Well, the last-minute maneuvering and political grandstanding didn't get in the way of a great debate on Saturday. Now that Ole Miss is just about done stacking the chairs and taking down the Anheiser-Busch logo from the stage, it's time to take stock of how the candidates did.
Plenty of other diaries and stories will cover the debate nitty gritty - who was mean, who was too agreeable, who is pointing a gun at Russia and told everyone that that means he's gonna shoot it, etc. But, as always, a critical issue of perception has been overlooked and under-polled. So, I spent much of my weekend canvassing representative samples of Republicans, Democrats, and of course, everybody's favorite intellectual mavericks, the independents. I had only one question to ask them. Here are the results:
I also got some good quotes, below the fold:
Jim, Republican, Orlando FL: Well anyone can see that John McCain maintained a vertical advantage the entire evening. It was like Obama needed stilts just to kiss McCain's ass, which he did on virtually every point.
Pat, Independent, Montclair NJ: It was hard to say, really who was taller. I think when they first came out, I was sure that Obama had the advantage, but then, when they were behind their podiums - is it podiae? podia? - well, anyway, the camera kept switching back and forth and it got confusing. I thought, when McCain started pronouncing all those really hard names of foreign leaders, I thought, "My God, anyone who can remember all those names has got to be at least six foot two"
Kyle, Democrat, Augusta ME: Barack is taller. It's a measurable fact. I think it's on wikipedia. You can look it up. Why are you even asking this? I mean, I'm pretty sure he's taller. I mean he looks taller.... hold on, I can look this up on my iPhone, just wait a sec....
Kendall, Republican, Druid Hills KY: I mean McCain is enormous. He is a towering white juggernaut. For a minute, I was afraid he would squish Obama under his gigantic man-loafers
Chris, Independent, Ashtabula PA: Well that's a stupid question. I mean, why are you asking such a patently idiotic question. Our economy is in the toilet, we're fighting a wasteful war, the republicans have screwed up every single thing imaginable in the last 8 years. We're a laughing stock around the world. The republican VP candidate may not know how many toes she owns. THIS is what you want to ask me about? Okay, fine. I'm not entirely sure, but I think McCain may have been a bit taller.
Tim, Democrat, Albany NY: Obviously, if you want to talk just straight skeletal metrics, Obama probably had the advantage. I have enormous respect for John McCain's height, though.
Lee, Republican, Duckwater NV: It's clear that Obama doesn't understand height. John McCain is every inch of six feet, which also happens to be the number of country names that he was able to remember after they drilled him on it for only one week. He can say "Czech" without pronouncing the Z, which, he also knows is the first letter in "Zapatero", who he knows, now, is the king of Spain (or, president, or something). Can Obama say that? I don't think so.