Fit To Print

McCain’s Debate: Now With More Cynicism

September 27th, 2008

I think I’ve reached the point of being too cynical to render effective judgment. I just always assume McCain’s sophomoric pranks are going to work for him, because they always work for Republicans. I thought Palin would work, I thought “suspending” his campaign would work, and I thought he won the debate.

His “what the upstart from Illinois doesn’t understand” routine worked for me, although next time he might want to cut down on the seething contempt. If voters see me as a qualified and honorable man, and I really believe my opponent isn’t a qualified and honorable man and indicate as much, that can be an authentic and effective argument. Unfortunately, the only thing undercutting that line of attack for John McCain, was Barack Obama standing right beside him, appearing rather presidential and honorable.

And McCain went on and on about earmarks. Earmarks beat up your kid. Earmarks stole your parking space. To be clear, these earmark responses were avoiding the real question. But it’s something he has a record on. At the very least, the man knows enough to talk up his strengths.

I was equally enamored with “Here is a story of me doing things when I was younger. Clearly I have a reputation for doing things. And I think the solution for the future just might be ‘doing things’, my friends.” He could have used better examples (even factually accurate ones), but saying this is what I did in past crises, and that’s the kind of leadership you can look for in future crises — that is a powerful argument.

Entry Filed under: Politics