Presidential debate post-mortem

A few observations about last night's Presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.

1. The closing statements: Obama focused on us, and McCain focused on himself.

Here’s McCain’s: “I have a record of reform, and taking on my party, the other party, the special interests…” And Obama’s: “You know, over the last 20 months, you've invited me into your homes. You've shared your stories with me. And you've confirmed once again the fundamental decency and generosity of the American people. And that's why I'm sure that our brighter days are still ahead.”

Should a presidential campaign be all about the person running, or should it be about all of us as a nation?

2. Regarding appointment of Supreme Court Justices, once again, John McCain got his facts wrong.

I voted for Justice Breyer and Justice Ginsburg. Not because I agreed with their ideology, but because I thought they were qualified and that elections have consequences when presidents are nominated. This is a very important issue we're talking about.

Senator Obama voted against Justice Breyer and Justice Roberts on the grounds that they didn't meet his ideological standards. [emphasis mine]

For the record, Senator McCain, Justice Breyer was nominated by President Clinton and seated on the Court on August 3, 1994. As Barack Obama's official Senate biography notes he was:

Sworn into office on January 4, 2005, Senator Obama has focused on tackling the challenges of a globalized, 21st-century world with fresh thinking and judgment that no longer settles for the lowest common denominator. [emphasis mine]

So tell me Senator McCain, how does an Illinois State Senator vote in the United States Senate to confirm a Supreme Court Justice? Are you alleging voter fraud?

3. Why does John McCain hate women?

Obama: Those are all things that we put in the Democratic platform for the first time this year, and I think that's where we can find some common ground, because nobody's pro-abortion. I think it's always a tragic situation.

[...]

McCain: Just again, the example of the eloquence of Senator Obama. He's health for the mother. You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything.

That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, "health."

John McCain is a callous, heartless bastard who would rather let a pregnant mother die than give her the option of terminating her pregnancy in which the end result might be her own death. John McCain has said some idiotic things, but mocking a mother's health in order to force her to have a child is pretty low. Memo to pregnant women: never mind if your health and safety dictates that an abortion is the best course of action as determined by you in consultation with qualified medical professionals, John McCain would rather let you die.

But then, after the way McCain berated his own wife, Cindy, in front of staff and reporters, we already knew he didn't respect women.

4. And then there's education. Despite the fact that teachers in our schools go to college and get specialized training and certification, McCain thinks anybody off the street can be a teacher.

MCCAIN: We need to encourage programs such as Teach for America and Troops to Teachers where people, after having served in the military, can go right to teaching and not have to take these examinations which -- or have the certification that some are required in some states.

Certification? We don't need no stinking certification? Apparently John McCain thinks we need standards of excellence for our students, but not our teachers. And he wants to put these uncertified teachers in the classroom with the hard-working good teachers who got their degrees and certifications. Undoubtedly McCain would want to pay these uncertified teachers the same wages as their certified counterparts.

5. "Spread the wealth" and "Joe the Plumber". If you had these on your debate bingo cards, congratulations you're the big winner. Seriously, though, throughout the debate John McCain was red-baiting every time he used the phrase "spread the wealth" with regard to Barack Obama. It was his code for calling Obama a communist.

6. What was up with all the maniacal grins and goofy facial expressions? Between those and throwing out every attack line he could at Barack Obama, John McCain reinforced that he truly is that grumpy old neighbor who yells at the kids, "Get off my lawn!"