According to reports on Politico, McCain was not in a sound proof room sans cell phone. He was in a motorcade. So while there is no concrete proof that McCain cheated, all of the signs are there.
Before Saturday’s performance, the consensus was that he could barely read from a teleprompter. When speaking extemporaneously, he routinely stumbled, got basic facts wrong, and seemed confused. Even in his famed town hall meetings, he sounded less than sharp.
Now, out of the blue, he sounds articulate, crisp, and on his toes. He does not have to contemplate any of the questions. He asked when are we going to go back to the Supreme Court questions, when the question has not even been ask.
When we first saw McCain answer the first few questions, my wife and I immediately assumed that he knew the questions in advance. On Meet the Press, Andrea Mitchell reported that the Obama campaigning has told reporters it believed that McCain was given the questions in advance. The blogosphere believes that McCain cheated.
There is no concrete proof; all evidence is circumstantial. But ask yourself this: if you had a student that for years turned in C- material, and out of the blue turned in an A+ paper, what would you think? This is what we have with McCain. I think McCain cheated.
Obama was punked. He had the right intentions and a credible strategy. After all if he is able just to peel away an extra 5% of white evangelicals away from McCain, this may make a difference in the swing states. His mistake is that he continues to assume that McCain will play by the rules and fight honorably. Remember how McCain cheated the campaign finance laws, by taking a loan out on false pretenses. Remember how presumptuous Obama was for having a "getting to know you" meeting with world leaders? Remember how McCain was going to run an honorable campaign? McCain wants to win, and is all in.
I could be wrong on all of this. His next extemporaneous speech could be just as good, but I don’t think so. I expect him to revert back to his stammering and stumbling ways. Meanwhile Obama learned an important lesson in all of this: the high road only takes you so far.