And the Game continues…

By Chennery Fife

The media has made it a practice to analyze politics the way one would a sporting event, especially when it comes to debates. Although this is a rather shallow way of looking at it, it does make sense when looking at the strategies of the candidates. In the game of politics, McCain and Obama are fighting for the Super Bowl title. And the most skilled man (and campaign) wins. Last night, the debate was just one game on the way to the ultimate prize.

From the sidelines as an Obama supporter, I was somewhat impressed by both performances. Both men proved they were true politicians, by taking a question about handling the financial crisis and eventually ranting about the “Christmas tree ornaments” of an energy bill. Each man simply used each pass they were thrown as an opportunity to run with it in any direction they chose, long past the given two minutes.

I also had low expectations for each of them. At least we know McCain can string together a sentence in front of people (though we all know he is better unscripted). And Obama has greatly improved from his debates with Hillary. We now know that Obama too can speak intelligently unscripted. In fact, I thought he was much more on the offensive. He often looked right at McCain, called him John, and corrected him directly. On the other hand, McCain directed his defenses at the moderator as referred to his opponent as “Senator Obama.” Perhaps it is a generational difference.

No one made the game-winning touchdown, in my opinion. Each attempt was countered quickly. Even a few moments of less tension were present. I mean, McCain referred to his age seemingly more often than Obama’s ads have. But, the word “change” was uttered far less than the word “fundamental” for example. McCain also referred to himself as a maverick, but that attempt got intercepted by the very next question about the lessons learned from Iraq.

Now the problem is that the world of politics has too many referees judging each play. And, unfortunately, political debates do not attract the same large audience as the Super Bowl does. We’ll continue to rely on MSNBC to declare Obama the winner, and Fox News always will support McCain. But who really decides now who “won?” I guess we’ll have to wait until November.