A Disappointing Debate

Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama said anything new of substance in this debate. The policy debates were simply restatements of the discussions they had the first time around.

I did learn a few things from both candidates however. Did you know that America is a great country? Apparently, it is. American workers are great too. Evidently, both candidates will fight for me, even though they've never met me and they don't know me from Adam.

I was disappointed in Obama's performance on the whole. He is leading and should win this election fairly comfortably. He should have been more ambitious and more concrete in what he expects from us and what we can expect from him. I was upset that he allowed McCain to drag him into several political tussles instead of staying above the fray.

John McCain came across as indignant. He seemed to totter on the edge of fury. At one point, he referred to Obama as "that one." It was as if he was inches away from calling Obama the n-word. Another occasion saw McCain inexplicably walk near Obama and glare at him as if McCain thought he was still in a POW camp. Then there was McCain's stalking of the questioners. By the end, McCain was tired. His earlier plan of ignoring the chair in order to stand had failed. Near the end, McCain became so tired that he even forgot to hold the microphone to his mouth.

I like Tom Brokaw a lot, but his incessant scolding of the candidates made me almost as uncomfortable as watching McCain. The line of the night belonged to Tom Brokaw who told the two candidates, "Now you're blocking my script." An apt end to a trite debate.