Key Moments In Last Night's Debate

Last night was the second presidential debate of 2008, and there is only one more remaining.

What I want to do is grab some quotes from various news articles this morning and point out some good moments in the debate:

A couple of things I noticed right off the bat, he did not mention Sarah Palin a single time, nor did he bring up William Ayers, as I predicted he would not. Had McCain mentioned William Ayers, the Keating Five would've been brought to light in front of millions watching! So McCain chose the coward route and kept his mouth shut.

According to NY Times...

John McCain on Alternative Fuels

Obama appeared well-prepared to parry Mr. McCain’s criticisms, matching him statistic for statistic as they argued over domestic and foreign policy.

“Senator McCain and I actually agree on something,” Mr. Obama said. “He said a while back that the big problem with energy is that for the last 30 years politicians in Washington haven’t done anything. What McCain doesn’t mention is he’s been there 26 of them and during that time he voted 23 times against alternative fuels.”

McCain constantly tries to cast himself as someone who supports alternative fuels, but his record speaks the truth. McCain has voted against alternative fuels throughout his entire career.


McCain stated Obama spoke too loudly when talking about taking out targets in Pakistan...

At another point, Mr. McCain criticized Mr. Obama as saying he would speak, without preconditions, to the leaders of countries like Pakistan, quoting Theodore Roosevelt — at first incorrectly — explaining the way he would deal with leaders of foes.

“You know, my hero is a guy named Teddy Roosevelt,” he said. “Teddy Roosevelt used to say walk softly — talk softly, but carry a big stick. Senator Obama likes to talk loudly.”

“Senator McCain suggests that somehow, you know, I’m green behind the ears and, you know, I’m just spouting off, and he’s somber and responsible,” he said. “Senator McCain, this is the guy who sang, ‘Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,’ who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don’t think is an example of ‘speaking softly.’ ”

You could actually see McCain facial expression go from smiling to a more somber tone as Obama jabbed back effectively.

McCain tried to link Barack Obama to the current financial mess in America

Mr. McCain sought to blame Mr. Obama for the crisis in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac housing agencies, saying that Mr. Obama “and his cronies” had failed to speak out when the organizations began making the risky loans that he argued were at the heart of the financial crisis.

“Fannie and Freddie were the catalyst, the match that started this forest fire,” he said. “There were some who stood up against it. There were others who took a hike.”

Mr. Obama nodded disapprovingly. “Now, I’ve got to correct a little bit of Senator McCain’s history, not surprisingly,” he said “Let’s, first of all, understand that the biggest problem in this whole process was the deregulation of the financial system.

“Senator McCain, as recently as March, bragged about the fact that he is a deregulator.”

This should not be overlooked, McCain's deregulation is what helped the Keating Five scandal continue for years after it should have been stopped, and his deregulation attitude is exactly what has helped fan the flames of the current financial crisis in America.

From Washington Post Blog...

When asked if health care is a right or responsibility

One moment struck me as particularly unfortunate for McCain: When Tom Brokaw asked whether health care was a privilege, a responsibility or a right. McCain said it was a responsibility, but left unclear whose responsibility it might be. Obama said he believed it should be a right, and talked about how his mother, who died of cancer at 53, had to spend the last months of her life arguing with insurance companies. Pretty powerful, I thought.

As usual though, not much of a debate. The structure won't allow for one, and even when you could tell one of the opponents wanted to continue, time limis and no follow up questions continue to make these "debates" look more and more scripted. Full of rehearsed one liners and talking points and no real substance. Despite those feelings, I think Barack Obama Won Again.

Hopefully the final debate will be the big finale!