Saturday, August 16, 2008
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McCain's Performance @ Saddleback
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Posted by:
Matt Lewis at
9:29 PM
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Obama did well during his opening session. But McCain is doing great. I'm not just saying that because I'm a conservative. Quite often, I've written that though I favor McCain against Obama, that McCain has not been an effective communicator (usually, this has been when each were giving speeches -- which is different from answering questions).
I'm not sure what it is, but McCain seems extremely focused tonight -- like a baseball player who is "in the zone". He is quick and eloquent tonight. He is blunt and delivering "straight talk". He has a passion and seriousness about him which I have not seen in a while. But perhaps more than anything, he looks extremely comfortable tonight ...
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The contrast was striking throughout each man’s one-hour time on stage. When Warren asked Obama, “What’s the most gut-wrenching decision you’ve ever had to make?” Obama answered that opposing the war in Iraq was “as tough a decision that I’ve had to make, not only because there were political consequences but also because Saddam Hussein was a bad person and there was no doubt he meant America ill.” But Obama was a state senator in Illinois when Congress authorized the president to use force in Iraq. He didn’t have to make a decision on the war. That fact was a recurring issue in the Democratic primaries, when candidates Hillary Clinton, Joseph Biden, Christopher Dodd, and John Edwards argued that they, as senators, had to make a choice Obama didn’t have to make. And now he says it’s his toughest call.
When McCain got the question, he was able to tell an old story with a sense of gravity and poignancy that he seldom shows in public. He described his time as a prisoner of war, when he was offered a chance for early release because his father was a top naval officer. “I was in rather bad physical shape,” McCain told Warren, but “we had a code of conduct that said you only leave by order of capture.” So McCain refused to go. He made the telling even more forceful when he added that, “in the spirit of full disclosure, I’m very happy I didn’t know the war was going to last for another three years or so.” In one moment, he showed a sense of pride and a hint of regret, too; he came across as a man who did the right thing but not without the temptation to take an easy out. In any event, the message was very clear: John McCain has had to make bigger, more momentous decisions in his life than has Barack Obama.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTBjN2RkY2Y3ODZhYmRmYT ZjYTI1NTQ4ZGNkM2Y2YmU=&w=MQ== |
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When asked "At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?," McCain answered "At the moment of conception." Obama's answer here was flaming-dirigible bad:
Whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is, you know, above my pay grade...
But what bowls me over about how craptacular his answer here is, did no one on his campaign ever anticipate that he would have to talk about abortion, such that he could come up with a better answer than this? Surely they would have had to expect it at this forum in particular.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGIwYmQwNjVlNDAwYj RlOGFkOGViMzdhYTgwMjg3MDg |
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C973 said, "Still, it's troubling that McCain
says he believes life begins at conception, but then is okay with killing embryos for research purposes."
More troubling, in my opinion, is Obama's position on abortion in general. Consider the extreme position on whether or not to provide any kind of assistance to the darn stubborn fetuses who managed to survive the abortion process. Doesn't Obama have a heart? Should we send him to Oz to get one?
Obama lied when he said the abortion rate has remained high, when in fact abortions have decreased in the last decade. Why the lie? With Obama, the phrase "No Child Left Behind" takes on a whole new meaning.
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You wrote, "McCain is pandering to the Christian right; he understands why Hallmark cards sell and knows how to stick to the same sentimentality and cheap emotion."
Actually what McCain said to the Americans at Saddleback is what he'll say to Americans anywhere else he goes. The answers will be the same because these are his ideals. None of McCain's responses were rehearsed or "memorized" for the debate, these are what he actually thinks, straightup.
Can't wait for the next debate. I'd like to see the two of them dialogue with each other. I think it would be a major spanking.
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says he believes life begins at conception, but then is okay with killing embryos for research purposes.
Doesn't it logically follow that McCain believes that it's okay to destroy human life, as long as the destruction benefits scientific research? |
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McCain does well in this type of forum because he believes in what he says and says what he believes whether or not it is the popular view of others. Obama tries to cover all the bases and therefore his answers just don't ring true.
Put simply -- McCain has personal convictions . . . Obama has personal ambitions. |
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Your vomitous attmempts at nuance and "sophistication of pallet" are just smarmy attempts at elitism.
The reason most conservatives are conservatives is that they can read, do math and think critically unlike liberals who accept no absolutes and can't make up their minds.
Superior to me? My aching anal orifice, you are superior.
You can't tell black from white, day from night. Your greatest hero isn't sure what the meaning of "is" is. You have to judge things by the exigencies of the moment. Stupid dolts. |
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McCain responded to the "who's rich" question in a way that other Republicans need to emulate. He challenged the premise of the question. The point isn't some arbitrary dollar amount that serves as a boundary between tax brackets. The point is that government should take as little as possible from everybody, regardless of income, and should use what they do take as wisely as possible. He explicitly noted the question's grounding in a world view that focuses on redistribution of wealth and flatly stated that he does not believe in it. Bravo! |
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I have no idea why people say that McCain can't give a good speech. He did fabulous in the Saddleback Church debate.
McCains answers to the questions were his bread and butter and the issues brought forth were important to the American people. Only a candidate can give the right answer because of experience, something that Obama doesn't have. |
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THE EVIL MONSTER OBAMA needs to explain to me:
WHY a baby born during an abortion attempt:
is alive
MOTHER is ready to go dancing in the street:
HOW IN THE WORLD can it be to save the mother to have to hack that born, alive, baby to death after it is BORN and the mother is already out on the street screwing everything that moves ?? |
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KARL MARX Obama has never had ONE GOOD IDEA:
NO ONE EVEY KNOWS what his ideas are from day to day: HE "CHANGES" twists, distorts, lies, exaggerates, fabricates the facts every other hour now:
HE said ZERO NONE NO FOOD< MEDICAL CARE ETC to a baby that survived an aboriton:
NOW GIVE ME A BREAK:: HEALTH OF THE MOTHER ???
when the aborted baby LIVES:::::::::: The mother went dancing in the streets 10 minutes after the baby starved to death:::::: or was hacked to death: at DIctator Obama's ruling:
Obama is an evil monster, |
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DRILL EVERYWHERE NOW:::::
Putin finds, drills, pumps and cashes in big time everywhere in less than 4 months:
HE gave global warming, and eco terrorists the finger: PUTIN will control the world's energy:
Obama's energy policy is a tire gauge, RATION THIS RATION THAT RATION THIS RATION THATLL
haul your 4 kids around on a bike: turn off the heat and lights, stick it to the Senior shareholders of the energy companies:
PUTIN almost died laughing at Obama's directive for everyone in the world to get an equal share:
PUTIN SHOWED HIM that NO ONE GETS any of his chips::::
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Putting performance aside -- and I think McCain did very well -- I have many substantive questions following his answers. 1) How can he reconcile his "I want everyone to be rich" mantra, with his call for us to be less selfish and give, and to be frank, with a Christian ethic that is skeptical of wealth accumulation? 2) Saying we should fight and die in the national interest is not saying much. How do we define national interest? In particular, he dodged the question on when we get involved in stopping genocide. 3) The Vietnamese-Christian guard story was totally underexplored. What did he draw from that? That his guard was a good Christian forced to do bad things? That his guard had failed as a Christian because he was acting as a guard? This is way more interesting than the anecdote itself. |
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"I'm not just saying that because I'm a conservative."
Of course, not. You never were a conservative. If you were, you would not be spreading the GOP fog for the Democratic Party Trojan Horse. |
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LOL. Like they both didn't show up at this venue to pander to the 'Christian Right". Face it, Obama came in a distant second. Better luck next time. |
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Both candidates had prepared answers for questions they were tipped off to beforehand. This was a rehearsed "debate". All part of the big 2008 kabuki play to entertain the unwashed masses. I guess this is what the destruction of our educational system was building up to. Where is DNC Joe to lead the "We are the myrmidons! We are the champions!" chanting. |
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I think Lewis really means it (that McCain is doing a great job) - it's about standards, and what Lewis finds thought-provoking.
These posts that are awed by McCain say more about the posters and how easily they are awed, not about the substance of the answers.
Well, some people are awed by Abba - for others, only Mozart will do (although it's a little more complicated). |
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McCain is pandering to the Christian right; he understands why Hallmark cards sell and knows how to stick to the same sentimentality and cheap emotion. |
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going to stop hauling out those war stories, you know- the ones we already know by heart, because like our grandfathers, he has told them over and over.
This show confirms by basic belief that conservatives just don't like complicated answers about complex issues - as long as they can just keep it simple, have a candidate just talks about good and evil and wanting to kill somebody, they're happy and emotionally stirred. |
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You are exactly right. I am not a Mac fan at all, but even I see that Mac is knocking them out of the park. Mac looks Major League tonight. Obama looks like he is in Class AA ball. Too bad Obama fans, that's just how it is. |
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His answers are far more commanding and powerful, and frankly more believable.
The commenter above notices this too, or they wouldn't have posted such a rude comment.
We see once again why Obama fears more debates (in a town hall forum) with McCain.
It's an obvious win tonight for John McCain - now it's up to him to big the strongest V-p |
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I agree - to be fair McCain is totally wooping a r s e |
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You are such a hack. They both did fine, I've seen Obama be MUCH better and MUCH worse. I've seen McCain be MUCH better and MUCH worse.
Do you get kneepads from the GOP or do you have to bring your own?
Hack. |
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