First off, $300 billion to buy up even more bad debt? Did McCain actually say that? No, seriously… Did he actually say that? Isn’t buying up a whole bunch of bad debt at the taxpayer’s expense what the original bailout was for anyway? This isn’t going to help him with the millions of regular Americans who were/are already furious over the first bailout. The deadbeats and socialists who actually like the bailout package are firmly in the Obama camp anyway, so this didn’t sway them either.
McCain finally hit back on the Fannie/Freddie issue. The red meat conservative in me was disappointed that he didn’t take the attack even further, tearing into Dodd, Frank, Raines, ACORN, Pelosi and so on. But in all reality, he probably did the best he could for the forum he was in. Lashing out at the Democrats too much would have come off as mean and unpresidential. Obama is allowed to be mean, arrogant and unpresidential. McCain is not, and neither one of them really should be.
Ayers and friends… Not a single word from McCain about any one of Obama’s numerous radical and/or treasonous friends and associates. McCain struck out big time on this one. Going back to my last comment, I would have liked to see McCain explain the accounting scandal at Fannie Mae in strong but simple terms, and then establish the mental comparison between Fannie Mae and Enron, with the Democrats and Obama front and center. Oh, well.
For the most part, McCain and Obama matched each other blow for blow, and neither one of them really did anything to change anybody’s opinion. McCain outclassed Obama by a mile and a half on Iraq, Russia and national security. But then again, if you beleive that Iraq isn’t worth winning, that Russia doesn’t pose a threat to the US or that Mahmoud Amadinejad can be reasoned with, you’re probably voting for Obama anyway.
Obama also does well with women in a way that McCain can not. They no doubt see him as young, charming and sensitive, just as they did Bill Clinton back in the 1990’s. McCain on the other hand, is a seasoned old sailor and statesman with white hair and a stiff walk. Remember Bob Dole?
For women voting on the basis of “sexy” McCain is a losing proposition. That is, in part, why McCain tapped Sarah Palin for VP. But therein lies another glaring concern. Sarah is – how do I say this as tastefully as possible – better looking at forty-four than a lot of women in their twenties. Beauty doesn’t play well with the banal soccer mom types, and they just may vote against her out of spite, since men think she’s good looking. Joe Biden is a world class gas bag, but that won’t hurt Obama. If Jeremiah Wright didn’t hurt Obama, Biden certainly won’t.
The bottom line is this: McCain needed to go out their and light the place up. He failed to do so and it will cost him. There is still time, but not much. Last night’s performance by McCain was like striking out three times in the eighth inning when your down by about four runs. And one more thing. If I hear Obama refer to his “fist term as president” one more time, I just may throw the TV out the window.
