That one moment: McCain’s real problem is that he’s starting to look his age, while acting like a sullen kid
Well, those who didn’t see the debate – yes, that one – will, by now, have heard about it.
You know, for a guy who had said that the gloves were coming off, McCain sure behaved like someone who was fearful of catching something horrible if he did. He looked like a prissy old lady who, having been forced to enter some dubious restaurant (against her loudly stated, better judgement) can’t bring herself to even inspect the cutlery, let alone touch it.
Whatever you think of the Palin-Biden debate, at least both of these candidates knew how to behave like normal, grown-up human beings. You could sense that Palin was going in there as a professional sports player who knows you have to hate your opponent to get the best results – and I strongly suspect that Biden felt personally affronted that he had to share any kind of stage with this self-proclaimed Joe Six-pack loving hockey mom. Both of them though were polite to the other and showed the opponent adequate respect on a personal and professional level, while the cameras were on.
McCain, not for the first time, looked like he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as his opponent – never mind take off his asbestos gloves long enough to shake Obama’s hand.
I know – or at least suspect – that McCain’s ‘That one’ remark will be the one that will make most of the waves, in the coming days. I can even understand why. The debate itself was somewhat lacklustre, with both candidates playing it safe, aiming their remarks at what they perceive to be the middle ground, where they think the independent and undecided voters wait for either candidate to convince them. So, what we got was more of the same old same old, from both men. No surprises, really, no true passion – and, on the whole, no real mistakes or gaffes. Apart from that one verbal hiccup.
The press and all those who dwell on the WWW love these moments. They like to play Freud or dream up conspiracies, making up their ‘telling’ stories out of the thinnest air.
My opinion, for whatever it’s worth: I don’t think this will go down in history as the infamous “Thatonegate.” I seriously doubt it will be remembered as being in the same category as Ross Perot’s relentlessly overstated ‘Your people’ gaff.
I still think McCain lost the debate, though. If only for the reason that he needed to win big, and didn’t.
More importantly though, I think what will be remembered from this debate is the way McCain just can’t seem to deal with the idea that he has to engage with his opponent in a professional manner. He seems to be offended by the mere idea of Obama being on the same stage as he is – and unlike Biden, who. most probably, felt the same way about Palin, McCain is simply and embarrassingly unable to hide the fact.
I’m not at all suggesting that this is a racial thing. I’m not sure what it is though. Sometimes, persons and personalities just clash. Some dislikes are both instinctive and irrational. Still, whatever lies at the roots of this is unimportant, really. McCain is supposed to be a professional and he should be able to at least behave as if he thought Obama had the right to be in this race.
Of course, the average American loves a good fight, and doesn’t mind a little dirt, some gamesmanship and all the tribal stuff that comes with it – but I also think that Americans believe that those playing should have a love for the game. McCain doesn’t show that. Yes, he talks a good game when he’s not in the same room as Obama but, so far, he has looked merely sullen whenever he was forced to face his opponent directly.
I still have my doubts if the American voter, on the day, will prove to be ready to vote for Obama. However, with the current president being as deeply unpopular as he is, with the economy seriously threatened and with a majority of Americans feeling that America has lost its way, both at home and abroad, it would be a huge problem for any Republican to hold on to the keys of the White House, come November.
So, the last thing McCain needs is to look his age, while behaving like a sullen little boy, who sulks whenever things are not exactly going his way.
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