England for Obama

Love Joe the plumber’s hopes and dreams; and McCain’s frequent flying:

Highly recommended if you didn’t see it all last night:

Now, I admit that I was listening to the debate more than I was watching it (some of us have work to do - especially if they’re not getting up til lunchtime tomorrow). But those overall impressions?

…………

John McCain spent much of the first part asking us to feel sorry for him.

He then spent the rest of it being angry, rather nasty and at times patronising.

Ayers, ACORN and hateful chants did come up. Obama handled them all graciously, intelligently, factually and with typical aplomb. Time and again, he emphasised the need to move away from attack politics and to the actual pressing issues.

In yaddering on about “Joe the plumber”, McCain totally and utterly wasted time and energy on a story which most of the American viewing public probably had no clue about. Which only adds to his ‘out of touch’ aura.

When they were asked about their picks for vice president, McCain attacked Joe Biden personally. Barack Obama made absolutely no negative attacks on Sarah Palin. Not a word. With all that material, too.

In fact: Barack Obama is so cool, so gracious, so bloody decent that it’s almost unnerving.

McCain remained relentlessly negative, failing to even admonish the racist and hateful shouts at his rallies (it was an extremely powerful moment to see Obama himself talk about the “kill him” rants). There was no grace, no compassion, no generosity to him tonight. He was just doing more to appeal to his base. (Word up, Johnny: I think you got ‘em already).

So, once again: Obama came across as the better, more decent man. And he once again appeared presidential, calm and collected.

Game over. Hopefully.

…………..

Having a quick look at the blogs before I go to bed, I’m struck by these comments from Andrew Sullivan and Bob Cesca, both of whom picked up on visual things that I missed due to the fact that, as I say, I was listening more than I was watching:

Sullivan:

“Closing statements: McCain seemed almost wistful. Obama ended on “sacrifice, service and responsibility.” Obama won this for the third time. A small prediction: there will be YouTube mash-ups of McCain’s facial reactions on the split screen. And they will have a longer life, for good or ill, than many of the substantive exchanges.”

Cesca:

“The moment of the debate, THE moment, is when Obama said, “Here’s your fine, zero.” McCain: “Zero?” Obama: “Zero…”

McCain’s blinking, dumbstruck, carp in the headlights look, in which his jaw ACTUALLY dropped (at which point he became the physical embodiment of a cliche), took 11 seconds (I timed it thanks to TiVO). ELEVEN SECONDS before he finally could get his brain back on track. ELEVEN SECONDS of McCain realizing he didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. ELEVEN SECONDS of McCain realizing that he knows less than a fourth-grader about math. ELEVEN SECONDS of McCain visualizing his campaign self-destruct. ELEVEN SECONDS of McCain having the awful, dawning, humbling recognition that his plan to metaphorically shiv his powerful old man who was on the Joint Chiefs, and to symbolically kick in the nuts his even more powerful grandad who commanded the Atlantic Fleet during WWII, was going up in smoke.”

And on that note: it’s 4am and I’m off to bed. I’ll be up to watch those mash-ups in the morning. Well, lunchtime.

*Update* Re. those facial expressions of John McCain’s, I didn’t realise he’d rolled his eyes so frequently. See here. I did notice that he seemed to be sighing or taking deep breaths an awful lot, though - maybe he was doing that at the same time?

Know all those swing voters and ‘undecideds’? The strange people who still don’t know who to vote for, and may well be waiting for the end of tonight’s final presidential debate before deciding  - strange as it may seem to those of us who think that Barack Obama and John McCain’s ideologies are oceans apart?

Well, apparently Colin Powell is one of them:

“Powell has made it clear that he has been thinking about an endorsement for a long time but wanted to hear more from the candidates before making his choice.

It now seems beyond doubt that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama and thereby hammer the final nail in the coffin of the Republican campaign to hold onto the White House.”

…well, apart from a Few Good Men moment, natch. (Actually, I suppose  that’s more a ‘hoping for’ than ‘expecting’, isn’t it?)

Yes, it’s the third and final presidential debate tonight - and it’s taking place at Hofstra University in New York at 9pm EST.  And England expects…. well, certainly for John McCain to bring up William Ayers’ name - because not only has he said will, but Obama has forced him to do it (but dontcha see, Jonny? Then you’re just where he wants you!) - and apart from that, who knows?

We do know at least that, according to CNN, the candidates will be drinking from the same water glasses they used at previous debates (no, really) and will be sitting at a table. And I think we can also expect Obama to be calm and considered and gaffe-free, and McCain to be smouldering with anger.

Meanwhile, back at the(ir respective) ranch(es):

“Both candidates are in full preparation mode.

Obama, according to spokeswoman Linda Douglass, is preparing for the debate at a resort in Toledo, Ohio, and staying in touch with his team of economic advisers.

Advisers say that as the debate nears, Obama gets a sense of calm, turns off his cell phone three hours ahead of time and just focuses.

McCain, according to his campaign, will make final debate preparations Tuesday night into Wednesday in New York.

For McCain, the last debate could be a decisive moment in the final stretch of the campaign season.

CNN political editor Mark Preston said the debate is likely to be for McCain, the self-described underdog in the race, a “last chance to reach tens of millions of people with his vision for America.”

“He needs a game-changer,” Preston added.

The key for Obama is to avoid any gaffes. If he comes out of the debate unscathed, political analysts have said, he’ll be in a good position to hold his lead over McCain.”

Cooom onnnnn, Barry! Make him do it!

Obama: “Senator, did you order Saddam Hussein and Freddie Mac lobbyist William Timmons to head your presidential transition team?”

Moderator: “You don’t have to answer that question.”

McCain: “I’ll answer the question. You want answers?”

Obama: “I think I’m entitled.”

McCain: “You want answers?”

Obama: “I want the truth!”

McCain: “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

It’ll be even better if McCain calls him “a snidey little bastard”. Here’s hoping!

Love ‘Songs In The Key Of Hope’:

From Josh Marshell over at Talking Points Memo:

“It turns out that that “overhead projector” John McCain claimed Barack Obama tried to get a $3 million earmark for was actually money to rebuild Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, the oldest planetarium in the United States.

McCain’s “overhead projector” is the apparatus that runs the planetarium, which is a bit like calling the Palomar Observatory a new set of glasses.”

That’s it. The election is over.

Obama’s got it.

And the reason? Not a knockout blow from Barack. Nor my deep, unabiding lurff for him.

No: the reason Barack Obama’s got it now is that absolutely nothing happened in last night’s debate to change the position of either candidate. Ergo, nothing happened that’s likely to change the lead Obama currently has. Ergo, Obama has won.

The second presidential debate wasn’t a game-changer. It was, as Barack Obama is wont to say about John McCain, more of the same - from both of the candidates. So just as Obama was seen to have won the previous debate partly because McCain didn’t win it - as in: McCain needed a clear victory in order to turn the tables and move back up the polls - exactly the same happened again last night.

In terms of their respective performances: I wanted Obama to connect a little more, Bill Clinton stylee, with the questioners - to talk to them in a more personal and emotional, and less wonky, way (as he did when he talked about his mother arguing with her insurance company as she was dying of cancer). But he did just fine, of course. And while John McCain came across as less obviously nasty and seethingly angry as he had done in the first debate, his calling Obama “that one” was simply unbelievable, in both its condescension and underlying racism. The real John McCain was exposed in that moment - and in that sense, it wasn’t too far removed from a Jack Nicholson one.

Oh, and silly me, thinking that the word “maverick” should have been the drinking game phrase! I should, of course, have chosen “my friends”. Because apparently that’s what we all are to John McCain. Except, erm, one thing: Senator McCain, I’ve read the Rolling Stone article. And I don’t want to be your friend.