Cleaning up the Mess

While watching last nights debate all I could think was, "wow, what a train wreck!" Like all accidents I just stared in disbelief. I lost interest a bit (as I naturally do), but even with my self-diagnosed ADHD, I observed carefully and found the reason for my repulsion. Something was smelled funny about this debate, or maybe I am just a naive idealist that thinks that these displays of our leaders intellectual prowess would show a level of refinement and class. Ok, you're right. This is politics. I'm naive.

National polls reflect that Senator Obama won the debate, and I agree but it was no knockout. If these two combatants were pugilists, they both came out bloodied, but not wounded, just lots of scuffs and scratches from grazed skin; lots of swinging and whiffing all over the place. Both Obama nor McCain had any clean connections to the issues or each other. Their verbal sparring was likened to kindergartners telling on each other between tears and whimpers. Get to the point...

Senator Obama's win could be attributed to either opponents disqualification of judges decision. Why? Because it was horribly moderated and no etiquette or order was enforced (Jim Lehrer, you should be ashamed of yourself). Senator McCain's was allowed to repeatedly rampage through segments with obnoxious over-talking and Senator Obama was defensive and apprehensive.

Neither candidate should take full fault for their behavior. Mr. Lehrer was the catalyst, setting an adversarial tone, instigating like the lunch room gossip girl. As a moderator he failed to progress the event. Lehrer made the biggest mistake of walking two large dogs, he let the slack off of the leash, they tugged free and off to the races they went. The man couldn't even transition to the next lead question because of the rudeness of McCain, and the insistence of Obama to respond to it. Lehrer didn't hold a balanced scale, he dropped it.

My rant on Lehrer notwithstanding, I also found myself irritated by the repeated phrases of frustration of Obama. I admit, I expected more poise from the senator, but in the hostile environment he was found flustered. He began his rebuttals with a stuttered "Look" and "Listen", visibly exasperated by McCain's forcefulness. To his advantage, his aggression peaked during his assault regarding McCain's errors in Iraq, but then plummeted after a few spars regarding Afghanistan.; he never regained control. In this sequence Obama deferred politely to the moderator, who fumbled the mantle of order and McCain snatched it back again.

"Look" I'm not bashing, "just saying."

McCain, was the passive-aggressive antagonist in this mess of a debate, was a ball of stiff emotion. He raised his brows in jest, smirked, sneered and snarled silently. He reminded me the Joker in the Arkham Asylum's geriatric ward. He was stiff but still witty and clever enough to bait Obama into fits of nodding and notepad scribbling. His offensive was dirty and had no class. He was the quintessential school yard bully, held back a few years; older, angrier and unsupervised. Lehrer, went from supervisor to spectator, with eye glazed over.

By the way: did you know that South Koreans are three inches taller than North Koreans?! Thanks McCain for an irrelevant biological comparison of two countries' people. You know a great deal about foreign policy! [sarcasm]

This was a scuffle that was over-billed. Actually, if I read the signs of the melodramatic political theater days prior to the debate, I would have known this farce of a face-off would be a letdown. Oh well, time to vacuum the dust of a unremarkably boring battle.