Time gave out grades for the 2 candidates. Overall, Obama wins. But here's how they did by category:
| Obama | McCain |
Substance | B+ | B- |
Style | A | C- |
Offense | B | C+ |
Defense | A- | B- |
Details below.
Substance
Obama:
Quite manifestly immersed in the past, present, and future details of policy, and eager to express his views, which have been expanded, honed, and solidified during the last 18 months of hard campaigning.
The article goes on to criticize him for failing to deal with specifics. But I agree with his approach (to an extent) - the presidential debate is NOT the time to get down to details on policy. It's boring. The only kinds of specifics I want to hear are ones like "If you make between $19k and $66k per year, you will save about $700 more on your taxes under my plan than under McCain's plan." Try that one out next time, Barack.
McCain:
Stuck to bumper sticker slogans on the economy. Well, YEAH. He's a Republican. That's what they do. Besides, he didn't know what he was talking about. Time says he got better as the debate went on ("hard to follow at the beginning") but never really "seemed fully in control of his message." But the best line is this:
If he truly knows more about the world than Obama, he didn't show it in this debate.
Style
Obama:
Style is the man's middle name, or at least it would be if it wasn't Hussein. Time calls him "cool as a cucumber."
Polished, confident, focused. Fully prepared, and able to convey a real depth of knowledge on nearly every issue. He was unhurried, and rarely lost his train of thought even when the debate wended and winded
Only criticisms are that his answers came off as rehearsed occasionally and he was more focused on Lehrer & the TV audience than McCain except for when he was "on the attack."
McCain:
"Old Man Yells At Cloud," anyone? Please, America, don't vote for Grandpa as president.
Cluttered, jumpy, and often muddled. Frequent coughing early on helped neither his arguments nor his image. Jokes about being deaf and anecdotes about Normandy and George Shultz seemed ill-advised — even his pen was old.
I can just see the SNL sketch that's in the near future, with McCain talking about memories of the Revolutionary War!!! Time also calls him out for getting angry over the Kissinger thing and for using applause lines from stump speeches that don't work when the audience has been told to stay quiet!
Keenly aware of the grand, grave occasion, McCain wavered between respectful and domineering, and ended up awkward and edgy.
Offense
Obama:
Points for linking McCain to Bush, calling him out for early support of the war, and using his own recent quotes to attack him.
(I'd like to add that Obama missed opportunities in there to mention McCain's choice of top campaign advisers when McCain was railing against Fanny/Freddie and lobbyists! He also should have whacked McCain on his Palin choice as VP because McCain kept emphasizing experience. I'd like to hear something like "Well, Sen. McCain, you say now you see value in experience, but you certainly contradicted that in your choice of a small town mayor to be on your ticket." And McCain left the door open to raise his lack of support for veterans in his voting record.)
McCain:
But while mocking his opponent on a few occasions, which reflected his acute disrespect for Obama, he did so in an insufficiently sharp and detailed manner — and unevenly worked elements of his rival's record into his attacks.
Time notes that he did well in expressing his experience & solid grip on the issues (I disagree, but whatever) but points out that his attacks on Obama's inexperience and naivete fell flat because Obama obviously knew what he was talking about.
Defense
Obama:
Time comments on Obama's occasional agreement with McCain as fearless but "to his own [Obama's] detriment." I'd agree. Don't tell voters that McCain's right, Obama. You're not helping!
The only other critique is of the bracelet story, for which Time calls Obama "clumsy." But the rest is good:
Had a reasonable answer for every charge that came his way — with little anger, bluster, or anxiety. Often interrupting McCain attacks with swift explanations and comebacks, he managed to spin accusations of being liberal as evidence of his relentless opposition to George Bush (in replies that were clearly planned).
McCain:
Time mentions how he got visibly upset (vs. Obama's "cool as a cucumber" demeanor) and mostly just ignored anything Obama criticized him on. My favorite bit is this:
He also chose to boast about Sarah Palin (although not by name) as his maverick partner, who, after her shaky week, may no longer be his ace in the hole.
Overall
Obama:
Two more performances like that and he will be very tough to beat on Election Day.
Well, if that doesn't say it all!!! Time brings up Reagan in 1980, which is the very same thing that I heard on AAR (probably from David Bender) - about how Reagan was not seen as a credible presidential candidate next to incumbent Jimmy Carter until their one debate, when Reagan looked presidential.
McCain:
McCain was McCain — evocative, intense, and at times emotional, but also vague, elliptical, and atonal. Failed to deliver his "country first versus Obama first" message cleanly, even when offered several opportunities. Surprisingly, did not talk much about "change," virtually ceding the dominant issue of the race.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! Go home Grandpa!