The first debate

By the time you’ll read this, you may have watched the debate, read all the commentaries, so what new angle can I bring? Pretty simple; I’ll focus on impressions and forget a bit about substance. To me, McCain came across as a likeable, but tired man. His complexion was pale, his rhetoric sounded tired and his body language somewhat disengaged, looking too often at his lectern and struggling. On the opposite side, Obama stayed composed, expressed himself extremely clearly, stood tall, was more alive and in much better shape; he looked also much more “presidential.” It’s undeniable that more than one year of non-stop campaigning has taken a toll on both men, but especially on McCain who appeared old (he is) and beat up. That item alone is alarming; I don’t see much energy left in him and frankly believe that he will only be able to operate on “old experience” and won’t be able of much pro-action if elected president. In returning to the whole debate, an informal Wall Street Journal readers’ poll shows that Obama clearly won the debate (57% vs. 36% for McCain, based on close to 60,000 votes), which says a lot considering the staunch conservatism of this paper and its audience.