It was obvious that McCain had to be spectacular last night as polls indicate that he is trailing Obama; however, there was no “memorable” line from the debate which will be replayed over and over on news networks. There was no drastic attack on Obama’s platform which will swing undecided voters towards the Republican ticket. And most importantly, they still haven’t had a fist fight on stage to settle the score as Japanese politicians do.

Going back to the questions being ridiculous… the only question worthy of the town hall format came right at the end:

“What don’t you know and how will you learn it?”

This was by far the most appropriate question for this kind of debate. Instead of hearing more about Russia and Iran, people want to know more about the candidates on a personal level. Though Obama and McCain didn’t have a say so in the pool of questions from last night, it’s upsetting that the second presidential debate was wasted reiterating topics covered in the first.

I’m not going to get into any specifics about the “winner”, because honestly, there wasn’t one for this particular debate. However, from a larger stance, Obama could have afforded to have last night go down the way it did. All he had to do was appear relatively competent and worthy of the title of commander-in-chief, and his objective would have been accomplished. I’ll admit, he did just this. McCain had to make some significant move to appeal to the undecided voters by either a.) uncovering grim truths about Obama or b.) making himself out to be the more practical candidate. He accomplished neither one of these and will unfortunately pay dearly at the polls.

…and you thought that I was biased towards the Republicans. If the Democrats have a successful event, I’ll always acknowledge that. If the Republicans fail at something, I’ll acknowledge that too. But I’ll always think that Obama’s (and the Democratic ticket’s) views on small business and the upper class are the two worst ideas that could be implemented to stabilize our economy and social structure. Feel free to debate me on that.

I’ll be the first to admit that Palin messed up beyond all measure in her interview with Katie Couric. Biden, on the other hand, did a fantastic job answering some of the same questions. The governor showed poor organization, lack of intelligence, and it was a painful interview for me to watch.

However, with this burden on her reputation and the Republican ticket’s success riding on her performance at the one and only VP debate, Palin had to exceed expectations last night… and she did. It’s undeniable. Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, if you compare her interview with Katie Couric with her debate last night, it’s a night and day difference. Palin looked into the camera for the overwhelming majority of the debate. Biden failed to do so. Consequently, Palin was far more convincing in creating the tie between her and “common Americans” across the nation. She spoke pragmatically and wholeheartedly – something very difficult for eastcoast politicians to do. Though both Palin and Biden have similar situations (upbringing in a small town, children in Iraq, etc.), I really enjoyed when Palin exploited the Democratic ticket’s starkest difference – for a ticket that’s so entrenched in bringing “change”, they dwell a lot on finger-pointing.

Oh, and for the record, post-debate polls are ridiculous. I referred to this in my post following the first presidential debate, and it held true last night. Fox will always say that the Republican candidate won. CNN will always say that the Democratic candidate won. And not just by a little, but a landslide. If you ask me, I really think Palin’s performance last night will boost McCain’s campaign in the days to come. Now, all the Republicans need is for Ahhnolddd Schwarzenegger to call Obama and Biden “girly men”, and then they’re set!

*Sighs.* I’ll never understand Democratic policies. With all this focus on the “middle-class”, what incentive is there to move up the social ladder? What’s the point of risky investment in small business when your earnings will be stifled with taxation? At this point, I firmly believe that energy independence is the single most important pursuit our government should undertake. Palin’s background and the Republican ticket’s energy plans will hopefully have a chance to lay the infrastructure for fulfilling this pivotal step in turning our economy around. Guess we’ll find out the night of November 4th.

First of all, McCain attacked the heck out of Obama. Prior to the debates, I was worried he would miss out on several opportunities to pick apart the Democrat. I too considered Obama to be a more eloquent speaker and thought he would have an inherent advantage to the debating environment. Looking back on the debate, the only thing McCain didn’t do was engage in an all out fist fight with his opponent. Though he started off a bit shaky, the Maverick gradually became more fluent as the night went on and the topics turned in his favor. The foreign policy topics (Russia-Georgia conflict, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, etc.) exhibit what I believe to be McCain’s greatest strengths, and he played his cards well. 

Of course, Obama replied back with something which completely invalidated McCain’s accusations.

“That’s not true.” – Senator Barack Obama

Wow, how original is that rebuttal? Sure, McCain threw in some snide remarks, but Obama repeatedly interrupted McCain’s statements with his ever-so-creative “that’s not true.” Also, how was it advantageous for Obama to admit on several occasions that McCain was right? If he was trying to show some professional courtesy, then start by calling him “Senator McCain” rather than “John.” 

I really hate the post-debate figures by Fox and CNN. It’s a fact that there are more Democrats (by number) in this country than Republicans. Mathematically, that translates to “more Democrats watching the debates.” And go figure, that means more Democrats texting/calling in their votes in support of their Democratic candidate. Sadly, few people are going to truly assess the quality of a debate by the actual debate. If you’re Democrat, you’ll dislike McCain. I’m a Republican, and I dislike Obama. Either way, the figures regarding the “winner” of the first debate are ridiculously biased. They almost have no statistical relevance given the reason for people’s votes.

By the way, if you’re wondering why I’m a hardcore Republican, feel free to ask me before you criticize my conservative ideology. I enjoy debating, but if you start crying, it’s not my fault.