Obama Wins Debate Over Debates
Rick Klein here from ABC’s The Note: The debate is still ahead of us, but with Sen. John McCain’s announcement that he’s showing up after all, Sen. Barack Obama won the debate over debates.
How’s that? Well, when McCain announced Wednesday that he was "suspending" his campaign, he sought to recast the economic issue, placing himself at the center of the discussions.
He got just what he wanted. But the public perception is one he could live without: A deal looked closer to reality before he showed up. Democrats say his presence made things worse. He still hasn’t said whether he’s in favor of the draft bill that’s been hashed out in consultation with the Bush administration, House Democrats, and Senate Democrats and Republicans.
And then, the morning of the debate — with no one on the Hill seriously saying that the deal is really imminent — McCain pronounces himself ready to head to Ole Miss after all, his previous statements notwithstanding.
What do you think? Can anyone discern a strategy here? Will any of this matter once the debate starts?
I’ll be blogging all day and night, so check back here for updates. And our NewsNOW and www.abcnews.com/politics livestream coverage starts at 8 pm ET — Sam Donaldson and I are anchoring an hour of pre-debate coverage, plus a 30-minute wrap-up show after the debate ends, at 10:30 pm ET.
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I don’t even think this requires a response. Anyone who says this wasn’t politics pretty much is lying to themselves and can’t be taken serious in this election conversation.
Posted by: PoliticsAsUsual | September 26, 2008, 3:20 pm 3:20 pm
Rick get a life…
Posted by: Rick | September 26, 2008, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
EMPTY SUITE!!!!!!!!
Posted by: beck | September 26, 2008, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
I really wish ABC could be more objective about things this trivial. This article is a petty ‘nyah nyah’ piece like the writer is 12 years old.
Mc Cain is going to the debate because he has already talked to his people in Washington and there is nothing for him to do in the 4 hours he is taking off to Mississippi to go to the debate then come back again.
Its not because he is ‘giving up’. He can be more use of those 4hrs addressing the american people.
Posted by: infoseeking | September 26, 2008, 3:22 pm 3:22 pm
Yeah, the falling Repub numbers are going to support the Mcain Palin Ticket. Right, so they can follow the loser. Is she still considered legitimate?
Posted by: Jobamatx | September 26, 2008, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
After this past week I have no doubts Obama will win.
Obama/Biden 08
Posted by: beck | September 26, 2008, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
a little premature ya think?
The Washington Post reported Friday that the campaign was running an online ad featuring the headline: “McCain Wins Debate!” and a photo of a smiling McCain and an American flag background. Another featured a quote from McCain campaign manager Rick Davis: “McCain won the debate — hands down.”
pompous elite arrs
Posted by: watching | September 26, 2008, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
Instead of asking about a 3:00 AM wake-up call, they should be asking if McCain would be awake for a 3:00 PM call. From the sounds of things, it looks as if McCain was asleep at the wheel most of the week.
As the store goes, “I want to die like my Dad did, in his sleep. Not awake like the screaming passengers in his car.”
McCain may be acting as if he is asleep but the rest of us are screaming about the economy. HELP HELP HELP
Posted by: The Unshrub | September 26, 2008, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
I will also add that there was no ‘deal’. The liberal spin machine quicky put out propoganda saying ‘there was a deal’ real fast just before Mc Cain got there so they could claim Mc Cain himself somehow ‘wrecked’ it.
And Mr Klein here couldnt be happier to go along with this lie.
Posted by: infoseeking | September 26, 2008, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
McCain was just manuevering for a photo op with his brand of popcorn politics. You know the kind…a snack with no real substance. His posturing and erratic behavior is not that of a maverick, but more of a loose canon. Go Obama.
Posted by: Uppity N. Educated | September 26, 2008, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
Just pulled this off another site that was giving McCains schedule. LOLOLOL
12:00 PM: McCain heads to Mississippi with Rudy Giuliani and others in tow. A pool report says the atmosphere is “utter confusion.”
Who would have thought different. McCain…”Drama Maker 2008″.
Posted by: beck | September 26, 2008, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm
anyone notice Mccain doesnt take questions at all? Same with Palin? Never. Obama and the Dems hold press conferences and take questions everyday.
Hmmmmmm
Posted by: Jobamatx | September 26, 2008, 3:26 pm 3:26 pm
Another point I will add. The democratic congress has been in power 2 years and we are far worse off economically than we were 2 years ago and they have a worse approval rating than the president.
The corrupt liberal media, including Mr Klein here, wont mention that fact.
Its also important to note that the democrats control both houses so they could have passed this bill with or without Mc Cain or the republicans in the houses approval.
Its ridiculous political posturing at its finest. I cant even imagine 4 more years of this nonsense with an democratic president to boot.
Posted by: infoseeking | September 26, 2008, 3:28 pm 3:28 pm
Gweeze Rickie boy….how is that the reset of us know that it was O’bama who dropped the ball at the White House Meeting, and as a result the DEMO jawboning has been off the scale.
Well these idiot democrats obviouslty can’t count…they have majority…so pass it.. Quit voting present..in the media..put your freeking money where your moth is..pass the damn thing and shut the heck up!
Posted by: Ed | September 26, 2008, 3:28 pm 3:28 pm
Isn’t that what BO said when McCain announced his desire to suspend the debates? That it was more important to speak directly to the American People and not inject presidential politics into the Congressional negotiations?
JM blew up the existing deal that helped and protected taxpayers for an extreme right wing ploy to put a CAPITAL GAINS TAX CUT for the wealthiest corporations into the bill. Yeah real American hero.
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
Paul Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Germany, circa World War II
Posted by: CO CONSERVATIVE | September 26, 2008, 3:29 pm 3:29 pm
I have noticed Obama and Biden take questions. You mean spoon fed softball questions from their corrupt liberal media . Yes, we have noticed. And they give the same stupid answers.
……..We need change. We will simply always gripe about everything but never point to anything we have actually ever done about it……….
Posted by: infoseeking | September 26, 2008, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm
Its simple. McCain has no credibility and therefore certainly NOT fit for the presidency
Posted by: Ro | September 26, 2008, 3:30 pm 3:30 pm
McCain is a joke! He’s like a chicken with it’s head cut off scrambling about the place not knowing what to really do about this economic mess so he just does everything and still managing not accomplishing anything at the same time… and now he still has to the debate – then sending out an ad that he won the debate??? What? What’s going on with this guy? He didn’t even read the documents on the bail out plans yet he wants it to seem as if he’s going to save the day? And Washington still have not come up with a plan… and here he is now in Mississippi for the debate? And what’s the deal with Plain???
Posted by: McCain scares me | September 26, 2008, 3:31 pm 3:31 pm
OMG… how much in the tank are you? Why not just say it… the media has made their vote and Obama wins. Let’s skip the general election.
Posted by: Diamond Lou | September 26, 2008, 3:31 pm 3:31 pm
McCain has simply travelled the full circle. We are back to “the fundamentals of our economy are strong.”
Therefore we can debate.
Posted by: ricky | September 26, 2008, 3:34 pm 3:34 pm
You have got that right UNE. I tell you, after this fruitless McCain stunt, and seeing Katie’s interview of Sarah Palin, the GOP must be out of it’s God Loving mind to think that this ticket had a chance in Holy Hell. It is a disaster of epic proportions. They should open their Bibles to Matthew 15:14 “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Amen.
Posted by: My Two Cents | September 26, 2008, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
softball? this is the presidential campaign, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS! Have a SET OF BALLS and take a stand!
How about Rick Davis Taking money from Fannie even up until last month?
JM- I had no idea about that.
REALLY?
Chicken Sh
Posted by: Jobamatx | September 26, 2008, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
President PALIN, what is your position on Korea?
ILL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU, BECAUSE I DONT KNOW A FN THING ABOUT ANYTHING, BUt MOOSEHUNtING, and WITCHCRAFT.
OK
Posted by: Jobamatx | September 26, 2008, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
McCain has brilliantly succeeded in making his own temperament and judgment the central issue of the campaign. Unfortunately for him, he will lose on it!
Posted by: Concerned citizen | September 26, 2008, 3:43 pm 3:43 pm
Infoseeking…please don’t venture into the “spoon fed” questions venue, where Sarah Palin is not spoon but “bottle fed” questions, with hideous burp responses that follow. This woman couldn’t answer a question if they had teleprompters built in to those Tina Fey glasses of hers! She is an embarassment to women who have spent years educating themselves to play hardball. They are treating her as the infant novice that she is, and she may be nice, but has no business being VP, let alone being a tic-tac away from the presidency. Wake Up America
Posted by: Hear Me Roar | September 26, 2008, 3:48 pm 3:48 pm
I BET IF OBAMA WERE TO PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT THE ENTIRE MEDIA WOULD’VE BEEN ON HIS CASE.OBAMA08
Posted by: JOSHUA DURAN | September 26, 2008, 3:53 pm 3:53 pm
McCain is old and no longer in control of himself.
Posted by: DMR | September 26, 2008, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
McCain said nothing at yesterday’s WH meeting… quiet quiet. When he had say something at the end, nobody understood his position either on the proposals on the table or next steps.
Obama has been deeply involved in the process, calling major player of the negotiation team and the secretory of the treasure. Can we have a log on whom McCain or Obama talked with, when, and what? Sen. Dodd- the single key player in the process, said McCain did not even said a word to him before his Wed’s announcement for “suspending” his camp.
Posted by: leighg1 | September 26, 2008, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
i just wish that a lot of people would get a grip and stop acting like kids and look for the truth and that is all that should be looked for
Posted by: slim | September 26, 2008, 9:04 pm 9:04 pm
John McCain’s answer to everything is bomb-bomb-bomb Iran, a cheesy smile, and a hike on the balls of his feet behind the podium. Enough WAR, enough spending on WAR…If it had been successful, we would have no problems now with our economy. Under John McCain style reasoning, we would continue to send precious United States resources, the most precious our young people, and upward of a trillion dollars. The war machine is a BIG MONEY MAKER for many like John and Cindy McCain. He is the one so naive as to believe we went into Iraq hunting for “weapons of destruction” that by the way were NON EXISTANT. He knows we went in to destroy that country to make it our own and it backfired. Now, Iraq has a surplus, and we are deeply in dept. NO MORE WAR. NO MCCAIN.
Posted by: Terresa | September 26, 2008, 11:09 pm 11:09 pm
senator mccain was condescending, patronizing and arrogant. lovely. in contrast, senator obma stayed on point and exhibited confidence and thoughtful, respectful insight. and i never trust a man who can’t look his counterpart in the eye. further evidence that we need to get up, get dressed and vote!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: barbara keeler | September 27, 2008, 12:00 am 12:00 am
John McCain’s word was that he would not attend the debates unless a deal was reached in Washington. He attended the debate and likely knew he was going to all along. There were ads posted today by his campaign declaring him the winner in advance of the debate. Interesting considering he said his campaign was suspended.
Is McCain’s behavior erratic?
Posted by: Joseph | September 27, 2008, 12:44 am 12:44 am
sen. dod is a dem. of course he is going to bad mouth McCain and of course the dem. are not going to come to an agreement before the debate to make McCain look bad all what each side wants to do is make each other look bad and play the american people like each side knows what they are talking about mean while blowing our hard earn dollars and back dooring us in the process when will the american people look at what the truth is and process only that. please look for the truth before blowing your attitudes all over blogs.
Posted by: slim76 | September 27, 2008, 10:25 am 10:25 am
how can anyone stand behind a man that will send troops into combat if he himself has never been in combat. All what obama is, is a text book junky and was registered under islamic in school ya he has great confidence and understands how to get people to follow him but he also needs prompters to tell him what to say. I think senator palin is an everyday american woman that has not yet been corrupted by the goverment and i believer that she will make a great vp McCain has been to war and has been a POW and is a well decorated war heroe that is the type of person i believe that should run this country. 92 million dollars in personal ear marks to his state spending is what got us here in the first place and cut spending is what is going to get us out.
Posted by: slim76 | September 27, 2008, 10:36 am 10:36 am
McCain won the debate. Obama couldn’t even remember McCain’s first name, several times he call McCain “Jim” instead of John. Shows nervousness on Obama’s part. Also, Obama became flustered and he also lost his temper. An objective observer could see that McCain was really on his game, and Obama just didn’t know how to deal with hit. Nevertheless, I give Obama a C- and McCain an A-.
Posted by: Doreen | September 27, 2008, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
Infoseeking writes:
“Another point I will add. The democratic congress has been in power 2 years and we are far worse off economically than we were 2 years ago and they have a worse approval rating than the president.”
The majority that the Democrats have in both houses is NOT enough to counter Mr. Bush’s VETOES!!!! You need a bill to have 60% of the votes in the houses to make it veto proof. And since the republicans were so busy playing partisan politics, nothing could get done!
We are economically worse off because of the billions spent on an illegitimate war and the repeal of Glass Steagall which was made veto proof for Clinton because a majority republican congress and senate who voted for the repeal. This allowed their greedy cronies to milk the financial system and create the fiasco that exists now.
Put the blame where it belongs – The Bush Administration and the Republicans in the senate and congress.
Posted by: Kate Fergus | September 27, 2008, 5:49 pm 5:49 pm
How terrible of John McCain to have put the country’s welfare before a debate. Shame shame.
Of course – it’s all his fault we’re in this mess, all the Republicans and Bush – after all, the Democrats have only been in the majority two years. I guess since they haven’t done anything they can’t be blamed.
Posted by: no thanks obama | October 2, 2008, 5:02 pm 5:02 pm