Mofo Politics | Help impeach President Obama

Post-debate reaction & analysis

No knockout.

Jonah Goldberg, National Review:

I thought McCain’s close was about as good as he gets. Honorable. Decent. Serious. Manly.

Lanny Davis:

Best answer of night by Sen. McCain–regarding whether Russia has become an evil empire – “maybe.” His answer showed the nuance he lacked when he said, “we are all Georgians” not so long ago. And good for him that “we do not want to go back to the Cold War.”

Hugh Hewitt:

The critical exchange came early, and McCain won it because he has the truth on his side.  Obama did not answer McCain’s stinging assault on Obama’s and his party’s complicity in the financial meltdown brought about by Fannie and Freddie.  Obama’s statement that “I never supported Fannie Mae” is an invitation to MSM to examine his real relationship with this financial crisis and its prime movers. This exchange need to be replayed again and again, as does McCain’s comparison of Obama’s tax and protectionism policies with those of Hoover’s.

Andrew Sullivan:

This was, I think, a mauling: a devastating and possibly electorally fatal debate for McCain. Even on Russia, he sounded a little out of it. I’ve watched a lot of debates and participated in many. I love debate and was trained as a boy in the British system to be a debater. I debated dozens of times at Oxofrd. All I can say is that, simply on terms of substance, clarity, empathy, style and authority, this has not just been an Obama victory. It has been a wipe-out.It has been about as big a wipe-out as I can remember in a presidential debate. It reminds me of the 1992 Clinton-Perot-Bush debate. I don’t really see how the McCain campaign survives this.

Ed morrissey:

McCain wins on points

Mark Halperin:

Obama B+, McCain B

Red State:

I’m going to say that things are unchanged, which is advantage: Obama.

Michelle Malkin:

I can’t underscore enough what a rotten idea John McCain’s ACORN-like government mortgage buy-up is.

Rich Lowry:

I thought McCain was good. It’s as passionate and well-informed as he’s ever been on domestic policy. His debate briefers did their job well. I think he repeatedly scored points in the first hour, but they were jabs rather then crosses—blows that Obama could absorb.

David Gergen:

A few hits, some runs and no major errors — that was the way this second debate struck me.