Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Apres debate top ten (I had to write something, didn't I?)


1. I have a sinus headache from the Serge Lutens Arabie. My hands are dried out from trying to scrub it off. I like it, but my sinuses do not.

(You may be thinking, um, I thought she was going to write about the debate.)

2. At the one hour mark, they should have wrapped it up. I was bored, and I actually like debates, as painful as they may be. (Maybe that's why I started the post with a comment about Arabie)

3. What are the undecided voters looking for? One of these guys to come up with the most awesome noone's ever thought of it before perfect ultimate solution for everything?

4. If a candidate does go into serious detail about anything, whether it be the economy or the war, they'll sound so wonky that this debate will seem like a blockbuster action movie. The other problem is that there's no instant fact checker or on-screen calculator to tell us, the unwashed masses, whether either one is saying something that's true or even accurate. So, we guess at who's more sincere or more likely to be lying and that, my fellow Americans, is based on image, more than substance. Of course, we need to be more informed, but there's a limit. That's why there are experts.

5. I would have liked to have seen McCain tell Obama, to his face, what his ads are saying (and he approves those messages). It was too civil, considering what's really going on. The only time the mask fell away was when McCain called Obama "that one". I was taken aback, and I'm not all that sensitive.

6. Boy, it was really boring.

7. Okay, anyone who's read this blog knows I'm biased towards Obama, but really, John McCain, you can't have it both ways, talking about experience and your voting record. You stated, unequivocably that "We don't have time for on-the-job training, my friends". How can a person who picked Palin as a running mate say any of this with a straight face?

8. McCain said we need a "steady hand at the tiller" twice. His judgment in this campaign has not been that of a man with a steady hand. See #6, above. When asked about prioritizing, he said he could do three things at once, but he couldn't run his campaign while dealing the the bail-out (rescue), and so he "suspended his campaign". McCain, get your story straight.

9. I feel badly about this. I once liked John McCain. I even voted for him (well, it was only a primary, but still).

10. I'm not so sure those undecided voters are undecided. Maybe they just want to be polled or get on TV.

Bonus #11. I think we all need to read more history. One reason that debate was boring is because the questions were so generic.

Painting note: John Trumbull The Declaration of Independence 1795
I was looking for a good old painting of politicians debating, but got tired. But hey, the point is the same: every person in this painting is Christian, white and male.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ditto on the debate being about half an hour too long.
Although, the last two questions had me perk up a bit, obviously:)
When McCain referred to Obama as "that one", it kind of chilled my blood for a split second, there was so much venom in those two little words...
People in the audience looked way too serious, well-behaved and um, too polished or something for a town hall meating, no?
Nika

Anonymous said...

meeting not meating, lol
N~

Julie H. Rose said...

A number of commentors on the Web likened finding a diverse crowd of "undecideds" in Nashville, at this stage of the game, to picking a jury in a big publicized case. You have to look under rocks to find these people. They all looked depressed to me. Evidentally, after the debate was off the air, McCain left earlier than Obama. Obama and Michelle stuck around and everyone was taking pictures and having conversation. I would have liked to see that!