Victories all round!

Kieron

Both candidates say they won, mind you McCain said he'd won before it even happened. McCain's advisors say he took the lead on all fronts, so do Obama's. There's a lot of people making their own judgements. Here are some of the best.

The BBC

Politico.com

Huffington Post


A quick poll from CBS:

40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.

68% of these voters think Obama would make the right decision about the economy. 41% think McCain would.

49% of these voters think Obama would make the right decisions about Iraq. 55% think McCain would.

Final word:

Having stayed up until 3.30 am I was disappointed, not to mention knackered. So, I'll leave it to a man who talks a lot of sense.

The BBC's Justin Webb, on his blog:

"Conclusion: All in all a waste of time. I take it back - Mr McCain was quite right to consider ditching it. Flabby and insipid - too long and too unfocused to tell us anything. Obama is cool and McCain is tough. Big deal."

Gut reactions...

Kieron

I wanted to write down my initial reactions before I am influenced by the hours of analysis.

I suppose I'll start with the obvious...

Who won?

Well, it's not that clear cut. Both men scored points and missed opportunities I reckon.

The Economy:

The economy was top of the agenda, and whilst it hurt McCain I don't think Obama made enough of the issues. Perhaps he is saving his main attacks for the Domestic Policy debate in a few weeks, or maybe he figures that the damage to the economy speaks for itself.

Surprisingly, there was no mention of the McCain campaign suspension or whether or not that had been a good idea.

There was talk of changes to policy as a result of the bail-out but I'm not sure either candidate convinced on the issue. McCain repeated the need to lower taxes and Obama said that the rich needed to take the biggest hit to help the other 95% of Americans - Campaign speel...check!

McCain brought up pork and Obama didn't mention Palin... possible missed opportunity two.

There was nothing new here, they disagree on who to tax and how much to spend on social policy and you'd expect them to. If it favoured anyone it's Obama because McCain can't avoid his affiliation to the regime that has been in charge of the economic sh*t storm.

Iraq and Afghanistan:

Then the debate moved on to Iraq and Afghanistan and again I don't think it was clear cut.

McCain repeatedly attacked Obama's initial rejection of the surge and was quite crafty in making it seem like Obama didn't want victory in Iraq. But, unsurprisingly, Obama made repeated reference to the fact that the US shouldn't have been in Iraq in the first place. The surge might be working but there shouldn't need to be one and it's all your fault John etc etc.

As for Afghanistan, McCain has visited a lot and Obama didn't visit quickly enough, so he claims he has a better understanding of the issues. Obama rolled out his campaign line that McCain and the Bush regime have neglected the area for too long handing back influence to the Taliban, whilst leaving Al-Qaeda intact.

Both men see it as a key battleground. A friend of mine has just flown out to Afghanistan and it was interesting to see how important an issue it would be. I think it's safe to say that the next four years will see major spending on military action in that region.

Two key things here; McCain managed to make Obama look a bit war-mongery and naive at one stage by suggesting that he shouldn't be threatening action against Pakistan.
But on a seperate point, Obama did equally well in pointing out that Bin Laden was still at large as a result of failed policy.

Overall though, I think McCain did a better job of undermining his opponent and seemed more assured.

Iran

This was a big topic and it got genuinely heated at one stage.

McCain criticised Obama for suggesting that he'd have no pre-conditions when talking to the leaders of Iran, and by extension would legitimise their position on Israel. Obama said that Henry Kissinger, a McCain advisor, had agreed with him on the issue.

McCain said Obama was talking crap and they argued a lot.

Not sure how to read this one, I thought McCain was petulant but he might equally be viewed as bullish and strong by others. On the other hand, Obama got tetchy. It was the only time he lost his cool but it might prove significant.

Terror, the safety of America, North Korea, the economy again and other anecdotes

These subjects amongst others dominated the rest of the debate and throughout, both candidates attempted to question the previous decisions of their rival.

McCain focused on Barry's lack of experience, whilst Obama focused on John's recent mistakes.

So what to make of it all?

I think many viewers will be left with more questions. If you're undecided this debate won't change that.

The debate sometimes felt more like the two men were scoring points by pointing out flaws of the other, rather than defining America's future.

I felt McCain spent too much time on trying to twist Obama's words or question his experience rather than focus on his specialist field. According to McCain, Obama doesn't understand a lot of foreign policy but he didn't really clarify what Obama was missing, or what it is he knows that makes him the best candidate.

But, whilst Obama was playing the cool card, he let McCain bait him and didn't offer enough to suggest that McCain was wrong about his lack of experience.

So we're left with the maverick who wants us to believe he has the experience and for America to forget about his recent mistakes; and a new kid on the block who claims he's got a fresh approach, but won't tell us exactly what it is.

McCain probably came across better, but considering this was his subject he didn't show Obama up nearly enough.

Also, both candidates said a lot but veru little we haven't heard before. The few flair-ups were the highlights. As Obama leads McCain has to do more in the next two debates.

Now watch the professionals disagree with everything I've written.

It's all gone wrong...

Kieron

Well it's off. Republican party members are blocking the bail-out. They don't want that much money in the hands of so few...I'm inclined to agree.

So the debate might be off, or with one man-standing. It's all ridiculous.

Now, I accept that no-one could have predicted the seriousness of the collapse, and even if they could, no-one would have listened, so McCain's risky move was made on the fly.

He must have calculated that this might force a delay or cancellation on Friday, and has weighed up the pros and cons of doing this. It might mean no vice-presidential debate and that would certainly favour Palin, who has been hidden away from the press so far.

If it is cancelled, it'd be a shame - Biden is bound to say something stupid (even if he usually gets away with it) and for that matter, so is Palin.

But back to tonight. McCain has taken the gamble, but, the election is still taking place in 39 days. He's got to be at the debate tonight, and I can't believe that anyone actually thinks his presence is making a difference on Capitol Hill. Just as Obama being there means diddly squat.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say he'll turn up. If he doesn't I'll be interested how both sides spin it.

Anyway, comfortingly, it wasn't just me who got caught out by Congressional flip-flop - and I don't have a multi-million dollar political team coming out of my backside!

Ladies and Gentleman I give you CNN...

Time for a chuckle...

A friend sent this. We thought it would make light relief before the fireworks of tonight.

Well, it made us laugh.

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Crisis averted...and one ass saved.

Kieron

Lego used to build set for debate...

Well that ruined me.

I was half way through a post about the farcical possibility of Obama standing all on his lonesome in Mississippi tomorrow night when this was announced!



So farce averted it would seem. McCain will go to the ball after all. But what damage, if any, has it inflicted?

Throughout the day there's been speculation about McCain's decision. The voters certainly wanted him to debate, and Obama enjoyed a bump in some key states as a result of McCain's potential no-show.

But, piggy banks have been raided, (literally every single America piggy bank) and a deal has been done. So, has McCain got away with it? No doubt the GOP will be spinning the line that it was McCain's brave move that helped speed the entire process along.

In reality though, McCain dodged a bullet.

Obama will no doubt make reference to McCain's decision, but it won't have quite the same impact anymore. Had he been addressing an empty lectern and an audience crying out for a McCain explanation, the campaign might have been over.

McCain is still in for a tough ride though; whilst foreign policy is his area, the Democrats will scratch away at his 'ready to lead' rhetoric, with claws of fiscal ferocity.

If I was a betting man I'd wager that 'foreign oil', 'China',and 'the global markets' will be further up the agenda than Iraq, Israel, Iran and any other country beginning with 'I'.

It's gonna be a corker!

Meet me in the middle

Luke

I did a politics degree. One of the things we spent hours writing essays about is the slow, meandering death of ideology in politics. Unless you’re a dweeb, it’s all really boring.

It has happened though. Political parties this side of the pond still argue all the time… not due to any massive ideological differences, but just to score points.

It’s a ridiculous system. When debate becomes more about point-scoring than affecting any real change, you have to wonder whether it’s for our good that they’re talking, or if it's simply to sustain their own position...perish the thought.

Since the Thatcher-Reagan axis, the Left just sort of gave up and accepted the new economic world order. As the 1980s progressed, markets were deregulated and government intervention in the economy ebbed away.

Not such a bad thing you might think, given the consecutive years of economic growth in the UK from the mid-nineties right up until about a year ago.

BUT....




Yesterday was a poignant reminder of the effects of putting all your political eggs in one Neo-liberal basket.

This cross-party consensus that they’re seeking in America, to overcome the latest troubles, is irrevocable proof that economics really is the new politics.

You could imagine Dubya clenching his fists under the table at the thought of such overarching government intervention in the economy. A move that flies in the face of the American political culture.

Just as the left linked hands with the right nearly 30 years ago, now the right has come back and said 'We tried it our way, what have you got?'

It'd be difficult basing a vote on management of the economy, now. People most certainly will, but it's a tough decision.

Both parties are responsible for getting America in to the mess, and now they've got to get the country out of it, regardless of who's in charge.

McCain wants a break and Obama wants a fight...

Kieron


As the American economy collapses, and Bush goes on TV to convince the people that giving $700bn to the banks that lost their money in the first place, is a good idea, Johnny and Barry are arguing over what to do next.

McCain is trying to take a lead on the issue and has called for a break in campaigning until the bill is passed by the Senate. The idea being that, if he looks like he is putting the country first, then the fact that he's tied to the administration who've partly created this disaster will be forgotten.



But this has put Friday's debate on foreign policy in doubt.

Unsurprisingly, Obama is calling McCain a big girl and suggesting that the crisis is even more reason to have it out in front of millions of Americans. But then he would, because the people of America think he'd do a better job at sorting it all out.




There's been calls of 'smart move' and 'stunt' in response to John McCain's decision.
But, whatever it is, it won't fix the economy.
So regardless of whether the debate does go ahead, expect the issue of the economy to grow and grow until it has bored the living fiscal deposit out of you... so, now we wallow in the misery of the US and watch as their mistakes undermine our crumbling economy even further.

Mind you, at least there's talk of actual issues rather than pigs in lipstick. At last!

--------------------------------------------
Here's a pretty sound assessment of McCain's tactics from Politico.com.
Video from CBS.com and MSNBC.com

It takes 14 to Tango

Luke

The BBC have done a sterling job of summarising the policies of the two US presidential candidates.

There are twelve others that no one seems to mention. They haven't got a cat in hells chance of getting in though. I couldn’t find a betting agency that had the good will to bother advertising the odds of ‘The Outsiders'.

The shortest odds I managed to find this side of the pond were 200-1.

If there were a horse race with those odds for third place, the sport wouldn’t last very long. But then, horse racing isn’t backed up by a 200 year-old constitution.

In case you were wondering who else has thrown their hat into the draw, here’s the alternatives…

The four main outsiders are…

Ralph Nader - Independent
One man definitely not on Al Gore's Christmas card list. Some think that Nader cost that film-making, Nobel prize-winning, Internet-inventing, carbon-crunching Democrat the election back in 2000.

Gore needed just 543 votes to beat G 'Dubya' Bush in Florida and take the election. So, the story goes that, had Nader not run for the Greens, then most of his 97,000 or so votes would have gone to Swampy instead.

He's running again this election as an independent and will fail to get anywhere. Still, he might ruin Obama's chances yet.

According to Ralph, America needs to break the addiction to fossil fuel, create an environmentally friendly energy policy, crackdown on corporate crime, reform tax laws to favour the poorer, improve public health, create more jobs and remove media bias …better put the kettle on.

Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party
He says..."Every area of federal spending can and should be cut. Entitlements must be reformed and welfare should be cut". Fair enough, Bob.

Chuck Baldwin from the Constitution Party
Well, it looks like David Cameron is going to win the next election here in the UK. If he had the balls to make a video like this he’d get in on production value alone.



I want him to become the next leader of the free world, and make a video blog about it. He asks "Are you an American or a Globalist?"" I think the events of the last few weeks have answered that one, Chuck.

Cynthia McKinney - Green Party
She's one of those crazy people who actually believes the world is getting warmer.
The Greens have firm policies in mind and want a repeal of the Patriot Act. They are also looking at issues like reparations for ancestors of slaves, as well as higher welfare spending, full employment, electoral reform and would focus foreign policy on aid.
They’ll be delivering more food and less soldiers to foreign lands. No one really cares though, which is a shame because the Greens probably have the most concrete mandate of any of the parties.



Pick of the rest…

Gene Amondson- Prohibition Party
This guy is amazing. OK, he’s only really campaigning on one issue but check out his video...



Charles Jay- Boston Tea Party
The great thing about Americans is that they rarely mix their words. This is what the Boston Tea Party want...
"The Boston Tea Party supports reducing the size, scope and power of government at all levels and on all issues, and opposes increasing the size, scope and power of government at any level, for any purpose". 'Nuff said.

Thomas Stevens- Objectivist Party
They’re taking a slightly more cerebral approach to the whole thing, I don’t really think anyone will understand what the hell they’re on about though….

And who said the American political system was unrepresentative? (scoff, scoff).