Obama, the alpha male on debate stage

By many accounts (New York Times, CNN, CBS, Andrew Sullivan) , Obama was the clear winner of this final presidential debate. (Ok, not suprisingly the conservative National Review isn’t that convinced).

He as always appeared calm, professorial, and sometimes boring. But boring, says Andrew Sullivan ‘is f!@£ing awesome after Bush’. McCain raised his eyebrows condescendingly many times during and was at his combative best. He was determined to raise all the contentious issues . He grilled Obama on taxes, spending, the tone of the campaign and his association with the William Ayers. The debate dealt with domestic issues, including abortion, judicial appointments and climate change as well as the economy. The differences between the candidates were often clarified.

The New York Times reported on the tone of the debate:

Mr. Obama maintained his largely unflappable demeanor, remaining calm if somewhat professorial, while Mr. McCain was more emotional, perhaps seeking to show passion but at times appearing inconsistent in his tone and at risk of coming across as angry…

The tone of the night was captured by the split-screen image of Mr. Obama, doing his best to keep his composure during sometimes withering attack, and that of Mr. McCain looking coiled and annoyed, occasionally breathing deeply, apparently in an expression of impatience.

On Ayers, Obama gave an answer which hopefully clarified once and for all his ‘association’ with the man: Read More…