DEBATE TRILOGY COMPLETE: OBAMA IS ‘THE ONE”
The third and final Presidential Debate is over, finally. Even the most enthusiastic political junkie is ready for this campaign to be over. The candidates look tired and I think we are all ready to Just Vote! The economic crash has all Americans and the world desperate for action, hard decisions and leadership. I would bet all the bailout money, lost home values and stock prices if Americans could make an exception this year, we would vote tomorrow, have the Inauguration Day this weekend and let whoever our next President is going to be get to work on Monday.
The debate itself was the best of the three. That’s not to say it was great or met the expectations for fireworks that have been predicted for each debate. It didn’t. What I can say, is this was the closest thing to a two man discussion on the issues most important to all Americans.
Sen. McCain had his best performance. He began conversational and authoritative. He looked fresh and scored on several domestic issues. He received his highest favorable marks when he began naming specific items he would cut in the Defense budget. His knowledge was detailed and he was decisive. His favorable response with men reached 100% on the CNN response meter. That’s no small accomplishment. We’re talking about a Republican, talking about cutting the defense budget and receiving high marks from men for doing so. If that John McCain, the one who’s not afraid to say no to his own party, showed up consistently, this race would be totally different. Cutting excess in our defense budget isn’t about weakening our military but eliminating gravy to defense contractors padding their already enormous profits. That appeals to independents and moderates who will decide this election.
Unfortunately for Sen. McCain, he immediately left that fertile territory and transitioned into the same old stump speech about cutting pork projects. He lost all his momentum and the response dials fell flat. That’s sums up the entire night for Sen. McCain, hot start, flat middle and a cold finish.
Sen. Obama had a slow start. I was surprised because he’s been terrific on the stump lately. Every day he seems to just grow more and more Presidential and comfortable in those shoes. He is instilling confidence in voters and they are responding in the polls in all of the key battle ground states. So I expected him to come in firing on all cylinders, he didn’t. He wasn’t off his game as much as it looked like he needed a Red Bull just to get in gear. Well, the “Jolt” came in the form of a question from moderator Bob Schieffer who asked each man if they were willing to say all of the things in their negative ads directly to each other face. That was the most provocative question in any of the debates. No surrogates, campaign staffers or running mates. Sit here and man up! Neither man did…exactly.
This is where Sen. Obama began to hit his stride. He squashed the Bill Ayers issue by outlining his limited connection to the man along with other prominent Chicago businessmen, corporate executives and Republicans. He explained what Acorn is doing by paying overzealous people for the number of voter registration forms they submit. As a result, some people just filled in bogus names. However, that has nothing to do with his campaign nor was it at his direction. Sen. Obama then named people he would rely on in his White House. This included Warren Buffet on financial issues and Sen. Biden on foreign affairs.
Sen. Obama scored his highest favorable when he spoke about healthcare, a new energy plan, The Supreme Court, and abortion. He was fluid and commanding in his knowledge on all of these bread and butter issues. Most importantly, he was perfect in tone all night. The split screen show both men react to the allegations. Sen. Obama sat and smiled under fire and if George Gervin didn’t already have the moniker, I’d call him Ice. He was cool and always under control. Conversely, Sen. McCain became more and more impatient, rolling his eyes and sighing and looking like his was ready to explode. No one wants to envision our President sitting across from a foreign leader looking like that or even worse, saying “gosh darn it” and then winking at them.
All the network polling results show most Americans felt Sen. Obama won the debate. Now it’s time to dig deep and press hard for the Obama campaign in the final days. No one should feel an Obama victory is assured until he wins. It ain’t over till it’s over. But even a once “skeptical” voter thought Sen. Obama sealed the deal. Her name, Hillary Clinton.
Let me get my VOTE!
Darryl Bell is an actor and Chicago native, best known for his role in classic TV series “A Different World” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” His unique television commentary is exclusive to Urban Thought Collective.
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