Despite all the media hype, presidential debates have very little bearing on how people vote on Election Day. Instead, they tend to merely reinforce voters’ pre-existing feelings about the candidates. This means that who won the debate is invariably in the eye of the beholder.
That said, there’s no denying the suspense inherent in watching for a Dan-Quayle gaffe (by the candidate you oppose of course), or a Ronald-Reagan zinger (by the candidate you support).
Unfortunately, by this measure, tonight’s debate was a disappointment. Because both candidates deftly regurgitated hackneyed talking points from their campaign-stump speeches in answering all questions. In fact, nothing demonstrated the canned and programmed nature of this debate quite like the way moderator Jim Lehrer tried in vain to goad McCain and Obama into spontaneous face-to-face exchanges on the issues.
All the same, it says a great deal about Obama’s intelligence and self-confidence that he responded to Lehrer’s prodding by looking McCain in the eye while making his points.
By contrast, McCain continually refused to return his political glare, which made his condescending refrain “Senator Obama doesn’t understand” seem like a senile tick….
That said, because Sarah Palin emerged at the Republican National Convention as such a blank slate, and because she seemed so stunningly clueless in the few interviews she’s given since then, her vice presidential debate with Joe Biden on Thursday will be for more suspenseful and promises many more memorable gaffes.
Frankly, if anyone is more in need of a dog-ate-my-homework excuse to get out of debating, it’s Palin….
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