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PoliGAF Thread of First Debate Election 2008 - GAF doesn't know shit

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reilo

learning some important life lessons from magical Negroes
Bumblebeetuna said:
I'm pretty much sold on McCain after this debate. I especially liked how McCain is supposed to be the one with the temper but Obama was angry almost the entire time. Plus, according to Obama, McCain is basically right on everything anyway :lol

But a major issue for me is Obama supporting a set withdrawal date from Iraq. That is beyond retarded, imho. Especially when all he talks about is the $10,000,000,000 a month a spend there but then he says we should put more focus on Afghan. So the war there is free, apparently? At least his spiel was mostly about the economic downside of war in Iraq, not Bush-esque circa 2004 fear mongering that his VP candidate loves to dote on and on about.
What in the what?
 
RubxQub said:
Fuckin right.

Really. This is the best example of what I was talking about; he was cordial and allowed McCain to rant up to a certain point but he skewered him here and you better believe that that shit will stick.
 
As i sort of expected, i don't think this will be any kind of a game changer. it was a historic event and can be picked apart in any much way, but i didn't really notice how this would change the current state of the race, with mccain panicking and obama surging ahead as if the palin/convention bounce never happened. either way, there's still more debates to go. i guess the VP is the next big thing and then this election is more or less out of the woods.
 

Deku

Banned
Fragamemnon said:
I really think that the "spending freeze" comment is going to come back to really haunt McCain.

military, veterans and some other programs were those exempted paraphrasing his words.

not a lot of wiggle room. and the military part may really bite.
 

aceface

Member
Bumblebeetuna said:
I'm pretty much sold on McCain after this debate. I especially liked how McCain is supposed to be the one with the temper but Obama was angry almost the entire time. Plus, according to Obama, McCain is basically right on everything anyway :lol

But a major issue for me is Obama supporting a set withdrawal date from Iraq. That is beyond retarded, imho. Especially when all he talks about is the $10,000,000,000 a month a spend there but then he says we should put more focus on Afghan. So the war there is free, apparently? At least his spiel was mostly about the economic downside of war in Iraq, not Bush-esque circa 2004 fear mongering that his VP candidate loves to dote on and on about.

.... see this is why I'm nervous.
 
Bumblebeetuna said:
I'm pretty much sold on McCain after this debate. I especially liked how McCain is supposed to be the one with the temper but Obama was angry almost the entire time. Plus, according to Obama, McCain is basically right on everything anyway :lol

But a major issue for me is Obama supporting a set withdrawal date from Iraq. That is beyond retarded, imho. Especially when all he talks about is the $10,000,000,000 a month a spend there but then he says we should put more focus on Afghan. So the war there is free, apparently? At least his spiel was mostly about the economic downside of war in Iraq, not Bush-esque circa 2004 fear mongering that his VP candidate loves to dote on and on about.

You end the occupation in Iraq and use a fraction of those troops to finish the fight in afghanistan. Cheaper.
 

3rdman

Member
Bumblebeetuna said:
I'm pretty much sold on McCain after this debate. I especially liked how McCain is supposed to be the one with the temper but Obama was angry almost the entire time. Plus, according to Obama, McCain is basically right on everything anyway :lol

But a major issue for me is Obama supporting a set withdrawal date from Iraq. That is beyond retarded, imho. Especially when all he talks about is the $10,000,000,000 a month a spend there but then he says we should put more focus on Afghan. So the war there is free, apparently? At least his spiel was mostly about the economic downside of war in Iraq, not Bush-esque circa 2004 fear mongering that his VP candidate loves to dote on and on about.
Please tell me that you are already in a red state...
 
Crisis said:
WAT. And not just at the bolded segment. The entire post. You accidentally the ENTIRE POST.

McCain showed more "loud" anger (god i hope that makes sense I dont have the time to be dragged into a lame semantics debate), but Obama was angry almost the entire time. I am actually suprised more haven't commented on this. It was written all over his face and in his body language. Don't get me wrong I again reiterate I believe the debate was a draw as far as what the two of them actually did (the aftermath will unfold in the coming days), but Obama has quite the temper too.
 

Soroc

Member
reilo said:
Mike Murphy: "McCain looked like the tough guy, and Obama looked like the cerebral guy that knew his facts right. The question is what kind of leader America wants."


Thanks for getting that quote. This is exactly how I saw the debate tonight. I want the guy with the brains over the muscles :D
 

ShOcKwAvE

Member
I strongly believe that McCain came off very poorly in his mannerisms and quips. He did do better on the Russian issues IMO, but overall Obama had better attacks, did a better job of weaving his platform into every issue, and I think most people saw his intelligence come through well.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I don't think that ad is going to hurt Obama that much. After the primaries, you start moving toward the center to get independent voters. One of the biggest attacks McCain launched against Obama tonight was that he was too far on the left to agree with Republicans. That ad contradicts the idea that Obama is too far on the left.
 
I think a lot of people here don't understand that regular people have different standards of civility and decorum than Internet forum dwellers. Obama catered to them, not to us.
 
People seem to forget the 2000 and 2004 debates. Gore and Kerry wiped the floor with Bush in all those debates but couldn't help but come across as huge dicks (especially Gore) in the process. In the olden days the guy that won debate was the guy that was the most informed but in today's world the guy that wins is the one who's the most likable.
 

reilo

learning some important life lessons from magical Negroes
typhonsentra said:
Luntz's focus group picked Obama by a wide margin. People gave a lot of different answers but McCain's bad attitude was a factor which came up.
Poor Luntz. Lot of the focus groups he's been doing lately have been prObama.
 

RubxQub

φίλω ἐξεχέγλουτον καί ψευδολόγον οὖκ εἰπόν
ShOcKwAvE said:
I strongly believe that McCain came off very poorly in his mannerisms and quips. He did do better on the Russian issues IMO, but overall Obama had better attacks, did a better job of weaving his platform into every issue, and I think most people saw his intelligence come through well.
You've been a fairly middle of the ground type of PoliGAFer, so I really appreciate your PoV.

Glad it falls in line with my own this time!
 

DSWii60

Member
Conclusion: All in all a waste of time. I take it back - Mr McCain was quite right to consider ditching it. Flabby and insipid - too long and too unfocused to tell us anything. Obama is cool and McCain is tough. Big deal.

Taken from the blog of the BBC's North America Editor.
 

Dot50Cal

Banned
Hellsing321 said:
I had work tonight so I missed the debate. How did Obama do, and what's the general consensus of how each of them did tonight?
McCain admitted he loves Michelle's ass.

080926-2253360031-1280x720.jpg
 

besada

Banned
Chiggs said:
Fox polling room shows an Obama victory.

WHAT THE FUCK!

This lady said McCain stuttered, but Obama didn't.

I think people underestimate how poorly Republicans thought Obama would do. People who've been followers of McCain's have been told over and over how inexperienced Obama was, how facile and ego seeking. And while Obama might not have knocked it out of the park, he stood up to a 26 year Senator, never got lost or confused, and held his own.

At least, that's the only explanation I can think of for the weirdly pro-Obama real-time audience polling and the number of conservative pundits crediting Obama with a win.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Hellsing321 said:
I had work tonight so I missed the debate. How did Obama do, and what's the general consensus of how each of them did tonight?

Poligaf is in freakout mode.

In reality Obama did just fine, and held his own on foreign policy and really beat McCain on the early part of the debate on domestic issues.

Probably a slight Obama win, and the next 2 debates will go better for him + the VP debate.
 
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/26/1456639.aspx
Hillary Clinton's statement on the debate:

"Tonight Barack Obama displayed beyond a doubt that he understands both the gravity of the financial crisis facing America, and the challenges we face in Iraq and around the world. Senator McCain offered only more of the same failed policies of the Bush Administration. America deserves better."

“I stood next to Barack Obama in 22 debates and tonight epitomized why millions are joining me in standing with him and working hard to ensure he is the next President of the United States.”

because i know some of you are curious what hillary would say
 

MaddenNFL64

Member
See, you fuckers think Obama being cordial would fuck with him. People LIKE Obama, and his cool demeanor when they hear him. They just do.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
kkaabboomm said:
One of Obama's best segments.

Some random thoughts.

  • Obama won the domestic policy debate. He was able to make McCain's entire spending rant seem small and narrow ("$18 billion is important. $300 billion is really important.") McCain was never able to answer that.
  • McCain hit the emotional notes on the foreign policy portion of the debate in response to Obama hammering his judgment. The bracelet, "I love veterans", etc. On substance he was wrong, lying or avoiding the topic, but he hit the right emotional notes. Overall this segment was a draw in terms of the impressions people take away.
  • Speaking of impressions. It's pretty clear McCain fucking HATES Obama. He came across as a testy, crabby old man. Obama was reasoned and steady. I hope that's what lasts, in this era when sighing too much can cost you a debate.
 

reilo

learning some important life lessons from magical Negroes
Chiggs said:
Fox is moving to the middle. Swear to God. Murdoch is no dope.
Murdoch has said that an Obama presidency would sell him more papers. Does that mean they are going prObama, or further to the right to sell more papers?
 

JB1981

Member
Well, my mother and her boyfriend feel that McCain illustrated just how inexperienced Obama is tonight .... their minds are made up. They are voting for McCain.

I personally feel Obama won on points and McCain won on 'experience.'
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
So the one thing I personally wish Obama handled better was the issue of meeting with "evil dictators" I agree with his stance but I wish he could have better addressed McCain's claim that meeting with these leaders somehow legitimizes them more than refusing to meet with them. Either way it can fuel propaganda for these leaders because it is still a choice by the great and powerful America made specifically about how to deal with their nation and that's what most legitimizes these leaders, that they are able to force some reaction from America and cause us to enact or change our own policy because of them.

It's the most basic strategy of an attention whore - any attention is good attention - and it's ironic that McCain tries to deny it given it's been his strategy for months now.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
BrandNew said:
I think it was a draw, to be honest. CNN says the same thing.

And that, my friends, is actually a McCain loss.

I'm sort of disappointed Obama didn't talk more about McCain's bullshit this past week, but whatever. The economical debate hasn't been had yet.
I would say that's about right. I do think Obama did better than McCain on the economic side of things, and I think he really held his own against McCain during the foreign policy stuff. I do think McCain did a very good job underscoring his experience dealing with foreign affairs, though, and it's hard to argue against that laundry list of crises he has dealt with, regardless of your position (which is why Obama didn't even try to argue against those points).

Holding his own against McCain on foreign policy, though, is the best possible result for Obama. McCain is too knowledgeable and too experienced on foreign affairs for Obama to be able to clearly "defeat him" in that area, and the fact is that Obama is the one who needs to prove himself more in that sphere. By being able to go blow by blow with McCain, weathering McCain's strongest points and attacks, and even being able to stick him a few times, Obama proved he can hold his own with a veteran statesman.

Overall, I thought it was a surprisingly debate-like debate. And I thought both of them handled it very well, albeit with their own styles. I do think McCain came off as a cantankerous old man a few times and was more condescending in general while Obama was more cordial and diplomatic, but it was quite an interesting debate rather than a round of alternating speeches (which is what presidential debates have been more like the last few elections).

Sooo, yeah, there's a lot here that both sides can claim victory on, but I think the results favor Obama a bit more.
 

ixix

Exists in a perpetual state of Quantum Crotch Uncertainty.
Initial impression of the debate:

By the time the initial statements had been made and the rebuttals began, I could barely remember what the question was.

Second impression of the debate:

Hot damn, there have got to be millions of better ways to spend 90 minutes.
 
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