Pictures from 2nd Presidential Debate by NPR

NPR did an amazing job capturing various images of the 2nd Presidential Debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain on October 8, 2008. I've included a few of those pictures below.

Paul J. Richards: John McCain makes a point to the audience as Barack Obama listens during their second presidential debate. AFP/Getty Images

Charles Dharapak: John McCain and his wife, Cindy, join Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, in talking to audience members after the debate. AP

Anthony Jacobs: Barack Obama responds to a question during the town-hall presidential debate. The two candidates have sparred over the economy and renewable energy. Getty Images

Obama-McCain II (Impressions & Outtakes)

First, I must say that this second of the three 2008 Presidential Debates between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain was one of the most boring political events that I have witnessed in quite a while. I think much of this was due to the debate being a town hall format. However, Obama still won the debate, showing he can not only flourish in multiple arenas--I mean come on, he DID graduate from Harvard, didn't he? I don't think too much could impress or intimidate him--but he can also more than hold his own against John McCain in an area that is supposed to be McCain's strongest suit, the townhall. To sum up, Obama won, but I didn't learn anything new from this 2nd debate that I didn't already know from the first debate.

OUTTAKES & IMPRESSIONS:

Did anyone besides me and Paul Reiser notice the size of the townhall? Tom Brokaw announced 80 uncommitted voters in attendance at the debate. Certainly with that much advance notice and with the debate being held on a college campus, I assumed that there would have been at least 300 or more people there, independent/uncommitted or otherwise.

The major reaction groups (surveying partisan and independent viewers of the debate) say that Obama won the debate hands down (NBC: 60-40, SurveyUSA: 54-29, Fox News: 61-39% as of 12:45pm 10-8/08, CNN: 54-30, CBS: 40-26).

For the second debate in a row, John McCain didn't once mention the middle class.

McCain still has a problem with Obama. At least he looked at him at times during the debate but this time, but he had a hard time hiding his disdain by referring to Obama as "that one" while not looking at Obama. Personally, if anyone referred to me as "that one" during a mutual dialog, that matter would have been redressed very pointedly because it shows a profound lack of professionalism and disrespect.

McCain used the term, "my friends" 19 times during the debate. Meanwhile, Obama's recurring conversation centered around the topics of economic issues, the middle class, health care, change, energy, and foreign policy. At least McCain didn't once mention, "Maverick." Boy that term is so played out at this point that it actually has a negative connotation to the voters. Huffington Post has a nice rundown of each debater's word frequency.

My favorite newsrag, the NY Times has the best and most interactive post-debate experience. Check out their interactive debate page for the full transcript and video footage of last night's Second Presidential Debate of 2008.

QUOTABLES

The best lines of the debate belonged to Obama. "Senator McCain, in the last debate and again today suggested that I don't understand. It's true. There are some things I don't understand. I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11."

"I've got to correct a little bit of Sen. McCain's history, not surprisingly. ... In fact, Sen. McCain's campaign chairman's firm was a lobbyist on behalf of Fannie Mae, not me."

The funniest line of the debate, without a doubt belongs to McCain who said that figuring out which tax policy Obama was in favor of was like "nailing Jell-O to a wall."

For the nth time, McCain told us that he knows how to "win wars" and "capture bin Laden". Somehow, though he hasn't shared any of this knowledge through 5 years of war in Iraq. How selfish.

AND TAKE THAT...

So much for the "Straight Talk Express". Obama hit McCain on his truthfulness by stating, "You know, Sen. McCain, I think the Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one."

Elitism and It's Elite Standardbearers

Are you an elitist, am I an elitist? Who the heck is an elitist, and is that suddenly bad, and if so why? An elite person by definition is from "a group or class of persons enjoying superior intellectual or social or economic status." Common usage relates this term to people who enjoy the highest social standing in our society either through being born into an old money family, i.e. The Bushes, Kennedys, Rockefellers, Hiltons, Sen. John McCain, etc. As well, we think of elite as referring to someone who through mastery of a specific talent or skill set has ascended to the top of his profession and thus attained elite social status. Great examples are Michael Jordan who was not born into money, but because he became one of the best at his craft, enjoys elite status. Of course Oprah Winfrey, entrepreneur and billionaire would fit this description as well as Deion Sanders or any other "rags to riches" story. Yet another common usage of "elite" is someone who is out of touch with ordinary people.

Now, I gotta admit, I was confused as to why during the Democratic primaries, Hillary Clinton referred to Barack Obama as elitist due to his "bitter" comments, suggesting that he was "out of touch" because he dared to tell us what we already knew. That is that for too long, the Republican political machine has always distracted us from their failures by bringing up guns and religion just before major elections, and certain segments of our population keep falling for the same trick over and over. It's as if the Republicans have convinced folks that somehow "the other guy" is gonna take away your God and your guns. Furthermore, I was even more intrigued that John McCain, the scion of military elites and a son of privilege since birth would also try to characterize Obama as an elitist. Unfortunately, per usual the media took another Republican talking point and ran with it as if it were the Gospel of Rove.

If you didn't know any better you would think that the "elitist" candidate is Obama. But let's look at the facts. At the very least, John McCain owns 8 mansions, the least expensive being valued at $847K and the most expensive being valued over $4M. Some estimate that he actually owns 10 homes including one for his daughter, Meghan McCain. Further, John McCain says he doesn't know how many houses he owns. No wonder he thinks the "economy is fundamentally strong." Talk about being out of touch! So who is the elitist who flies around in his wife's private plane because, "in AZ the only way to get around the state is by small private plane"? Well that's John McCain. Who along with his wife are worth about $100 million? Oh yeah, that's John McCain. Further, it is John McCain's wife Cindy McCain whose beer distributorship has $300M/yr in sales. Of course, the one who's cruised his whole life based on his father and grandfather being Admirals in the US Navy? That's John McCain. He graduated at the bottom of his class (895/899), but his elite connectections allowed him to get into Fighter Pilot school after Annapolis. You would think you'd only want your smartest people as fighter pilots wouldn't you? But as George W. Bush demonstrated, you can be a C student, dumb as rocks, and as long as your family is well connected (George H. W. Bush was Dir of CIA, VPOTUS, heir to old money oil fortune of Prescott Bush) you can sail through life earning nothing on your own, but being granted privileges on the basis of your family tree. That "my friends" as John McCain would say, is affirmative action for the rich.

Meanwhile, let's contrast Barack Obama's life? He actually looks like the face of 21st century America, as Bob Cesca duly notes. He was born to a white mother and Kenyan father who left them at a young age after which his mother had to subsist on foodstamps, raised by his white grandmother in Kansas, he worked hard in highschool in Hawaii and earned the opportunity because of his excellent grades to attend Harvard for undergrad, then Columbia Law School. So whose story is more like one of us? Black AND White parents? Foodstamps to Presidential candidate? Has lived in the same middle class neighborhood forever (despite having written 2 bestselling books about his life)? The answer should be obvious.

When elite comes to mind of course we're told it's Obama who's elite despite all of my previous statements describing John McCain's inherited wealth and Barack Obama's rags to riches story. The media must think we're stupid, but that's ok because no one ever calls them out on making up the facts.