home

A Tie Goes to McCain (According to McCain)

By TChris, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:20:13 PM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

The baffling logic of John McCain:

"I was a little disappointed the media called it a tie, but I think that means when they call it a tie that means we win."

And if the public calls it an Obama win, does that also mean McCain wins?

< TalkLeft Birthday and Appreciation Weekend | Is Sharpy News Stealing Your Blog Posts? >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    A Tie Goes to McCain (According to McCain) | 38 comments (38 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    And when one of the candidates calls it a tie (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by barryluda on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:28:36 PM EST
    it means they know they lost.

    ya (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by connecticut yankee on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:30:39 PM EST
    Nevermind those on Fox news who called it a tie or for Obama I guess.  We all know Fox News is in the tank for Obama.

    Most of (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:31:16 PM EST
    the pundits called it a tie it seems.

    Parent
    well (5.00 / 3) (#5)
    by connecticut yankee on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:36:02 PM EST
    The conservative ones make his comments funny.

    George Will: Slight Obama edge
    Dick Morris: Obama won
    Krauthammer: Tie, which breaks for Obama.

    But pundits can't see any clearer than the decided. How this plays to the undecided is what matters.

    Parent

    No (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:49:53 PM EST
    I'm not talking about Fox news alone. I'm talking big picture. It's the general message "it's a tie" that's out there.

    Parent
    The two polls (none / 0) (#31)
    by MKS on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 10:14:14 PM EST
    said Obama clearly won.....Some pundits have said tie, but the polls show a win.......

    Parent
    Pundits are notoriously out of touch. (5.00 / 2) (#14)
    by TheRealFrank on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:33:02 PM EST
    All polls and focus groups showed that the viewers thought, in clear numbers, that Obama was the winner.

    Of course, the problem is that pundits then have an effect on the CW about the debate. But, if they say "tie", then that doesn't move anyone in the other direction, so it's still a win for Obama.


    Parent

    If it's anything CLOSE to a tie... (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Dadler on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:10:50 PM EST
    ...election fraud will tilt it to McCain.  Hate to be cynical, but electronic fraud (and voter purging, etc.) are the big fat gorilla in the room that nobody wants to remember.  And by remember I mean how fraud has DECIDED the last two prez elections.  You think with a black dude running on the Dem side it'll be better?  Hate to be cynical, and to beat a decomposing horse, but I have a bad feeling about this election being THE thing that pushes the country over the proverbial edge completely.  As always, I hope I eat those words.

    Well (none / 0) (#24)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:42:40 PM EST
    I know a lot of states now have voter ID laws, like they do here in Ga. It could make a diffence with lower income demographics being able to vote.

    Parent
    I watched with my sister (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by nell on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:16:44 PM EST
    Who is a very liberal, highly educated, Obama supporter (one time Hillary supporter). We both thought it was a tie and we both felt that McCain did better than we expected...we both said a few times that we could not believe he is 72.

    Obama held his own, for sure, which is an improvement in his debates with Hillary, but I think McCain also put to rest any concerns anyone may have had about his age....

    Regardless, I think McCain needed a game changer and he did not get one. The election will go to Obama unless something drastic happens soon.

    Have we put... (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 06:03:13 PM EST
    ...the "Obama can't speak without a teleprompter" and the "ahs and ums" concerns to rest?  

    I almost want to say (none / 0) (#19)
    by Korzhanenko on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 06:07:07 PM EST
    he was feeding the narrative by continuing to do it... because I just can't believe he improved on that in so little time, especially since he was in D.C. during the time alloted for practice.

    He was very good in that regard. I think that may have surprised quite a few people who were probably hearing about "Mr. Stumbler" or "Uh-bama".

    Parent

    I found the debate ... (5.00 / 3) (#25)
    by Robot Porter on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:44:05 PM EST
    profoundly depressing.  I saw two timid and mediocre men.

    I'm glad others saw something else.  And I hope undecideds feel as they do.

    But I was reminded of why I didn't support Obama in the primaries, and why I think he'll make a mediocre president.

    No spine, no guts, no core.

    I guess that's what passes for "looking presidential" these days.

    Of course, McCain was no better.

    For me ... a very shabby affair.

    But, again, I'm glad others are more easily impressed.

    I posted last night that I thought both were weak (5.00 / 3) (#29)
    by Angel on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 08:26:37 PM EST
    in the debate.  No one else agreed with me, one person said that I was the only person to make that comment.  Glad there are others out there who were not impressed.  I honestly didn't think I would be alone in my assessment.  

    Parent
    Everyone else ... (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Robot Porter on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 10:06:45 PM EST
    is lying.  Or they watched with their rose-colored shades on.

    Parent
    ahmen!.. (none / 0) (#39)
    by 18anapple2 on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 06:37:39 PM EST


    Parent
    Congratulations Litigatormom (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Realleft on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 08:00:19 PM EST
    Nice DKos diary on the debate here

    It was worse than a tie. Obama should have (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by WillBFair on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 10:41:35 PM EST
    ground Mccain into powder. Instead it was McCain making all the jabs, with 'you don't understand this or that.' What a disappointment.

    Actually (3.50 / 2) (#3)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:30:48 PM EST
    after all the set up from the Obama campaign that McCain was "losing it" etc. it might be easy for McCain to spin it as a win.

    Remember McCain is at death's door right?

    It was McCain's best subject... (5.00 / 1) (#7)
    by prose on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 04:51:38 PM EST
    and he is the most "experienced."  Obama had the most to gain as the "unknown" candidate so I think a tie breaks for Obama.  McCain's pre-debate shananigans didn't seem to really lower expectations for the pundits.  I thought that was interesting.

    Parent
    Well (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:38:46 PM EST
    I certainly agree. However, all the predebate stuff didn't do Obama any favors imo.

    Parent
    It doesn't really matter what it's spinned as (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by Korzhanenko on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:01:27 PM EST
    I'm pretty sure every poll, even Mr. Luntz's, shows Obama carrying the evening, even if it's by a slim margin.

    And a draw always favors the guy ahead. Do no harm and force the other person into having to make or take risky moves.

    I think the thing that most calms my nerves is this tidbit of information:

    "15 of the last 18 elections, the winner was the leader at this point. The three that did not hold up were Dewey/Truman '48, Kennedy/Nixon '60, and Reagan/Carter '80. In all three instances the eventual winner was virtually tied at this point. No one has ever come back since polling data tracked back to 1936 being behind by a substantive amount."

    It goes on to then say Obama has an average lead of 5 points in "respectable" polls, w/e that means. And they don't consider Bush's +3 in 2004 to be less than substantive once you average all these polls saying the same thing.

    So Obama did no harm; he met expectations (he was favored to win the debate, 60-40) and he won the debate amongst independents and uncommitted voters something like 59.11% to 40.89%.

    But most importantly - it's just one less, big opportunity for McCain to change the narrative and his poll numbers. It has passed and so now he has little more than a month and two debates most consider to be insignificant in comparison to the first.

    I'm still very nervous but a five to six point lead is kind of crazy to be worried about. I won't stop phone banking or canvassing Nevada or anything (which is still so close and McCain's) but I do feel much better after having practically paced around the house incessantly during the debate last night.

    Parent

    Well (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:39:43 PM EST
    as we've seen before, winning the snap polls don't always translate into "winning the debate". I'm reliving shades of 2000 here.

    Parent
    Example? (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by TheRealFrank on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:31:00 PM EST
    Do you have any example of an actual Obama campaign person who talked about McCain "losing it"?


    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#22)
    by Ga6thDem on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:40:33 PM EST
    his ad about the email certainly was pushing the point that McCain was way too old and mentally unfit for today's world.

    Parent
    Losing It (none / 0) (#23)
    by Realleft on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:42:14 PM EST
    McCain: You might think that with that kind of concern that Senator Obama would have gone to Afghanistan, particularly given his responsibilities as a subcommittee chairman. By the way, when I'm subcommittee chairman, we take up the issues under my subcommittee. But the important thing is -- the important thing is I visited Afghanistan and I traveled to Waziristan and I traveled to these places and I know what our security requirements are. I know what our needs are. So the point is that we will prevail in Afghanistan, but we need the new strategy and we need it to succeed.

    But the important thing is, if we suffer defeat in Iraq, which General Petraeus predicts we will, if we adopted Senator Obama's set date for withdrawal, then that will have a calamitous effect in Afghanistan and American national security interests in the region. Senator Obama doesn't seem to understand there is a connected between the two.

    Parent

    Losing it, Pt 2 (none / 0) (#26)
    by Realleft on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:46:15 PM EST
    I don't think that Senator Obama understands that there was a failed state in Pakistan when Musharraf came to power. Everybody who was around then, and had been there, and knew about it knew that it was a failed state.

    Parent
    You're (none / 0) (#35)
    by Ga6thDem on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 07:10:22 AM EST
    confusing being wrong with being crazy.

    Parent
    Here's Nora Ephron's amused (none / 0) (#12)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:22:38 PM EST
    account of the debate:

    Ephron:

    Warning:  Huff Post linkage.

    P.S.  Cream City, Ephron agrees with you on Obama's shirt collar.

    Ha. Yep, gawky is not good (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Cream City on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:39:26 PM EST
    when you're attempting to exhibit the maturity to be president.  But it's surprising to me how many men don't realize how many styles of shirt collars there are that make a major difference.  I happen to have loads of bros who are tall and were a tad gawky, too, so I learned young how to tie their ties and pick out their clothes for big dates.:-)

    She's correct about Obama closing his eyes so often, too, although I suppose it is to look contemplative -- and to avoid looking at his opponent, which guides the audience to do so.

    But he did keep his chin down most of the time --and did stop the bad habit of constantly touching his face with his finger, so he is working on his stage demeanor to make it as good as his new suits.  Too bad for him that he can't really be an attention-grabber in -- a jewel-toned pantsuit.

    Signed,

    Yr Fashion Consultant From The Clothes Make The Man Or At Least The Image, Inc.

    Parent

    Ha. You and Nora should (none / 0) (#17)
    by oculus on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 06:02:26 PM EST
    team up on the red carpet for the Academy Awards.  I thought Obama was a little too free with that jabbing hand motion and noticed McCain's rapied blinking.  If anyone ever figures out how much Obama pays for those suits--look out.  

    Parent
    He would (none / 0) (#27)
    by eric on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 07:59:03 PM EST
    be wise to try a spread/cutaway collar.  Something with a wider spread between the points of the collar. I am tall and love them.

    Also great on tall and lanky men - bow ties, but I doubt he will want to go there.

    Parent

    Agreed re the collar but (none / 0) (#36)
    by Cream City on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 12:09:30 PM EST
    I gotta say that yeh, bowties make me giggle. :-)

    Parent
    Speaking of shirt collars... (none / 0) (#34)
    by lentinel on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 04:41:27 AM EST
    were my eyes deceiving me, or was Obama wearing the flag pin - and McCain wasn't?

    Which way is the exit?

    Parent

    Yes, my spouse spotted that, too. (none / 0) (#37)
    by Cream City on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 12:09:54 PM EST


    Parent
    Tie Goes to McCain: (none / 0) (#16)
    by Doc Rock on Sat Sep 27, 2008 at 05:58:38 PM EST
    Horse Shockey!!!!!

    They both should get a tie (none / 0) (#33)
    by lentinel on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 04:39:02 AM EST
    Two nice ties.
    In a little box.

    Obama showed no passion.
    McCain is a flaky beast.

    Obama is stuck trying to balance what he might know and feel with the fact that he has now internalized most of Bush's talking points.

    And he is our alternative to McCain.

    How did this all happen?
    It's worth a serious inquiry.

    No passion was a disappointment (none / 0) (#38)
    by Cream City on Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 12:11:24 PM EST
    as I expected he finally had found it, had hit that stride, as I saw it in Obama's speech in Green Bay the week before.  But apparently that was the allotment for the week.:-)

    Parent
    A Tie Goes to McCain (According to McCain) | 38 comments (38 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment