner.  The first few minutes of the run would be the toughest.  Once I found my stride, however, I could hold my pace for great distances.  I learned to use this to my advantage when I rand road races.  I’d start slow, not minding so much if people passed me, but afer the second mile, I’d be the one doing the passing.  From then on, no one would pass me.

That’s kind of how I saw John McCain’s debate performance last night, except his “second mile” didn’t come until maybe forty or forty-five minutes into the debate.  

Only later did catch the beginning* on FoxNews and thought Obama looked stronger in his opening remarks.  About a third in the debate when I had inititally started watching, McCain looked nervous, almost uncomfortable.  On the watch for Obama’s use of “um,” given the Democrat’s predilection for the word when not using a TelePrompter, I also caught my candidate used the exclamation more than was warranted.

At this point, he only seemed better because Obama was worse.

McCain flubbed what should have been an easy question for him, “What do you see as the lessons of Iraq?”   He used a lot of words to say the war was mishandled, we needed to change our strategy and we did.  Fine.  Once he stated that, he seemed to ramble a bit.  He should have been more specific here, talking about the need to take the war to our enemies.

He was only saved because Obama decided to revisit the past and say (once again) he was against the war.  It wasn’t really a rebuttal.  The reason McCain won the round was because of how badly Obama lost.  Instead of addressing his own inexperience and inaction, he pointed to his “vice presidential selection Joe Biden.”

Soon after that, my man found his stride.  While his rival continued to interrupt his thoughts with “um” and “ah,”  McCain spoke more fluently forcefully.  He kept Obama on the defensive.  Still, given Obama’s gift for rhetoric, I thought he’d finish more strongly than McCain.

I was wrong.  McCain didn’t break stride whereas Obama stumbled.  In his final remarks, the Illinois Democrat started well by relating the story of his father, but faltered when he said, “I don’t think any of us can say that our standing in the world now, the way children around the world look at the United States, is the same.”  He went from a positive to a negative, then proceeded to a banality.

McCain, however, began his last statement in almost the exact opposite manner.  He went from a negative, how badly veterans were treated when he returned from Vietnam, to an assertion of his strengths, telling us what he “knows how to” do.  Obama wanted to send a message.

The difference between their two endings struck me more than anything else in the debate, the more gifted orator was pedestrian, the scrappy legislator was inspiring.

I had expected something entirely different.  Maybe like me in road races, once John McCain finds his stride, he doesn’t let up and finds that he has a strong kick at the end.

——

*Stuck in LA traffic, I didn’t get home until about 6:20 PST

Comments

  1. The problem for McCain though is that I think no matter how good he is, the country, I believe, wants to elect Obama. I’m not exactly sure people will elect McCain no matter how much they think he would be a good leader IF they also think Obama will be an acceptable leader. To be sure, Obama won’t have a blowout victory if McCain’s campaign doesn’t fall apart, but to actually win, McCain not only has to have good weeks, but Obama has to have ones, esp. right at the end. It’s quite possible that Obama will, given that Obama is still something of an unknown quantity and McCain’s campaign may have be well positioned for a powerful final push. And there are two more debates. And Sarah Palin could successfully push back against the crap thrown at her. (I certainly don’t think such is the case right now.) Even so, I do think McCain is facing a pretty strong headwind.

  5. McCain, it seemed, improved only after the barbs from Obama energized him. Obama thought he was landing a trophy fish, but then McCain made a leap, ate Obama’s lunch, spit the hook, flipped his tail and went home.

    If Rush has the correct story about how Obama screwed up in the meeting with Bush on Thursday, I suspect Obama revealed a great deal to McCain about how to walk through the front door and paste him with a haymaker.

  11. -There is a case to be made that masses of Americans have a date with leftism, needing to learn (or re-learn) why it doesn’t work:-

    ILC, I agree. As much as it pains me to admit it, I think at some point, people in my generation (I’m 31)—the didn’t-live-through-Carter generation—to see the downside of liberalism. Honestly, we didn’t really see it during the Clinton years, partly because Bill Clinton was, to his credit, no Carter, and partly because we had the GOP congress to keep him in check. Who knows exactly what Obama would do? Could he end up being more of a centrist than we think? I’d say he’s enough of a pragmatic politician that the answer might be yes. Even so, I’m 95+% sure that an Obama administration combined with a Democratic congress would be an unmistakable disaster, enough to educate millions of younger Americans why conservative principles ain’t all bad.

  12. #6: ILC – that video sure is a pisser. Potemkin liberals. As long as they can insulate themselves from the consequences (high-end neighborhoods, gated communities, private schools), they can pretend to be “more caring than thou”. To paraphrase Hillary (I think): liberalism requires a willing suspension of logic.

  14. I think McCain won, but he did not start out well. If he had made mincemeat of Obama on economics, as he should have and forgive me, there is no excuse for him NOT, the debate would have been a complete blowout. But McCain let Obama get away with SO many outright lies. I hope he will correct this in the debates ahead.

    Its ironic that Obama was obviously trying to get under McCain’s skin, as it was reported was their strategy, yet it was Obama at the end who was clearly ruffled.

    But still, the two overarching themes of the night, “John is right” and “Obama is naive” remain, and I think will help McCain.

    I’ve noticed that on Drudge’s poll, McCain started out strong, dipped slightly, and has actually strenghtened, which is the opposite of what I thought would happen, I thought the results would swing to Obama the longer the poll remainsed up. Not that its scientific or anything, just interesting.

  15. AE-

    I was upset that McCain didn’t attack harder on the Economy too…

    But I think he’s putting Country First, again. He’s focused on getting a bill done. Democrats are flailing around running to the microphones to play politics. He’s being “elder statesman” on the financial crisis — it’s a role that doesn’t kill the other guy in the debate, but it’s a role that might start to look better as this week goes on.

    And there are two more debates to have on the Economy — he’ll get his chance. I hope.

  17. people in my generation (I’m 31)… didn’t [see] the downside of liberalism

    Y’all are seeing it now. The current financial troubles are because of the Community Reinvestment Act, established in 1977 and expanded under Clinton in 1995. Unfortunately, only a few conservative media sources are explaining that to anyone. So, thus far, almost no one seems to be learning anything.

    Same for the war on us by the Islamists. Clinton managed that fecklessly (or not at all), which contributed to 9-11. But the MSM has done is level best, these past seven years, to prevent people from noticing or identifying that fact.

    Who knows exactly what Obama would do? Could he end up being more of a centrist than we think?

    Sure. Again: Clinton was… and “here we are”. You can be an unprincipled centrist on 80% of things and, in the remaining 20% where you slip in some extreme leftism and/or are plain feckless, damage the nation for generations to come.

    I’m 95+% sure that an Obama administration combined with a Democratic congress would be an unmistakable disaster, enough to educate millions of younger Americans…

    Agree… and I am seriously bummed that we (apparently will) have to go through such disastrous lessons.