I think McCain was very, very good. He hit Obama on a slew of domestic issues and exposed the flaws in his program.
That said, I just don’t think he focused on taxes enough. True, a lot of the questions didn’t cover taxes, but McCain snuck it in as asides a few times. I think he needed to do more of that than he actually did.
This wasn’t about getting Obama to trip over his words or let loose a “knockout punch” against him; it was about informing the American people why they’re better off economically with John McCain than with Barack Obama.
He certainly did that often. Did he do it enough?
October 16, 2008 at 12:46 am |
McCain did a great job! There is no way McCain could tongue tie or confound Senator Government, but he certainly left him looking foolish and dishonest. That, I think, clearly makes it a win for McCain.
October 16, 2008 at 2:30 pm |
McCain missed several opportunities, just as in the other two debates. He is too slow to react and repeats his talking points way too much — even the ones from previous debates.
He could have stung Obama big time on small business tax by simply giving Senator O a quick briefing on supply chain economics. There has NEVER been a tax on business of ANY size that was not ultimately passed down to consumers.
I also thought McCain should have just shut his mouth when they had a 10-minute exchange about dirty campaigning. His point about Obama lying about accepting public funds was an excellent one, and he could have just stuck with that. This back-and-forth about hurt feelings and whining about how unfair some of the ads were was simply playground stuff. It’s politics. You’re gonna get dirty. Move on and make some points.
McCain looked vulnerable at times, and he sounded like a broken record. At times it seemed he was getting ready to pounce and then he would start talking about “Joe the Plumber.” What a dead end.
I think Senator McCain also skipped over bothering to clarify his health care reform plans. Obama keeps talking about how insurance companies will cherry pick what they will cover. The fact is, McCain’s plans fixes that by creating competition and allowing people to go to any state and pick an insurance company. If competition exists, companies aren’t going to cherry-pick coverages and they’re certainly not going to slight pre-existing conditions. Why? Because nobody will buy a policy from them if they operate that way, and they will quickly go out of business.
Also missing was a clarification about the health care tax. McCain used the same crappy lines about “gold-plated cadillacs” again. Move on and help people understand. Don’t just brush it off and expect nobody to care. If Obama’s ads are lying, tell the American people when and what.
I was very disappointed overall with McSenator. O’Senator won all three debates hands down. Even McCain couldn’t help but point out O’Senator’s eloquence — more than once.
*sigh*
I believe this is just measure to Republicans for picking a softie to be their candidate. I’m a conservative independent, so I was rooting for Ron Paul from the outset. McCain whimps out every time he has a chance to go for the jugular. It is sad to watch. Honestly, if that’s how he handles a campaign, I’d hate to see how he handles something like 9/11.