McCain's campaign is already distributing video clips of Obama acknowledging, at various points during tonight's debate, that he agreed with McCain. McCain, on the contrary, never agreed with anything Obama said--or complimented Obama in any way. Instead, McCain repeatedly misstated Obama's positions and snickered at points that a majority of Americans endorse.
So based on this performance: Who would be better at reaching across the aisle and building consensus? More below the fold on why this style difference matters.
McCain embodied politics-as-usual tonight. He worked to polarize the differences between him and Obama, recognizing no common ground. Obama, on the other hand, laid out the clear differences between them, but also acknowledged points on which he agreed with McCain.
My bet is that the undecided voters will prefer Obama's style. The polarized voters chose their candidate months ago. If you see politics in the divided way that McCain portrayed tonight, then how could you have remained undecided between these two men?
What the undecided voters want, like all of us, is someone who will help lead America out of the crises we now face. These voters will give some weight to McCain's fear cards: That America can't "lose" a War and that we can't trust liberals to control government spending. But undecided voters aren't motivated primarily by fear; if they were, those fears would have driven them into the arms of a candidate (probably McCain) long ago.
Instead, I think undecided voters are looking for a candidate who understands the issues, who can talk knowledgeably about them, who is willing to pursue good ideas wherever they originate, and who will build consensus by noting points of consensus.
Obama has done all of the latter during the campaign, and he delivered the same message during tonight's debate. He didn't lock up the undecideds during this first debate, but I think he moved that bloc in his direction--as most of the post-debate polls and focus groups are showing. Part of that success was his willingness to agree with McCain on points where the candidates do agree.
The undecideds undoubtedly are a diverse group; no one point or approach will appeal to all of them. But these debates are most important for them; not for the voters who have already decided. My bet is that Obama's more confident, stately, and consensus-building style played well with the undecided group. McCain, in contrast, seemed jaded, peeved, and sometimes snide. Surely that's not the way to reach across the aisle or handle crises.