I had to turn off the debate last night. Knowing Obama's philosophy and platform so well, I sort of tuned him out without realizing it, and then got freaky listening mostly to McCain. It took until today watching the bits and pieces of the debate that I was able to focus on each set of responses on its own.
What was obvious today was that Obama focused on the issues and presented the historical track of the problem and his solution. McCain stuck to "I did...", "I was there...", and a lot of "I warned....". Trying to put myself into the position of an Independent voter who hasn't paid any attention until now, today I can easily see where Obama appeared more presidential, more thoughtful and more, well, diplomatic.
Of far more importance though was the long series of McCain's "I warned..."
Good Lord, McCain tells us he warned everybody about everything for years and years and years, and that, I believe this morning, was his downfall last night with Independents. For although he warned everybody about everything...no one has ever listened to him. He warned, he whined, he cautioned, he mavericked, he battled, but he did it pretty much alone. He has never had a following in the Senate or anywhere else. Now combine that with McCain's phoney suspension of the debate fresh on everyone's minds, wherein he blinks, and his going to DC and his susequent failure to get anything accomplished.
He may well be a trouble-maker. He may well be a maverick. What is obvious, however, is that McCain is NOT a leader and the voters this election are looking for a real leader with vision, common sense, clear thinking and caution. This is not McCain, the maverick, who has consistently failed over 30 years to lead anyone, and thus he lost the debate and he will lose the election.