Time: Grading the First Presidential Debate

[Bubbha Jo]

John McCain

Substance: His arguments were hard to follow at the beginning, but he found his voice as the debate progressed, although he never seemed fully in control of his message. He had plenty to say about the economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia, but often bogged down his own answers when trying to unfurl quips and soundbites. Stuck with bumper sticker slogans on the economy, and while he got a bit more detailed on foreign policy, he stayed at his usual level of abstraction. If he truly knows more about the world than Obama, he didn't show it in this debate.

Grade: B-

Rest:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1845106,00.html

[nsd]

1. Cutting to the chase -- final grades: Obama A-, McCain B-. Obama wins!

[Bubbha Jo]

2. I liked this assessment....

'Obama's obvious preparation and sharp answers contradicted McCain's frequent claims that the Democrat was uninformed and "didn't understand" key issues"

I do believe McCain's '...doesn't understand' repeated phrase backfired on him.

[regnaD kciN]

3. Keep in mind, this is Mark Halperin, Republican speechwriter...

:wow: