"Joe the Plumber"
Obviously, it is not original for me to state that the winner of this evening's debate has to be "Joe the Plumber". Talk about getting an hour and a half of free publicity!
Seriously though, who won between McCain and Obama? On points, I would have to say McCain. He did what everyone said he had to do. He had to be aggressive and hit Obama hard on William Ayres and ACORN. After missing a couple of openings, he finally did that and put Obama on the defense having to explain his relationship with the ex-Weatherunderground bomber and ACORN, who McCain categorized correctly as about to pull off the biggest election fraud in our history. McCain was also able to point out that the Obama campaign had diverted $832,000 to ACORN. (Obama did not address that.)
I thought McCain had his best debate tonight, though Obama was what he has been throughout-cool, calm and collected. Did McCain score a knockout tonight? Not in my view, but we must wait for the "all-important" polls to tell us if McCain shifted the numbers.
According to some of the pundits, one line that may come out of this debate was when McCain told Obama that he (McCain) was not President Bush. That may resonate with voters.
McCain also made note of some of Obama's rhetorical tricks, such as when he referred to "health of the mother" in allowing partial-birth abortions-a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. McCain also pointed out Obama's mention of "taking a look at off-shore drilling"-not exactly a commitment to actually engage in off-shore drilling.
I also liked McCain's defense of the trade pact with Colombia while Obama defended his opposition by referring to the Colombian union leaders who had been "mistreated" (my word-my quotes)in Colombia.
One issue that I would have liked to see addressed tonight was illegal immigration. Unfortunately, it was not. It is, after all, a major issue facing our nation. With all the fuss about our economy, illegal immigration remains a factor.
I wonder what "Joe the Plumber" would have said.
Seriously though, who won between McCain and Obama? On points, I would have to say McCain. He did what everyone said he had to do. He had to be aggressive and hit Obama hard on William Ayres and ACORN. After missing a couple of openings, he finally did that and put Obama on the defense having to explain his relationship with the ex-Weatherunderground bomber and ACORN, who McCain categorized correctly as about to pull off the biggest election fraud in our history. McCain was also able to point out that the Obama campaign had diverted $832,000 to ACORN. (Obama did not address that.)
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what he should NOT have done. Yes, you and others in McCain's conservative base ate it up and love it, but polls are now coming out proving what I have been saying for a little while now: most people don't care. In fact, a recent poll showed that these attacks were HURTING McCain. I think McCain just figures what does he have to lose at this point, so he's trying to rally his base.
According to some of the pundits, one line that may come out of this debate was when McCain told Obama that he (McCain) was not President Bush. That may resonate with voters.
I agree that McCain needs to distance himself from Bush more. Unfortunately for McCain, this is mostly talk. As Obama pointed out tonight, they may be different people but it would be more of the same failed policies in a McCain administration.
I also liked McCain's defense of the trade pact with Colombia while Obama defended his opposition by referring to the Colombian union leaders who had been "mistreated" (my word-my quotes)in Colombia.
The assassination of union leaders (and their families, including children) in Colombia is well documented. My girlfriend is half Colombian and does work with a Colombian peace group, so I have gone to a couple of events with her and interacted with people who have actually been on the ground in Colombia. I am not in total agreement with Obama about free trade deals with Colombia, but his position made logical sense: agreements are fine, just make sure they are fair and offer protections for workers. As he pointed out, he supported an agreement with Peru.
As for Joe the Plumber, it is pretty funny how he will have his 15 minutes of fame now. CBS had him on the phone afterwards and he said he is STILL undecided, but sounded like he was leaning towards McCain. I don't really understand these people who haven't made up their mind at this point. The candidates have essentially said everything they're gonna say, they've made their case, and even repeated most of the same crap THREE times now in the debates. Anyways, I wonder if Joe the Plumber is related to Joe Sixpack?
I disagree. Unforunately, a lot of voters don't know much about Ayres and ACORN. He was right to not mention Wright because evrybody knows about him. It is what it is. However, Obama's relationship with Ayres and ACORN should be fullyv aired before Nov 4.
ReplyDeleteAs for Colombia, with DEA, I had a couple of experiences working with the Colombian National Police. I support that country because of the number of people who have put their lives on the line to fight drug trafficking. In 1995, I spent a week in Bogota training Colombian cops and prosecutors. They have worked under great danger, and they have my respect.
I don't know much about the union leader situation in recent years, nor do I know who has committed violence against them, but I think Pres. Uribe has done a great job in Colombia. He certainly is popular with the people.
Two points that struck me about McCain to show how much out of touch he is was that he said several times people should have the same choice as he, Cindy, Obama and Michelle had with their schooling. Is he dreaming? Did his parents or Cindy's ever have to worry about their kids education?
ReplyDeleteThe other, since when does Palin know about Autism? Doesn't he know the difference between Down's Syndrom of which Palins boy suffers and Autism? Does he even care? I hope I won't have to look at this fuddy duddy for the next few years and the gun toting mama (not)and her "tough guy" husband for the rest.
Ingrid,
ReplyDeleteFuddy duddy-I like that.
To Kelly in Virginia,
ReplyDeleteI have deleted your comment because of the language used. If you want to resubmit it without the four-letters words, I will be happy to publish it.