In Close Debate, McCain Wins on Points, Style

The first presidential debate was held as scheduled at the University of Mississippi tonight and it was a very close contest. The debate was to focus on foreign policy, but due to the national news this week, the first thirty-five minutes dealt with the economy and specifically the Wall Street bailout currently being crafted in Washington. Sen. Obama is more comfortable talking about the economy, and it showed in this portion of the debate. Sen. McCain did not make any major mistakes, and managed to score some good points on Obama's earmark requests and out of control government spending. But a fair assessment of the first portion of the debate has to lean toward Obama.

From there, however, the debate turned to the promised subject of foreign policy, and the tide of the evening clearly turned to McCain. McCain repeatedly sounded his theme that Obama "doesn't understand," the implications of his positions while Obama tried to counter that McCain was a clone of President George W. Bush. But Obama's barbs did not stick to McCain, who has a long history of opposing his party on any number of issues. One particularly effective way McCain demonstrated this was when he rattled off a list of U.S. military actions and explained why he either supported them or opposed them. Another tactic McCain used effectively was to point out that he has traveled to many of the world's hot spots, like Georgia, Pakistan's frontier, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and has seen first hand the security challenges each poses to the United States. McCain demonstrated a depth of knowledge of world affairs that Obama, however well studied and prepped he may be, cannot possibly match.

McCain also succeeded in getting under Obama's skin with his criticism of Obama's understanding of world affairs. That led to Obama interrupting, protesting, and attempting to correct the record while McCain was speaking. Stylistic mistakes like this often overshadow substance, as Vice-President Al Gore learned in 2000 when he beat George W. Bush in the first presidential debate, yet was viewed as the loser because of his persistent sighing throughout the debate. Obama's interruptions are a tell for when he feels that he has been hurt by something McCain has said. McCain, on the other hand, was cool and calm throughout, except for one time when, appearing exasperated, he cut into an Obama answer on meeting with Iranian President Ahmadinejad. But even that was an effective moment for McCain, as he made the point that Obama's desire to talk to the Iranians is naive and showed some emotion in doing so.

This debate will change few minds. There were few zingers for television news casts to replay, and neither candidate made any serious blunders. McCain gets points for his vastly greater knowledge and experience in dealing with foreign policy issues and for taking Obama off his game and making him play defense. Stylistically, McCain wins again for frustrating Obama into losing his poise a little. Overall, the debate will probably move the race back to even nationally. McCain has the edge headed into the next debate, which is a town hall format, his forte. With seven weeks until the general election, it is still anybody's race.