After tonight's debate, I heard some commentator say there was little excitement. That commentator must have been surrounded by Republicans. At the Democratic debate party I attended, there was plenty of excitement and for good reason. Tonight, Obama managed to reproduce two of the greatest presidential debate moments from the last 20 years.
[Note: quotes in this essay are from my memory. Those with better bandwidth can correct any errors in the comments section.]
One of the greatest hits came from 1992. Going into the first three-way debate between Bush's dad, Clinton's husband, and Ross Perot's greatest enemy (himself), many questioned why Perot was even invited. His poll numbers were in single-digits. Third parties were outraged by their exclusion when they were polling better than Perot. But Perot emerged as a contender, largely because of a knock-down blow he threw against Bush I. Perot, when asked about his lack of government experience, said, "It's true. I don't have any experience at all when it comes to running up massive deficits. I don't have any experience grid-locking with Congress."
Tonight, Obama came ready with his own version. McCain repeated the "Obama doesn't understand" line, and Obama hit him. "There are things I don't understand. I don't understand how you declare war on a country that never attacked us." Here at the Democratic debate watch, the cheers were so loud, I missed much of what Obama said next.
Later, Obama gave us his own version of the most famous moment in modern debate: "You're no Jack Kennedy."
McCain walked right into it. Just as the Palin-esque Dan Quayle foolishly tried to suggest he was as qualified as JFK had been, McCain tried to claim he is better than Obama in one field where McCain clearly is not. He criticized Obama for talking frankly about the possibility of invading Pakistan. McCain suggested Obama was undiplomatic, even reckless. McCain said he himself embraced the mantra of Teddy Roosevelt, "Speak softly, but carry a big stick."
Oh, John. Did you really think America would see YOU as the responsible, diplomatic one on that stage tonight?
Obama saw the opportunity, and eagerly convinced the moderator to change the rules so Obama could respond. "This is the guy who sang, 'bomb bomb bomb Iran.' That's not speaking softly."
At my debate watch, the audience screamed. That was the killshot. Obama may have been more polite than Lloyd Benston, but he was just as deadly.
The message was clear: Senator McCain, you're no Teddy Roosevelt.
Republicans may try to dismiss Obama's lines as unoriginal, even predictable. But the fact that McCain set himself up for these blows suggests McCain, for all his political experience, has not learned as much as Obama has.
In a debate format that was supposed to work to McCain's advantage, Obama mopped the floor with McCain. In the first debate, Obama was holding back, trying to keep the discussion elevated. Now that the McCain campaign has amped up their smear attacks, Obama showed us he knows how to fight and how to win. Without ever losing his dignity or his honor, Obama sacked McCain.