The initial reviews are in and it’s not terribly good for McCain. Republicans are pulling out their yard signs and praying for the lives of their family and children.
Obama was THAT good.
Obama was poised, his answers substantive, and deflected McCain’s attacks with aplomb. But once again McCain dug deep into the history books for guidance, quoting Theodore Roosevelt’s famous line “Talk Softly and Carry a Big Stick” when discussing Pakistan. And this wasn’t the first time McCain has gone to that well. In the first debate he invoked Dwight Eisenhower to enforce a point on accountability, that was later to be found incorrect. While these are certainly important historical figures and we owe much to them, they have little or no impact on the modern voter.
For me the most memorable moment of the night is in the clip below when McCain referred to Obama as “That One” in a rather dismissive, perhaps even disrespectful tone, with regards to an energy bill that Obama voted for and McCain voted against.
I’m glad for Obama that McCain wasn’t actually carrying a stick.
October 8th, 2008 at 7:07 am
I have to say dear, ‘that one’ is just one of the things McCain said/did that irritated/offended me! He was rude, dismissive, mocking… Argh… HOW can people even THINK he can run our country? You are right on, my friend. And yeah!? What is it with ‘my friends?’ How can he call the American people his friends? He is not MY friend!
October 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that the quote is “SPEAK softly and carry a big stick”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_Ideology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt
October 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
just rereading the text, I was making a big deal because I heard McCain to say “Walk softly…” last night.