McCain's Lack of Eye Contact: A Sign of Contempt?

[babylonsister]

Run time: 01:31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty9BTcERiYY   Posted on YouTube: September 27, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: September 27, 2008 By DU Member: babylonsister Views on DU: 2386

 
MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Washington Post's Eugene Robinson discuss why McCain never looked at Obama during the debate.

[tekisui]

1. I think it is more a sign that mcPOW is ashamed about his behavior.

He can't look Obama in the eye because he knows he's been out there lying everyday.

[babylonsister]

5. Could be, but I have no sympathy. He crafted his own campaign,

it stinks, he should be ashamed. He lost all semblance of a decent man.

[Frisbee]

17. There was a time when...

McCain was an honorable man I happened to disagree with more often than not. Those days are LONG gone, and now he is nothing more than a typical republican politician who says anything to get (re)elected with no regard for the truth or who he has to destroy to achieve his objective. What a sorry excuse for a candidate this once principled man is.

[Goldie999]

13. McCain showed that he is just a grumpy, mean old man

And those stories he told. Everytime he started to tell one, I thought, "here we go again."

[LatteLibertine]

2. I feel

behaving in this manner makes it seem as if you are afraid of the person you are debating and/or you don't truly believe in the positions you are putting forth. It's non dominant behavior. McCain seemed far more interested in the moderator and basically conducting an interview as opposed to a real debate. McCain looked like a rehearsed shell of a politician that simply didn't want to be there. Some of McCain's answers were good and that didn't make up for the empty disingenuous delivery.

Senator Obama was quite the opposite.

[sellitman]

3. It's the sign of fear.

Big Angry Black Man.......

[NOLALady]

28. Seems like fear to me.

Fear of an intelligent, educated opponent who happens to be Black.

[barack the house]

4. OK, it's one view I prefer it was shame at McCain's slezy campaign against a self evident good man>

like Obama.

[Peggesis1]

8. It was unnerving

I think it was meant to show profound disrespect for Senator Obama and was also meant to be unnerving for him. If you've ever been in a discussion or argument with someone who refuses to look at you, who smirks and shakes his head when you speak, and then speaks about you to a third person in your presence, you know how stressful it is to deal with a person behaving like McCain.

[sweetroxie]

12. I agree. It was unbridled contempt

He figured this guy should be shining HRH's $500 shoes and not sharing the platform and debate with HRH McCancer. What a scumbag!

[happygoluckytoyou]

6. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MCCAIN AND A PIT BULL---

1) pitbulls don't lie
2) pitbulls don't believe in TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS unless you have a leg up against a poll

[Warpy]

7. I'm not going to speculate on the psychology

but I think it's one reason low information voters think Obama won.

Obama looked calm, comfortable, and honest, willing to look his opponent in the eye. Magoo looked old, testy, tired, and shifty, unwilling to look his opponent in the eye.

That's how these people decide who they're going to vote for, whether we like it or not. They don't listen to content much. They do pay attention to what the feller's all about and they know Obama would give 'em a good deal while Magoo would sell 'em a clunker at top dollar.

[CoopersMom]

9. Beta animals don't look Alpha animals in the eye

It's considered a challenge by the lower ranking animal to the alpha animal.

[Joe Chi Minh]

20. You got it.

[The Blue Flower]

10. I thought it was because of the lies

I thought it was because he knows he's been lying and smearing a colleague who doesn't deserve such treatment. But I agree that it's also because he knows who the better, stronger man is (as opposed to the shrunken-souled, lying weasel).

[newmac]

11. He had to keep his eyes on his notes

and also; since rethugs are racist to the core; it was contempt.

[BeyondGeography]

14. "WHAT IS THAT ABOUT?"

You gotta love Tweeety sometimes.

[ciking724]

15. Two reasons McCain would not look at Obama

1) McCain is intimidated by Obama; he is clearly out of his league. 2) If he turned his head, he would have exposed the electronic listening device in his right ear through which he was being cued to the correct pre-printed response on the papers he was looking down at on the podium.

McCain also kept going over his time; he talked right through the moderator signaling to him that his time was up, which indicates that he was listening to someone else.

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. Their improving their technology in leaps and bounds. Pity about the

lack of political nous of their human resources.

[Sam Ervin jret]

16. McCain has to vilify his opposition in order to "win." Everything is war with this guy. That

includes this his last effort to get the position he has so wanted his entire political life.

Looking at Obama would dull what McCain feels is his biggest strength - his killer instinct. Winning in war is everything. He has said so himself. There is no honorable way to end a war other than to defeat the "bad guys." This he pointed out in his discussion about the bracelet he was wearing.

I think the story about the bracelet and his language surrounding this issue is an opportunity for people to explore the thinking of John McCain. According to the story, McCain wears this piece so that the soldier will not have died in vain. According to McCain this young person who did everything that was asked of him by his country and his conscience and who died in the line of duty is still in jeopardy of having died in vain. He doesn't make to the full hero group unless we "win" the war in Iraq.

What does this say about John and what does it mean for our country if he becomes president? All the men who died in Vietnam and Korea have died in vain because we did not "win" those wars. Any future combat involving McCain as Commander and Chief must continue until "we win." There is no honorable way to end a war without "winning." In McCain's mind Eisenhower made a big mistake when he stopped the Korean war without a victory and leaving Vietnam without a clear victory was dishonorable. Is this how we want our President to think? Is this representative of most people's views? Are we ready to stay in Georgia until we defeat Russia?

Both men got bracelets from mothers of fallen soldiers and both took separate messages away from the encounter. McCain took away the message that he must fight to clear the shadow over the honor of this young soldier. He must "win the war in Iraq"(definition of that expression as yet unknown) because of this shadow. If we don't continue to fight in Iraq until "we win" that shadow will follow this soldier's honor as it has followed the honor of all the soldiers of "non-winning wars" in American history. Like the one that haunts John McCain.

Obama took away the message of responsibility and consequences. As commander and chief the authority to put others lives at risk comes with the responsibility to make sure decisions made are made with the understanding of the full impact of the consequences of those decisions.

[Delphinus]

18. Exactly.

Can you imagine how diplomatic negotiations would go if he, as president, were to vilify his opponent before picking up the phone or sitting down to meet with someone? Yikes!

[red storm]

19. Eye contact - McCain didn't have the nerve

He could not look at Obama because it would have cracked his fake armor. The ONLY way McCain believed he could beat Obama was to appear to be "aloof" but it only came across as him being a contemptuous old fool.

We do not need another fool in the White House the current one is more than enough.

[MrsCorleone]

22. McChicken's inability to address Obama directly was clearly due to insecurity, IMO.

He reminds me of Bush. Many believe Bush possesses an arrogant swagger. I have always disagreed with this notion. To me, Bush has always appeared incredibly uncomfortable in his own skin, acutely aware of that all eyes (& cameras) are upon him, judging him. He clearly struggles to appear worthy.

McChicken's lack of eye contact, coupled with his simmering frustration, betrays his own feelings of worthiness.

The media will try to spin this as being some sort of deliberate political tactic by McChicken, but it is what it is, IMO.

In short, McCain is a puss.

[Muttocracy]

23. treats opponent as enemy, "personalizes conflict" "demonizes enemy"

[quiet.american]

24. Even though McCain is 72, it made him look immature, childish, petty.

I say, keep it up, John. You're doing yourself no favors.

[OhioChick]

25. K&R

:kick:

[glinda]

26. Maybe his makeup

was going to crack off.

[tblue37]

27. I didn't think it looked like contempt. To me it seemed to reflect

profound discomfort with the whole situation. I think McCain is ashamed and frustrated about his entire campaign.

[bertman]

29. Not contempt, but anger because Obama had stuffed him at the Bailout meeting.

Read this thread for the explanation.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/27/191442/796/466/612779