Grumpy old man

The last presidential debate was held last night, at Hofstra University in New York. Bob Schieffer (a grandfatherly man who is, for lack of a better word, kind of huggable) was the moderator. I watched pretty closely, and thought Obama did a decent job repelling McCain's attacks. I was kind of surprised, however, by the post-debate coverage, and by the online punditry this morning. Maybe it has something to do with the sites I choose to read, but McCain's performance was pretty universally panned.

Watching these debates, I am predisposed to conclude that Obama wins each time because I believe in what he says. Last night I thought that McCain was cranky seeming. He kept interrupting and grimaced in some very unappealing ways. But I got the sense that he was getting his point across relatively effectively. Following the debate, I still would have argued that Obama won, but I assumed that McCain's aggressiveness would be better received, at least by those rooting for him. Apparently the number of people who fall into that category is increasingly small.

It comforts me to read opinions like Andrew Sullivan's. Conservatives who have rational backings to their views. People like this see Sarah Palin as a farce - scion of a dying neocon contingent of Bush's Republican party. They recognize the danger of stirring up mob-like, hateful emotions by using false, angry rhetoric. Overarchingly, reasonable people like this acknowledge the virtue of decency. They know that policy and character are not inextricably linked, that there are assholes who are Democrats and Republicans alike, and, above all else, that blind partisanship serves no one.

Far too often people, myself included, forget this. John McCain's ornery negativity plays right into this idea. Luckily, I believe that Barack Obama gets it. And that, more than the D next to his name, is why I think he'll make such a fantastic president.