The First Debate

Actually, I thought McCain did better and was a bit surprised when the consensus seemed to go to Obama.

Debates are all a matter of impressions because rarely does anyone retain any of the details. The impression that McCain needs to establish is one of an inexperienced Obama not yet ready for the Oval Office. The impression that Obama needs to establish is one of a McCain that has supported the disastrous policies of the Bush administration.

I thought McCain did a better job of establishing his impression. Perhaps having selected the “born in an igloo” Palin, who just came off two disastrous interviews and was nowhere to be seen at the debate, made it harder to make his points stick.

One thing Obama certainly did better was establish the claim that he was focused on helping the middle class. Good idea, but I still think he’s having a hard time making friends among older blue color white voters.

Why? Because not all that long ago bigots, and the then extreme right wing, made some reasonable headway with the line that the black civil rights movement was primarily aimed at taking away the jobs of white blue color workers. There are still some dim memories of that among today’s generation, the children of parents whose jobs were directly affected in those days.

Allow me to quote Phil Ochs from the song “Links on the Chain.”

“For now the times are tellin' you the times are rollin' on,
And you're fighting for the same thing, the jobs that will be gone,
Now it's only fair to ask you boys, which side are you on?”

Get it? The more things change the more they stay the same. Obama and the Democrats are on your side boys. Don’t fall for the lie.