2008 first presidential debate, Barack Obama vs. John McCain, at the University of Mississippi

      The debate was sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a bipartisan organization. The moderator was Jim Lehrer, anchor of the PBS "NewsHour" program. The debate was watched by 52 million people (not a record, since it was a Friday evening).

      The mainstream media will interminably discuss who "won" this debate. At OnTheIssues.org, we view the voting public to be the winner of ALL debates. We deeply respect Sen. McCain for proposing a dozen Town-Hall-style debates over the summer; and deeply resent Sen. McCain for temporarily withdrawing from this debate. Debates are the single best way to get to know candidates -- shirking debates should warrant voting against a candidate, in our view. But that's not how people define "winning." So....

      We view that McCain "won" the debate on points. He made several points which Obama could not answer well; for example:

      However, "winning" the debate is irrelevant -- it's just one battle in the larger war of the election. In this debate, Obama clearly won the larger-scale victory towards election, because he succeeded at appearing as McCain's equal in presidential stature and in foreign policy knowledge. Millions of undecided voters saw Obama as looking adequately prepared for the presidency -- a key issue on which many voters were waiting to see how Obama performed. He passed muster on this issue. Neither candidate turned the other's supporters to their side -- which is what the pundits mean byt heir analysis of who "won" -- but we suspect that many previously undecided voters turned to Obama at this debate. That's what "winning" REALLY means -- how people will vote on November 4th -- and Obama clearly "won" the debate in that respect.

      How can we say that McCain won the debate but Obama won the larger electoral victory? Well, I'll make an analogy to my days as a high school wrestler. High-school wrestling matches are scored by "Team Points" -- if you win your match, you gain one Team Point; if you trounce your opponent, you gain three Team Points; if you pin your opponent, you gain six Team Points. My coach gave me an achievable goal: "Go out there and don't get pinned!" I was a lousy wrestler, but I excelled at NOT getting pinned. So at the end of a typical bout, I would be trounced by my opponent, who would be applauded by his team bench, and then I would return to my team bench to even louder applause. Why? Because I had saved my team three Team Points, in comparsion to getting pinned. My coach formulated a strategy that counted on my ability to not get pinned -- and I came through, every time. Despite losing my matches, I made my team's larger victory possible.

      McCain needed to pin Obama in this debate. Obama did not get pinned. Hence even though Obama "lost" this debate, he succeeded ni his larger strategy of gaining votes for the election. McCain will now need to pin Obama in the next two debates. All Obama needs to do is struggle to a draw, or just lose by a little bit, and he will get elected.

      Gov. Palin has a similar goal as Obama had, in her upcoming debate with Sen. Biden. Palin's goal is to simply appear reasonably knowledgeable and not flub anything -- if she succeeds at that, she will allay all fears of her preparedness for the vice-presidency. We'll see on Thursday....

--Jesse Gordon, Sept. 28, 2008

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Budget & Economy     Barack Obama: We’re in the worst financial crisis since Great Depression.     Barack Obama: The lax regulation that Bush favored got us in this disaster.     Barack Obama: Pay attention to Main Street, not just Wall Street.     Barack Obama: Decide financial rescue plan on future slower tax revenues.     Barack Obama: Spending freeze is like a hatchet where you need a scalpel.     John McCain: Have no doubt about the magnitude of financial crisis.     John McCain: Recoup financial bailout cost by cutting spending.     John McCain: Freeze on everything but Defense, Veterans & entitlements.     John McCain: I have fought against excessive spending my entire career.

Corporations     Barack Obama: We need Wall Street responsibility BEFORE financial crises.     Barack Obama: High corporate tax rate is offset by numerous loopholes.     John McCain: Warned about corporate greed & excess; supports bailout.     John McCain: Need stricter interpretation and consolidation of regulators.

Energy & Oil     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Both McCain & Obama plans kill oil tax loopholes.     John McCain: Offshore drilling & nuke power instead of $700B to enemies.     John McCain: FactCheck: US sends $357B to hostile countries, not $700B.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama not opposed to nuclear energy; just Yucca.     John McCain: FactCheck: Voted against new investments in renewable energy.

Foreign Policy     Barack Obama: We must be tough with Pakistan & stop coddling Musharraf.     Barack Obama: Must be tough on Iran, but talk to them too.     Barack Obama: Recent Russian actions in Georgia are unacceptable.     Barack Obama: Kissinger agrees with me on meeting with enemy leaders.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Kissinger opposes presidential meetings with Iran.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Campaign prevented committee meetings, not rules.     John McCain: Nuclear Iran is an existential threat to Israel.     John McCain: Preconditions required for talks with rogue states.     John McCain: Russian aggression in Georgia is wrong; I see KGB in Putin.     John McCain: Sit down with any leader, but only with pre-conditions.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama sought restraint in Georgia; so did Bush.

Government Reform     Barack Obama: Eliminating earmarks isn’t enough; but I’ll check every line.     John McCain: Get earmarks under control to deal with the financial crisis.     John McCain: Obama requested for $932M of pork projects; I fought pork.     John McCain: FactCheck: Earmarks have gone down in last 5 years.

Health Care     Barack Obama: Health tax credit is bad idea; it will cost taxpayers more.     Barack Obama: $15B subsidies to private insurers was a lobbyist giveaway.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: McCain’s plan taxes employees, not employers.     John McCain: $5,000 refundable tax credit for every family.     John McCain: Family should make health decisions, not federal government.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama’s plan is voluntary for adults.

Homeland Security     Barack Obama: Strategic issue is where to send & how to fund our troops.     John McCain: Make all defense contracts fixed-cost; costs out of control.     John McCain: Experience has taught me: the US military must not fail.

Jobs     Barack Obama: End incentives that move jobs overseas.     John McCain: Cut business taxes so companies will keep jobs in US.

Tax Reform     Barack Obama: Yes, earmarks are abused, but small compared to tax cuts.     Barack Obama: No $300 billion on tax cuts for those who don’t need them.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Voted for non-binding tax increase on $42K income.     John McCain: Worst thing in bad economic climate is to raise taxes.

Technology     Barack Obama: Google for Government was a bipartisan initiative.

War & Peace     Barack Obama: Unwise war in Iraq distracted us from catching Bin Laden.     Barack Obama: The surge is a tactic to contain 4 years of mismanaged war.     Barack Obama: Afghanistan needs more troops and resources.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Iraq has at most $59B surplus, not $79B surplus.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Promised 16-month exit; now 16-month reduction.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Opposes surge--hasn’t produced political solution.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Pakistan has lost 1,200 troops fighting Al Qaeda.     Barack Obama: FactCheck: Kissinger says Iran meet ok; but only lower level.     John McCain: We now have a great strategy & are winning in Iraq.     John McCain: The next president has to decide how and when to leave Iraq.     John McCain: In Afghanistan, employ same winning strategy as in Iraq.     John McCain: Don’t threaten Pakistan; it’s part of Afghan strategy.     John McCain: FactCheck: Admiral did not call Obama’s plan dangerous.     John McCain: FactCheck: Obama did declare Republican Guard terrorists.     John McCain: FactCheck: Bush vetoed troop bill that Obama voted against.

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