John McCain was begging for debates in the town hall format. But I’m taking the minority position that it actually hurt him. When he padded around the platform, he looked like an old man, late at night, looking for the refrigerator. It’s not exactly that he looked tired. It’s that his gait seemed that of a sprightly but elderly gent.
And there was that odd moment when Obama was talking and McCain wandered in and out of the background like he was lost.
McCain apparently performs well in these formats when alone but apparently his campaign didn’t realize that the dynamic is entirely different when there’s another man, a younger man, on the stage, too.
They both had some good moments substantively — McCain’s close was particularly strong — but the atmospherics favored Obama.
UPDATE: A few other things that occurred to me while walking the dog:
The first few times that McCain talked about how unpopular he is in the Senate it seemed a sign of his independence. But his constant reminder of how everyone there hates him – combined with his petulance toward Obama – makes one wonder: how can he get things done in Congress if they can’t stand him?
McCain thinks “bipartisanship” is the same thing as having a willingness to buck your own party. He criticized Obama for not breaking with the Democrats enough. That’s actually a very inside-the-beltway mentality. Many establishment journalists use that as a test of a candidate’s integrity. But most people who succeed across party lines do so without actually alienating their own party, think: Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch. Because McCain’s particular efforts at bipartisanship have indeed irritated the Republican party – especially campaign finance reform – he’s come to equate the two. But to most Americans, it’s the guy who seems respectful of his opponents who is most likely to successfully work across party lines.
Finally, was McCain’s strange joke about hair transplants meant to be a dig at Joe Biden?
Beliefnet
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posted October 7, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Agree totally!!!! Not at all favorable to McCain. Also, he, like Palin, was intensely reading from notes in between comments. Which took away from the idea that these were spontaneous answers. Did anyone else notice this!!??
posted October 8, 2008 at 1:10 am
Everyone assumes because John McCain has been in Congress he has had major accomplishments.
Read about McCain on Wikipedia, the majority of the information is about McCain’s military career.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain
Part of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002 has been found to be unconstitutional in several different courts. McCain is currently exploiting loop-holes that he has been trying to close.
McCain should attend a charm school and stop bragging about not being known as Mr. Congeniality.
Every time McCain went negative, the bars on the CNN site of men and women rating the debate went down. Obama consistently got the higher ratings, especially from women.
posted October 8, 2008 at 3:54 am
It’s a lot harder to play to a mixed crowd. As someone who admires but will not vote for John McCain this time, I have the feeling that tonight’s performance closed the book on his presidential ambitions.
posted October 8, 2008 at 7:29 am
The question I kept asking myself last night as I watched this debate was how anyone could actually vote for this guy (McCain) and this party (Rep.) over Obama. Obama comes off as smarter, kinder, and more concerned for the welfare of “Joe six-pack.” His tax policy doesn’t reward corporate greed. He has had to join in the mudslinging this past week because he can’t let McCain “swift-boat” him like Rove did Kerry, but it was all done in self-defense. And turns out that Sarah Palin hasn’t been such a boon for McCain after all, so there’s that flub to take into consideration. A guy who talks about clean energy while at the same time promising to build “nuclear power plants all over the place” is scary. McCain is too old and too tied to the failed policy and philosophy of Bush.
posted October 8, 2008 at 11:05 am
Sort of like Nixon and his choice to avoid makeup on TV 48 years ago, McCain should have realized that he would look older and smaller when physically next to Obama. They may adapt the camera and adjust the lights when it is only him. But when the camera is on them both, and the lights create as many shadows (wrinkles) as highlights (wavy silver v. short, dark hair)on both, McCain did not fare well.
Also, McCain sould have used a good dramatic coach. It is not good to wander around the stage when someone else is speaking. It distracts the audience (which may have been his intent), which then expects the wanderer to do something (which McCain could not do). Otherwise, stand still and listen – or at least make it look like you are listening.
These events are more theater than rhetoric or – who would imagine – an actual “debate”. So they should have some theatrical advice as well as all the other stuff. Who really cares about the facts if one of the two players looks more lost, appears less engaged, and simply drifts away (even if standing still)?
posted October 10, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Unfortunately McCain didn’t come off well at all, IMO, in the Town Hall debate. His age did show. As mentioned above, I too noticed him wandering around the stage while Obama was talking, definitely not polite. If he has trouble physically, with sitting on a chair, perhaps he could have just stood by his chair.
That debate didn’t help him at all, and with Sarah at his side…he’ll be sinking farther from his goal. She certainy isn’t helping anything.