England for Obama

Here’s an 11-minute version if you don’t want to watch the 96-minute one:

The more I watch it, the more I realise how brilliant Obama was.

I love this photo:

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Democratic Presidential Nominee, Senator Barack Obama participates in the first presidential debate with Senator McCain at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS on Friday, September 26, 2008. (David Katz/Obama for America)

Obama and Biden hit the post-debate stump in North Carolina today. Here was part of Senator O’s speech:

Michael Seitzman has written a great piece on The Huffington Post about Obama’s performance last night. Called Barack Obama And The Return Of Grace, here’s an excerpt (my bolding) -

“Watch Barack Obama in that debate and you see a man who is confident but not arrogant - hence the regular acknowledgment of his opponent when they agree. He is sure of himself, yet thoughtful in the way he explains his position. He is more than capable of being Commander In Chief, yet just as interested in being Diplomat In Chief. Standing on that podium next to a walking shadow of our past, Barack Obama stands as a clear signpost to our future.

McCain is his own history book, more interested in listing the stamps on his passport and forcing our collective groans at every mention of his maverickness and his POW imprisonment, than he is in providing us a vision of any real future under his leadership. Never mind the new cold war John McCain promises us with our enemies, what about the one he promises to perpetuate with our fellow Americans? Ask yourself this question, can you even imagine that kind of mannerless, undiplomatic, insulting discourteousness from Barack Obama? Not a chance. Obama’s unwillingness to display anger may be something that his critics see as proof of his inability to win, but it happens to be the very quality that proves he can lead.”

Indeed. And about those two bolded points:

As I wrote last night (well, this morning): John McCain was the living embodiment of the status quo and of the past last night; Barack Obama was the living embodiment of the future. Interestingly, in over 90 minutes, McCain only uttered the word “change” - his mantra of recent weeks - once. Is this a reversal of strategy? Has he realigned himself with Bush and the Republican administration? I think this might be the case. John McCain certainly came across as ‘the old guard’ last night - and I don’t see how he can change that frame, now he’s put himself back in it.

Secondly: while many of us knew about Obama’s mild manner, his thoughtfulness, his calm and measured approach to issues and style of delivery - all adjectives that could never be applied to McCain - last night was, of course, about millions of Americans watching this, properly, for the first time.

So the more I think about it, the more I realise that Obama didn’t need to deliver those killer punches that we lily-livered, bleeding heart, liberal egghead communists so wanted him to deliver to McCain. Obama just had to be himself: intelligent, gentlemanly, capable, rational, confident, positive, knowledgeable, reasonable, gracious.

Because while he may not have been tougher, or angrier, or made his points in a punchier, more memorable way, Barack Obama ultimately came across as the better man last night. And in doing so, I think he potentially reached the hearts and minds of the American people far more effectively - and on a far more important level - than he could have done with any killer-punch soundbite.

If you don’t have 96 minutes to spare: here’s footage and initial analysis from Keith Olbermann (and Richard Wolfe):

More of this next time, please:

Actually went to bed last night? Fear not - here’s the debate in all its 96-minute glory:

As explained here by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell (who turns out to be a former producer/writer on The West Wing. Fancy!):

According to the American people, that is.

Yes, while many of the pundits in the mainstream media - and bloggers like me - thought that last night’s presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain would be seen as a tie, it seems that the American public felt differently.

And felt differently in a very, very good way.

The post-debate polls of undecided voters went massively in Obama’s favour. Why, even a focus group of undecideds covered by Fox - Fox! - declared Obama the winner:

Here’s a round-up of the poll figures. As Kos says over on Daily Kos:

“Given the CNN and CBS polling, the public has overwhelmingly crowned Obama the winner of the debate. It seems that Republicans spent so much time trashing Obama’s “lack of experience” and “lack of judgment” on national security, that expectations were ridiculously low, and as a result, people were pleasantly (and happily) surprised.

Kind of imagine Sarah Palin, who we’ve all come to see as a blithering idiot, turning in a performance the caliber of Obama’s tonight - she would all the much stronger for it, no matter if on the merits, she merely equaled Joe Biden. That’s what apparently happened tonight.

And those snap polls are apparently driving much of tonight’s media narrative. That and McCain’s inability to look Obama in the eye.”