First debate!
Tonight, Karen and i watched the first televised debate twixt McCain and Obama. The commentators followed up by saying that nobody's minds are going to have been changed by this debate. But for the people who are feeling put off, somehow, by Obama's vibes or whatever, will be able to get some time looking at the guy. He presents as a credible leader, confident in conflict, and able to think on his feet. I think the people who consider themselves completely non-racist, but whose subconscious minds are nudging them (human nature, after all) "stranger danger" might be impressed that Obama is somebody they'd welcome into their neighborhood.
And i'm glad neither of them said "Trust me", or "Make no mistake". I hate it when politicians say that. "Trust me, the smoke is totally normal for the AMC Gremlin." "Look" is only a little bit annoying. I wish Obama had addressed McCain's language about Victory and Defeat in Iraq. To simplify such a complex situation as we've got going on over there as the binary choice of victory or defeat strikes me as insulting. Somewhere i read that either we won that war when Hussein was ousted, or it's not the kind of war you CAN win. Karen pointed out that McCain did the church handshake, but one-upped it by never even making eye contact with Obama. He didn't look at his opponent, not even once. That was weird. And Obama seemed more gracious, giving McCain props for stuff like his stand against torture, while McCain couldn't quite saying how Senator Obama doesn't understand several issues. Oh man, i hope B. Hussein Obama wins.