Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, October 16, 2012
2012 You Probably Need to Temper Your Expectations for Tonight's Debate
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 1:20 PM
Over the weekend, I watched the 2008 town hall-style debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. And while it's true that Obama won that debate, it was mostly because John McCain was terrible at it. Whenever McCain was stressed, he addressed the audience as "my friends," and it almost immediately became an off-putting vocal tic. He seemed to wheel around in circles when talking to the audience, looking at everyone and doing a tone-deaf parody of Bill Clinton's warm, inclusive debate style.
But Obama wasn't very good at the town hall format, either. He mostly delivered chunks of his speeches whenever someone asked a question, and he didn't provide very many anecdotes or very much personal warmth at all. The thing that every candidate should keep in mind during a debate is that the audience is part of the set. You want the audience to appear engaged with everything you say, and the way to do that is not by speechifying at them.
Back when the presidential campaign was small and regional, Mitt Romney hosted a series of events called "Ask Mitt Anything." It's true that it was a friendly audience, but the events were basically one-man town halls, and Romney did well at them. He was a little stiff, but he did the job. I bet he'll be even better at it tonight.
Romney's biggest weakness in these situations is that he doesn't do well with direct confrontation. If he gets tough questions from the audience and if President Obama calls out some of Romney's more obvious lies, the older, stiff Romney might make a reappearance. That should be the president's goal. But President Obama can't be totally aggressive, the way Biden was with Ryan. He'll have to walk a fine, lawyerly line, which is a problem when his instincts veer more toward the professorial. On the positive side, President Obama is a smart guy, and he basically devoted the entire weekend to town hall debate prep. I'd just feel better if John Kerry wasn't involved in the president's debate prep. The man is like a walking bad luck charm for Democrats.
2
And as fucked up as this country is the reality is most voters only pay attention (if you can call it that) to a little bit of the conventions and the debates. So if Obama doesn't fucking blow Mittens away in this debate get ready for a long depressing election night.
Obama...game on or just start packing your stuff to go back to Chicago in January.
3
4
6
7
There was the mid-2007 primary town hall where (trying to be agreeable again) he promised to meet six of our worst enemies, face-to-face, with no preconditions, in his first year in office.
There was the April 2008 debate where Obama gave a particularly bad account of himself, and next day implied the debate was a set-up with moderators in cahoots with Hillary - and flipped her off on TV!
Here's hoping he discovers his inner Clinton some time in the next three hours . . . . .
10
where we have been in the last four years is at that point, then down, and now back to there again.
this is why Obama looks like he didn't do anything...
12
It turns out, of course, that Obama's numbers peaked the day before the first debate, and that he's lost all of his lead since then. As I write, Romney is ahead by 4 points in the Gallup tracking poll. Romney is ahead in Virginia and Florida, and closing in on Pennsylvania.
The only thing to say about Paul is that his political analysis has been "Constantly" wrong. Now that it's become suddenly hip(ster) to worry about Obama tonight, Paul once more tells his lefty idiots (who are just as dumb as Sarah Palin) exactly what they want to hear. And when it's all over, Paul will keep his job, because just like at Fox News, at the Stranger it's never about being correct or factual.
The funny thing about that debate is that Obama won it when they both sat down. I don't know why McCain's staff agreed on the format, but it killed him. It is almost like you can see him thinking, "I'm a Vietnam Vet and Senator, why the hell do I have to sit on this stupid stool".
On the other hand, Obama looks like he is ready to start crooning. You can almost hear him channeling Frank Sinatra "Shoo-bee-doo-bee-doooo..."
18
I'm not expecting outstanding questions tonight. There may be some good ones and a few great ones but I'm not going to expect a really tough question.
Beware the person whose paycheck depends on telling you what you want to hear.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Did You Steal Our Unpaid Intern's Camera? by Goldy
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax by Goldy
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
Star Trek Releases Deleted Scene of Benedict Cumberbatch Showering to Counter Claims of Sexism by Cienna Madrid
-
Boy Scouts Lift Ban on Gay Members by Paul Constant
-
Should I Buy One of These? by Goldy
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (20) RSS