Like many on this site, I was surprised to find out that the majority of Americans polled thought Obama won Friday night's debate. I thought for sure it was going to go the other way. I have been sitting here all weekend breathing a sigh of relief. I have also been scratching my head, trying to figure out why what I saw was so different than what so many others did. It finally hit me today: Barack Obama lost the debate.
Let's be honest. Barack Obama lost the debate. He did fine for the first few minutes, but then John McCain's nerves finally calmed a bit and he controlled the direction of the debate for the rest of the 90 minutes. Barack Obama was on the defense for much of that time. McCain had very forceful, short responses. Yes, they were mostly lies, but that is besides the point. Most Americans wouldn't know he's lying. John McCain talked like he absolutely knew what he was doing, and he sounded like he would fight for every American.
Barack Obama lost the debate.
And yet, John McCain lost the interview.
And this is why I think all the pundits and folks here on this site are so surprised that most Americans thought Obama did better. We forget that the presidential debates are not just WWE fights for the elite. They are not just scored by who said what. Presidential debates are set up so the American people can decide who is best fit for the job of President of the United States. The debates give the nominees a chance to show who can act more presidential.
The reason why most of us thought that Obama lost was because we already know he is fit for the job. We just wanted to see him win the debate.
The reason why the pundits thought Obama lost is because they don't really care about who looks more presidential. They just cared about who won the debate.
The people running McCain's campaign are lobbyists and they think just like the MSM. They thought that all McCain had to do was win the debate. Well, mission accomplished.
The people running Obama's campaign thought that the debate had very little to do with McCain, and everything to do with the American public.
The average American did not care about the debate, they only cared about the interview. In their mind, Barack Obama is more fit to be the next President of the United States.
This is why Obama lost the debate but still won the country.