Steady is it goes


Last night was the second presidential debate. It was in "town hall" fashion, supposedly John McCain's strength. But last night's town hall was different than the typical one. It was constrained by rules and by the fact that the crowd wasn't partisan -- they were supposedly undecided voters. The questions were serious and the format allowed little room for humor and sarcasm. If you're told to be polite and neither laugh nor applaud, etc. Those kinds of things don't come off well.

And truth be told, McCain's attempts at humor bombed. But last night's debate likely wasn't a game changer. We didn't learn anything new. The instant polls gave the debate to Obama by a fairly wide margin. Ultimately this election cycle isn't suited to McCain's strong suit, which is foreign policy. It's about the economy, and McCain has been all over the place.

But what has impressed me, especially lately, is how calm, steady, and unflappable Obama really is. McCain did everything he could, except for throw out the character assassinations that have become a staple for the stump speeches, but Obama didn't bite. He just gave a grin, as if to say, I've heard it before. Indeed, as several pundits pointed out last night, when not speaking, Obama didn't take his eyes off of McCain. He kept him in sight, sort of staring him down.

So, why is Obama so far ahead on economic matters? McCain put it well, the American people want a "steady hand on the tiller." When they look at the candidates and how they have reacted, what they have seen in Obama is a steady hand. They want a strong decisive leader, but they also want one that thinks things through, who is reflective and not reactive. And so far they seem to be saying that while Obama doesn't have years of experience, he has the right temperament!

It's not over, by any means. To say that Obama has this won is to jump the gun. But things are looking good -- just keep doing what you've been doing and it should work.

Comments

Anonymous said…
There is one thing which is becoming increasingly apparent with these debates, and with the evolution of the campaign in general, and that is that John McCain is a very anxious person in the face of stress - not a good quality in a leader - and this belies his claim to be "a steady hand at the tiller."

Last night he was often up and pacing, unable to calm himself and listen to Obama's words. And you are right that Obama sat still and "stared" McCain down while McCain was talking.

McCain appears as one who is grasping for quick solutions/responses instead of one who is absorbing information and formulating a measured response. And the responses which come from him appear to be pre-programmed, rather than tailored to the current circumstances. How will he respond to an unanticipated challenge? Interestingly, Obama himself suggested that what he did not know was the unknown, and this "unknown" is the 'threat' to which he feels best poised to respond.

Obama's suggestion that effective leadership needs to be anticipating "around the corners" seems to be a direct challenge to McCain's reactive style.

John

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