Rules for tonight's town hall style debate

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:22am

Based on the rules agreed to by both campaigns, there may little or no actual debate between the candidates. It's sort of like two separate town halls going on at the same time. No follow ups, and candidates can't ask each other questions.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/mccain_obama_deal_puts_limits.html

Updated On: 10/7/08 at 08:22 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:48am

Can they even look each other in the eye, or will they turn to stone?

(too late for McCain)

As long as they kept the swim suit and evening gown competitions, I'm sure it will be entertaining television.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:51am

Given the status of the campaign, I think these rules favor Obama.

[Mamie]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:53am

They really need to come up with a new word to describe these things. They aren't even remotely close to a 'debate' as I learned it in school.

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:55am

I agree, Mamie. It's more like a presentation.

At the very least, I think the candidates should be able to question one another and that the moderator should be allowed to ask follow-up questions.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 9:00am

Given the current situation, McCain almost has to try to circumvent the rules and try to steer the topic to his smear tactics. But, given the format, the candidates are supposed to restrict themselves to answering pre-screened audience questions with no follow-up and no interaction between them.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 9:06am

McCain won't have anything to talk about if he can't accuse Obama of being an unfit candidate.

That's all he's done for the past week (specifically).

He has no campaign platform except "don't vote for the other guy."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 9:43am

Well, it will be McCain's own damn problem then, because he's been pissing and moaning that this is the kind of debate he wanted.
Updated On: 10/7/08 at 09:43 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:03am

Like the rules matter any more. McCain and Palin do what they want. Period.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:04am

You betcha!

[violet72]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:19am

I watched the Daily Show last night and they were talking about how in the VP debate she would say I am not gonna answer that...and then talk about whatever she rehearsed...Jon Stewart said cause when your interviewing for a job it's good not to answer the question you are asked

I am convinced tonight McCain is gonna try to turn every question into a smear and he is not going to really talk about policies

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:23am

How many of these "Joe six-packs" that make up the "town" in the "hall" will be plants with the "hangin' out with 60's radical terrorists" questions ready?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:28am

At least half, Sue.

I just hope the other half asks McCain about how many of his houses he's losing in this current crisis.

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:45am

It's allegedly "Undecided voters" in the hall tonight. So basically morons.

[violet72]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:46am

Yeah and the all are probably from the midwest or swing states...or so they say

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:47am

So do you think tonight will be the night that grampy just f**kin' loses it and finally explodes?

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:49am

He came across as very ill-tempered and nasty in the last debate, and it put off a lot of the viewing public. I'm sure he's been advised to keep his anger in check.

Posted: 10/7/08 at 10:56am

I've heard it pointed out several times that while McCain "LOVES" Town hall meetings with "Regular voters" he's actually used to hall of pre-screened die-hard republicans. He's never actually had to face tough questions in this setting.

So we might get to see Mt McCain erupt tonight.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 11:05am

WHAT TO EXPECT....according to Salon.com:

The New York Times’ Katherine Seeyle has a solid preview of tonight’s second debate between Barack Obama and John McCain. Her discussion of what is at stake for each candidates seems basically right:

Mr. McCain needs to add something to his formula if he is going to change the dynamics of the race. So watch for him to try to steer the conversation toward the doubts that he and Ms. Palin have been raising on the campaign trail about Mr. Obama’s character and judgment.

Mr. McCain said of Mr. Obama on Monday: “My opponent’s touchiness every time he is questioned about his record should make us only more concerned.” Expect him to follow that line of attack tonight.

As for Mr. Obama, watch for him to continue to try to link Mr. McCain with President Bush as he makes the point that most voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

He may also repeat his words from the first debate, when he called the financial mess “a final verdict on eight years of failed economic policies promoted by George Bush, supported by Senator McCain.”

Mr. Obama also won points in that first debate, according to opinion surveys, for not shooting back when Mr. McCain fired at him. While pundits thought he had missed some opportunities, many voters thought he appeared above the fray.

Look for him to try to hold that ground tonight -- unless Mr. McCain comes on too strong.

A few of my own observations:

* Because Obama is clearly leading this race, nationally and in the swing states, he need not win any of the two remaining debates because ties go to the (front)runner.
* I wish I knew for sure whether the non-verbal aspects of a town hall format favored one candidate or the other. But I just don’t have a solid hunch about this. On one hand you have Obama’s physical charisma -- he is tall and sinewy, and carries himself with physical confidence. But I am never quite sure to what degree McCain’s P.O.W. injuries compensate by creating an empathy toward him. I’d be curious what Salon readers think about how the debate will play out visually.
* Tom Brokaw, who emerging as the Left’s Gwen Ifill, could be a real wildcard. (Though with far less complaining from liberals than we saw from conservatives about Ifill.) Brokaw has acted erratically in some of his television appearances recently, interjecting without prompting or cause some weird clarifications, like this one a few days ago. Some are starting to wonder aloud if Brokaw, especially following his attempts to bottle up Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, is revealing a not-so-subtle bias toward McCain and the Republicans.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 3:45pm

Can they even look each other in the eye, or will they turn to stone?

So do you think tonight will be the night that grampy just f**kin' loses it and finally explodes?

McCain looks like a marshmallow. Ever seen a marshmallow explode in a microwave oven?

[cubanpab]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 3:51pm

Some are starting to wonder aloud if Brokaw, especially following his attempts to bottle up Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, is revealing a not-so-subtle bias toward McCain and the Republicans.

I always thought Brokaw did a terrible job of hiding that he was very much a democrat... am I wrong?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 4:56pm

In August, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis sent a formal complaint to the head of NBC News saying that Brokaw and the NBC News department were as biased toward Obama as MSNBC was. They threatened to pull out of tonight's debate.

Brokaw told the New York Observer last month that he smoothed things over with McCain.
Tom Brokaw Calls in to Set the Record Straight

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 7:42pm

It's one thing for Palin to ignore questions from Gwen Ifill and go straight to her talking points. It's another for McCain to take a question from an undecided voter and spin it into a smear of Obama.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 8:17pm

Updated On: 1/12/09 at 08:17 PM

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/7/08 at 9:02pm

Interesting about the thoughts on Tom Brokaw's preferences. I know I mention this book a lot, but The Tipping Point Talks about how even slight preferences via tone or facial expression in news anchors can sway viewers opinions about a candidate. In a close election, this can be a real concern.