McCain Retools for Next Debate

This morning at the McCain office in Northern Virginia, the brain trust of the McCain campaign hunkered down for a post-debate strategy meeting, and I happened to get a copy of the discussion transcript. It turns out that McCain feels that he was too respectful and deferential to Obama last night and is feeling that he needs to make it even more clear how much he despises Obama and wants the viewers to recognize that Obama does not have enough experience or judgment to lead this country .

There are plans for call Barack “Sonny” a couple of times and use the term “Young Man” several times, as well. There was talk about invoking Senator Bentsen’s line against Dan Quayle that he knew Jack Kennedy and that Quayle’s no Jack Kennedy the first time Obama used the name Roosevelt, saying, “Senator, I knew Teddy Roosevelt, I worked with Teddy, and you’re no Teddy Roosevelt,” but in the end, it was felt that being a name dropper would not be too appealing.

What was decided is that every time Barack mentioned a region of the world, McCain would say, “Been there. Done that” or would say, “I was there in 1987, 1992, 1999 and 2004” just to make absolutely certain that the whole world knows that McCain has the experience it takes to be president. The McCain debate team has also contacted the Federal Debate Commission to request that McCain’s podium for the next debate be pointed another several inches away from the Obama podium, thus ensuring that McCain doesn’t look over at Obama accidentally or inadvertently.

For those of you who haven’t caught on by now, the first three paragraphs of this blog were tongue in cheek. But sadly, it’s not that hard to imagine any of it being true. McCain’s behavior during last night’s debate was deplorable. I had originally hoped that Barack would nail him every chance he got, but after watching the debate and some of the commentary, I realize now that there is a strategy to handle McCain with a little more gentility and for Obama to make points without belittling McCain at the same time. I did wear a hole in the carpet where I paced back and forth last night for close to an hour and a half.

The strongest message that Barack had last night is that this country needs to reestablish its stature in the world and that we cannot accomplish its objectives while alienating the rest of the world. He also said that our continued involvement with Iraq is bogging us down with the rest of the world, and on this point, I agree wholeheartedly. It is so obvious that McCain has complete disdain for Barack, and I feel that this point wasn’t lost on anyone who witnessed last night’s debate. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if Barack wouldn’t start almost every statement with first agreeing with McCain’s point, but Barack is a true statesman and a gracious debater, and it is not within his nature to bash just for the sake of beating someone up.

So I have once again been reminded that Obama and his talented team know what they’re doing. McCain showed in this debate and in the weeks leading up to it what kind of president he’d be. Impetuous, angry, inconsistent and full of contempt, and in his first major decision as a presidential candidate, picked an unqualified and disingenuous candidate whom he had hardly met, only worried about changing the subject and not thinking about the ramifications of his choice once the excitement died down. McCain also pretended to suspend his campaign and attempt to postpone the debate, while Obama looked presidential in his immediate responses to McCain’s histrionics leading up to the debate, and demonstrated tremendous knowledge and poise by answering questions knowledgably and suggesting stark differences between himself and his opponent.

One thing we know for sure, that it remains a bumpy road to the White House for Barack Obama. He is negotiating this road skillfully and artfully, and John McCain is a much more formidable candidate than I ever thought he’d be. But in his zeal to present himself as the better candidate for president and continue to attack Obama as an inexperienced young man who lacks proper judgment and character, he spews out misinformation, inaccurate statistics and glowing representations of his own record which turn out mostly to be exaggeration or what he’d love uninformed people to believe.

Obama has a real opportunity to point out who he is and what he represents over the next several weeks, including two more debates, and as has been true for months now, Barack’s success or failure is his to control. McCain has now established who he is, what he’s going to say and how he campaigns, and his is an old tired message with the exact same tactics that have been the mainstay of the Bush-Cheney regime. It is now the time for Obama to clearly and distinctly point out what he will mean to this country as its president, and he must not let up for one moment letting voters recognize that he actually is the most qualified presidential candidate and does have the judgment to lead this country into the next four years and beyond.