What is Digg?Warning: The Content in this Article May be Inaccurate
Readers have reported that this story contains information that may not be accurate.224 Comments
- QsheiK, on 09/27/2008, -10/+247As Canadian who is pretty much unbiased about American politics, I watched the debate and am keeping a close eye on American politics because I know it will affect us one way or another.
Obama was professional. In the beginning, the moderator told Obama to direct the talk to McCain rather than himself, and that's what he did. He was straight forward, refuted McCain's arguments fairly, and tried to find common grounds with McCain.
McCain however I found to be a patronizing old man towards Obama. He barely made eye contact, chuckled whenever Obama said anything, and was stuck to the rhetoric of "Senator Obama still doesn't quite understand....".
We've seen what a patronizing old man is capable of for the last 8 years. For your own sakes, vote this old failing mindset and policies out of your whitehouse and get some change into your country. - Sean23, on 09/27/2008, -4/+158McCain seemed like he was trying to beat Obama. Obama seemed like he was trying to be president.
- Echota, on 01/05/2009, -4/+108Obama: So John, you like to pretend like the war started in 2007. You talk about the "surge," the war started in 2003. At the time, when the war started, you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said you knew where the weapons of mass destruction were -- and you were wrong. You said we were going to be greeted as liberators -- you were wrong. You said that there was no history of violence between Shi'a and Sunni, and you were wrong. ...if the question is, who is best equipped as the next president to make good decisions about how we use our military, how we make sure we are prepared and ready for the next conflict, then I think we can take a look at our judgment.
Obama,keeping it real! - eggsackley, on 09/27/2008, -2/+94McCain did better than I thought he would,(considering the old coward almost didn't show up), but I think his drippingly condescending tone didn't do him any favors with swing voters. The rest of us are already committed to one or the other cantidate. A vote for my guy offers a chance for the resurgance of the middle class. A vote for the other will turn the USA into a cross between a banna republic and a Middle ages feudal gulag. Guess who I voted for. (we have early voting in Georgia).
- Batfishy, on 09/27/2008, -3/+93I don't like when people snicker, as McCain did, especially during debates. Too patronizing for most people. Obama seemed more relaxed and composed even when he had to search for the right words.
- OmEgA286, on 09/27/2008, -13/+101mccain lies?!?!?! omfg i had no idea
- roxgod666, on 09/27/2008, -13/+97Obama won that debate easily. Stupid CNN people picked the wrong time to be unbiased
- MahoneyDan, on 09/27/2008, -6/+70McCain doesn't even know what his foreign policy (Henry Kissenger) advisors view on having your secretary of state meet with foreign leaders without preconditions. Overall, McCain is 4 more years of the same...
- Kovalchuk71, on 09/27/2008, -8/+71Best part of the debate was when Obama said that two years ago he warned about the problems that might occur because of the way the finacial instututions were run.
And then McCain goes...I, I..too warned about that...
What a sad little man you are John. - solstice21, on 09/27/2008, -2/+57My favorite was the ending remarks, as summarized by me
Obama: I want to help the average, ordinary, working class Americans as much as possible.
McCain: I know what I'm doing. Trust me. - evelynvesta, on 09/27/2008, -3/+47McCain's eye rolling , smirking, sneering, and screwed up faces was not only completely disrespectful of Obama's position, but his humanity as well, and wholly inappropriate for the situation; a real Eddie Haskell display. He reminded me of a fresh, spoiled eight year old. This is statesmen behavior?
Actually, it was all too reminiscent of another "leader"; the mediocre jokester called GW. These guys display their deep seated sense of entitlement and white privilege merely by being the snarky brats they are.
It reminds me of the folks who never look at the help. McCain thinks he's better than Obama. He couldn't be more wrong. - larsone86, on 09/27/2008, -3/+44And now in an ad just released McCain is attacking Obama for agreeing with him on fundamental issues raised during the debates. Apparently McCain sees anyone who agrees with McCain as being weak. He's taking his "maverick" title to new twisted levels for sure.
Of course this is immediately after claiming during the debate that he's the man to bring bipartisanship to a broken, corrupt Washington... - inactive, on 09/27/2008, -2/+39Those pesky gestures like snickering or in Al Gore's case sighing can actually be the only thing remembered from a debate. It's the little things piled altogether that can pique the temperament of the public or rub it the wrong way. The interesting thing is that I think McCain may have fared better without all the theatrics this week prior to the debate. His wild cowboy antics just seemed pointless. I have had a chance to bounce this off of a couple of friends who are swaying towards Obama but not completely sold. McCain's odd behavior with the "financial crisis" pretty much sealed the deal for Obama with two of them. McCain's behavior seems unbalanced almost like he's trying to shoot himself in the foot.
We'll see how the pundits grind this out, but my personal opinion is that we'll look back at this in terms of the overall week and ask - who behaved more like we want a President to behave when the country is in turmoil. For me personally, I was sick of cowboy politics by 2003. No more, no thanks. I'd like some real thought out, well reasoned leadership for a change. - JamesInDenver, on 09/27/2008, -1/+30How did he ever expect to get away with that one? He's been saying all year that Americans are better off than they were 8 years ago, then changed it to 4 years ago, then changed again to the "fundamentals are strong", then finally tonight he warned us there is a crisis. Wow, what a brilliant prediction.
And lets not forget, his most trusted adviser Phil Gramm, called Americans are a bunch of whiners. - BreakmasterC, on 09/27/2008, -4/+25Beautiful. Well put.
- metalgel, on 09/27/2008, -3/+23why do i feel like its almost strategy for these idiots to grin and smirk like arrogant pricks during a debate. i watched the same ***** happen back when the GOP was snickering at ron paul. like whenever a candidate is making a good point the others have to find a way to discredit them and keep people from listening. so they laugh because they think the american public is so easily misled that if they laugh while someone speaks people will see that and think "oh mccain is laughing that must mean that obama is speaking nonsense right now" just like when they did that as ron paul spoke all the other candidates would laugh and smirk like "yea dont listen to this nonsense, look at us all laughing at him, trust us he is speaking crazy talk"
makes me trust them even less. i watched bush smirk for the least 8 years every time he has taken the podium. ENOUGH! have some ***** composure FFS! - Allanon, on 09/27/2008, -1/+20A more bipartisan fact check:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080927/ap_on_el_pr/pr ... - pimpofpixels, on 09/27/2008, -4/+23Lies Lies Lies Lies.
I just hope America is smart enough to see through it. - aben9woaha, on 09/27/2008, -1/+19Fortunately, Katie Couric (I'm becoming such a fan!) called Henry Kissinger and he agrees with Obama.
- cplex, on 09/27/2008, -4/+22Shame. Whenever he speaks, I cringe. He is a shadow of his former self. The sad, sad things that the GOP does to people.
- unknownsoldierX, on 09/27/2008, -0/+17This was my favorite part. Obama's comeback really stood out.
MCCAIN:
And I'll tell you, I had a town hall meeting in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and a woman stood up and she said, "Senator McCain, I want you to do me the honor of wearing a bracelet with my son's name on it."
He was 22 years old and he was killed in combat outside of Baghdad, Matthew Stanley, before Christmas last year. This was last August, a year ago. And I said, "I will -- I will wear his bracelet with honor."
And this was August, a year ago. And then she said, "But, Senator McCain, I want you to do everything -- promise me one thing, that you'll do everything in your power to make sure that my son's death was not in vain."
OBAMA:
Jim, let me just make a point. I've got a bracelet, too, from Sergeant - from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopeck, sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through.
No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided. Our troops have performed brilliantly. The question is for the next president, are we making good judgments about how to keep America safe precisely because sending our military into battle is such an enormous step. - packerdawl, on 09/27/2008, -1/+17It would be so SWEET if Georgia could play upset in this election. I see so many Obama stickers and I hope that our polling numbers are largely because people who plan on voting for Obama use cell phones in place of landline phones. PLEASE Georgia, just this once!! I WILL FORGIVE YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!
- barryiggins, on 09/27/2008, -1/+16past your bedtime?
- AverageJane2, on 09/27/2008, -1/+15Being respectful and focused is never wrong. The 'reviews' attest to this.
- inactive, on 09/27/2008, -2/+16He's playing to the "hate the Arabs" crowd. Keep things simple - bomb, preemptive war yada, yada, yada. It's the 30% that still approve of Bush. Mindless - I know, but they just lap that ***** up.
- misterenigma07, on 09/27/2008, -1/+15He misspoke. He accidentally started to say the soldier's name rather than "the mother of ..."
- ironhide, on 09/27/2008, -2/+16Yep, we're well aware which one was McCain. Dead white, jowls large enough to hold a Volkswagen Beetle in each one, with a face perpetually twitching in some kind of very disturbing spasm. Yep, it was pretty obvious which one was McCain.
- jmisavage, on 09/27/2008, -2/+16Well McCain didn't add his name to this bill until mid-2006, a year after it was introduced. And considering that the Congress was controlled by Republicans at that time, its unfair to blame Democrats for it not being passed.
The sequel to that bill, Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2007, was introduced in the next session of Congress and McCain has not signed on as a supporter. So I guess within a year he decided that this bill was no longer needed. - cplex, on 09/27/2008, -1/+15Now, let's just make sure that Stephen Harper doesn't get a majority government. That would be seriously bad news for North America.
- cplex, on 09/27/2008, -2/+16RFTA. He said during the debate "I SAW IT COMING" when, in fact, he didn't. And he admitted as such when the straight-talk express was still straight--back in November, 2007.
- aben9woaha, on 09/27/2008, -0/+13CBS showed that the independents watching the debate responded very favorably to these comments. Loved it.
- Codee, on 09/27/2008, -1/+14They needed a "You Tube" feed into the debates.
Hold On. Wait a minute....FACT CHECK!! Hmmm Oh, Ok. You're lying McCain. - ironhide, on 09/27/2008, -1/+13I figured he was just stroking out.
- AmazingSteve, on 09/27/2008, -4/+15I liked how he kept saying "when I'm President" before his answers. Just added a hint of humiliation to the beating.
- barryiggins, on 09/27/2008, -1/+12I'm serious. How old are you?
- peter6z, on 09/27/2008, -0/+10I think this was Obama's strongest point during the debate. I'm an independent and the Iraq War is what swings me to Obama the strongest.
- thenekkidtruth, on 09/27/2008, -5/+15Why Barack won:
1 The undecided American public only needed to see whether or not Barack is a reasonable, rational, and knowledgeable statesman. He left them no doubt.
2 Barack was more consistently correct on the issues as Americans see it - specifically, right on Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia.
3 A small point, but it needs to be a bigger one - McCain made dozens of mistakes on the issues, big and small. He thought pre-Musharraf Pakistan was a "failed state", for instance - it wasn't. It was a fully-functional state taken over through force by a military general turned autocrat.
4 The best McCain can claim today is that Barack fundamentally agrees with him on most issues. That's not good enough for him - McCain needed to prove significant superiority on his Foreign Policy knowledge and experience - his self-admitted core competency - and he was unable to do that.
5 The big one is demeanor. Barack was poised, reasonable, confident, addressed the host by name and looked McCain in the eye. McCain came off as snide, smirky and condescending - it looked for all the world like he has a hidden, seething agenda. Personally, I think he does, but that's another day. The net result is that he likely disenfranchised the female vote, especially, who tend to prefer someone who's more reasonable, rational, and open to discussion.
A whole LOT OF UNDECIDED voters wanted to know that Barack Obama has the demeanor to be President, and he not only delivered - he sprinted past McCain in this regard. Expect a significant uptick in Obama's polling numbers as a direct result of this solid performance. - cplex, on 09/27/2008, -1/+11Explain what? That Obama wants to stand up for the weak in YOUR country? That he cares more about those that are suffering in YOUR country than those in other countries?
The middle class deserves to have a good life too. If you don't believe that, sir, you are truly heartless.
But yeah, you're right. Left-wing nutjobs. - inactive, on 09/27/2008, -4/+14You sound very angry, masaks.
My view is that if your man won handily, you wouldn't be angry, but a lot more confident.
I think the debate was a tie, myself. But McCain needed to knock it out of the park to regain his plummeting poll numbers.
Body language, though, from McCain was bad. He wouldn't acknowledge Obama, which is instinctively interpreted by human observers as manifestation of fear. This will be unconsciously interpreted as McCain being afraid of Obama, which you don't want.
your frustration suggests to me you saw that, too. - diggenerate, on 09/27/2008, -1/+10GOP Greedy Old People.
- Snap65, on 09/27/2008, -2/+11yeah i was worried about that but it shows Obama wants to work with the Repubs. McCain on the other hand was disrespectful.
- cplex, on 09/27/2008, -4/+13The independent polls are lies then, I suppose.
- bruce86, on 09/27/2008, -4/+12john McCain sign on as a cosponsor after the bill failed. Funny how that works.
- nick1971, on 09/27/2008, -2/+10Obama is young, articulate, has vision and can communicate it. If the election would take place in Europe he would get a land slide. We are all just sitting here and trying to understand what the 50% of republican voters have for thought processes to come to the answer that McCain and Palin are the correct ticket.
- sonicomega, on 09/27/2008, -0/+8@ QsheiK:::::::: I remember this one line McCain said, "I'm not trying to book my schedule before I get to the Whitehouse" , in response to a remark made by Senator Obama concerning speaking to Adeemajidamaud...du..something. In either case you are right on with the condescending way McCain relayed himself.
- meshie, on 09/27/2008, -0/+8Good summary. I saw the same thing... although Obama was at times almost *too* cool, calm and collected, control over his emotions is a far more important characteristic in a leader.
McCain's repetitive "What Mr. Obama doesn't seem to understand..." and "I didn't win Miss Congeniality" got old really, really quick, and I was wondering if he had anything else to say about anything except for the fact that he's old and has experience and Obama can't say the same.
Obama's tactic to agree with something McCain said and then emphasize on what grounds he differs was a more useful, if boring approach.
And I also noticed McCain almost never looked Obama in the eye. Obama made the effort, after the moderator said "I'm going to try to get you two to talk to each other", to look over, and once he warmed up, he did it more naturally as the debate went on; McCain looked almost afraid to do the same.
It wasn't sexy, but Obama won this debate in a very quiet and determined way. Unfortunately I'm sure people will continue to see McCain as ol' grampa who has cool war stories to tell, as someone to be respected and trusted, when the truth is clear to an outside observer: He's senile and has little to offer by way of progressive leadership. Four or eight more years with McCain-Palin will destroy what's left of the U.S.A. - Baconbuyer, on 09/27/2008, -1/+9Is McCain lying about something still news? I guess this guy doesn't understand we live in the YouTube era now, and you can't lie and get away with it like you could in the olden days. Dishonest and out of touch, then.
- Swellin, on 09/27/2008, -0/+8paul whats it like to be hated in real life and even on the internet? Do you think its because of how stupid your are, or is it just be cause your an *****? I guess your probably to ignorant to know either way. God bless you, and i hope you grow up soon, and maybe make some friends.
- barryiggins, on 09/27/2008, -1/+8you post many inane, defensive comments of little to no substance that repeatedly get buried. And yet you still post away...
It comes off as kind of cranky and irrational. The very old and the very young tend to get cranky and irrational when it is past their bedtime... hence the questions pertaining to your age and so forth--aside from whatever info you posted in your profile - inactive, on 09/27/2008, -2/+9"September 15, 2008 6:16 PM
ABC News' Rachel Martin Reports: Former U.S.Secretary of State Henry Kissinger today told an audience in Washington, DC that the U.S. should negotiate with Iran "without conditions" and that the next President should begin such negotiations at a high level."
That Kissinger later went back on his earlier statement in order to back up McCain is not surprising, but he *did* in fact say what Obama claimed he said.
Whoops indeed.
(although to be honest I'm a little surprised that anyone with credibility would be quoting war criminal Kissinger over anything, frankly) -
Show 51 - 100 of 227 discussions
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is