Barack Obama wins Debate!

Watching the debate and twittering my opinions was exciting last night. As a political junkie I enjoyed every aspect of the debate.  The big question though now is who won the debate? Barack Obama won the debate and here is why.

The first debate was on Foreign Policy. It is a given that this is John McCain’s strongest suit. Barack Obama should not have held his own if John McCain were to win.

John McCain’s goal last night was to prove to the American people that Barack Obama was not qualified nor ready to lead our nation come January.

Barack Obama’s goal on the other hand was to hold his own and not allow John McCain’s claim of “inexperience” resonate with the American people.

The American voters did not buy McCain’s claim that Obama did not “understand” or is “inexperience” and would not be qualified to be the next President of the United States.

CBS reports that, “40% of uncommitted voters who watched the debate tonight thought Barack Obama was the winner. 22% thought John McCain won. 38% saw it as a draw.”

According to CNN, “Fifty-one percent of those polled thought Obama did the better job in Friday night's debate, while 38 percent said John McCain did better.”

Obviously John McCain’s assertion that Barack Obama is not ready did not fair well with the voters. John McCain failed to achieve his goal while Barack Obama did thus Obama won this debate.

Nicole Belle was critical of McCain’s expertise in the foreign realm and I would have to agree. Belle states, “John McCain’s foreign policy posturing during last night’s debate really cannot be counted as anything but an epic fail.  He meandered all over the place, confused the Pakistani president’s name, and directly contradicted not only his own earlier statements but the Bush Doctrine that he has supported for the last eight years.”

John McCain stated, “Now, the new president of Pakistan, Kardari (sic), has got his hands full. And this area on the border has not been governed since the days of Alexander the Great.”

Belle adds, “*Sigh* First you don’t know that Spain is in Europe and now you don’t know the President of Pakistan’s name?  (It’s Zardari, by the way, and he’s not too happy with the strikes the current administration — you know, the one you’ve supported 90% of the time– has been inflicting on his country)”

Ezra Klein was keen to note McCain’s arrogance throughout the debate. I noticed it but sometimes I dismiss it as being overly observant of people’s facial characteristics and body language.

Klein notes, “McCain wouldn't look at Obama. Kept smirking. Sighing. Sucking in his lips. Flipping his papers angrily. Accusing Obama of "not understanding" basic points of foreign and domestic policy. We knew he didn't want to be there. But he couldn't keep his body language from signaling that he didn't think Obama deserved to be there.”

This may come back to bite John McCain and Joe Biden assured Keith Olbermann on Countdown that he would not treat Sarah Palin in such a demeaning manner during the Vice Presidential debate.

Another reason why the McCain-Palin camp failed last night was that instead of sending Palin to defend McCain as Biden did for Obama, McCain sent out Giuliani.

Republicans voters will start feeling uneasy and independent voters will start ignoring Palin because even McCain does not trust her to spread talking points.

Steve Benen states it best and adds, “McCain needed a big night to turn things around, and he didn't get it. In this context, no matter how close viewers perceived the debate, it was a missed opportunity for a candidate who won't get too many more chances to change the race.”