Which Barack Obama will show up for presidential debates?

[kingcap72]

Which Obama will show up for presidential debates?
Associated Press
Which Barack Obama will show up for the first presidential debate?
It could be the tone-deaf debater who condescendingly told Hillary Rodham Clinton during a Democratic debate that she was "likable enough."
Or perhaps the confident candidate who absorbed a jab from Clinton about using her husband's former advisers and responded with a devastating one-liner of his own: "Hillary, I'm looking forward to you advising me as well."
For a man known as a powerful speaker, Obama has rarely wowed people in political debates. He can come across as lifeless, aloof and windy.
But Obama didn't make any serious mistakes in the many debates during the Democratic primary, or when he was running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois. He sometimes showed flashes of wit and charm. And, with a couple of exceptions, he got better with time.
"A year ago, he was not nearly as polished," said Timothy O'Donnell, a professor at the University of Mary Washington and chairman of the collegiate National Debate Tournament. "He equivocates less. He's quicker with examples."
O'Donnell says staying on offense will be key if Obama wants to shape the discussion and reach undecided voters.
The Illinois senator failed to do that in what is often mentioned as his worst performance in a major debate, an April 16 confrontation with Clinton in Philadelphia.
With Obama on the verge of wrapping up the nomination, the moderators focused on his potential weaknesses, asking questions about Obama's former minister, his policy on flag lapel pins and his comments about rural people clinging to guns and religion.
Obama seemed deflated by the questioning and failed to steer the debate toward his theme of change. His performance did little to reassure nervous supporters.
In another debate, Obama was asked how he'd respond militarily if terrorists attacked two American cities simultaneously. Rather than display any passion, Obama discussed emergency response procedures and intelligence-gathering.
A flat performance is one thing; the big worry is a single thoughtless remark that sticks in voters' minds. Obama still catches flak for a few remarks from the primary debates.
In last year's YouTube debate, Obama said he would be willing to meet the leaders of nations such as Cuba, Iran and North Korea without preconditions.
His Democratic rivals pounced, calling the stance naive and dangerous. Obama adviser David Axelrod insisted Obama was talking only about midlevel diplomatic discussions, not summit meetings involving the president.
But Obama decided to stand by his statement, using it to draw a distinction between himself and candidates with more conventional approaches to diplomacy. Opponents have used it ever since to argue that Obama would be soft in dealing with dangerous nations.
Another memorable moment came just before the New Hampshire primary, when Clinton was being quizzed about whether voters liked her less than Obama. She deflected the question by joking that her feelings were hurt and admitting that Obama was very likable.
Barely looking up from his notes, Obama broke in to say, "You're likable enough, Hillary. No doubt about it." It may have been a dry attempt at humor, but it fell flat.

Obama has used humor effectively in other debates.
When asked how he felt about Bill Clinton being described as the first African-American president, Obama gave a serious answer about civil rights and overcoming racism. Then he added, "I have to say that, you know, I would have to investigate more of Bill's dancing abilities and some of this other stuff before I accurately judged whether he was, in fact, a brother."
The audience roared.
O'Donnell said Obama has displayed "small glimpses" of the ability to steer a damaging debate toward a more favorable tone and message. In one debate, he took a question about declaring English the country's official language and turned it into a discussion about dividing Americans rather than bringing them together.
Obama also can cut his opponents with a single icy remark.
In 2004, Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes suggested Obama couldn't follow his rival's logic on a convoluted point about gay rights. "Your logic wasn't that complicated," Obama shot back. "It was just wrong."
Which Obama will show up for presidential debates?

I think the tougher Obama we've been seeing for the past few weeks will show up at the debates.

[cupcake]

Im sure of it..cant wait..i wish they had 4 hours..its just not going to be enough time

[cheetopia]

I hope it's the asskicking taking no prisoners Obama that shows up and puts Numbnuts McSame in his proper place.

[cupcake]

as tough as Obama can be..Mccain can be just as tough

[Fluffy]

Im sure of it..cant wait..i wish they had 4 hours..its just not going to be enough time

Yeah, that's the thing with the debates now, the time constraints has pushed all candidates into making sound bites rather than debating issues. They should really make it longer, like 2 hours to begin, intermission and then another hour and a half. Or something like that. I think everyone would learn more about candidates and the options each present if the answer period for each question was longer.

[ana-mish-ana]

They should have a debate like Question Time here in the UK- a whole hour which the public can question politicians and there isnt really a time constraint but they wont be able to use sound bites, due to followup questions.

[cheetopia]

as tough as Obama can be..Mccain can be just as tough

Yeah, but OBama is bringing his brain, pre-attached and synopses firing. The same cannot be said of McCain. Plus if McCain gets 'tired' he might call Obama something like 'madeup floozy c-word' like he did his wife.

My question is will McCain be wearing an earpiece and packing a transmitter under his jacket so that Rove can feed him the acceptable Repug answers like they did with Dubya during the debates?

[ana-mish-ana]

I am pretty sure Palin will be doing that if she hasn't memorized the talking points and sound bites.

[Fluffy]

My question is will McCain be wearing an earpiece and packing a transmitter under his jacket so that Rove can feed him the acceptable Repug answers like they did with Dubya during the debates?

At his age and with his pilot experience, I wouldn't count on his hearing to be top notch for something like that. I don't know if he wears a hearing aid, but many pilots have hearing problems due to the noise they encountered while flying. This is particularly true for helicopter pilots.

[Coyote]

I hope it's the asskicking taking no prisoners Obama that shows up and puts Numbnuts McSame in his proper place.

Prob with that is he has to be careful not to come across as the "Angry Black guy" ... horrible to say, but its certainly a pitfall he needs to be wary of.

[ana-mish-ana]

The Obama and McCain campaigns have agreed to an unusual free-flowing format for the three televised presidential debates, which begin on Friday, but the McCain camp fought for and won a much more structured approach for the questioning at the vice-presidential debate, advisers to both campaigns said Saturday.

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said. There will also be much less opportunity for free-wheeling, direct exchanges between the running mates.
McCain advisers said they had been concerned that a loose format could leave Ms. Palin, a relatively inexperienced debater, at a disadvantage and largely on the defensive.

The wrangling was chiefly between the McCain-Palin camp and the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates, which is sponsoring the forums.
Commission members wanted a relaxed format that included time for unpredictable questioning and challenges between the vice-presidential candidates. Last week, it rejected a proposal from advisers to Ms. Palin and Senator John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, for few if any unfettered exchanges. Advisers to Mr. Biden say they were comfortable with either format.

The New York Times > Log In

Looks like they are changing the debate styles to suit Palin - Ughhhhhhh

[Fluffy]

I wonder how long the Q & A portion will be for each segment.

[Belinda]

At the insistence of the McCain campaign, the Oct. 2 debate between the Republican nominee for vice president, Gov. Sarah Palin, and her Democratic rival, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., will have shorter question-and-answer segments than those for the presidential nominees, the advisers said.

Of course they insisted upon it, otherwise Biden will tear Palin apart.

[Grimmlok]

Oh wahh, she's inexperienced?

TOO FUCKING BAD. Maybe she souldn't have been selected then! Jesus christ!

You don't CHANGE the format to accomodate an ill-prepared candidate!

What the hell is THAT!? Trying to make it more "fair" ?

How about you get a fucking qualified candidate instead! Why is it someone elses fault if the candidate can't fucking hack it?

*speechless*

I'm sorry, that commission should be fucking fired.

[Fluffy]

Although, the VP debate will still be 90 minutes. With shorter answer times, then that means there will be more topics covered. I don't think that favors Palin either.