Debate Review: Obama was Clear, Strong While McCain Was Twitchy, Angry

Good Morning Bloggers - It's a beautiful morning here in Southern California. It's kind of perverse, but sunrises are always more beautiful when they're bathed in wildfire smoke. Anyway, here's my impression of the last presidential debate of the season. As I've grown to expect, my candidate Barack Obama did another great job. McCain seemed twitchy, angry, and inarticulate.

McCain seemed hyperbolic and crazy to me. ACORN, one of America's oldest and community organizations that hasn't done anything wrong except maybe hired some bad people who they fired, is a "threat" to democracy. Is he nuts! He seemed to ramble, stare, groan, breath weirdly, and get very defensive about everybody and anybody who ever attended his rallies, when it was clear that Obama was talking about a few bad apples. Even his bravado was strange. Was it just me, or did he seem to be want to punch somebody at that moment? It was freaky to say the least.

I will be posting the Factcheck.org details about how each candidate "stretched the truth" soon after I get it, but my gut tells me that McCain lied about some pretty important things. One of the worst was when McCain claimed to "repudiate" anybody who was "out of line" in his campaign. What a load of crap. The McCain campaign has tolerated and encouraged outrageous comments about Obama from spokespeople and supporters for months. That comment was outrageous and without a hint of truth.

Early polls released last night showed that Obama did well again. If things continue to go this way, America will have something to celebrate in a few weeks. Obama is a good man, but even more important, he's an intelligent, capable man. We are very lucky to have him at this time in our history. If we succeed - yes, WE, his small donors and supporters - in getting him elected president then we will all have a reason to hold a big party.

His campaign is considering an election night party in Chicago's Grant Park. I think we should all consider holding a party or attending one. Email me if you have any ideas. For those negative Republicans who think we might be counting our proverbial eggs, I say there's nothing wrong with being optimistic, especially since I can't even imagine the alternative. Thanks for another great debate Barack! You're doing a great job!

Thursday's Debate Review #1 - Michael

Review: Poor McCain, I Almost Felt Sorry for Him, But Not Quite

Good Morning Bloggers - As usual, I would like to give my impression of the debate before reading the daily news. I thought Barack did an amazing job last night explaining not only his positions but how we have to focus on revenues, not just cuts. I felt kind of sorry for McCain. He wasn't angry like I expected. He just seemed kind of slow and awkward. But after all the name calling lately, calling Barack a terrorist in every other speech, I have very little pity for the guy. I guess what goes around, comes around.

McCain and the Republicans try to keep any discussion of revenue generation or maintenance off the table. I thought Barack was very convincing last night slamming McCain for not recognizing the scope of the problem. Cuts alone will not solve our problems. Every American, including the wealthy, must sacrifice while continuing to invest. The country cannot afford McCain's tax cuts any more than we can afford his health plan with its trillion plus dollar cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

I also appreciated the questions about making sacrifices and priorities. Bush, McCain and the Republicans have wanted us to go shopping. McCain didn't even have a direct answer to the question about sacrifice. Obama is calling for us all to learn more about energy savings and to implement changes in our daily lives. I really appreciated that call to action. It was a breath of fresh air. Obama gave his clear priorities: energy, healthcare and entitlements. Again, McCain didn't answer the question.

Overall I thought Barack had another solid debate performance. I got calls from some Republican friends of mine who were very disappointed with McCain - they're even questioning their support for him. To me, McCain seemed old and doddery last night while Barack looked strong and confident. I must admit things are looking up. Perhaps there really is light at the end of this nightmare of a tunnel.

Wednesday's Political Debate Review #1 - Michael