Reversal of Fortune by E.J. Dionne, Jr.

[babylonsister]

Reversal of Fortune by E.J. Dionne, Jr.
Why a month that started so well for John McCain is ending so badly.
Post Date Monday, September 29, 2008


WASHINGTON -- September began as John McCain's month and ended as Barack Obama's. McCain's high-risk wagers aimed at shaking up the campaign turned into very bad investments. And Friday's debate eliminated McCain's best chance to deliver a knockout blow to an opponent whose most important asset may be his capacity for self-correction.

McCain is supposed to own the foreign policy issue--and he should have owned Friday's debate. During their respective primary battles, McCain was a better debater than Obama, who could be hesitant, wordy and thrown off his stride.

But the Obama who showed up at Ole Miss was sharper and more concise than the man who frequently lost debates against his Democratic foes. He was also resolutely calm in standing his ground against McCain, whose condescension became a major talking point following the debate. If Al Gore suffered from his sighs during the 2000 debates, McCain will be remembered for his supercilious repetition of seven variations on "Senator Obama doesn't understand."

This gave special power to Obama's peroration about McCain's "wrong" judgments on going to war in Iraq. McCain's dismissal of Obama brought back memories of how advocates for the war arrogantly dismissed those who insisted (rightly, as it turned out) that the conflict would be far more difficult and costly than its architects suggested.

McCain's derisive approach may help explain why the instant polls gave Obama an edge in a debate that many pundits rated a tie--and why women seemed especially inclined toward Obama. CNN's survey found that 59 percent of women rated Obama as having done better, with just 31 percent saying that of McCain.

more...

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=7a775c2b-ef5c-4ce6-bc4b-92a7b457356e

[No Elephants]

1. 59% of women polled by CNN rated Obama higher because they are smart and so is Obama. Just say

not to CNN stereotypes about soft-hearted, soft-headed women. And stop making it sound that Obama was a loser until the end of September. He's been ahead in the electoral vote all along, except that McCain got a VERY temporary bounce from Palin--until people realized that she's even dumber and more dishonest than he is. Jeesh, the media can be so misleading and/or dense sometimes.

[babylonsister]

2. They're misleading and dense by design; they're trying to mislead,

but the more distance there is in the polls between the two candidates, the less they will be able to do that.