September 29
McCain-Obama debate: the verdict
Posted by Laura Snook, senior news editor
What’s happening:
Or rather, what has already happened: in this case, the
much debated debate between the two men battling to become the United States’ next commander-in-chief, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. For 90 minutes, they sparred over the financial mess the US is in and the Iraq war. The question is: who won?
What people are saying:
The verdict has been returned, but
the jury is split. Pundits on both sides of the Atlantic called it a draw, with few gaffes and no knockouts, but viewers – and polls – declared Obama the victor. “All in all a waste of time,” blogged the
BBC’s Justin Webb, calling the occasion “Flabby and insipid – too long and too unfocused to tell us anything.” The
Huffington Post is less reserved, describing McCain as “irascible and bellicose throughout”, while Obama’s “good manners and civility left the talking heads stunned – what kind of politician is actually nice to his opponent?” McCain's response to the tie? “I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie, but I think that means when they call it a tie that means we win,’’ he told a fellow Republican, according to the
New York Times. Why the disparity between pundits and viewers? One media expert suggests it’s because professional commentators have
short memories. Why we should give a damn:
...or not, as the case maybe. Fred Barnes, who in 1984 was one of the questioners at the first debate between President Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale, writes in the
Wall Street Journal: “As important as they are, debates can't change the fundamentals of a presidential campaign.” And the fundamentals of this campaign, he says, favour Obama, but we should still scrutinise the remaining debates: “We'll find out if either man is resourceful enough to exploit (each other’s) weaknesses, or wise enough to learn from their mistakes, as Reagan did. If not, that will be revealing all by itself.”
What's your verdict?
P.S. McCain’s campaign has devoted several pages of its
website to the commentary on his performance, while
Obama’s features a single video clip entitled “Debate highlights: you were wrong.”
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