I often disagree with the Politco's main honchos John Harris and Jim VandeHei, but a few times this year they've been right on the money (writing, correctly, way back in March that there was no way that Hillary Clinton could catch Barack Obama) and they're always provocative, a good thing. Tonight, they're here to argue the McCain-Obama showdown was the worst debate ever:
The day after leaves behind a puzzle: How the hell did candidates manage to be so timid and uninspiring at a time when American troops are in two problematic wars, the world financial markets are in scary free fall and the Dow has lost 1,400 points since Oct. 1? This is a moment history rarely sees — and both men blew it.
Fair enough, but worst debate ever? Does anyone remember one word that Bob Dole or Bill Clinton said in 1996, and America was "treated" to Bush and John Kerry on the same stage just four short years ago. Last night was so unimpressive because they don't have a clue on the economy -- does amyone? -- but on this back-up point, I agree with Harris and VandeHei 100 percent:
The rules were so constraining, it raises the question: Why even put a moderator in the chair? Tom Brokaw threw up his hands from the outset, apologizing for the constraints he was under, which didn’t allow him to press on evasive answers or encourage a promising exchange. Too bad he couldn’t have just defied the commission altogether. He should have tossed out the script and said, "This moment is too important to allow misinformation to go unchallenged and serious issues to be ignored."
It’s not Brokaw’s fault. Or Jim Lehrer’s or Gwen Ifill’s. The problem is the commission that has been invested with pseudo-constitutional status to run the debates but, in fact, weakly defers to candidates and clings to antiquated formats.
Well, 99 perent -- it is partly Brokaw's fault.
The problem is that both campaigns are chickensh*t, and scared to have an actual debate where their candidate might have to actually express an original though that hasn't been poll-tested. It is astounding that in the entire debate we heard absolutely nothing that we haven't heard many times over. It's hard to believe that the candidate can actually be that uncreative and vacuous. Then again...— Talking point sleuth- "It is astounding that in the entire debate we heard absolutely nothing that we haven't heard many times over." No it isn't. Hese guys have been campaigning for over a year, what's left to bring out? Except for some radical new idea like buying out the mortgages, which is probably something McCain spent about as much time contemplating as he did to pick Palin. Since when has substnce been the highlight of ANY Presidential debate?— SteveMG
- Steve, I don't remember any substantive presidential debate, but... "To the mothers and fathers of America, your sons and daughters will NEVER have to serve on foreign soil." - FDR, election eve 1940. So, I've been conditioned.— philly2flag
- "what's left to bring out?..." I dunno, Steve, I like to think that the next president of the most powerful nation in the world might be able to provide an original thought on a subject. Maybe just a smidgen of a statement that reflects just a tad of authenticity? Is that really too much to expect?— Talking point sleuth
Comment removed.- Comment removed.
- Come on Tps, after almost two yers on the trail, if a candidate brought out a new thought, it could only be because the campaign was floundering under the weight of the bad ones. What should they do, hold back and keep something in reserve just to satisfy you? You're looking for the wrong thing. Whether they answer the question or not isn't the main point. You get to see their temprament, whether they can stand up under pressure, whether they can "moove the needle". If you're disappointed with the contenet of the debates, TS. I don't bother watching them, but I'm not going to whine about them.— SteveMG
The financial situation changed radically in the past couple of weeks. New thinking would have been helpful. McCain's new idea, however, was not very well thought out, so perhaps they should stick to the tried and true. I felt that Brokaw visibly favored McCain. Also, the practice of having the moderator choose all the questions failed--the questions should have been more varied--not that Obama and McCain chose to answer most of them.- Comment removed.
- All debates are worthless really when you think about it. If they are of any memorable instance it's because of something silly like a huff and puff, an unclear sentence about eastern Europe, a 5 O'clock shadow, ....Even the famous "you are not John Kennedy..' was a setup line that Quayle was warned about ahead of time but still couldn't control himself from falling into by mentioning Kennedy. It's never more than 90 minutes of repeating campaign talking points and memorized phrases while trying to avoid misspeaking. I still think they should be given a real test, presnted with a fabricated serious crisis and have 30 minutes to develop a strategy with their advisors. Anything else is all style and no substance.— atp2007
- I watched about an hour of the debate and had a serious case of deja vu, thinking I had heard all of this before. I turned it off and watched some episodes of Always Sunny in Philadelphia.— Captain Awesome
- Can we please write someone in for President??? Someone who had the guts to vote against the 700 plus 150 billion of pork Swindle and illegal theft from Americans act??— Tageman
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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